Archive of Our Own ^beta

The dimension was one they’d all agreed on—it had to be if they wanted to work as a team. One not too outlandish like SpongeBob’s, as none of them felt very comfortable as fish. Nor did they want to deal with ghosts in Danny’s dimension constantly.

No. The Team 2000 HQ was built from everyone’s collaboration in a dimension hand-picked through Jimmy’s scientific genius and Danny’s innate knowledge of universes and dimensions, courtesy of perks rewarded to the Ghost King.

The facility was state-of-the-art and useful for keeping the team on track and on their toes. However, over a year into teamwork, the once daunting halls of metal have become more…animated.

"He’s such a stubborn asshole."

Manny growled, spewing silent curses in Spanish under his breath while his eyes narrowed. His gaze was locked on the green-glowing figure flying around the room, cackling as the robotic girl chased after him at high speeds. 

"Isn’t that a little hippocratical?" A high-pitched voice came from an unsuspecting green pin with a face on Timmy’s pink beanie.

"It’s hypocritical, sweetie," came from the matching pink button.

Manny just groaned while Timmy chuckled.

"They’re not wrong, dude," Timmy patted Manny on the back. "You’re both stubborn to no end."

"I won’t deny that," he admitted, "but he is worse! It’s like trying to argue with my Mamá, but if she were a smug dick who just argues against me because he knows I’m right and doesn’t want to admit that he’s wrong–!"

"I can hear you, you know!" Danny shouted back, glaring at Manny before ducking to avoid Jenny’s outstretched arm.

"Good!" Manny stuck his tongue out in retaliation. "Because it’s true!"

"Ookay," Timmy led Manny out of the training room with a fond shake of his head. "Man, you two argue worse than me and big head-atron."

A sharp exhale left Manny’s nose as his shoulders lost the minuscule tension they always seemed to have around Danny. 

"He just…gets me so worked up. It’s like every time I’m near him my fight or flight kicks in. And, well…"

"You wouldn’t be here if your instincts were flight, sweetie," Wanda’s caring voice soothed him.

"Exactly."

"Hmm," Timmy stroked his slight stubble, his protruding teeth digging into his lip in thought.

"What is it?" Manny raised a brow in anticipation. Half the time, Timmy’s ideas helped them out of some serious situations. And the other half got them into that trouble in the first place.

"Maybe you guys just need to let off some steam against each other?"

"I don’t think you should be encouraging them to fight," Wanda immediately scolded.

"Aww, I think that’d be cool!" Her husband cheered.

"Not like that," Timmy denied vehemently. They had just made it to Timmy’s room in the base, the automatic door sliding open with nary a sound. The room was as cluttered as one would expect from him. A messy bed next to half-opened dressers bursting with clothes. 

All around the room were mystical items strewn about half-hazardly. Manny couldn’t exactly judge him; his room wasn’t much better. Just instead of magical items, it was more weight-lifting equipment and other junk.

"What do you mean, then?" Manny asked as the door shut behind him. He took a seat in the empty chair, watching as Cosmo and Wanda manifested as their typical selves with a pink poof. 

"I mean, like, just do a prank on him or something."

Manny raised a brow, interest piqued.

"Okay, that’s not a bad idea. But also, how would that help? Though it would be hilarious," he chuckled into his fist.

"I know back when Jimmy and I first met, we couldn’t stand each other–"

"More than now?" Manny asked sarcastically, chuckling out loud as he avoided the sock thrown his way by a scowling Timmy.

"Shut up. Anyway, it came to a head when I played a prank on him and we ended up in a prank war that lasted a whole week. But after that we somehow came out of it getting along better."

"So, what?" Manny crossed his arms over his chest. "You want us to prank each other in hopes it’ll bring us closer together?"

"I think it’s a great idea!" Cosmo fluttered around the room with a wide grin. "Pranks are so fun!"

"Well," Wanda looked a little more cautious, though no less hopeful. "It did turn out well for Sport…"

Manny let Timmy and Cosmo give him puppy-dog eyes before dropping his arms with a laugh.

"I’m in," he rubbed his palms together, a sinister grin on his face reminiscent of his grandpapi. "He needs to be brought down to size."

"Because he’s so tall and you’re not?" Cosmo asked, causing Timmy and Wanda to burst into laughter while Manny growled, trying not to strangle the fairy.

"Anyway," Wanda waved her hand. "What kind of prank are you thinking?"

The two men sat around thinking, their eyes trailing around the room. Manny stopped, head snapping up and mouth dropping open when he caught sight of the empty cauldron Timmy used while he practiced potion making.

"¡Lo tengo!" Manny jumped from his chair in a hurry, almost knocking it down.

"What?" Timmy blinked with wide eyes.

"A potion!" Manny sent him a feral grin, picking up one of Timmy’s books and flipping through it quickly. "I’m gonna give him a potion!"

"Are you sure about that?" Wanda flew over cautiously. "Those never really turn out the way you expect. Plus, Timmy’s just started learning. What if it goes wrong?"

"It’ll be fine," Timmy waved her off, stepping over his slightly scorched rug to give Manny a grin. "It’ll be harmless, I swear."

"Ah, here we go," Manny stopped flipping and confidently pointed at the diagram on the page. It was a reddish-purple color in a heart-shaped vial. Messy scribbles and annotations all over the page. 

"A love potion."

"Why that one?" Cosmo tilted his head slightly. "Why not one that makes him sing instead of talk? Or one to change his hair color."

"First of all, I can just put dye in his shampoo or something," was Manny’s flippant response, "and second of all, think of how embarrassed he’ll be to see videos of him acting all lovey-dovey with me! He’ll melt out of pure embarrassment!"

While Manny cackled maniacally, Wanda pulled Timmy aside for a whispered conversation.

"Are you sure about this, Sport?" Her brows furrowed with wariness. "There’s a lot that can go wrong with that potion."

"It’ll be fine, Wanda," Timmy gave her a double thumbs up. "I’m really curious as to how this will go."

"Alright," she sighed, used to his impulsive behavior. "But don’t say I didn’t warn you."

"What’s the worse that can happen?"

~~~

"Ugh," Danny kicked the wall of his enclosure (aka, Jimmy’s lab that he liked to invade in his free time). "I’m so sick of him!"

Jimmy didn’t even have to ask who Danny was referring to. Instead, he kept his head down as he focused on soldering the leg onto the torso of Goddard’s new body. Using material laced with ectoplasm should make the robot dog much more sturdy when playing with Cujo and Sparky. 

"Uh huh," was Jimmy’s distracted reply.

"He’s so–so, I don’t even know!" Danny cried as he kicked the wall again. He didn’t care about the minor dents he was creating.

"That’s terrible," Jimmy mumbled. 

Danny glared over at the other, but knew when it was a lost cause and just sighed, lounging in the air with his tail wrapped around his torso.

"Next time I see him I’m just gonna–"

A knock on the door interrupted his grumbling. Jimmy’s lab was one of the only rooms in the whole building that people had to knock to be let in, although Danny and Dani (whenever she popped up) would just float through the door, leaving Jimmy annoyed at first, but he quickly grew numb to it.

"It’s me," came Manny’s muffled voice, causing Danny to groan and moan like the ghost he was.

"Come in," Jimmy responded, ignoring Danny’s betrayed glance.

Manny and Timmy walked in together, each carrying two cups.

"Hey," Timmy slightly nodded his head in greeting, while Manny seemed to be fighting down a grin that caused Danny’s eyes to narrow.

"We brought drinks."

Jimmy finally looked up from his work and pulled up his soldering mask, a brow raised.

"Why?"

The duo just shrugged, and alarm bells rang in Danny’s head.

"We told Jenny and SB that we’d all watch a movie tonight, and then Cosmo said that we can’t have a movie without drinks, so we decided to kill two ghosts with one blast–"

Danny growled at Manny’s smirk as he said that.

"And bring you guys your drinks and get you guys for the movie."

"I don’t know," Jimmy sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose while Manny wandered over to him, handing him his drink. "I’m pretty busy."

"Pftt," Timmy handed Danny the drink in his left hand while turning to face Jimmy, a mocking smirk on his face revealing his buckteeth. "I know you can finish that tomorrow, Big Brain. If you stay locked up in here for any longer, you’re gonna fuse with your computer."

"You say that like it’s a bad thing," Jimmy grumbled, but noticeably stood from his seat, his back cracking while he did so.

"We already have Jenny, and there’s no way you’d be a better robot than her," Danny joked while taking a sip of his drink. His face immediately scrunched up in disgust. "Ugh, what in the Infinite Realms is this?"

As he said that, he felt a heat building up in his chest, causing him to drop his drink and clutch at his hazmat suit.

"Danny?!" He heard Jimmy shout in alarm. The ghost unknowingly shifted back into his human form, his green-flushed face now turned a deep pink.

"What the hell was in that drink?!" Jimmy’s shouting was just audible over the harsh beating of Danny’s heart echoing in his ears.

"It’s just a love potion!" He vaguely heard Manny yelling back, his voice growing manic the more he spoke. "It’s supposed to be harmless!"

‘Love potion?’ Danny thought to himself as the pain slowly went away. He was still breathing heavily, clutching tightly at his t-shirt over his heart. ‘Don’t they know…’

"It was just a prank!" Timmy cried out. "A prank!"

‘Prank?’

Danny slowly calmed down, his breathing returning to normal as he heard a set of frantic footsteps coming down the hall.

"What happened?" He heard Jenny’s robotic voice ring out.

He could hear SpongeBob’s high-pitched, "oh my stars!" as he slowly lifted himself off the ground.

"Danny…?" Manny was hesitant, his eyes full of remorse as they all took in Danny’s head slowly rising. "Are you okay?"

None of them were prepared when they saw his beaming face, his eyes glowing a poisonous green.

"Darling!"

Danny sprang forward, arms encircling Manny like a Venus flytrap. He nuzzled his face into the crook of the shorter man’s thick neck, rubbing his smooth cheeks against Manny’s stubble. 

"Oh, my Kitty, I missed you so much," Danny cooed as he squeezed Manny tightly, causing the man to squeak.

"What…" Jenny watched in astonishment, her mouth dropped open as her processors whirled as she took in the scene.

"It…it worked?" Timmy himself sounded surprised that it did. "It worked! Hah, I did it!"

As he celebrated, he felt a hand harshly grab his shoulder, causing him to gulp.

"Turner…" Jimmy growled.

"It was Manny’s idea!" Timmy pointed at the still shell-shocked Manny, who was slowly starting to grin viciously.

"¡Hostia puta!" Manny shouted, laughter on the edge of his voice. "Are you seeing this?"

His laughter was swiftly cut off by Danny, who was clutching at his neck, causing him to start sputtering and choking.

"I’m so glad you’re here now, my love!" Danny crowed, arms wrapped snugly around Manny’s neck despite him having to lean down to reach.

Timmy burst into laughter, either at Danny’s dramatics or at the way Manny’s face was turning blue. He whipped out his phone and started recording, even though Jimmy was glaring at the back of his head.

"Relax, it’ll be fine!" Timmy reassured his unimpressed teammates. "I can whip up a cure at any point."

"Not–" Manny finally unlatched Danny from his neck, allowing himself to take deep breaths, "not until I get my blackmail."

Jenny sighed as she left the room, SpongeBob on her shoulder, watching all of this with a slightly confused expression. 

"Men," she grumbled to herself.

"How long do you plan to keep him like this?" Jimmy asked suspiciously, watching as Danny cupped Manny’s cheeks and nuzzled their noses together with a love-sick expression.

"Not for long," Manny said, trying to turn his head toward him but failing due to Danny’s hands. "Just enough to get some good videos."

"Right," Jimmy sighed, thoroughly done with the situation. "Then I’m leaving. I’m going to go talk to Jenny, someone with actual brains on this team."

"Aww, come on. It’s not that bad," Timmy tried reasoning with him as he put his phone away. The two started bickering as they left the room, the door automatically shutting behind them and leaving Danny and Manny to themselves.

"Now," Manny leered at the beguiled Danny. "What to do with you."

"We should go watch that movie," Danny said, leaning in close enough to Manny that he felt his face start to flush. "And then, when no one’s looking we can–"

"Danny!" Manny hissed, one of his large hands covering Danny’s mouth. It covered the bottom half of his face, and he could feel Danny’s breath ghosting his fingers under his nose.

He shuddered.

"Let’s just go," Manny refused to admit defeat, however, and started marching to the door with Danny in his arms. His legs wrapped around his waist as his arms wrapped around his shoulders, face hidden in Manny’s neck.

Since his face was hidden, no one could see the wicked smile painted on his face.

‘Let’s see how long you can last.’

~~~

Manny woke up slowly, moving around slightly, only to feel something in bed with him lying on his bare chest.

‘Wha–?’ He blinked his eyes open with a soft snuffle. Looking down, he almost had a heart attack when he stared right into bright blue eyes.

"Fuck!" Manny startled, rolling over and falling to the floor with a heavy thump. He lay flat on his back for a moment, groaning in pain due to hitting his elbow on the way down.

"Morning, Katido," Danny called out, looking over the edge of the bed to send Manny a smile.

"Why the hell are you here?" Manny finally sat up with a grumble, rubbing his back.

"I couldn’t stand not being near you for a whole night," was the ghost’s breathy explanation.

"Right," Manny sighed, standing up with a wince. "Well, that’s one way to wake up, I guess…"

Danny just sent him a beaming grin, not looking the least bit apologetic. 

"Well, you can go now. I have to change."

Manny crossed the room to gesture toward the door, but Danny just rolled onto his side, his hand placed on the crest of his hip in a way that seemed as if it were supposed to be seductive. And, unfortunately for Manny, it was. The ghost licked his lips, his eyes going half-lidded and dark with an emotion Manny didn’t want to think about.

"Are you sure you want me to leave for that?"

Manny’s entire face went beet red, his mouth dropping open in a gasp as he stared at Danny in shock.

He immediately started sputtering. "¿Qué demonios estás diciendo?! No! No, I don’t want you to–to–?!"

Danny slowly trailed his hand from his hip to the waistband of his sweats–which Manny noted with increasing frenzy, sat so low–his white tank-top lifted enough as to not impede his fingers. He ever so slowly tucked his finger under the elastic and rolled it down an inch or two, revealing the sharp jut of his hip bone.

His skin was so pale. So soft looking. Manny felt an inexplicable urge to take a bite–

"Are you sure, mia amo?" He purred in a way that almost had Manny second-guessing himself.

"Sweet mother Maria,” Manny whimpered pathetically, tanned skin burning bright pink. “GET OUT!" He shouted, pointing at the door vigorously.

Danny pouted, removing his hand from his pants while he finally got off the bed.

"You’re so mean to me," he whined, gliding his fingertips across Manny’s naked chest and collarbone on his way out. "I’ll be waiting for you, Amanto," he whispered huskily as the door closed in his face.

Manny was left standing there, gaping with his face feeling on fire.

"¿Qué carajo fue eso?" was all he could get out in a whisper, stuck frozen staring at the door until his vision went blurry. He finally shook himself out of it after what felt like forever, but was more likely just a few minutes.

"I can’t believe that was the first time I’ve had somebody in my bed," he grumbled to himself as he got dressed for the day. "My Papi would be so disappointed." Especially disappointed that he was standing there alone instead of still in bed, his hands and mouth occupied.

He continued grumbling to himself as he left the room, straightening and fidgeting with his bandana as he made his way to the kitchen. He hoped that it was SB making breakfast, as he didn’t trust anyone else’s cooking.

He could smell something delicious, so he assumed their oldest teammate was on the stove. But when he stepped into the shared space, he was surprised to see Danny cooking instead.

"What are you doing?" Manny hesitantly wandered toward the sounds of sizzling. Peeking his head around Danny, he saw that the man was making heart-shaped pancakes.

"I’m making you breakfast," Danny said, giving Manny a bright grin and causing Manny to chuckle. But internally, he grimaced as he realized that Danny never seemed to smile like that at him before.

"But…" Manny took a seat at the countertop on one of the stools, taking great care to watch over Danny’s cooking like a hawk. He’d never forget the only time they let Danny cook back in their early days as a team, and the man somehow brought the steaks back to life.

It was a dark day, and Manny still couldn’t look at cows the same way.

"But since when did you know how to cook?" was what Manny settled on. The pancakes looked surprisingly edible, even smelling good, which had to be a sign of the apocalypse. 

But then Danny turned to him with a gentle grin, his eyes surprisingly genuine in a way that made Manny’s chest go a little tight. Why did he feel like this? He should be laughing at Danny’s actions, not feeling mushy.

"Jazz and I started learning how to cook together. She said that she wants to know how to cook so that she can teach her kids in the future."

As Danny looked back down at his pancakes to make sure they weren’t burning, he was oblivious to the small smile that grew on Manny’s face.

"That’s actually pretty sweet."

They stayed in a surprisingly comfortable silence as Danny finished making the stack of pancakes. Plating a large pile onto a plate, he set it down in front of Manny with a fork and knife.

"Thanks," Manny said enthusiastically, then blushed ferociously when Danny gave him a peck on the cheek in reply.

"Dig in," Danny encouraged, watching Manny eat with a deep stare.

Taking a large bite, Manny froze at the overwhelming explosion of sweetness.

‘How much sugar did he add?!?’

"Do you like it?" Danny asked sweetly, his eyes widened innocently.

It took everything for Manny not to spit it out. Instead, he reluctantly kept chewing until he could force it down with a swallow.

"It’s…"

He was about to say something insulting, as he usually did, but it was hard to say anything negative in the face of such pure anticipation.

"Great," he sighed, slumping a little in defeat.

Danny lit up, almost literally, and stood with a flourish.

"Great!" He clapped his hands. "I have enough batter for another stack!"

"Great…" 

‘Sálvame a mí, Mamá.’

~~~

Danny snickered as he floated down the hallway behind Manny.

‘Another day, another slay,’ he thought to himself. It’d already been a week of being "under a spell," and Manny was no closer to giving up on his prank. Danny tried everything, from invading his personal space to completely ridiculous pet names.

He’d even spoken about their wedding!

‘I’ll get him to crack eventually,’ Danny thought as he watched Manny speed walk down the hallway, trying to ignore Danny’s "love-sick" expression behind him. ‘I will make him feel so fucking loved that he’ll be sick of it.’

"My love," Danny sighed dramatically, zipping in front of Manny and forcing the man to stop in his tracks, lest he walk right through the ghost. "Why are you ignoring me," he whined. "Is it something I did?"

"No," Manny tried to smirk, but it came out more as a grimace. Danny can feel him cracking; he was sure it’d happen any day now. No more surprise cuddling in bed, no more eating every single meal together (though Danny only cooked breakfast, he wasn’t that much of an asshole to fuck up everything Manny ate. Only once per day), no more wrapping his arms tightly around Manny’s neck with his tail curled comfortably around his waist…

‘Wait, what am I thinking?’ Danny blinked in shock at his own thoughts, almost missing Manny’s words.

"It’s nothing, I think I just need some time alone."

Typically, Danny would refuse and start some dramatic speech about refusing to be away from his "one true love" for more than a few minutes at a time, but with Danny’s thoughts all jumbled and confused, all he could do was blink dumbly and say, "Okay."

Manny also blinked, though his was more in surprise.

"Okay?"

Realizing what he said, Danny shook his head to clear his thoughts for a moment.

"I mean," he gave Manny a pouty look. "If that’s what you really want. But if I don’t see you in the next hour, I’ll come find you!"

Manny’s face split in a bright smile, causing Danny’s core to flicker in his chest.

"Alright!" He cheered before clearing his throat pointedly. "I mean, of course I’ll see you, Marshmallow. You can’t get rid of me for long."

"Marshmallow?" Danny couldn’t stop the incredulity in his voice.

But Manny just smirked, feeling like he won. "Yeah. Because of the Staypuff Marshmallow Man in–"

Danny huffed, seeing where that was headed.

"I am not a marshmallow!" Danny glared at Manny before turning away with a loud ‘hmpf!’

"Whatever you say, Marshmallow!" Manny cackled, the sound echoing off the metal walls as Danny flew further away.

‘Unbelievable,’ Danny flew heatedly through the base, before deciding that he needed air (not that he had to breathe at the moment) and flew up.

And up.

And up.

Until eventually, he was floating in the exosphere. Above the clouds, above the sky, above the cause of his racing thoughts.

It was peaceful up there—just him and the vacuum of space, nothing obscuring his view of the stars.

The stars in this dimension were different from those in his home world. Different constellations painted the night sky, and here, Danny could see all the different placements clearly.

Here, he didn’t have to worry about that hot-headed, stubborn, mischievous, no-good, rugged, unfairly buff, handsome…

‘What am I thinking?!?’ He slapped his cheeks, glaring at nothing. ‘Has this prank made me lose my mind?!’

Danny could reluctantly admit that Manny had always been attractive. Sue him, the man was built like a fridge and could carry Danny’s taller frame on one shoulder. How could he not think that’s attractive?!

‘But he’s such an asshole!’ He tried to reason with himself.

‘Yeah, but so are we,’ came a whisper in the back of his head.

‘But we butt heads all the time!’

‘Don’t you like that though? Wasn’t that why you liked Sam? Val? Dash?’

He couldn’t lie: he did like that about them. Even Dash, once he became less of a bully and more of your typical rowdy jock. 

‘Okay, you got me there. But, but…’

‘Why can’t you like him?’ His subconscious had to be tormenting him with that question.

‘Because he’s him!’

‘So?’

‘And he’s…’

‘Just admit it,’ his brain started replaying the moments they’d shared together in his mind. ‘You like him.’

‘No…’ He tried denying it, but he could tell his arguments were getting weaker. ‘No, I can’t.’

Visions of the past filled his vision, obscuring his beloved stars with memories he tried to push down.

Loud arguments over nothing that Danny kept going just to see the way Manny got all red and bothered, shared glances of boredom during Jimmy’s post-mission ranting, their banter during said missions that sometimes had Danny pausing mid-attack just to laugh.

This past week full of close touches and such easier affection than Danny anticipated.

‘Oh…’

‘Yeah, oh.’

He grumbled, but his heart wasn’t in it. No, his heart was somewhere else.

With someone else.

~~~

For the past couple of days, Manny felt like something’s been off. He couldn’t quite tell what it was, but there was just something that kept pinging the back of his mind.

"What are you thinking about?"

Looking over at Danny, Manny thought it had something to do with him. The ghost had been acting as lovey-dovey as he had been in the almost two weeks since the start of his prank (although it’s been feeling less and less like a prank every day), but there was something weird about it now.

It was as if that first week was due to the potion’s potency, and over time, it lost some of its strength. In the beginning, he was bright and bubbly and overwhelming. But now? Now, it was like he’d gone back to his normal self, except if his normal self was in love with Manny.

‘I kinda…’ Danny had an openly curious face, his blue eyes glowing slightly in the dark room as the light of the TV illuminated his features. ‘Like it like this.’

"Nothing," Manny resettled under the blanket. Danny had whisked him away from the rest of the team right when dinner ended (much to everyone else’s dry amusement) for a private movie night in Danny’s room.

Manny hadn’t really seen much of it before this, as he’d never really needed to, what with most of their interactions beginning and ending with instigating one another until they started to tussle.

The room was filled with space memorabilia—rocketships and star maps and constellations. The top of the room was a night sky Danny made using his "Ancient of Space" powers, whatever that meant. 

Maybe he should start asking him about his powers.

"I’m just thinking about the movie."

He looked back at the screen, watching as the two main characters started arguing in the rain. He didn’t even know what it was called; it was just the first thing they saw when they turned on the "Interdimensional Cable," as Jimmy called it when he set it up.

"Really? Because you look like you’re thinking deeply about something, and I don’t think your tiny brain can handle that," Danny joked, tone light and affectionate instead of the usual arrogant and smug he’d get when taunting Manny.

And usually, Manny would snap back with a quip or insult. But…

"I just…I’m happy."

Looking into Danny’s TV-lit eyes, Manny felt unusually sentimental.

The other softened, his smile fond as he said,

"Yeah. Me too."

Thump. Thump.

Manny felt his heart skip, before it started beating rapidly in his chest.

‘What is this?’ He thought as Danny changed the channel once the movie ended. ‘What was that?’ He flipped through at a rapid pace, going from one alien-looking show to the next until Manny perked up when he heard familiar instrumentals.

"Hey, I know this song!"

He turned and saw what looked to be old footage from a concert, a smiling dark-haired woman with bright red lips front and center.

"What is it?" Danny looked as she took a deep breath, before she started singing.

"No me queda más."

"Come on, get up," Manny slipped from under the blanket, jumping to his feet and holding out his hand to the surprised ghost. "You can’t not dance to this song."

Danny had a confused smile on his face, but didn’t hesitate to take Manny’s hand like he would have before. Since Danny was taller, he had one hand grasped tightly in Manny’s and the other on his shoulder, while Manny set his free hand on Danny’s thinner waist.

The music continued playing, trumpets mixing with the piano and other instruments as perfect backup music for her romantic singing.

"Porque esto sí fue amor," Manny sang softly under his breath, keeping his eyes locked with Danny’s intense gaze as they slow danced.

"What does it mean?" Danny whispered back, voice so indulgent that Manny squeezed his shoulder in hopes that Danny wouldn’t notice the way his cheeks were flushed.

"It’s a song about lost love and bittersweet memories," Manny answered. They whispered to each other, the atmosphere preventing them from raising their voices even if they wanted to.

The room was dark with the TV providing the only source of light. Her voice carried them through their dance, as if a private concert just for them.

"It is longing," Manny continued, melancholy filling his usually fiery voice. "And heartache. My Mamá would play this song a lot right after she left my Papi. I could hear her crying in her room whenever I visited. I hate it when she cries."

Danny didn’t say anything, only giving their locked hands a slight pressure before laying his cheek on Manny’s head. The two of them stayed like that for a while, just swaying together even after the song ended, and it went to commercial.

There was no need to exchange words for once–it was just them existing in the moment.

But there was an understanding that wasn’t there before. A shared feeling growing beneath the surface that only the stars shining above them were to witness.

~~~

Danny was walking (for once) down the hallway with Jimmy on the way to the scientist’s lab, the two in a deep discussion regarding one of their new experiments on ectoplasm, when they heard two indistinct voices around the corner.

Once Danny heard the tense voice of Manny, he slammed his back against the wall, his hand placed firmly on Jimmy’s chest, who grunted unhappily as the ghost turned them both invisible to peek his head around the corner.

"Come on, it was your idea," Timmy groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly as Manny stood before him, his arms crossed pointedly in front of his chest.

"Yeah and I thought it’d be a funny prank. But it’s not anymore, so I need you to make an antidote."

‘Finally,’ Danny thought, his lips twitching upward for a moment, before realizing that meant he couldn’t get away with acting all romantic anymore. At least, not without a conversation with feelings, and he was not ready for that.

"Oh, and it’s just now not funny?" Timmy raised a brow.

"Yes," Manny hissed, reminiscent of his feline alter-ego. "It was funny at first but now it just feels…weird."

"Weird?" Timmy looked as if Manny were dumb, which was rude considering that just a couple of days ago, Timmy had asked what the English word for eggplant was. 

"Weird how, Sport?" Wanda asked as she and Cosmo poofed into existence, leaving Timmy’s beanie.

"I don’t know," Manny threw his hands in the air. "Just, like, weird. He used to piss me off to no end–and okay, he still kinda does sometimes, but it’s different now. It’s like everything I feel is heightened around him and I want it to stop."

Danny didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. On one hand, that sounded like Manny also had feelings for him. But on the other hand, the man was obviously oblivious to the nature of what he felt and didn’t like them.

He settled for gripping the front of Jimmy’s shirt, who had just resigned himself.

"That sounds like–!" Cosmo started talking with a wide grin before Wanda slapped her hand over his mouth. When her husband looked at her in confusion, she just smiled lightly and mouthed ‘I’ll tell you later.’

"Fine," Timmy sighed. "But it’ll take a bit."

Manny grinned and clapped his friend on the shoulder.

"Thanks, man! I’ll owe you for this."

"You owe me for this prank anyway," Timmy grumbled lightheartedly. 

The two parted ways, with Manny wandering off in the direction of the living room with a wave of his arm. Timmy just stood still for a moment before sighing and shaking his head.

"I told you this was a bad idea," Wanda reminded Timmy.

"It’s because he chose a love potion of all things," he tried to argue.

"Well, now you gotta make the antidote," Cosmo said.

Danny decided that now it was his time to reveal himself.

"That won’t be necessary," he said, removing his and Jimmy’s invisibility as he pulled his fellow teammate out from the corner. The two youngest looked surprised at Danny’s words, Timmy especially as he hadn’t realized the two were even there.

"What do you mean?" Jimmy asked.

"I mean that I don’t need an antidote because I wasn’t under any spell in the first place," Danny revealed with a sharp-toothed grin. Even in his human form, his teeth looked sharper than they should.

"What?!" The small group had varying reactions. Timmy and Cosmo looked shocked, with dropped jaws, while Wanda and Jimmy had more held-back yet no less surprised expressions.

"How?! I swear I made that potion perfectly," Timmy wanted to grab Danny by the shoulders and shake aggressively.

"Mind-related spells don’t affect me anymore since ascending as king," Danny felt smug as he revealed that tidbit. "No mind control, no love potions."

"Damn," Timmy breathed out in jealousy, a victim of mind control multiple times.

"So what have you been doing the past few weeks?" Jimmy calmed down, his voice going more incredulous.

"I’ve been faking," the ghost revealed. "At first it was because I wanted to prank Manny back. Didn’t you notice all the subtle ways I was fucking with him?"

"So that’s what you were doing," Jimmy looked enlightened. "All those tight squeezes."

Danny just nodded as Timmy finally realized the situation.

"Oh man, that’s actually way funnier than Manny’s prank," he snickered, before blinking as he registered the rest of the sentence. "Wait, ‘at first’? Not now?"

Jimmy looked as if he sucked a lemon, no doubt not liking the way it was Timmy who pointed that out and not him. Oh well, not Timmy’s problem.

"Yeah," the ghost sighed into his palm. "Now…I had some certain realizations."

"What, that you’re in love with him?" Jimmy asked mercilessly, earning a dirty glower. 

"Thank you, boy genius," Danny spoke through gritted teeth," for pointing out the obvious."

"Well, at least you’re not the last to figure it out," Timmy tried comforting him, though the smirk on his face killed the intention. "Your lover-boy is more oblivious than you were."

"Wait, Danny’s in love with Manny?" Cosmo sounded so confused, causing Wanda to pat him gently on the back.

"See, you’re not the last to figure it out," Wanda said, only earning another glare from Danny.

"Anyway, enough about my observational skills. Now, I have a plan to make Manny confront his own feelings." Danny rubbed his hands together in a way that was too in line with Vlad, causing him to drop them immediately. "Because if I’m cursed with the knowledge of my feelings, then he should be too."

"How romantic," Jimmy muttered.

"What did you have in mind?" Timmy tilted his head, only to narrow his eyes in wariness at Danny’s expectant smirk.

"Well…"

.

.

.

"You want me to do what?"

Jenny’s mechanical voice was a mix of disbelief and intrigue. And maybe some annoyance for good measure.

"Pretend to flirt with Danny while he pretends to be under the influence of a love potion," Timmy explained. "It’s his plan to make Manny jealous."

"So, he wasn’t under the influence of a potion the first time?" SpongeBob asked as he leaned around Jenny’s much bigger frame to gasp dramatically in Danny’s direction.

"Nope," Danny confirmed. The team, minus Manny, were gathered in the meeting room; all sitting in their respective chairs around the circular table. As such, Danny was subjected to the full frontal force of Jenny’s disappointed stare.

"Look, you’re the only one who can do this. Timmy and Jimmy are too busy eye-fucking–"

"Hey!" "Not cool, Fenton!"

"—for it to be believable, and I’m sorry, SB, but you’re a little too old for me."

"None taken," SpongeBob giggled. 

"Pleeease, Jenny?" Danny sent puppy-dog eyes toward Jenny. "I’ll put in a good word for you with Ellie if you do."

That had Jenny rolling her eyes, but her embarrassed smile had Danny brightening.

"Fine. But you better hype me up with her, Danny!"

"Deal," the two shook hands, her cold metal meeting Danny’s cold skin.

"Isn’t this a little mean, though?" SpongeBob sounded hesitant. "That we’re all conspiring against Manny like this?"

"It’s for a good cause, though," Timmy argued.

"Yeah," Danny nodded in agreement.

"Love–" "–Ending their flirting."

"We were not flirting!" Danny’s cheeks flushed.

"You weren’t?" Jimmy piped up from where he was fiddling with a Rubik's cube. "I thought you were doing that thing Cindy used to do to me as kids. You know, the pigtail pulling and all that?"

Wanda had to put her hand on Danny’s head to stop him from leaping over the table.

~~~

‘This is for the best,’ Manny found himself reassuring his subconscious as he knocked on Timmy’s door a day after he asked for the antidote. He had to run back to his home dimension for the night at his Papi’s request for a family dinner.

Now, he refused to admit the way he was rocking a bit as the door opened to reveal a casual-looking Timmy chilling on his phone in his bed. The room looked as if a tornado had blown through, but Manny wasn’t too concerned about that as his eyes narrowed in on the glass potion bottle sitting innocently on the night stand.

"Is that it?" He immediately burst out.

"Yep," Timmy popped his lips at the ‘P,’ his eyes focused on whatever mobile game that had caught his attention.

"Great," Manny cheered as he grabbed the bottle in his large hands. "Thanks, Timmy!"

"Wait," Timmy sighed, groaning slightly as he finally turned off his phone and stood. "I should come with you to make sure nothing goes wrong."

"If you say so," Manny didn’t give it much thought as he went out to find Danny.

‘This is for the best,’ he repeated as he finally found the other man. He was in his ghost form floating above Jenny’s head, the two in the middle of a conversation. Seeing Danny and Jenny so close like that had another one of those weird feelings grow in his chest. 

‘This is for the best…right?’

"Hey, Danny?"

The ghost looked over at him and immediately smiled, his eyes crinkling at the edges that made Manny’s chest ache even more.

"Manny!"

He flew over at him and wrapped his body around Manny’s in a tight hug. Tail around his waist and arms around his neck in what had become a familiar position.

"Hey," Danny leaned back to look Manny in the eye.

"Hey," his closed throat wouldn’t let him do more than whisper.

"What’s up?"

‘Come on, you can do this. Ser hombre, Manny.’

"I need you to drink this," he lifted the sealed bottle from his side and placed it in Danny’s waiting hands.

"What is it?" Danny looked at it in suspicion. Manny couldn’t exactly blame him for that, though, so he just looked at Danny innocently (or as much as he could).

"It’s a potion to turn you back to normal."

"But I feel normal?"

Manny’s chest felt another pang, so he just patted Danny’s hands and pried the ghost off of him, stepping back with two thumbs up raised.

"Please, just drink it."

He thought it’d take more than that, but Danny seemed weirdly receptive and just nodded with a sigh, popping the cork in the silence of the room and throwing it back like a shot under everyone's careful eyes.

It didn’t take long for him to double over again, with Manny and Jenny rushing over to settle their hands on Danny’s back and utter reassurances (or, at least Manny was. Jenny just looked between the two with pursed lips.)

As Danny blew out air he didn’t need, he slowly lifted his head up, his eyes catching Jenny first thing (and why did that cause more pain in Manny’s chest?) with blown-wide pupils.

"Jenny," Danny’s voice was as breathy as it was during his first week of love-sickness. He jumped forward into Jenny’s arms, rubbing and nuzzling his face into Jenny’s cold metal. "My love!"

"Timmy!" Manny roared as he stumbled back, feeling angrier than he had in a long time. "What is this?!"

"Uhh," Timmy held his hands up in surrender, retreating hastily at Manny’s thunderous approach. "Whoops?"

"Whoops?! Danny’s head over heels for Jenny and all you have to say is ‘Whoops’?!" Manny could barely recognize his voice. His eyes flickered back toward the way Danny held onto Jenny so lovingly, and it made everything in him burn all the more.

"Hey, look, I told you that I haven’t done this before, man!" Timmy yelped as he dodged Manny’s grab. "I said there could be problems!"

"¡Oh, te mostraré problemas!" Manny chased Timmy around the room, ignoring the way his eyes burned at the sight of Danny and Jenny so close together, until he ran into a large baseball glove.

"Enough!" He saw Wanda’s glowing wand and heard her shout before he saw her furrowed brows and downturned lips. "Manny, stop chasing Timmy! Timmy, how soon can you make a new antidote?"

"Well, I’m gonna have to read through the book again to see what I got wrong," he tugged at the end of his beanie in thought. "Then I’ll have to test it and…"

"And?" Manny asked impatiently. 

"I say another week…?" Timmy looked sheepish.

"A week?!" Manny threw his hands out toward where Danny was whispering what Manny could only assume were sweet nothings into Jenny’s hearing inputs. "You mean I have to deal with that for a week?!"

"Hey, we all had to deal with it when it was you and him!" Timmy argued back. "Why is this any different?!"

"Because–" ‘because I enjoyed it when it was me,’ he wanted to say, but his voice died before it could. Timmy seemed to understand what he was trying to say anyway, so he just moved on with an unknown look in his eyes.

"Look, okay. It won’t be that bad."

They looked over and saw Danny lifting one of Jenny’s hands and pressing kisses to her knuckles.

Manny just grit his teeth as Timmy patted him on the back.

"That’s rough, Buddy."

"GO MAKE THE ANTIDOTE!"

~~~

Day one:

Manny walked into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and only feeling slightly confused at the fact that there wasn’t a ghost in his bed that he had to kick out (which he had done so every morning, his annoyance dwindling as the days went on).

Only to see Danny lovingly holding up a spoon of motor oil to Jenny’s closed mouth.

"Come on, mia roboto. You love this brand," his smile was mushy as he brought the spoon closer, only for her to roll her eyes and eventually open her mouth.

Manny just spun on his heel and decided to come back later.

Day two:

"Watch out!"

From where Manny was hunched over, catching his breath with his hands on his knees off to the side of the battle, he looked up just in time to see Jenny shoot a rocket at one of the lizard-hybrids they were called to fight.

Danny, who was about to get jumped by the lizard, startled before shooting Jenny a brilliant smile.

"Thanks!" He flew toward her to grab her hand and give it a squeeze.

"Guys!" Timmy shouted from across the way, unintentionally causing Manny to stop grinding his teeth. "Less flirting, more fighting!"

Danny just laughed while Jenny sighed fondly.

If anyone noticed Manny’s renewed vigor and dramatic increase in violence after the fact, then no one said anything.

Day three:

Manny had gone back home for the day to spend some time with his Mamá. It had nothing to do with the way Jenny and Danny were looking at each other at last night’s post-mission movie night.

No, of course not. 

When his Mamá asked him what got him so upset, he burst into a frantic, rambly mess of jumbled words and half-growled threats.

"It’s sickening, Mamá," he clenched his fists tightly, almost drawing blood. "I can’t stand to look at them and I don’t know why."

His Mamá just smiled at him in the way she typically did, as if she knew something that he didn’t.

"What?" He looked at her in confusion. "What is it?"

"Actúas igual que tu padre," she giggled into her palm. "My silly boy."

Manny turned red.

"Mamá," he whined. He didn’t know what she meant, but he’d learned over the years that it was better not to ask.

"Don’t worry, mijo," she kissed his forehead. "You’ll find out eventually."

Day four:

.

.

.

"Are you alright, Manny?"

The Taki in Manny’s mouth snapped in half from his aggressive teeth-clench as he narrowly held back a growl. 

"Just…" A harsh exhale burst from his nose as he forced himself to look away from the overly-close duo in the corner. Jenny was smiling at Danny exasperated but no less encouragingly while the ghost sat himself in her lap, his arms flailing around in excitement as he talked about whatever. "…Fine."

Jimmy didn’t look impressed at his lack-luster response.

‘That should be my lap he’s sitting in,’ Manny’s subconscious hissed at him. ‘The way he has been for the past month.’

’Wait, why do I care?’ He stopped at the louder, more conscious thought. ‘Isn’t this what I wanted?’

"Manny?"

He blinked as Jimmy looked properly concerned now, actually putting down his experiment for once.

"Are you sure you’re alright?"

Manny wanted to tell him that he was perfectly okay, perfectly fine, perfectly perfect, actually. But when he saw Jenny and Danny giggling to each other out of the corner of his eye, looking for all the world like a perfect couple, what came out of his mouth shocked the both of them.

"Can we talk, just the two of us, somewhere else?"

Jimmy blinked a few times as he hesitantly stood from his seat, dusting off his hands.

"Uh, sure. Let’s go to my lab."

The two went unnoticed as they left the room, Manny taking one last lingering look at the love-birds in the corner, before he quickly stomped away.

"So…" Jimmy scratched the back of his hand awkwardly, unused to emotional conversations (other than that one time with–) "What’s up?"

As they walked into Jimmy’s lab, the scientists immediately took a seat while Manny placed his hands against the wall and started banging his head.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," he muttered, "¿Qué carajo me pasa?"

Jimmy sighed.

"It’s Fenton, right?"

Manny stopped hitting his head, leaving it to hang. His burning eyes stared harshly at the ground, blinking back the tears.

"I don’t know what’s wrong with me," he admitted. "Every time I see them I just want to scream and claw their eyes out."

Jimmy hummed, relaxing into his chair. 

"Are you jealous?"

Manny’s head snapped up, his eyes wide as he shouted a hasty "no!"

The scientist just gave him a deadpan look.

"I’m not," Manny waved his hands as if trying to prove a point. "I can’t be! What would I be jealous of?"

"Let’s see," Jimmy leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest as he held up his fingers. 

"For one, your immediate first thought at pranking Fenton was giving him a love potion, of all things, which should have been your first sign—"

"It was a funny idea!"

"To you and no one else. Number two," a second finger joined the first. "You spent most of the time he was under a spell curled around each other like a pair of mated swans."

Manny sputtered as if trying to deny it, but Jimmy ignored him. 

"And even though you said it was for blackmail material, I barely saw you take any pictures or videos after the first two days."

"Becuase I realized I can just get the security footage!" The blushing man tried to argue.

"Hm," Jimmy sounded doubtful. "Right…"

"Third, you asked Timmy to give him the antidote because you, and I quote, ‘felt weird’ about it."

"How do you even know that?!"

"I have my sources. Fourth, you keep glaring at Jenny and Danny as if they just slapped your mother and called you a slur."

Manny had nothing to say to that, only crossing his arms and glaring at the wall.

Jimmy, seeing this, put down his fingers and sighed.

"What do you want, Manny? Why come to me at all?"

"I…" 

‘Don’t look at me like that,’ Manny thought desperately as he gazed into Jimmy’s probing, knowing eyes. Everyone around him seemed to be looking at him like that, as if he were the last to know about something obvious.

’Did everyone know about Jenny and Danny before this?’ For some reason, he felt inexplicably angry at the thought. Not at being left out, but for something else.

Something deeper.

"I…I don’t know. I just…" He ran a hand through his untamed hair. "I know that I’m feeling things but I don’t know what they are."

"Describe them."

He made a face, but did as the scientist asked.

"It’s like—like whenever I see Danny he just makes me so irrationally pissed off and I can’t help but want to watch his smug little face crumble but only I can do that. I hate it when anyone else gets him ticked off because I’m the one who’s supposed to do that. I hate how he looks at anyone who isn’t me and I hate that he’s looking at Jenny when he should be looking at me!"

His ragged breathing filled the cold, sterile lab. Jimmy sat there, mouth hung open in shock at Manny’s outburst, who started turning more red by the second.

"I mean—that’s not—" He pulled the bandanna out of his hair to cover his face, groaning into it. "I told you I didn’t know."

"It sounds like you do," was all Jimmy could say.

’You know exactly what that sounds like,’ a voice that sounded suspiciously like Frida chirped in his head. ‘Jelly to the max!’

"I can’t do this."

"What do you mean ‘you can’t do this?’" But Manny was already marching toward the door. "Manny?"

The tiger-themed hero stomped through the halls, his face entirely flushed as he narrowly avoided running into anyone else.

’I can’t do this. Not like this. Not when he’s looking at her.’

.

.

.

Manny spent days five and six in his room.

~~~

Day seven dawned bright and early, the morning birds singing their gentle songs to the rising sun.

Manny left his room looking worse than when he went in. His hair was a tangled mess that he tried to rectify by running his fingers through it, but they just got caught on his curls. His eyes were slightly bloodshot with vague bags beneath them.

So when Timmy saw him shuffle into the living room, he raised a brow and said, "you look like shit."

Manny snorted without any humor.

"Thanks."

The younger man watched him stumble to the couch and slump down heavily, his face hidden in the cushions.

Cosmo and Wanda appeared in a poof, their faces drawn with concern.

"Are you alright, Sport?" 

"Fine," they heard muffled from the cushion. "Please tell me you have the antidote."

Timmy shared a look with his fairies, but answered as casually as he could.

"Yep. It should work…hopefully."

That caused Manny to sit up, his face brightening a bit.

"Gracias a Dios," he sighed heavily.

"I’ll go grab it. Why don’t you go find Danny?" Timmy suggested as he stood.

"Alright."

They separated; Timmy (along with his ever faithful companions) going in the direction of his room while Manny decided to wander around until he stumbled upon Danny.

The hero found his target in the training room, then gritted his teeth once he realized that Jenny was with him, lovingly wrapping the ghost’s knuckles.

He didn’t even notice SpongeBob in the room as well until the man spoke to Manny, startling him.

"Hey, Manny!" The oldest member of their team was as cheerful as ever. "Is everything okay?"

Manny blinked harshly then cleared his throat.

"Yeah, SB. I just…needed Danny for something."

That had Jenny and Danny break out of whatever weird lovey-dovey thing they had going on (that Manny was not jealous of, no matter what inner Frida said). The two stood and made their way toward the awkwardly-standing man at the door.

"What’s up?" Danny’s voice was casual, a tad dismissive. 

Similar to how it had been before the whole potion in the first place.

"Just follow me," was all Manny could get out before turning tail. "Everyone else can come too, I guess."

He didn’t know if it was better or worse when all three followed him. His guilt toward Jenny was overshadowed by the crawling feeling beneath his skin when he’s around the two of them.

When they made it back to the living room, Timmy was already there with Jimmy right behind. The two looked deep in conversation, hands and shoulders brushing subconsciously.

"Found him," Manny interrupted, causing the two youngest to break apart.

"Nice," Timmy hummed, then held out a glass vial that looked similar to the one from last week. "Danny, come drink this."

Danny curled himself around Jenny, his arms wrapped around her shoulders, though a little awkwardly considering her additional height.

"Why?" His eyes narrowed in suspicion.

’Why was it so easy for him to accept it from me but not Timmy?’ Manny thought as he watched the scene.

’Because he was in love with you,’ a voice hissed. Manny ignored it and the aching feeling it brought up.

"Please?" Jenny blinked her lashes at Danny prettily, the sound of the metal clinking against her cheeks were quiet but audible.

"Fine," he sighed. "But only because you asked, mia roboto."

Danny unhooked himself from her and stood before everyone, Timmy handing him the uncorked bottle as they all watched.

Manny held his breath, his heart hammering in his chest, as he watched Danny throw back the potion. He held his breath, waiting for Danny to double over or something to happen. 

But instead, Danny just stood there. The clock ticked forward by a minute, then two, until Danny turned to Timmy and asked, "was something supposed to happen?"

"How do you feel?" Jenny stepped forward when Manny was too scared to.

’That’s strange, since when am I scared of anything?’ He clenched his fist as Danny sent Jenny a beaming smile.

"I feel like I want to kiss you."

Something inside Manny snapped.

"TIMMY!" He roared, startling everyone in the room. "What did you do?! Why didn’t it work?!"

Timmy frantically held up his hands in surrender, hiding behind Jimmy.

"Nothing! I don’t know, okay?! It should have worked!"

"Maybe this is just how he feels normally?" SpongeBob popped up, before squeaking as Many snapped his teeth at him with a snarl.

"No way in hell is that normal!"

"And why not?" Jimmy asked. "Why can’t it be?"

"Because," Manny sputtered. "Because he’s never acted like that before the potion! It has to be the potion making him act like that!"

He sounded as if he were trying to convince himself more than anyone. He had never felt more pathetic in his life.

"Well," Wanda’s hesitant voice drew their attention. "There is one thing we could try."

"What is it, Wanda?" Timmy turned toward his maternal figure.

She shared a glance with Cosmo, before speaking. 

"Well…there’s always true love’s kiss."

Record scratch. Freeze frame. Pause.

"What?"

Manny didn’t realize the croaky voice was his own until everyone was staring at him. 

"What do you mean?"

"Love magic’s really Cupid’s expertise, but…" as she trailed off, Cosmo took over, his voice much more chipper despite the atmosphere.

"Most love spells can be cured by a true love's kiss! You just need to get Danny to smooch his one true love and he’ll be alllll cured!"

Jenny, Timmy, and Jimmy all sensed the danger that emanated from a now-shaking Manny, the robot pulling SpongeBob behind her with a concerned look.

"Well…" Timmy trailed off with a considering look toward Jenny. "Jenny, do you wanna try?"

Manny felt something inside him snap.

"No!" It roared out of him, almost as if he were transforming. His friends jumped back, startled. "No, no, I’m sick of this!"

He stomped forward, ignoring the other’s half-bated attempts at stopping him, before he grabbed the front of Danny’s shirt and yanked him down until they were eye to eye.

"You won’t be kissing anyone but me, got it?" He hissed. "I won’t let you."

"Annnd that’s our cue to leave…"

Manny didn’t seem to hear Timmy’s muttering, too busy glaring at Danny with heated eyes.

"Jeez," the scientist sighed, rubbing his face with his hand. "You’re worse than teenagers."

"Come on," Wanda gave them all a stern glare. "Let’s give them some privacy."

As the others argued against her, wanting to watch, Danny’s eyes were wide, the blue shade looking as if they were sparkling like the sea.

"I’ve had to watch you act all lovey dovey with Jenny and I’m sick of it. Jimmy’s right, I am jealous. The only one who you should be looking at is me. The only one you need to kiss the knuckles of and cuddle in bed and wake up in the morning and act so stupidly incorrigible toward is me."

Danny didn’t seem as if he were breathing.

"I want you to smile at me with those sharp teeth and hurl insults at me and challenge me during missions and share our meals together. I want to slow dance under the stars with you while you whisper constellations in my ear, and I want to listen to your crappy whiney white boy music and make fun of you for butchering Spanish even though you’re fluent in Esperanto."

No one dared to blink for fear of interrupting.

"I want you to look at me like how you look at the stars; like I’m the only thing that matters in the whole goddamn word because I—"

He choked up. His eyes started watering as he swallowed heavily, forcing out the words he so desperately wanted to scream.

"Because I love you."

Before he could even blink, Manny’s lips were covered by the cool skin of the man he loved.

’Yeah,’ he breathed heavily through his nose as he relaxed, closing his eyes as Danny’s hands came to cup his cheeks. ‘I love him.’

Cheers, wolf-whistles, and a loud, exaggerated gag filled the room as the two felt as if fireworks had gone off. Neither could hear anything over the rushing of their hearts in their ears, their focuses entirely on battling for dominance over the other.

Danny bit Manny’s lip, who just growled slightly and gave it as good as he got.

"You love me, huh?" 

Manny glared to try and cover up his blush, though from the way Danny’s smirk widened, it didn’t work.

"So what? From the way you’re acting, the kiss worked, didn’t it? That means I’m your true love or whatever."

It was Danny’s turn to flush pink.

"About that…I was never under any spell."

One.

Two.

 Three.

"WHAT?!"

Danny rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Mind altering stuff doesn’t work on me, potions included. I decided to pretend to be affected when I heard it was a prank."

Manny was left speechless. His whole prank was for nothing?!

"But what about…and the…Jenny?" He hissed.

"Also fake," Danny admitted. "They were all in on it."

"To humiliate me?" Manny pulled away to cross his arms defensively.

Danny’s eyes widened, trying to step closer toward the other man.

"No, no! I wanted to make you jealous!"

Manny took in Danny’s blush, his sincere and eager eyes, his twitching hands.

"Well, it worked," he grumbled, though some of his hackles went down.

"Yeah," Danny breathed, brightening. "It did."

There was a comfortable silence between them, just looking at each other with dopey expressions.

"So…you wanted to make me jealous…because you loved me?" Manny asked just to confirm.

"Yeah. I realized it when I was pretending to be under the love potion. I…really, really liked being intimate with you."

The air between them grew more intense, Danny’s eyes lowering to half-mast. 

"Pulling you close, kissing you, listening to your gruff voice, being in your bed with you."

Manny flushed at the reminder.

"I want it. I want it so badly it hurts. I want you; I want everything you have to give me. Your bull-headed stubbornness, your morning breath, the way you never follow instructions even when you really should."

Manny would have rolled his eyes if he could feel his body. As is, he was too busy having an out-of-body experience watching Danny get closer until they were nose to nose, the ghost’s eyes glowing green with emotion.

"I want you in my future–in the here and now. Fuck, I want you standing by my side, no matter what. I want to kiss you, touch you. Caress your face and stroke our hair as we lay in bed together and you tell me about visiting your family. Watching you laugh at some stupid joke and losing breath at the way you glow in the light. I want you, Manny Rivera."

The ghost was ready when a whole 200 lbs of pure muscle crashed into him, his thick arms wrapping around Danny’s neck as he kissed the daylights out of him.

"Yes. Por el amor de Dios, yes."

Danny wrapped his arms around Manny’s waist and tugged him closer, their lips meeting in an endless stream of nonstop kisses. 

They had to break away multiple times to catch their breath (Manny more so), until they were left panting, their eyes closed with their foreheads touching as they stood in a gentle embrace in the empty living room.

"You are so insufferable," Manny whispered, voice deep. He felt the words as they left his still-tingling lips.

"Right back at you," Danny chuckled back. "‘Whiny white boy music’? That is midwest emo you’re talking about right there. That shit is peak."

"God," Manny groaned into Danny’s shoulder. "I already regret saying yes."

"But you love me," was the immediate reply, voice smug.

"I do."

The whisper had Danny shuddering, squeezing Manny tighter.

"I love you too."

Neither said anything about the goofy smiles on their faces. They were just too happy to have their rival in their arms.

.

.

.

"Wait, how did you get Jenny to agree to that?"

"I told her I’d set her up with Ellie."

"JENNY’S INTO ELLIE?!"

~~~

Danny snickered into Manny’s shoulder as he watched the two women try to interact without stuttering.

"Who do you think will crack first?" Manny mumbled into Danny’s ear, causing him to hold back a shudder. "Jenny or Ellie?"

They continued to watch as Ellie tried to lean against the wall, but overestimated where it was and tripped. Jenny panicked and rushed forward, causing the two to butt heads with a painful sounding thunk.

"Five bucks says Ellie falls to her knees and starts begging by the end of the month," Danny chuckled, watching his sister try and fail at "rizzing up the ridiculously hot robo girl," as she said.

Manny turned his head to give his boyfriend a feral smirk.

"Ten bucks says Jenny confesses in the middle of a mission and almost blows us all up."

The two women snapped their heads to the other end of the room when they heard the two men burst into hysterical laughter, clinging to each other like a lifeline.

"Ugh, those two have been so gross since they started dating," Ellie complained. While she was happy that her brother-father-cousin was happy, she was getting sick of all the PDA.

"I don’t know," Jenny sighed fondly. "I think they’re pretty sweet…when they’re not arguing over Modern Baseball."

"Hey! Modern Baseball is a peak band!" They heard Danny shout at them.

"No the fuck it isn’t!"

"It is too!"

"Is not!"

"Have you never heard of good song writing?! You listen to garbage all day that you can’t recognize peak when it's staring you in the face?!"

"I oughta strangle you!"

"So do it, Catboy!"

Jenny and Ellie rolled their eyes in sync as the two idiots started rolling around on the floor in a scuffle.

They groaned in unison:

"Men."