#and even if it’s a regular occurrence. steph definitely hops in to bully ted in pete’s defense

[alieonya]

ted having no real friends or emotional attachments outside of his brother, and maybe their parents. he has a soft spot for peter, even if it’s in his nature to tease him—but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care or worry about him.

because of that, ted is so protective of peter when he learns that his little brother is being bullied and outcasted, he almost stays up all night just seething over how much he wants to beat the shit out of any shit starter that fucks with his brother.

(but he rationalizes that there’s no way he could protect pete if he went to jail for kicking some kid’s ass, even if he wants to fight a child as a sign for other kids to stay away from pete)

when pete befriends richie and ruth and ted learns about this, it eases his mind to know he at least has friends, even if the duo are rowdier than pete. he’s kinda proud that pete is the lead in their group, even if it’s coincidental.

when they both die, ted definitely hears about it from the news and pete. he fears for pete’s sake, both physically and emotionally, because those were his first friends that ended up sticking around for the longest time.

then stephanie comes along, and at first ted is most suspicious of her since she indirectly caused pete to get beat up for trying to meet up with her, and she’s “popular” from what pete has said. but he witnesses/hears how well they get along when she comes over, or how they become protective of one another, and ted begins to trust her.

(if anything, he ends up trusting her the MOST out of everyone pete knows because she’s so outspoken and willing to stand up for his little brother, and she’s a bit of a rebel, which ted finds entertaining—this is a shock to steph if she learned how ted felt, but it is appreciated)

to an extent, grace could be considered a friend of pete’s too, especially because at the end of the musical she tells both steph and pete about her homecoming date with jason, despite how much their personalities differ and the possibility of them being friends is slim at first.

ted may not be able to protect pete from everything, or be around him 24/7, but learning he has a safe space in the end and people around him that care. ted is so proud of him, and so grateful that pete won’t be as alone as he is, and that he’s happy.

and ultimately, that’s all ted wants for his little brother. :(

#bennie rambles #nerdy prudes must die #ted spankoffski #peter spankoffski #steph lauter #stephanie lauter #richie lipschitz #ruth fleming #grace chasity #npmd #starkid #npmd spoilers #lautski #nerdy prudes spoilers #i am HURTING over pete and ted #ted may not show his softness often #he absolutely would tease pete in his own way. but it’s not like the bullying at school #no one else is allowed to tease pete but ted. unless theyre steph because he knows its never out of malicious intent #I ALSO WANT MORE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT HYPOTHEICAL TED AND STEPH INTERACTIONS #ted tries to mess with pete when steph is around #and even if it’s a regular occurrence. steph definitely hops in to bully ted in pete’s defense #but she’s never disrespectful and she gains ted’s respect #OKAY ANYWAYS BYE