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dwobbitfromtheshire · 5 months

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Stuck Between a Jock and a Metalhead

Summary: Nancy, on a whim, decides to visit Steve at Scoops Ahoy, which leads to her overhearing confessions from Steve that leads her to think about the decisions she's made. A few days later, she decides to come back. She finds him being hit on by the town freak. What's a girl to do? Oh, get stuck in a freezer with the both of them.

Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Nancy scribbled furiously in her diary as she wrote about the last few days. She talked about Eddie and Steve. . .Steve’s family. She felt so guilty about not really noticing or paying attention to his home life. She couldn't believe that his parents couldn't find any room in their heart to love him. She also discussed the goings-on at work. She had filled several pages already. The word pansexual stared up at her from the page with several question marks behind the word, and she glanced at the picture of Barb at her desk.

Nancy couldn't help but think about what she told Eddie and Steve. She really didn't think about dating anyone before Steve came along. As she thought about it, her attraction to Jonathan grew as she looked hard at the person he was trying to be for her, someone who was willing to break the rules for her. . . For her friend Barb. She had wanted to believe that he was doing it for Barb, and he had gone to great lengths to protect his brother. It was why she was willing to ignore everything else. She also realized she was attracted to Eddie because of the way he interacted with Holly. The first time that she had interacted with Steve. . .

Nancy was walking in the hallway when she saw someone rush past Steve and Tommy H. The person, not seeing where they were going, knocked all of the books out his hands and Steve's.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you. I'm late for class," the fluffy haired boy said.

"I think Steve deserves better than that. I mean, you could have seriously hurt him. Kiss his feet, I think that would be hilarious, don't you think, Stevie boy?" Tommy laughed.

"Knock it off, Tommy," Steve glared at him. "What's wrong with you?"

"I really am sorry," the boy said.

"It's fine. No harm done," Steve said as he helped pick up his books.

"I'm just messing with the boy, Steve," Tommy giggled as he squeezed the boy's shoulder tightly. "Just trying to keep things. . . Orderly. . .isn't that right, freshman?"

Steve scowled and peeled his fingers off the freshman, shoving Tommy.

"Stop it, Tommy, this isn't like you. Stop trying to be like those asshole basketball players. Just because we're on the team. . . ," Steve muttered and turned to the boy. "Go on to class, you did nothing wrong."

The boy scurried off while Tommy laughed at him.

"Shoving me. . .does someone want to play rough?" Tommy asked, and then he rolled his eyes.

"I didn't join the team to become a bully, Tommy," Steve said. "It was one thing when you bitch about someone behind their back. This just makes you look like an asshole."

"Don't be such a baby, Harrington. I was just joking," Tommy said. "Don't be such a coward."

"Right," Steve said and watched him walk off.

It was one thing to stand up to a bully, but it was another thing to stand up to your friend when he's acting like one. He had been so nice and understanding to the freshman. . . She had never seen it before, but she finally understood what everyone was talking about when Steve Harrington was so handsome. She could see it now. Maybe that's why she had been so shocked when he broke his camera because at first she had seen it as something a bully would do. Her attraction to people clearly weren't looks, but their actions. The more she thought about it, the more she thought about Barb.

"This isn't you, Nance."

She always knew about Barb from the beginning. She had been a lesbian, boys hadn't held her interest at all, and maybe because Nancy hadn't shown any interest at all at first, maybe she thought Nancy was like her. She wondered if Barb had been trying to protect her character or her sexuality. It was probably both. She knew about Barb's own fears of being forced into a heterosexual relationship, and it had been the reason why Barb hadn't told her parents. Barb would never know if her parents would accept her or not.

"Nancy?" Her mother's voice startled her out of her thoughts.

Nancy jolted. She hadn't even noticed that the door had opened and her mother's head had appeared in the doorway.

"Hey," Nancy said softly.

"I thought you would be in bed by now. I just came to check on you," Karen said. "Is everything okay?"

"You'd love me no matter what, right?" Nancy asked.

"Of course," Karen asked. "What's brought this on?"

"Mommy, would you still love me if I fell in love with a woman?" Nancy asked.

Karen looked at her in surprise before smiling and cupping her face.

"Of course, I would," she replied and paused. "Are you in love with a woman?"

"Well, no. I think I just realized that it doesn't really matter what someone's gender is, I think I'm open to the idea of falling in love with a woman," Nancy said. "I could definitely see myself with a woman, but right now. . .no."

"Well, you've always fought for what you wanted, and I always admired that about you," Karen said. "I'll always support you."

"What if I wanted to rob banks for a living?" Nancy asked.

"It depends on what you wanted to do with the money," Karen said, and they both laughed.

"What if dad has a problem with it?" Nancy asked.

"Then I'd shoot him," Karen said, and Nancy laughed. "Thank you for talking to me about it. I'm here if you need to talk about it some more."

"I think I'm ready for bed now," Nancy said. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Karen said and hugged her tightly.

Nancy went to sleep that night, loving her mother more than ever. She had some flaws, but loving her children unconditionally wasn't one of them. As she drifted off to sleep, she realized the fluffy haired boy who Tommy had tried to force to kiss Steve’s feet had been Eddie's friend, Gareth. She eventually fell into dreamland, where she dreamed of Eddie and Steve chasing after a gaggle of children surrounded by trees and woodland creatures. The kids ran toward Otis, Steven, and Irene. Otis and Steve were wearing their uniforms. Irene was in a lovely blue dress with her red hair all pinned up. Suddenly, it changed. Nancy was the one in the blue dress, except there was a fedora on her pinned up hair, and she was typing away on her typewriter while the kids danced around her, blowing her kisses. Steve and Eddie were dancing in each other's arms in their uniforms, kissing each other deeply with each dip. They pulled Nancy into their arms and kissed her. Of course, the dream ended with Nancy trying to stop Eddie from making their new baby his new drummer.

Nancy woke up with a smile on her face, but she wasn't sure why because the dream had been really weird. She blushed as she got ready for the day, thinking aboutthe dream. It wouldn't be like Otis, Irene, and Steve because if all three of them were together, Nancy wanted all three of them to be. . . Well, not platonic, that's for sure. She looked at the clock and saw that she had gotten up early. Nancy headed downstairs and saw Mike helping his mother make breakfast in the kitchen.

"I knew it! I knew you liked helping mom in the kitchen," Nancy said teasingly.

"Nancy!" Mike exclaimed.

"You're going to scare him away," Karen said playfully. "It's all thanks to Steve that Mike realized it's not just a woman's job."

"And thanks to dad passing on his genes to me, being a terrible cook, isn't just a man's job," Nancy grinned.

"Hey," Ted said, walking into the kitchen with Holly. "We can make coffee and toast. That's something."

Nancy giggled.

"Speaking of Steve, you've been spending a lot of time with him lately," Karen said, looking at her knowingly.

"Oh, man, are you guys getting back together?" Mike asked, scrunching up his nose.

"Stop acting like you hate Steve. We all know how much you love him," Nancy said teasingly. "And no, we're just friends."

"I suppose it wouldn't be the worst thing if you guys got back together," Mike rolled his eyes.

"Was that hard? It's okay. You can go back to being an angsty teenager," Nancy said and Mike huffed.

"Heard Steve was thinking about reopening his grandfather's salon," Ted said. "Otis was a good man. It would be nice to see that up and running again."

"Hmm, yeah. I helped him go through his grandfather's things the other day. It certainly sounds like he's a much better man than Steve’s father," Nancy said.

"Steve is lucky that he takes after Otis rather than John," Ted said.

"Steve would love to hear you say that," Nancy said.

"Is Steve’s daddy an asshole?" Holly asked and Mike snorted.

"Holly!" Karen and Nancy exclaimed.

"Yes, but also, don't say that," Ted said.

"Anyway," Nancy said, struggling not to laugh. "Steve offered to take me to work today. He doesn't have to go in until later."

"Oh, maybe you can call him, and he can be here early to have breakfast with us," Karen said.

"That would be awesome," Mike said, and then he scowled. "Whatever, I don't care."

Nancy laughed and used the kitchen phone to call him.

"Hello?"

"You've been requested by my mother and Mike to come here early to eat breakfast with us," Nancy said.

"And Holly! Holly wants Steve here too!" She shouted.

"And Holly, too," Nancy laughed.

"Alright, let me finish getting ready, and I'll be there," Steve said.

Holly was the first one to greet him as soon as he walked through the door and threw herself into his arms.

"Steve!"

"Steve, it's good to see you," Ted said, holding out his hand.

"Ted, man, it's great to see you," Steve said, shaking his hand. "Quick, say something funny!"

Ted laughed and wacked him on the head with his newspaper. Steve handed Mike a comic book after greeting Karen with a hug.

"Finished reading up on our favorite comic book hero!" Steve exclaimed and Mike beamed.

"And? What did you think?" Mike asked.

"Hm, little disappointed with the ending, but I can't wait for the next issue," Steve said.

"Yeah, me too," Mike said.

Having Steve join them for breakfast made Nancy happier than when Steve joined them in the past. Maybe it was because she was more aware of how great it was to have him around. Steve insisted on helping clean up after breakfast, and Nancy insisted on helping him. They worked in comfortable silence with them occasionally flicking water at each other while hip bumping each other, breaking the silence with their giggles. Once they were done, Steve and Nancy said their goodbyes before heading towards the door. Steve was stopped by Holly.

"Are we going to see you more, Steve?" Holly asked.

"I hope so," Steve replied.

"Definitely," Nancy said, grinning at him.

"Good, cause I missed you," Holly said.

"I missed you too," Steve said and shared a soft smile with Nancy as Holly hugged him.

They pulled away in Steve's car, singing along to Madonna. After a couple of songs, Nancy looked over at Steve.

"Thanks for driving me to work," Nancy said.

"It's not a problem, happy to do it," Steve grinned.

"You know, my parents are thinking about getting me a car for my birthday," Nancy said.

"And how do you know that?" Steve asked.

"I might have overheard a private conversation," Nancy said.

"Nancy Wheeler, you sneek!" Steve laughed.

"What? I need to practice my sleuthing skills," Nancy said, rolling her eyes. "It was a complete accident."

"Right," Steve grinned. "Oh, looks like we're here. Uh, I hope you have a good day and that those assholes don't get to you."

"Not even they could get to me today," Nancy said.

"Yeah. Are you having a good morning?" Steve grinned.

"Definitely," Nancy said.

"Oh! Eddie called earlier. He wants us to check out his band tonight. Are you interested?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun. So, are things going well then?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah," Steve replied.

"I'm happy," Nancy said softly.

"Me too," Steve said.

Nancy leaned over and hugged him tightly. She breathed in his scent for a moment, breathing in the smell of his hair. She could tell that Steve was doing the same, and she smiled. She climbed out of Steve’s car and started walking towards the front door when she saw Jonathan sitting in his car staring at Steve's pulling out of the lot. He looked so sad and for a moment she felt sad for him but then it was gone. She walked into the building, putting Jonathan out of her mind.

Later that evening, Nancy ate a quick dinner with her family and then waited patiently for Steve to pick her up. She spent a lot of time trying to decide on her outfit, but she figured Eddie might want them to come as they are. She settled on a nice pair of jeans and a ruffled blue shirt. When they left, Nancy and Steve made sure to say goodbye to everyone, including Holly, who was pouting about not getting to see Eddie play.

"The Hideout is exactly what I pictured," Steve said when they walked in.

It was small with not a whole lot of customers, but Nancy thought it had character even with the rickety looking stage in the back. . .if you could even call it a stage. They saw Eddie sitting at a table with Jeff and Gareth as well as another person she didn't recognize. Nancy and Steve made a beeline for him. Eddie whooped at the sight of them, pulling both of them into a hug.

"So, glad you guys could make it," Eddie said. "You're in for a hell of a treat. Nancy, you've already met Jeff and Gareth. Steve, you haven't. This is Frank. Say hi, Frank."

"Hi, Frank," he said with a laugh.

"No, that's not what I - ugh, whatever. I'm really glad you guys are here," Eddie said.

"Glad to be here, it's a nice place," Steve said.

"Oh my God, you really mean that. Do you need your eyes checked, man?" Jeff asked.

"Probably," Steve said casually.

"Why - ," Gareth started to ask.

"You know what, let's get set up," Eddie said in amusement.

"But he - " Gareth started to say.

"Hey, I know you!" Steve exclaimed, snapping his fingers at him.

"Jesus, you remember that. I ran into you once," Gareth said.

"Yeah, well, Tommy was an asshole. Sorry about that, by the way," Steve said.

"It's fine, you dropped his sorry ass so, it makes you cool in my books," Gareth said. "You can't apologize for anyone's shitty behavior, only your own, and you were never a shitty person."

Eddie and Nancy smiled at Steve before Eddie walked off with his band. Nancy continued to smile at him.

"What?"

"Nothing," Nancy said softly.

They found a table close to the stage. Steve and Nancy settled on ordering a couple of cokes, wanting to stay clear-headed for Eddie's performance. They were both surprised when they started playing Queen, Steve’s favorite band. Nancy thought it was really sweet that Eddie was serenading Steve, especially when he was beaming at him as they played "Bohemian Rhapsody" and then "I Want To Break Free." Eddie played "Toto" by Africa, which caused Steve’s eyes to light up. The last song they played was "Love is a Battlefield." Nancy enjoyed the way Eddie played so passionately. They all did, but it felt like Eddie was pouring his entire soul into the music. Nancy's cheeks flushed, and her heart raced at the sight of him.

"Hot," Steve and Nancy said.

"Really? You think so?" Steve asked.

"I have eyes, don't I?" Nancy asked.

When Eddie hopped off the stage, they immediately pulled him into a hug and beamed with pride.

"You were all so good," Nancy said.

"Definitely, I figured you would play heavy metal," Steve said.

"Well, that is our genre, but we respect all music in this band, and Queen always rules," Eddie said.

"You were really good on the drums, Gareth," Nancy said. "Definitely better than a newborn baby."

"What the fuck kind of compliment is that?" Gareth asked.

"Oh, I dreamed last night that Eddie replaced his drummer with a newborn baby," Nancy said.

"You replaced me with a newborn baby, Munson?" Gareth asked in mock offense.

"I can't control what I do in someone else's dreams, Emerson!" Eddie exclaimed.

"Well, you could try," Gareth said sternly.

Gareth then poked him with his drum stick and wiggled his eyebrows at Eddie, who scowled.

"Let me get you a drink," Eddie said.

He pulled Steve and Nancy into a booth before ordering them more coke.

"So, you ever think of making it big?" Steve asked. "Because you totally could."

"Nah, I tried that before but I fucked it all up trying to work a job with my dad but turns out he was just conning me and the girl who was going to help me, well, she only managed to get me an audition for a record label and not the rest of the band. I'm not sure if I want to do without the boys, honestly, and now I think I just want to make music. Nothing else matters," Eddie said. "It's whatever, though. My dad's officially out of my life and even though I fucked it up with Paige, I still get to play my music."

"That sucks about your dad, man," Steve said. "He's missing out on a great son. It's his fucking loss."

"Thanks, man," Eddie said.

"Well, all of you are talented," Nancy said, touching his hand. "So, you guys play here every Tuesday?"

"Every Tuesday," Eddie replied.

"Well, I think you got two more audience members," Steve said.

"That's fucking great!" Eddie laughed and slapped the table. "Are you guys going to the fourth of July fair?"

"I hadn't really thought about it," Steve said.

"Me neither," Nancy said.

"You guys want to go with me?" Eddie asked. "You guys could meet me there. It could be fun."

"I would like that," Nancy said. "I'm pretty sure that Holly wants to go with mom and dad anyway. By the way, Holly is very disappointed they she didn't get to see her Teddy play. So, you might have to give her a private concert."

"I would love to give the princess a concert. We usually play Saturday at Gareth's in his garage," Eddie said. "Bring the little lady on by."

They talked for a long time until Nancy started to get sleepy, and she pulled Eddie into a tight hug. She couldn't wait until they saw each other again.

Chapter Nine

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lovrily · 2 years

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speed of sound (part 3)

steve harrington x reader | part 3 of 3 | 13k words

◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

as will byers older sister, you vaguely know steve harrington. upon becoming steve harrington's (randomly and abruptly selected) lab partner, you realize you know him even less than you thought.

「 link to part one & part two 」

warnings: fem!reader, byers!reader, shy!reader, bickering, lab partners, classmates, starts in season 2 ends in season 4, frenemies to lovers, slow burn, pining, "unrequited" love emphasis on the air quotes, steve is popular and reader is not, doting mother joyce, running with the headcanon that jonathan dropped out of high school, hurt/comfort, language, blood/injury warnings level to what's on the show, slight canon divergence in epilogue

PART THREE → 1986

The first thing you noticed when you got to Hawkins was that it was cold.

Colder than before, at least. It was the first week of April, and there wasn’t a hint of heat in the air. It was dry, too. Hailing a taxi from the airport was terrifying (how do you even do it? Just stand there and whistle?) and the ride home had been even more horrifying. Nothing awful happened. You just had to run after the driver when he missed you the first time, and on the way, you tried to be polite.

“Is this, um…the longest route you’ve had today?” you asked. The old man’s eyes never left the road.

He sighed loudly. “Yes.”

You peered down at your lap and folded your hands there. Okay.

You had a mission; please Nancy. Jonathan chickened out of a trip back home, afraid to see her, afraid to upset her. It was absolutely ridiculous. If he wanted to stay together, why tear them even further apart? But he was resolute. Being the sister that you are, you offered to go back instead. Visit Dustin or Robin; find something to do. And along the way, somehow convince her that everything was completely fine, and that Jonathan loved her more than anything.

He did love her more than anything, but everything was definitely not fine. You couldn’t solve all of his problems, but you could do this. This was the main reason for your return.

You stepped out of the car in front of the motel and slid your heavy suitcase out of the backseat. Paying the driver, you opened your mouth to offer him thanks. He drove off before you got a word out. Hawkins hospitality.

Your heart thumped in your chest as you approached the motel door. Nancy was short on the phone when you spoke to her.

“So Jonathan’s not coming? At all?”

“I know… I’m sorry. I’m still coming, though. Not that it helps.”

“No, it’s… That’s okay, Y/N. It will be good to see you.”

You grimaced when she said it. She was only being nice. The two of you had actually become friends over the years, somewhere in between Jonathan pining over her, dating her, and slowly screwing it up. It was nice but odd- you never imagined she would be interested in being your friend.

Still, you were not your brother. What Nancy wanted was to see her boyfriend. Instead, she was seeing you.

You swallowed the regretful knot in your throat and entered the motel. A tiny bell rang over your head, chirping like a mouse. At the front desk, the woman crooned-

“The previous guest in that room won’t be out until tomorrow morning.”

You blinked, easily able to stay polite, but not able to mask your confusion.

“Oh, that’s- that’s okay. Where should I go, then?”

She scrunched up her nose. “Sorry, honey. You booked the room starting tomorrow at noon, so you’ll have to stay somewhere else tonight.”

Knowing full well you booked the room for tonight, you glanced away and said- “Okay. Thank you.”

Cool spring wind wrapped around your bare arms as you trudged into the parking lot. Dustin’s house was nearby, but you didn’t have your bike. It would still be a long walk. You were wearing a t-shirt, from the high school you attended in Lenora Hills.

The main reason you came to Hawkins was to help your brother. Deep down, the only place you would ever feel at home was this town, and at least you got to spend one week in it. Joyce could hardly afford to move all of you to California, and the idea of moving back to Hawkins on your own seemed impossible.

A soft breeze rustled the surrounding trees. Dustin’s house beckoned a few streets away. Swallowing a sigh, you picked up your suitcase and started down the road with a pit in your stomach.

The air was different.

. . .

“Y/N!”

A grin broke out on your face, unstoppable. “Hi!”

Dustin smiled so wide you nearly cringed. His cheeks would be sore all afternoon. Trotting down the porch steps, he wrapped his arms around you and patted your shoulders gingerly.

“This is crazy. What are you doing here? Are you here for Steve?”

Oh, dear god.

You sucked in air. “No! Just…just for me.”

“Well good! I just thought maybe you had planned on visiting him or something.”

You tried to keep the smile painted on your face. It hardly worked. Softly, you shook your head.

You hadn’t spoken to Steve in seven months. When you got to California, it occurred to you to call; ask him what the hell happened at the end of the summer and why you two kept doing whatever it was you were doing. But you didn’t have his number. Surprisingly enough, after all that time, you still didn’t have it. And it wasn’t in the phone books.

Joyce didn’t know it, Jonathan didn’t know it, Will didn’t know it, and El definitely didn’t know it. No one did, so you didn’t call. Neither did he. As the months went by, it was easier to keep thoughts of him out of your mind, but the feelings remained. Ribbons of longing around your ribs, knotted tight. A constant ache. Even when you weren’t thinking of him, he was there.

“Just carrying your suitcase around?” Dustin snickered, motioning to it.

“No, actually. I, um… I’m supposed to be staying at a motel, but they won’t let me in.”

He made a face. “What?”

“The lady said I booked the room for tomorrow instead of tonight.”

“Oh. Did you?”

You shrugged a little, flattening your lips. “No, but…it’s okay.”

Dustin made an incredulous face at you and said- “That’s ridiculous.”

You made a defeated face. “I know.”

“I would tell you to come in, but I’m just leaving, actually.” A smile grew on his face, proud and sly. You must have made some sort of face, because he sprung into a speech like he had been waiting all winter to tell you.

“...and his name is Eddie, and he’s really, really cool. The coolest guy I’ve ever met. And we meet on most weekdays, but tonight is, like, the final round of the campaign, basically? It’s super important. And I’d tell you to just play with us, because we actually needed somebody to take Lucas’s place, but we already got Erica to do it. Sorry.”

“You got Erica to play DND?” you asked.

“Absolutely.”

“Well, that’s nice,” you responded softly. “I’m happy for you. Eddie sounds really cool.”

“He is cool. The club’s called Hellfire. Maybe you could join, if you asked him. He’s kind of intimidating, but I bet he’d take it easy on you.”

You cast him a perplexed smile. “What? Why?”

Dustin’s expression was perfectly nervous. “You know. You’re just…you know. How you are. You know.”

“You know?” you mocked gently. But, whatever he was trying to say; you weren’t really sure.

“Whatever. Just- yeah. You could ask him to let you join and I bet he’d say yes.”

“That would be nice of him,” you responded, dropping your teasing. “Have fun tonight.”

“I will. If you need a place to stay for the night, you might be able to stay here. Just come back later and I’ll let you know. But, uh…you know how my mom is. Where are you going, though? For now?”

“I’ll…” you trailed off, stranded in the street. Where were you going to go? “Did you say Lucas had a basketball game tonight?”

Dustin nodded.

“I’ll go to that.”

He wrinkled his nose. “Really?”

“Yeah,” you started, and stopped yourself before you could say; I bet he would really appreciate seeing a friend in the stands. There was no point in telling Dustin what he probably already knew.

. . .

Lucas made a basket.

The stands erupted around you, a booming symphony of screaming and clapping. A quartet of trumpets cried out, playing his victory. You flinched as the man beside you shot up and howled, pumping his fist in the air. The noise was rattling, but Lucas’s smile was bright as the gym lights, wide as Dustin’s when he had opened his door to see you. A grin crept onto your face and you even cheered- albeit a quiet one.

This was new for you. Doing things alone and not feeling awful about it. There were hundreds of people surrounding you, many of them that you knew, and yet, you cheered anyway. Audible. Noticeable.

That made you smile even harder. When you glanced at the band, you caught a familiar eye. She tore the instrument away from her lips and shouted- “Y/N!”

Your eyebrows lifted, a little stunned. Robin. She beamed at you, then tilted her head backwards and screamed, “Steve!”

A pang of anxiety hit you instantly. When you followed her gaze, you found him. Standing next to an unfamiliar blonde girl with a friendly smile, cheering loudly. Her teeth glinted as she cast him a beaming glance.

He was looking at you. Zeroed in, like there was not a single person there other than you, not even himself. The trumpets faded to a dull hum and the roaring crowd became distant. He wore a soft off-white shirt with buttons on the chest, his arms fuller, his stance taller but somehow humbler. The proud grin on his newly matured face was dissipating as visions of Lucas likely melted away, and his brows flicked up, like he was trying to make a polite expression at you. But all he could do was gawk, it seemed.

He had never looked more like an adult, but he was still beaming at you like he was seventeen; pouring borax over an open flame and singing his skin off just to make you laugh.

The game resumed. You cast Steve a small wave, careful not to look too long, careful to make sure the girl he was with knew you wouldn’t be a problem.

All you saw was her. Not the way he looked at you- the intensity of his stare went right over your head. It didn’t matter, because there was a girl. A new girl. Or had she always been around, and you never noticed?

You turned around and sat down to watch the rest of the game, breathing manually, like you had forgotten how. You had to break that loop; the waiting and wondering. There was no reason to be surprised by Steve Harrington anymore.

. . .

On the walk back to Dustin’s, something ruffled in the trees.

Your head snapped up, and you stopped, whirling. Years living in Hawkins trained you not to be flippant about strange noises. Paused along the road, your heartbeat rose to your ears, thumping there like thunder. Shadows scattered across the forest floor. If there were any out of place, you couldn’t tell. It was too dark, and the trees were too thick.

This was the only part of the walk that was along the interstate. If you could just get back to the sidewalk, you’d feel better. Safer. And the faster you got away from the noise, the better.

You kept walking, suitcase bumping against your shin. Less than three steps later, there was another sound. Then- the slapping of skin against the blacktop.

What followed can only be described in plain terms, for lack of words capable of describing the horror before you; a man you had never seen before, pale and slender, rose ten feet into the air- and his bones snapped.

You screamed and clamped a hand over your mouth. When he fell, your instinct was to lurch forward; reach for him and help. But there was nothing you could do. Moonlight reflected off of the blood dripping down his cheeks, crimson tears staining his lapels.

No demogorgon had ever done anything like this.

You ached to stay and help the stranger but logic told you to run. After a moment, you obeyed. There was nothing you could do. Barreling along the interstate, more noises gathered in the trees, whispering and slithering along the dirt like snakes. Maybe you imagined them. It didn’t matter. In all your life you had only ever been more afraid when Will was missing. No fear would ever match the panic you felt that winter; but this came close.

Light danced along the blacktop. Tears sprung free from your eyes, blaring yellow beams flickering along the road. A car was coming, but it brought you no comfort. It might have been whoever killed that man- though, deep down, you already knew what happened to him couldn’t have been done by any person.

You ducked into the treeline, hovering in the shallow ditch. Puddles of water sprung droplets onto your jeans, staining your elbows and ankles. It smudged your cheek like paint. Stunned into focus, you sat there and waited for the car to pass.

You nearly screamed when it did. Steve!

The burgundy BMW barreled by, going far over the speed limit. If the wine red paint didn’t give him away, the driving did. You clambered out of the ditch and back onto the road with your mouth craned open.

Then you snapped it shut. Oh no.

You couldn’t scream for him. Who would hear you first?

Your feet broke out into a sprint before your brain had thought of it. Running, icy wind smacked your cheeks, nightfall bringing even colder breezes than the pale afternoon. His headlights faded into the distant fog. Your heart thumped like a racehorse in your chest, lungs searing with cold.

Steve’s car disappeared. You kept running.

Two stop signs and one red light later, you saw his car in a parking lot. Relief hit you like a brick and you exhaled in a burst, almost laughing with grief. Your legs wobbled beneath you like sticks as you barreled across the lot, barely stopping to check the neon sign over the brick building. FAMILY VIDEO.

Manners hit you when you slammed into the store, the door jingling shut behind you. You stood up straight and wrapped your arms around your chest. Trying to stop your hands from rattling, trying to stop your sobbing. When the bell jingled, Robin popped out from underneath the front desk.

“Hi,” she said dryly, her eyes elsewhere. “We’re closing in half an hour, but you can look around if you want.”

You swallowed the searing feeling in your throat and choked- “Hey.”

She looked over, brows furrowing. Her eyes widened.

“Y/N?” she breathed.

You meandered forward, setting down your suitcase and pulling at the short sleeves of your t-shirt. Red overhead lights smeared in your vision, tears blotting them to crimson stars. The air in Family Video was cold as ice. Right under an AC vent, you shivered and tried not to sound pathetic when you sniffled- “Are you okay?”

She made a face at you, half-incredulous and half-horrified. “Yeah, of course, but what- what happened?”

A door creaked open at the back of the store and Steve emerged, entering the area behind the desk through a small latched door. He slid a pile of tapes onto the counter. “We need to log these before we can-”

His eyes snagged on yours almost instantly. When they did, he went still as stone. His face went flat; like there was no expression horrified enough to match his thoughts.

“I’m sorry,” you warbled, trying not to cry. You weren’t even sure why you said it. Maybe because you knew how large of a bomb you were about to drop on him.

Steve was moving before you had even finished the ‘I’m’. He hopped over the desk, sliding over the counter and landing before you. Warm hands gravitated to both sides of your neck and squeezed. His palms spanned the length of your neck and jaw; fingers sliding up to pull the hair away from your cheeks, eyes flickering frantically around your face.

“What happened?” he demanded. And then, almost instantly, “Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry,” you whispered once more- and then the dam broke. He made a short, soft noise when you started crying. An exasperated gasp, like someone had stuck a needle between his ribs.

“Why are you sorry? Don’t be- are you-”

He grabbed your shoulders and leaned back, taking in your frame. His eyes caught on every smudge and wrinkle, thumb brushing over a mud-covered belt loop. When you sucked in a garbled breath, he shot up.

“Are you okay?” he repeated, enunciating every word.

“Steve-”

“No, I need you to tell me if you’re okay. Alright? Just one time, you have to breathe. I need you to tell me. Are you listening?”

His voice was gentle but firm. It didn’t match his gaze; wide and panicked, glossy with tears you never would have imagined seeing in his eyes. You tried to tell him yes but failed, the word catching in your throat. He exhaled like it hurt and turned over his shoulder.

“Robin, call nine-one-one.”

“Okay, I’m-”

“Now, Robin, do it now.”

You grabbed at his sleeve and pulled him around again. He stumbled before you, taking an impressive effort to hold you upright instead of himself; soft hands sliding up the length of your bare arms.

“Did you see it?” you managed.

“See what, sweetheart?” he breathed out, pained. His brows crossed and uncrossed, trying to solve the puzzle on your face. His voice was so soft it was barely there.

“You didn’t see it?”

“Honey, I don’t know what you’re talking about. You have to- are you hurt?” he prodded gently, trying to simplify his questioning. “Can you tell me that? Did somebody touch you?”

“No,” you sniffled.

He exhaled loudly, eyes rolling up into the back of his head for a moment. Then he removed his left hand from the cap of your shoulder and slid it around the back of your neck, pulling you to him.“Oh, thank god,” he muttered, rambling it off like he hardly noticed himself saying it. Your face fell into his chest and he held it there.

“I’m sorry,” you sobbed.

“Don’t be,” he started. “Don’t be. Alright?”

You could only nod, crying more. He wrapped an arm around your back and squeezed you flat to him, left hand knotting in your hair. His feet walked backwards slowly until he was leaning against the counter, able to drop his jaw in line with your scalp. He murmured, I know, and, you’re good, over and over again until the cops came, even though there was no way to be sure.

Every breath he took buzzed against your cheek, shaking with fear.

. . .

You opened your eyes to find him propped up against the door.

Sunlight steamed in through the closed blinds. Your eyes burned, swollen from crying and stained with tears. Without moving, you watched him, stunned.

This was Steve Harrington’s bedroom.

His eyes were open, fluttering open and shutting slowly. Violet rings encased his eyes. His hair was slightly disheveled, like he had been running his hands through it all night. A small paperback book rested in his lap. A green Family Video vest was draped over the chair, Steve still clad in his beige henley and jeans. He flipped a pencil between his fingers and blinked down at the page.

You were almost too afraid to speak. There was nothing dreamlike about any of it; you were only there because you watched a man die. Still, you could hardly believe it. Any of it. You couldn’t go back to the motel last night, and Steve hovered over you at the police station so much it would hardly have been an option to try and go anywhere else. Not that you would have.

It almost felt too soon to breathe again.

“Are you a sudoku guy?” you whispered.

His head shot up and his eyes flicked to you, wide and warm.

“Huh?” he jolted, mouth barely open.

“Sudoku,” you said, pointing to it in his lap. He stood up, and you straightened out against the headboard, pulling the covers up to your shoulders. The walls were an odd shade of tan, capped by old plaid wallpaper. The carpet was thick and soft. It was an apartment, not a house, and clearly, there wasn’t much he was allowed to change about it.

He glanced down at the book in dismissal and dropped it at the foot of the bed. “I’m awful at it.”

“No...”

He peered at you, like he was afraid his voice would shatter you into a million little pieces. A pit formed in your belly.

“Do you feel okay?”

“Yeah,” you nodded instantly, eager to appear less vulnerable. “Yeah, I feel fine. I felt fine last night, too. I was just scared.”

“Well, yeah,” he nodded, scoffing a bit. Same Steve.

You blinked a few times, swallowing dry air.

“Did you sleep?” you asked.

He made a brief gesture, shrugging and scrunching up his shoulders. “Yeah, I’m good.”

“You look…”

He glanced at you and his brows flicked up. “What, huh? I look what?”

You laughed despite yourself and sunk down into the mattress. He didn’t sleep; it was obvious. For a few moments, he just watched you, lips flattening in that signature faux-blank gaze. His pupils darted between yours, down to your nose and back up. His scent was everywhere- on the comforter and in the pillows. In front of you. You were drowning in him. Truthfully, it made you want to curl up and go back to sleep.

“Did your date get home okay?”

You weren’t even sure why you asked. It just slipped out. And, truth be told, you wanted to know if she was sitting in the kitchen waiting for you to come out, or something equally as horrifying.

“My what?”

“The girl you were with at Lucas’s game.”

He poked his head out and then shook it. “Oh, no. You…she’s just a friend of mine. Really. Not a date.”

His tone was genuine, but you knew a lie when you heard one. It was a date; even if he had changed his mind about her.

His brows ticked down. “Hey. What-?”

You felt it then; tears pricking at your eyes. His voice was so soft, so concerned, it only made it worse. You scrunched your eyelids together and rubbed them vehemently, pretending you were just tired.

His hand fell over your covered ankle. The weight was warm, and he kneaded the blanket there gently. Barely.

“Can I take a shower?” you blurted, trying to break the spell you were under. “Please? It’s okay if not, I just…”

I was hiding in a ditch.

He looked at you like you were crazy. “Of course you can. Why would you say it like that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Of course it’s okay. Anything is okay. You- anything you- whatever you…”

He seemed to give up.

“I don’t know what I’m trying to say, just- yeah, of course.”

Your eyes burned again. Hurriedly, you thanked him and ducked behind the door on the far side of the bedroom, grateful to discover it actually was the bathroom.

. . .

Everything felt different.

You were still you, and Steve was still Steve. But everything else had changed. The wires between you were crossed. You passed him in his kitchen to grab your jacket off the counter, and he sucked in a breath, like you had smacked him or stepped on his foot. With a shaky hand, you slipped on your zip-up.

The scent of soap curled into your nose. When you peeled the jacket away from you for a moment, glancing over it, Steve motioned to it.

“I washed it. Sorry- did it shrink, or something?”

“No!” you said. “No, not at all. I just didn’t know…”

You trailed off, jaw locking. This was unfamiliar territory, not even within the realm of things you had dreamed of happening. It felt weird. To be this alone with him.

You weren’t sure how to act. It seemed like he wasn’t, either.

“It smells good,” you shrugged, a little sheepish.

He made a wry face. “It better. Detergent’s expensive.”

You watched him walk to the fridge and open it, those familiar veins in his forearms. He looked different, more adult, but not any less himself. Like this was how he was always supposed to look; warm and safe.

Oh, shut up.

“Thank you,” you said, climbing onto the barstool. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Nah. I like laundry.”

“You do?”

“Uh, sure,,” he mumbled, pouring milk into a bowl with comedic focus. “It smells good.”

He probably only said it because you did. After he set the bowl of milk in front of you, he swiped two cereal boxes from the counter; variants of honey oats and fruit loops.

“Do you like either of these?” Steve asked, holding them up.

You wrinkled your nose at the bowl a little. “You put the milk in first?”

“Don’t even start, Byers. We don’t have time,” he rambled off, shaking his head at you.

Byers. Your heart swelled, and you laughed, not stopping to think about it. Too pleased at the sound of your nickname to even think about how long it had been since he called you it. Steve did, too- soft and sheepish.

“Start what?” you retorted.

He rolled his eyes. “You know what.”

. . .

The case spiraled.

There was another body, a boy named Fred; one of Nancy’s friends. They worked together on the school paper. Any hopes you had of convincing her to forgive Jonathan or spend any time with you were gone, but you could hardly blame her. You saw what happened to that poor man. What would it have been like to see one of your friends snapped in half, bled dry before your eyes?

Besides, she wasn't focused on Jonathan. Steve was in town.

You tried not to think about it, but it was almost impossible.

He still called her ‘Nance’. You convened in Max’s neighborhood after meeting her at the site of Fred’s death, and he said it.

“Hey, Nance.”

She shot him a small wave. You stood there behind him on the driver's side of the BMW, listening to Max and Dustin bicker. It had been years since you had to watch the two of them talk face-to-face.

You’d always assumed, really, that there were two reasons Steve abandoned you at the Snow Ball. One being that he was embarrassed to be seen with you, and two, being; he was still in love with Nancy.

Who wouldn’t be? She-

“Y/N,” Steve beckoned.

Your gaze jolted up. Cool spring wind wrapped around your ankles, your jeans slightly too short for your legs. You wound your jacket around your shoulders and replied-

“What? I’m sorry.”

“We’re gonna’ head out,” he said, lingering between the open driver’s door. “Everything alright?”

No, not at all.

“Yeah,” you nodded, breathing out and adding a smile. “Yeah, sorry.”

You tried to call home that day, right after lunch. Joyce didn’t pick up. You called again, twice, three times, nine times, and nobody picked up. There was hardly any time to be worried about your brothers, because people were dying in Hawkins, right before your eyes. Of course, you made room. The weight of their safety was on your chest now, too, a constant unanswered fear. And then there was Eddie Munson, falsely accused of murder.

You felt awful for him. When the five of you found him, he was hiding under a tarp. Steve startled him, and Eddie pinned him to the wall with a blade at his throat.

A surprised noise burst from you, and you lurched forward instinctively. Robin grabbed your sleeve and hissed your name. Eddie’s gaze snapped towards you. And then, like your face had been all it took to prove Steve was harmless, he held his hands up and said-

“Alright. But watch yourself.”

The back of Steve’s head collided with the wall when Eddie released him, eliciting a jarring clang. You reached hesitantly for the bruised back of his neck. But before you could touch him, he arched his arm around your frame with his back to you, leisurely shielding you from Eddie and his nervous pacing.

Your heart thumped in your ears. A drop of blood beaded at the bottom of his neck. When you swiped it away, he sucked in a breath.

“What are you doing?”

He whispered it instantly, like you had shocked him. Barely glancing over his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, you just- your head is bleeding. I was try-”

“No, it’s okay,” he rambled off. “S’okay. Sorry.”

“Why are you-?”

The conversation faded into silence as Dustin began talking about more important things; the Upside Down and Eddie’s introduction to it. Chrissy’s death. There were thousands of things more important to talk about that week, which made it easy to forget the way Steve’s sheets smelled just like him, or how he kneaded the back of your neck at the police station while you waited in the lobby; smoothing out the fear you held there and replacing it with his constant vigilance.

But only when you weren’t alone. Back at his apartment; it was nearly impossible to ignore.

You had just finished repacking your suitcase in his bedroom. The blinds were open just barely, the lamp on his bedside table bathing the room in a golden glow. Everything smelled like him, or, if it had no smell- looked like him. He made the bed after you got up; blankets meticulously tucked under the pillows, but still wrinkled, from where he probably got frustrated and yanked on them to cover the mattress. His Family Video vest was draped over the doorknob, like he wore it so often there was no reason to put it in the closet.

The lights were off when you came into the kitchen.

“Hey,” Steve mumbled, holding a small plastic tin that was covered in frost. “I was gonna heat this up for you. It’s, like, orange chicken or something. But it’s kind of ancient, so I don’t know.”

He was reading the label intently, not looking at you.

You smiled. “That’s okay. Thanks for offering, I’ll, um…I’ll get out of your way.”

“Do you want to order- you’ll what?”

He glanced up; the first half of his sentence a nonchalant ramble, the second a pinging interrogation. You straightened out a little bit, surprised.

“I just meant I’ll go back to the motel. You don’t have to get me food, or anything, I wouldn’t ask you to. You already let me sleep here.”

You laughed a little at the end of the sentence, trying to dispel the obvious discontent between his brows. His shoulders softened slightly and he leaned against the counter, resting his palms on the laminate, but that frustrated stare remained.

“You want to go back to the motel?” he asked. He looked soft in the light of the kitchen; blue polo snug over the breadth of his shoulders. His hair fell into his eyes a bit, longer and maybe a little blonder than before. Still Steve. And yet, with every tiny change in his appearance or demeanor, you only loved him more.

“You gotta’ stop doing that, Byers,” he nudged, voice soft as silk.

You blinked, drawn out of your thoughts.

“Doing what?”

“Zoning out on me.”

“I don’t zone out on you,” you retorted immediately. Lied.

His next words were a string of uttered ramblings, barely audible, while he fumbled around the kitchen and put the orange chicken back in the freezer.

“Fucking- drives me insane. All the time.”

His voice was strained but gentle. He was only ever sharp with you when the argument didn’t matter. When you both were bickering uselessly. This was…different. This was him trying to bicker uselessly, but saying something real instead. What were you supposed to do? Pretend he made sense, that all of his nervous mumbling had meant nothing since your sophomore year?

“What do you mean?” you asked.

He froze with his back to you. Then he shut the freezer and glanced slowly over his shoulder.

“What?”

He looked shocked. You never asked him about these things; these little things. Goddamnit, Byers. This sweater really is nice, you know. Of course I want to dance with you, don’t be ridiculous. Oh, you’re working here this summer? This job is going to kill me. Can’t you stay here by the car, where it’s safe?

All the little things. The way he would whip around when you looked at him, like he couldn’t handle it. Running a hand over his eyes every time you said something that worried him. Acting like someone had stabbed him every time you cried.

If he didn’t love you, if he really felt nothing for you; then why should explaining his behavior be so hard?

You blinked at each other for a moment. He had this look on his face; that faux-blank one that he used whenever words were failing. Whenever he was afraid to use them.

A similar fear overcame you and you backed down, rattled.

“Nothing, I just couldn’t hear you. Sorry.”

Still stuck in that awkward, twisted position, one hand gripping the freezer handle, Steve said-

“You do know, don’t you?”

Every word was chopped, a struggle. Only audible because he forced it to be. After there was only stillness; in his stance and on his face, fear and freedom at the same time. Like he had finally revealed something, only you weren’t sure what it was.

“No?” you whispered, voice breaking.

You glanced away, nervous. Steve suddenly straightened out and let go of the freezer.

“I’ll take the couch, yeah?” he hollered, already in the other room. You followed him with your eyes as your heart sped to a panicked pace. “Stay here.”

You blinked. “All week?”

“All week.”

He tossed a blanket over the old green couch and turned to you, hands on his hips.

“There’s a murderer on the loose, Byers. I don’t want you sleeping in a motel.”

Thump, thump. Your pulse was loud as a drum. Staring at him. He opened his mouth with that trademark exhaustion, probably to say, you’re doing it again.

“It’s more of a demon than a murderer,” you commented uselessly. Afraid of anything, of everything that could come next.

He got this weird look in his eyes then, all dazed and worried.

“Would you just stay here, please?” he begged.

It was the saddest sound you ever heard.

. . .

You stayed with Steve. One night later, Max stayed with him, too.

Taking her home after what happened at the cemetery felt wrong. Her eyes were bloodshot red, each of her breaths a stuttered effort. Seeing her hovering above the ground like that topped the fear you felt the night of Lucas’s basketball game; knowing what would come next. The feeling of her pale hands grappling at your sleeves when she came back down, grasping for someone, anyone, was heartbreaking.

Dustin and Lucas weren’t allowed to stay out, and sending her home with either of them was out of the question, too. The idea popped into your head well before Steve offered. But when he did, it sounded obvious.

“Max, can you just share my bed with Y/N?”

You were in the passenger seat of his BMW, worriedly eyeing Max and the boys in the backseat. You met Steve’s gaze there when he asked her, that familiar glint of concern in his eyes. Your heart swelled heavy as a bowling ball.

“S’fine,” she murmured. Lucas was cradling her head at an awkward angle against his shoulder, clearly desperate to be holding her, however he could. She didn’t ask what Steve meant, or ask how long he would have her; she just trusted him to take care of her.

A stray tear rolled down your cheek just thinking of it.

“I’ll sleep on the floor, Max,” you said softly. “The bed is yours.”

She said nothing. Maybe she wasn’t able to, but the tangled expression on her face uncoiled a bit. You smiled at her in what you hoped was a comforting fashion, heart fluttering against your ribs like a bird.

She took to you that night. Max had never been as brash with you as the others, but she opened up once you got back to the apartment. Or, rather- cracked open. Steve hovered behind the two of you, far enough away to give her space, close enough to catch her if she fell as you guided her to the bathroom. Max leaned against the sink and shivered.

“Can you help me?” she whispered.

You could have wept at the sound of it. “Of course. What do you need?”

She sniffled, and her eyes pointed to the bathtub. “I feel like I can’t...lift my arms.”

“Oh,” you breathed. More of a broken noise than a reply. “Of course. I can help with your clothes, too- is that okay? Do you want me to?”

She nodded, lips crumpling into a soundless sob. Before you shut the door, you turned to Steve. His face was awfully hurt, stained by anger and unwarranted guilt.

“Holler if you need me,” he said softly.

“I will.”

His brows fluttered together as he looked at you. “Don’t cry, Byers.”

His words were gentle, entirely commandless. Like he said it more for himself than for you. You cast him the tiniest, tiredest smile and shut the door.

Later that night, Max sat at the foot of Steve’s bed as you dried her hair, in a pair of your borrowed pajamas. Long red strands ended in dripping water, blotting Steve’s comforter and sheets as you squeezed a fistful of her hair in a towel. Soon, there was a knock at the bedroom door.

You glanced at Max. “Are you okay with him coming in?”

She nodded, and you got up to open the door.

Steve filtered in slowly, leaning quietly in the doorway as you got back to drying Max’s hair. When you grabbed a brush from your suitcase, he finally spoke.

“Feeling okay?” he asked.

Max sniffed. “Fine.”

“You need anything? Water?”

“I guess.”

He turned instantly and sped to the kitchen, like a soldier at attention. You watched him grab a glass from the cupboard and fill it with ice like her life depended on it. Sweet. You snatched your eyes away when he came back and continued brushing, careful not to tug on any knots.

Steve held it out to her, in front of both of you. Her hand rattled as she reached for it. For a moment, it seemed like she would just give up. Her other hand floated up at her side, tentative, like every movement felt unfamiliar.

Then, gently; Steve took that free hand in his and wrapped the glass of water in her other, clamping her other palm slowly around the glass. He watched her intently with a tiny knot between his brows.

“Good?” he asked, holding her hands in his.

Max nodded, clearly embarrassed, and snatched the glass away. “Thanks.”

It took everything in you not to stare at him in awe as he retreated to the doorway.

“I’ll be out here,” he said choppily, “on the couch. If you…if you need anything. Just holler.”

The two of you locked eyes. His were glossy as marbles, his expression more rattled those past few days than you had ever seen it in the past few years. He made that face at you- the flat-lipped, faux-blank one. You wondered what he was thinking behind the mask.

“Can you both stay in here?”

Your focus shot to Max. She glanced over her shoulder, water staining the soft gray sleeves of your sleep shirt.

Steve poked his head out. “What’d you say?”

“Can you both sleep in here,” she repeated, a little terse. “On the floor, or something.” Then she glanced at you. “And can you stay up here?”

The ‘with me’ was silent. You did your best not to weep at the sight of her face and nodded enthusiastically. Of course, you obliged. She chose the right side of the bed closest to the window and curled up instantly, facing the blinds with shaking shoulders. You laid next to her under the covers, careful not to crowd her, but with a hand draped over the top of her pillow. If she looked up, she would see you there.

Eventually, her trembling stopped and she fell asleep. Relief poured over you. It had been nearly two hours since you all laid down, and you could finally move a bit- placing your other arm on top of the nightstand. It had fallen asleep squished into your side, but you were too afraid to move it while she was dozing off.

Steve groaned on the floor. Hesitant, you leaned over the bed, squinting down at him in the darkness.

“You okay?” you whispered.

His eyes popped open, frantic gaze flickering up at you from his floor bound blanket cocoon. A wry strand of chestnut hair fell into his swollen eyes.

“I was sleeping,” he mumbled.

“No, you weren’t,” you retorted.

You had been avoiding each other. Not avidly, or even intentionally. But speaking after what happened last night in the kitchen felt wrong. There was so much you missed there, so much that he missed. The wires between you were even more tangled than before, but you had no idea how to fix it.

You do know, don’t you?

KNOW WHAT! You wanted to scream. But he seemed disappointed when you said no- like you had done something wrong. Prying made you feel even worse.

So you ignored it; as the two of you often did.

Steve sniffed. “Shut up.”

You bit back a laugh, not apt to let it out in the first place. Max’s warm shadow at your side was a constant reminder of the danger you were facing. It was still crazy to you that everyone had survived the one lone demogorgon in 1983. Fighting a mind-warping phantom who could kill you from miles away seemed nearly impossible.

“My back hurts,” Steve muttered.

You glanced down, brows drawn. “Do you want another pillow?”

“No, keep yours.”

You blinked. “I didn’t offer you mine.”

“You were going to.”

A tiny grin rippled over your face. “You know me so well,” you teased.

A genuine smile grew on his lips, slow, and then all at once.

“Yeah, I guess I do.”

His face made your chest hurt.

“She seem okay?” he asked next, pulling you out of your thoughts. You glanced at Max fondly, happy to see her completely still.

“Yeah. She fell asleep.”

“Good.” He breathed in slow. “Fucking awful.”

“I know.”

“She must have been ter-”

Just then, Max stirred. A tiny, whining sound fell from her lips as she rolled over in Steve’s bed. Your brows drew in instant worry and you sat up, following her movements with hazy eyes. The world was completely blue outside the window, varnished by a television-like haze. Her outline was fuzzy.

She settled in beside you, then- her head on your pillow. As you sank down, hesitantly wrapping an arm around her shoulders, you noticed Steve had sat up and was leaning against the nightstand with a worried stare.

“Is she okay?”

“I think,” you nodded, patting her hair down. You stroked softly; afraid to go too far, to give her too much. You never imagined she would be vulnerable like this. Maybe she never felt safe enough.

“Yeah,” you added, scanning the length of her frame beneath the blankets. “She’s okay.”

Steve stared at you.

“Huh,” he mumbled. That one huh, the huh that meant I’m thinking something and I’m not going to say it.

Annoyance reared through you.

“What?” you practically snapped.

He smiled with his mouth closed, eyes still on Max.

“You would be a wonderful mom,” he remarked sheepishly. A little sarcastically, but only because the notion was so glaringly obvious he didn’t even need to say it.

The comment had your hands buzzing. “Really?”

He wrinkled up his cheeks. “Of course.”

You glanced back at Max, limbs like jello. “Why?”

He scoffed.

“Don’t even ask me that.”

“Why!”

“It’s obvious, Byers. Don’t play dumb.”

You glared at him. “I never play dumb.”

His gaze softened, a thin crease of sadness between his brows. “I know.”

You gazed at each other. He was fuzzy in the midnight light, too; but his resolve was hard, firm lines around the lean angles of his shoulders and chest. There was something statue-like about his posture. Like you would fade away if he moved.

“I hate that you’re here,” he breathed suddenly.

“What?”

“I’m just- fuck me,” he murmured, rubbing his hands over his eyes. He scrubbed them and then sighed. “This is so fucked. All of it.”

“I know,” you replied instantly, desperate for him to get to the point. Horrified.

“I wish you’d stayed in California for break. It’s the first time in a year anything’s happened in Hawkins, and it happens when you’re back. It happens in front of you. I hate it. I fucking hate it, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

For a moment, all you could do was stare. He stared down at his lap, defeated, but mostly tense. Rigid with anger in that familiar snappy way he always was.

“I’m…” you started, unsure. He didn’t even look up.

You sucked in a breath and let the words fall out.

“You’ve done plenty,” you whispered. “You went to the police station with me. You let me stay here. You’re letting Max stay here. You’ve done more than enough.”

He shook his head, but his gaze flicked up, now focused on your fingers where they softly patted Max’s hair.

“I want to do more,” he whispered, like he remembered she was sleeping. “I have to do more. I’m losing my fucking mind,” he murmured, head dropping back onto the nightstand.

You peered down at him, stunned into stillness. He was so close. The freckles on his nose were pinpricks in the dark, long lashes fluttering as his full brows drew in concern. You didn’t mean to stare; but you had to. And then, when you finally worked up the gull to say something, he sat up.

“I shouldn’t have dumped that on you. Shit. I’m sorry.”

“No,” you shook your head, replying softly. He glanced over at the sound of it, before you could finish your sentence, and your noses came so close you felt the warmth of his skin ghost over yours.

You both inhaled. Frozen. Your hand stilled on Max’s head as Steve stared at you unblinking, mouth slowly falling open as his gaze teetered between both of your eyes. He shook his head at you slowly. The moment seemed to last for an hour and one second all the same.

“Byers,” he breathed out, the tiniest cry behind it. “You deserve so much more.”

His breath fanned over your nose. You tensed to keep from shivering.

“Than what?” you dared to ask.

His gaze fell to your nose for a long time. “Than everything,” he replied, a little dumbfounded.

His pupils darted to your lips for the shortest second, and you saw it there in his mirror-like gaze that what he had in mind was not what he said. Jarred, too tired to overthink what he really meant, you sunk down into the mattress and leaned towards Max.

You felt Steve’s eyes on you as you tried to sleep, on your fingers as they weaved through her hair. You fell asleep with them on you. In the morning, there was no way to be sure whether he looked at you all night; but he had those same purple rings beneath his eyes from the first night he stayed awake watching you, sleepless in his own home.

. . .

There was a gate to the Upside Down inside Lover’s Lake.

Somewhere buried at the bottom, glowing red like an open wound. Bleeding Hawkins. You came upon it in the forest the next night while police searched the woods for Eddie, an old boat lapping against the shore.

“Will you watch the kids?” Steve asked gruffly. You glanced up where you knelt on the bank, trying to push the boat into the water.

“Right now?”

“Yeah. While we’re gone.”

Eddie clambered into the boat beside you, ungracefully helping Nancy and Robin slip onto the old deck. You blinked up at Steve, hesitant and a little angry.

He hissed suddenly. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Don’t…with your eyes, don’t do that.”

He rambled it off like it hurt. You sat there and ‘did the thing with your eyes’ for a moment more- you looked up at him. You had to, you were sitting on the ground. You weren’t even doing it on purpose, when suddenly, he crouched down in front of you and came close to your ear.

“I can’t do what I need to do when you’re here,” he pleaded, Steve-like and snappy. Heart wrenching, nonetheless. “Do you…does that make sense to you? I can’t do this. You can’t be here, or I won’t get this done.”

“Why?” you begged. Afraid for him to throw himself in harm's way for the thousandth time.

“All I’m thinking about is you,” he strained. “I’ll get everybody else killed, cus’ all I’ll be thinking about is you. Walking around the Upside Down, marching through hell. Do you understand me?”

His tone was sharp but not angry. He was afraid. He was telling the truth.

You blinked at him, almost level with his eyes.

“That’s what you need?” you whispered.

“Yes,” he nodded instantly. “Yeah, sweetheart. That’s what I need.”

You could have smacked him. He had called you that more than once now; sweetheart. Like he knew it would get you.

You stood up. His nose brushed over your ribs and the top of your thighs, nearly knocking him over. He shut his eyes and went perfectly still.

You left to stand by Max.

. . .

The next time you saw Steve his stomach was slashed.

You nearly threw up. Your heart was beating in your eye sockets, blaring in your head. He was cradling Nancy in his arms. Vecna got her, he said, but she was fine. She would be fine, she wasn’t dead. Everyone was crying but Steve.

Back at his apartment, you offered to help him dress the wounds.

“No,” he shook his head. “No. You can’t.”

“Can’t?” you repeated as he labored to the bathroom. And he responded with this awful look; defeated and guilty, but most of all, yearning.

“Can’t,” he nodded, practically mocking himself.

He slept on the couch instead of on the floor beside you.

. . .

Eddie hotwired an RV.

That day was just as dismal, but a little more exciting. You stopped by the gun store to buy weapons for your expedition into the Upside Down, wandering around for a while until your eyes landed on an enormous mallet. The dull metal shined in the fluorescent lights overhead as Robin walked by.

“Oh shit, Byers.”

You glanced over. “What?”

She smirked. “Nothing. Just looking at your mallet.”

You smiled a little. “Should I get it?”

“Of course.”

You laughed, but her gaze was already elsewhere. As you turned to follow it, you saw a redheaded girl behind a few shelves of bullets, a boy leaning down to kiss her nose. You squinted at the pair. Does she like one of them?

When you glanced back at Robin, the sting in her eyes was obvious.

“Oh, Robin,” you whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

Her eyes shot to you, a little wide.

“What did you say?”

Panic shot through you. “I just said I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

“You know?” she gushed, stepping towards you. “Who told you? Steve?”

You blinked at her. “Know what?”

She blinked back. And then, just like that, it locked into place. She stared at you expectantly as realization flooded through you. Of course. For a moment, you thought about lying to her, saying you knew all along or something corny like that to make her feel better. Ultimately, what you said was probably best.

“No, actually,” you replied quietly. “But I do now.”

“Oh, fuck-”

“No, no. Robin. I love you. It’s great. It wouldn’t matter to me either way, but I’m…I’m sorry I accidentally sprung that on you. I didn’t know, but I do now, and I promise I won’t say a word to anyone. If you don’t want me to.”

She stared at you in disbelief. “You won’t?”

“Of course not.” You smiled a bit, unsure of her reaction. “My opinion doesn’t matter, but I’m…it’s great,” you settled on. A bit nervous. “It’s great, and I love you. And I’m sorry. That I found out.”

It’s a moment of choppy apologies and poor congratulations. But Robin sighed like you lifted a boulder from her shoulders.

“No. Don’t be sorry. This is great. This is fantastic,” she beamed. “For a second I thought you might have remembered.”

“Remembered what?” you blinked.

“Just…” Her face went pale. “Shit.”

“Robin-”

“I don’t think I’m supposed to talk about that.”

You opened your mouth to beg for more when Erica breezed by you and whispered, “We’re leaving. Now.”

“Why?” Robin muttered.

“Jason is here.”

. . .

“I’m coming.”

Steve stared at you from the opposite side of Eddie’s front lawn.

“I am begging you to do literally anything other than that.”

You did it anyway.

The plan called for you to join Steve, Eddie, Nancy, Robin and Dustin in the Upside Down; so you would do it. Someone had to be there to run between groups, to relay information, to join whoever fell behind. The plan called for you to be there, plain and simple.

What Steve failed to understand even after all of your years together was that you worried about him just as much as he worried about you.

He was guiding the group of you- Nancy and Robin included- up the front porch steps to Victor Creel’s old house when you felt it. A cold, spindling feeling crawling up the back of your neck as you entered the foyer, climbing up to the second floor. You wondered if this was what Will felt like when the Mind Flayer picked at his brain.

As if summoned by your thoughts, the gelatinous vines snaking up the walls of the Creel house shot out like tentacles and seized Robin’s throat.

“STEVE!” she screamed.

All three of you lunged for her. More vines shot out, wrapping around Nancy’s neck and pinning her to the wall. Sense finally slammed into you as you pulled your mallet from your backpack.

Another wet cord leapt for Steve. You reared your mallet overhead, ready to bash it into the wall; and suddenly you were surrounded by metal.

You sunk down as your legs folded beneath you. The walls swam and swirled around you, the color of steel pipes and aluminum cans. Steel walls. Where in the Upside Down were there steel walls?

A weight landed on your left shoulder. You should have flinched- but you couldn’t. Everything was heavy. You could hardly see.

“Still there?” a voice rasped. It clicked instantly, a switch flipped in your brain. You knew him anywhere.

Steve? You tried to call for him. Instead, something else left your lips.

“Yeah.”

It was a strangled, exhausted noise. Slurred and messy. You thought to panic but couldn’t. Your thoughts weren’t your own, your feelings weren’t even your own. Like you were witnessing your own life from the outside.

That weight on your shoulder turned, and a nose nudged into the side of your neck.

“Too short,” Steve muttered. “For me to sit like this.”

“Why?”

“You are. Not comfy.”

“Huh…”

The swaying of the walls seemed to clear slightly the longer you sat, so when you glanced down, you finally saw the floor. Your ankles were tied to a chair, a little bruised. A graze covered your shin. In your lap was a mass of blue fabric. And behind you- a mass of lean limbs and chestnut hair.

There was another ankle beside yours, pale and freckled. Not Steve, but Robin. You saw a wisp of her blonde hair out of the corner of her eye. She was sniffling, crying. Happy tears, you realized. She laughed a bit and sighed in relief. Something must have happened. What happened? What had she said?

Robin. Just that day, you found out Robin liked Vicky. Is that what she was happy about? Telling the two of you?

But this didn’t happen that day. This had never happened. Not that you could remember.

A door flung open beside you and a man marched in, clad in heavy green canvas. A soldier. He reached for Robin, untying her and plucking her from her chair. You and Steve both screamed for her as she was dragged away, the door slamming shut in her absence.

His head lolled onto your shoulder again. Your vision was pretty clear now, only your thoughts and movements still painstakingly sluggish.

A tear rolled down your cheek. You sniffled in dry, sterile air. Steve breathed out.

“Don’t,” he whined.

“Don’t what?” you managed.

“Don’t cry. Please don’t cry.”

“I’m not,” you sniffled.

“You are,” he strained. His weight shifted, further down your shoulder. His face was buried in your hair. “I can’t. Don’t.”

“Steve…”

“Please don’t. Please don’t.”

His words were slurred, strained. Like he too was swallowing a knot in his throat. You swallowed yours and nodded, diluted panic coursing through you like molasses.

“I hate feeling like this,” you wheezed.

“I thought…you would.”

“Why?”

“You are so good.”

“At what?”

“Everything.”

There were no lies between the two of you now; only delayed responses, thoughts rolling in one second too late. Both of you, open books. You should have been relieved, but you were trapped in a Russian bunker underneath a mall.

Oh.

Your body was nonexistent in that moment; a claw wrapped around your mind. But if you could have, you would have gasped. This was what happened that night at Starcourt.

You let the memory play out.

“I don’t want to do this,” you whispered, tears streaming down your cheeks.

“Do what?” Steve said into your ear. His head pressed against yours, backs flat to each other.

“I don’t want to say it.”

“Say what?”

You started to cry again, audibly. You couldn’t help it. You were so afraid you would blurt it out, then and there; that you loved him. There were tears everywhere and your legs shook as you sobbed. It was miserable. Steve cursed and yanked on the ropes around his wrists. You felt it behind your back.

“What are you doing?” you sobbed.

“I can’t-”

“Just stop!” you cried. “They won’t break. You’ll hurt your hands.”

For a moment, it was quiet in the metal room.

And then Steve cracked.

His shoulders convulsed as he cried, the chairs creaking between you as he dropped his head down to his chest. You had never heard Steve cry before. It was quiet, unpitched, timid and sheepish. Like allowing himself to cry was a reason to be crying.

He sat up and you felt his hair brush against yours.

“This is my fault,” he choked. You tried to whip your head around, horrified at the inclination, but you could barely move.

“Of course it’s not,” you slurred. “Steve.”

“No, not- fuck, not this, I mean-” He sucked in a breath. “You. You are my fault.”

He spoke again before you could get your mouth open.

“I feel so much for you I don’t know what to do about it. I can’t do…anything to…you’re just everywhere. All the time. You’re everywhere and you’re all- you’re all I can think about and I let you down.”

“No you didn’t,” you lied.

“I did. I left you, at that dance. And you were crying.” He stopped, and sucked in a warbled breath. “You were crying.”

“It’s o-”

“I hate it when you cry. I can’t…you should never be crying over…about me. You should never…there’s no reason.”

You stared at the side of his head. “Of course there is.”

Steve let out another sob.

“I just love you,” he choked.

His head dropped onto your shoulder. The bruise around his eye was swollen and raw, streaked with tears. A stream of blood fell from his nose as he peeled open his good eye to look at you; haunted and pleading.

Steve breathed out. “I just really love you.”

You blinked down at him, one of your tears landing on his cheek. “You do?”

He scoffed painfully, and it moved your chairs over an inch. “So much. All I think about. And it’s- it’s okay. You don’t have to…y’know.”

“No,” you managed. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t have to pretend to love me, Byers,” he slurred.

A fresh wave of horror washed over you, waking you up slightly. You dropped your head onto Steve’s shoulder and stared at him, in awe of the boy before you. His eyes scrunched up at your sudden weight, pleased and pained.

“I know…I’m not enough for you. You should have more. S’why I…I never wanted you to know I liked you. Didn’t want you to feel bad.”

“Steve…” you whispered.

“I know what you think about me,” he murmured, letting his eyes fall shut.

“What do I think about you?”

He let out a long breath.

“I’m Steve,” he said. Then he laughed, like he knew it was stupid. “Your Steve. Stupid and…careless. With Nance. With you. Your Steve, the one you know. Speed of sound Steve.”

“Speed of sound Steve?” you wheezed, almost overjoyed. He nodded, a few more strangled sobs reverberating down the hard plane of his chest.

“Yeah,” he whispered. “I did that for you. I messed up…the grade. For you. I wrote another speech the night before and just…threw it away.”

“Why?”

“So you wouldn’t be nervous.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” you strained, the words heavy on your lips.

“Course I did.” He grinned a little bit. “Had to do it for you.”

The question bubbled out of you before you could stop it.

“What about Nancy?”

He made a regretful face, brows crossing.

“I loved Nancy. But you are…you. You’re you.”

“I’m me?”

“Yeah,” he said, turning to face you. You strained your eyes to look at each other, welling up with tears all over again. “You’re you, Byers, and it’s always been you. I knew it the whole time.” He sniffled, and his expression crumpled. “I am really in love with you.”

“Why did you leave me?” you dared. “At the dance?”

“I wanted you to have better. You should have better than me. I thought it was…right thing.” A tear beaded in his bruised eye. “Wrong, I know. But I didn’t…know what to do. I figured I would just…fuck it up even more.”

You blinked at each other.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Your brows knit together.

“I do love you,” you pressed, forcing the words out. They weighed more than the two of you combined. “Steve. I love you.”

He hardly had enough strength left to smile.

“Really?” he replied. Prayed.

“Yeah. I love you, Steve. Speed of sound Steve.”

He snorted.

“My Steve. I love you. Always have.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“I do.”

You stared at each other. The ghost of a grin rippled over his lips, every muscle in his face likely sore beyond belief. Then he breathed out, oh, fuck, and started crying all over again.

The memory at Starcourt wound to a close. Dustin and Erica came for you eventually, Robin close behind. When they untied you, you both clattered to the floor for a moment in a heap of warm limbs and salty tears. Steve slipped a poorly aimed hand under your head to keep you from hitting the floor and slung you over his chest; draped over him like a blanket.

He wrapped his arms around you and cried some more. You felt him smiling against your ear; ridiculously and incandescently happy as Hawkins collapsed around you.

Collapsed.

. . .

The Creel house snapped back into view.

You felt the long spindles of Vecna’s fingers retreat from your mind as you wheezed, exhaling loud. You were in another room, somewhere upstairs; an attic brimming with newly lit fire. Leaning against a warm body. Robin and Nancy stood at the top of the stairs, rambling to each other, crying out when they saw your eyes open.

“It’s done?” you breathed.

A hand wrapped around your far shoulder and spun you like a rag doll. When you steadied Steve, he gripped your forearms, steadying you in return.

“You were hovering,” he blurted. “I dragged you up here, Byers. What the fuck was that? Are you-”

“I’m fine,” you breathed. “I’m fine.”

“Why were you-? What happened?”

He clamped his hands down on either side of your face. You rocked to the side and stood upright again, wrapping your hands around his wrists. He held you there, and you held him back, peering into dark wells of his eyes. Knowing.

It almost made you smile; the idea of an all-powerful monster trapping you in a memory to keep you from splitting his evil vines in half.

“You bashed that tentacle in half,” Steve scrambled to say.

Oh!

“Oh, it- I did?”

“Yeah, right before you…whatever it is. Saved my life, probably.”

“Robin and Nancy are fine.”

“Yeah, because I got them down,” he retorted.

You blinked into the mirror of his eyes, overcome with adoration. It had always been there, but allowing yourself to feel it wasn’t so scary anymore.

Steve’s brows flicked down. His resolve cracked.

“Don’t ever do that shit again. Alright? Ever again. I thought I was going to have a heart atta-”

You wrapped your arms around his neck and squeezed. His jacket and bag slipped down over his shoulders a bit, the force almost knocking him over. He steadied himself and gripped your waist like that wasn’t an option; leaning into you, collapsing into you like you did to him. His chin dropped to the top of your head. You held each other up, his scent curling into your nose. Safe in the most dangerous place on Earth.

You buried your head in his chest for a moment and he exhaled, nose dipping to your forehead. He breathed you in.

You pulled your head up, pressed a kiss to his cheek, and then his lips.

His grip tightened around you as he went stiff. It was soft- everything about him was soft, and his mouth moved to kiss you back before it seemed his brain had even thought of it. He tasted clean, warm like summer. For a moment, he was completely still. Steve opened his eyes and blinked down at you, pulling away slightly.

“Are you serious?” he pleaded, voice cracking. Like you could break him in two with just a glance. His eyes were glassy with tears.

“Yes,” you managed.

He breathed out hard. “Byers- I mean- if you’re not sure, you can’t-”

“I’m serious. I have never been more serious about anything in my entire life.”

“You’re serious,” he retorted in disbelief.

“Yes, Steve-”

His fingers threaded into your hair and pulled gently, like he was feeling to make sure you were tangible and not just a mirage as he pressed his lips to yours. Locked in. His hands flew back to your neck and pressed there, the tension still in his brows seeming to disperse at the feeling of your pulse against his palms. Dizzying warmth flooded over you as the tips of his fingers cupped your ears, hot as irons against your icy skin.

“I love you,” he breathed suddenly. Letting go of him felt like snapping out of a mold. “And when you asked me about the girl I went to Lucas’s game with, I thought you…when I said we weren’t dating, you looked like you didn’t believe me. I meant it. I mean, it was a date, I’m sure she was nice, but I was only going on dates because you weren’t here. You know? You are the love of my life. You know, don’t you? You know?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, trying not to cry. There was no reason to anymore. “I know.”

“That’s what-”

He paused, staring at you. Then he kissed you again, like it couldn’t wait. You gripped the collar of his jacket to steady yourself, feeling him tilt his neck up so there was room for you to lean on him.

“That’s what I was trying to ask you,” he said, pulling away from you again. “At my place. I asked you, you know, don’t you? That’s what I was asking.”

“I didn’t know then,” you replied.

“But you do now?”

“Yes,” you laughed.

His face was perfectly serious. “You love me?” And then- “Fuck. You don’t have to. I’m sorry.”

“Steve,” you strained. “Of course I do.”

“You do?”

“I d-”

He kissed you again. You never considered it; that Steve might have been just as afraid of loving you as you were of loving him. Your teeth knocked into his, and instead of letting go, he positioned his hands on the side of your face to pull you back just slightly; enough to keep you from feeling the sting. His palms smashed your hair into your eyes. There were tentacles on the wall and a pile of demon ashes behind you, melting through the floor.

My first kiss, you realized. But you would tell him that later.

. . .

You picked at your yellow gown as they called the name of the graduate before you.

Clapping rang through the auditorium as they crossed the stage and you climbed up the stairs behind them, hands shaking at your sides. A drop-down projector screen wavered in the light breeze of the afternoon, hanging from two poles driven into the turf of the Lenora Hills High football field. The urge to look for your family was strong, but the urge to look directly at your feet was stronger.

The announcer cleared his throat.

“Y/N Byers.”

You forced yourself up the stairs. Sunlight reared in your eyes as you bounded across the carpeted stage, eager to be off as soon as possible. The principal handed you your diploma and smiled, shaking your hand so hard you thought you might keel over.

The sound of bat-like screeching snagged in your ears.

When you looked up, Joyce was holding up a sign with your name on it in the front row of the bleachers, screaming bloody murder. Behind her, Jonathan hollered, looping his arms under Will’s shoulders and yanking him into the air. He pumped his fist shakily.

Beside them, a tall and chestnut-haired boy cupped his hands around his mouth and howled- “YES, BYERS!”

Steve Harrington. Your boyfriend.

Your face cracked open into a smile when you met them afterward. Joyce took her time with you; wrapping her arms around you tight and knocking you around like a buoy in rough waters. When she let go, Will tugged at your sleeve, and you hugged him quickly, certain he was ready to get out of the crowd.

When you let go of him, Jonathan smiled. He hugged you tight and patted your shoulders.

“I do love you,” he remarked. “Even if I never say it.”

You laughed over his shoulder. “I know.”

Even before Jonathan let go, you were looking at Steve. A few inches away, beaming with a bushel of yellow and white roses in his hands, staring at you like you were the Sun even though it burned bright right behind him.

Jonathan let go. You meandered over, nervous although you had been together for nearly three months at that point.

“Miss Byers,” Steve greeted grandly, handing you the bouquet as if to knight you. “Now a graduate.”

“How do you feel about it?” you grinned.

He cast you an incredulous glance. “How do I feel about it?” he repeated. Steve stepped forward and wrapped his arms around your waist, lifting you into the air. “How do you feel about it!” he laughed. You squealed into his shoulder, content. Too content. After he spun you around a few times and set you down, you felt like crying.

The world wasn’t perfect. People in Hawkins still blamed Eddie for Vecna’s killings, and Max had yet to wake up. There was a rift in the ground, growing wider each day. Only the few of you knew where it led. There was work to be done, eventually. One day soon, you would have to go back and decide what to do.

Steve placed his palms in their familiar slot on the sides of your neck. You met him there, wrapping your fingers around his wrists.

He shook his head. “I’ll never get over it.”

“Get over what?”

He grinned and swallowed, glancing down at your lips.

“You,” he said. “I think I’ll be this corny about it for the rest of my life.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Oh, you don’t?” he replied, leaning in with a thumb swiping over your lips.

“No,” you grinned.

“Really?”

He kissed you before you could respond. Every nerve in your body sparked; relieved. Overjoyed.

Somehow, you just knew you would figure it out.

◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ HELLO!!! after a corrupted file and two crashed links part three is here. thank u for being patient with me and thank you for reading it means the world to me. i hope you love this last part. it makes me happy. actually i don't even know what to say the idea of anyone reading one of my works until the end is so sweet it makes me want to cry so thank you so so so much for interacting with SOS :((( i am emotional anyways likes reblogs comments just plain thoughts literally ANYTHING is so appreciated and i cannot thank you enough for the love on this fic. i am so happy. ok gn talk soon <3

tags:@preciousbabypeter @meganlikesfandoms @ikkehehe @the-winter-spider @khaylin27 @floweronmoon @ilovehotdads69 @naughty-koala07 @kisskissshutmydoor @americaswritings @mayonesavegana @alexaisaflop @selfdeprecatingnerd @alainabooks143 @appocalipse @scoobiessnacks @keehnbean @xsammijoanneex

#steve harrington x reader fluff #steve harrington drabble #stranger things fic #stranger things x reader #stranger things #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader angst

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scoops-stevie-archive · 1 year

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If you’re still taking requests, can I ask for 8. sweater weather and either romantic steddie Or platonic stobin?

i wasn't expecting this thing to grow legs and run as far as it did. i'm sure i lost the original plot somewhere along the way. but i hope you like it! takes place after the events of spring break and is a companion piece to this. also now on ao3

Robin will admit she's a bit of a clothes thief. 80% of her closet now consists of every article of clothing she'd ever stolen from Steve's wardrobe.

Though, stealing is a strong word, she thinks. They're more like hand-me-downs, or "a charitable donation to the less fortunate, Steve. I won't get mad if you write it off your taxes, pinky promise."

Most of the clothes Steve doesn't even realize are gone until Robin wears it to work or a movie night. Just gives her a once over, an appreciative nod, and a "looks nice, Rob. Better on you than me." Which.

Okay.

They're platonic soulmates. Best friends. Twin flames, even. Everybody knows this. They've both come out to the party and Steve is with Eddie exclusively now, so there's no romantic feelings between them whatsoever— excluding the brief moment of one sided attraction on Steve's end.

But.

Steve is still Steve.

He's still Steve Harrington.

His natural state is casual flirting even if he doesn't mean anything by it and Robin is 100% a hot blooded lesbian, but his easy compliments still manage to make her tummy flutter and her cheeks pink as she fights the smile trying to worm its way onto her face. The giggle (a fucking giggle) that bubbles from her throat is no help, either.

She chalks it up to never receiving a lot of compliments from people in her formative years.

Now that Steve's dating Eddie, though, their closets look like they've exploded together in a clash of brights and darks, leather and chains meeting polos and denim. Eddie would never spend his hard earned drug earnings on school spirit attire, but sometimes he'll be lounging around the trailer in some Hawkins High sports shirt. Steve wears Eddie's band shirts more often than not because of how comfy they are (he does this on purpose.)

So now when Robin raids Steve's closet, she gets Eddie's clothes too, which is what gets her into the current situation:

She doesn't even think about what she puts on that morning before rushing out the door so Steve will stop honking the fucking horn. It's 6:30am and she has elderly neighbors who need their beauty sleep, for Christ's sake.

(Mr. Cochran currently mowing his yard across the street doesn't share the same sentiments.)

She can tell something's wrong by the whispers that follow her down the hallway as she walks to her locker. She ignores it, though, chalks it up to another rumor about her and Steve making the rounds again.

It's not until lunch that the reason becomes apparent.

She sits beside Nancy at the Hellfire table. The boys aren't there yet so it gives them a chance to catch up and gossip a little, something Robin never thought she'd be interested in before becoming friends with Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler and learning that little miss reporter has stories on almost everyone of their classmates.

They're in the middle of Nancy telling her how Becky was caught in a janitor's closet making out with someone not her boyfriend, when—

"That my jacket, Buckley?"

Eddie's voice is suddenly right in her ear and he materializes out of nowhere, dragging a chair to the head of the table and turning it around to sit on it backwards. The guys follow suit and sit in their own chairs, flanking Eddie's left and right.

Robin frowns and lifts the collar like she's expecting to see Eddie's name stitched on the inside. "Uh, no? I think I'd notice if it were, Munson."

Eddie laughs as he pulls out his lunch that he won't admit Steve made for him. "I do think it is, little birdie."

Robin bristles a bit at the nickname. Eddie jerks his chin.

"Take a look at the back."

Robin glances around the table before hesitantly shrugging the jacket off. She balks at the very obvious image of the signature Hellfire Club devil, painted against a wall of white on the black denim.

"What the hell was this doing in Steve's closet?"

Eddie chokes on his sandwich.

Nancy's perfect eyebrows pull together. "Why were you looking through his closet?"

"Stealing his clothes, obviously."

"Why do you steal his clothes?" Gareth asks.

Robin throws her head back and groans. "I always take his clothes, haven't you noticed almost every shirt I wear is his? We're getting off topic, why did Steve put this in his closet?" She throws an accusing look at Eddie who shrugs.

"Why are you acting like my clothes being in my boyfriend's closet is some big conspiracy?" he shoots back.

Robin narrows her eyes. They stare each other down for a few seconds. She can hear that little whistle from all the western movies and she glares at Jeff to knock it off. Eventually, Robin concedes.

"Touché, Munson. Just don't be surprised when I start wearing your clothes, too. If it's in his closet it's fair game."

Eddie tilts his head in a bow. "As you wish, Lady Buckley."

She doesn't give the jacket back. Isn't sure if she wants to and Eddie doesn't mention even wanting it back. So she keeps it. Admires the little stitches on the front pocket and traces her fingers over the painted devil. There are pins she was somehow blind to, of bands she'd never heard of— except Metallica and Dio— and she curses her brain for being too curious for its own good.

A couple weeks pass and Robin casually mentions to Steve in passing that they should take a day trip down to Indy and hit up a few thrift shops and music stores. He doesn't question it, so they do, and she comes home with new tapes she wants to show Eddie and new clothes that she can call hers.

She doesn't give the jacket back. Instead it hangs on her closet door as she pulls on her own, decorated in various pins and patches she bought in the city and had her mom help her sew them on, over a black Blondie t-shirt.

She's even taken a chance with eyeliner and darker eye shadow that compliments her nails. Wears the chain necklaces she was wearing the day she got Steve as a best friend.

He's leaning against the car when she walks out of the house. He gives her that same once over and she can already feel the warmth spreading across her cheeks. She comes to a stop in front of him.

"It's a good look on you," he says gently as if he can sense her nervousness. He probably can. They share a brain cell, after all.

She lets out a sigh of relief and leans into his space. He just laughs and pulls her in to plant a kiss on the middle of her forehead.

"Does this mean you'll stop stealing my clothes?"

"Not a chance, dingus."

#cj writes #the three muskequeers #answered #sharpbutsoft #robin buckley #platonic stobin #i am SO sorry this is late. i started it then forgot about it and it's been sitting here staring at me ever since. so. here you go!#i love the hc that steve's robin's and eddie's wardrobe gets all mixed together #also this sort of turned into punk-leaning robin and i'm not mad about it

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nancynancydrewdrewdrew · 1 year

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Honestly I find the character of Colin/Justin and the way he is handled to be disgusting, especially in a game meant for young girls. When I was a kid playing the Phantom of Venice, I didn't really notice anything wrong with him, and even thought that he might have been there as a cute boy character for the fans to like, like Henry from CRY or Dave from SHA. I never LIKED him, but if you were on the message boards at the time I'm sure you remember how nearly all the Alternate Endings paired Nancy with him, and so I figured that was the function he was meant to serve in the game.

The problem that I'm seeing now playing this game as an adult (and like, honestly I've replayed it when I was an older teenager and didn't pick up on it so yikes) is that that IS what the game is treating him as. Nancy and Helena have a conversation about how he's boring, but cute, and he has an attractive air of mystery. This isn't something I'm reading into, that is literally the text of the conversation. The problem is that is absolutely NOT what he is, and so I've compiled here a list of Yikes (tm) moments that go directly against this characterization. I am going to put it under a read more bc it ended up a lot longer than I meant it bc I don't self edit and I wanna save your dashboards, but I know the clue crew likes to read lol so get ready:

1. LITERALLY your first interaction with him--he assumes Nancy shares all of his same interests because he finds her attractive, and bullies her into going along with what he wants. If she says that she is not interested (like I chose) he gets upset with her, and Nancy responds by placating him and saying that no, she actually WAS interested in tesserae! And he won't be nice until she literally begs him to show them to her. Then, after he gets what he wants, when she understandably says "that's nice but I have to go", he begins to INSULT her and once again she responds by falling over backwards to get him to like her again

This is harmful to young girls for a number of reasons, namely that a) Colin views Nancy as an object to project his own fantasies on to and becomes upset when she is a real person with her own interests, and b) It shows that NANCY is in the wrong for hurting his feelings, and it is her responsibility, not his, to make him feel better. There is something to be said for placating a dangerous situation until you can get out, but that is not the case here and Colin isn't being violent, he's just being a dick 2. He is SO UPSET at the fact that Nancy has a boyfriend! This is a point that comes up multiple times in the game, and was a jumping off point for many people on the message boards to ship him with Nancy. He has known Nancy for mere hours when he starts being pressed about this. This is not cute and romantic. This is very weird. He should not feel ownership over a girl he met so recently, and the game just treats it as a "haha, Colin is so funny" type of situation, when it is super predatory and gross.

3. The whole thing with the sausages--he gifts Nancy tainted sausages (which I fully do admit was not his intention, he was just trying to win her over with gifts which is a whole different thing I'm not getting into), and sends them with a signed card. Then, when Nancy asks about them, he lies and says it wasn't from him. Then, when Nancy points out it absolutely was, he is upset again. This whole thing is just so weird, and he acts like it's Nancy's fault for trying to figure it out rather than his fault for not telling the truth.

4.The absolute shift in his demeanor and tone when the bulb goes out in his microscope is insane. He starts yelling and berating Nancy for something completely out of her control, and when she's like it's just the bulb he's like hee hee sorry lol oopsies! Do this work for me now! And Nancy DOES it! Like that was a totally normal request after a totally normal interaction! This was annoying when I was a kid, but now that I'm an adult and recognize this as an actual abusive tactic that many men use to paint themselves as still good guys while flying off the handle it leaves a really sour taste in my mouth.

5. Why does he leave the note when he leaves the Ca on Nancy's bed??? There are so many other places to put it, like his desk, her desk, the coffee table, etc... that aren't as creepy as "this guy you've known for two days is fucking around with your bed" 6. Okay Helena says he's cute and sorry bro but that is just not the case. I'm being mean here and it doesn't really have a point that aligns with the post I'm making but let me dunk on him for a second--he has fucking Justin Timberlake ramen hair that wasn't a good look when it was popular in 1999 and it certainly wasn't popular at the time the game came out. He looks like he auditioned for N*sync and got cut first round and made it his whole personality As parting thoughts, I understand that there is a degree of Nancy trying to keep her suspects happy and unsuspecting at play. What I don't love, however, is that there are multiple conversations in the game where Colin is treated as annoying, but harmless. Because to me, that sends a very dangerous message to girls about what behaviors are acceptable for men to have towards women, and how they are meant to respond. I might be blowing smoke out of my ass here, because I played this game as a kid and didn't notice anything wrong until I was an adult, so it might not be a problem. But on the other hand, I also didn't see any problem with his behavior other than, like the game says, he was kind of annoying. So do with that what you will.

Also there is a lot of gross "save the children" rhetoric these days where they pick and choose benign things to focus their anger on rather than look at things that are actually harming children, and I hope I didn't come off that way in this post. My point is, even if you take away my points about harmful messaging to kids, I think Colin is a creep lol

#phantom of venice #nancy drew #cluecrewplaythru #clue crew #nancy drew games #her interactive #ven

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missielynne · 28 days

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CBS Ghosts Review: Isaac's Wedding

I specifically remember telling a Nonnie that I didn't think the stripper would be a big problem but turns out he wasn't NOTHING (at least in the context of Nisaac.) I love how they made him absolutely everything Isaac could want in a man INCLUDING hating Hamilton and having no sense of smell (which is why I was really rooting for him to die and become a ghost because it would have been just perfect for Isaac.)

I know Nisaac was the big point of the episode and the main gay rep for the show but I really like that Isaac was showing interest in someone else too so they didn't go through with the wedding. Was the timing perfect? No. But ever since the Christmas episode when Nigel slept with Jenkins based off like a one day estrangement and constantly let the man lurk in the background without being firm about where they were, I've soured on Nisaac at least where Nigel is concerned, so the thought that someone could be so perfect for Isaac as he is made me so happy (plus I like the idea of Isaac being willing to explore the dating pool instead of just marrying the first guy who wants to because he's afraid he'll never find anyone else.) He deserves better than that, and both he and Nigel deserve better development so they have a deeper, richer story, which is why I'm glad the writers took the chance and didn't go through with the wedding, even though it would have been good for representation. They built up a reason in the story why there shouldn't be a wedding so it wasn't just for shock value, allowing both our men to grow as people.

Now...the same cannot be said for our would-be throple: it took all of two seconds for them to put Thor and Flower back together again and I am not happy about it because the way they're writing it just allows the romance (which is written in a way that doesn't fit either Flower or Thor's characters at all and consumes them at the expense of the family and friendship connections that make both lovable and enjoyable to watch.) I can only hope that now that they've said "I love you" and seem to be on stable relationship ground, they'll start to make them more compelling.

My favorite part of the episode was definitely Pete on the island. I definitely felt the happiest I've ever felt watching him on this show so far. Donna was absolutely perfect for him: they were from around the same time, they found one another attractive, she found his goofy way of flirting ("My wife is terrible, I'm single") sweet and endearing and really got into his water-rafting role play without treating it like something silly or him like some sort of a dork and that's the kind of relationship he deserves. I was literally so sad when he started to disappear and the only way to fix it was to go back to a place where he isn't as appreciated as he should be and has to do all the work to make things peaceful and happy.

His speech at the wedding was so nice and so real, and I love that it was what made Isaac realize that there was more out there for him. No one thinks anything he says is that sort of meaningful, so that was nice...even if it did ruin things for Isaac and Nigel, but at least Nigel seems to have taken it well. (And I'm glad that even though it's weird, Baxter has Carol. He's been a third wheel in the shed for too long.)

And then we get to Patience: I love hearing Flower talking about her and how she was built up. (Also Thor and Nancy's "Just smile and nod" as she talked.) The first time I watched the episode, I didn't see the figure of Patience with her face obscured by her bonnet so that was creepy the second time around. And when she finally kidnapped Isaac, aided by the basement ghosts, that was the creepiest "God bless you" before he was grabbed that I've ever heard, but I loved Nancy's "let's not tell anyone about this: it's not a good look for us."

It's good payback for the ways Isaac's choices have affected other people and I can't wait to see what happens to him next!

Well, that's it, folks! The last review of CBS Ghosts season 3. It had highs and lows but there are definitely several eps that I will add to my rewatch list as we wait for a full season four (which I will also review when it premieres this fall.)

Cheers and happy Ghosts watching, everyone! :)

#cbs ghosts #cbs ghosts spoilers #missie's ghosts reviews

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bmodiwrites · 1 year

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Lost Boys Life

Hi friends! This is my dave five contribution to @steddie-week! The prompts I used were together and established relationship. I hope you see both of those reflected in this little beauty. You can read it down below or head over to AO3! Let me know what you think, I'm loving all the freedom of these prompts.

For their twentieth anniversary, Steve takes Eddie to Disneyland.

Of course, Steve wraps up the idea in their 10 year old daughter who is both young enough to be terribly excited yet already treading the line of being too cool to hangout with her fathers for shits and grins much longer. For that reason alone, Steve believes the idea is perfect. There is no better time to spend with Charlie than now. Every passing second is fleeting and Steve isn’t ready to lose his little girl quite yet.

Unsurprisingly, both Eddie and their rambunctious daughter are on board without any necessary convincing. The excitement written across both of their faces makes Steve grateful he listened to Robin and chose to make a family continue to work with Eddie each and every single day. Charlie takes after her surrogate mother so much it’s hard to truly parent her, though. She’s the best pieces of both personalities Steve loves the most.

After getting everyone on board, the plan is pretty perfect from start to finish, if Steve says so himself. He invites Robin and Nancy and their two children. Darren and Laura are thankfully old enough to hold their own and will make for a perfect distraction for Charlie. Of course, Robin is in on the plan, ready and armed to take the group of hooligans in exchange for endless date nights when they get back to their Flagstaff homes.

See, disguised in the child focused trip is Steve’s true gift to Eddie.

More than two decades before becoming who they are now, Steve found out a secret of Eddie’s that changed Steve’s opinion of him forever.

Back in the days when Steve’s entire focus is his popularity, Eddie is just a face in the crowd. He’s Steve’s dealer who makes him come out to the trailer park at the most inconvenient times. To Steve in that moment, Eddie is a scatterbrain who forgets who’s sitting across from him waiting to make a deal. It takes Steve a long time to realize that perspective changes things, that Eddie will one day make a world of difference. That wisdom is yet to come.

Instead, Steve sits impatiently, eager and ready to get the fuck out of there. He’s on a couch that looks twice his age, alone in a place he’s never been. Though Steve gives off confidence in droves, his anxiety spikes in such a foreign environment. Nervously, his hands reach for something to occupy themselves.

Lucky for the both of them, Steve scoops up a well loved copy of Peter Pan. There’s a nice bookmark halfway through the novel; it’s obvious to Steve that though the book is old, the person reading it is interested in taking care of its pages. For some reason, the idea of Eddie in Steve’s head changes then. He’s not just a drug dealer but a person with a little more depth than Steve thought him to have before. Though he’s sure Eddie wouldn’t be a fan of Steve knowing his secret appreciation, Steve is happy for the knowledge.

It’s the memory of that moment that takes Steve’s breathe away as Eddie pushes him up against the wall of a rundown boat house a few months later. He forgets the broken bottle at his throat and is instead taken by the fact that the man before him is just like Peter himself, lost and forcefully bitter from the narrative being written about him. It’s both absurd and changing, Steve thinks in the tense moments later when his heart throbs with want instead of fear for Eddie and his perilous situation.

Thankfully, Eddie doesn’t take after Peter in the sense that he never grows up. They get to him just in time and after months in and out of hospitals and courtrooms, Eddie gets his freedom; the ability to actually live his life the way Eddie wants. With that new ability, Eddie walks straight into Steve’s arms, bringing with him magic and adventure in ways Steve’s never known.

After making it out of the Upside Down alive, Steve’s well aware that’s saying something. They’re lucky to be breathing, let alone have each other.

Throughout the years, Steve learns that Lost Boys never truly grow up – the time simply passes them by, instead. It’s easy to see that Steve himself doesn’t really change. He’s not the most successful guy with a career that makes him known by the masses. After college, Steve thinks getting by from day to day is quite the achievement. He still likes his summer vacations and time away from perpetual babysitting duty. Instead of growing into mean, bitter people like his parents after so many years together, Steve and Eddie twist and mold around each other in a relationship that’s perfect for two people just happy to have someone to share a life with.

Soon, ten years passes them by measured in fights fought and romantic moments both men happened to luck into. It’s years of finding what works best for them and trying to blend in without breaking themselves or each other apart. They move out of Indiana and then the east coast completely. Robin comes with them and Wayne eventually joins them, too. When they settle in Arizona, the world changes again.

The Lost Boys, it seems, are going to be dads.

Steve almost walks out the first time Eddie mentions it, the idea of parenting. He’s happy as a clam just the two of them. The mere thought of adding someone else to the mix makes Steve’s skin crawl. He deals with kids every day. One in their house, getting between them, causing waves – Steve can’t even pretend to be interested.

As it turns out, Robin is in on that plan, too. She explains Eddie’s motivations and the desperate plea he made to her to finally make his family complete. Robin tells Steve of Eddie’s vision of the two of them happily creating a beautiful human society is lucky to have and made better because of, together and united all the way. It’s nice and totally tangible, but still Steve balks. He’s not ready for them to grow up, for their world to change so drastically.

Robin says she’s already said yes, that she’s willing and happy to play a small part in Steve’s never ending happiness. Though, she’s clear when she tells him that she’s not going to sit by and let him ruin the best years to come. She’s a manipulative little shit, clinging to logic like that, but she’s right. Steve can’t deny her or the best thing to happen to him nine months later.

Unlike his worst fears, parenting is just another Lost Boys’ adventure. They exchange their freedom for diapers and late night feedings and the type of joy that’s unprecedented. Eddie’s Peter Pan book resurfaces and quickly becomes part of a routine that Steve is happy to be a part of. Like her father, Charlie wants to be Peter Pan and never grow up while she flys free and unhindered amongst the joys of Neverland.

As it turns out, taking part in the successful growth of a daughter is much more fun than either could fathom. Charlie is a handful, the perfect mix of Eddie’s curiosity with Steve’s ability to play it cool. And though she looks like Robin, Charlie is her fathers’ daughter. Her mannerisms read Steve while her love of fantasy and all things mystical play to Eddie’s side of the table. Reading books is a common occurrence that luckily doesn’t change as Charlie gets older. D&D reference handbooks replace picture books sooner rather than later but Peter Pan always stays. Neither Charlie nor her dads are ready for that story to hit the shelves.

Long story short, this trip with Eddie and their girl is long overdue.

Steve chooses Disneyland because it’s easiest to convince Robin to stuff her family into the car for a six hour drive instead of a torturous flight to Florida at the airport. Robin went to college in LA, so the turf is well known to her and is always an easy bartering chip for Steve to use.

Never mind the fact that the coastal state is progressive to boot. Steve and Eddie spent enough time in Los Angeles and it’s surrounding cities to know the limits to push. It’s been such a long time since Steve got to simply hold Eddie’s hand in public, even for a brief second. He’s looking forward to the small amount of wiggle room the liberal seeming place always affords. Parents like them won’t be one in a million. Their love won’t be, either.

Splurging on all the good stuff is the right decision, everyone knows that right away. Steve’s teacher salary isn’t nearly enough to live on and luckily, Eddie makes great money with more than enough manuscripts to go around. The times that Steve can contribute meaningfully are far between but exciting and heart warming when they do happen. This time around, the whole trip is on Steve and it’s the best feeling ever. Smiles are abundant all around.

They’re at the resort where every breakfast is filled with yummy food and so many characters that even the adults’ heads spin. Steve is enamored by the looks of pure joy on Eddie and Charlie’s faces. All that happiness makes the grueling heat and resultant complaining worth it. Thankfully, Charlie is just tall enough to ride everything and more brave than anyone can give her credit for. She rides all the coasters and little kids’ rides… anything Charlie can get her hands on, she’s ready to step up to without batting an eye. Aside from the inevitable sunstroke and impatient fit Steve’s forever trying to stop, the benefits far outweigh the cons.

Especially the morning that Steve’s been waiting for. The whole trip is planned around the short encounter that he knows is going to be worth all the time, effort, and heartache putting this trip together actually was.

Robin exclaims that it’s a pool day long before Steve needs to convince Charlie to go hangout with her cousins. It’s so easy to dress her up in her Belle swimsuit and send her on her way. They don’t even need to con her. Eddie looks a little tired but is happy to see her go. They share a sigh of relief and lean an extra minute against each other in celebration.

Though forty isn’t old and withered like Steve always thought, the years are catching up.

Not fast enough to ruin his plans, however. Steve perks up when the alarm he sets goes off. His smile is so wide that Eddie squints at him in visible confusion. It takes a lot of effort not to question the situation, Steve sees that as Eddie gets up off the bed they tumbled onto and slips into the third all black Disney getup he insisted on. While Steve’s wearing a pair of traditional Mickey ears, Eddie’s are black and leather, dark and thick like all things Eddie stands for. It’s unusual and perfectly imperfect for the man who rocks leather 300 days out of the year. They’re all celebrating in their own way.

Steve keeps it together until they enter the small theater his surprise is taking place in. It takes a walk through Main Street that never fails to ramp up the excitement of anything about to happen in the park. Knowing what he does, Steve has to bite his lip to stop himself from spilling all the beans. He refuses to let his own excitement be this surprise’s downfall.

At the door, Steve gives their names as the Harrington-Munson’s. Neither of them can take the name legally, but all of Steve’s life is wrapped up in that silly little hyphen. It doesn’t hurt either that Eddie does this giddy little wiggle every time Steve uses it. Now is no exception, especially because an excited Eddie is extra affectionate. His hand slides into Steve’s for a brief second, squeezing their fingers together tightly. It’s gone sooner than either want but both men revel in the happiness of such a simple gesture.

They are early and first in line, which turns out to be the best thing. Steve isn’t distracted by Eddie’s listlessness as the crowd gets bigger. They are front and center for the main attraction’s arrival. Steve gets to see it all and Eddie’s reaction is worth memorizing.

Eddie’s eyes widen as a small actor in green tights enters the room. It’s easy to get lost in the spell of fantasy as Wendy joins Peter on the small stage. The backdrop is that of the bedroom where Peter and the kids first meet. The whole thing feels like a direct interpretation of the scene Steve now knows by heart. Eddie and Charlie both love the magic of Peter’s first moments.

A gasp follows Eddie’s hand sinking back into Steve’s. Eddie clings to him, vibrating there against Steve’s side like a spring ready to slap back and bounce off the walls. Eddie’s lips are moving but no sound leaves them. Overwhelm sits in his expression, though excitement thankfully trumps Eddie’s usual social anxiety. In that moment, Steve thanks his lucky stars – Eddie will be able to enjoy this to its full capacity.

And man does he. Steve watches the love of his life fanboy during their brief moments with the characters. Each actor brings a small part of their favorite story to life. Eddie is star struck and the kids playing Peter and Wendy are kind about it. They get him talking after a minute and Eddie finally unfurls from his shell enough to truly open up. Soon, the young man and woman playing out this fantasy know about Steve and Charlie and their trip to the happiest place on earth. Steve does his best to stay to the side so Eddie can thoroughly enjoy, but he’s not immune to Eddie’s contagious charisma that oozes from him.

A smile graces Steve’s lips each time Eddie gestures affectionately in his direction. By the end of the interaction, no one is immune to that level of happiness.

When the time to take pictures comes around, Steve tries to stay where he’s been, lingering off to the side, but neither Eddie nor Peter and Wendy are having it. He’s being called over and Steve is helpless to do anything but listen to Eddie’s gentle prodding. The words “we do this together” ring in Steve’s ears as the flash goes off over and over. With each click, Eddie holds him closer.

“I can’t believe that just happened,” Eddie says as they’re herded back towards the exit a minute or two later. Steve holds the prints of their interaction in his hand, each prepaid dollar absolutely worth it. The tone of Eddie’s voice says he too agrees with that assessment. So does the happily uttered “to Neverland, indeed.”

Smiling at the perfect opening, Steve stops them just outside the bulk of the crowd.

“Speaking of,” Steve mutters, his voice dipping as he digs in his pocket. The small box is easy to fish out, fitting in Steve’s palm nicely. “I gave Charlie her’s last night.” He opens the box then, showing off two rings on chains, intimately nestled together. “Life with you and our girl is a trip to Neverland every moment of every day, Eddie. You two bring magic to life just by existing but I got us these reminders, just in case. I’ll always adventure anywhere with you.”

Eddie’s fingers shake as he pulls at one of the rings. He traces the edge of it before turning it the way Steve’s been waiting for him to do. The inscription “to Neverland, always” takes up the circumference of white gold and will sit nicely over both their hearts. Steve can’t help but laugh at the perfect way it fits around Eddie’s neck.

Steve isn’t prepared for the awestruck look in Eddie’s eyes as he wraps Steve’s necklace around his neck, too. Eddie takes his time doing up the clasp, his fingertips brushing teasingly along Steve’s skin. When Eddie pulls back, he looks satisfied by the gooseflesh overtaking all of the tanned flesh making up Steve’s neck and shoulder. That’s probably why he doesn’t even blink an eye in surprise when Eddie leans in close, when his usually shy significant other presses their lips together. Steve’s expecting it, for once happy to be on the other end receiving it, too.

The kiss is quick but the intimacy of the moment remains. Eddie rests their foreheads together, their breaths shared. It’s kind of perfect.

“I love you,” Eddie says, like the words are easy now, twenty years and one child later. Maybe they are. Or maybe they’re a little different. Their love most certainly is.

Steve smiles at the thought and returns the words, the truth of them lingering.

tag list (message if you’d like to be added): @infinite-orangepeel, @thefreakandthehair, @corrodedcoughin, @prettyboisteveharrington,

#steddie #steddie week #steddieweek2023 #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve harrington/eddie munson #steve harrington x eddie munson #steddie fic #steddie au #disneyland #bobbie writes #lost boys life

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boybandbaby · 1 year

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Fill Me In

Summary: You and Eddie are friends with benefits, well kinda. You really like Eddie but you’re not sure he feels the same.

Word Count: 2,833

Note: Not edited. I’m not super comfortable writing smut at the moment. This is more of a modern fic which is why Steve and Robin are working at Scoops Ahoy not Family Video. Also, if there are ever any warnings that I don’t disclose, feel free to call me out on it. Thank you :)

You and Eddie had become friends almost immediately when you entered the friend group. You were introduced to everyone through Max who you had met at a skatepark. While she was interested in skateboarding, you dabbled in rollerskating. The entire group was going to a roller rink and Max invited you to come with. You agreed, wanting to spend more time with your friend and wanting to expand your friend group.

The night at the roller rink you had somehow become the clumsiest skater amongst the group. You’re not sure if it was the nerves of meeting new people or the wax on the floor compared to the concrete you were normally used to. Max had defended you when the boys made comments similar to “I thought you said she was good at this?”

“She is good. She’s used to the skate park, not this lame room with disco lights.” Max would say.

You definitely had to thank her later. But the younger boys weren’t the only ones making comments, you heard Eddie making comments as well. His comments were more about you rather than your skating. The comments were definitely flirtatious and joking which only added to the nerves and clumsiness of the night.

The moment you met Eddie, you knew you two would be good friends (and maybe something more). He was funny, super nice, and really cute. Whenever you would slip and tumble, if he wasn’t there to catch you or stable you, he would fall even more dramatically to get people to watch him instead of you. He’d also say things like “You gotta stop falling for me angel. I get it, I’m cute.” or “Did I distract you again? You gotta pay attention to where you’re going, not my handsome face.” You’d roll your eyes and take his hand or push him away, making him roll in front of you to which he’d then say, “if you wanna look at my butt, all you have to do is ask.” Then he’d wink and stumble away.

Steve said he was coming on too strong and girls didn’t like that but it worked for you and Eddie. He’d flirt with you, sometimes you’d get shy and sometimes you’d flirt back depending on how his comments affected you.

As more time went on, he would show his affection and attraction with touch. Obviously he would never do anything too extreme or against your consent. He’d lay an arm over your shoulders if you were waiting in line somewhere or his hand on the lower part of your back as he passed by you. He’d hold his hand out to you so you wouldn’t fall coming out of the car or down a few steps on the stairs. He’d even pull out an old trick multiple times by asking to see who’s hand was bigger. He would place your hands together, always being a bit bigger than yours. “Huh, look at that, my hand engulfs yours.” He’d shrug and intertwine your fingers together, resting them on his thigh and going back to eating or watching tv.

Then one night at a small gathering at Steve’s, he whispered in your ear how pretty you looked. You could smell the weed and alcohol on his breath mixed with the tic tacs he asked Nancy for earlier. You just smiled and looked up toward him. He wasn’t smiling back down at you, he just reached his hand out towards you as he always did. Once you took his hand, he led you to the closest bathroom, away from everyone else. “Eddie, what’s up? Are you okay?” You asked.

“Look, I know we flirt all the time and stuff but I really wanna kiss you.” He blurts out as he shuts the door. “I mean, only if you’re okay with it. It’s just… the alcohol and stuff is making me more bold than usual and you look really pretty tonight and-”

You shut him up with a kiss. Eddie looked really good tonight too. His hair was surprisingly not as frizzy as normal meaning he put some type of product in it. He wore a plain white t-shirt, not exactly a v-cut but low enough to see his collar bones, a new necklace, and tattoos poking out. He had on plain black jeans and sneakers, a couple of bracelets on his wrists. You started with his lips and trailed down to his chest, his shirt slipping off in the process. Ever since that night, having sex became a regular thing. The only problem now was that he hadn’t made you his girlfriend and you were too nervous to bring it up. Were you dating? Just friends with benefits?

You and Eddie had just finished a third round of fucking. You were still on top of him, resting on his lower stomach after he pulled out of you. Your hands rested on his bare chest and his on your hips, under the plain colored shirt you still had on.

“You,” he moved his hands behind his head, intertwining his fingers as he looked up at you, “were incredible today.”

You leaned down to kiss his lips before smoothing your hair back. “Same could be said about you, Munson.”

He groaned. “You know I hate when you call me that.” He tapped your thigh as he sat up.

“Why? It’s your last name.” You laugh, rolling off of him onto his bed.

“And my dads.” He rolls his eyes, searching for his boxers.

“And Wayne’s” You smile. “Maybe my last name too someday.” You mumble, not really thinking before saying the words.

“What?” He pauses, boxers in hand as he looks over to you.

“What?” You looked back at him in horror. “I’ve gotta go!” You screeched, picking up the clothing on the floor.

“Y/n?” Eddie rushes to slip into his boxers as you already scramble into the living room of his trailer. You had grabbed his sweats instead of your shorts. At this point you didn’t care. You just needed to get out of there. You grabbed your shoes by the door and hastily put them on just as he came out of his room. “Y/n, we have to talk about this.” He hobbles on one leg, trying to slip his jeans on. He struggles, really wishing you hadn’t stolen his sweats. You’re already out of the door and headed to your car by then time he gets both legs in his pants. He dismisses any footwear as he bounds down the steps. He’s too late, you’re already reversing onto the road.

Eddie lets out a string of curse words before deflating back into his room.

“Okay, so let me get this straight. You’ve been flirting and talking and even fucking but you haven’t made your feelings clear?” Steve crosses his arms and leans against the counter of Scoops Ahoy.

“Well, I thought they were pretty clear Steve. Which is why I’m freaking out now.” Eddie groans, head against the door frame leading to the back of the store.

“So, why haven’t you just called or texted her?” Robin asks.

“Oh my god, you two do not listen.” Eddie whines. “I’ve called, texted, even tried showing up to her house but she doesn’t answer.”

“I’m sure she reads the messages so just send a long text explaining how you feel.” Steve shrugs before turning to the counter where a few customers are approaching.

“I really think I should talk to her in person.” Eddie adds.

“Well, do you have feelings for her? If you’re going to let her down, do it through text.” Steve throws over his shoulder.

“Do not do it over text.” Robin shoots her comment more towards Steve than Eddie as she rolls her eyes. “I agree, you should talk to her in person. Tell her you’re sorry for leading her on and that you aren’t looking for a relationship right now.” Robin hops off the stool to ring up the customers.

“But I don’t want to reject her. I like her, of course I do. I just-”

“It’s simple really Eddie. You either wanna be with her or you don’t.” Steve hands off the last cup of ice cream to the youngest member of the family.

“It’s simple for you, Harrington. I’ve never had a girlfriend or like a relationship. What if I suck at doing all the lovey dovey shit?”

“Oh? So you do like her?” Robin asks. Eddie nods. “Well then, we just have to help Eddie express his feelings.”

“Okay but how? He just said she’s not answering him at all.” Steve wipes his hand on a towel nearby.

“I mean, we can just ask Max to bring her over for like a hangout of something.” Robin suggests. “We’ll say it’s a girls night or something and then Eddie can just happen to come over and Y/n will have to talk to him.”

“Okay but I want to be there too.” Steve crosses his arms and leans against the counter.

“Why? It’s not like we’re actually all going to be there Steve. I know you have fomo but it’s just a plan.” Robin shakes her head as Eddie laughs.

“Oh.” Steve deflates. “Well, we should still be there in case Eddie chickens out or fucks up.”

“Thanks for that, Harrington.” Eddie rolls his eyes. “I’ll catch up with you two later.” He grabs his things off the break room table and heads to the parking garage located outside of the food court entrance. He misses Robin roughly shoving Steve’s shoulder as he leaves.

“How do you know?” You ask Max.

“I overheard Robin and Steve talking. They’re planning to trick you into a movie night and then Eddie will show up and they’re gonna make you listen to him.” Max takes a slice of the pizza that you’re sharing. Her and Lucas asked to go out to eat so they could talk to you about something. You didn’t expect her to tell you about Eddie’s plan to get you to talk to him.

“Are you mad at Eddie?” Lucas asks. Max had told Lucas all the drama going on since he loves to hear the gossip from her. “Like did he do something wrong?”

“Well no but I just can’t face him. We’ve grown so close and I basically told him I was in love with him. He doesn’t feel the same way though.” You sigh and lean back in the booth.

“Do you know that for sure though? I mean when he looks at you his eyes are all bright and glossy and it’s literally the heart eyes emoji in a person.” Max smiles. “Maybe just talk to him.”

“Yeah, he’s affected by your absence y/n. He’s still Eddie but not as loud and rambunctious as normal during Hellfire.” Lucas laughs. “I mean it’s kind of nice sometimes but he’s clearly going through something without you in his life.”

“Just reach out to him. Even if it’s just a text.” Max nods encouragingly.

“How are you two giving me relationship advice?” You laugh as you take another bite of pizza.

That night you decide to give their advice a try and text Eddie.

You: hey delivered

You: hey read at 7:09pm

So he was mad. He left you on read. It’s been two hours already. You decide to screenshot the message and send it to Max when you get a notification from Eddie.

Eddie: hey

You immediately open it up and wince when you realize your read receipts are on. You were going to make him wait for a response like he did with you. It’s too late for that now.

You: hey, do you have time to talk right now?

Eddie: i can clear up my schedule for you

Eddie: i’m kidding, i don’t have anything going on

Eddie: i mean like i always have time for you

Eddie: sorry

You: for?

Eddie: i’m rambling

You: as per usual

You: not that it’s a bad thing

You: it’s just something that you tend to do

Eddie: like you’re doing right now to avoid what we really need to talk about

You: i’m not avoiding anything

You: you’re avoiding me really. Leaving me on read for hours???

Eddie: i didn’t mean too i just needed to gather my thoughts on what i was going to say

You: and all you could come up with was “hey” ????

Eddie: are we fighting rn?

You: no? This doesn’t seem like a fight

You: anyway, did you wanna talk here or on the phone or in person. I can drive to you

Eddie: you wanna meet at my trailer? Wayne’s out on a date

You: wait really? With who?

Eddie: remember that lady Marsha he met at the store that one time? She invited him over for dinner

You: Marsha? Mug lady Marsha?

Eddie: yep! His dream woman

Eddie: so you’re coming over then?

You: yeah, I’ll be right over

Eddie: okay, drive safe

When you had arrived at Eddie’s, he was already sitting on the porch, clouded by smoke. He had stood up and stomped out his cigarette the second he saw you pull up. With sweaty palms now in his pockets, completely shirtless and in now dirty white socks, he approached you. You never would have guessed how nervous he was. He always seemed confident with the way he carried himself.

“Hi.” He smiled softly, grabbing your bag as he always had. “You hungry?”

“Not really.” You sighed, “how are you?”

“Not good y/n.” He turned toward you as he opened his front door. “And you?”

“I’m fine.” You stepped inside and looked around as if it was your first time in his home.

“That makes one of us.” He muttered as he set your bag on the table and took a seat. “You don’t have to act like a stranger y/n. You’ve been here plenty of times before.”

“I know.” You shrugged. “I just- I don’t really know where to start.” You slump into the seat next to him.

“You can start by apologizing for running out on me and ignoring me these past few days.” Eddie smiles all smug.

You roll your eyes. “I’m sorry. I know I left abruptly. I was just embarrassed.”

“Why would you be embarrassed?” He leaned over the corner of the table, grabbing your hands. “Because you confessed your love for me and said you wanna marry me and carry my babies and get all wrinkly with me?”

“Eddie…” You groan and rest your forehead on the table. “Don’t make fun of me.”

“I’m not! It’s cute. Really, it’s an honor that you want to take my last name one day.” He grins. “So you do love me?” He asks more shyly now.

“I think that’s pretty clear.” You shove his shoulder. “What do you think about it?”

“About you being obsessed with me?” Eddie laughs when you glare at him. “I’m kidding. Y/n, you have to know that I’m in love with you too. I thought it was pretty clear but even Steve made me realize I wasn’t as straight forward about it as I thought.”

“You mean it?”

“Duh. But…” He drags out, your eyebrows raising. “I always thought I would take your last name.”

“You’d take my name?” You laugh.

“Yeah, it’s 2023. We don’t have to follow old traditions and stuff. I can be Mr. y/last/n.”

“What if we just hyphenate it? I think Wayne would be hurt if you got rid of the Munson name.”

“I don’t think Wayne will care. He’s getting his own Mrs. Munson soon.” Eddie kisses your knuckles.

“Oh my god, that’s right. Do you think Wayne is getting laid right now?” You kiss Eddie’s knuckles (more so his rings than his actual skin).

“Ew gross. Don’t put that image in my brain.” Eddie pulls his hands away. “You’re sick, you know that?”

“Sick in love. With you.” You smile as Eddie stands up. He bends over to kiss your lips. It’s short but long enough to leave you in a love trance. “Can you make me food now? I’m starving, I just didn’t want to tell you when I got here.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re getting canned soup and poorly made grilled cheese.” Eddie heads to the stove to get started.

“Did you purposely not wear a shirt today?” You turn to watch him cook.

“Maybe…” He shrugs, biting his lip. “I thought it would help my chances. I knew you could never resist me naked.”

“Shut up, Munson.” You grab a random towel on the table and throw it at him.

“You shut up first future Mrs. Munson.” He winks and turns back to the stove. You smile and make your way over to him, wrapping your arms around his slim waist and resting your cheek against his bare back.

“I love you, Eddie.�� You sigh.

“I love you, Y/n.” He rubs his spatula free hand over your arms.

#eddie munson x reader

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willel · 1 year

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My point is why didn’t Henry "walked" or jumped to Dimension X (like Nancy, Jopper, El, etc) instead of "falling" into it, if you see what I mean, if the UD is part of it? So you say the UD isn’t just a part of dimension X that just suddenly looked like Hawkins, but a place that once created changed the way we can access Dimension X? How did Will accomplish it?

Firstly, El flung him in there with the force of 1000 suns. He couldn't have walked even if he wanted to. That Demogorgon from season 1 was probably also flung with the force of 1000 suns and is too beastly to ever hope to find it's way back.

Originally Dimension X, or at least the part "closest" to Hawkins didn't look like Hawkins or the Upside Down we have today.

Something or someone copied Hawkins into Dimension X, creating the Upside Down. It's likely only a small portion of Dimension X looks like that while the rest is still a vast yellow landscape the further out you go. Or heck, it's possible the entirety of it did become Hawkins, who can say. I think the former is more likely since they made it a point to tell us gates and tears outside of Hawkins are nearly impossible to make.

We can't know with 100% certainly that Will created the Upside Down or how. All we can really speculate is that in a moment of panic as he was being taken by the Demogorgon, he spawned the city around him via something like manifestation or creation powers. It parallels really nicely with El accidently opening a giant mothergate when face to face with the Demogorgon in the void.

And that this was possible because Dimension X is a metaphysical place where such a thing is possible if you're strong enough.

I totally forgot to use it as an example, but El's black void is also a metaphysical place. Even moreso than the Upside Down/Dimension X. There are people and objects there she can touch, but they aren't real, and will fade away if she breaks concentration. Imagine something like that, but a little more real which is what I think Dimension X/The Upside Down is.

Will being creative, an artist, his d&d character being a wizard, and Henry's unusual interest in him in the precious seasons all point to Will having something to do with the Upside Down looking like that. At least I think so.

There are still things we don't know. I don't think all the pieces have been laid out in front of us yet to come to a definitive answer. But, I really like this theory and think it is very plausible with the pieces we have so far.

#stranger things #will byers #theory

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dufrau · 2 years

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I think who Nancy winds up with, if anybody, kind of depends on how the time skip is handled?

(bearing in mind that unless they jump like 60 years into the future these characters are young people, so the resolution of the romantic plotlines are about story arc, not about, like, THIS IS THE FATE OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. also ftr ship whatever you want i’m not the boss of anybody and i really and truly do like all of these characters.)

IMO if Nancy and Jonathan are together when season 5 starts, the endgame is probably classic Kelly Taylor I Choose Me Single Nancy Wheeler. Whereas if she starts the season single I think she most like ends up back with Jonathan by the end of it. I don’t see Steve as a realistic possibility, or at least that’s what I hope. I WISH Robin had a chance, but I don’t see it happening in canon.

Stancy just feels like a bad ending to me, as far as Nancy’s character arc (she becomes a prize for steve’s character development, despite her stated future goals being completely opposite his) and also for Steve’s, to a lesser extent (his character development becomes about being “good enough” for nancy, rather than him just growing as a person). I love both characters but it would feel like forcing Pete and Myka together at the end of Warehouse 13 and I just don’t want to go through that shit again.

Jancy is a neutral ending, Jonathan doesn’t really add anything to Nancy’s arc but he doesn’t detract from it either. Making him have to “fight” for Nancy would be an attempt to give him something to do for the first time in a long time. He’s kind of the Toby Kavanaugh of this show; his own arc basically resolved in season 1 and now he’s just a nice boy who is the love interest of a much more dynamic character. He’s a good person! It’s just ultimately not a very interesting story IMO.

Single Nancy is a good ending. Options, freedom, autonomy. This is what Nancy has been pushing for the entire run of the show. This is the ending I am hoping for given Ronance feels very unlikely to ever happen.

Ronance would IMO be an amazing ending, but I’m admittedly very biased. But it would be the ultimate defiance of expectations for Nancy as a person, it’s compatible with her arc towards independence and arguably even adds to it. And Robin’s character arc has been explicitly about finding romantic love, so it resolves her arc in a very satisfying way (no offense to vickie, she might wind up being awesome but she’s been introduced specifically as a love interest and I just have a hard time caring about characters who dont have their own arcs. see above re: jonathan.) I don’t see it happening though given there are 4 seasons of established love triangle they’d be discarding for it. But seriously though I would love a season of Steve and Jonathan peacocking for Nancy’s attention and then at the end Nancy just being like “Hey Robin, lets have dinner.”

#nancy wheeler #ronance #stranger things #nancy wheeler love rhombus #seriously though i don't want to fight #ship her with argyle if you want #live your life #anti stancy #i will delete this if yall cant behave

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titlemewickedwonderland · 2 years

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Secret Santa (Part 1 of 2)

Summary: You and Eddie have been best friends growing up. One year for Christmas you start getting secret admirer letters every morning for every day of the month up until Christmas of beautiful poems. Driven by the need to find this secret admirer you enlist Eddie's help to discover who it is only you don't know that you're closer to the secret than you could ever imagine.

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Reader

Warnings: Fluff and more fluff

Next Chapter >>

There was another one in your locker. The crisp cream envelope with green wax stamp in the center keeping the flap closed. This was the 12th one this month. One for every day of this month. Another letter from a unknown admirer. It was a sweet gesture; that much you couldn't deny. You loved the mystery behind it, like a Nancy Drew case you needed to crack to see who was behind the sweet gesture and the sweeter words. Of course, you had that doubt in the back of your mind that this was a prank of sorts. You weren't exactly the most popular of girls and did not fall out of the spectrum of bullying. Maybe not as bad as some but bullied none the less. It was no surprise in school that you were a virgin. Never had your first kiss, never slept with anyone, never had a boyfriend of any kind. That was one of those topics that most kids talked about in school; who was the hottest kisser. Who was the best in bed. That sort of things especially among the girl population of the school. So when Christmas season came around; the first day of December you'd gotten your first letter, written anonomlously written and always showed up in your locker when you got there for school in the mornings. You'd become used to them; even eager to get to school early to see that pretty envelope lying in your locker every morning. It made you feel special and oddly enough loved by someone even if you weren't aware of just who was giving you such beautifully and heartmelting words on a piece of paper every day. You'd grown up in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana. Grew up being raised by her grandfather since the death of you're parents when you were in middle school so you knew a lot about this town and it's people but never really actually looked long enough at the faces surrounding you to tell whether they were interesting or not. Everyone sort of kept to themselves and you were one of those who slipped into the background growing up. So those sweet letters came as a surprise for you.

Of course, you had tried to search for the person. Trying to come early in the morning before the school opened just to be able to catch someone slipping something into your locker but with no dice. No one came close to your locker and the mystery just kept on deepening from there. But you loved them. So so much, often rereading them when you were feeling down just to remind yourself there was someone out there who did care about you even if you didn't see them. No one knew about this except yourself and your best friend in the world Eddie Munson. The pair of you were such odd but you'd known him since you guys were children. Living in similar situations with you being raised by your grandfather while he had been raised by his uncle. Uncle Wayne as you'd like to call him was a nice man if not a bit of a quiet soul; he'd think of you as one of his own just as much as Eddie was. You'd never left each other's side no matter what. You'd told him a few days into the month of December when you realized the letters were coming in daily and even read to him a few of them as you tried to figure out why and who was doing this.

You didn't realize it back then and still didn't know when he'd sit there looking up at you from your bed biting at his nails and leg bouncing slightly. The way his eyes would go to you and then flicker away. He'd always been like that with you so you didn't notice it when it happened. The way he'd just sort of close off and hold his breath as you read those letters; a certain look in his eye would always be lost but he would never back down from your questions whenever you'd finish reading a letter to him and give a puzzled look that would always melt into something more dreamy as you read them day after day. You didn't realize the more the look crossed your face the sweeter those letters got. You were smitten with whomever had written those letters and he'd noticed. He noticed everything about you, his pretty best friend who had a heart of gold but no matter how much he tried; he never could say the words that were at the tip of his tongue. He knew who wrote those letters but he was scared to know what you'd think if he told you who wrote them.

Today marked day 12 of these ananomus poems sent into your locker. You'd saved the letter unopened to read with Eddie after school today and was giddy about it. He'd noticed as you're eyes would find your back every few minutes as if you were making sure nothing had been disturbed. Excitement coating every inch of your face making it hard for you to focus on your classes and when said classes were done for that day you'd practically ran in search of Eddie so that he could take you both back to your place so that you could finally open the letter. But his demeanor was a little off putting that afternoon for some reason as you ran up to him in the halls were he was standing talking with a few of the members of his Hellfire club.

"Eddie!" you called rushing up out of breath; face all flushed with excitement. "Eds come on! I got another one this morning, we gotta get home!" but that smile died on your lips as he turned to you; deep brown puppy eyes looking apologetic as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sorry princess, I can't today. It's club night." he glanced at his friends who looked between the two of you confused.

"O-Oh right…I forgot." you flashed a weak smile and gripped the strap of your bag on your shoulder a little tighter. "That's okay…"

"I-I can still drive you home though-" the tall metal head protested but you shook your head.

"That's okay Eds. I can walk home, it's not far!" you protest backing away before spinning on your heel and walking out of the school and into the cold December chill.

You didn't understand why Eddie would suddenly change his mind on this. It was sort of tradition; usually he'd take you home after school even before the letters began before going to his hellfire club meetings on days that he had it. But he was acting funny and you didn't know why. Of course, you were his best friend so you understood and didn't ask questions. You'd walked the few miles it took to your little home and unlocked the door. Your grandfather was out working until later tonight so you had the house to yourself; well you always had the house to yourself but suddenly it felt rather lonely and empty without Eddie's tall frame at your back. You shook off the feeling and went down the hall to your room, dropping your bag on the mattress before digging into it for the letter yet unopened lying in the bag's depths. After retrieving it you sat at your headboard with a pillow in your lap as you slowly peeled away the green seal feeling your heart pound in your chest as you carefully take the crisp paper from the envelope and unfold it to read inside. It never had a 'dear' written to start like most letters would but instead went straight into the context of the writers words.

I will be the warrior to fight for your love. We'll fly together, fly higher than the dove I'll be your wall and shield you from danger I will take all the pains for to me it is no stranger You'll be the queen in the kingdom of my heart And I will be the king, so that we will never be apart You'll be my majesty - I will serve you forever And for all the times, I will leave you never

It was beautiful as it always was. But never gave away to who was the writer behind such words. you trace the words of the poem a moment before lowering your gaze to find that there was more to it than you'd noticed at first. Not so much as written words to further the poem but something a little sneaker than you didn't know the writer had caused. Because there was indents in the paper with a different message written in the sharpness of a pencil that dug too deeply without the writer's knowledge.

Squinting you look closer, gently feeling the words with your fingertips as you make out a message through the paper. Your voice a soft hum of curiosity as you read it aloud into the stillness of your bedroom.

"You're life is a part of me and I thank you everyday for that. I am who I am and you love me because of that makes me feel special. I promise to love you for every moment of forever and when everything else crumbles, I will never." You bite your lip wondering why it sounded familiar to you.

Those words were not ones you'd often hear so you'd think you'd remember them right? The memory, of who said those words was just at the back of your mind trying to push through but for the love of everything holy you just couldn't remember. Frustrated you put away the letter and rise from your bed so that you can place it into a special wooden carved box you kept just for those pretty letters. It was bugging you a little more now that you'd gotten a clue of…well whatever it was that began sparking something in your need to find whoever was writing this. Then it hit you, you'd gone in the mornings before the school ever opened to be able to catch your secret admirer but you'd never tried staying AFTER school hours. You'd often leave with Eddie as soon as possible so they would never know if anyone stayed behind after you left. You didn't know why you hadn't thought of it in the first place! You're excited at this new prospect so you begin coming up with a plan; of course, you'd have to drag Eddie into it too because best friends stick together. Now to convince the man in question…

#eddie x reader #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson fluff #eddie x fem!reader #stranger things

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thegayhimbo · 2 years

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Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2 General Thoughts/Review (SPOILERS)

Just got done watching! Still reeling from the final 2 episodes! Had a lot of thoughts I wanted to share. This is just my opinion, so don’t take offense if you see something you disagree with. Chances are things might change when I get more time to think about the overall season!

WARNING: Major Spoilers from Episodes 8 and 9 of Stranger Things Season 4

1.) I don’t know if it’s too early to call, but these last two episodes will probably be in my Top 10 Favorite Stranger Things Episodes if I ever decide to make that list. It was an emotional rollercoster, and my stomach was in knots over what was going to happen to these characters. These will be episodes I rewatch in the future.

2.) Yay for Joyce/Hopper reconnecting. That was long overdue!

3.) I’m hoping we get a little more explanation about the Russian’s involvement with the Upside Down. I’m guessing they must have gotten the demogorgons and demodogs from when they opened the gate in Hawkins in season 3, but there’s a lot here that needs clarification. Specifically, I want to know how they managed to trap a piece of the Mind Flayer in that room. I also want to know more about the Russian’s experiments on the Upside Down monsters, and what plans they have for next season.

4.) I feel awful for Will. This show has stopped being subtle about Will’s feelings for Mike, and it’s depressing that he hasn’t been able to tell Mike how he truly feels about him. It’s nice that Jonathan seems to be aware of Will’s feelings and what Will’s going through, and that he was able to give his little brother some brief comfort.

5.) As a gay man, I’m not completely willing to dismiss the Duffer Brothers yet when it comes to queer representation. At the same time though, it’s frustrating that the show refuses to have the characters verbally acknowledge Will being gay despite dropping unsubtle hints this season about his feelings for Mike. It’s also frustrating that we had Vicky get introduced briefly as a love interest for Robin, and yet there barely was any focus on it. I’ve seen accusations from some fans about the show queerbaiting them, which.....................the jury is still out for me on that. There are things that could have been handled better when it comes to LGBT+ representation, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to completely dismiss the show. There’s still one more season to turn this around.

6.) Argyle’s become a favorite character. Love how he was able to identify the tire tracks that led to where El and Dr. Brenner were, as well as getting El the salt tub she needed. He’s a lot more perceptive than he looks. Here’s hoping we see more of him in season 5!

7.) Speaking of Dr. Brenner..............CALLED IT! I knew he was going to betray Owens and El. I didn’t buy for one second that he actually reformed and saw the error of his ways. For all of his talk about how he did everything for El, the truth is it was ALWAYS about him and his need for control (as Vecna put it). This man is arguably responsible for almost every shitty thing that’s happened on this show, and I am glad El finally had enough of his crap.

8.) What exactly happened to Dr. Owens? Is he in Colonel Sullivan’s custody? Did Sullivan kill him? And where is Sullivan? I’m guessing he’s still hunting El, but I’d have to imagine he knows about the “earthquake” in Hawkins and the gate between Hawkins and the Upside Down. We’ll probably see him again next season, and I am not looking forward to it.

9.) Love the callback to Max’s Michael Meyers costume from season 2, and how Eddie used her mask to cover himself. Lol! 😂

10.) I was never a fan of Jason to begin with, but that scene with him and Nancy at the gun store is where any shred of sympathy I had left for him evaporated. The fact he was okay implying to Nancy that he was planning to hunt down Mike was vile. He looked like he was relishing that, which was disgusting. I’m glad Nancy stood her ground.

11.) I like the way Brenner’s death was handled. You can tell El was sad in spite of how awful of a person he was. At the same time, I was glad she refused to grant him any absolution or forgiveness before he died, even he was begging her to “understand.” She did not owe him that.

12.) The ending where they play “Separate Ways” by Journey as the group prepared to put their plan to kill Vecna into motion was a beautifully haunting moment.

13.) It was nice seeing Lucas and Erica bond as siblings where they weren’t just throwing snarky remarks at each other. Yay for Erica showing up for most of Lucas’s games because she wanted to support her brother! Here’s hoping we get more sibling moments like this in season 5!

14.) Loved seeing the bonding the group did prior to the battle: Dustin and Eddie fooling around, Robin and Steve talking with one another, Nancy and Max working together. Moments like these make me love this show!

15.) Eddie playing guitar in the Upside Down was as badass as the trailers made it out to be!

16.) Steve having 6 kids while traveling around the United States in a trailer is something I want to see happen now! :) Potential Spin-off!

17.) Speaking of Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan.......................Look: I’ve tried to be as open-minded about this as I can, but I am not enthusiastic about the Duffer Brothers creating another love triangle between these three. I didn’t like it in the first two seasons, and I’m not liking it any better here. I don’t have an issue with Steve finding true love if that’s the direction they’re going with his character, but I have zero interest in seeing Steve get back together with Nancy. I wish they would stop pushing this. I’m also not thrilled about the writers chipping away at the Jancy relationship. I was pretty ticked at Jonathan lying to Nancy about his acceptance letter, and the lack of resolution over where their relationship currently stands. I get they didn’t have enough time to focus on that given everything else going on, but still..............

18.) Max sorting through her trauma and her complicated feelings about Billy has been one of the best storylines this season. There was a hard truth in her admittance that she wished for Billy to die and felt guilty about it. And no, I don’t think she’s an awful person because of that. There are sadly many real-life examples of abuse victims who have also felt that way about their abusers, who probably felt relieved when their abuser were no longer a part of their life and then felt guilty for feeling that way. I am grateful this show didn’t shy away from that: They didn’t try to pretend Billy and Max’s relationship was ever okay, or that Billy secretly had a heart of gold when it came to Max. They were very clear that he was ABUSIVE to her, and that the way he treated Max messed her up in a huge way.

19.) This is probably going to be a controversial opinion, but I was satisfied with the ending they gave Jason’s character. I was glad they didn’t pull the last-minute “redemption” for him, nor made any attempt to whitewash his behavior. Regardless of his reasons for doing what he did, or whether or not he knew the full truth of what was going on, the fact is he put innocent people in danger because of his actions. He was prepared to kill Lucas, even when Lucas was trying to explain to him what was happening. He was someone who was coasting on his own self-righteousness and refused to consider the possibility he might be wrong in his assumptions. People can complain all they want about how Jason would have been a “Nice Guy” if things didn’t go the way they had, but the truth is the current circumstances brought out Jason’s uglier qualities and revealed the kind of person he was: Self-Absorbed, Vindictive, Prejudicial, Irrational, and Self Righteous. His establishing character moment was that speech at the prep rally in the season 4 premiere where he took all the deaths that happened at the hands of the Mind Flayer (an event Jason knew nothing of the context behind) and made it all about him and how they needed to win the basketball game. Doesn’t get any more self-absorbed than that. I see his character as a deconstruction of the “Vigilante Hero:” Someone who takes the law into their own hands because they’re convinced of the purity of their cause, and doesn’t give a damn about the collateral damage they leave behind. In a day and age where we have people who behave like this (and have gotten others killed through their stupidity and arrogance), it’s refreshing to see Stranger Things call this mentality out.

20.) Lucas beating the crap out of Jason will go down as one of my favorite moments in season 4. Same thing with Erica kicking Andy in the balls after he threatened to break her arm.

21.) What is it gonna take to finish Vecna off? Steve and Robin burn him alive while Nancy shoots him, and it still doesn’t kill him? They should have used the axe to chop his head off.

22.) Eddie’s death hit hard. I had a sick feeling he was gonna be slated for death, but what hurts the most is how he’s still being vilified by the town for murders he was innocent of. He went down fighting as a hero, and I’m hoping Dustin manages to get his name cleared at some point in season 5. He deserves that.

23.) I'm hoping we see Enzo again soon. I loved his friendship with Hopper. Don’t care that much for Yuri though.

24.) Hopper chopping off the head of a Demogorgon is also another favorite moment for me! :)

25.) Here’s to hoping that Vickie and Robin’s relationship gets more focus in season 5.

26.) I hope Max recovers soon! 😢

27.) The ending was haunting. I’m assuming Henry/One/Vecna is assembling his army off-screen and plans to invade in season 5. Now that the gate is wide-open, and the Upside Down is pouring into Hawkins, chances are the life expectancy in that town is about to plummet. I don’t blame most of the residents for packing their bags and leaving ASAP.

28.) I’m hoping we get more of an explanation about Vecna first got his powers. I still theorize that there was some kind of hidden gate between the Creel house and the Upside Down, and that some other malevolent force connected with Henry as a kid via the spiders or the grandfather clock and gave him the psychic powers he now has. Also, the show needs to explain more about the Upside Down. Time froze there the day Will disappeared, even though it’s speculated that the Upside Down has existed for over thousands of years. Here’s hoping season 5 provides the answers!

29.) I’m sorry Lucas, but if someone was in a coma, I would NOT be reading them a Stephen King book!

Overall, I enjoyed this season. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a fun ride, and it gave me a lot to chew on. I’ll be back for a rewatch, and will come back to edit this if I have anymore thoughts.

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mystic-writings · 2 years

Text

tongue tied, harrington? | steve harrington

PAIRING — steve harrington x fem!reader

REQUEST — @chevyharvelle - Could u possibly do a Steve Harrington x Reader based on Tongue Tied by group love? I am a slut for the best friends to lovers trope

SUMMARY — you and steve are invited to a group hang out at robin's, and during a cigarette break on the roof, steve finally tells you how he feels

WARNINGS — mentions of underage drinking & smoking, friends to lovers

WORD COUNT — 2,405

NOTES — happy st4 release day!! i love this song so much and i’m so glad i got to write for it (listen here - tongue tied by grouplove) also i think this is the fastest i've ever written and posted a request btw it hasn't even been 12 hours since i got the request and i'm queuing it to post at like 11pm

masterlist | navigation

Steve Harrington. Your best friend, Steve Harrington. Ever since you were seven years old, Steve Harrington's been by your side through everything.

It started, ironically, the way most childhood friendships start. With a game of tag. Katie Mulligan had been ‘it’ that round, and half of the second graders were running wildly around the field. You were trying to get to the play set where the older kids hung out so you could hide under it and avoid Katie (and hopefully everyone else that would get tagged afterwards). Instead, you ran straight into Steve Harrington’s body, crashing to the ground and getting grass stains all over your clothes.

He helped you up and asked if you were okay, and you brushed yourself off as best as you could before Steve was taking your hand and running as fast as you would let him. It wasn’t until you glanced behind you that you could see Katie Mulligan chasing after you, and you picked up speed and ran with him until the bell rang and your lungs were burning. The rest, as they say, is history.

Even now, almost eleven years later, Steve Harrington was still your best friend. Sure, he became friends with the popular group when you got to high school and you tended to drift toward the so-called ‘outcasts’, you always found time for one another. Even when he started dating Nancy Wheeler and you called him an idiot for dating someone a year younger than him, someone so nice and sweet, you always made sure that he came over on Fridays for mac and cheese and a movie, just like you’d been doing since you were ten years old.

Then everything changed, and it all started when a little boy went missing.

Will Byers disappeared on November 6, 1983. Barbra Holland followed after him less than three days later, waiting for her friend at Steve’s house. It wasn’t until you and Steve went to the Byers’ house to help him ‘win back Nancy’ (his words, not yours) that you discovered the truth about it all.

Will had been taken to a place called the Upside Down, a mirror dimension full of darkness and terrifying monsters that were out for blood - something you realized very quickly. When it was all over, Will’s friends lost a member of their party, and you were forced to sign an NDA. No one was allowed to know what happened, and that was something the Hawkins Lab would be sure of.

But now, almost two years and two catastrophes later, things were beginning to feel somewhat normal again. The Byers had moved to California with El and everyone else was trying to pretend like things were okay, even if Hawkins had become the focus of every interested eye in America.

Tonight, though, you were ignoring everything that had happened and the fear that something else would eventually come along and cause more damage in favor of some fun. You and Steve were invited to what Robin liked to call a ‘hangout’ with a group of other people, some of her other friends from school.

Steve, of course, had gotten an invite since he works with her and they went through a lot together, but you had gotten an invite partially because of last month, but also because Robin had been part of the group of ‘outcasts’ you hung out with. You decided to go together, since that was how you spent most of your time anyway. Steve drove, and you fiddled with the radio until you found a good song to listen to.

The windows were rolled down, wind billowing throughout the car as you bobbed your head along to the music, occasionally belting out lyrics. You’d even tried putting your Converse-clad feet on the dash, but Steve swatted them away with a disapproving look.

When you pulled up to Robin’s house, the sun was setting and almost every light in her house was on. A few cars were in the driveway, so Steve parked on the street out front, allowing you to step onto the grass of Robin’s front lawn.

The air was thick with humidity and too warm for your liking, but sometimes a small breeze would blow past and make it feel perfect. It didn’t matter, though, since you headed toward the red front door of Robin’s house, following behind Steve, before you got the chance to enjoy it for long.

The blonde greeted you happily when you knocked, the sound of music and chatter growing louder as she led you to the den, where everyone was hanging out. You recognized almost everyone - there couldn’t have been more than ten people, most of which you knew were in band, a few outcasts that were a year or two younger than you and Steve, but you were familiar with most of them.

You and Steve sat on the last open spots on the couch, wedged between the arm and one of the girls you were in an art class with during senior year; one of the boys from band was sitting on the other side of her. Steve’s leg was pressed against yours, and you were sure that four people weren’t supposed to be sitting on the same couch, but you didn’t complain, because Robin’s AC made her house too cold (even though you’d been wearing a zip-up hoodie) and Steve’s body heat was enough to warm you up in minutes.

Everyone was lounging around the den, either sitting in the leather chairs or the other couch to your right, while Robin and the girl you knew she had a crush on - Cassandra, you were sure her name was - sat at the bay window, talking to one another instead of the group conversation everyone else was having. You smiled to yourself, watching Robin blush when Cassandra put her hand on Robin’s knee.

As the talking continued and the sun set further beneath the horizon, the flow in the room made you feel light. You’ve always been like that, you supposed. You felt better talking in groups, even if you were only talking to one person. More people made it easier for you to open up.

It wasn’t until the sun fully set that Robin and a few others cracked open some beer, and before you knew it, with half a bottle of beer flowing through you, you were cracking jokes and talking more adamantly than you cared to admit. You felt a little looser, almost like you were light headed, but that wasn’t just because of the beer. For the past half an hour, Steve’s hand had been resting on your knee as he leaned forward to talk to the guy sitting on the arm of the couch nearest to you.

You didn’t know how long it’d been since the sun set, but you decided it was time to get a bit of air. As soon as you excused yourself, the chill of the AC set in again, and instead of going out the front door, you decided that the roof would be a good idea. You’d been in Robin’s house plenty of times, and you knew her parents weren’t the biggest fans of smokers, so the roof was best. Besides, you and Robin shared plenty of cigarettes up there before, anyway, so you knew she wouldn’t mind.

Once you made it to her room, you crossed the carpet floor and pried open the window, a blast of warm, humid air hitting your body as you used your strength to push it all the way open. When you slipped out, you closed the window behind you before stabilizing yourself and walking a few feet away, just to be sure, before you sat down and stretched your legs.

Not long after you stretched your legs out before you, you decided it was too uncomfortable, opting to tuck your knees to your chest. Reaching into your pocket, you pulled out a pack of your mom’s Malboros and your zippo, pulling out a cigarette and letting it dangle between your lips as you shielded the other end from the breeze with one hand, the other lighting it with the zippo.

You took a long drag, relishing in the calm that the cigarette brought you. A light breeze washed over you, just like the one you felt when you first arrived at the house. You couldn’t help but smile as you exhaled, watching the cloud of smoke dissipate as it floated into the night sky. The calm was nice, but you barely got two drags into your cigarette when the window opened, and out walked Steve.

Without saying a word, he closed the window and came over to sit beside you, tucking his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. Neither of you spoke as you took another drag, but you could feel Steve’s eyes on you as you exhaled.

After a few more long moments, you let out a puff of smoke as you rolled your head to the side, looking at your best friend with an arched brow. Steve’s mouth gaped, opening and closing as you smirked at him, wondering what was going on in his head.

“What’s the matter?” You smirked. “Tongue tied, Harrington?”

The unfortunate truth of the matter was, he was in fact, tongue tied. He couldn’t help it, you looked so beautiful to him. You always did, but here, under the moonlight, baggy sweater slipping off your shoulder to show the maroon tank top you bought a few years ago, a cigarette delicately held between your fingers and that oh-so familiar playful glint in your eyes, he couldn’t help but think you should be photographed and hung up in a museum, just so everyone knew how beautiful you were.

You looked away for a moment, taking a final drag from your cigarette before stubbing it out on the shingles. When you turned back to Steve, smoke trailing from your lips, your eyebrows furrowed. He was still looking at you, mouth agape and hair falling in his face, but there was a glint in his eyes; one you’d never seen before. At least, not one you’d seen in his eyes when he was looking at you.

“What?” You asked slowly, heartbeat growing erratic. “Is there something on my face or something?”

Steve let out a low breath, eyes flickering to your lips before he shifted, leaning on his hand. Slowly and with a quiet voice, he asked, “Can I kiss you?”

The question, if you were being honest, hit you like a truck. Steve Harrington wanted to kiss you. Your best friend wanted to kiss you.

And your only answer was yes.

So, that’s exactly what you said. And before you knew it, his lips were brushing against yours, slow and hesitant, and nothing like the Steve you knew. He was brash and confident and loud, so you knew he must’ve been nervous. But that first touch sent sparks flying, and within seconds the real Steve was back, slanting his lips against yours and lifting his free hand to cup your jaw, fingers tangling in your hair.

You shifted in your spot to face him better, wanting nothing more than to kiss him until the world ended. But he pulled away for air, and for a moment, you found your body leaning into his, chasing the kiss and wanting more. For a moment, you thought that would be the end of it, but you remembered that you could do something. You could make it more. You snaked your right hand up to the back of Steve’s head, barely giving him a moment to admire you before your lips were crashing onto his, a burning passion intertwining in your lips, showing Steve how much you liked him.

This time, it was your turn to pull away, feeling Steve’s hand slip from your face as you smiled at him, lips bright pink and swollen. Steve gaped once again, and you couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled up your throat. “Tongue tied, Harrington?”

“I-I’ve been wanting to do that since middle school,” Steve admitted, nervous laughter floating in his words as his cheeks and ears tinted red.

There hadn’t been a single word of a lie in his sentence. Ever since seventh grade, when you tackled Tommy H. for calling you a pussy when you wouldn’t participate in the race he was holding for the other seventh graders at recess, he felt like he could’ve kissed you right there, even if it was in front of a hundred middle schoolers. And for years, there were times when he’d just stare at you in awe, wondering how he managed to get the best person in Hawkins to be his best friend, and how on Earth you managed to stick by him, even when he usually only dated girls to try and get over his crush on you. And on the off times you’d catch him staring, you’d always say the same thing: ‘Tongue tied, Harrington?’ and he would never really have a response, because how were you supposed to tell your best friend that you wanted to date them?

The corner of Steve’s lips pulled into a smile as he watched yours do the same, and he couldn’t take his eyes off you as you moved, resting your head on his shoulder. “Well, now you can do it any time you want, Harrington.”

Steve’s heart pounded in his chest, but he forced himself to remain calm. This was something you did all the time, and there was no need to freak out. Except, you’d just kissed, twice, so there was plenty to freak out about. Instead, Steve pressed a gentle kiss to your head before resting his head on top of yours, eyes looking out at the stars.

A blush crept onto your cheeks as you felt him press a kiss to your hair, but you didn’t mind it. In fact, you quite liked Steve kissing your head like that. It was such a minuscule moment, but to you, it meant the world. So, as the two of you sat there, in the silent, humid air of the night and watched the stars, you laced your fingers with his, and decided that there wasn’t anything you wouldn’t do to protect this. To protect your best friend, whatever you two had, and the quiet domesticity you two were harboring.

Permanent taglist: @simonsbluee @sapphicwriting @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @mazerunnerrose @theboldandthebootyful @miraclesoflove @queen-asteria04 @sunny-reys

Steve Harrington taglist: @theweasleyslut @starjane312 @the-romanian-is-bae @lillsxd @jemimah-b99 @heavcnslyre @xitsyaiizax @magicalxdaydream @timeladygallifrey @cadencebeat2662 @jamespotterslover @whoreou @mariecoded @suranne-doesstuff @hehehehannahthings @alexwritesthingsometimes @unic0rntaking0ver17645 @wecallhimbrowneyes @erospecies @pariahsparadise @alexxavicry

taglist form is in my navigation!

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fluff #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things x reader

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