#mike helping el do her make up…. . i need it again
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anyway. firm believer in platonic elmike having a legit brother/sister dynamic
1 - canonically family coded. “will you be like my brother” YES.
2 - they ain’t got shit in common except maybe superhero comics but they’ve got the kind of bond that never needed that anyway. they got the found family shit where they deeply admire each other for being the person they wish they were and wanting to protect each other. that is incredibly siblings of them
3 - siblings by default whether they like is or not bc they’re gonna be in-laws. might as well jump the gun
4 - luke and leia parallels… >:)
#is it delusion if matt duffer told me this himself ?#they are siblings . no common interests but you would die for them and also you hangout and do stupid shit#or you don’t really talk for like a month and then you sit together and start throwing things and catching up#mike helping el do her make up…. . i need it again#also my gay little concept of el cutting mike’s hair but wtv 🙄#elmike
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Steve glances down at his watch and looks around at the kids anxiously awaiting Eddie's arrival. He's five minutes late. In any other situation, this wouldn't be a lot, but considering that Eddie makes it a point to be either on time or (most likely) early to anything involving D&D with the party... it's highly concerning.
Steve glances at his watch again just to give himself something to do when Dustin finally bursts out, "Okay! This has to be a prank, right? Like someone has to be in on this."
Steve glances at all the other kids staring blankly at Dustin and finally decides to take matters into his own hands. "I don't think that's what's going on, Henderson, but thanks for the input. You guys stay here, and I'll go check on his place."
"I'm coming with you," Dustin states firmly.
Steve furrows his brows. "No, you're staying because if Eddie gets here and you're gone then that just means more waiting." When Dustin crosses his arms and continues staring, Steve sighs, digs his wallet out of his pocket, and hands Dustin a few bills. "Order a pizza and hang out for a bit or something. Walkie me if he gets here."
Dustin smiles brightly and takes the money immediately rushing off to Mike who is already on the phone calling the pizza place. Steve puts his hands on his hips and asks, "And what do you say?"
"Thanks, Mom," Mike says flatly, raising his eyebrows and looking entirely unimpressed.
"Thank you!" Lucas says as Will smiles and gives him a quiet, "Thank you, Steve."
Steve waits for Dustin who rolls his eyes and says, "Thank you. Now check on Eddie." Steve raises his eyebrows. Dustin sighs, "Please."
"You guys are going to be the death of me," Steve says as he makes his way up the Wheeler's basement steps. He wishes Max and El were there to have his back, but they had taken the chance to have a sleepover while the guys were too distracted to interfere with their girl time. He thinks calling Max to ask her to check on Eddie would also count as interfering.
It's not that Steve minds too much. Really, he rarely gets alone time with Eddie, and it's been a while since he's truly checked up on him. After the bats, Steve often went to his place and helped with wound care since he personally knew what he was going through. But as time went on and their injuries slowly turned into scars, it was harder to find excuses to see Eddie alone.
So, Steve settles for seeing him when the kids invite them both to something, and he's started to even hang around during their D&D sessions, soaking in all of Eddie that he can. He still refuses to play, too afraid of the kids making fun of him for getting confused, but he easily gets lost in the campaigns through Eddie's storytelling.
He thinks it's easy to get lost in anything Eddie's passionate about. It may go right over Steve's head, but he would do just about anything to listen to Eddie ramble - sometimes it might just be an excuse to stare at his lips, but no one (except Robin) needed to know that.
Steve nearly misses his turn while thinking a little too hard about Eddie's lips, but he makes it, turning into the trailer park and parking outside of Eddie's place fairly quickly. He sees Eddie's van in the driveway and takes a deep breath, hoping Eddie just somehow lost track of time or something.
Steve quickly rushes out of the car and knocks on the front door, waiting to hear Eddie's footsteps or grumbling as he makes it to the door.
But silence is the only thing coming from the other side.
Steve knocks harder, hoping the neighbors won't start snooping with all the noise he's making, especially when, a few seconds later, Steve decides he has waited long enough and pulls the door open. He quickly closes it and locks it on instinct as he calls out, "Eddie?"
The living room and kitchen are empty, but Steve doesn't hear the shower running, so he quickly bursts into Eddie's room calling out his name again.
His eyes fall on Eddie lying in bed with the covers tucked all around him, but his pale face is slightly visible through the dark strands of hair covering it. The last time Steve had seen him like this was in the upside down when...
"Eddie!" Steve says, rushing to the side of the bed and brushing the hair out of his face. He cups Eddie's face in his hands and nearly shakes him before he sees his brows twitch as he begins frowning.
"What..." Eddie groans out, eyes squinting open.
Steve breathes out a sigh of relief as he nearly tackles Eddie into a tight hug, ending up nearly on top of him.
"Good morning to you, too," Eddie jokes, squeezing Steve back. "Wait, what time is it?"
Steve pulls back and looks down at him. He runs a hand over his cheek, feeling the warmth of it against his palm, a reminder that he's okay. "It's past five, and it's Friday."
It takes a few moments before a look of realization crosses over Eddie's face, his eyes widening as he curses, "Shit! I couldn't sleep last night, and I decided to take a nap around... three? Maybe?" He shifts back on the bed and starts trying to sit up.
Steve places a hand on his chest and pushes him back down.
"Hello," Eddie says as a blush spreads across his face. "This is fun, but I have a dungeon to master," he jokes, showing off his dimples.
Steve nearly forgets how to breathe for a second, but he finally gets it together enough to say, "You and I both know how hard it is to sleep after everything, so if you're able to sleep now, then you're sleeping."
"I'm fine, re-" Eddie yawns and covers his mouth. "Really."
Steve raises his eyebrows at him.
Eddie sighs and turns on his side to directly face him. "Steve, the kids will kill me if I don't do this session tonight."
"And I'll kill them if they give you shit about it. Does tomorrow night work?"
"I mean, yeah, probably but-"
"Great," Steve interrupts as he stands up and grabs the walkie Eddie keeps on a designated shelf. "Hey, Dustin, this is Steve."
"Is it a code red? Over." Dustin immediately replies on the other side.
"No, everything is fine here. We just need to postpone until tomorrow night if that's fine with everyone."
"There is no postponing D&D!" Dustin screeches.
Steve sighs and replies, "If you complain again I'm giving you no rides or money for a month."
There's a long pause from the other side before there's a response, "Tomorrow works! See you then!" Lucas answers.
Steve looks back at Eddie and gestures toward the walkie. "See?"
Except, Eddie is already beginning to doze off again, head nodding and snapping up every few seconds.
Steve smiles and slowly makes his way back to the bed, gently guiding Eddie back down before tugging up the covers and leaning over to press a gentle kiss against Eddie's forehead. "Goodnight."
As Steve begins to move back, Eddie's hand latches onto his wrist. He stares up at him sleepily and asks, "Stay? You need the sleep, too."
And he's right. He absolutely does need the sleep, and there's no way he's going to turn down the offer from Eddie, but... "Eddie, you're half asleep, you don't know what you're asking."
Eddie looks him in the eye and says, "I know exactly what I'm asking, and if I read the signs wrong then sue me."
Steve's heart beats a little faster in his chest. "Eddie..."
"Let's talk about feelings and everything when we wake up, okay? If you don't want to stay, that's okay. But know that I would want you here no matter what."
Steve looks down at him for a few seconds before he turns to take off his shoes. When he turns back, Eddie is smiling and holding the blanket up.
Steve accepts the invitation and finds himself wrapping his arms around Eddie and pulling him against his chest. Steve gently runs a hand through Eddie's hair, only stopping when Eddie grabs his hand and presses a gentle kiss against it.
Steve responds by bending down and planting a kiss on Eddie's head. He smiles when Eddie happily hums.
As Steve focuses on Eddie's breathing evening out, he finds himself matching it and slowly starts drifting off, falling asleep easily for the first time in a long time with happy thoughts of what's to come when they finally wake up.
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“Dad is going to be very angry,” El says with wide eyes taking in the scene before them.
“You think Hop will kill him?” Steve says as he leans against the doorway, eating a Twizzler.
El looks at Steve momentarily, sticking her hand out for some candy. Steve hands her one without hesitation. El rips a piece off before speaking. “Oh yes. He might ask you to help hide the body.”
Steve nods solemnly, “I’ll do what needs to be done. Mikes’s my least favorite child anyway.”
“Hey!” Mike yells, gaining the duo's attention. It brings them back to the scene they walked in on. Mike and Will, with the door closed (no three inches in sight) on top of each other, making out.
Steve doesn't think he’ll ever get that image out of his brain.
“Chill, Wheeler, I'm joking,” Steve says pointedly before turning to El and mouthing no, I'm not.
El giggles, and Steve can't help but feel like he won a prize at the sound.
“I'm sorry, El.” Will blushes with shame, like he is betraying his sister somehow.
El just shrugs, “I do not care. But Dad might. He hates Mike.”
Steve snorts, “That's the understatement of the century. I don't think Hop has ever hated someone’s partner like he has Mike. Honestly, I was surprised he liked Eddie. I mean like is a strong word. But he tolerates him.”
Will pipes up, “I think he does mostly because he knows you'll move out, and he only just got you to agree to stay here.”
Steve shrugs, “I’ll take what I can get. At least he doesn't walk on me having sex.”
“We weren't having sex!” Mike practically screams. Hands up exasperated. “And don't talk about you and Eddie; it's gross.”
Will blushes deeply with head in his hands, “Oh, God.” El pats him on the shoulder in sympathy.
“Also, this wouldn't have happened if you weren't an idiot and just knocked!” Mike stomps. Jesus, this kid is 15 acting 6.
“I was the one who walked in, Mike. I wanted to know if Will wanted to watch a movie.” El says coldly, getting defensive of her brother.
Mike clams up, Steve can't help but feel smug.
“Who’s having sex?!?” A distinct Hopper-like voice echoes through the house.
Will and Mike share a panicked look while Steve and El take more Twizzlers from the bag.
“Oh no. Mike! What are we going to do?”
Mike sputters, “He doesn't have to know it was us! And we weren't having sex!”
Will looks at him like Mike is the biggest moron he's ever met. Steve loves the kid (despite early protest) but has to agree. “Oh gee Mike, I wonder who he will think it was about. Steve? Who is dating a man who isn't here and keep in mind, it's Steve. Who is our brother, and five years older than us? And in a relationship? And let's not forget..is Steve?!”
“This is fair.” Steve agrees. If anyone but Baby Byers had attempted to say that, Steve would have been pissed. But it's Will, so it's coming from a good place.
“Also! Also! The other person here is El! Who is my sister! Not to mention your ex—”
“—well it could have been—”
“Micheal Steven Wheeler, if the next words out of your mouth are it could have been you and El, I will never be kissing you again.” Will uses a deathly tone. Steve isn't convinced he didn't get from El.
“Your middle name is Steven?” Steve fills giddy.
“Shut up Steve!”
Will pinches his brows, “And you idiot, if it were you and El, you would still he toast.”
Steve whistles, “Shit, Will. Next time I need to win an argument against Eddie. I'm coming to you.”
“How long does it take for dad to get upstairs?” El interrupts.
All of them look down the hall. “Huh, maybe we are in the clear,” Mike whispers.
“I said who is having sex?!?” Hopper comes thundering up the stairs.
“I think this is what Max calls a jinx.” El looks at Mike unphased.
Steve can't help but feel a little bad for Will. He looks panicked around the room, probably looking for a hiding place. Steve knows that it isn't that same fear Will once had of Lenny, Hop wouldn't hurt them ever, but he can't help but feel a little protective of him. Steve knows all too well how the fears of biological fathers can sneak up on you, even if you know you're safe. “Don’t worry, Will. I'll make sure Hop takes it easy.”
Will relaxes, “Thanks Steve.”
“What about me?” Mike asks, eyes wide.
El shares a look with Steve. Spending as much time as they have lately has allowed them to talk without speaking most of the time. It freaks everyone but Robin out (she gets it). Seconds go by before they both nod in agreement.
Steve and El both wip their heads towards Mike, and Steve says, “You were grossed out by my relationship and called me stupid. Suffer.”
Mike's outcry is in synch with Hop breaking through screaming, “There better be three inches!”
#steddie#byler#this is just about Steve and el bonding#steve teaching El the best way to beat mean girls is to be one#eleven hopper#steve Harrington#stranger things#Eddie munson#mike wheeler#will byers#Steve Harrington and El hopper have a sibling relationship#found family#my writing#ficlet#mean girl steve harrington#fluff#fanfiction#jim hopper
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If I Should Stay
Part 1 | . . . | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11
Nancy gets back with Jonathan not too long after. He barges in and makes a beeline straight for Steve. “You know where Will is?”
Steve nods. “There’s a lot to explain.”
“Then you’d better start soon.”
Robin, his savior, steps in. “C’mon, Jonny-boy, let’s go for a walk.” She leads him outside, and Steve can hear her start. “What do you know about time travel?”
He smiles and looks around. He can hear Eddie upstairs, practicing the song. The boys are occupied with planning, Nancy’s looking over Mike’s shoulder, and El’s watching him with big brown eyes. He focuses on her and lets his smile grow. “Wanna help me make dinner?”
Her eyes widen a little, but she nods. “What are we making?”
“Probably sandwiches,” he shrugs. “I’m not sure what else I have. Can you find the bread in the pantry? And there’s butter knives in that drawer over there, we’ll need two.” He winks. “One for you, and one for me.”
She does so, and he pulls out the condiments and lunch meats, as well as the jelly. “And the peanut butter, if you can find it,” he calls from where his head’s stuck in the fridge. He looks around for anything else he might need and grabs the pickles before closing the door.
“Y’know the best part about making dinner?” He asks her, impish grin growing on his face. She hums inquisitively. “We get to make ours first and eat while we make the rest.”
She giggles and accepts the high five he holds out.
They get to work assembling sandwiches. She pauses, mayonnaise slathered halfway onto a piece of bread. “Steve?” He hums. “I’m scared.”
He sighs and puts down his knife. “I am too, El. Terrified, if you can believe it. But I have faith in us. I know we can do it.” He wipes his hands off and rounds the counter, taking her hands in his. “You are the strongest person I’ve ever met in my life. Even stronger than Vecna. And this time he won’t know we’re coming. We’ll have the element of surprise on our side, and we will defeat him. We’ll find Will and Barb, and after this we’ll never have to worry about it again.” He strokes a hand over her head and sighs. “There’s something else, too. I know where Papa is.”
She pulls back, eyes wide, posture stiff. “Whoa, hey, it’s okay,” he soothes. “I’m not going to take you back there. Ever. Okay?”
She nods hesitantly, but allows him to pull her closer again. “I was going to ask if you want us to take care of him,” he murmurs. “Lock him inside and set the building on fire, or something.”
She shakes her head. “He loves me!”
“Oh, El,” Steve whispers. “I thought the same thing of my parents for a long time. No matter how mad they got, how much they yelled, how much they hurt me… they said it, so it must be true, right? They must love me. I must be the problem.” He shakes his head. “That’s not love. You fear him, El, and for good reason. He made you into what you are, but you never asked for this, and it’s okay to be angry about it.” She looks up at him with wide eyes, and he sighs. “I’ll give you some time to think about it,” he murmurs. “If the answer is still no, that’s okay. But if you change your mind, that’s okay, too.”
She nods, steps out of the hug. He lets her go, feeling like he’s almost knocked a vase off a table. His heart’s still thumping oddly, eyes wide, scared to make the wrong move.
But then she looks up at him and offers him a small smile. “Thank you,” she says. “I know the way you treat me is different from how Papa treats me. I do not know yet if they are simply different forms of love or if you are right. I think you are, but…”
“You need to see for yourself,” Steve nods. Moves the metaphorical vase back from the edge of the table. “Let me know if there’s any way I can help prove it.”
“I will,” she says, and picks up her butter knife again, spreading mustard onto a piece of bread. He goes back to his side and smiles at her.
“Steve?” She asks after a second. “When my hair grows back. What does it look like?”
He thinks for a second. “It’s fluffy,” he says. “Very soft and light. Like cotton candy.” He puts his head to one side. “Floofy,” he decides, and grins.
She giggles. “Like you!”
He opens his mouth to tell her no, she’s wrong, except… he can’t. “Yours is even more beautiful,” he tells her. “And kids in school nicknamed me ‘the Hair’. That’s how famous this was.” He tilts his head her direction, and a lock of hair falls in his face. He splutters and shakes his head, grinning when she laughs again.
“I am very glad you came back, Steve,” she says suddenly, seriously, a little at odds with the smile still quirking her lips up.
His heart breaks and mends all in the same second. It feels like absolution. “Me too,” he says, and means it.
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#stranger things#if I should stay#steve harrington#eddie munson#eventual Steddie#slow burn#robin buckley#platonic stobin#eleven#jane hopper#this is just an excuse for me to write#Steve and el as siblings#i love them your honor#Steve and el#starambles
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can't help it if i wanna kiss you in the rain - steve harrington
summary based on this lovely anon! thank you for your request, I hope you like it.
tags best friends to lovers. mutual pinning. mentions of weed. Eddie been Eddie and Erica being Erica. season 4. mention of starcourt but nothing else related to the upside down happens. slight use of y/n, sorry. a little bit of angst and then pure fluff. if i missed anything please tell me.
w.c 2.4k
You are so upset.
You couldn’t fall asleep on the plane. They only had snacks with nuts on them. The juice boxes were gone.
You just want to avoid everyone, specifically Steve.
He didn’t answer your letters for over two weeks, he stopped calling you every night to tell you all about his day and you… you were so upset you couldn’t enjoy the warm welcome your friends had prepared for you.
Life after the Starcourt incident wasn’t easy. Moving away from all the things, from all the people you love, it was destroying you. Jonathan found friends, Will and El do stuff without you all the time. You missed home, you missed your friends, your best friend.
The ride to Steve’s house is short, unfortunately. As Nancy gets out of the car to grab his boyfriend’s hand, Will, El, and Mike make sure to greet Dustin and Lucas at the door. Robin runs to you and hugs you, a warm big smile forms on your lips, she knows something is wrong from the moment your body stays still for a couple of seconds before hugging her back.
“You okay?” she asks, you can’t lie to her but you can’t rant about Steve and how upset you are because it would ruin everyone’s day. Half of the group came back all the way from California.
“I’m okay, Robs. Don’t worry” You take a step back, not dropping your hands from the sides of her arms and squeezing them. “You, young lady, you need to tell me all about Vickie”
She laughs, her cheeks light pink as the color of your skirt. You can’t stop a giggle from coming out of your lips, but as soon as you see him… your body goes stiff again and Robin rushes inside the house to get a drink before spilling everything about her crush.
But there he is. His gray almost blue polo shirt hugs his chest flawlessly. The last two buttons remain unbuttoned and the best friend chain you share with him shows up, resting on his hairy chest that moves up and down as he breathes. His hair, amazing as it is, has a life of itself and it’s beaming as well as his face. You are sure he is wearing the tightest jeans ever but you fight everything in yourself not to look down, as you fight with the same strength and keep your arms to yourself.
He whispers, "Hi" and locks his gaze on you, asking for a hug.
“Hey,” you say, not moving an inch and he finds it odd. Before you moved away you loved his hugs, his arms around you embracing you while your face rested on his chest, so close to his neck that your nose used to catch the scent of his cologne and a hint of cigarettes. Your hips will bump with his and- NO, STOP STOP.
“Are you okay? You look-”
He tries to speak with the same calm as always but it’s impossible. He feels something is different and he can’t wrap his head around it. You interrupt him, bumping your shoulder into his arm and running upstairs mumbling the dumbest excuse ever.
“I- I need to, uhm, go to the bathroom”
Steve doesn’t say anything. He figures you need some space or you are tired from the flight. He reunites with the others in the kitchen and gets introduced to Argyle who is talking to Eddie about something.
He watches you come back, you are holding your best friend's necklace with your fingers, you usually do that when you are nervous. Steve's eyes focus on you and you turn around, going straight to the living room where the others are. Panic settles over his chest and no one seems to notice.
Eddie is quick to hit his shoulder slightly with his palm and nods to the living room, telling Steve to join the others.
–
The living room is filled with voices and chuckles. You talk to everyone about your new school, your new house. Everyone pays attention to all the California Shenanigans.
Steve is focused on you, with a frown on his face and yes, you’ve noticed. It took you possibly five minutes to feel his confused gaze over you, but you decided to ignore it. You ignore him as he ignored you when you were away. You keep talking to Erica about her winning the campaign and Eddie joins the conversation making Steve… jealous.
“Guys! Guys. You all talk like you haven’t seen each other in ten years, I get it, but I still need to meet the rest of you!” A high Argyle speaks up, earning everyone’s attention “Can we just have a quick chat?”
“There is something we have to do outside, but you guys chat!” Dustin says as every single one of the kids follows him except Erica.
“Erica, let the grown-ups talk”
A choir of “boos” and “we are not that old” makes Lucas jump, he rolls his eyes and goes out joining his friends in the backyard.
“What? They are going to do a nerdy thing I'm not interested in” Erica replies, looking at everyone in the room.
“Erica, you play dragons and… what is it? castles?” Argyle says.
“Dungeons and dragons, man!” Eddie corrects him and hits him with his elbow. They quickly became friends and it’s hilarious to see them interact.
“You guys are soooo high,” you say. Eddie, who remains by your side, quickly bumps his knuckle softly against your chin, earning a giggle from you.
“What? Do you want a joint, sweetheart? He teases, and you roll your eyes.
“She’s not into that” Steve scoffs, peeking at the interaction that has his head hurting for quite a while now.
“What? She totally is. Bro, remember that time when you got so high you poured your milkshake on Jonathan and Ms. Byers thought he threw up on himself?” Argyle’s confession takes you by surprise, Jonathan laughs remembering and describing the incident to everyone.
The room fills with chuckles one more time. Steve feels a knot in his throat and you try to keep your face away from him.
“I had to tell my mom she tripped, it was a fun day actually,” the older Byers says.
“That reminds me, one time Steve had a date and I accidentally spilled my jar of fresh cherry jam on him. He spent the rest of the shift with his legs wrapped in a towel while his jeans were drying up!” Robin tells the funny story and that’s when you look at Steve.
Your mind starts wandering. He had a date, maybe he had a girlfriend already and that’s why he was so busy.
“Was that the same girl I saw you with at the movie theater?” Nancy asks.
“Nope, that was Heather and the other one was Heidi” Robin answers, Steve looks away from you, embarrassed.
Jealousy starts to get its way through your head. Your breath quickens and you start to get more furious.
“And what happened with Linda?” Nancy asks again.
“Can you guys just drop it?” Steve starts to get annoyed. “We just kissed, that is all”
“Fuck this” you mumble, the only one hearing you is Eddie.
“Woah, are you okay? Eddie notices your face, red with anger and your eyes glassy.
“Can everyone just stop asking if I’m fucking okay?”
Your voice shakes and you storm out of the room. The rest watches you go and Steve panics, but doesn’t move.
“Are you stupid?” Erica speaks, making Steve wake up as she is talking to him.
“What?”
“Oh please, you love that girl and you idiots had to mention all of his dates. She is clearly jealous, even I can see it”
“Erica!” Steve raises his voice but she doesn’t get upset.
“Just the facts! Don’t be a moron Steve”
And that’s what it took. An 11-year-old shit-talking to Steve for him to realize he had to fix this.
He gets up and before he opens the door, Robin grabs his hand stopping him.
“Don’t- don’t lie to her and do not try to push her away” She squeezes his hand before dropping it. “You’ve been miserable without her, don’t make another mistake"
Steve nods, opening the door, and walks to the street to find you, you are walking as quickly as possible but the cold rain slows you down as you hug yourself and walk.
Alone. Annoyed. Jealous. Furious.
“Y/n! Please come back”
An agitated voice makes your ears ring. It’s him, his voice was so recognizable that it was impossible to ignore it. You turn around, making an effort to not run toward him and cry for him, begging him to love you.
You’ve never cried over a boy because you’ve always been in love with your best friend, Steve.
“Please just listen” he begs, the rain starts to calm down as if the sky knows something is about to happen.
“What do you want?”
“I want to talk to you! You have been avoiding me all day and it’s making me crazy. I’m sorry you had to hear all of that” he slurs his words as he tries to ease his breath.
"Are you only apologizing for having dates?"
“No, no. I know ignoring you was wrong, I know trying to push you away was so shitty of me”
You keep your arms crossed against your chest. You keep shivering from the cold of the rain. Your clothes are all soaked and sticky.
“And?”
“And? I’m sorry, I'm sorry. But you didn’t have to act like such a jerk to me, not when I haven't seen you for so long. You know you can talk to me!”
“It’s all good, I wish you would talk to me too but it's too late. Bye now"
“Wait, wait”
“What do you want, Steve?” you shake your head. “Please, enlighten me. What is it? I want to go home. I want to get out of these clothes and curl up in my bed. Just leave me alone alright”
“You are unbelievable”
“What?”
“You know the phone works both ways right?”
“I didn’t need the phone. I sent you a bunch of letters you didn’t read. Sorry to bother you with all of that you couldn’t even open one”
“I read all of them. I'm sorry i didn't reply to them... but now I know you are hiding a lot of things. Tell me, was one of your letters going to mention you smoke weed and hang around god-knows-where while you are high?”
“Oh my god, Steve. That was one time” you sigh. You couldn’t believe he was telling you all of this as if you did something wrong “You were the one ignoring me, remember? Being too busy with girls you couldn’t pick up the phone, what were you doing, Steve?
“They were just dates, nothing happened! I would’ve told you if… I don’t know”
“Well, I had a date too,” you say. It’s not a lie, you did have a date with some guy named Dave, it didn’t go well because let’s be honest he wasn’t Steve. “And I would’ve told you too but it looked like you didn't care”
“You had a date? So you have a boyfriend now or what?” he asks, his fists clenching. His knuckles are white, and his face glows red.
“Why are you getting so upset about it?” you notice a shift in his voice, he looks too angry for some weird reason.
“You have a boyfriend”
“I don’t have a boyfriend. And if I had one, why do you care? You are the one going on hundreds of dates” A laugh comes out of your lips, but your heart is aching.
“Because the dates were a distraction! A distraction that didn't work because no one is... no one is as perfect and beautiful as you, and it kills me, you know?”
You get confused, he starts to get closer. Your tears start to mix with the drops of rain, your sight becomes blurry.
“I like you! Fuck, I love you!” he speaks, defeated and with a hand over his chest, right over his heart. “I have loved you since I met you, I’m sorry I was such a jerk for hiding it but I thought you deserved someone so much better than me and I didn’t-”
He gets cut off by your lips on his. It was everything he needed, he is everything you wanted. The kiss is short but it’s filled with all the pent-up emotions, all the years of waiting, all the lingering hugs and him “casually” always keeping a hand over you.
His lips are soft, he gets a taste of your strawberry chapstick and smiles over your bottom lip. You wrap your arms around his neck, pushing your bodies together.
“I like… I love you too, Steve” you say, his eyes focused on your lips as his hands rest on your waist. “I was hiding it too, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry we had to fight and, I-”
“It’s fine” he whispers, the drops of rain make his hair fall to his forehead, you are quick to brush it away from his face with your fingers, and he doesn’t mind.
“It’s not, we could’ve sorted this out sooner but I was scared– scared that if I told you, you were going to reject me”
“I thought you were going to reject me. Dreaming about you with me every night was better than thinking about losing you, so I was hiding it” he brushes his nose against yours. “But I don't have to hide it anymore. I love you. You love me. God, please tell me you are not joking”
“I’m not joking, Stevie. I love you”
His favorite nickname makes an appearance, he smiles as it’s been a long time since he hasn't heard it.
“I love you too, baby”
The new pet name makes your heart flutter and he wants to kiss you again, but the rain doesn’t seem to stop and you are both shivering.
“Let’s get in before you catch a cold,” he says, taking your hand and intertwining his fingers with yours. You walk with him back to his house, your body immediately feels calmer as you get closer to him and hug him.
“I missed you”
“I missed you too, don’t you dare think i’m letting you leave my house today”
“Wasn’t planning on it”
He grins, you giggle. The girl of his dreams is finally with him, nothing could ruin his mood since that day.
feedback is appreciated don't forget to REBLOG TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR! you can request something like this and I'd be happy to write it. ♡
#leia writes ⊹ ꒱#steve harrington fluff#steve harrington imagine#steve x reader#steve harrington x fem!reader#steve harrington x you#steve harrington x reader#steve harrington x y/n#steve harrington x fem#steve harrington x y/n fluff#steve harrington best friends to lovers#steve harrington angst#steve harrington x bestfriend!reader#steve harrington x female!reader#steve harrington x female reader#꒰ leia's steve ⊹ ㅤ꒱
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hiiii could i possibly request something with the good ol' "steve is insecure with his place in the group/his intelligence/his worth compared to the rest of the party" cliche with reassurances in the form of copious amounts of cuddles and kisses and pet names from eddie? you're so great for doing these and i'm eagerly waiting for the next chapter of call me sunshine <3
Not Steve "self-doubt" Harrington convincing himself he can't be loved because he doesn't fit in or provide "useful" things to the group!!! I am lowkey hoping someone maybe adds to make this explicit because something about them having to be quiet in a tent just sounds like it has potential idk. Eddie is so in love in this it makes me SICK. - Mickala ❤️ (@scoops-stevie)
----------------------------------------------------
When Steve suggested that they do something fun together for the weekend, he meant maybe going into the city or renting a lake house maybe.
He definitely didn’t mean camping.
Outdoor camping was Dustin’s idea, and all the kids had agreed quickly. Robin bowed out the moment she could come up with a decent excuse and he could tell that Eddie wanted to do the same but wouldn’t abandon him.
Hopefully.
Eddie had quietly offered to steal another RV, but Steve turned it down.
“You just started getting back in the good graces of most of the town, let’s not give them a reason to hate you again.”
So they packed up the van with all the camping supplies they collectively had: three tents (one for the girls, one for the boys, one for Steve and Eddie), a couple coolers full of drinks and food, a few chairs, flashlights, sleeping bags, and clothes.
Steve wasn’t great at reading maps, so he let Dustin ride passenger to help Eddie find where they were going.
He sat with the girls, mostly because he liked the way they just ignored everyone and everything and talked amongst each other about mundane things.
He may not always understand what they’re talking about, but he liked being a part of it.
He almost never understood what they were talking about actually.
But it was better than having everything the boys were talking about go right over his head.
Especially when they started arguing about stuff and talked so fast that Steve had no chance of keeping up.
Steve just kind of watched as everyone around him had conversations.
He tried not to think about how everyone was existing without him in a way.
He was here, but he wasn’t needed.
—-----------------------
When they arrived at the campsite, it was even more secluded than they thought it would be.
It was also only a couple hours until sunset and they all had to make sure the tents were set up properly before it was too dark to see.
Steve got started with his tent while Eddie helped the girls. Max still had limited movement in her wrists so she was given the task of setting the chairs around the fire pit that Lucas and Mike had formed.
Steve was struggling.
He’d only put up one tent before, and it was at summer camp where the counselor and four other boys had been helping. In all honesty, he’d pretty much managed to watch the whole time instead of help.
He would manage to get part of it up, but it would fall apart when he tried to do the other side. He kept losing the pieces to keep it tied down to the ground.
He was losing against an inanimate object.
Everyone else was doing fine; Joking and laughing and finishing up their tasks like they didn’t have to put all their focus into one thing at a time.
El wordlessly started helping him, and he knew she wasn’t judging him, but he couldn’t help the small part of his brain that was telling him that she thought he was stupid.
He was quiet for the rest of the evening.
They cooked hot dogs over the fire that Will started, then made s’mores since El had never had them before.
He watched and listened, smiled when everyone else was.
But he felt overcome with sadness that he just didn’t belong here.
He was the babysitter, he took care of them, and drove them around, and helped them survive alternate dimension monsters.
He didn’t know how to talk to them about the stuff they liked, or play their stupid dragon game. He could barely keep up with half the things they said.
“Hey guys, I’m gonna turn in for the night,” he said suddenly, interrupting something Mike had been saying to everyone.
Everyone looked at him with sad looks, but Eddie looked concerned.
“You okay? Is it a headache?” He asked.
Damn, he hadn’t even thought of a good excuse. At least Eddie was providing him one for free.
“Yeah, just a little one. I think if I sleep now it’ll be fine by morning.”
The taste of the lie in his mouth made his lip curl slightly. The words “friends don’t lie” replayed in his brain as he stood up and made his way to his tent at the far end of their setup.
No one tried to stop him, but he could feel their eyes on him as he unzipped his tent and then zipped it back up behind him.
They’d set up lamps inside each tent so that they could reserve flashlights for bathroom trips or emergencies. His was the kind you can dim, so he did. He took off his shoes and jeans, changing into the t-shirt he brought from home that was probably Eddie’s now that he was looking closer at it.
He’d brought his pillow from home because he couldn’t possibly sleep flat on the ground, and Eddie had brought one of his own because he still had some back pains when he slept wrong.
He curled up in his sleeping bag, holding Eddie’s pillow against his chest.
He felt a tear start to run down his face without his permission, not even sure why he was crying right now.
He heard the zipper and tried to shut his eyes quickly, hide his face in the pillow in hopes that Eddie would think he was really asleep.
“Hey darlin’. Mind if I join?” Eddie whispered.
Steve couldn’t ignore him, so he nodded and started to move the pillow from his chest and face.
“Oh, sweetheart. Why are you crying?”
Steve shook his head. He couldn’t even begin to explain.
“Can I hold you?”
Steve let out a sob, and Eddie didn’t wait for him to answer.
He was laying down next to Steve, pulling him against his chest and running his hands up and down his back.
“Is it a migraine? Do you need me to get some ice from the cooler? Or medicine from the van?”
“No, not a migraine.”
“Okay. Is it just a bad night?”
Steve couldn’t help the fondness he felt at that.
Eddie was so understanding, and incredible, and perfect. Steve didn’t deserve him just like he didn’t deserve the rest of these people.
“Stevie, it’s okay to have a bad night. Sometimes they just happen, right? That’s what you always tell me.”
Eddie’s hand had found its way to Steve’s hair, slowly running through the strands, occasionally looping the ends around a finger.
It sent chills down Steve’s spine when his fingers brushed against his neck so gently.
“I just don’t belong here.”
“I’ll admit the outdoors is not really my favorite place either, but-”
“No, not. Not the outdoors. Here. With everyone.”
“Why wouldn’t you?” Eddie’s hand had frozen in his hair and on his back.
“I’m not smart. I’m not good at putting things together or fixing things. I can’t even be in most of their conversations. They keep me around because they don’t know how to get rid of me. I mean, they don’t even need a babysitter anymore!”
Steve’s tears were dripping onto Eddie’s shirt, making a mess.
Another reason he shouldn’t be around.
Eddie tilted his face up, nothing but love in his eyes.
“I want you to listen to me. You are needed in this group. You are wanted in this group. You are loved in this group. Do you really think a bunch of teenagers would be wasting a weekend camping with you when they could be going to the movies or the arcade or getting into trouble?”
Steve didn’t answer, but he sniffled as he watched Eddie get more passionate.
“And it is absolute bullshit that you’re not smart. How many times have you been the one to figure out something, whether it was during Upside Down shit or not? How many times have you been the one with common sense? You’re more than a babysitter, my love. You’ve always been more than that to all of them.”
They laid there in silence for a few minutes, Steve soaking in Eddie’s words as Eddie continued to comfort him in the way he needed.
“I just feel like I need to be more useful. I don’t want them to get bored or annoyed because I can’t be part of their world,” he finally said, his voice shaking.
“Angel, they love you for who you are. Just like I love you for who you are. You fit where you fit because that’s what the group needs. They don’t need another Dustin to always make connections because of one obscure fact relating to something he read once when he was nine. They don’t need another El to fight their battles.They need the Steve who is going to go along with whatever they want to do so he can protect them if and when things go wrong. They need the Steve who is always there to support them even with the most mundane things.”
“I couldn’t even set up the tent by myself.”
“None of us could. I had help. That’s why I told El to help you. None of us can do stuff alone, love. You’re putting expectations on yourself that no one else is putting on you.”
Steve shuddered.
He’d been pretty famous for doing that for years.
Once his parents stopped caring at all, he started caring too much.
And now he expected more of himself than anyone else ever would.
He’d set himself up to fail. At least in his own eyes.
“Did that finally get into that concussed brain of yours?” Eddie said, smirk evident in his tone.
Steve playfully slapped his chest and hid his face against his tear-soaked shirt.
“I guess maybe it did. A little,” he said.
“Good. You know I love you more than the stars, right?”
“And the moon?”
“And the galaxies in space.”
Steve settled further against Eddie’s side.
“I love you, too,” he sighed out, feeling content for probably the first time this entire trip.
In the morning, he’d start over, let his brain rest. He’d make everyone breakfast and then help them all make sure they were prepared for their short hike. He’d pack them sandwiches and extra water bottles in case they ended up walking further than they planned. And when they all got back to the campsite the next night, he’d make s’mores with them.
He’d ignore the voice telling him that he wasn’t enough for any of them, and he’d be enough for himself.
#steddie#steve harrington#eddie munson#stranger things#the party#request#ficlet#hurt/comfort#i ship steve's self doubt and eddie's overwhelming need to tell him he's perfect
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based on this
It was supposed to be a joke. A laugh. A funny story to tell later. But five questions in and things were different.
It was a normal barbecue. Everyone was there at Hopper’s cabin and generally having a great time. Good food and good company tended to guarantee that. But then someone had pulled out a home version of the Newly Wed Game. It was clearly well-used and probably missing some parts, but still playable. The most important parts were the questions anyway.
Mike, definitely not compensating for anything, adamantly exclaimed that he and El could win in a heartbeat. And because he couldn’t help his annoying little brother tendencies, challenged Nancy and Jonathan. And because Nancy couldn’t stomp down the big sister urge to put her brother in his place, she accepted. So they already had two couples but Mike got it in his head that they needed a third. He vetoed Hopper and Joyce, saying that they didn’t count as newly weds.
Lucas and Max were still figuring out what they wanted and hadn’t officially come back as a couple even though Max wasn’t actively avoiding him anymore. Dustin proclaimed he’d kick their asses if Suzie was there, but alas.
“We’ll be your thirds”, Eddie said, putting an arm around Steve’s shoulders.
“You?”, Mike’s face and voice was so incredulous and while Steve was confused as well, Mike’s offense offended him on principle.
“You’ve got two couples who are absolutely made for each other. You need an obvious dud couple”, Eddie reasoned, then winked at Steve and oh.
This was another one of those attempts at getting him back with Nancy. Because he and Eddie wouldn’t get any of the questions right, but he’d know things about Nancy and she’d know things about him. A sound plan.
If only Steve wanted Nancy back.
Steve meant to tell Eddie as such but it was hard to fight against that blind optimism.
And so the three couples sat down, with Argyle being their show host and asking the questions. The first few were easy. Steve got asked “What’s their favorite type of music?” Eddie got asked “Favorite sport?” Steve got asked “Favorite kind of weather?” Eddie got asked “Do they prefer the beach or the pool?” Steve got asked “Night in or night out?”
All easy. He knew those almost immediately. And it seemed Eddie did too by the quick way he answered. But while they were 5 for 5, Nancy and Jonathan had only gotten three and Mike and El had only gotten two. And Steve had to admit, he was at a loss for some of the answers for Nancy.
“You guys are on a roll my dudes”, Argyle said. “Next one: Crust on or off the sandwich?”
“Crusts off”, Mike answered.
El showed her response and Mike was correct.
“Crusts on”, Nancy answered.
Jonathan bit his lip. “Actually, I prefer them off.”
“Heh, yeah he does”, Argyle said. “He said crusts were crusty and it was like, profound man. Eddie?”
“Trick question, he’ll eat anything I make for him. Wontcha, big boy?”
Steve grinned. “I never turn down free food. Even when it’s one of your Scooby Doo specials.”
“His what?”, Mike asked.
“Moving on”, Argyle continued. “Your spouse can take one thing on a deserted island. What is it?”
El guessed a book, which turned out to be wrong. Jonathan replied with a gun, which turned out to be wrong. Argyle’s eyes turned to the third couple.
Steve bit his lip before answering. “My first instinct was to say his guitar, but I gotta go with a copy of Lord of the Rings.”
Argyle looked to Eddie. “Is this correct?”
“This man knows me like the back of his hand”, Eddie said, clapping Steve’s back. At some point he had forgotten his own plan and was just having fun.
“Okay, this is bullshit”, Mike finally broke. “How are you guys getting all of these right.”
Steve didn’t have an answer. And neither did Eddie. They shared a look without words and once again they came up with the same answer but neither of them wanted to admit it.
“Just admit you lost, Mike”, Nancy said.
“You lost too.”
“Second’s better than third.”
“God you’re so-”
“Hey guys! There’s more hot dogs!”, Lucas called out.
The game ended there, the other two couples going about their business. Whereas Steve and Eddie were left with the question that already had an answer. How did they know all of those things about each other?
Part 2
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Holiday in... Handcuffs? Pt. 4
Pt 3
They didn’t bother with any space between them that night, Eddie lays his head on Steve’s shoulder because that’s where it belonged, the same way Steve’s fingers belong on his lower back, tucked under the hem of Eddie’s hoodie. Their legs tangled together as Eddie trails a finger over Steve lips and asks to kiss him.
“Ask me again in the morning sweetheart. I don’t want to be half asleep when I taste you.”
Eddie groans at that, hips shifting against Steve’s, “Baby you can’t say shit like that to me and expect me to go to sleep.”
“Watch me.” He tips Eddie’s chin up and tugs his lower lip between his teeth, scraping until the tender flesh snaps back and leaves Eddie whining and arching under his hands.
“I’m going to fucking ruin you the second I get you in my bed princess.” He hisses and Steve laughs in his face.
“Try that one again when you can stop grinding against my thigh helplessly…princess.” Steve purrs right back. “Until I say so, you’re at my mercy and I’m going to enjoy it.”
Eddie wants to make him eat those words, wants to place his lips everywhere else since Steve’s own mouth is off limits. But Steve’s eyelids are drooping and he can feel a yawn behind his teeth, so he just presses a kiss to Steve’s forehead and whispers, “Enjoy it then big boy. Good night.”
They drift off tangled together while Steve’s family plans a raid on the Munson cabin first thing in the morning.
~O~
The Hopper-Byers house woke up solemnly and got dressed, their living room floor full of sleeping bags and piles of blankets. The kids were riding with Nancy and Jon in the station wagon while Joyce and Hopper took the cruiser. Robin was out of town and no one wanted to stress her out until they had safely gotten Steve back home.
Nancy was loaded down with her handgun and sawed off that Hopper was pretending not to see at this moment. Lucas was fiddling with his wrist rocket while El, Max, and Will talked quietly amongst themselves. Dustin had used his spare key to get Steve’s home defense bat which was tucked between his knees, hands gripping the end until his knuckles go white. Mike had been strangely silent since the news broke, guilt over everything he’d said to Steve eating him alive.
“We’re going to get him Hop, one way or another.” Joyce swears, their backseat has enough supplies in the back to make sure that the corpses of Eddie and Wayne Munson are never found again. They’d send Steve back with the kids, let them take care of him back at home base. Hopper would get his testimony later, after Joyce had put some good meals in him and let him rest off the trauma.
And then they’d get Steve whatever help and therapy he would need depending on what he’d had to live through. They would offer him all the support and love that his family had never been able to. Joyce would call Steve her son the way she’d always hesitated to, afraid she had been overstepping. Hopper would ask if Steve would like to change his last name, had wanted to since the Harrington’s had disowned him for being bisexual.
Everyone was making silent promises to apologize, to hold, to talk, to give Steve all the things they realized they’d been holding back or neglecting. Because it was either they got the chance to or they’d be begging forgiveness at Steve’s grave.
Joyce consulted the map they’d brought with all of the satellite dots from Steve’s phone as they passed a gas station about half an hour from their destination. “They stopped there according to the map, the last one before they got to the cabin.”
Hopper squeezes her hand quietly, “One way or another.”
~O~
“I know it’s not much because I’m afraid I don’t know you very well yet son, but I didn’t want you to be here empty handed so this is for you.” Wayne says as he nudges a box across the coffee table to Steve.
“Wayne, you didn’t have to.” Steve carefully slipped off the paper, something Eddie found so endlessly endearing. He looked forward to watching Steve do this with the rest of his gifts once they got back to town tomorrow. And then Eddie was ordering take out and making out with Steve in the other man’s apartment until Steve kicked him out.
The box contained a pair of slippers and a soft bathrobe, not Steve’s normal style but probably a soon to be necessity if he didn’t want Robin to murder him if Eddie ever stayed over. “I get the feeling this will be very useful soon. Thank you so much Wayne.” He offers sincerely as Wayne reaches over to pat his knee fondly with a warm smile.
“You’re welcome Steve. I’m so happy to have met you, and how happy you make Eddie… it warms this old man's heart.”
“You’re not even that old Wayne.” Steve snorts, making them all laugh. He shifts back against the sofa to tuck under Eddie’s arm, eyes closing with happiness as Eddie’s lips press to his temple.
“Do you want another cup of coffee?” He asks and Steve nods gently so Eddie gathers up their mugs and heads into the kitchen.
“Go get your boy.” Wayne encourages him with a wink. Grinning Steve hops up and follows Eddie into the kitchen. He grabs some snacks for them to nibble on while Eddie refills their mugs. Before he can step back into the living room Steve stops him.
“Look up sweetheart.”
Eddie looks up and sees a sprig of mistletoe taped over the doorway, “Really? Really Wayne?”
Wayne just laughs at him and waves them off, “Just kiss the man Eddie, I’m sick of whatever weird mating dance you two are doing.”
Eddie looks to Steve who is grinning at him with his own little eyebrow wiggle, he grips Steve’s hips and reels him in close. “May I Steve, may I kiss you?”
“Yes, please Eddie kiss me.” Steve whispers against his lips, hands coming up to cup his face and tug him down until their lips finally meet.
And then the cabin door bursts open.
“Freeze!”
Steve and Eddie’s lips break apart, whipping towards the door in sync as Eddie’s arms tighten around Steve.
“Release him now!”
This time the voice registers and Steve’s jaw drops open. “Hop?”
“Steve! We came to rescue you!” Dustin bursts past Hopper branding his bat and swinging wildly.
“Rescue me? What the hell are you talking about?” Steve studies all their tense faces as he carefully moves Eddie behind him.
“Wait was this all a joke? Were you just playing a prank on Dustin, pretending to be kidnapped?” Mike spits, getting defensive now that they are on the backfoot.
“Kidnapped? Dustin, were you even listening when I called you? I told you I was staying with a friend for Christmas. I specifically said I wasn’t being kidnapped.”
“Your phone was breaking up, I heard a struggle. I heard the horrible thing he said to you!” Tears beaded in Dustin’s eyes as he gestured wildly at Eddie, “I thought I was never going to see you again.”
“Oh Dusty, come here.” Dustin drops the bat and sprints across the room, throwing himself into Steve’s arms with a sob. Steve squeezes him tight and lets Dustin wail with relief as he holds fistfuls of Steve’s sweatshirt.
“Thank you for coming to rescue me Dusty bun. You were so brave.” Steve tells him as he starts to calm down, he turns them slightly and offers a hand out, “Dustn, I’d like you to meet my friend and supposed kidnapper Eddie Munson.”
“...Hi,” Eddie offers gently, he awkwardly holds out a paper towel for Dustin to dry his eyes with, “Steve tells me you’re his little brother.”
“This is sweet and I’m sorry to interrupt but could the lot of you stop letting the cold in and maybe see if my front door can still close?” Wayne interrupts and the rest of Steve’s family blushes before shuffling into the cabin and doing their best to close the door. The handle was completely fucked but the deadbolt hadn’t been pushed so they just used that to hold the door closed. The frame was ruined but at least the draft was minimal.
“Thank you, now someone explain to me why my nephew is being accused of kidnapping.” Everyone continues to fidget awkwardly until Wayne gestures for them to sit.
Wayne has one armchair while Steve and Eddie share the other, Dustin leaning against Steve’s legs. Joyce, Hopper, Nancy, and Jon all squeeze together on the couch while the other kids scatter on the floor. There’s still wrapping paper from their gifts scattered around.
“Why didn’t any of you just call me to ask if I was kidnapped? Or Robin for that matter, I texted her everything about where I was.” Everyone winces at the mention of Robin since they’d left her out of the loop for her own safety, turns out she was the loop.
“Since you didn’t reach out again after the kidnapping message we weren’t sure if you or your kidnapper had the phone and we didn’t want to risk them getting angry and killing you.” Hopper says taking lead on this debacle. Joyce is squeezing his thigh tightly so she doesn’t run over and snatch Steve into her arms.
“I texted Dustin a picture of the cabin yesterday after we finished decorating.” Steve points out, Dustin hasn’t released his sleep pants since they sat down.
“With the other evidence we had gathered it looked more like you trying to help us find you.”
“Other evidence? I’m sorry but what fucking evidence are you talking about?” Eddie snaps, more scared than angry. This man burst into his home and pointed a gun at him so he’s a little on edge right now, even with Steve’s hand in his.
Hopper clears his throat uncomfortably and holds his hands up in surrender, “Sorry, sorry. When Dustin reported the abduction I went to the ‘scene’ and there was some video footage of what appeared to be a large black vehicle driving too close to the curb, and then you pushing Steve to the ground. You went out of frame but another camera shows you driving another black vehicle with Steve in the passenger seat shortly after.”
Eddie huffs, looking very much like he wants to go one one of his tirades until Steve leans more into him and Eddie deflates. This is Steve’s family, who thought they were protecting someone who means a lot to them. Eddie can be justifiably angry for feeling profiled and accused but he won’t take it out on his not quite boyfriends loved ones.
“There was a truck,” Eddie says through gritted teeth. After another glance at Steve he manages to take a deep breath and the words come out a little easier, “it was taking the corner too fast and kicking up a lot of icy road slush. I pushed us both out of the way so we wouldn’t end up soaked. And last I checked, owning a black vehicle wasn’t a crime.”
“It’s not honey and we’re so sorry that this happened.” Joyce speaks up, intervening and diffusing the attention with her genuine warmth, “This was all an unfortunate misunderstanding but what matters is that Steve is okay and that you’re both happy. And we’re sorry for messing up your sweet moment.”
This time Steve and Eddie were the ones blushing, Steve’s entire family had burst in on the two of them kissing after all.
“Could we maybe start over?” Joyce continues, “Would you all like to come over for Christmas dinner? And we can have a repair guy come out and fix your door tomorrow.”
Eddie and Steve glance at each other before looking at Wayne who just shrugs, “I’ll follow along with whatever you boys want.” They turn back to each other and Steve offers him a small smile.
“I know it’s a little fast, and certainly not how I would have planned for this to go. But since I’ve met your family, would you like to meet mine?”
Eddie lets out a snort laugh and squeezes Steve’s hand, lifting it to press a kiss to his knuckles, “Sure Stevie. At least this time I don’t have to worry about somehow making a worse impression than the one that’s already been made of me.”
“They’re going to love you, I know they will.”
With the new plans set Steve, Eddie and Wayne go get dressed while Hopper uses the tarp they brought the tree in with to try and keep the elements from seeping into Wayne’s cabin. Steve’s family goes back to their cars with the exception of Dustin who choses to clamber into the Range Rover with Steve and the Munsons.
“Is Eddie your boyfriend Steve?” He asks bluntly as they head out, their vehicle taking up the rear of their little caravan.
“Not yet, but I think we’re getting there.” Eddie throws him a cheeky wink as he flicks on some low music to fill the background.
“Cool, hey is that a dungeons and dragons tattoo?”
The older man grins and with a faux annoyed groan Steve settles back in his seat as his family starts to get to know his soon to be boyfriend. This might be the strangest Christmas Steve has ever had but it’s also one of the happiest.
#stranger things#steve harrington#eddie munson#steddie#steve x eddie#steve harrington x eddie munson#dustin henderson#joyce byers#jim hopper#wayne munson#baker!steve#mechanic!eddie#modern au#no upside down au#comedy of errors#accidental kidnapping#steddiefic chronicles
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No Regrets - Part Three
This one got longer than I expected, so it's only about Spring Break. We return to the apocalypse next part.
Part One🦇 Part Two🦇Part Three🦇Part Four🦇Part Five🦇Part Six
"-eve?"
Waking up again is disorienting. His head aches like the beginning of a migraine. There was something he was thinking about but it's fading quickly. A conversation in a boathouse...? That's not right. The boathouse was empty. The police had beat them there.
"Steve?"
No. No conversation in a boathouse. But there was a phone call. He knows he remembers that. Joyce had called last night. Her and Murray sharing a phone between them as Steve- Oh! Right. Steve told them he knew about Hopper in Russia.
"You have to go, though. Hopper is alive and waiting. And there's a demogorgon. Demodogs, too. You have to kill them all. Any connection to the Upside Down left alive helps Vecna. It's like having a tether to here makes him stronger."
"I can't just abandon El," Joyce sounds conflicted, and Steve gets it. He does.
"You aren't. You're going to be giving her back her dad. She's got Jonathan and Will and Mike. Argyle, too, if he wants to be there. Just. Just get them on the road and back here as soon as you can. If they don't leave soon than Brenner will-"
"Brenner? What do you mean Brenner? He's dead. Right? He's supposed to be dead."
"Yeah, well, he's not. He- I don't know the full details, just. I was just given an overview because, y'know, other shit was going down. But he makes El relive a lot of traumatic shit from her past and yeah, it gets her back her powers, but she's just a kid. She's just a kid."
"Her abilities, they aren't gone?" It's Murray who asks.
"No. She's just traumatized, in a different way. It was... it was Jonathan who said this, actually, to me. I mean, he hasn't said it yet, and if everything goes the way I want, he won't need to say it ever, but that's- sorry, that's not important. He said he thinks El blocked her abilities because she lost Hopper. An internal block, you know? 'Cause she couldn't save him with them, so what was the point of having them?"
"And you think bringing Hopper back will free her of that block?" Murray asks.
Steve can't help it. He laughs. "Hell no. I think years of therapy might, but having her dad will help. There's no way it hurts, right? Also, uh, you're the parent here, Joyce, so I'll let you decide what to tell her, but the big, awful thing that Brenner made her relive? It was a massacre. At the lab, when she was there. Another guy, another number, killed a bunch of the people there. It was El who saved the remainder. She stopped him from killing anyone else by opening the first gate to the Upside Down. She tossed him in and closed it. She's not a monster. Oh, that part you have to tell her. She's not a monster."
"Steve!"
There's more to the phone call, Steve knows he knows that but there's yelling and it's distracting.
"Steve!!"
"What?" Steve snaps, both with his shout and back into himself. He's sitting at the picnic in Forest Hills. Everyone is looking at him with varying degrees of concern.
"You okay?" Robin asks, "we've been trying to get your attention for a while now."
"What? Yeah, sorry," Steve says, distracted, standing up and looking around. Eddie's trailer is right there, and Wayne's truck is parked in front. He knows Wayne. Knew Wayne? He's in charge of the gardens at home base. A real green thumb, not that you can tell by looking at the trailer now. "You think that with Fred's death, they'll stop suspecting Eddie?"
"What? We don't know that they suspect Eddie," Dustin is quick to say, "I know he didn't do it, and so do you so-"
"Yeah, I know! I do know that, but Chrissy died in his home and then he ran. Of course, he's a suspect. But he was in jail last night. So. They can't suspect him still, right?"
Nancy purses her lips, giving Steve a look he knows isn't good. "Well, it will depend on when they apprehended Eddie, which we don't even know they did. How do you know he was in jail last night?"
"Good point. I don't, not for sure. But Wayne might," Steve says as he starts walking away. He can hear everyone at the picnic table shouting for him and scrambling to follow. Steve picks up speed, dashing up the steps and pounding on the door before anyone catches up.
"Steve, what are you doing," Max hisses, because she's the fastest and therefore the closest.
"I just gotta-"
"Can I help you?" Wayne Munson greets, voice even. Steve watches as his eyes sweep the group, pausing on Nancy before coming back to Steve.
"Hopefully. Uh, I'm a friend of- well, no that's a lie. I don't want to lie to you. I'm not Eddie's friend, but I want to be, and Dustin here is, so we just wanted to know if you could tell us if Eddie's okay?" Steve says. "You already talked to Nancy yesterday, but she didn't know that we, like, knew him. Have you heard from Eddie?"
Wayne eyes him with suspicion, which is fair, "I ain't heard from him."
"Please," Steve says, because he's got to try one more time. Either Wayne doesn't know for real, or he's lying because he doesn't trust Steve. He's not sure he'll be able to tell which is which, but he has to ask again, "I swear that we just want to help Eddie. Whatever happened to Chrissy wasn't his fault, I know that. I just need. I need to know he's not- not out there, alone and scared. Please."
Wayne stares him down and Steve refuses to look away. Wayne's eyes flick away from him to the single police cruiser still stationed nearby, then back. "Get in here."
He doesn't need told twice. Wayne retreats into the trailer and Steve follows. Immediately his eyes jump to where the gate will form. Currently it just looks like water damage on the ceiling, but Steve knows. No gate yet, but it'll be there tomorrow. Probably fully formed by the time Vecna tries to take Max.
Robin, the last one in, shuts the door behind her gently.
"I told her yesterday that Eddie didn't do this," Wayne nods his head towards Nancy but he never takes his eyes off Steve. "Didn't stop them from arresting him."
"Thank God," Steve breaths out, which is the wrong thing to say, given how quickly Wayne's face morphs to anger, so he quickly adds, "shit, I mean, that means, he was in police custody when they found another victim last night, right? That'll prove he's innocent."
Wayne doesn't respond right away. Instead, he takes his time looking at each and every one of them, lingering on Nancy before settling on Max. "You live 'cross the way, don't ya?"
Max looks surprised to be recognized. "Yeah."
"Did you see anything?"
"I saw..." she trails off, brows furrowing as she thinks. She looks from Wayne to Steve. He doesn't know what she sees on his face, but he watches as she steels herself, a decidion made, before looking back to Wayne and saying, "What I saw is whatever I'll need to have seen to help Eddie."
"You'd lie to the police for Eddie?"
Max and Wayne have a silent conversation following the question, judging by their stare down and raising and following brow lines. When Max does speak, she says, "I've lied to police for worse people."
"Huh," is all Wayne says as he settles back against the counter behind him.
"Thank you," Steve says, even as his mind starts to calculate. They'll probably keep him the full 48 hours, since there isn't evidence enough to charge him. Right? There isn't really any evidence. Except, perhaps, what Eddie might have told them. Shit. Would Eddie say anything? "Can you let me know when they release him? Whatever happened, whatever he saw, probably freaked him out. I don't want him to feel alone. I mean, we don't."
Dustin is looking at him now like he's grown a second head but Wayne. Wayne is looking at him like he's made a realization. Drawn some unknown conclusion that he must approve of because he nods. "Sure, son."
"You got pen and paper? I'll write down my number."
The silence from his friends is deafening and does not bode well for Steve. He just knows they're going to bombard him as soon as they leave the trailer.
Which is exactly what happens. They wait until they're back by their cars before starting in, though.
"Steve, what the fuck was that?" Dustin says.
"How did you know he got arrested?" Max demands.
"Steve, you are acting so strange right now," Robin says, worry painted across her face.
"Explain," is all Nancy says, crossing her arms.
Should he? Does he even know what's happening? No. Not really. He's got memories of a future that's bleak and dark and terrible and he doesn't want it to come true. Are they even memories? Did those events even happen? He doesn't know for sure. All he does know if he wants to do everything in his power to prevent it from happening though. He doesn't want to have regrets about.... about something.
"We don't win," he says. "We don't win this one. Or, we didn't? We might now. Things are different this time."
"What?" Robin asks.
Steve ignores the question, giving instead more of the information he knows, "Hopper's alive. Joyce and Murray are on their way to Russia to save him."
"WHAT?" he's not sure who asked. Maybe all of them.
"And El is- I don't know. On her way, I hope. But she won't have her powers when she gets here. Or maybe she will? If she believes she's not a monster and really is the hero."
"Steve, you are not making any sense!"
"I know!" Steve shouts and drops into a squat. "I know! I'm not the- the figure it out guy, or the plans guy, or whatever. I'm just the guy who knows things he shouldn't, and I can't tell if it's because I actually lived it, or if I was just given knowledge about it somehow. I know the Upside Down has a red storm that never ends, more democreatures that just gorgons or dogs, and that Vecna slash Henry slash One is a goddamn monster who opens a giant hell gate and causes the apocalypse."
"Whoa, whoa," Dustin sooths, and when Steve looks up, Dustin's got both hands up and approaching like Steve's a wild animal. He kind of feels like one right now. "Slow down and explain."
There's a lot Steve could say. Should say. Steve is kind and soft, even in the face of the end of the world, but he's also learning that he's a little ruthless. Not heartless, but enough that he can see where they are, where they need to be, and how to get there in the easiest way possible. His eyes flick to Max. "Chrissy and Fred. They were both seeing the guidance counselor. You've seen them both there, right Max?"
"I- yeah. Yeah, I have."
"And Nancy, you've got a hunch, right? You need to go to the library to check it out?"
She narrows her eyes at him but nods.
"Okay. So, uh, let's use that as proof. You and Robin go check out your hunch, and I'll stick with Dustin and Max. Take Max to see Ms. Kelley and see if she'll tell Max anything that connects them?"
"You already know what we'll find, don't you?" Nancy asks, and Steve shrugs. "You're right. I won't believe you. Not without this proof. So, we'll go, Robin and me. And when we meet up, I expect you to tell me what we learned."
Max is completely silent the entire drive, an exact opposite of Dustin who shoots off so many questions in a row that Steve can barely remember the first by the time he's onto the next. Not that it would matter, because Dustin doesn't pause between any of his questions or comments to let Steve answer anyway.
Max launches herself from car almost as soon as Steve pulls up to the curb with a loudly groaned, "finally" before she slams the door and bounds across the street.
"Steve! Are you even listening to me!?" Dustin has finally lost steam or ran out of breath or something.
"Are you done yelling at me?" Steve retorts.
Dustin lets out a really big sigh then says, "For now. I just- Let's start with this. How do you know that Hopper's alive?"
"Joyce and Murray confirmed it when I talked to them on the phone. They're supposed to be getting El and crew heading back this way while they go to rescue him, but I don't really know how that's going."
Dustin squints at him. "I thought you could see the future now."
"No. I saw the future, so like, lived it or something. And it's like... You watch Back to the Future yet?"
"Yes."
"Okay, so like, the part where his family starts to vanish from the picture? Because he made his mom want to bang him-?"
"That is a disgusting oversimplification of the plotline, Steve."
"-it's like that. Except I want to change the events because we definitely end up in the bad timeline."
"Okay. Say I believe you. You said we don't win this time. Explain that."
Steve sighs. "Can that wait for like, everyone? Explain it all at once?"
"What made it so bad you have to alter the course of all of human existence?" Dustin demands.
"The Upside Down breaks through, man," Steve says, "Like, toxic air and no more sunlight or blue skies kinda bad. Full on, end of the world apocalypse type shit."
"Shit. We, like, lose lose," Dustin says in a small voice Steve doesn't think he's ever heard Dustin use before he huffs and falls out of view with a click and the sound of squeaking leather. Steve watches as Dustin reclines his seat back so he can stare up at the ceiling of the BMW.
"Yeah," Steve says before they fall into silence until Max sprints back, screaming for him to drive before she's even got the door closed behind her and certainly isn't wearing her seatbelt yet.
They all converge at the school, and Steve tells them what Nancy and Robin learned at the library, then Max puts together the thread that connected Chrissy and Fred, and he has to watch, again, as she accepts she's going to die. She even looks to him, as if he'll confirm that with a shake of his head or a nod.
He just blinks back at her until she looks away.
They want answers he isn't ready to give. Not until tomorrow, after Vecna tries to take Max. Given how today has gone, tomorrow shouldn't be much of a change. Nancy and Robin will still go the Pennhurst, and Steve will take Max everywhere she wants to go, but this time he'll be ready. It's not too late, so the little music store down from Melvald's will still be open. Hopefully they have Kate Bush handy. He'll make sure Lucas has a backup cassette player and-
"Wait. Lucas should be told. He should be here. Why isn't he..." Steve trails off, trying to remember why Lucas would be here. He went to party with the basketball team and- and what? There's something he's missing. Something changed. His head hurts and the white noise is back, and it hits him so suddenly he sways and stumbles backwards until he hits a wall.
"Steve!" Robin gasps his name and rushes to hold him up. Dustin is at his other side just as quick.
"I'm ok," Steve says with eyes closed. He can't explain it, but he's changed something. He knows he has. Lucas is with them tomorrow, he remembers that, and there's this feeling that he should be here now. That he should have shown up at the school, but the reason eludes him. Slips from his grasp like he's trying to hold water. "It's- there was something that was supposed to happen. Something that made Lucas find us here at the school. I remember that. I- I almost hit him with a lamp. But he's not here. He didn't- something's changed. Whatever happened before didn't happen again."
"What, like, you changed the past?" Dustin asks.
The laugh Steve lets out is manic, even to his own ears. "I don't know! I can't remember! It's there, the why, but I can't reach it. It's faded, man, like the picture. It's faded."
"Okay, I think it's time we get some rest," Nancy says. "Dustin, you'll radio Lucas tonight and fill him in. Tell him Steve or I will pick him up tomorrow morning to join us. Let's go everyone, before someone does show up."
Nancy takes Dustin and Max, and Robin sticks with Steve. She doesn't even question his detour to the music store, just helps him find the Kate Bush tape. Doesn't even raise an eyebrow when he buys two cassette players, five blank tapes, and a tape recorder.
"Who is the mix tape for?" Robin asks him only once they're at Steve's house and settled in for the night in front of the fancy stereo in Steve's living room. Robin's called her parents already and told them she was staying with a friend, and they had leftovers for dinner from.
"Just in case. Now, shh," Steve says, and once Robin has properly quieted, he pressed record on the tape recorder and play on the stereo. He's already found the track he wants, so it's just a matter of waiting the song out, pausing the tape recorder quickly, then rewinding the tape. He goes too far back, so his finger just hovers over the record button until Running Up That Hill comes back on, and he repeats the process. Over and over again, until the hour long tape is filled with nothing but one song.
Robin watches him do it in complete silence. She doesn't move or shuffle until after he's paused the recording, stilling again once he hits record. He knows she doesn't understand why, but also that she doesn't need to understand. He knows that she knows he'll explain as soon as he's able.
He's just afraid to say too much right now. He can remember tomorrow; the Pennhurst plan, how it is supposed to go based on what remembers Nancy and Robin saying. Max will bully him into driving her around, and they'll end up at Billy's grave. He'll be ready this time, he already knows the answers they're seeking but he doesn't want to risk too much.
He has a plan. And it'll work. It has too.
Because he can't remember what happens after. Patrick dies, and there's... water? A lake? But why is Patrick at a lake in the dark? He isn't, is the thing. It's like there are two memories overlapping in Steve's mind and he doesn't know which is real. Or if either of them are.
There's a memory of... of Eddie? Eddie talking about Patrick floating but there's also a memory of hearing it on the news, Patrick found dead in his room, murdered the same way as Chrissy and Fred with no sign of forced entry in his house. Both memories feel real, but Steve doesn't know, can't tell, which is.
Robin and he falls sleep wrapped around each other that night.
-
@i-less-than-three-you @nburkhardt @afewproblems @skepsiss @apomaro-mellow @eddie-munsons-lunchbox @sirsnacksalot @livelifeliketheresnotomorrow @sageclipse @schnukiputz @mbloggotdeletedsothisismybackup @lumoschildextra @juleswashere3 @yet-still-more-banched @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @yearningagain @starlight-archer @chaosgremlinmunson @aol19 @goodolefashionedloverboi @gutterflower77 @moomkin77 @wonderland-girl143-blog @krazyperson @sevenmerrymagpies
#steddie#my fic#time travel au#apocalypse au#butterfly effect au#what was the conclusion wayne came to i hear you ask?#he can see how desperate steve is to help eddie and maybe thinks steves got a crush on his nephew#also where is lucas you might also be asking#Jason cant go on a dangerous manhunt if the man hes hunting is already caged so Lucas doesnt get roped into that#also i see yall questioning the steddie and trust me that it is. will be#just hes in yknow jail for now so steve can't exactly be climbing him like a tree yet. in the spring break parts.#next part however? well. youll see how the end of the world is going
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Full House llll l -Eddie Munson
Authors Note: And with this final chapter we say goodbye to the Munson family. Thank you to everyone who has read this series.
Warnings: angst, mentions of ptsd and fear of suicide but not a lot.
Word Count: 10,129
Part One HERE - Part Two HERE - Part Three HERE - Part Four HERE - Part Five HERE -
(Thanks for the gif @spookynebula )
Enjoy!
-Warning. This chapter had mentions of depression and ptsd. Reader hints at suicide-
It was insane how fast things escalated that night.
Friday nights had become somewhat of a massive tradition in the entire group, since that was the one night that EVERYONE had off. It became a family dinner/ game night all around.
Everyone brought over plates of food, the kids all got to spend time together and the DnD party got a night to catch up on their campaign. Anyone who didn’t want to play got some time to relax with friends.
Tonight was an extra special night because everyone was celebrating Dustin and Erica’s son, Luke’s birthday.
So the second you all got home from all the activities and clubs and meetings everyone got cracking and starting setting up. Ziggy cleaned the downstairs living room that became the kids play room with the help of Halen.
You helped clean up the living room before leaving Eddie and Ozzy to set up their DND tables for their respective campaigns as you went to start the food.
By 7, an hour earlier than her normal time, Motley comes in with a smile that has you on edge immediately.
It’s not that she was a bad kid, you loved your daughter more than the world itself, you just didn’t like her current path. And you had gotten used to the coming in and stomping straight into her room so this smile told you something was up.
“Hey ma!” She smiles, moving forward to kiss your cheek.
“Hi angel.” You mumble, making a kiss noise back as you focus on the food. “We’re doing chicken Alfredo tonight for everyone so-“
“I was actually hoping I could go to Samantha’s for a movie night.” She smiles, watching you pause and then look at her.
“Again?” It had been a year since she had attended one of these family dinners since her and Samantha did movie nights. “Wait, I thought you were mad at Samantha for something. When I was doing laundry you were on the phone talking about her.”
“You were eavesdropping?!”
“No, I was doing your laundry and you were talking loudly!” You snap. “And I’m gonna have to say no to the movie night because it’s Luke’s birthday. A special event.”
“And next week it will be Uncle Jonathan’s birthday and after that Sara’s birthday-“ a small smile spreads across your face at the mention of Sara, the cute toddler girl Mike and El had brought into the world. She was so sweet and reminded you of your kids back then.
“That’s the thing about birthdays. They happen every year?” You mumble, confused on why you have to explain this as she curses under her breath.
“I just mean it’s always something with this family.”
“Okay. I already said no so suck it up buttercup.” You snap, turning back to the food.
Eddie comes into the kitchen with an excited smile when he sees Motley home, and you already know what’s coming.
“Hey Metalhead. You wanna see how cool I am?”
“Sure.” She snaps, rolling her eyes at him.
“People say I’m magic, cause I always have a few Twix up my sleeve.” Just as he says it he makes the Twix candy bar slide down into his awaited palm with such excitement.
“Wow dad.” She sighs. “This is an all time low.”
“Oh! Twix!” Halen snatches it and dashes to go fine his best friend.
“You eat today?” Eddie asks Motley, trying not to let her mood get at him. “We have snacks set up already-“
“Why do you constantly feel the need to ask me if I’ve eaten?!” She snaps.
“What?! I just want to make sure my daughter actually eats instead of that dieting smell a carrot bullshit!”
“UGH! Just leave me alone! This house sucks!” She stomps downstairs and Eddie turns to you.
“What’d I do now?”
“I actually told her no to something before you came in so it was me.” You explain, using the spoon to pull out a noodle and move to feed it to him.
And before you know it everything is packed with people.
Steve and Nancy came in a bundle of hugs, Eddie making a tall joke to their tallest son which makes Vinny laugh nervously as he moves out of the way for his three younger brothers to come in.
Vinny takes his spot at Ozzys table, getting his dice ready as two of his brothers join him while the third dashes to follow Ziggy to go play with Zeppelin.
Steve takes a seat at Ozzys table as well, since he wanted to play but didn’t really know how he was playing Ozzys campaign to learn the basics of the game.
Jonathan and his son arrive soon enough, Halen snatching his friend and they dash upstairs to play video games as Jonathan takes a seat on the couch where you Nancy and Robin always sit and talk shit about anyone and anything.
Eddie tries to call Motley up for dinner but she doesn’t answer so he just shrugs and starts his campaign, missing the pointed eye roll Vinny had.
“He prefers to be called Vince now.” Nancy explains over her wine. “And Steve found not one but 4 little notes from girls or guys asking him out. All unanswered and just shoved into his desk drawer.”
“I still can’t believe you’re raising a valedictorian. Any idea on where he’s applying to colleges?” Jonathan asks.
“Oh come on. The kid is tall, attractive, has amazing grades and an all around good student. Not to mention the star baseball player for the team. It doesn't matter where he’s applying because they are all going to be reaching out to him.” Robin scoffs, making Nancy smile.
You hear a bunch of groans coming from Ozzys table and look over to see your son smiling just like his dad as the table is panicking on what to do.
When you look over at Eddie you see he is already smiling from ear to ear as he watches before the sound of Zeppelin barking in the back yard pulls your attention.
“What was that?” Mike asks, trying to look out the window.
“Probably just heard a car door. Dogs on about everything lately.” Eddie sighs, focusing back up on the game.
Then some more time passes and he begins to get to get more and more anxious. Motley hadn’t eaten so she should come up.
“Hey Zig?” He calls. “Send your sister up please!”
There’s a slight rustle downstairs and he hears Ziggy knock before swinging the door open. His first sign of trouble is when he doesn’t hear Motley immediately scream at her sister to get out of her room.
But he thinks that maybe she managed to fall asleep, she did come from cheer practice after all.
That is until Ziggy dashes upstairs and Eddie is met with her wide eyes that makes everything fall into a panic for him.
“What’s up?”
“She’s not there.”
“She’s not where?”
“She’s not in her room-“ Eddie is zipping out of his chair to zoom downstairs and check for himself, barging into her room to find it empty. “You’ve gotta be kidding me-“
He moved to see that she had somehow shimmied out of the small window she had and he gets pissed.
How long has she been doing that?!
He storms back upstairs, snatching the phone angrily as you come closer, watching him dial Perez' number and wait.
“Hello, this is Eddie Munson. I just need to make sure my daughter got to you house safely-“ he stops, heart thundering in his rib cage at the man’s response as you keep peering at him. “What do you mean she’s not there?”
Vinny is watching you both, an annoyed look on his face as everyone’s mood immediately drops, once again for Motley. She ruined everything these days.
“She’s at a party.” He sighs. “Her boyfriend Aaron and his best friend Henry are throwing a huge rager tonight.”
“I thought she wanted to go to Samantha’s?” He asks you, confused since that’s what you told him earlier.
“Her and Samantha haven’t actually been friends for months. Samantha is too nerdy now.” Vinny explains and Steve sighs.
“Vin, why didn’t you say anything?”
“She’s not my business. I try to stay far away from her these days-“
“Why?” You ask, getting defensive of your daughter.
“Because they make everyone’s lives miserable. They just constantly bully Mickey about his stuttering. Samantha is bullied about her weight and all they do is walk through the halls making everyone miserable. And she just lets it happen with a laugh. She thinks it’s great.”
Your heart breaks, imagining all the things he is saying as Eddie is losing patience.
“The party's address. Where is it?” He snaps, moving to grab his keys.
“Eds..” you mumble, reaching out to stop him but the second he has the address he is out the front door.
So you, and everyone else, wait.
Sending all the kids including your twins down stairs to watch a movie as the adults and teens sit around and wait for Eddie’s car to emerge again.
And when they do you already know it’s gonna be bad based on the way they both slam the doors.
He’s yelling before they even make it to the front door.
“I’m sick of this bullshit with you!” He shouts. “When’s it gonna stop, huh?!”
“Fuck off!” She screams back, obviously crying. “You just ruined my life!”
“No Motley, I just helped it!” He yells, opening the door. “I can’t fucking believe you.”
“Why do you care so much?!” She screams as they both come into view. “IT WAS JUST A PARTY!”
“YOU WERE DRINKING AND SMOKING!” He screams back, both red in the face. “I HAD TO PULL THAT FUCK OFF OF YOU! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED MOTLEY?!
“Right. So you’re the hero once again right? You barge in and take control over everything and now everyone is gonna say what a wonderful guy you were and how my mom is so lucky she found you.” She sneers, tears streaming down her face and makes her eyeliner stain her cheeks. “Thank god for Eddie fucking Munson. My family was fine before she met you! We were fine without you!”
“I don’t know what you’re on about but you’re on thin ice tonight.” He warns.
“Just fucking say it! Say I remind you of my dad! That’s why you hate me right?!” She snaps and his eyes widen.
“Motley- you don’t. Wait-“ your husband tries, you see the panic on his face as he realizes that this situation was spinning out far too quickly.
Meanwhile Eddie felt like he couldn’t breathe. He had just found his daughter half asleep with some jock on top of her at a party and he was freaked the fuck out. He was mad and stressed and scared but the feeling he was getting as she glared at him made him go cold.
He had his tiffs with her, these days all he could seem to do was irritate her but this was something entirely different.
“I’m Billys kid right? That’s all I am to you? I look and act like him! That’s all you see! Right?!”
“You’ve had a lot to drink.” Eddie sighs, rubbing his face. “Maybe you should go get some rest.”
“You talk all this bullshit about how it’s the people that raise us and not the ones we’re made from. But you know what I think? I think you’re lying because you know that’s not true. I’ll always be like Billy and you will always be like Alan.” She continues and Eddie feels something cold in his chest, a cracking feeling as his ears start ringing. He hears you shuffle closer already trying to diffuse the situation but neither of them look at you.
When he doesn’t respond she keeps going, like a feral animal backed into a corner.
“You think I haven’t heard the stories?! Huh?! Alan Munson arrested for drug abuse and manslaughter. Eddie Munson, the schools fucking freak that sold drugs and killed Chrissy Cunningham.”
“I am nothing like him-“ Eddie snaps, skin hot and fists clenched. Alan was an abuser, who had hit Eddie more than he hugged him. Eddie had never hit you, or the kids. He had never killed anyone, not even Chrissy and sure he sold drugs but he always made sure everyone was safe when using them.
Is that how she saw him?
“You’re just like him! Nothing but a low life fucking freak. You can take your cheap fucking necklace back, freak.” She sobs, tearing off the necklace he made her and chucking it at his chest. Some of the chain hits his cheek at how hard she threw it, and it falls to the floor beneath him with a clank.
And just like that he’s back to nothing. All the hard work he’s done to run from his name and all the hard work he’s put into supporting people is gone. She’s right. He’s nothing but a freak. Always has been and always will be.
Her face falls from one of pure anger to shock and sadness as she watches him. He doesn’t know what he looks like but by your devasted face it can’t be great.
“I’m going to bed.” He announces, voice sounding bland and empty, kicking his mothers ring away from his feet and moving upstairs without another word.
“W-wait dad-“ she gasps out, sobering up a bit. “Please just-“
He doesn’t hear. Or he just blatantly ignores her as the bedroom door slams harshly.
“No. No no no.” She sobs, falling to her knees to try and find where the ring had gone after Eddie kicked it. Her fingers grasp around the chain, sobbing harder when she sees it snapped and broken.
Ziggy comes into view then, eyes wide as she watches her sister scramble across the floor.
“Ziggy. You need to go downstairs-“ you try and control the situation, moving your daughter to head back only to find that all of the kids were standing in the kitchen and had heard everything.
“I think it’s time we go.” Steve mumbles, not looking at Motley as everyone begins to grab their kids and make their way out.
She can’t breathe, she can’t breathe and she can’t find the ring.
“Z-zig- help me p-please. I can’t find it.” She sobs, reaching her arm under the couch to try and feel for it.
Ziggy doesn’t move to help her sister, and you can only watch with tears streaming down your face as your oldest breaks down.
“Ididntmeanit!” She sobs. “Pleasebelieveme-“
“I think everyone needs to go to bed.” You state calmly. “Motley we will discuss all of this in the morning once we’ve all had room to breathe. Okay?”
She nods, still violently sobbing as Ziggy walks away from her and storms downstairs. Halen has tears streaming down his own face as Ozzy grabs his arm to lead him upstairs, hearing nothing but silence coming from their parents room.
You shuffle away too, trying not to look at her and trying not to cry. You had no clue what to do right now.
She searches for a couple minutes before realizing the point was mute since she couldn’t actually see from her eyes anymore with how hard she was crying and finally she gave up, shuffling downstairs.
At first she walks to her room, but the second she hits the door she realizes she doesn’t want to be alone so she moves closer to Ziggys door and knocks softly.
Back when you first moved in, Motley and Ziggy were terrified to sleep in the basement, both so sure ghosts were real. Motley often let Ziggy in her room so they could sleep together.
Now it was her knocking on her baby sister's door, chest aching as it opens a bit. “C-can I sleep with you Zig? I-I don’t want to-“
“Why do you have to ruin everything?!” Ziggy cries, shoving Motley away. “Why do you have to chase him away?!”
“Zig-“ Motley sobs but her sister doesn’t hear her.
“You ruin everything! And he’s gonna leave because of you!” And then the door is slammed in her face once more.
So Motley shuffles to the couch, curling into the cushions as she sobs. Eddie’s face stuck in her mind.
She had never seen him look so…. Broken and empty. She did that.
And he had never walked away from a fight with her.
“I want dad…” she sobs, shoving her face into the pillow to sob. “I’m sorry dad.”
-
You were going to be sick.
Never before had you seen such silence from your husband.
By the time you made it to the room he was just sitting on the bench in front of your bed, just staring at the wall.
“Eddie?” You mumble, moving closer to him and try to rub his cheek. “Do you want to talk about it?”
He just shakes his head no. Not actually looking at you as he brings his hand up to pull yours away from him.
There’s a crater in your chest as your husband pushes your hand away, this gaping hole just gushing out blood as you try and figure out how to fix this. But before you can think of something he stands and walks past you to go into the bathroom, locking the door and turning the shower on.
-
You’ve thankfully passed out by the time Eddie gets the courage to leave the bathroom, he can’t look at you right now.
He’s a coward.
A freak.
We were fine without you.
She thought he was Alan. She probably heard everyone at school making fun of her dad.
Nothing but a low life fucking freak.
Freak. Freak. Freak freakfreakfreak.
“You’re nothing Edward. You hear me boy?” Alan calls, watching Eddie dash to his room to hide.
Later that evening his mother would give Eddie a buzz cut, the hair being the thing that got him in trouble in the first place.
He could do nothing but stare into the mirror as she did so, looking at the deep purple bruise that covered most his cheek as she worked on his hair.
Nothing.
Nothing.
He didn’t mean to stay awake all night, sitting there staring at a wall. But he somehow managed to.
So he unplugs his alarm clock before it can wake you, shuffling around to get dressed silently. He was used to doing chores on the weekends, for the yard or the family cars.
Today he chose to head out for a bit. Leaving a tiny kiss on your forehead as he grabbed his wallet and keys before heading out.
-
Motley wakes up to the front door closing, her neck aching from the spot on the couch she had slept on and her head blaring from crying so much last night.
It takes her a moment to get up, shuffling upstairs half asleep until she is in the main part of the house, when she sees no one there she shuffled up the stairs to sneak into your room.
Her heart plummets when she sees it’s only you, her anxiety and guilt heightening as she crawls into bed to lay with you, pulling the blanket close as you turn to cuddle your daughter.
“I’m sorry mommy.” She cries.
“I know.” You mumble, still half asleep as you keep her close.
Soon enough the boys wake up, dashing downstairs, and you have to get up to go feed everyone. Motley stays close to you, sitting at the table awkwardly as you get the twins set up with cereal.
They don’t look at her. Neither of them even look near her as they eat silently which upsets her more.
“Have you decided what song you’re going to do for your performance, Oz?” She tries to break the tension, watching her brother shrug.
“Dad and I were going over some stuff. Doesn’t matter.” He shrugs again, spinning his cereal around the bowl as you go downstairs to grab Zeppelin for his daily walk and wake up Ziggy.
You rush Zeppelin out, the older dog excited as he is every morning and the second you leave the front door Ziggy emerges from downstairs.
“Morning Zig.” Motley tries to smile, stomach clenching when her sister ignores her.
“Hey Zig? Can I borrow your charcoal markers?” Halen asks, excited to see his sister. “I have this really cool idea to take my Halloween mask and make it look like the words are-“
Motley zones out watching all three of her siblings talk excitedly amongst each other. It had been a family tradition for as long as she’s known to have breakfast together on Saturday, just the 6 of them. A tradition she’s blatantly ignored in favor of spending time with her friends.
“I have a new eyeliner, Zig, if you want to try it?” Motley offers, once again trying to break the tension.
“I’m good.” Ziggys is quick to shut her down, moving to clean up her mess. “Remember guys. Dads birthday is coming up and we all gotta keep it a surprise what we got.”
“Right.” Ozzy smiles, tossing his bowl in the sink before dashing off while Ziggy rushes downstairs.
Halen is the only one left and Motley turns to him. “What’d we get dad?”
“I don’t know what you got him. But we all chipped our allowance in for something.” Halen mumbles, hands clenched.
“Why didn’t you guys tell me? I would have-“
“Why does it matter? He’s not your dad right?” Her brother mumbles out, getting up to slam his bowl in the sink as well. He stomps off soon after that, and soon enough the sound was mixed with the sounds of Ozzy practicing cello and Halen dashing around for his project. Ziggy playing music in her room.
-
“DADS HOME!” Halen yells excitedly, dashing down the stairs to come into the kitchen where you were preparing lunch. “I saw him pull in.”
“Good.” You smile, some of the anxiety easing as the kids collect at the table around where Motley was sitting and doing homework. “We’re going to eat lunch together. No fighting guys.”
The front door opens and shuts and Motley stands up awkwardly, both of you waiting for Eddie to enter.
When he does you are silent, eyes wide as he blinks at you slowly. “Y-your hair?”
It was cut, short. There were still some curls at the top of his head but the rest was gone.
“I….. yeah I thought I needed a change.” He mumbles, reaching a hand up to pull through it awkwardly. “Thought the mop head was a little outdated.”
I didn’t want to look like a freak. You know that’s what he meant even if he didn’t say it.
“Dad. I am so sorry about what I said. I didn’t mean any of it and I can’t believe-“ Motley begins, wiping her cheeks as some fresh tears roll down her face.
“Hey hey hey.” Eddie stops her. “It’s fine. Okay? No hurt feelings Motley. You had some stress and needed to get it out. I get it.”
She shakes her head. “I didn’t mean any of it dad.”
“I know.” He nods. “I’m not upset at you Motley.”
And that was settled. But he doesn’t move forward to hug her, he doesn’t even touch her, instead he shuffles to sit down and look at the others staring at him.
“Does it look bad?” He asks as they all blink at him and his new hair. Immediately after he asks they all rush out to tell him no and that it looks good.
Motley takes a seat again and so do you, everyone beginning to eat silently.
Eddie had said it was fine, but everyone at the table knew it wasn’t.
Eddie didn’t try to crack any cheesy jokes or pull you into an embarrassing kiss that would make them all gag. He didn’t ask about their plans or if they all wanted to hang out. Eddie ate in silence. And the silence was the loudest part of the meal.
-
Things remained tense for the rest of the weekend and by the time Motley had to go to school she was tired and stressed.
Her bad was still shut down, he tried not to be but he was. And things were just so…..wrong now.
This morning was awkward enough. She had told Aaron she didn’t want a ride, and she really didn’t want her dad seeing him in general.
But he left early for work and you had assumed she already had a ride so you took the rest of the kids, which left her to walk to school.
She showed up drenched from the rain, bumping into Samantha by the door and dashing to the bathroom quickly.
By the time she gets out first period is already over and the hallways were already packed with people moving for their next class.
She just wanted to cry. She was cold and soaked and missed her dad.
She broke her dad.
“Motley! Hey!” Aaron calls, and she tenses, casting him a look before dashing down the hall and bumping into Vince harshly.
He manages to catch her as her heeled boots slip, hauling her easily into an empty classroom the second he sees the tears rushing down her her cheeks. He closes the door and pulls the blinds of the window down.
“Just take a moment.”
“I have to get to class.” She sniffles.
“It’s biology with Fitz. He barely takes attendance and we’ll be fine.” He tries to joke. “Just take a breather.”
“I can’t! I can’t catch my breath at all.” She snaps, and he moves closer to wipe at her eyes as she sobs before she is latching herself onto him with her face pressed into his chest as she sobs. “I’m sorry Vinny.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snitched on you like that.” He mumbles.
“No. No. It actually was for the better.” She moves to sit down after breaking from the hug, sliding against the door and sitting with her back to it.
He follows and they are side by side.
“I’m thankful my dad showed up.” She admits. “There was a split second where I was so fucking happy he was there actually. I saw him when he tore Aaron off of me and I knew I’d be safe.”
“Did Aaron….?”
“Oh. It’s….. I was just too out of it.” She mumbles, trying to get comfortable.
He moves slowly, unzipping her boot slowly to take it off and doing it to the other so it was easier to sit without the heels.
“Then what happened?”
“I…. Saw the look on my dads face when he dragged me out of there. And I just felt like….. Billy.” She admits, swiping the tears. “I remembered what you said and-“
“I lied.” Vince blurts. “Motley you had to have known that I lied. Your dad would never say that.”
“You lied?”
“I lied. I was trying to hurt you because you…. I was being a dick.”
She sniffles quickly, laughing a little. “Vinny.”
“I’m sorry Motley.”
“Oh my god.” She laughs and he can only blink at her from guilt. “I spent the past year bullying you with my friends and you’ve been holding back your punches.”
“I just….there is no excuse.” He mumbles but she just keeps laughing with tears still springing down her face.
“Don’t feel bad. I was…. Out of control and you ended up saving my ass.” She rushes out. “And then I just completely destroyed my life after.”
“You didn’t. I’m sure this can all be fixed.” He sighs. “Your dad is one of the…. Best.”
“He is.”
“And he forgives my dad after years of king Steve’s bullshit.” He mumbles. “Now they are best frie-“
Before he can finish his sentence her lips are on his. Warm and soft.
He can taste the salt from her tears, and his heart is beating through his rib cage as the girl he’s been dreaming about for years finally kisses him.
But then he pulls back, blinking at her. “Sorry.” He blurts out.
“Why are you sorry? I kissed you.” She blushes.
“Motley.” He begins, not really knowing what to say. “You’re beautiful.”
“I know.” She smiles, laying her head on his shoulder. “You are too.”
-
Family dinner was quiet, and Eddie spent most his time pushing the food around on his plate and everyone ate in silence.
Motley leans over, elbow pressing into his as she whispers. “Have you eaten today?”
A tiny smile breaks out, and Motley can’t tell if it’s real or fake. So she leans back and keeps pushing around her own food.
“I think I’m gonna drop out of the concert.” Ozzy blurts, pulling Eddie’s attention quickly.
“Why?”
“I’m just…. Not really feeling it.” Her little brother mumbles, shrugging.
Everyone turns to Eddie, waiting for him to talk Ozzy into it. This is what he did. A problem arose and Eddie was there to make them all feel better. He would talk Ozzy into the concert, get rid of all the anxiety and stress he was carrying about it.
But it didn’t come.
“Okay well….. just let your teacher know yeah?” He mumbles, picking up his plate to clean it before heading out of the room quickly.
“I hate you.” Ziggy snaps at Motley, storming off.
-
“EW! Absolutely not!” Motley snaps, slapping Vinny’s hand away which makes him laugh. “I refuse!”
“Go fish. Go fish!” He laughs, waving the card in her face again.
“No! I refuse!”
“That’s the point of the game!”
Motley and Vinny had been eating lunch together in the abandoned science classroom everyday for the past week. They did homework together and played card games. He told her about his mom and dads most recent fight where Steve had managed to break their bedroom door handle and trap them both in the room on accident.
“No it’s not. I win.” She mumbles, shaking her head as he groans out. “Which means I deserve a victory kiss.”
Whenever she won he had to kiss her. And whenever he won she had to kiss him. Oh how miserable life was.
He smiles, leaning forward to kiss her lips nervously which makes her giggle. When he pulls back he scratches the back of his neck. “So… the Sadie Hawkins Hawkins dance is coming up.”
“Yes. I hear them announce it every morning.” She teases. “Who you gonna ask?”
“Oh ha ha.” He scoffs right as the bell rings. “I have practice after school. You good to get home?”
“I’ll be good.” She smiles, watching as he stands up and heads out.
-
It was weird seeing Eddie like this, so bland and empty. It really scared you.
He had never shut down like this before, and you were getting to the point where you had begun to hide all the sharp objects and pills.
Today he sat on the bed, well more or less laid on the bed splayed out as he watched the ceiling fan turn slowly. It had been 2 weeks since that fight with Motley, and he had nightmares anytime he managed to fall asleep which wasn’t often.
You knew what he was dreaming about of course, between his father, Chrissy or Wayne’s passing he always woke up calling one of their names in a panic.
“Hey Eds?” You call, trying to get his attention. “Do you wanna try sleeping? I can lay with you.”
“No.” He mumbles out, not moving as the bed dios while you curl into his side.
“You need sleep.” You murmur, kissing his shoulder, taking your hand to rub circles on his stomach.
“I just need…..” What did he need? You’d give him anything.
“She didn’t mean it.” You whisper, tears beginning to burn your eyes.
“I know.” He whispers back. “I just can’t shake it.”
“Maybe, we should look into some therapy.” Your whisper, watching as he finally switches to lay on his side facing you pushing until it’s his forehead against your chest.
“If I start dreaming about them-“
“I’ll wake you up.” You promise.
-
Eddie’s first therapy session falls on a Monday, so you drop the kids off at all their clubs before taking him and waiting in the car as he spends the next 2 hours in the session.
You catch up on some of your book and when he gets back in the car you are happy to note that he seems a little better. Not a lot but he’s not too empty.
“You haven’t eaten in a minute. Want to go get a burger?” You ask and he shrugs. “You wanna wait for the kids to eat?”
“I just want to sleep.” He answers truthfully and you smile, because at least he was answering. So you turn down the radio and drive to pick up all the kids from their clubs.
First are the boys, Halen still in his karate outfit and Ozzy without his cello. When you ask he simply mutters since he didn’t need to practice he was gonna leave it there tonight.
Eddie closes his eyes like he is in pain when Ozzy says that, but no one says anything.
Next is Ziggy, but you are shocked to find both sisters standing together outside of Ziggys school.
“Motley? Why aren’t you at practice?”
“They end at 5.” She answers.
“Then why did you keep coming home at 8?”
She looks guilty as she shrugs, looking between you and Eddie as he keeps his eyes shut. “I’m sorry.”
“Jesus.” You grunt, feeling like a crap mother.
Later that night you knock on her door, and when she lets you in you shut the door, sitting her on her bed so you could have a long conversation about sex and boys.
It was a little too late as you had come to find out. But she ended up telling you everything.
-
Friday rolled around and it was DND night, but no one set up any campaign tables and no one bothered to get excited.
Eddie helped you in the kitchen and Motley tried asking about any ideas he had for another campaign.
“Have you ever done a dragon one?”
“Yes.”
“Well maybe you can do a futuristic one then?”
“I actually think I’m done for a bit.” He shrugs. “It’s a game meant for kids.”
He shuffles off to the garage to grab the drinks for tonight as Motley looks at you.
“Hey mom?” Ziggy asks, coming up the stairs. “I have this project I’m doing and it smells really bad cause of the paint. Do you think dad will let me work in the garage?”
“I don’t care. Go for it.” Eddie snaps, walking in with the sodas. “Have at it. Take what you want.”
He drops the drinks by the coolers before walking up the stairs.
“He hates us.” Ziggy mumbles. “He hates us now.”
“He doesn’t hate you. Enough of that.” You snap. “You two have absolutely no clue what he’s been through or what he’s done to be where he is now. You throw Chrissy in his face and his father in his face and all he ever does is try to cheer you guys up constantly.”
They both blink at you.
“He’s upset. He’s gonna be upset from his trauma and it shouldn’t constantly be about you two. Have you bothered to ask if he’s okay ever?” You snap, irritable. “Go clean something.”
They disperse quickly and you turn back to keep cooking, slamming everything as you go.
“You okay?” Eddie asks, leaning against the door.
“No I’m not.” You snap. “I’m so sick of everything. When did this get so hard and - and you’re listening to me complain again. Even when I’m stressed about you carrying all our burdens I still give you more.” You laugh bitterly.
“I don’t mind taking in your guys’ burdens.” He sighs, moving closer.
“This isn’t working.” You snap. “None of this is working.”
“I know.” He sighs.
“I think it’s time we take a look at the next step here.” You mumble, turning away from him. “Because I don’t think I can do this anymore.”
“I don’t think I can either.” He whispers.
“Then….” You can’t even put it into words, what are you saying? “I need to finish cooking.”
He doesn’t say anything, just merely disappears again.
-
“Divorce?” Robin scoffs. “You find out your daughter is a slut and this is where you end up?”
“No. Not divorce. We just need another strategy.” You mumble, not looking in the direction that Eddie was sitting in. “It’s like playing tug of war through a brick wall. Whenever either of us begins to make movement the other just hits the brick at full speed.”
Tonight’s ‘family dinner’ was extremely different. It felt more like an awkward party than a family dinner.
Motley sat on the stairs with Vinny, pretending to study as Ziggy sat in the corner sketching.
No dnd, no fun conversations. Your family was truly beginning to crumble under pressure.
“And I feel like absolute crap because how did I now see that my daughter had a sex life?”
“I hear that Aaron kid is a jackass.” Robin sneers.
“From Jonathan. His photography teacher.” Nancy clarifies.
“What great intel.” You sneer and she sighs, rollling her eyes.
You spend the rest of the night talking about Robins most recent girlfriend, and why it ended. By the time you said goodnight to everyone you truly thought you knew too much about her love life.
You wave off her car, being the last to leave, and you shut the door before pressing your forehead to it with a sigh.
When you turn around you are surprised to find Eddie standing there waiting for you and the kids still in sight watching you.
“Goodnight everyone.” You mumble, locking the door and moving to start picking everything up.
“I’m craving donuts.” Eddie blurts, making everyone look at him. “When’s the last time we had an actual Munson meal?”
“What?” Ozzy laughs. “We had dinner together yester-“
“No no. I mean an actual Munson meal.” Eddie shakes his head.
Ziggy catches on then, a smile spreading on her face as Motley soon gets it.
“Guys, I’m tired so maybe we should-“ you don’t get to finish your sentence because Eddie is there, pulling you to the kitchen with the kids to prep for Munson dinner.
-
A little while later you are all sat on the floor, knees connecting all of you together as you pass around the snacks and laugh.
Homemade donuts and ham wrapped around cheese sticks. Sliced apples and peanut butter with grapes. Any snack you could think of was in the center of the circle.
You all had pillows and blankets, and there was a cartoon playing in the background as Ziggy told you guys the story of how her math teacher broke his foot by dancing in class.
You’re laughing too hard, tears streaming down your face as you try to breathe in while she imitates his crying.
“Stop!” Motley cries. “He did the same dance thing when I had him!”
“Do the dance one more time.” Eddie laughs. “I gotta see it.”
So Ziggy does, looking like an absolute fool as she does but everyone is still laughing and having fun.
Halen catches you up on his drama club, and how he got the old grandma as a roll. “It’s not funny!”
“Its not!” Ozzy laughs. “But your costume is!”
“Wait. Tell them about your concert!” Halen mumbles to which Ozzy shakes his head quickly.
“What’s going on with the concert?” Eddie asks, leaning to snatch an apple slice out of your hand.
“I…. They….. well they gave my solo up before I quit.” He admits.
“What? Why would they do that?” You mumble, worry striking you. “Ozzy,”
“They said I lacked control.” He blushes.
“That’s not fair. You’re the best in that group.” Eddie snaps.
“Every parent says that about their kid.” Ozzy groans.
“Well yeah but I’m not just saying that because you are my kid.” He mumbles. “You’re fucking amazing Ozzy. And if they think you’re not then we need to look for another program.”
“But-“
“Dads right, Ozzy. You play better than any of them.” Motley mumbles.
“We’ll look for another program. Rather than the school.” You nod, and he shrugs with a small smile playing on his lips.
“What’s going on with you?” Eddie asks. “How is life at school, you know after I….”
“Life is better.” She cuts him off. “I actually…. I spend all my free time with Vince now and-“
She starts blushing, and Eddie and yourself are shocked by this image. It had been forever since you saw your daughter with no makeup and in her cheesiest pajamas.
“Well I like all my makeup and outfits but there is no stress of how I look around him so I get to have more fun with it all. You know?” She’s getting redder and redder now. “And the Sadie Hawkins is coming up and Iwastryingtofigurrouthowtoaskhim.”
She mumbles the last part out but everyone heard it, excitement jumping through the group.
“Oooo. Motley and Vincent sitting in a tree-“ a pillow hits Ziggy in the face as Ozzy and Eddie are already talking over each other with ideas.
“How about you write it on a baseball?” Halen asks, and everyone stops at his idea before Motley lights up.
“That would be very sweet.” You smile.
“I don’t have a baseball though.”
“That’s easy. Send Zeppelin outside for 5 minutes and he’ll find one.” Eddie teases.
“I have paint for it!”
“Then we have a plan.”
Eddie sighs, shifting a bit as he tried to conjure up what he needs to say. “I think we’ve been failing as a family lately.”
“How so?”
“When’s the last time we’ve actually talked? Actually sat down together and talked about life? We have all been so caught up lately that we haven’t made time for our best team and that needs to change.”
“How so?”
“I propose that we do family dinners like this from now on. Actually talk. Actually take time for each other and tell eachother everything.” He sighs. “But in order for that then there has to be complete honesty. And I have not given you guys that.”
It’s silent as everyone stares back. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out something.
It takes you a minute to register it. It’s a bat tooth.
“Who wants the truth about Chrissy Cunningham and my scars?”
-
It’s around 3 am when you wake up, confused and groggy.
Somehow everyone had managed to cuddle together on the couch, everyone connected somehow. You were all merged as one, sleeping in a pile, with Halen snoring loudly.
You blink a couple times, wondering what had woken you up, so you sit up, making Halen stir a bit and try your best to sneak out.
You limp to the sound that had been waking you up, tense from the awkward position you had been sleeping before you shuffle to open the window and look out at what was outside.
A small laugh escapes you when you realize that you had left Zeppelin out and he was whining. “I am so sorry baby boy.” You coo, shuffling to the door quickly to let him in. He dashes to the couch to crawl his way into the pile.
You catch Eddie staring at you, trapped underneath all the kids as he nods his head for you to come back. So you do. Finding your spot and falling asleep with your family once more.
-
“Would you just take a breath?” Eddie laughs, watching his oldest daughter rush around in a flurry of panic.
He is standing in the center of the living room, doing his best to help her as she struggles to find her shoe.
“Dad I can’t find it..” she mumbles. “He’s gonna be here any minute and I-“
“Just sit down a moment.” He mumbles, moving her to sit before he starts looking. He instantly finds, throwing it at her to catch easily before shuffling back to the kitchen to find you sitting with Ziggy as she shows you her most recent project.
“How’s it going in there?” You ask, looking up at him for a second.
“Found her shoe. I came to get you for pictures.” And within a moment you are up, kissing Ziggys head and dashing to find your camera for the photos.
Eddie shuffles closer, snatching a chip from her bag as he looks at the oil painting. “Jesus. Did a teenage mutant ninja turtle possess you?”
“Huh?”
“You know? Micheal Angelo, Donatello-“
“Oh my god dad.” She groans as he picks up the painting.
“This is really good. You're gonna submit it for something?” He asks.
“My art teacher says I should compete in this art show thing.” Ziggy mumbles, watching him look at the painting. “That one is called lifeline.”
An extravagant oil painting with a blurry faced female holding a leather jacket. And when he tilts the photo he realizes that she had hidden bats into the jacket, using another paint so if it moved in the light you might be able to see the bats she had hidden. His bats. His tattoo but with them in a purplish paint hidden just the same were 4 birds.
“You’re really talented.” He mumbles, fingers tracing over the birds.
“Yeah yeah.” She blushes, snatching the painting back and shoving him away.
“HES HERE!” Motley screams from the other room and Ziggy moves to go into the living room to watch Vinny park the car and take a moment to prep himself.
He fixes his jacket and Motley is inside making sure all her makeup is set and perfect as he walks up the pathway.
“Oh my god. Oh my god. Be cool.” She warns you and Eddie, trying to breathe.
“We’re cool. You’re the one over there hyperventilating.” Eddie teases and she snatches a pillow to throw at him.
The knock sounds at the door and Motley rushes to answer, tripping unceremoniously so Eddie has to catch her before she breaks an ankle.
He helps her stand straight and moves to answer the door himself.
“Vincent.”
“Mr. Munson.” He smiles, already blushing.
“Is there going to be drinking?”
“No sir.”
“Smoking?”
“No sir.”
“Sex?”
“N-no sir.”
“You know I can kick your ass if you hurt her. Right?”
“My dad said the same thing.”
“That he can kick your ass?”
“No. That you could.” And Eddie can’t help but laugh, letting Motley pass.
It’s another 30 minutes of you taking pictures and him giving her a corsage before they are taking off in his car, Motley smiling from ear to ear.
“Wait…” Eddie mumbles, looking at you with panic. “Something is wrong.”
“What’s that?”
“She’s leaving and I don’t feel that punching feeling in my gut.” He murmurs, looking genuinely confused. “I don’t feel the need to follow her and make sure she makes it there.”
“Yeah. Well if I trust anyone to protect my daughter it would be Harringtons kid.” You laugh. “Because we all know she will be the one throwing the punches and he will back her up.”
-
There was a nervousness in her stomach that she hadn’t gotten before, a blush on her cheeks as she does her best not to seem like she is going insane with panic.
“I’m…. shit- sorry. I am really nervous.” He mumbles after messing with the radio awkwardly.
“I’m nervous too.” Motley admits, smiling at him.
“You? Nervous? What for? I am the one dating way above my natural league here.” He mumbles. Before she can respond he is pulling into the school parking lot. The Sadie Hawkins Dance. Hawkins High School went all out.
There are balloon gates leading into the front doors and streamers covering the door itself. She kept a firm hold on his arm as they went to get the tickets, ignoring the way Aaron and his friends snicker when they see the both of them together.
“Drinks first?”
“Lead the way.” Motley smiles.
-
Eddie lays on the couch, reading the eragon book that Ozzy and Halen wouldn’t shut up about, with your head on his lap as you doze off.
You had spent the morning helping your daughter get ready, and now you were tired. So he offered to help you fall asleep, and you had taken the chance, letting him play with your hair as you closed your eyes. He made it seem like he was doing you some huge favor, but truth was you were doing him a favor.
Laying on the couch with you was his favorite thing, well laying with you in general. Gone were the days of having to jump all over each other, now you both were getting to the part in life where you just needed to be near each other. You rooted Eddie to this earth and he needed you like a hurricane needed wind.
He would be nothing without you or the kids. Would still be a freak, spiraling into the unknown but you had given him everything he never knew he needed.
Soon enough he found himself dropping the book on the floor, focusing on you, doing his best to memorize all your features the best he could as you slept peacefully.
He understood Ziggys painting now. Lifeline. You were his lifeline.
-
By the end of the night Motley and Vinny sat side by side on her front porch, laughing loudly as they shared a gallon of icecream they had stolen from the fridge.
Her feet ached so she had taken off her heels and when he walked her to the door (he was very serious about Eddies curfew) but he hadn’t been ready to say goodnight yet so they decided on hanging out on the porch. She was technically home so her curfew was fulfilled.
“Oh my gosh, Mr. Fitz tried to dance when the YMCA came on!” She giggles. “Smacked Margaret right in the face.”
“WHACK!” He laughs, imitating the slap.
“That poor girl definitely left with a bruise.”
“And Aaron left with a bruised ego.”
“HE DID!” Motley cackles loudly before covering her mouth when she realizes someone might hear her.
“I should get going.” Vinny mumbles, watching her. “But I…. I have something for you.”
“Yeah?”
“I…. well I found this the other night at DnD night…” He murmurs, digging into his pocket to pull out a chain with a really familiar necklace linked to it.
“Oh my god.” Motley gasps, dropping her spoon. “Vinny-”
“I should have given it to you immediately but then I had this idea to- that was wrong wasn’t it? I should have just given it to you I am so sorry-” She leans forward quickly, kissing him before he could keep rambling.
“That was the sweetest thing you could have ever done.” She whispers before hearing a thump from inside and pulling her attention to the door.
“Goodnight.” He murmurs.
“Goodnight.” She answers back, he kisses her again at the door before making sure she gets in without a problem and then walks to his car.
Eddie is shuffling to the couch, eyes wide when he meets his daughters eyes. “I was not spying. I went to grab a blanket for your mother and I.”
Motley smiles, moving to hug him.
“Did you have fun?” He asks, kissing the top of her head.
“So much fun. He was the perfect gentleman.” She whispers. “Goodnight dad.”
“Goodnight metalhead.” She moves to walk away and he calls out once more. “Your mother and I’s first date ended on the kitchen floor of that apartment you guys used to live in.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. She had to get home to relieve the babysitter and I never wanted to let her go.” He smiles.
“I’m glad you didn’t.” She smiles back before moving to go down the stairs.
-
Time passes, quicker than Eddie would like, and yet as slow as they can be.
He wants so badly to see his kids grow up and yet he just isn’t ready to let them go, he wants to see every second.
Motley and Vinny go to prom together, and Steve and Nancy all get drunk with you and Eddie that night after you say bye to them.
Soon enough he was saying goodbye to his firstborn daughter as her and her nerdy boyfriend drove off to college. He cried, so did you. Steve sobbed.
Ziggy grew into this very hippie lifestyle, most of her clothes looked like they came from Steve Nicks closet and she smelled of incense more than anything. She focused on art, excelling at it truthfully, and as she went through high school Eddie found that he didn’t need to be as worried about boys taking advantage of one of his babies since she seemed absolutely disgusted by them.
She came out to him in her sophomore year, he had been sitting with her in the garage, helping her staple a new canvas that was bigger than his car. She had been panicking all day about something, even Zeppelin had been feeding off her energy and whining.
But then she blurts it out, a quick and simple “I like girls.”
He stops, unplugging the staple gun to turn and look at her, watching her face pinch with anxiety.
“You got a girlfriend?” He asks. She shakes her head no and he nods. “You got a crush on someone?”
There was a nod on that one and he smiled. “Well any girl that gets ya will be a lucky son of a gun. And I mean that, because you are a very freaking special Ziggy. Always have been.”
She hugs him tightly, crying into his chest that night.
Zeppelin passes away two months later, and Eddie finds himself with the grief of losing a child. He tells the kids that it was time, time for him to move on and find Wayne. He is completely devastated by it, but he tries to keep a brave face for Ziggy since she just lost her oldest best friend.
He keeps his collar on the fireplace right next to Wayne's ashes and a photo of all of them at the park..
Once the boys hit freshman year their biggest fight starts…. Over another boy. Well more specifically Ozzy makes a friend and Halen gets mad that he never sees his twin anymore.
The fight led to physical blows, and soon enough Eddie had to move Ozzy into Waynes old room just to get them to chill out.
Ziggy graduates, barely (his poor sweet baby), and gets accepted into an art school so he has to say bye to yet another child. He had a gaping hole in his chest.
When everyone comes back for Christmas that year it's a time for shock. Eddie’s two biggest shocks? The hole in his son's face and the ring on his daughter's finger.
Ozzy looked different with his new piercing, a new punk grunge look that Eddie tried to support. He really did. But the piercing looked so infected and gross.
“Did you do that in the bathroom with one of your moms earrings?” He teases, trying not to laugh straight in sons face.
“Yes?” Ozzy answers which makes everyone laugh.
“Next time just let me take you to get it pierced.”
-
For the boys’ 16th birthday Eddie takes them to get a tattoo. They chose something silly, shocker. Eddie however added 5 bird silhouettes by his bats to symbolize the 5 most important people in his life.
The day Vinny and Motley get married he walks her down the aisle, kissing her head once they reach the end and handing her off to Vinny. They get married with a red piece of yarn, just like you and Eddie had.
They move into an apartment in Hawkins, and have a baby girl soon enough and Eddie is ecstatic to be a grandfather. He is at the hospital the day she is born, and once everyone is allowed into the room they rush to see the new baby while he rushes to see Motley. Kissing her head and wiping the hair out of her face as she cries happily. (I saw a tiktok where it said ‘everyone went to see my baby and my dad immediately went to see his baby and immediately thought of Eddie)
He gets to hold the baby girl first, which makes Steve complain loudly but Vinny decided that Motley pushed her out so she got to decide who in the family held her first.
For the boys’ highschool graduation Ziggy comes home and everyone takes a picture with them in their matching cap and gown.
Ziggy in her fleetwood mac outfit, smiling from ear to ear as she hugs Halen close. Halen had decided on a buzz cut that suited him well, with one ear pierced. He smiled, arms linked with Ozzy who was a spitting image of Eddie. Motley hugged Ozzy tight, and the picture had caught the moment she realized her baby brother had a snake bite piercing, everyone laughing as she cursed out at him.
Baby Stevie sat on Eddie's hip, smiling happily at her grandfather as he cooed at her. It had been a constant running joke on whether Stevie was named after Steve or if Motley had just been following the rock theme.
We all know the answer.
Ozzy went to New York after graduation while Halen ended up getting into a college in michigan.
The very first you and Eddie have in your empty house is spent on the kitchen floor, eating macaroni and cheese straight from the pot as you both cry softly.
It seemed like neither of you could decide whether you wanted to be upset or happy for your kids.
It became a habit with you two, to sit on the floor to eat side by side just as you always used to.
-
Stevie’s first Munson dinner happened the weekend of her first birthday.
Everyone had come home for it, including all her aunts and uncles, and had chosen to stay in the house just like old times. This time with the addition of Vinny, who seemed so excited to be there in general.
“Alright, you know the rules.” Eddie smiles at everyone, knees pressed to your own and Motleys. “I want to hear everything.”
Stevie giggles in the center of the circle, tearing apart the muffin she had been given before marching over to where her uncle Ozzy was sitting and plopping herself in his lap which makes everyone laugh.
Ziggy tells them about her classes at the art school, and all the paintings she had been selling. She talks about a new girlfriend and jokes about the time she got trapped in her bathroom for an entire day until her girlfriend came home from work. She talks about struggling with being so far away from the family all the time.
Halen talks about his classes, complaining very loudly about his grades before moving on to complain about his dorm mate that never stopped jacking off which makes Eddie laugh. He talks about wanting to drop out, and what he would do after. Eddie is quick to let him know they had his back no matter what, even if he wanted to sell all his stuff and go traveling around the world.
Ozzy goes on a rant about the girl that lives across the hall. He rants about how he hates her hair and her choice in music, and how his roommate is constantly checking her out. He says she is the most annoying person on the planet and Eddie risks a knowing look with you. Smiles on both your faces as he continues to rant. By the time he is done he looks around the group as everyone holds in their laughter. “What?”
“You’re just…. So oblivious.” Vinny mumbles which makes Ozzy flip him off.
“Says you!” Ozzy snaps. “You chased after my sister for years you whiny little-”
“Cuss in front of my granddaughter and I will end your life.” Eddie mumbles quickly which makes Ozzy roll his eyes while smiling.
Motley just tells stories about things that have happened with Stevie, which everyone loves.
Eddie catches them up on his therapy sessions, and you catch the kids up on your health. The family close together once more.
Eddie Munson was home, and he would have it no other way.
-And with that we say goodbye to the Munson family. I do have more Eddie works coming out. Let me know if you would like to be tagged and I truly hope you all liked the story. -
Taglist:: (lmk if you want to be removed)
@dontcrydaddy @valentine-ger @mariamayhemrsmunson @hippiefairy02 @alyisdead @thehuntresswolf @username199945 @peaches-roses-sins @bl1ssfulbaby @friendly-neighborhood-boricua @avenjames-anderson @nodont1 @bethanyzed @caseyqdilla @zooboomanfu @hazydespair @costellation-hunter @vanessav03 @r-a-d-i-0-n-0-w-h-e-r-e @kidd3ath @katzarantos @peaches-roses-sins @friendly-neighborhood-boricua @ilovetaquitosmmmm @emilyshortcake @jjsbongwater @morgthemagpie
#eddie#munson#eddie munson#eddie munson imagine#eddie munson smut#eddie munson fluff#eddie munson angst#eddie munson stranger things#eddie munson imagines#eddie munson fanart#eddie munson x reader#stranger things#stranger things fanart#stranger things fan#stranger things imagine#stranger things fanfiction#stranger things x reader#stranger things 4#stranger things fic
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WillEl Narrative Mirroring: Presenting Themes of Sexuality
If we consider powers as a means to present themes of sexuality, then looking at Will & El and how they mirror each other in narrative can reveal different angles on this topic and how the two sides of the coin come together to create a balanced whole.
Very very lengthy discussion of sex, sexuality, sexual assault, and child sexual abuse below the cut.
Will and El being different genders is important to their narrative mirroring, because they are displaying the difference between expectations in regards to male and female sexuality. Let's start with El and what her story says about female sexuality.
Layering the subtext behind supernatural elements is both practical and ethical, and I honestly applaud the Duffs for choosing to go this route rather than making it more explicit from the start, and instead sewing in details along the way. It helps keep the story digestible, allowing for a story like this to be shared to a wider audience while also not forcing their incredibly young actors to portray potentially very traumatizing circumstances.
I'm not the first nor will I be the last person to talk about all of the csa coding regarding El, Brenner, and the lab, especially here on tumblr. I was actually sent an anon awhile back linking a blog post back from 2016 that analyzed this exact thing.
"Eleven's interactions with 'Papa' are laden with coercive, coded language, intentionally leading viewers to make sexual abuse connections beneath the surface of the experiments we are shown. Eleven, vulnerable in a thin hospital gown, is told to "go deeper" and to ignore the men watching her perform. She is told the monster wants her, to go farther, "not to turn away from it." This language is intentionally loaded."
Girls are often forced into their sexuality at a young age, usually for the gratification of men
Young El, in hardly a hospital gown, is being forced to utilize her powers for the sake of Papa Brenner and other men in the lab. The sexuality/power connection is being established very early on.
And even once El has escaped the clutches of the lab and seems to find safety—
And before I have fingers pointed at me, no I am not trying to vilify Mike for this moment nor any of the boys for wanting to use El's powers to find Will. It's more complicated than that. The boys were young, their friend was missing and in danger, and they were excited by the prospect of a real life superhero being able to save their friend. I'll also get into how Mike is a victim of this forced heteronormative relationship much later in the post.
But still, even without meaning to, the boys are reinforcing the role that El is expected to fulfill, which is to use her powers and sexuality in service to the men in her life
Something impressive about that blogpost I linked earlier is the rightful calling out of how gross miIeven is way back in 2016, when the two were considered America's cutest couple by the general public.
"Crucially, in the climax, after Eleven's body is once again used for others, Mike promises her a home, and Eleven shows a glimpse of light, is almost comforted. She'll have a family, she'll have safety. Promise? No, Mike says. She'll have their mother, but while she's wearing his sister's dress he explains she won't be a sister, that he wants Eleven to meet his desire for a girlfriend. How could he possibly understand that more boundaries and a boyfriend is the opposite of what she needs?"
Girls oftentimes do not see many options outside of their sexuality
Starting in season 2 El has two modes of thinking: girlfriend or superhero. Her line of thinking isn't helped much by Hopper, who keeps her isolated from outside world. And like the boys, this is a complicated situation. Hopper is keeping El inside for the sake of her safety, lest the government catch her and lock her up again, and either use her or kill her. Still, this isn't good for her personal development.
Whereas Brenner was the sexually abusive dad who forced his daughter into adult roles at a young age, Hopper is playing the role of the overprotective dad who doesn't want to see his little girl grow up, something that continues in season 3. In his eyes, he is keeping El protected from the men of the outside world who are likely to want to take advantage of her, and keeping her locked in is his way of preventing that. But doing so is damaging to El's psyche in ways he may not realize.
So El is kept locked inside with some of her few windows to the outside world being spying on the boy who wanted her to be his girlfriend, and spending the entire day on the couch watching romantic soaps. Her options regarding freedom are skewed.
When El gets her first taste of freedom and leaves the cabin, she's in girlfriend mode. We know this when we see her go to Mike and she misreads and becomes jealous of his interaction with Max. Now I won't deny that El and Mike do have genuine care for each other, but here she ditches a boy that she hasn't seen in almost a year because he seems to have found another girl to fill that girlfriend role.
Having been hung up on in the void and replaced, El changes trajectory: superhero.
I do want to point out and emphasize the importance of El going to see Terry before this moment. El is not a robot that is programmed for sex and powers. She is very much human, and we see her desires for family and the life she could have lived, which is her motivation to seek both Mama and Kali.
Kali, another woman with powers who had been mistreated like her, offers El an alternative— use her powers against the men that have hurt her. When El sees that Kali is seeking her power as a means to use them, El leaves to save her friends and family.
I once again want to reiterate again El's humanity and her heart. El isn't returning to Hawkins simply as a means to become Mike's girlfriend and to become a superhero. She is doing so because she wants to save the people that she loves. Still, El's resolve for the season isn't super ideal given her overall arc. She is effectively fulfilling the roles that have been charted for her since the beginning. She learns that she can be a superhero and a girlfriend! Yay!
With danger out of sight, El seems to be spending her time doing the only other thing she thinks she can do, kissing Mike in her room. An activity which is described by Hopper and the rest of the party as being "unhealthy" and "bullshit."
So what is the solution? Completely remove her sexuality as Hopper aims to do?
We now come to my favorite friendship in the whole show, as well as the most important character in El's arc—
Max doesn't suppress El's sexuality or enforce it onto her, but rather is the first person who allows El to explore what she wants, offering her assistance but allowing El to lead the way. Brenner, Kali, Hopper, and Mike have all wanted to shape El into what they wanted her to be. For Brenner, a weapon. Kali, an avenger. Hopper, the perfect daughter. Mike, the perfect girlfriend. Max wants El to be whatever El wants to be. (God I love the elmax friendship so much)
Like I said before, Max does not aim to strip away El's sexuality like Hopper does. Hell, I wouldn't even say that she wanted to keep El from Mike. Hell, Max was even asking El if Mike was a good kisser after El had dumped him. Max is the one who offers to give El her moms Cosmo magazines. She isn't keeping El in the dark about sex and sexuality, but offering her a road map and actual information in order for El to come to her own conclusion about what she wants from it. El can look at pictures of Ralph Macchio and use her powers to spy but also enjoy shopping, listening to Madonna and reading comics.
When El is pushing her powers to find Billy, something that El choses to do of her own volition, it's the girls in her life (Nancy and Max) who advocate for her to lead the way while Mike is the one who wants to control her. And yes, once again the situation is complicated, Mike isn't doing this to be an asshole but out of concern for her safety, but needless to say he isn't beating the controlling boyfriend allegations. And this displays another facet of female sexuality—
Men often feel insecure when women exhibit ownership over their sexuality
Mike, who previously advocated for El to use her powers if it meant helping someone, is now actively pushing against it when it's El in the driver's seat and not him. And maybe Mike was right and El was pushing herself too far. And maybe he was concerned out of guilt for pushing her the first time, but would it also be too out of left field to say that Mike equates his part of his self worth on how much El needs him?
So maybe now I’ll talk about Mike
Mike really isn’t trying to be this malicious, manipulative guy who is using El for sex. Really, he’s not. Mike instead is a young boy who is going through some rather tough internal struggles of his own, and unfortunately brings El into it with him.
Mike is enforcing the heteronormative relationship onto himself just as much as he is doing it to El
I personally read Mike as gay and that plays into this analysis. Mike found a girl that he cared a lot for and everyone around him assumed that he must have feelings for her, so he played the role of the straight boyfriend. When I see Mike making out with El in her bedroom, I see a gay boy constantly trying to become attracted to his own girlfriend. Maybe if he keeps kissing her, maybe it’ll do something for him.
Keep in mind that Mike believes that that’s what El wants him to be, he’s not forcing onto her something that he doesn’t think she doesn’t want. He may have kissed her first, but then El was the one who tried to kissed him at the Byers house. Mike is mistaking El’s own confused feelings for genuine ones.
Being El’s boyfriend was Mike’s way of giving El what she needed, a way to be useful while simultaneously giving him a way to be normal. But what happens when his true feelings are starting to become harder to ignore?
Remember that Mike wasn’t writing “Love, Mike” when he believed that El was doing okay on her own in Lenora and making new friends. It almost makes me wonder if Mike would have said “I love you” to El if she had told Mike she was in distress.
But then again, we do see El in distress in front of Mike and yet Mike still can’t bring himself to say it. It isn’t until El is quite literally on her deathbed that Mike finally works up the courage.
In season four we have El regressing into her superhero or girlfriend mindset, with a third option added— monster.
A pinkeoni analysis that mentions El’s superhero/monster dichotomy???? SHOCKER!!
When girls are not seen as sexually desirable, they oftentimes feel monstrous as a result
El doesn’t have her powers anymore, and Mike no longer sees her as worthy of being a girlfriend, which means that she must a monster. This is a thought that is reaffirmed through El’s treatment from her classmates, and later El’s intrusive memories regarding the massacre. The only way El knows to escape this monster label is to regain her powers using NINA. This is what El knows, how to become a superhero. This is how she becomes desirable again.
I think that Max’s distance from El is a good contributing factor. Not the only one, but a main one for sure. El no longer has that guiding force, and there isn’t a girl in Lenora that understands her disposition and seems willing to take her under her wing. Sure she has her new mom Joyce, who is usually on the phone. Or her new brother Jonathan, who is usually stoned. And her new brother Will, whom we see try an give El support only for her to shut him down with “friends don’t lie.”
So El goes through NINA, gets her powers back, learns she isn’t the monster after all, oh and her boyfriend can say “I love you” now. And yet, as El realizes at the end, it’s not enough.
I promise this post is also about Will too
Now is the part of the post where we shift gears and finally talk about Will. El has more screen time than him, so there’s more to cover. I also felt like discussing her first laid some important groundwork in regards to how Will mirrors her narrative.
El showcased a lot of facets regarding female sexuality. Will covers aspects of male sexuality, but specifically gay male sexuality, which is an important distinction.
What does Hawkins feel about gay men?
Yeah, it’s not looking good.
Gay men are oftentimes perceived as predatory and dangerous
Will’s sexuality is practically an open secret. Will goes missing, and the town’s first thought is that he was taken by another gay man. Troy doesn’t say it directly, but the implication behind his words is that Will was raped and then killed, thus feeling the need to clarify that the man behind it was “another queer.” Gay men rape little boys and throw them into quarries, or so the town thinks.
The eighties is also such an important set piece for this narrative because the entire show takes place right in the midst of the Reagan Administration and the AIDS epidemic. A young gay boy dies and its suspected that another gay man killed him. The government is eager to sweep under the rug what actually did it. The anniversary of Will's kidnapping is Reagan's 1984 reelection date to the day.
Heterosexual men are treated differently on the basis of their sexuality
Well, duh. But I did want to highlight the differences between gay Will and his evil-straight-name-twin, Billy.
Billy wears his sexuality proud and openly. Based on Max's dialogue in season 3 we know that he has sex with girls often. In his introduction we are immediately shown girls ogling him. He arrives in town and is instantly liked and regarded. He catches the eyes of the hot moms in town and he's liked by the other guys.
Oh, and he's racist, violent, abusive, and overall a total sack of shit.
We see Billy's sudden rise to popularity in the same season that we see Will's incessant bullying and him being branded "Zombie Boy" by what seems to be the entire town. Even Billy who's been in town for like a day is already calling him "the freak." Will is sweet, kind, friendly, wouldn't hurt a fly, but he's the weird homo whereas Billy is the cool straight guy with the nice butt.
Gay men's sexualities are often suppressed
So now we get to the part that exhibits the WillEl mirroring, as well as some “Will has powers” theoretics. I guess your willingness as a reader to continue forward may depend on your feelings toward Will with powers. I may lose some of you, or maybe I may even swing some skeptics with my explanation. As I say in most of my posts: bare with me.
If El's sexuality and powers are being forced upon her, then Will's sexuality and powers are being forcefully snuffed out.
Let's take a look at Lonnie Byers, in many ways similar to Papa Brenner and in many ways his antithesis. Both abusive fathers with silver hair, Brenner is the obsessive parent who wants his fingers all over his daughter while Lonnie is the distant parent who wants nothing to do with his gay son. Joyce's dialogue "Lonnie said he was queer. Called him a fag." indicates that his homophobia probably has something to do with his distancing. Lonnie's verbal abuse of Will was likely a method of trying to snuff out his queerness. And when that didn't work, he left.
(and if you wanna get theoretical you could say that he had connections to the lab, knew about Will's powers and was trying to get rid of them, but that's just speculative)
A big part of season one is the fact that the entire time, Will was in his own house. He was spending his time running and hiding from the monster that was in his own home, the one that wanted to kill him. And the only time he ever expressed himself, the only time he ever used his powers—
—was when his loving and supportive mother encouraged him.
But also keep in mind that almost every time Will tries to speak with his mother through the lights, express more of himself and use more of his powers, it usually attracts the presence of the monster. Will continues his cycle of running and hiding until it doesn't work anymore, and we get what is perhaps the most overt sexual assault imagery in the show that even little fifteen year old Robin Pinkeoni picked up on in 2016.
Season one ends with Will experiencing sexual violence, and in season two we see how this trauma is encroaching on his everyday life, as well as being stalked by the same man that took him and shoved a vine down his throat for the sake of reproduction. He follows Will to the arcade. He follows him while he's trick-or-treating with friends. He finds Will at home. Eventually, he finds Will after hours at school where he's able to reenter his body in the second most overt sexual assault imagery in the show.
Where El's sexuality was suppressed in season 2, Will's sexuality was being forced upon
Will is feeling the effects of this assault for the rest of the season. He's finding it hard to sleep, and constantly feels the presence of the man who attacked him, everywhere.
Vecna is possessing Will because he wants to use him as a vessel to control help control his army, and for whatever other powers Will may have. If El never closed the gate, if Vecna had completely taken over Will's body as he originally planned, what would he have done from that point on? Would he have just discarded Will's body, or was there something special about him that he needed?
Will begins to believe that everything people say about gay men is true about him
Keep in mind that at this point Will's only experience and exposure to gay sex is being assaulted twice, all while his father and the whole town is bullying him and telling him that gay men are predators. Will isn't a predator. He isn't dangerous and we know this about him. And yet Will uses the freak label in a negative way.
So it's no surprise given the internal and external that Will is suppressing his sexuality even further.
In season 3 El begins her journey of self-discovery and likes what she finds. Will knows exactly who he is
and he hates it.
Will fucking hates himself bro. He knows he gay. And he accepts it. But he also accepts all of the labels and restrictions that it comes with. I am gay. My sexual desires are dangerous. I can never express and experience love and sex the way I want to.
And maybe there is a glimmer inside of him that sees that what he is is a wonderful thing, that maybe he does deserve better than all the abuse he's endured just for being who was.
And maybe these feelings were easier to pack away when he was younger. Maybe it was easier to say "I'm not gonna fall in love" when you're fourteen, but as you get older and grow into your teenage years...
...maybe your desires are getting harder to ignore.
What happens when you don't die innocent, and you grow up instead?
So we bring it around to season 5
El is a superhero and a girlfriend again. But it's not enough. Something is missing and she isn't fulfilled. Max is missing, and El is going to have to face and overcome her biggest challenge yet, which is completing her journey of self-discovery that started in season 3. She's going to have to put aside the expectations that many have for her and decide what she wants.
Will Byers is back in town. How has the climate surrounding gay men changed since then?
Oh! It's worse now!
Remember, the town believes that the same sodomizing Satanists are the ones behind the recent murders and earthquake. It's gonna be really bad for Will when he gets back.
So now Will is tasked with a challenge that is harder here in Hawkins than it might have been in Southern California. Maybe Will can't change the minds of these religious townsfolk but maybe he can somehow find a way to shift his own way of thinking. Embrace who he is, embrace his powers, and realize that he deserves more than the hand he's been dealt.
So that was... a lot
Analysis mostly over. Here are some of my concluding thoughts.
I know that this is probably one of my longest posts ever. I know that a lot of it feels like reiterating plot points, but that really felt like the best way for me to articulate all of my thoughts on this. A lot of it needs to be backed up with evidence from the show.
Also, sometimes when I sit down to make a new analysis, sometimes I don't make it because I think I have all of the answers, but I make it as a way to try and find answers. To talk through some of my long and complicated thoughts and open the floor to discussion. Even with the length of this post, there is waaaaaaaaay more that can be discussed regarding this topic (some that has already been discussed).
To wrap everything up, I wanna share this screenshot from Reddit, which low-key inspired this entire thing. For context, this was in response to a question asking if people expected to see a Will coming-out scene in season 5.
So, hopefully with this long ass post, I've proven that maybe the show is about the complex effects of one's sexuality in the 80's, actually.
#WOOF#probably my longest post to date#if you read to the end... i love you forever#wrote this up in kinda one go#maybe its obvious maybe its not#el hopper#stranger things#stranger things analysis#will byers#will byers has powers#byler#tw sa#tw csa#tw child abuse#mike wheeler#lonnie byers#martin brenner#this'll either do numbers or flop hope its the former
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Hold on, I just thought of something. So we've talked a lot about how Mike's love confession monologue feels off and feels narratively clunky, but we don't really talk about WHY that choice was made.
Because here's the thing: the narrative imperfection is in direct conversation with Will's monolgue/love confession.
In both speeches, on the surface level, they seem like they should make sense, that is, until you start looking at the details.
In Will's love confession scene, we see him tell Mike that El "commissioned" the painting for him, which serves as a cover for Will's real intentions in creating that painting. On the surface, it seems like a believable thing El could do out of affection for her boyfriend, until you start to think about it again and realize we've never once heard El and Mike discuss DnD in any sort of depth, and she likely wouldn't be overly familiar with the roles of the party.
We also see Will here say that if Mike felt like El was "pushing [him] away," that it was likely just because she was afraid of losing him. Upon first hearing this, it sounds feasible that given the distance, El could be pushing Mike away, but when we look at the actual context of El's feelings towards Mike over the course of the season, we see her room filled with pictures of Mike and a box full of momentos, and we're privy to the dozens of letters she has sent him. In other words, we can see El's affection for Mike loud and clear, and so can he.
And when Will tells Mike that El needs him, these are sweet and reassuring words, but we've also seen how quickly El dumped Mike in season 3 and how she left without warning to go with Owens and get her powers back, once again leaving Mike behind. In truth, El might love Mike, but she doesn't need him, not like he seems to need to be needed.
Will's monologue is meant to throw off Mike, but we see a few shots within the van scene where it seems as though Mike is confused and processing, as if something isn't quite lining up, but he can't really put his finger on why.
In Mike's monologue to El, it follows a similar pattern. Mike tells El that he loved her since the moment he met her in the woods. From an audience standpoint, having seen Mileven's relationship manifest over the past three seasons, at first this seems sweet. But then as we parse the context of that moment, Mike's assertion rings false as we see him in the first scenes with El confused, afraid of her, and ready to cast her out in favor of finding Will. It's only when she demonstrates that she could help find him that Mike starts to see her as anything other than transitory.
Mike also makes it a point to say that he is "not scared" of El and that he's "never felt that way." While this is certainly something you would hope your boyfriend would say, this, also rings false as we see multiple times that Mike is shocked by her powers, and even accusatory with his famous "What's wrong with you?" line. Mike has been scared of El on MULTIPLE occasions.
He also tells El in this scene that he "doesn't know how to live without [her]." I'd say this is the most up-for-grabs statement that Mike makes, because he does care about and have love for El, but he's also shown twice now that he has lived without her. The first time, when he believed she might be dead, Mike checked in on El every day, but he never went after her. We see some definite signs of grief from his acting out in school and grades slipping, but his life with his friends remains overwhelmingly unchanged in her absence. The second time we see this is in season 4 when they are forced into a long distance relationship. While Mike does still receive letters from El, he doesn't seem lovesick or mopey that she's not around. He joins Hellfire and spends time with his friends. If anything, we get more indication that he's felt the absence of Will more strongly as he directly tells Will that "Hawkins isn't the same without [him]."
He says his "life started that day [he] found [El] in the woods." Another beautiful sentiment, until you look closer. This directly conflicts with Mike's character arc in season 1 in which his main priority was finding Will. It also conflicts with Mike's statement in season 2 that choosing to be Will's friend was the "best thing [he] ever did." Obviously Mike had a life before El, and even after having met her, he still believes that being Will's friend was the best thing he ever did, and not finding El or making friends with El or kissing El.
We also see Mike say here that he "love[s El]" with or without her powers. This has been the crux of their relationship drama throughout the season as Mike continually identifies El as a "superhero" and El, feeling lost without the thing that makes her feel special, goes off to regain those powers, because she thinks that's what Mike wants her to be. And even during that time, Mike refers to El as "Superman" during his conversation with Will. While Mike saying he loves her without her powers here might seemingly resolve this earlier conflict, he then goes on to specifically talk about and focus on her powers in his speech, making his words feel disingenuous.
He then once again refers to El as his "superhero" and tells her she can "fly" and "move mountains," both things that connect back to her supernatural powers and her otherness, but not her, not "exactly who she is" as he claims.
The entire time Mike is giving this speech to El, we see Vecna's vines TIGHTENING around El, not loosening, until she looks over at Max, someone who has over and over again reminded her what it is to be free and to be her own person.
This scene, just like Will's monologue, is meant to function as a form of misdirection, but not necessarily for El, for the audience. As we've discussed on the surface, all of these elements Mike brings up in his monologue should make sense for a couple in love, and to a casual viewer, would probably just be written off as a kind of corny scene, but what we as critical readers of the scene can take away from it is that this scene is intentionally meant to mislead you.
Mike is not talking about his real feelings for El here. He's talking about feelings for the version of El he created for himself in his head. For the larger-than-life savior. Simply, Mike loves the idea of El, but not the person she's become. And El knows that his speech about her, however touching to an outside audience it may seem, does not really reflect her, and that's why we see the vines tighten around her neck.
So what could this mean for season 5 and what does it mean in connection to the Will confession?
I think this heavily suggests that Eleven will be single in season 5 and that she will break up with Mike since he no longer really sees her for who she is. But I also think that this misdirection theme will play out in Byler as well. Just as the audience is meant to slowly piece things together after the fact, Mike is supposed to do the same in his relationship with Will. As season 5 unfolds, I think we'll see Mike get more hints that the painting was not commissioned by El and that the version of him that is loved and needed is not El's, but Will's. Mike, just like us, is supposed to read between the lines right now.
In conclusion, I think the Duffer Brothers may not have actually fucked up as badly as we thought, but instead created some somewhat genius foreshadowing and parallelling.
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I just wanted to remind everyone that no matter how much better Lenora objectively was for Will than Hawkins, he was not happy there!
Will might’ve not been bullied in Lenora but he had no friends either which was not a deliberate decision btw. I see a lot of people claiming that Will could’ve made friends if he wanted to but didn’t because he rather spent time with El and I just don’t think that’s the case. Will is not an extroverted person who makes the first step when it comes to making new friends. He’s introverted in general and shy when he’s surrounded by people he doesn’t know so making friends is a struggle for him in general and has nothing to do with him sticking with El in Lenora. And while we don’t know anything specific about if Dustin and Lucas sent letters or called Will, we do know that Mike did not. Furthermore it’s canon that Jonathan wasn’t really there for Will during the time spent in Lenora either and while it is never specifically said it is heavily and obviously implied, it’s shown, that Will was in utmost need of his brother’s help and support! And El did not replace Jonathan in that aspect! Jonathan being distant from Will does not and did not equal Will and El becoming close on the level that Will and Jonathan are. I know I talk about this a lot (that willel isn’t as close in canon) but I just had to say it again because to me it seems really clear that a lot of people think that Jonathan not being there for Will somehow led to Will and El sticking together. Like it’s them against the world while that was never the case ever! Will did not once seek comfort in El because Will didn’t simply need a sibling, he needed Jonathan. Jonathan and Will have a close and deep bond and it’s unique because Jonathan isn’t just fulfilling the role of a sibling for Will. So Jonathan cannot just be replaced by another sibling or anyone at all. Point is, when Will realized Jonathan was being distant he started bottling up everything he wanted to talk about. He did not talk to El instead because quite frankly, they don’t have that kind of relationship (El also didn’t tell Will about her and Mike’s problems and the lying).
So Will had no friends in Lenora, he almost lost all connection to his closest friend whom he’s also in love with and his big brother whom he could always count on for support wasn’t really there for him either. Mike and Jonathan are literally the two people Will always knew he could trust with anything because he knew they’d understand in one way or another. But then neither of them was there for him anymore for reasons unknown to Will which lead him to feel as though he can’t talk to either of them anymore. He wanted to talk to them! Desperately! But he just couldn’t. And all of a sudden Will was all alone. Lenora wasn’t fresh and happy and so much better than Hawkins. Lenora was lonely.
Did Lenora allow more room for personal development due to the lack of the upside down and bullying/rumors? Of course it did. Will’s willingness to make and present a project about Alan Turing is hinting at some positive development. In that aspect Lenora was better for Will than Hawkins but in every other aspect it wasn’t, simply because Will was on his own.
The fact that Will felt lost and alone in Lenora is also important for byler’s love story btw. Will telling Mike that he felt lost without him throughout the months he’s spent in Lenora is so significant because it’s a reply to Mike telling Will: “It’s Hawkins. It’s not the same without you.” Mike has called Hawkins his home throughout his entire life but once Will wasn’t there anymore the feeling of being at home left as well. And Will could move anywhere with his family but if Mike’s not there he feels lost nonetheless. The place where they feel like they belong is not a place at all, it’s the state of being together. Will feels found with Mike and Mike feels at home with Will. Mike makes Will feel better for being different and Will makes Mike feel like he’s not alone. Hawkins, Lenora, that doesn’t matter because it’s not about the place!
Will not being happy in Lenora without Mike is exactly as important as Mike not being happy in Hawkins without Will. Erasing that creates a different narrative, destroys the story they’re trying to tell. Simply because people are making it seem like Will can do just fine without Mike while Mike loses his mind without Will which is just not the case. The whole of s4 showed us that Will is not happy without Mike and that he needs him! Will literally tells Mike that he’d fall apart without him and still there are people that try to depict Will as having a good time in Lenora without Mike. Feeding into Mike’s insecurities and undermining Will’s love for Mike! And this is honestly something that makes my blood boil! People who constantly feel the need to undermine Will’s feelings for Mike are completely missing the point.
And this is kinda a different topic but I’ve seen this trend where people headcanon Will to have been on a sports team in Lenora and I just think that these people are once again missing a point that’s been made in the show. Will not being into sports serves a purpose in the telling of his story, It’s a story telling device. And while I do of course know that the focus is on baseball specifically, baseball seems to stand as a symbol for sports in general which then again are a symbol for conforming to society. Being into sports is what society thinks you should be into as a boy. “You shouldn’t like things just because people tell you you’re supposed to” is what Jonathan tells Will in s1 in regards to Will going to baseball games with Lonnie. Will does not like baseball = Will does not like sports = Will does not conform to societal standards. And Lonnie dragging him to the baseball/sports games is him trying to force Will to conform to societal standards. And Basketball was this big symbol of forced conformity in s4. Therefore being into sports and joining a team in Lenora totally defeats the purpose of a rather important story telling device in canon and therefore just isn’t compatible with the character. I’m of course well aware that Will wore a letterman jacket in the stranger things experience clips but owning a letterman jacket doesn’t automatically equal being on a sports team. It was a popular fashion item in the 80’s just like it is today. And I think it’s more likely that Will wore the jacket because he liked the jacket and not because he’s on a sports team because, again, that’d be missing the point. And as I said, the Alan Turing project hints at positive development while Will joining a sports team would hint at negative development so it simply doesn’t make sense for Will to have been on a sports team in Lenora.
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Reasons I think Byler is getting together early...
1) Everyone thought byler would get together at the end of S4 because there was so much build up and tension between the two. It made sense with the story to fit that at the end of the season, so much so, that people were anticipating it.
2) The constant interruptions, mainly by Jonathan. They don't need to be interrupted if nothing is happening. Both scenes in Lenora that get interrupted were flirty scenes with a lot of tension. If Jonathan hadn't interrupted this, what would have happened? There is a strong implication that something would have. Otherwise, why bother doing it. There are several other conversations that get interrupted, like the one on top of the car, where things were getting personal and they were on the edge of saying something. They are close to saying what they want to say and being honest.
3) The original plan of Jonathan's that Will and Mike agree to, is to go back to Hawkins and help their friends. It wasn't to find El. When Mike realizes this he goes to have his second talk with Will (the one where Will is kneeling on the floor). He stresses they are a team. If their original plan was to go on a less stressful road trip back to Hawkins, what would have been happening with them? Because that letter El left Mike was a break up letter that Mike is moving on from. (I don't know anyone who would have thought they were still together with someone after being told they weren't going to see that person again for months, possibly years, and weren't going to be able to communicate with them during that time. Who would be waiting around indefinitely? Mike was moving on the second he threw that note out.)
4) The audience needs to start rooting for Mike again and he needs a redemption. Will brings out the best in Mike and he knows him best. So I'm not surprised we have hints that they are filming a lot together. Getting to see the side of Mike who is in a healthy romantic relationship is an important part of his character arc. Especially given how much this show likes to compare Will and El. We need to actually see him with Will to know that this is better for him. Without seeing this side to Mike, there isn't as much of a chance for the audience to reconnect with him because we would still not get to see him when he's at his best.
5) Will's character arc has been about embracing his sexuality and using that as a source of empowerment. A thing that doesn't have the same impact if he doesn't actually get to act on his identity/sexuality until the very end. Seeing both Mike and Will be confident and comfortable with themselves would provide closure to both of their arcs.
6) Other character arcs relate to byler getting together - mainly Jonathan. Jonathan is struggling to find himself and feels very strongly about protecting his family. He feels responsible for them and doesn't want to leave them. Part of this is because they moved away from Hawkins (where their friends and support are) and part of it is the loss of Hopper, who has been helping protect them all. Hopper returning helps a lot. But there is also the added component of Will being gay that I think would still make it harder for Jonathan to want to get his own life if he isn't sure how Hopper would respond to this. Plus, I don't see him leaving Will if Will feels sad and alone and is still having problems with Mike/El.
El's character arc also plays into this because her independence has to do with her and Mike breaking up. A thing I suspect already happened by the end of S4. But El really hasn't seen what a healthy romantic relationship even looks like at this point. Byler could be a good example of that for her. Not to mention would be a good reason for Mike and El to clearly end things with each other. El has had trouble separating herself from Mike and uses him as a safety net/backup caretaker when Hopper isn't there. It's not good for her. Knowing that Mike wants to be with someone else could push her to stop being so fixated on him and learn to rely on herself instead.
7) I suspect that one of the main themes of the show is going to be how love saves the world - in opposition to how El's anger has saved them (and not been affective at saving them). Byler being the key to this, and Mike being the heart. There needs to be more interaction with their relationship. Will is the main character and the hero of this story. If his romance is saving the world, we need to see it. And Will deserves to have this whole story play out and not just have it be quick at the end.
8) Just because a lot of other shows have the main couple get together at the end, doesn't mean this one has to do the same. They have inverted plenty of tropes already, this could be another one. Plus, all of the other endgame couples are already together (or mostly together). Byler not getting to have a relationship that we see sticks out as them not wanting to show the gay couple specifically. Which I don't get the impression is an attitude they have.
9) The outfits we have seen Mike and Will wear so far in S5 have been a lot of blue, yellow, and green. They match. Couples on tv shows usually match and they have for several seasons now. But the green is an interesting addition. We have seen blue be associated with Mike and yellow with Will and now we are seeing them wear their own colors along with the other persons. The green (a mix of those 2 colors) suggests that they are already together.
10) I don't think they are going to push this as a love triangle. The time to do that would have been S4 when there actually was one. We got Will pining for Mike, Will standing between Mike and El, tension with Mike and Will, El being confused by some of Mike and Will's interactions. There was something going on with the three of them this season. But the promo/posters didn't suggest this. We know mileven is either over or almost over so there is no point pretending like this is ambiguous. Especially when most of the audience is rooting for Will/byler.
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The way that Mike talks about El screams idolization to me. Do I think he loves her? Yes. I do think he cares about her. Do I think he’s IN love with her. No. If he actually was in love with her, I feel like he’d talk about traits and qualities of hers that he loves that are beyond just her powers. Like how Jonathan and Nancy explained why they love each other. They were actual meaningful traits and qualities. I don’t know what Mike loves about El beyond her powers.
This is literally the first thing that comes out of his mouth regarding El last season. Like, yes, that’s an amazing thing that she did, Mike. Can you also mention something else, though? What else do you like about her? What else do you admire about her?
It’s clear that Mike struggles with low self esteem and doesn’t view himself in a positive light. He doesn’t see his own self worth. To Mike, he’s unimportant. He’s a nobody. He’s nothing except a nerd, a loser, a freak who’s been bullied his entire life. He has El on this extremely high pedestal and feels like he can’t measure up to how incredible and amazing she is, because she’s a superhero. That’s what he continues to focus on. It’s not El’s fault that he feels this way either. She’s never talked about how amazing she is because she has powers. She’s never made it seem like she’s above anyone or better than anyone due to her powers. If anything, she’s talked about how she feels like a monster because she’s different. She feels like she doesn’t belong anywhere. She even voices that to Mike.
El cries to Mike, doubting that he loves her anymore because he never says it. He can’t even write it. And what does Mike tell her in response to that? Does he tell her that he loves her? It’d be the perfect time to say it if he does. She’s crying and could use some clarity and reassurance. But no, he doesn’t tell her that he loves her. Instead he tells her this. And of course brings up how she’s a superhero…
Even when he finally voices that he loves her, it falls flat to me and feels off. As the audience, we know that Mike’s initial reaction to finding El in the woods was not love at first sight. He wanted to get her back to wherever she came from and continue to search for Will. So yeah, that’s not true. Maybe he forgot what he was genuinely feeling in that moment? It’s either that or he’s knowingly lying to her. And then when he explains why he loves her… when we finally get to hear the reasons why…
BAM! Again… it all circles back to her being a superhero. He loves her for exactly who she is… a superhero who can fly and move mountains and… yeah… the momentum died when Mike brought up that. El’s reaction to that didn’t look positive either. I just felt so awkward and uncomfortable and confused watching this monologue. Seeing Will’s reaction and having him in frame didn’t help at all. Let’s not forget he basically had to push Mike to not stop and continue talking to El by reminding him that he was the heart. Why’d they choose to do that? All it did was make my heart break even more for Will. Especially after watching him give Mike the meaningful painting he made for him and the beautiful monologue where he disguised his feelings as El’s.
If they wanted me to root for M*leven, they could’ve easily had El say this to Mike. El loves Mike, right? She says that she loves him. I don’t exactly know why though. She’s never voiced why to Mike or to anyone else. I can’t solely blame Mike as the reason why I don’t ship M*leven when I don’t know why El is in love with Mike either. This could’ve been why, but no, the writers chose to not only make Will in love with Mike, but that he feels better for being different and loving him. All his life he was made to believe that he was a mistake for being different, but Mike makes him feel the complete opposite. He also mentions how El (he) is always going to need him. He says this to Mike, someone who wants and needs to be needed. You know what Will said meant the absolute world to Mike. It was exactly the kind of thing he needed to hear. How the hell do you top this?? Why would they choose to do this? Why make Will in love with Mike? Why make him have this type of love for Mike? The type of love Mike needs and wants? Why not have El feel this way about Mike and say this to him instead of Will? Throughout season 4 Mike and El just seemed to make each other feel bad and insecure pretty much the entire time. Not on purpose or knowingly, though. I don’t believe that they want or mean to make each other feel that way. They’re just not good for each other relationship wise. At least not from what I’ve seen so far. I have no idea how they’re gonna turn it around in the final season. Also, they’re just gonna throw away Will’s love for Mike? They used Will’s love for Mike to fix M*leven’s relationship then? And Will gets what? Nothing? No love for the gay character who’s unconditionally in love with his best friend? He should just be happy that his friends and family accept him for who he is? Because we know they will. That’s not going to be shocking. What would be shocking is if they didn’t. I don’t think that’s the type of twist the writers would want to do. That’d be beyond horrible. So yes, Will should just be happy and thankful that his family and friends don’t hate him for being gay. He doesn’t need love like everyone else. We don’t need to see the only gay character experience love and a relationship. Or maybe we will with some random, last second, half assed love interest. Oooo yay! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
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one of us
inspired by this post by @missingexaltation :)
also on AO3
Jim Hopper has a bad feeling about this Munson kid.
He’s not really a kid. Hopper knows. Joyce reminds him every chance she gets. He’s not a kid, Hop, he’s twenty-one. You can’t ground him or tell him what to do like he’s El’s age. It makes Hopper feel worse, really.
Especially when he remembers how much Eleven loves him. When she met him, she informed him excitedly that he was bitchin’, which made Eddie laugh out loud. She loves his tattoos, and his heavy rings, and the rips in his jeans. It all makes Hopper grimace.
And it especially make him feel worse that Mike Wheeler likes Eddie. (He and El have broken up, but Hopper still doesn’t particularly like him. He has a soft spot for him just like he does for all the kids, but he’s certainly not his favourite.)
If he’s honest, everybody seems to like Eddie. He gets it, he really does. Eddie is funny, quick-witted in a way that only Erica can challenge. He’s gentle with the kids when they need it, drawing carefully on El’s arm with markers to cover her 011 tattoo, chattering with Will endlessly about that fantasy game they play. He banters with Robin and talks about books with Nancy and makes fun of Steve, who makes fun of him too.
He helps Joyce in the kitchen even though he doesn’t know anything about cooking, even though Joyce tells him he doesn’t have to. He insists.
But Hopper doesn’t like him.
He knows Eddie Munson. He knows his reputation, even before the Vecna-Satanism murder accusations and apart from the fantasy game that everyone in town hates so much. (Hopper knows it’s just a game.)
Eddie Munson always smells faintly of pot, and his clothes always look dirty and ripped and messy. He’s a terrible influence. Mike already has hair as long as Eddie’s, and Dustin’s already starting exclaiming Jesus H Christ the way Eddie does.
Joyce tells him he’s being dramatic, that he needs to give him a chance. But the cop in Hopper can’t leave it alone. So he keeps an eye on him. Every time they’re in the same room, Hopper ends up watching him, carefully observing every move he makes. Eddie sees him looking, and occasionally stares back before looking away with a resigned sigh.
Usually he just ignores him. Continues talking with whoever he’s talking to, goes back to messing with the kids or playing with Robin’s hair.
“You’re staring again,” Joyce whispers softly into his ear, and he startled slightly, looking at her. It’s dark in the living room, but her eyes are shining playfully, reflecting the movie. “He’s not doing anything wrong, Hop.”
He knows she’s right.
Eddie is sitting on the sofa next to Steve, Eleven sitting on the floor between his legs. He’s playing with her short curls. (He insisted that her short hair was also bitchin’. It might have actually made her feel better about it.)
“He looks restless,” he whispers back. Joyce rolls her eyes, looking back at the movie. “I think he wants a fix.”
She shakes her head, looking over at him.
“You’re reading into it,” she whispers. There’s a loud crash on the screen, and Robin jumps where she’s sitting on the floor between Nancy’s legs. Nancy giggles. “That’s just how he is,” Joyce continues. “He’s always fidgeting.”
“Because he does drugs, Joyce.”
“Hop.” She gives him a firm look. He melts. She’s got her hair tied back, her bangs recently trimmed. The light from the movie shifts, sending shadows across her face, accentuating the wrinkles around her eyes before it goes dark for a moment, and in the dark he can just see her face. He remembers sitting in supply closets with her in high school, the flame from his shitty lighter lighting up her face in the dark. He thinks briefly that he’s lucky that he’s known her so long, that he’s gotten to witness every wrinkle on her face come into existence. That he’s gotten to witness her age and watch traces of her years of laughter and sadness and anger smiles make their mark. She’s beautiful. “He’s a good kid,” she says, startling him out of his thoughts.
“…I thought he wasn’t a kid.”
She suppresses a smile and rolls her eyes again, looking back at the movie. He gazes at the side of her face for a moment before he looks back at Eddie.
Or, rather, where Eddie is supposed to be.
Hopper shifts, looking around the room, but Eddie is nowhere to be seen. Eleven is leaning against the sofa, holding Max’s hand as Lucas lays his head in Max’s lap.
“He’s gone,” he says softly to Joyce. She sighs.
“Probably just to the bathroom,” she says dismissively.
“I’ll be right back.” If he catches Eddie doing drugs in his home, he’ll realise hell.
“Oh my god.” She sighs again, shifting so he can lift his arm away from her shoulders, and he gets up, stepping over Mike, who’s fallen asleep with his head on Will’s shoulder.
He checks the bathroom first, but the door is hanging open, the lights off, and he can’t smell anything.
He looks around, the light from the kitchen lighting up the hallway, listening carefully. The stairs always creak, and there’s a part of the landing upstairs that creaks like a haunted house in a low budget horror movie, but he doesn’t hear anything.
Hopper stops, hesitating by the kitchen, when he feels a breeze, and he turns to find the front door hanging ajar.
It’s cold outside. Not freezing, but he’s uncomfortable in just his flannel.
“—just kind of overwhelming,” Eddie’s voice says quietly. Hopper freezes, glancing around.
“I know,” Steve’s voice responds. Hopper tilts his head. He hadn’t even realised that Steve had left too. His voice is low, soft. Almost soothing. “It gets easier, though, I promise.”
Hopper inches across the porch until he gets to the bend, and then he glimpses around it. Steve has Eddie pressed against a banister, his hands on Eddie’s waist, and Eddie is pushing his fingers through his hair. He exhales, closing his eyes. Hopper blinks.
“I’ve never had anything like it,” Eddie says after a moment.
“Like what?” Steve whispers.
Eddie is quiet a moment, looking at Steve in a way that Hopper can only think of a gaze. His eyes flick across Steve’s face, and he gives him a partial smile, pushing his hair back.
“A family, I guess,” he says finally, softly.
Hopper can’t see Steve’s face, but Eddie smiles at the expression he’s giving him, and then Steve is lifting a hand to Eddie’s cheek, and he’s leaning in, and Eddie’s eyes are falling shut, and they’re kissing.
Hopper blinks again, tearing his eyes away after another moment and moving back around the corner, staring out at the driveway. He hears Eddie sigh softly. It’s such a gentle kiss it seems almost out of character for the two of them, so tender and loving that Hopper wonders if everything is okay.
“You ready to go back inside?“ Steve asks softly, and Hopper’s heart palpitates.
“Not yet.”
“Okay.”
It’s quiet again. Hopper takes a moment before he looks back around the corner. They’re wrapped around each other, Eddie’ face buried between Steve’s neck and his own arm, and Steve is murmuring indistinctly, his voice muffled.
Hopper knows he shouldn’t be watching. That this is a private, quiet moment between them. But he can’t look away.
Even when Eddie’s eyes open and meet his. Eddie laughs into Steve’s neck, squeezing his eyes shut, and Hopper’s cheeks flush with embarrassment, but Eddie doesn’t seem to care. Or worry. (Not that he has anything to worry about. Hopper won’t tell anyone. And of course he doesn’t have any problems with it, with the two of them. With this.)
“What is it?” Steve asks, his voice muffled.
“Nothing, sweetheart.” Eddie presses a kiss to Steve’s neck. “Kiss me.”
Steve lifts his head with a soft hum and leans in, kissing Eddie deeply as Eddie lifts a hand to shoo Hopper away.
Hopper rolls his eyes with a smile and sneaks back inside. He pauses in the kitchen, pours himself a glass of water from the tap, thinking.
He knows about Eddie Munson. About his parents. About his uncle.
He goes back to the living room after setting the glass in the sink, sliding his arm around Joyce, who looks up at him with raised eyebrows.
“And?”
He pulls her close, kissing her forehead the way he does every chance he gets, almost mindlessly, habitually, like he’s been doing it for years and years. She relaxes against him, setting a hand against his stomach. He’s gained weight recently. He’s not entirely excited about it, but Joyce is. She likes to slip her hand under his shirts to squeeze and prod lovingly, smiling as he rolls his eyes at her. When he commented that he doesn’t understand why she likes it so much, she said she fell in love with him before he was starved in prison. That he’s beautiful when he’s fed and cared for and living instead of just surviving. No one’s ever called him beautiful before. He could just say Oh..
Eleven is happy about it too. Every time she hugs him, she presses her face into his chest and comments that he doesn’t feel like a wall anymore.
“It’s nothing,” he says, kissing her forehead again. “He just needed some air.”
No one notices when Steve and Eddie come back inside except Hopper and Joyce. Steve passes them silently, going to sit on the sofa again, and Eddie pats Hopper’s chest wordlessly before he joins him. Joyce looks at Hopper questioningly. He just shakes his head with a little smile.
He watches as Eddie leans against Steve, setting his hands in El’s hair again, playing with her curls, pulling them out straight before letting them bounce back into place like rubber bands. Steve sets his hand on Eddie’s leg gently, running his thumb back and forth, and Eddie sighs, relaxing. Hopper smiles.
The kids all sleep in the living room. Erica cuddled between Dustin and Lucas, Max’s head resting on Lucas’s stomach, El’s on Max’s stomach. Mike is holding onto Will’s arm when Hopper pauses in the doorway, looking around as the others leave. Joyce is laying blankets over everyone, making Eleven laugh when a blanket covers her face, and Max fixes it, reaching down to hold her hand.
Hopper realises he’s doing a headcount. He shuts the door as quietly as he can when Joyce leaves.
Nancy and Robin take Eleven’s room, both of them sleepy as they say goodnight. Argyle follows Jonathan to his room. Steve and Eddie take Will’s room, but Eddie hesitates, looking at Hopper.
Hopper tells Joyce to go to bed. He’ll be there in a second. She nods and kisses his cheek.
Eddie is sitting on the counter in the kitchen when Hopper joins him. Hopper leans against the wall across from him. He realises that Eddie is wearing Steve’s clothes.
“So…” Eddie starts awkwardly, twisting one of his rings. “I don’t know what all you saw.”
“I saw enough,” Hopper says. Eddie nods. “It’s not a problem, Munson.”
Eddie smiles bashfully, looking down at his hands.
“Does your uncle know?” Hopper asks as gently as he can. Eddie nods, looking up at him.
“Yeah, he’s always known about me,” Eddie says. “It’s kinda the reason I live with him.” Hopper nods, sympathy knotting in his chest. “He didn’t like Steve at first, but… Steve is good to me. Wayne saw how he helped me after a nightmare a while ago. He likes him now.”
Hopper nods.
“You won’t tell anyone, will you?” Eddie bursts, looking at Hopper with desperate eyes. “Steve doesn’t— He doesn’t want anyone to know yet. Only Robin knows right now.”
“I’m not gonna tell anyone,” Hopper tells him gently. “Don’t worry.”
“Okay.”
“I like Steve,” Hopper declares with a nod. “He’s good with the kids.”
“He good with a lot of things,” Eddie says. Hopper blinks, and Eddie looks up at him, his cheeks flushing. “That sounded… inappropriate, it wasn’t— I just meant, he— he’s real smart. He helped me plan a campaign a while ago, he’s really creative.” Eddie blinks again, inhaling. “Which you also can’t tell anyone, that was a secret— I’m just gonna stop talking.”
Hopper laughs.
Eddie looks startled. A slow smile crawls across his face.
“You’re happy together?” Hopper asks. Eddie nods, still smiling.
“Yes.”
He nods.
He stands up straight, looking at Eddie earnestly.
“You and your uncle ever have any trouble, you let me know, okay?”
Eddie blinks blankly at him.
“I thought you hated me.”
Hopper sighs.
“I’m not your biggest fan—“ Eddie interrupts with a laugh. “I don’t like the tattoos, or the pot, or you encouraging profanity—“
Eddie keeps laughs, covering his face with a hand, and Hopper cracks a smile.
“But you’re still one of us,” Hopper finishes.
Eddie’s smile fades, and he nods.
“Okay.”
His voice wavers. His eyes fill with tears, and then he lowers his face, covering it with his hand again.
“Come here, kid.”
Hopper opens his arms, and Eddie lets himself slide off the counter, and then he’s holding him, smoothing a hand over his hair the way he does to El when she needs comfort.
“So when’s the Byers-Hopper wedding?” Eddie asks when they let go, wiping his face quickly. “I’m invited, right?”
“Go to bed, Munson.”
Eddie snickers and Hopper follows him upstairs.
“I better not hear anything tonight,” he says as they part ways on the landing. He tries to avoid the floorboard that creaks, but it doesn’t work, and he winces.
“Ew.”
“Good night.”
“…Good night.”
———
“Where’d you go?” Steve asks quietly when Eddie enters Will’s room. He shuts the door behind himself gently, turning to look at him. He’s under the blankets, facing the door with an arm folded until his head, almost asleep, his eyes dark and shining in the golden light of the lamp on the bedside table.
“Hanging out with my new best friend, the former chief of police.”
A laugh bursts out of Steve, and Eddie tugs his sweater off as Steve lifts the blankets for him.
“What the fuck?”
Eddie grins, crawling into bed next to him, pressing up against his chest and sighing as Steve combs his hair back, away from his neck.
“He saw us outside.”
Steve’s hand freezes.
“What?”
Eddie moves back to look at him, smiling, and he reaches up to touch his face.
“‘S okay.”
“He didn’t— Was he…”
“He said it’s not a problem,” Eddie says softly, petting his cheek. “And he said he won’t tell anyone.”
Steve stares. Blinks. Exhales.
“Oh.”
Eddie smiles at him and presses a chaste kiss to his lips.
“‘S okay,” he repeats softly. “I think he’s coming around to me.”
“You think?” Steve asks breathily.
“Mhmm.” He kisses him again, relaxing against the pillow. It smells like Will. “Said I’m ‘one of you.’” He gestures quotation marks. “Which kinda makes it sound like a cult, but it’s nice.”
“Guess a cult makes sense,” Steve says softly, sighing and running his hand down Eddie’s forearm, light over his tattoos and scars. “Cult of Vecna and all that.”
Eddie stares at him, wide-eyed, and his smile grows until he’s beaming, and Steve rolls his eyes, his cheeks pink.
“Look at you,” Eddie teases. “Remembering your D&D.”
“You’re telling no one,” Steve says, holding up a finger to point at Eddie’s face, and Eddie giggles, grabbing his hand and bringing it to his lips.
“I’m telling no one.” He kisses his hand again before Steve presses his palm to his cheek. “King Steve’s got a reputation to keep up.”
“Ugh.”
Eddie giggles again, and he presses closer, wrapping his arm around Steve’s neck as Steve lifts his chin so Eddie can nuzzle into his throat.
“Everything’s okay,” he says softly. “Hopper doesn’t care.”
“Everything’s okay,” Steve says, sighing softly. He wraps an arm around Eddie gently, pulling him in tighter and running his hand down his spine. “Eddie.”
“Yeah, baby.”
“…I love you so much.”
Eddie’s eyes fly open, and his fingers run through Steve’s hair again before he pulls away once more, looking into his eyes. Steve looks serious, entirely earnest to the point that he almost looks upset, his eyes flicking across Eddie’s face like he’s trying to read him.
“I love you too,” Eddie breathes.
Steve smiles. He kisses Eddie’s forehead softly, sighing again.
“Light on?”
Eddie nods, tucking his hands against Steve’s chest, curling them just over his heart and letting his eyes close. Steve pulls him close.
“Good night, baby.”
Eddie hums softly, settling against him as he drags his hand over his back. He smiles when Steve kisses the top of his head.
———
Hopper kisses Joyce’s temple as she scrubs a pan in the sink. She smiles up at him.
It’s a lazy morning. Most of the kids are still sleepy, nibbling at their french toast and eggs as they talk quietly. Hopper goes into the living room, rubbing his face, wanting a cigarette.
The kids are everywhere, sprawled across the room, careful not to get syrup on the new carpet. Robin is half asleep, leaning on Argyle’s shoulder, and he holds up a slice of french toast. She takes a bite without moving. Eddie and Steve are on the sofa, talking quietly and gazing at each other like there’s no one else in the world. Erica is asleep on the sofa, her head in Eddie’s lap. One of his arms is set on her shoulder, his hand hovering in the air to block a bright beam of sunlight from her eyes.
Hopper pauses, watching. He doesn’t seem to notice that he’s doing it, protecting Erica so gently, so lovingly. He isn’t even looking, his eyes trained on Steve as he listens to whatever he’s talking about.
Hopper crosses the room, stepping over Will, who’s laying on his stomach, and pulls the curtain almost shut so it blocks the beam of light out. Eddie looks over when he hears the rattle of the rings, and lowers his hand to Erica’s head gently. She nuzzles into his leg.
“Harrington, you want coffee?” Hopper asks as he’s stepping over Will again. He drags a hand across Mike’s face just to mess with him, and Mike almost drops his fork, letting out an indignant Ugh! as he tries to pull his face away. Eleven giggles.
“Uh, yeah,” Steve says, looking startled. His face flushes pink. Hopper wonders in Eddie told him about last night. “Sure.”
“Munson? Coffee?”
“Yeah. Thanks, Dad.”
“Jesus,” Hopper mutters, rolling his eyes as he heads back to the kitchen.
He makes them coffee. Brings it to them and carefully hands it to them, listening to their little thank yous. He ruffles their hair affectionately, and when he leaves, he pauses in the hallway, watching as they whisper to each other quietly and then kiss each other gently, quickly, before anyone sees.
Steve is smiling. The sun is shining.
Maybe Munson isn’t so bad.
#considered making this spicier but i needed a spice break after my last one#maybe next time#probably next time#anyway go drink some water#love u#stranger things#stranger things fic#eddie munson#steve harrington#jim hopper#joyce byers#steddie
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