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trashmouth-richie · 8 months

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master list

eddie! x fem reader

summary: 3 years later; happy birthday

I can’t believe this is almost the end. It is so bittersweet to be uploading this and thanking you all for the continued support on this story. I hope you will miss eddie + tooty just as much as I will. The epilogue is next and then a fun little surprise for you all.

trigger warnings: fluff, sweet sweet fluff 💕

Crinkly paper streamers twist down into even boughs along the cedar planked walls. A homemade banner crafted with the best paint Melvald’s could offer, hung over the sliding patio door, freckled with glitter and deep hues of scarlet and onyx.

Carefully stenciled uniform letters spelling out a greeting for the birthday boy, line the banner— perfectly positioned.

Looking at it now, you can nearly feel the backache it caused from the leaned over pretzel position you were tangled in while attempting to make it look store bought. Instead it took hours and a ruined shirt to paint each letter with precision on your living room floor.

Red plastic cups were stacked in a corner on top of a cheap plastic table cloth adorned with paper plates and plastic utensils. A smaller card table from the Wheeler-Byer’s held a two tiered homemade cake, dolloped with sticky whipped strawberry frosting. His favorite.

Polaroids of the birthday boy were placed, in no particular pattern, with sticky tack to the wall above the card table holding the presents.

Various shots from the past year capturing adventures big and small. He had wanted that.

Wanted to remember every detail— an important step to moving forward, leaving the past in the dust and enjoying the second chance at life you had both been given.

The pictures were mostly candids, snapped in the blur of a moment, memories to be cherished for a lifetime to come. And although some of them were cheesy, or horribly cliche; they held delicate moments of the past two years of you and Eddie, together at last.

You suck the sticky remnants of frosting from your thumb as you carefully arrange a framed picture of his graduation day just so on the table, stepping back and admiring the hard work and weeks worth of planning you had done.

Your fingers dance along the sharp edges of the selected photos you had given Jonathan to print for you. 8”x10”, 5”x7”, colored, sepia tone, and even black and white you had wanted to give it more of a collage feel to the project, and Jonathan did a great job.

The pictures varied from moments that probably didn’t need to be remembered and ones that should have been taken by a professional, but it was perfect, exactly the way you had envisioned it.

A snapshot photo of Eddie’s plump lips wrapped around a brown beer bottle after a night of helping Wayne paint the outside of his trailer, his signature middle finger in the air, the rings glittering with the flash— was propped next to a candle.

One of Wayne and Eddie hugging on Christmas last year, a small tree tucked into the corner of the yellowing smoke stained walls and part of your finger covering the lens, and another one right after the first of them both looking shocked that you snapped the picture.

A picture of you and him, holding fishing poles on the bank of Lover’s Lake. His arm wrapped around your waist, your pole holding a sizable fish, his line snagged on moss and a tattered beat up tennis shoe, a proud smile on his face as he looked down at you, you mid laugh as Wayne teased Eddie behind the lens.

Another of just him in black and white, asleep on the bed you shared his dark tattoos looked piercing against his bare chested. Long angelic lashes closed against pinked warm cheeks, the silver scar barely visible on his bottom lip.

One with Eddie and the boys, sitting in the backyard, the tails of the fire licking into the sun fading sky, his hands wild in the middle of explaining a campaign idea.

A candid of Steve, Eddie, Robin and Dustin wearing their tuxes and running into the ocean. Shoes snug into the sand and socks left forgotten. Steve’s white jacket thrown into the air, half of a laughing, Leighanne all dolled up and beautiful on their big day.

A photo from the same day, but of only you and him, your lips perched on his cheek as he held you in his lap in the back of a limo. His other cheek sparkling with the residue of a lipgloss kiss, one hand holding your strappy lavender heels, the other wrapped around your waist. His dimpled smile wide and toothy.

And finally, your favorite one: one of just you and him, dressed in your homemade costumes as Mario and Luigi. A felt mustache falling from under your nose,his white gloved hands holding up rock n’ roll. Right before you two had won the Halloween costume contest at Nancy and Jonathan’s house.

Wayne had brought baby pictures that he had dug out of an old box in the forgotten storage shed when you had moved in. Dust lining the frames showing a brown haired baby with doe eyes, drooling over a washcloth while in the sink for a bath. A curly haired toddler with a big smile while on the swings at a park. And many more that were placed around the house.

The most special of them all sat on Eddie’s bedside table: a woman with soft honey muddied curls sweeping down to the middle of a white blouse, sunglasses pushed into her hair atop her head, kissing the forehead of a baby swaddled in a blanket.

“Tooty!” Gareth called from the kitchen, “phone call!”

You set the napkins next to Nancy who was meticulously adjusting the m&m dish into its correct place. Trying to balance out the clashing colors with the black and red theme.

“Looks perfect as always, Nance,” you murmur as you squeeze her arm gently when you pass her.

She huffs in disapproval, sweeping a permed curl behind her ear, her finger to her lips as she tuts, “it’s missing something.” You squeeze her arm again and trot into the living room.

Gareth is holding the blue phone by the long cord twirling it around like a pair of nunchucks, shoving the last bits of a hot dog in his mouth, ketchup wedged into the corner by his lips. “ it’s Hig D,” he announciates horribly, “somthin’ about heddie— shit that’s good— something about them just getting ready to leave work.”

laughing at him you can only roll your eyes, “you’ll make a good whore someday deep throatin’ like that,” you tease, taking the phone from his hand.

Gareth chuckles and shoves your shoulder, “haven't had any complaints yet, Oh! By the way, I need a three day extension on rent. Cool?”

Rolling your eyes again, a smile escapes your lips as you flip him off.

Of all of Eddie’s friends, Gareth was the hardest one to crack, but now he was easily your favorite. He reminded you a lot of Eddie in high school. A wild haired mess, always down for a crazy adventure to surely land him into trouble. But a big ol softie when it came down to people he cared about, especially Will.

Curling your fingers around the telephone cord, you talk into the receiver, “hey D, what’s up?”

—-

Argyle and Jonathan arrive through the front door, smelling like purple palm tree delight and balancing pizza boxes in their arms.

Robin spins at least a dozen times trying to find a place for the tower of cheesed pie and nearly knocks into Jonathan in her pursuit of frenzy. The boys slide them into place onto a card table against the kitchen wall, a photo of you and Eddie holding the keys to Hop’s cabin with wide grins on your faces hanging above it.

The brisk May breeze flows through the house, flickering the candles and making the helium balloons bump into one another in a lazy staticky dance.

A blur of red stalks into the house holding two bottles of liquor in each hand, a baseball hat backwards on her head, “hope Eddie likes whiskey because that’s all Walt would sell me,” she says heaving the bottles onto the counter in a clunkered manner, wiping the sweat from her freckled forehead, sporting a fresh new bob cut all thanks to you, “stubborn ass, he charged me nearly double,” she huffs, folding the paper sacks haphazardly, “son-of-a-bitch wouldn’t even let me use my employee rate!”

“Thanks for getting it Maxi-pad,” you say over your shoulder stifling a giggle from the old nickname you hadn’t called her since middle school, “Eddie’ll drink beer from a boot as long as he got a buzz from it—let me know what I owe you.”

She spins on squeaky sneakers and grabs a slice of pizza from one of the leaning boxes, squishing the greasy cheese between her teeth, talking with a mouthful “quit— we’re square for all the times you’ve come over since moving back.”

A sad expression falters behind the mask on her porcelain complexion. But she’s quick to shove it all away. It had been months since she’d been back in Hawkins, and your friend since elementary school was just starting to get her life back into order.

“Eddie’s offer still stands by the way,” you gently whisper, turning away from placing candles into the pink frosting to give her a quick squeeze, the fringes of your friendship mending together after years of not really speaking.

Holding Max at arms length you raise your eyebrows at her, “I’m serious,” a clip in your voice that even Nancy would envy.

She shrugs quickly and looks back with wet blue eyes, not willing to let her guard down on the eve of a party, “I’ll think about it,” her jaw set tight.

“Let's have fun tonight, okay?” she begs, “it isn’t every day Eddie’s old decrepit ass turns forty.”

The giggle she was hoping for to ease the tension tickled your throat, “he’s twenty nine, Maxine,” you tease back.

“Oh-ho-ho,” she chuckles, crossing the linoleum to the fridge in a swift motion, throwing open the door and leaning into the illuminated box, fingers dancing along the brown neck of a Bud Light, a smug smile on her salmon lips, “government names huh, T? I’ll remember that.”

—

Will and Mike were in charge of moving vehicles behind the north tree line away from the driveway and out of sight. Each car owner silently held their breath and the litter of anxiety rising higher as Mike got behind the wheel of each car. 13 tickets by Hopper’s deputies hadn’t slowed him down yet.

Leighanne, and El had just finished hanging the decorative white lights on the back deck and around the trees. The backyard looked like a little cozy oasis. And it warmed your soul to see it all come together.

It was rough when you had first moved in here. Hopper had a buddy who owned the cabin you now call home. It was far from town but hadn’t been renovated in years. Nothing a little elbow grease and nights after work wouldn’t fix, it took six months with help from just about everyone you knew, but the place was perfect.

And after everything that happened in Hawkins, Eddie’s promise stuck.

He got you both out. Started a new life away from the wandering eyes and whispered lies. Even after he was cleared, people still wouldn’t let it go.

But, the cabin was everything you could imagine and more. Perched into a thick grove of trees. Secluded. Secretive. Exactly what you both needed.

It was heaven.

Lounging on blankets in the soft grass, bare toes curled into the soft comforter, the girls sat back and laughed as Steve nearly tipped over the entire pan of grilled burgers and hot dogs.

“Yeah laugh it up you two!” Steve scolded playfully, tugging and shoving a hand into the thick tuft of hair on his head, “you won’t be laughing when there’s nothing to eat!”

“Such sass from The Grill Master,” Leighanne giggled, covering her mouth with a delicate hand, a large diamond on her ring finger.

Before Steve could whip up something cheeky, Arygle’s smooth baritone voice broke amongst the laughs, “Damn my dude,” he chuckled, leading Eden’s small frame through the patio door, “smells good out here.”

Steve huffs again, “Thanks, I’m just doing what I’m told, don’t mind the peanut gallery back there,” he gestures with his spatula to the two giggling gals on the blanket.

The keg was perched on the small back deck, ice melting slowly around the tin base. Steve had been grilling burgers for the last half hour, smears of grease rubbed on the bottom of his red apron embossed with fancy lettering, kiss the cook.

“And you’re doing it man,” Argyle salutes him as a fellow culinary soldier, “it’s art what you’re doing dude, pure fuckin art—like Picasso if he was a chef… piSteveo.”

“Okay man—yeah, I get it,” Steve says all in one breath, rolling his eyes and cracking a grin back at his bride who was biting her own cheek and trying not to laugh. “Dustin and Susie ride with you?”

“Yeah,” Eden scowls, crossing her legs and dragging Argyle down to sit on the picnic bench, her black pixie cut fluttering in the light breeze resembling a real life goth tinkerbell, “that four eyed little shit kept going on and on about the ecosystem and methane gas or whatever, so yeah they’re here— probably terrorizing everyone else about the election or some shit.”

Steve snorts and flips another burger onto the grates, the sizzle of charred seasoned beef signaling the first signs of summer, “sounds about right.”

“Alright guys,” you say stepping through the sliding patio door, the sun close to setting in the west taking the warmth with it, “D said they’re just leaving so everyone get in position.”

“..I’m just sayin’ is all,” D barks, finishing wiping the grease from a gas station bean burrito on the back of his hand from his pudgy lips, “I’ll give you top dollar for it.”

Eddie took another sip from his Mt. Dew, barreling down the highway and thumping his thumb along the steering wheel, contemplating heavily on what Big D had been asking of him.

“fuck I dunno man… it’s like a part of me y’know?”

Eddie rubs the beginning of his scruffy chin, unable to grow a full beard even though he’s nearly in his thirties, Peter Pan syndrome hitting him square in the jaw.

“had it since I was fifteen, fixed it all up with my uncle,” he mumbles lighting a cigarette between his teeth, “it’s a staple to the Munson name.”

D rolls his eyes and tosses the foil wrapper to the floorboards of Eddie’s truck. “that was like twenty years ago man, you don’t even drive it anymore.”

Eddie chuckles through a cloud a smoke, turning the steering wheel to the right down the hidden driveway, overgrown grass on both ends of a rotted through fence post, “easy there asshole— ‘sides, thought you were buying Jeff’s mom’s car?”

D slides belches loud and throws his chubby hand out the window, fresh air wiggling his fingers slowly, “I did, just gotta fix it up, but the van would be my daily driving chick magnet.” He wiggles his eyebrows like two black caterpillars dancing a tango.

Eddie smiles to himself, memories of past times booze cruising to Rick’s and hauling band equipment to the Hideout. Times long gone and fading like the moon into dawn.

A time when he was ruthless, chaotic and hungry for the world’s shittiness just so he could add his own fucked up version to it. A big fuck you to anyone who ever doubted him.

A time before you were officially his.

Nowadays the bear inside of him was tame, licking its paws in laziness, hibernating with the sounds of a calm beating heart. Fed and cared for, content.

“We’ll see,” he replies, blowing smoke out of the corner of his mouth, “you still owe me $40 for that service you gifted to that waitress last week, fucker.”

“Pffft,” D says lighting a cigarette, “take it out of my check boss man.”

Eddie cranked his lips into a smirk, it still didn’t feel real.

The roar of Eddie’s diesel truck echoes along the tree line, vibrating against the fallen branches from the late winter storm that snapped full grown Red Oaks like matchsticks when the ice built heavy onto its branches.

The cabin lights were dim, curtains pulled tight to barely show the glimpse of any crack of light. It wasn’t unusual, your lives were kept pretty private after everything that happened, doors always locked.

“The hell?” Eddie grumbled, wiggling the stick into neutral with the palm of his hand and killing the engine, the old dodge sputtering out to quiet, “thought you said Gareth was comin’ over to practice tonight?”

D fumbled for words, reaching for the metal door handle “no, yeah he’s here— maybe Will dropped ‘im off.”

Eddie quirked an eyebrow, the exhaustion from work taking over his features as he let out a loud yawn and arched his back against the velour seats, he climbed out of the pickup, lunchbox in tow.

“alright man, ‘m just gonna shower quick,” he hooks a thumb behind his shoulder, walking up the stone path to the front door, “think Tooty still has the hose hooked up if you wanted to rinse off.”

D stomps around the truck, leaning a thick arm onto the hood, “don’t make any special accommodations for me dude, I’m cool.”

“Yeah yeah you’re pretty cool alright,” Eddie said climbing the two steps with heavy footsteps, and putting a brass key into the knob, twisting it in his grasp, “why’d you think I had the window dow—”

Eddie is almost knocked back into the wall by the room full of his friends shouting surprise! as he entered the cabin.

Shock and a racing heartbeat wash away to a dimpled smile and squinted eyes. It was worth the weeks of planning and aligning everyone’s schedules to make it all work out. And in the end, the crowd turned into a blur when you peaked your head behind the kitchen wall grinning wide at the handsome man at the door.

His girl. His one and only. Spoiling him with a surprise party. Mouthing “happy birthday baby,” from across the room with a warm smile that still was able to tinge his cheeks in the prettiest shade of bashful.

Backs were slapped and shoulders clapped as Eddie made his way around to the guests. His smile was wide and toothy, lighting up the room with his deep laugh and dimples.

He hugged friends like he hadn’t seen them in years, pressed cheek to cheek and apologizing later for grease smudges left on their shirts.

“Shit,” Wayne breathed, as he stepped into the doorway, finding you immediately and looking sympathetic, “sorry we’re late, the missus was wrappin’ a last minute gift.”

Nancy and Mike’s mom stood tucked beneath Wayne’s arm. Four gifts wrapped tight and pristine, held in her arms. The alimony from Ted was still treating her more than well.

“Wayne,” Karen giggles like a schoolgirl, a long manicured hand to his denim jacket, dismissing him with a wink, “here Tooty,” she gleams, walking towards you with her arms outstretched, embracing you in a hug, “it’s just a little something for the two of you, saw it at the mall and couldn’t resist!”

It was an adjustment for the youngest Wheeler when Karen left Ted. Nancy and Mike didn’t seem to care, having already been moved out of the house and living their own lives. But Holly took it hard, refusing to see her mother at all.

“It’s perfect thank you Karen,” Eddie said, sneaking around you, his fingers dragging along your lower back and down your hip, sending shivers to your core. A quick wink to you as he grabs the gifts from her and Wayne.

He was happy for them, he had never seen Wayne with someone who treated him so well before in his life, he gave his shoulder a squeeze, “next time put your glasses on so you can see while driving, might get here on time, old man.”

Wayne rolled his eyes and put Eddie in a headlock, “I ain’t here to see you anyhow, came to see my favorite daughter in law to be if you’d just marry her already, didn’t even know it was your birthday you little punk.”

“Yeah yeah,” Eddie scoffed, “that’s why it says ‘Ed’s birthday’ on the calendar in your office, right? Because you didn’t know?”

Wayne releases Eddie and gives him a side hug, “been celebratin’ this day for twenty-three years with y’ boy, I ain’t never forgettin’”

Karen was always like a mother to you. The Wheeler’s held such a special place in your heart, and you’d always be grateful for the kindness both her and Ted had shown you when you were growing up. Seeing her now with Wayne surprisingly wasn’t that odd. They balanced each other well.

Wayne pulls you into the other side of him, keeping you and Eddie under each arm, “looks real good in here darlin’” He says, looking down at you with icy blue eyes, “sure am glad y’ learned how to tame this wild li’l shit.”

you smile up at the Munson’s and Eddie sticks out his tongue at you.

“Now,” he says addressing only Eddie, “I swear on my mama and daddy’s graves, Ed, you better marry this girl someday or ‘m gonna hang y’ from your toes by that clothesline out back.”

Eddie rolls his eyes, but before he can speak, Nancy waves at her mother and stands atop a metal chair.

“Alright everyone, let’s go out back and we can start eating.”

Once the room emptied it was just you and Eddie. The tension was always thick in every room you were in with him, electric in ways that buzzed between your legs and made your head feel fuzzy.

You waited your turn patiently.

Eddie coins a coy grin behind his plump lips, walking with his hands behind his back and moving his shoulder low, cocking his head.

Your hands, busy themselves with arranging presents, fingers slipping between the silky ribbons and plucking the ends to watch them curl. Warm arms surround your waist and you act surprised and let out a squeal.

He sets you down and pushes the collar of your shirt to the side, pressing his lips like angel’s wings to the skin on your shoulder, relishing in the way the goosebumps crawled across your flesh.

“Eddie,” you hum, working your fingers behind you to pull on the tendrils of sweaty hair tucked behind his neck.

“Hmm?” He breathes hot across your neck, working his way up to the dainty gold necklace, the same one brandishing the ring he gave you for Christmas in 1992, nothing compared to the one he was eyeballing at the jewelry store in the mall.

Rubbing the underside of your chin with the bulb of his nose, you shudder and feel his grin on your skin, “all of this for me?”

You nod and whine when a large hand dances across the waist of your jeans. And almost let out a moan when he nips at your earlobe.

Eddie’s work days were long but the nights spent between the sheets were longer, both of you never getting enough of each other. The passion and static was always there.

“Wanted to surprise my birthday boy,” you breathed as your head fell back into his shoulder, and he bucked his hips into you, pushing you into the rickety table and shaking the presents.

“You’re too good to me,” Eddie whispered into your ear, his fingers digging into your hips. “How am I ever going to thank my pretty gir—?”

“Hey you guys comin’ or what?” Steve asks, hands on his hips and a scorch mark on his apron, “Nancy’s making a fucking seating chart out there, and I really hope you have liability insurance because Argyle is trying to teach Dustin yoga.”

Eddie takes his lips from your neck and turns to face Steve, “I mean, we coulda been if you hadn’t barged in.”

“Eddie!” you laugh, slapping his chest lightly, and straightening your shirt, “we’ll be right out Steve, just going to give Eddie his birthday present.”

His eyes sparkle in mischievous wonder, “oooh you think we have time?” He says unbuttoning his work blues, “I like the way you think dirty sweetheart.”

You roll your eyes and tug him down the hallway to your bedroom.

“Jesus Christ,” Steve mutters under his breath, shaking his head and making his way through the patio door, “nah don’t worry I’ll entertain the guests,” he says in annoyance, “maybe we can play parcheesi or hotdog Jenga.”

—

“Don’t peek!”

“Oh c’mon!”

“Eddie.”

“Ugh fine, but you better be naked or I’ll pout.”

“Such a brat...”

“Don’t act surprised babe.”

“Alright open, but I am very much still dressed, that part of your present is later tonight.”

Eddie had showered and was getting dressed shoving his feet into a worn pair of converse when you waltzed into the room, a small oblong box behind your back.

Dropping the carefully wrapped present into his awaiting hands, he holds the box like a carton of eggs. One eye peeked open, “well,” Eddie says rubbing the corners of the box with the calloused pads on his thumbs, “this doesn’t feel like a puppy.”

“You poor boy,” you tease with a shove to his shoulder, and a kiss to his cheek, “how will you ever live?”

Eddie tears the paper with a hook of his finger where the tape joins the pieces, wet tendrils of hair dripping water marks onto the wrapping, “it’ll be hard but I think I’ll manage.”

Biting your lip in anticipation you watch as Eddie tears the paper in boyish glee. And you aren’t sure who’s smile is wider when he finally opens the small rectangle shaped box.

It took awhile to save up for it. Cutting countless heads of hair in the renovated room above Master Mechanic’s, the auto shop Eddie co-owned with Wayne in Bridgeport, and earning a small wage by cleaning houses for a few hours on the weekends.

But every scrubbed toilet, every rolled perm rod was worth it when Eddie opened his present.

“It's about time you saw them live, yeah?”

Tickets to Metallica, the same gift. But this time with the promise of actually going and witnessing their magic.

“Oh baby,” Eddie nearly cried, running his fingers over the inked words carefully, he set the tickets down on the comforter and wrapped his hands around your waist pulling you into him, “why are you so good to me?”

And just like the first time he asked you, years ago, before you were his and he was yours. When you were just roommates exchanging gifts on Christmas. You told him what you should have then.

but you don’t fight to find the words anymore, or wonder if it’ll sound dumb. Everything you've been through with Eddie you could never imagine living life with anyone other than him.

The words come easy, and it’s one of the truest things you’ve ever said.

“Because you’re a good man. Because you’re the reason I wake up smiling every morning. Because I have never loved anyone the way that I love you, and I’ll always, always regret not telling you sooner.”

Eddie smiles with a quivering lip and you lean down to wipe the tears from his eyes, his arms wrap around you tight like a vice grip.

Looking into his eyes, he somehow looked better with every year passing, truly aging like fine wine, and you were drunk on him.

“Don’t cry on your birthday baby, it’s supposed to be a party,” you smile warmly at him, bringing his chin up a bit

so you can press a gentle kiss to his lips.

Pulling you into him so you’re straddling his hips, he whispers an I love you into your ear with your real name attached at the end, all satiny on his breath like a Hershey kiss.

You don’t hear your God given name very often, having hated it for as long as you remember. Stubbornly telling everyone at a young age that your name was Tooty. Even writing it on all of your school papers as early as kindergarten.

But when Eddie said it, it set your soul on fire. Like a secret kept finally being told. Like another wall breaking down with him holding the sledge hammer. Like the first bite of a warm brownie from the oven. It felt good.

He presses slow kisses into your neck and moves his large hands to rock your hips against him, “you’re never gonna get rid of me, you know that right?”

“Fuck I hope not,” you whisper as you nip at his bare shoulder, “I made your favorite cake for tonight and everything.”

“Mmm,” Eddie purrs against the column of your throat, “strawberry?”

Gathering skin between your teeth you suck a small bruise into his pale neck, tongue swirling soft then firm, his pretty noises filling the bedroom walls.

“Yep,” you breathe with swollen lips, and popping the ‘p’, “extra frosting.”

“Lady evil at it again,” Eddie teases, capturing your lips into a hungry kiss, his hands scoring down your back and bringing your hips impossibly closer to where you were both aching.

You giggle as he breaks away, and tickles your sides. He flips you onto the bed. The bulb of his nose wedging between your neck and shoulder as his hips hold you in place, his fingers dig into your armpits, and your ribs.

You laugh until your face is red and your neck is slick and painted with a stain of raspberry teeth marks and the lap of his tongue licking the bites better.

He gives you a wicked grin, out of breath and his lips swollen, his demeanor changes into something serious.

He holds his hand on your cheek, sweeping your skin delicately with the pad of his thumb, holding you so gently as if you were made of porcelain, “I’m gonna make you my wife.”

Your fingernails scratch lightly down his chest, skipping over the tattoo of little angel wings and a halo for the unborn child you didn’t get the luxury of holding, matching the one on your inner arm. The date etched below in Eddie’s own handwriting.

It wasn’t the only new tattoo he had gotten since that day.

He also had a mockup of a cartoon lady, devil horns on her head and a long black demon tail wagging behind her, that sat on his bicep. A pout identical to yours on her pretty little face, arms crossed in a fit. ‘my girl’ in old English font beneath her little stiletto heels.

Your fingertips trace the lines of blank ink on his chest. And you lift your eyes to his.

Opening your soul to him for the millionth time, spreading its wings and joining with his into that dream land he swore he’d take you to, dancing on the rings of Saturn, bathing in the springs of Jupiter.

He smiles softly and so do you, heart soaring and beating fast, “about damn time,” you whisper softly just before his lips close around yours.

Although your life would never be the same after that awful day, the one you were crafting and coloring outside the straight black lines with Eddie by your side, was pretty damn great.

And you wouldn’t change a thing.

🤧

🏷️

@bebe07011 @dashingdeb16 @hiscrimsonangel @luxaeterna13 @enam3l

#eddie munson #eddie x fem!reader #eddie x you #eddie munson smut #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson x reader #fic recs #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson angst #honey I’m home series

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romainlettusdinnerparty · 23 days

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so as much as i would Love (big capital L) will to be borrowing mikes clothes i think they are his own/ more having to do with his character than with mike being more likely to own darker colors.

first of all, i think his pants are dark brown and not black,, like in the og leak where hes wearing the same fit as the most recent one you can kinda see by his shoes where theyre getting a little more light and look brown not black.

which like they are a much darker brown than we’ve ever seen him in so that definitely means something,, probably a darker or more depressing look at his character, maybe this time more coming from an internal place where he is choosing to wear things that will make him blend into the background rather than pure circumstance causing him to be a victim. like vecna taunting max, making her even more depressed than she would be otherwise, and her wearing darker neutrals most of the season because of her grief and self loathing compelling her to want to hide away from her loved ones.

then we have the shirt with the stripes and the layers which is soooo interesting to me!! it feels like a twist on the classic will byers look. like he loves a stripe and he loves a layer but we always see him in warm tones with a lot of crowded pattern. this shirt has pattern but it’s stripes are diagonal and sparse. he’s off kilter!! he’s a shell of his former self!! hes always so warm and so bright and these are suuuuch cool tones. his life force is being drained!! king is going through it!!

in conclusion will byers has depression and is dressing for the occasion <3

#byler #stranger things #will byers #mike wheeler #byler tumblr #stranger things 5 #st5 #byler endgame #st5 leaks #st5 speculation #stranger things analysis #stranger things theory #st5 predictions #st5 theory #costume design #mine

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persage · 1 year

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My Best Gift - S. HARRINGTON

I wanted to post it on Christmas - yes, it's a silly fluffy Christmas story- but it was a busy time and now here we are a little late but I still hope you enjoy it.

Summary: Steve is resigned to spend Christmas alone. He certainly doesn't imagine that Robin has planned a surprise for him, much less seeing someone he honestly believed he would never see again and that he misses more than he cares to admit.

Words Count: 3.5 k

Tags: none, just some Fluff I needed on Christmas time. It's silly but I promise it's cute

Steve Harrington is ready to spend a serene and peaceful Christmas, just him, his father's good whiskey and a good action movie. A calm evening, for the first time in a long time without family dramas, parents in quarrels, embarrassing silences or equally embarrassing reproaches. Also without Nancy and her family, but Steve prefers not to think about it. With them he spent the first happy Christmas with a family of his entire life, then he just lost them. Being alone on Christmas day is not sad and it is not pathetic and he has no intention of indulging in excessive thinking, he will enjoy the peace like a grown man.

Like a Harrington.

After wishing Dustin and Rob and everyone else happy holidays, reassuring an unspecified number of people that "No, I won't be alone", giving Robin and the kids his presents, now Steve clutches the remote in his hands and think back to Joyce Byers' unexpected invitation and the way in which for a moment, just one, he has risked calling her mom. He feels pathetic now.

Dinner time approaches, but he has no desire to start cooking, so he shrugs, concentrating on the colorful images that pass before him on TV. He takes a gulp of warm alcohol down his throat, which burns like pure fire and he is about to light a cigarette when the doorbell rings and for a moment he lets himself be taken by the stupid fantasy that it could be his parents, that they have come home to surprise him and he runs towards the door without even realizing it, like a child who hopes to be able to see Santa. His heart sinks into an abyss, a dark place that he didn't even know he owned, when opening the door he finds nothing but darkness and silence waiting for him. He wants to cry to be honest, like a stupid little boy.

But before he can slam the door as hard as he is able, Robin's face peeks out. He doesn't have the chance to say anything because a pair of arms tighten around his neck and he immediately catches a scent that he knows well and calms him down. "Dingus!" Robin exclaimes happily, pulling away.

"Rob? What are you doing here? I thought... "

"Did you really think we'd let you celebrate Christmas alone?"

He raises his eyebrows in defiance, spreading his arms to make room for a series of all too familiar heads and faces and this time Steve has to use all his strength not to be moved and start crying for real, because his real family is here and for the first time he is not alone."Merry Christmas Steve" Nancy says, making her way with Jonathan, a turkey in her hands. She places a kiss on Steve's cheek standing up on her toes and Jonathan squeezes his shoulder and after all that has happened this is enough for him to know that everything is okay, that they are friends, that they can be together without embarrassment or resentment.

"I'll put this in the kitchen" she shouts, smiling at him. Steve lets his gaze slide over Robin, her open jacket, her red sweater and a Christmas hat identical to Max's one, who wears it with a much less happy expression than Buckley. Envelopes of every shape and color protrude from her feet.

"What are you waiting? Will you let us in?" Dustin asks, in a fake annoyed tone, actually smiling to the point that Steve fears his cheeks might come off.

"And your families?" He asks shyly, still fearful that now they might leave again. They enter the house one by one, greeting him, some with a nod, some with a hug. "They'll understand" Max replies, trying not to show satisfaction in seeing Steve so excited.

"You don't get rid of us, man." Lucas continues, bypassing him and entering the house, where Nancy is already beginning to dictate orders. One by one Dustin, Robin, Max and Lucas, even Will, Mike (who would rather be anywhere else) and El file past him. He can't deny it, this is a surprise, more like a Christmas miracle... And for a moment he feels different, lighter, more carefree. Steve Harrington feels happy. He is not used to that feeling during Cristhmas. He looks down at the ground and shakes his head, unable, however, to stop smiling. When he thinks that parade of his people is over and that there are no more intruders to let into the house, he gently pushes the door with a wave of his arm, and turns towards the living room. Before he hears the door close, however, he senses someone coughing lightly, and a voice comes clear and distinct.

"You won't let me in?"

Steve's eyes widen, because he's sure he knows who this voice belongs to and up until now he's been sure he won't be hearing it again any time soon. His breath catches in his chest. In a second he turns back towards the entrance, where the toe of a black shoes block the door from closing.

"Y/n?" He mumbles before meeting your face again. He hurries to open the door all the way back and immediately freezes to the spot. In front of him, wrapped in a black coat, hair scattered around your face and eyes brighter than the stars exactly as he remembered them, you star at him with a faintly hinted smile on your face.

"Oh my god y/n" his voice shakes more than he wants to, so he fakes a a cough, while Robin looks at him knowingly and a sly smile. You star at him for a few more moments, just a fraction of a second, before dropping the envelope and purse on the floor and throwing yourself into his arms. After all it's been a while since you last saw him, before your parents forced you to leave Hawkins and move.

Hardest experience of your life.

You still remember the day of departure, passing in front of your friends' houses, you have flooded your clothes with tears and thought about everything you left behind and the things you never had the courage to say and do. And all these things are now here, in front of you and they are looking at you with the biggest eyes in the world.

Incredulous.

Because Steve Harrington has always been your biggest regret and your only desire.

"Steve." You sigh against his skin, so happy to finally be here that you almost shiver. When Robin Buckley has called you to ask you to join her in Hawkins, she really thought you couldn't do it, given the short time in which she had organized the surprise for Steve. "You'll be his Christmas present!" And you had thought of a joke and you had anxiety until you had Robin in front of you and she smiled and embraced you happily, as if your presence could really be a gift. Yet here you are, with the boy you thought you hated so much as a child, only to discover that you felt everything for him except hate, that never really felt anything but love.

"What... What are you doing here? You should... Be on the other side of the world. I haven't seen you in..." He strokes your hair lightly, then he grabs your face in his big hands and squeezes it tightly to check if you are real. "One Year and Three Months Stevie" And after saying that he squeezes it a little tighter, because he probably just realizes right now how much time has actually passed. You are one of the things Steve tries not to think about, filed away in a corner of his heart where your absence can't hurt him. You wrote to each other in the beginning, even quite often, but then it just became too difficult. He moves away a little, just enough to look you in the eye, and none of you try to hide the surprise and the smiles. Somewhere deep down there are regret and the fear too.

"You are... Changed." he says, tucking a lock of hair behind your ear. You've gotten slightly taller and your cheeks have taken on color and are fuller than the last time he saw you, when the upside-down chores were slowly draining you. You seem healthier, calmer and happier, safer than you will ever be here. With him.

"You too Harrington look...Grown up. A man"

He doesn't answer and you continue. "I guess being a hero makes you grow up fast" You burst into a nervous laugh and look down at the toes of your boots.

"Sorry, it's just that... I'm nervous" He shakes his head.

"Don't be y/n, this is still your home." You observe him, the words get caught on your tongue, stumble and never come out right.

I love you. I miss you. I wished I was here.

And instead all you can say is "I know things have happened...Bad. Difficult. I.." Steve closes his eyes, trying to erase the images of StarCourt, of the Russians, of Billy. Hopper. You have lost so many things but honestly he is happy about it. When he opens them you're watching him worried, his fingers reach your cheek again, gently brushing it

"Yes but I'm glad you weren't there. I prefer to know you're safe"

You smile, softly, placing your hand on his still firm on your skin. You're about to reply that you wish you were here just to keep him safe but Dustin's voice cuts you off.

"Lovebirds, would you do us the favor of coming here?" Stepping back, he coughs lightly as a blush spreads across his cheeks. "Come on, before someone destroys my house." He leans in towards you, reaching out to close the door behind you, and for a tiny instant, you were numb by the scent of him. The moment soon vanishes as he takes you by the hand and leads you to the room where all the voices come from.

"Steve, you haven't even decorated the tree!"

Nancy says shocked. When her eyes lock on your clasped hands, she just smiles at you sweetly.

"It's not like I exactly expected to spend Christmas like this." He tries to justify himself, earning a series of insults and "You're terrible!" from the rest of the company. "As if you mind," Dustin teases. "I'm the one who minds being here actually" Mike mutters slyly.

An hour later Steve is leaning over the dining table, a glass of white wine in his hands and watches as Lucas and Will attempt to scramble over each other to position the three topper. Robin and Jonathan burst into laugh after noticing they brought the same kind of decorations. You and El are trying in every way to whiten the tips of the tree to simulate snow. Right now, while looking at his friends, Steve again perceives this feeling: pure joy. It's has nothing to do with food, gifts or Christmas lights.

It is more a warmth, something that objects can't bring people. He feels it again, this damned wonderful overwhelming happiness, when, having puffed and abandoned the hard work you've been doing, you look up at him and smile at him from across the hall.

You are here.

You're here, for real and Steve already feels the pain of having to let you go again. But you're here and he can hold you, kiss your hair, talk to you. It's the best gift ever. He still remembers so distinctly the moment he met you, you were just a little thing, so small you looked like a doll running around the garden of his house and rolling with him among the flowers that his mother cared for more than her own son and Steve hated to death. He remembers your little hand hanging a drawing of the two of you on his bedroom wall. He rembers you throwing your head back and laughing by the sea when Tommy and Carol dragged you for a weekend away from the city routine and then you hiding your tears at Barbara Holland's funeral, trying to be strong and breaking down anyway, shattered in front of an empty coffin, devoured by guilt. There is no memory of his childhood or adolescence that does not involve you, or that he cannot be traced back to you. Even after your departure in every memory you are, a distant thought. Now that you're here everything seems to be back exactly as before. And even if he doesn't even know what heaven is, Steve Harrington feels very close to it. The dinner is not as perfect as Robin planned it, but no less exciting. As she studies her best friend sitting next to you, she still can't believe she haa managed to bring you home. You laugh with Nance and Jonathan. Dustin, Will and the boys are chatting across the table. Robin feels like a little girl waiting for her presents and always leaving a plate of cookies and a glass of milk by the fireplace.

In the imperfection of her life and the difficulties that her family has to face, she has managed to do something great for Steve and this is the most precious gift in the world. If everything they've been through has brought them here, Robin is ready to face it all again. There is nothing she could want more then her dingus being in peace. You wake up abruptly, still upside down from the jet leg, in the living room, lit only by the tree surrounded by colored lights.

You must have collapsed just a few hours ago, curled up on Steve's couch - specifically next to him, surrounded by his perfume - and now you see your friends curled up in their sleeping bags scattered around the room, each too tired to even notice they're asleep on the floor. Shifting the blanket someone must have wrapped you in after you fell asleep, you decide to use it to cover Max, lying on the other side of the sofa clutching one of the large pillows to her chest, her hand left dangling down to where Lucas promptly reached out to squeeze it . With all the delicacy of which you are capable, you place your feet on the floor and try to get around the various sleeping bags scattered along the room. Luckily, you manage to make it to the kitchen without waking anyone – not that they could have woken up anyway – but noticing a light on.

Before you can even think anything, your eyes met the figure of Steve who has his back at you, wrapped in a burgundy sweatshirt and wearing a pair of shorts. You've missed seeing him so calm, so relaxed. You just missed him to tell the truth, more than you expected.

"What are you doing up?" You ask in a low voice, leaning an arm against the counter and waiting for him to turn around.When he does, he runs a hand through his messy hair and smiles at you.

"I can't sleep" he explains to you, placing a cup on the counter. You catch the movement and narrow your eyes. "By chance is that...?"

"You caught me." He raises his hands in surrender.

"Hot chocolate. Oh, God... You shouldn't have done it without me it's pur thing Steve!" You scold him, silently approaching and trying to suppress a grin. Chocolate has always been their ritual during the endless study afternoons, spent doing everything but study.

"I am sorry... "

"Now, my dear Harrington, I shall be forced to take serious measures."

You threaten. Before he can do anything, you've gotten very close and managed to grab onto his hips. You begin to tickle him when he tries to move, but you're faster and let your hands slide under the sweatshirt, on the abdomen and Steve is shaken by a series of irrepressible laughter. "I give up, I give up!" He almost screams, grabbing your wrists and finally managing to stop you.

"What do you have to say in your defense?" You lift your chin to him, closer than you've ever been all evening, and your smile fades as you notice Steve's eyes roaming over your lips tracing them with his gaze. Just do it. Please . But don't speak, in fact your breath catches in your chest. Everything is exactly like in the good old days.

Immediately he releases your wrists.

"Steve" You mumble confused by whatever is going on, this is enough to bring him back from the trance he seems to have fallen into. Steve turns and leans towards the top right locker where he keeps his cups, with his back to you. "A cup of hot chocolate on the way." He mutters, you try to suppress the sigh you feel growing in the center of her chest. "I missed you, you know?" You confess with a half smile, going to sit on the opposite counter, continuing to observe his back. It's nothing new, you know what there is between you, affection, Devotion but sometimes it's feels like it could be so much more it actually hurts.

"I would have liked to keep in touch, to contact you more often..." He starts.

" I know it. It looked wrong. ridiculous. I get it, really." you interrupt him. He still won't look at you. "I'm glad you're okay." You continue."I'm glad you're okay too. Thank God you are safe. I would die if everything ever happens to you Steve." Only now he turns around, hitting you with the intensity of his gaze "I missed you too. You don't know how much, princess" As soon as you hear that nickname, that stupid nickname he gave you years and years ago, your heart skips a beat. And you blame the memories, you blame Christmas and the distance, for what you do afterwards. While Steve walks up to you carrying the hot cup, it's easy to take it out of his hand and place it behind you. It's easy to grab hold of his fingers that you know as your own and bring him close, just as it's easy to stare at him from below without letting go. The easiest thing, however, is to close your eyes. Close your eyes and wait, as you have done since you were twelve, when you finally understood that there is no person in the world more similar to you, more suited to you than stupid Steve Harrington. And that's why, in the end, you fell in love with him hard.

The long-awaited kiss reaches you, the only light that remains is the sensation of this moment, imperfect as it has always been between you two, but nothing less than exceptional. You sense the initial awkwardness, which, of course, has nothing to do with inexperience– Steve seems born to kiss ypu and make it seem like the simplest thing in the whole universe. It's an embarrassment that says "you've been my best friend since before I even remotely looked like a girl, but now you want me and I want you and here we are" and likewise you feel it fade, giving way to an ease you haven't felt with anyone else.

The romantic side of your mind suggests it's because he knows you better than any other guy.

Steve, who has leaned over your legs stretching his neck towards your face as if a natural thing, moves his left hand towards his side, and only now you suddenly realize you want him closer, you need him. Therefore you surround his waist with your legs and cling to the collar of his sweatshirt, devouring his mouth in a need that has been ignited since he held you in his arms in front of the door. Despite the desire, however, you are this is Steve you are kissing now and you must know what the hell it means to him before doing something you could regret. In the same moment in which Steve starts to move away slightly, you do it too and finally open your eyes.

"I wish I hadn't waited a year to be able to do it." He whispers softly, letting the fingers of his right hand get lost behind your neck, in your soft hair. And it's enough for you, for him and for everything you've never said.

For now, that's enough.

"You've always been slow Harrington"you scold him, trying with all your strength not to smile at him, "Give me a good reason to stay Steve" He leans down once more to kiss you.This time, you both smile.

This time you will never leave.

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claireunoia · 2 years

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♡ㅤׄㅤִㅤ ୨୧ jonathan byers would actually be the most perfect, loving boyfriend there ever was. he’s such an amazingly caring, kind guy. there’s no other way to describe it. from the way he treats the people he loves shows exactly that, his protective gentle nature always made your soul smile, if that was even possible.

you don’t care though because it was true. jonathan was the little firefly that came into your life. he spread his wings, and instantly brightened up your world. you never thought you would ever fall in love with such a soft, nurturing human. but you were so incredibly grateful.

he’d be just the cutest and most domestic.

-ˏˋ ❀ ❀ ❀ ˊˎ-

it was one early morning at the byers trailer. after a study session going on for too long last night, you decided to stay over his and made sure to let tell your parents know. they absolutely adored your lover and trusted him so it didn’t take too much convincing to do. and joyce? oh man did she love you so. she practically treats you like her own.

you had woken up from your slumber, your fatigue body dragging itself into the kitchen and living area as best as you could. your eyes were met with the sight of your shirtless boyfriend *due to the fact he gave you his shirt for you to sleep in* at the stove, a spatula in his hand as he cooked. will was sitting at the little table coloring while joyce was pacing around looking for her purse.

the byers mother caught your sluggish figure first, a beautiful smile illuminating her face when she sees you.

“morning, sweetheart. how are you feeling?”

“good morning, ms. byers. i’m great, thank you! how about you?”the older woman scoffs lightly, grabbing her purse she finally finds on the couch. “oh love, it’s joyce! it’s some coffee left in the pot, help yourself out sweetheart” the words were a bit rushed as she grabbed everything she needed for work. making sure to peck both of her boys on their cheeks, giving you a hug before announcing her departure.

jonathan turns his head from the sizzling skillet to face you. giving you that warm smile you just love so so much.

“hey honey” he softly greets, a content hum emitting from him at the way you wrapped your arms around his waist. your face pressed against the relaxed muscles of his bare back.

“hi baby” you reply with the same sincereness, giving his body one last tight squeeze before breaking away from him. backing away to go up to ruffle will’s hair, giggling when he groans and shakes your hands off him. a smile plastering his face regardless at your antics.

“i’m making some eggs, babe. would you like some?” you immediately nod your head, coincidentally feeling your stomach vibrating with raging hunger in that moment. the older byers boy chuckles at your frantic motions, moving away from the stove momentarily to place a sweet kiss at your forehead.

“go grab a plate, i’m almost done. i’ll make you the special”suddenly will perks up, a confused expression on his face.

“what’s the special?”

“well, will. it’s called the special for a reason, buddy. it’s only reserved for y/n”

*follow my library account @rileybinaalibrary & turn on notifications to know whenever i post a fic

#jonathan byers #jonathan byers x y/n #jonathan byers x you #jonathan byers x reader #jonathan byers x fem!reader #jonathan byers fluff #stranger things jonathan #jonathan stranger things #stranger things fluff #stranger things x you #stranger things x reader #stranger things

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spicysix · 11 months

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now i don't hate California after all

“They arrived at the beginning of fall, and yet California was sunny, hot, and colorful. Jonathan saw it all gray. He hated the sun, the heat, the dryness. Hated how he was always sweating, bothered about the weather, about the place, about the people. Everyone was so nice, and cheerful, and happy. He hated it. He was miserable. Argyle was nice and cheerful and happy. He was sunny and warm and colorful. Jonathan hated him at first.”

rating: T

warnings/tags: it's a Jargyle fic, friends - there's weed. jonathan's POV, bisexual king johnny-boy byers, black cat VS golden retriever energy. he's just a lil grumpy guy :)

word count: 4k

author's note: HAPPY JARGYLE JURSDAY! and happy pride! 💛🏳️‍🌈 this is the first of a few fics i have planned to write and post this month, all with queer relationships. absolutely random note: I based Lenora Hills off of Barstow-California, based losely on the location shown on Murray's computer and the overview of the town. fic based on a song of the same name by my queen of queens, Carly Rae Jepsen. hope y'all like this, and hope i made justice by my dearly beloved stoners! 💛

↳ ao3

Jonathan hated it at first.

Of course he hated it. How could he not? It was his whole world changed from night to day. Seventeen years of his life packed in a single morning into a few boxes into a truck across the whole country. Away from the few friends he had, away from the girlfriend he loved, away from all of the only things he ever really knew.

Jonathan feared it at first.

Of course he feared it. How could he not? His mother was alone, no husband, no boyfriend, no friends. His sister was alone, no boyfriend, no friends, no father. His brother was alone. He was alone. All they had was each other. What if it wasn’t enough? What if they were alone forever, thousands of miles away, and each others’ companies didn’t suffice?

But he also understood. How could he not? It was safer. A fresh new start, away from the dangers that haunted them, the ones that found them and the ones still lurking. Far away enough, hidden enough that they wouldn’t be found again. His mom would figure it out, Joyce always did. They could adapt, they could find new friends, they could still call and send letters to the old ones. They could go back for spring break, or for summer, or the ones left behind could come visit. It could work.

Doesn’t mean Jonathan liked it. Jonathan hated it, actually.

They arrived at the beginning of fall, and yet California was sunny, hot, and colorful.

Jonathan saw it all gray.

He hated the sun, the heat, the dryness. Hated how he was always sweating, bothered about the weather, about the place, about the people. Everyone was so nice, and cheerful, and happy. He hated it. He was miserable.

Argyle was nice and cheerful and happy. He was sunny and warm and colorful.

Jonathan hated him at first.

Saw that guy, first day of school, wearing a ridiculous shirt with more colors than the human eye can capture. The baggiest shorts Jonathan had ever seen, and they had a different psychedelic print on each leg. Fucking rainbow socks with hideous square-print Vans. He attracted all the attention around and yet, somehow, people didn’t seem to care about him one bit.

He was everywhere, too. Not just at Jonathan’s Math, Science, English and History classes, but at his woodworking elective as well. He shopped at the same grocery store that sold the snacks El loved, at the same farmers’ market Joyce got the best fruits, at the same craft store with Will’s favorite items, he worked at the best pizza place in town. Jonathan couldn’t escape him if he tried.

It took them a while to share their first words. Woodwork elective, Argyle needed someone to help him with a big project he had — it didn’t work, at the end, and he cut the huge wood plank into smaller pieces and made smaller things. For some reason, he saw Jonathan with a scowl on his face, pure disdain of how colorful and cheerful Argyle was, and decided to ask for his help.

Jonathan might’ve hated the guy, but he was raised well and polite. There was no actual reason for him to hate the guy too, so he helped. And hoped to never have to talk to Argyle again after that.

Of course that didn’t go as he hoped.

Argyle, who was once just a dude in the background of every scenario Jonathan walked into, was now purposefully centering himself in front of Jonathan’s lenses (his metaphorical lenses, because his actual cameras were kept in his bedroom. He couldn’t find it in himself the desire to take pictures of Lenora, its dry hot deserts and cheerful colorful people). Argyle talked to him, constantly, sat by Jonathan’s side at every Math, Science, English and History class, chose Jonathan as his woodworking partner from then on. Was Jonathan’s shopping buddy at the grocery, called out to Jonathan at the farmers’ market, gave Jonathan tips on what to buy for Will, delivered the Byers’ pizzas personally every time they ordered.

As they reached the end of the year, the weather cooled down a little — nothing compared to what they had back home in Hawkins, of course. But it was easier for Jonathan. It rained a little too, which helped with the dryness. People went for neutral tones and colors, and the sun didn’t bother his skin as much.

Argyle was still just as colorful, warm and sunny. Jonathan hated him. No one else seemed to notice him.

Will and El still didn’t seemed to have find friends too, which didn’t help with Jonathan’s anxiety and hatred. He was worried all of the time. About himself, about his siblings. His mom was doing fine at least, it’s been a while since Jonathan had to worry about her, thankfully.

“My man, you gotta chill a little,” Argyle said one day as they were leaving their woodwork elective, somehow noticing Jonathan’s tension.

Jonathan didn’t talk a lot, Argyle did most of the talking. He didn’t seem to mind.

“Have you ever tried smoking?” he asked.

“How would nicotine help besides getting me an addiction?” Jonathan countered.

Argyle clicked his tongue, “Not regular smokes, man. Nature’s goodies,”

“The devil’s lettuce?” Jonathan asked, and Argyle cackled loudly. Jonathan had never seen him laugh so hard. It wasn’t even that funny. Jonathan smiled just a little at the sound anyway.

“That’s right, man! Have you?” Jonathan only shook his head. “You wanna try? I bet it’ll do you some good, you look so pent up all the time, man.”

Jonathan didn’t know how Argyle knew that. Not like he had seen Jonathan in any other state if not pent up to know the difference. Jonathan’s small, rare joyful moments always happened at home. When Will was excited about something at school, when El was excited about a letter from Mike, when his mom was excited about a sell. When he was excited about a letter from Nancy. Those have been scarce.

Jonathan shrugged as an answer to Argyle’s offer.

“Well, if you ever feel like it, I can set you up.” Jonathan liked that Argyle didn’t pressured him.

They parted ways at the parking lot. Argyle was always driving the Surfer Boy pizza van. Jonathan’s car was dying a slow agonizing death, and he had been fearing the day the car would stop working.

That day had arrived.

Jonathan tried to ignite the car while waiting for his siblings to show up from wherever they were. But it wasn’t working, the car wasn’t starting and Jonathan hit his head on the steering wheel a few times with all that pent up anger inside him.

“Jonathan, you’re gonna get a hole on your forehead,” Will spoke as he knocked at Jonathan’s window.

“The car won’t start,” Jonathan complained, leaving the vehicle and checking his wristwatch. “Mom might be able to come pick us in between calls, maybe. This piece of shit.” He turned around and kicked the front tire. El giggled behind Will, Jonathan didn’t think it was funny.

“Hey man, I can get you and the younglings back home. I know where you live,” Argyle showed up from somewhere, Jonathan hadn’t noticed he was still in the parking lot.

“You know that sounds creepy, right?” Will asked. “Who the hell are you?”

Jonathan almost laughed, “He’s the pizza delivery guy, and he’s also in my year. Argyle, these are Will and Jane, my younger siblings.”

“You don’t look like a surfer boy,” El commented, noticing Argyle’s Surfer Boy visor. He’d probably head to work after school.

“And I am not one, little friend. Couldn’t hold myself standing up on a board, not even for a miracle. Maybe sitting down, on a pool, not on the ocean with the waves. But then it wouldn’t be surfing, now, would it?” Argyle said, that cheerful happy huge smile of his. Jonathan huffed, El seemed amused by the answer. “Shall we?” he asked, already heading for the pizza van.

“I should get the car towed first. I’ll call from the public phone over there,” Jonathan said and did as he said.

Argyle entertained Will and El as Jonathan called and waited for the towing, and as he talked to the towing guy when he arrived. He asked for the car to be taken to his house instead of the garage, because Jonathan didn’t have the money to pay for a fix. He’d have to save up, or try and do the fixing himself.

He sat at the front with Argyle in the Surfer Boy’s van, Will and El went in the back and asked Argyle all of the possible questions to ask someone who works at a pizza place. He didn’t seem to mind answering them all. They also asked a lot about his hair, and Argyle told El he’d give her tips to grow her hair long and pretty like his. She looked radiant at the promise.

Jonathan kept it to himself all of the way back, but all of the rambling from his siblings and his colleague didn’t annoy him. They seemed to like Argyle, and that made the dude ease his way a little further into Jonathan’s own heart. That’s how it worked, isn’t it? The way into Jonathan’s heart was always going through his family first.

When Argyle stopped in front of the Byers’ house, Jonathan’s old Ford was already there, and he paid the towing people as Will and El entered the house.

“I can come pick you guys up tomorrow if you want,” Argyle offered when Jonathan went back to the passenger window to thank him for the ride.

“I don’t wanna bother,” he said.

“Nah, man, don’t worry, it’s all good. I’ll be here tomorrow then. See ya, dude,” he said and just took off.

Jonathan stayed there a little while longer, staring at the street where the van had rode by, confusion all over his face. That guy was the weirdest guy he had ever met. But he wasn’t so bad after all.

And then began their new routine. Argyle would always pick them up — most days on the brink of being late — and they would have all their classes together, and Argyle would drop them off after school. He kept easing his way in, and at some point Jonathan started easing his way out of the cave he had dug for himself, and Argyle wasn’t the one talking all of the time anymore. He didn’t seem to mind listening.

Jonathan talked about Nancy, and how she wasn’t sending letters that much anymore. Their plans to go to college together, and how Jonathan wasn’t feeling it as of lately.

Jonathan talked about his dad, and how he was an asshole.

Jonathan talked about his mom, and how she was working all the time, and how he had to be a responsible figure for his siblings.

“They’re twins, are they?” Argyle asked once.

“No, Jane’s my… well, sort of half sister. Her dad was a close family friend, and my mom adopted her when he passed, it’s… a long story.”

Jonathan didn’t talk about the Upside Down.

“They kinda look like twins, though. Wonder twins.” Argyle said, smiling. He didn’t ask. Jonathan was thankful for it.

Jonathan took Argyle’s offer for some weed one day, and after that it was… well, conservatives would call it ‘downhill from there’, but Jonathan finally felt at ease. He liked getting high, liked how his mind wandered away, how his fingers felt a little numb, how the bright colors didn’t bother him for once. How he started seeing some beauty in them.

Argyle’s clothes were still just as colorful, and he was just as warm and sunny. They smoked together, they laughed together, he talked to Jonathan and most important, he listened to him.

The worst of it all?

Jonathan didn’t hate him anymore.

Well, maybe not the worst. Maybe it was for the best.

Nancy and Jonathan broke up through the phone late November.

They didn’t call each other a lot. There were a bunch of reasons. Joyce worked on the phone, so it was busy most of the time. When it was free, either El or Will wanted to talk to Mike, and they could go on for hours. Bills could get expensive. And Nancy preferred the letters anyway. Jonathan thought the letters suited her well.

But they broke up through the phone. Maybe it was for the best. Not to taint the beauty of their past love letters.

Jonathan could hear the frown in her voice, and the tears. She could probably hear it just the same in his voice. He loved her, he did. But long distance was hard. And she wanted to go to Emerson, and Jonathan didn’t. His dream has always been NYU, and that dream might be all the way across the country very far away from him, but he could still dream about it. And Lenora Community wasn’t that bad, and Argyle would be there, and so would Joyce and Will and El. And god knows Jonathan couldn’t leave them, his family. Not even for the girl he loved. Not even for his dreams, much less for hers.

Argyle took him to an old junkyard and they smoked more weed that they ever had and they played ‘golf’, aiming the tiny balls into the old cars’ windows and whoever shattered more glass would win. Jonathan had a feeling Argyle let him win on purpose.

Argyle took him to Surfer Boy’s and baked a pie just for him and paid for it with his employee discount and sat across Jonathan on the table and told him insane stories about the kitchen staff and Jonathan had to hold his laughter or he would choke around a slice of pepperoni.

Argyle took him home in the van — Jonathan hadn’t fixed the car, because he didn’t have the money and because he didn’t have to, because Argyle picked them up and dropped them off and the kids liked him and Jonathan didn’t hate him either. As Argyle parked by the Byers’ house, he placed his hand on Jonathan’s shoulder, looked him straight in the eye and said:

“Plenty of other midwestern fish in the midwestern sea, man.”

Jonathan wasn’t so sure what to answer to that, so he just chuckled, left the van and went inside the house. Peered through the window as the Surfer Boy’s van took off, some weird dancy reggae loud coming from the stereo. He smiled to himself.

Christmas came, no colorful lights hung up on the Byers’ house.

Argyle gave him a coupon for a month’s worth of Surfer Boy’s pizza. Jonathan didn’t think they’d exchange gifts, but he ran as soon as he could to the little shop he knew Argyle got all his weed items from and brought him a new bong. Argyle loved it and they debuted it together on the back of the van, looking down on the town from the desert.

Some pine trees were decorated and the colorful lights on them weren’t as scary as they would be at Jonathan’s house. He didn’t hate them as much there. Argyle’s shoulder was pressed to his as they shared the bong, and his skin was warm and Jonathan tried not to think too much about how his lips were touching the same place as Argyle’s lips did when pulling in the smoke.

New Years Eve came, and Joyce wasn’t too mad about Jonathan not spending it with the family, not once he told her his plans. Him and Argyle traveled to Santa Barbara, to a New Years Eve Luau, of all things. Argyle had a bunch of friends there — Jonathan was his only friend back at Lenora. He wasn’t bothered by that. He could use some other friends too — Argyle was his only friend back at Lenora.

They smoked, of course, and they listened to music and Argyle even danced with a few other guys. He wasn’t too terrible. He tried to make Jonathan dance too, of course that didn’t happen, but Jonathan was content to just watch. It took him by surprise, that realization: he was content. The moon was in her full glory, it was weirdly cold for a night in California, the sound of the waves were soothing, Argyle’s dark brown hair flew around him and his dark brown eyes twinkled by the fire, and Jonathan was content to just watch him.

Some friend of Argyle lived there and he and Jonathan crashed at the dude’s living room pull-out, heater on blast and Argyle’s back pressed to Jonathan’s back helped too, because the guy was always so damn warm.

Argyle let Jonathan put on some of his cassettes on the ride back to Lenora, and Jonathan sang out loud along with The Clash and the Sex Pistols, and Argyle bobbed his head to the rhythm even though he didn’t seem to like that genre of music, and he said: “These dudes are kinda pissed at stuff, man. They suit you, and all that pent up anger of yours.”

Jonathan reassured him: he wasn’t as pent up, or as angry anymore. Argyle smiled wide at that.

School started again and even their woodworking teacher noticed Jonathan’s change of demeanor and came to tell him how happy he was that Jonathan was finally adapted to the move. The teacher kinda hated Argyle — well he was a menace in class, and his projects were always terrible ideas — and Jonathan wanted to tell the teacher he should thank Argyle for that. He kept his quiet, though, but Argyle seemed to understand the funny look Jonathan threw his way after the pep talk.

Jonathan took his camera — that same one Nancy had given to him on Christmas of ‘83 — out of its box for the first time mid January. Some biology project, and he decided to take pictures to illustrate his work about the local low desert shrubs. Lenora High also had a photography room, and it was better funded than the one in Hawkins High, and once Jonathan revealed his photos and showed them to Argyle, he looked incredibly admired, and asked Jonathan to take some pictures of his mushrooms — of course his project was about mushrooms. He payed Jonathan back in pizzas, of course. Jonathan didn’t mind.

Apparently Argyle gushed about Jonathan’s photos at work because later that month he had a gig with Surfer Boy Pizza’s marketing team. He was also booked for the opening of that roller skate rink downtown. And some early-thinking students hired him to take graduation pictures for them when the time came. Word ran through school and he joined the Yearbook staff, and oh god the school paid well. He could even fix his car if he wanted to — but he didn’t. He liked the van.

He used the money to buy more film, and he used the film to take pictures for himself like he used to. His passion was back, and suddenly he saw so much beauty in the California sun, deserts, colors. He saw beauty in the junkyard, broken, abandoned cars with windows crashed. He saw beauty downtown, the colorful storefronts and the busy colorful people passing by. He saw beauty in the suburbs, kids with their bikes reminding him of home but in a nostalgic way instead of the heartbreaking way he used to miss Hawkins when they had just arrived in Lenora.

Argyle, who was once just a dude in the background of every scenario Jonathan walked into, was now purposefully centered in front of Jonathan’s lenses — his actual camera lenses, and Jonathan was the one centering him there.

He saw beauty in the way Argyle chose his ice cream flavors by which one looked more colorful that day. He saw beauty in the way Argyle’s body would twist when he made a powerful throw with the gold club, strong enough to hit the furthest car in the junkyard. He saw beauty in the way the sun would hit Argyle’s long hair as El braided it for him when they went on a picnic for Joyce’s birthday. He saw beauty in Argyle’s wide laugh when Will said something snarky about a teacher, and he saw beauty in Argyle's soft smile when he noticed Jonathan was taking a picture of him.

“Gonna want to see that one, man,” he said and Jonathan only nodded. Argyle didn’t seem bothered to be his muse, and Jonathan somehow didn’t feel embarrassed to be caught on the act.

He did show Argyle the picture later when he reveled it. He showed all of them, and Argyle looked at them with fondness and looked at Jonathan with even more softness and something warm was happening inside Jonathan’s body that he could name if he wanted to — but he didn’t. He just let himself feel it.

Jonathan took couples' pictures on Valentine’s day, and with the money he and Argyle went to Santa Barbara again on the weekend, and Jonathan took pictures of Argyle sitting in the sand, of Argyle with only his feet dipped in the ice cold sea, of Argyle pointing at something beyond the horizon line from the pier, of Argyle lit and glowing by another luau’s fire.

They slept on the beach that time, because that other dude’s pull-out was booked already, but someone lent them a tent and theirs was just one of many, like a big beach sleepover, and Jonathan never felt hippier, and he never felt happier. He laid on his side and faced Argyle’s profile as he snored softly laying on his back, and Jonathan wanted his eyes to be a camera so he could picture Argyle’s face as he slept peacefully. And Jonathan never felt sappier, and he never felt happier.

As Jonathan woke up the next day he was the one being stared at.

“I’ve seen you taking pictures of me, man, but I have none of you,” Argyle said before even bidding good morning.

“I’m more of a behind the cameras kind of guy.”

“Well that has to change at least for once, because if you’re gonna keep a loving portrait of me in your wallet I want the same honor.” Argyle was smirking, which wasn’t common, and Jonathan laughed loudly, which wasn’t common. He felt high, and he hadn’t smoked since yesterday afternoon.

“I don’t keep a loving portrait of you in my wallet, Argyle.”

“Now I’m just offended. You gotta.” They both laughed again before settling.

The sun was high in the sky already, its light peering through the tent fabric and illuminating the inside, but it was like a refrigerator lamp because it was still too damn cold. Argyle’s body heat was comfortable, though. Jonathan was content.

“I’m not reading wrong into this, am I, man?” Argyle asked after a while.

Jonathan could lie or pretend not to understand the question if he wanted to — but he didn’t.

“You’re not,” he answered. “I’ll let you take a picture of me when I look more presentable.”

“You look pretty enough,” Argyle said, and that warm feeling inside Jonathan’s body creeped up to blush his cheeks, but he was still smiling. “You’ll let me keep it in my wallet?”

Jonathan could answer with actual words if he wanted to — but he didn’t. He just reached forward, leaned forward, and pressed his lips against Argyle’s.

He was warm, and sunny, and even his pajamas were colorful, and all that color bled into Jonathan’s life and painted his gray off. Jonathan hated it at first. Of course he hated it. How could he not? Pack all his belongings into a few boxes in just a few hours, take him out of his comfort zone, change his entire view of the world.

But as Argyle’s hand cupped Jonathan’s face, he was warm. He made Jonathan warm, from the outside and from the inside. Jonathan didn’t see it all gray anymore, no, he had an explosion of colors and he didn’t hate them.

Jonathan loved it. Of course he loved it. How could he not?

#jargyle #jargyle fanfic #jargyle fic #jargyle oneshot #jonathan byers x argyle #argyle x jonathan byers #jonathan byers #argyle #stranger things fic #stranger things fanfic #lui writes

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heartbreak-sandwich · 6 months

Note

Lex! I loved your boyfriend hcs, I'd love to hear your headcanons on the guys as fathers 👀

omg Joz yes!! This is such a cute idea, thank you 🥰 ✨ The ST boys as fathers ✨

💕STEVE HARRINGTON is a superdad. He loves friendly competition with his (many - five, to be exact) children to see who can throw something the farthest, who can get to the car the fastest, and who can finish their desert first. - Bedtime stories are crowded with all of them on the same bed, huddled around Steve as he does voices for all of the characters. - Food is always creative and messy, and Steve encourages curiosity in every way. "Don't play with your food" is not a rule to be found in the Harrington household. - The rowdy bunch attends each other sporting events, band concerts, and school plays in a pack which is forever recognizable because of course their outfits are color coordinated.

💕BILLY HARGROVE loves his little girl more than anything else in this world. He is very protective, letting her roam at a safe distance, and worries more than he lets on about her safety and emotional wellbeing, and whatever she wants, he teaches her how to earn. - His little angel is a superfan of his metal music, so of course he picks up an extra shift every other weekend to pay for her drumming lessons. Every time a friend comes to the house while she's practicing, they comment on the noise, and all Billy says is, "I know. She's gonna be a star someday," with the proudest smile on his face. - Every time something comes up while Billy is spending time with his daughter, he tells whoever he's talking to, "Hang on. I have to ask the boss," and turns to his daughter and whispers in her ear, her face becoming very serious before she gives a quiet answer back to him. - He teaches her how to fix her own things -- the car, the toilet, the legos she knocked over on accident. He never wants her to have to rely on anyone else to solve her problems, and he teaches her to be self sufficient along with his support.

💕ARGYLE is full of childlike wonder at all times, so it's no surprise that he is the fun dad. He takes his twin boys on adventures every chance they get, and he encourages their creativity every step of the way. One of his boys is an avid painter while the other is a violinist. The walls inside their home are adorned with murals always being worked on inspired by ambient strings in the background. - Argyle's kids are homeschooled because their family prefers to hit the road for the sunny months of the year, and he figures they learn more from seeing the world than they ever could stuck inside a classroom. - He makes up stories on the fly to tell his kids, and he's always forgetting the characters names, but they don't seem to mind. The stories involve silly but useful life lessons that he wished someone would've told him when he was their age instead of having to figure them out on his own. They'll thank him someday. - The fashion sense in their family is absolutely wild. Argyle wants his kids to be able to express themselves freely with their style choices just like he does, and the result is a colorful array of garments always strewn about the home, lots of them covered in paint, and sometimes on purpose to add a little flavor.

💕JONATHAN BYERS is your average, working class father, but he is adamant about making time to spend with his family. His two daughters starting high school has been the biggest challenge for him so far, but he never misses a dance recital or a soccer game, and he's always home in time to have dinner with everyone so he can hear about their days. - The Byers family is big on gifts from the heart, so for every birthday, Jonathan makes his girls their own mixtapes complete with songs they already know and love combined with songs he thinks they should hear. It warms his heart when he hears the tracks blaring from their respective bedrooms while they get ready for school each morning. - Being an equal caretaker has always been important to him, so Jonathan took it upon himself to learn to braid. When his girls were little, he used to braid their hair before bed. Now, even though they can do it themselves, they still seek him out at least once a week or so for the perfect plait. - He is the chauffeur for his girls and all of their friends regularly. He'll take them to the mall, the arcade, to school, wherever is needed, and he never complains about it. He feels like it's a gift to be able to spend that time together while they can.

💕EDDIE MUNSON is a single dad whose son is an absolute carbon copy of him. The little guy is never sitting still, his long wild curls billowing behind him as he darts around the house with his plastic sword saving the day. Eddie is pretty sure his first words were "stick it to the man," and he smiles with pride when his son says some off the wall thing because the Munsons wear their weird like a crown. - Above everything, Eddie teaches his son to be kind. Be kind to people, be kind to animals, be kind to places, and be kind to things because the world needs more of it, and it all comes back to you. He teaches him how to put spiders outside instead of kill them and to invite the kid sitting alone on the playground to play pirates with him. Always be kind. - Corroded Coffin has a new stand in drummer while Gareth is away at school. Eddie's son is still fairly young, but he has great rhythm, and playing an instrument proves to be a great way to channel his energy. There is a new house rule that says sticks are for smacking drums only, and you can probably guess why. - Eddie plans small DnD oneshots for he and his son to play through together, and he loves it. The adventures, the battles, and the roleplaying are great for the imagination, and it's their favorite bonding time. Last year's Christmas present to his son was a custom set of abalone shell dice, and he treasures nothing more.

These were so fun to do!! Thank you for getting me thinking outside of my usual box :3 ❤️‍🔥 Requests are open!

#thank u for the ask!!#ask #sando answers #joz ily 💕#stranger things headcanons #billy hargrove #steve harrington #eddie munson #jonathan byers #argyle #stranger things dads #hc list #sando lists #requests are open!#fanfic requests #writing requests #lol now I'm realizing these just got longer as they went on oops #that always seems to happen with my hc lists

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patchesnpins · 2 years

Note

Hii, I just saw your "falling asleep on them" headcanons and it was SO cute!! I was wondering if I could request the same idea with Jonathan Byers please?? It's ok if not though!

ꜰᴀʟʟɪɴɢ ᴀꜱʟᴇᴇᴘ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇᴍ (ᴘᴛ. 2)...

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: more sleepy and sweet headcanons when you need to rest your eyes and there's no pillow in sight, hopefully they won't mind (ft. Jonathan Byers & Nancy Wheeler

☾⋆*:｡ a/n: ahh thank you!! I'm just such a sucker for that cliche <33 but ofc you can request some more hcs with Jonathan, I hope you don't mind me tossing in Nancy too bc I need a bit of practice writing her

☾⋆*:｡ details: SFW//w.c: 0.7k

ᴊᴏɴᴀᴛʜᴀɴ ʙʏᴇʀꜱ

The field you both found yourselves in was calm and serene, the wind rustling the tall grass and colorful blooming flowers and providing a welcomed coolness during the hot California day. The tree above you both danced in the wind, the shadows shifting along the blanket

Jonathan chewed thoughtfully at his lip, raising his camera to his eye and peering out at the scenery through it. He hadn’t talked much, busily caught up in what he was doing as he snapped a photo of the rolling hills and passed the polaroid to you so you could look at the pretty photos

It was nice, the sun shining through branches making your skin feel fuzzy and you couldn't help but lean more into Jonathan’s sturdy side and listen to the subtle click of the camera shutter, stealing a glance at the calm look on his face as he’s entrapped in his work

You didn't even know you had fallen asleep, contently succumbing to the warmth and the soft cotton of his flannel against your cheek that felt like your favorite pillow on your skin. Your full weight is pressed against his side and Jonathan finally pulls away from his camera to check on you

The polaroid being passed to you flutters from his fingers onto the blanket when you don't reach up to take it, leaving Jonathan slightly confused till he notices your tranquil breathing and how at peace your face looked, lost in a sweet slumber that had finally caught up with you. His face is so warm and it's not the hot Cali sun, more so the fact that you found him the most comfortable thing to sleep against

He whispers a soft “hey”, just checking to make sure you were asleep and when you don't answer he just huffs out a soft laugh, jokingly wondering if he had bored you too much. He finally puts his camera down, settling against the trunk of the tree to rest his own eyes with you

He was used to having people fall asleep against him, Will having done it to him plenty of times so he had mastered the art of staying still. But there's a bit of curiosity running through his veins, reaching up to brush stray hairs from your face and admire just how cute you looked

ɴᴀɴᴄʏ ᴡʜᴇᴇʟᴇʀ

Nancy hadn't had a sleepover in what felt like years, having gone through a small stubborn phase in her life where she insisted she had become to old for them but when you so sweetly asked if you could spend the night she just couldn't say no to you

Having washed up and thrown your sleep clothes on, you both crawled underneath her fluffy comforter together and huddle up in her small bed to finally get rest, flicking on her nightstand light that bathed the room in a gentle yellow glow as you both get comfortable

Checking with you quickly, she made sure you'd be okay with her reading a bit before she slept (a habit she’d had for almost all her life). You agree, not minding the peaceful serenity of curling up beside her and enjoying the idea of you both just being together, maybe reading along with her despite not knowing the book well

She doesn't shake you off her shoulder when she flips to the last page she was on and you peer at the book, instead whispering to you the name of the book and throwing out little details if you wished to follow alongside her. Despite not intending to in the first place, as she finds he spot on the page she begins to read aloud to you

There's comfort in her hushed tone of voice, you could listen to her talk all day regardless but it almost sounded mystical as she read you a story of love and magic. You silently wonder if she’d ever read Mike to bed with how heavy your eyelids were becoming as you listen to her, her words lulling you to sleep

Nancy had noticed from the corner of her eye how your eyes fluttered closed sleepily, reading on until they finally sealed closed and you were fast asleep against her. She would have to reread that part tomorrow, a bit too distracted watching you and how precious you were as you fought off sleep

Closing the book and flicking off her light, she tried not to move too much to avoid you falling off of her. Normally she wouldn't be fond of being stuck in an uncomfortable position but she couldn't find it in her heart to move you, entirely too adorable looking for her to disrupt your sleep

#stranger things #stranger things x reader #stranger things headcanons #jonathan byers #jonathan byers x reader #nancy wheeler #nancy wheeler x reader

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lovipop2049 · 1 year

Text

My favorite Stranger Things Fics

Here are some of my favorite Stranger things fics. I love these all very much. I put appropriate TWs but please read the tags in case I missed any.

Jargyle (Jonathan x Argyle)

Nothing's Birdhouse (Full of Sticks) by BowieBond (Angst and Fluff)

Since I Met You by Empstrikesback (Angst and Fluff)

Amber is the Color of Your Energy by Evrybodysdarlin (Fluff)

Can I Stay Like This With You? by Lonely_Raindrop (Angst and Fluff)

Angel From Indiana by SnowButterfly (Angst, Fluff, and Slowburn)

God, the Kid Looks So Sad by InvisibleAce (Angst and Fluff)

Bad Trip by Scubbins (Angst and Fluff)

How Unreasonably in Love With You I Am by Kontent (Fluff)

Pumpkin by Iwannabebrilliant (Fluff)

You Are Afraid (That You're a Pizza Boy) by HalfTheSpice (INCOMPLETE, Slow Burn, Angst, Fluff, Self Harm TW)

Sorry For Staring by Astral_Bees (Fluff)

Dirty White Vans by Ghostwriter3 (Fluff)

Kisses and Confessions by Ghostwriter3 (Angst and Fluff)

Heaven Knows We'll Soon Be Dust by Jokerajax (Fluff)

The Only Bright Spot by Ghostwriter3 (Fluff, Meet-Cute)

Byers Boy, Breathe by Melophic_Sights (Platonic, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attack TW)

Let the Summer Sun Find You (Warm You) by Kanxie (Fluff)

My Favourite Pizza is You! by Kritleft (Fluff)

Low and Slow by Pinkg_Nu (Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Pre-relationship)

Coming Out (One Way Or Another) by Allstories (Fluff, Hurt/Comfort[???])

Eddie's Death, But Make It Jargyle by Fruitsteww (Death, Angst, Suicidal Thoughts TW)

Family Line by LuWe21 (INCOMPLETE, Fluff, Angst)

I'm Drowning (I Need a Helping Hand to Breach the Surface) by Sterekawesomeness (INCOMPLETE, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Fluff, Abuse TW)

Movies and Tamales by Allstories (Fluff)

Smoky Confessions by SnowButterfly (Fluff)

High Achievers by Linoleumground (INCOMPLETE, Slow burn, fluff)

Anxious Thoughts by AreYou_Serious (Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Abuse TW)

Bridging the Gap by Mywritingisokatbest (INCOMPLETE, Amnesia, Angst, Slow Burn)

Dawning by Tsurai (Pining, Angsty)

I Need Fun in My Life by ClaraCivry (Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Injury)

Kind Souls by ClaraCivry (Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Injury)

Cool and Lonely Breezy Afternoon by LesbianRobin (Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Abuse TW)

Stonathan (Steve x Jonathan)

You Like Me and I Like it All by Holographiccs (Angst and Fluff)

Your Name, Like Ice Into My Heart by Molassesveins (Hurt/Comfort, Self Harm TW)

The Real Jonathan Byers by Bigbadlittlered (Angst, Unrequited Love, Hurt/Comfort)

Hold Me Close (and My Heart Closer) by ThreeFortySixAM (Fluff)

It's Not Just a River in Egypt by Cammerel (Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Abuse TW)

B-Side by Anonymous (Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Slight sexual content at the end but nothing too bad)

I'll Light the Night With Stars by NeroAnne (Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks and Suicidal Thoughts TW)

For Always and Ever is Always For You by Molassesveins (Light Angst and Fluff)

Wish You Were Sober by Oerver (Hurt/Comfort)

We Can Stay Like This (For Now) by LavenderLow (Angst)

Oh My Angel, My Darling by LavenderLow (Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Suicide TW)

Made of Ivory (Not a Weapon, Are You?) by LavenderLow (Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Suicide Attempt TW)

I Think Your House is Haunted by MerryHolidays (Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Abuse TW)

Cute Customer! by Honckity (Fluff)

Just Us? by Honckity (Fluff)

Notes by Honckity (Fluff)

5 Letters Steve Harrington Didn't Send to Jonathan Byers (+1 He Did) by Attackonomelas (5+1 Things)

What's the Frequency, Kenneth? by Kypros (Fluff, Crushing)

There is a Light that Never Goes Out by Shark_Gay (5+1 Things, Fluff, Angst)

The Party Doesn't Start Without Him by Orphan_Account (5+1 Things, Fluff, Angst)

Eminence by The_Fangirl_264 (Angst, Unrequited Love)

Bruises That Won't Heal by Witchjeons (Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Breakup, Homophobia)

Henderhop (El x Dustin)

You're the Starry Skies Above Me by FentyBeauties (Fluff)

Working on it! by Winterxisxcomingx (Fluff, Hurt/Comfort)

Peanut Butter (In My Hair) by Anonymous (Fluff)

Gen (No Ships/Open Interpretation)

Note to Self: Don't be Trans in Indiana by FelixFelicissimae (Jonathan Byers Centric, Angst, Transphobia TW)

The More You Say the Less I Know by ThinkingofBananas (INCOMPLETE, Jonathan Byers Centric, Angst, Laced Drugs TW)

Someone Who Loves You by HeavenlyShadows (Jonathan Byers Centric, Byers-Hopper Family, Angst With Happy Ending)

Long Day (But You're With Me) by Aki_Of_Eyluvial (Platonic Steve & Jonathan, Angst With Happy Ending, Abuse TW)

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sunflowerharrington · 2 years

Text

Come on, Angel, Let’s Exchange Our Experience.

pairing - Steve Harrington X GN!Reader

author’s note - Happy belated birthday to my wife, @eddiemunsonssslut, I love you babes! I hope you enjoy this, I put my whole heart into it 💕💕💕 This is my first time I’m posting something I have written for Steve Harrington, I hope he’s in character! And so here’s a lighthearted oneshot for you! (Ignore the tags, I swear it’s fluffy)

summary - Something goes wrong in your plan to take down Vecna while in Henry Creek’s house in the Upside Down and the unfortunate price to pay is somebody’s life. Grab your tissues, it’s a doozy!

warnings - Angst, hurt/no comfort, death, a lot of crying, sobbing, yeah a lot of tears, Vecna, death by asphyxiation and toxic fumes, I think that’s it. I tried to use (Y/N) as little as possible 💕

word count - 1462

taglist - @friendly-neighborhood-ghoul @quickiesgirl @taecube @sunnymunson @eddies-bat @sympathyforher @wzrlds @will-byers-is-my-boyfriend dm, comment on this post or slide into my inbox if you would like to be added or taken off from future updates 💕

The underpinning feeling of a foundation to your wacky plan became finalized as you, Robin, Steve and Nancy set foot inside Victor Creel’s house in the Upside Down.

You could still feel your lips tingling from when Steve gave you an impulsive, chaste kiss before you landed in Eddie Munson’s living room, in his trailer, in the Upside down. Your body was still warm from the hug Steve had given you afterwards. Your eyes lock on the faint mark from your cherry colored lipstick stain on his right cheek, the sound of silence ringing in your ears.

Your heart was beating to a smooth yet close to frantic rhythm; too calm for the events to come. The adrenaline pumped through you as you stepped over the tendrils on the floorboards, careful to not touch any as you were in Vecna’s lair and he was barely fifteen feet away from you. The adrenaline of sitting in the passenger seat of a speeding car was an unmatched high… Until now.

Steve’s arm looped its way around your waist to steady himself, and you began tracing the veins of his forearm as a coping mechanism, waking every sense of his being in the process. He pressed his chest against your back and rested his chin on your shoulder, nuzzling his face into your hair, breathing in your scent as if it would be the last time.

You giggled as you felt his fingers wrapping around your neck, hastily pressing you against the wall. Only it wasn’t him. You gasped in shock as the tendrils tightened around your throat and limbs, and they did the same to Steve, Nancy and Robin, forcing you all up against the walls.

Steve squeezed his eyes shut, and braced himself as he felt the tendrils tightening around his wrists, ankles and neck. The spores in the air danced around him and his best friends as you so desperately tried to free yourselves.

You felt breath hitch in your throat in anticipation as Robin started wriggling in the grip, managing to free her right foot from its restraints. Taking a look at Nancy next, you noticed the look of determination on her face and it kept you going. And then you looked at Steve, wide eyed, your eyes glazing over.

Which was probably the stupidest idea of your life.

As the tendrils tightened around his neck, Steve began to feel his airways closing up, and he let the switchblade he was holding drop to the ground. He wrapped his fingers tightly around the vines and attempted to pull them away from his neck, nightmares of the bat’s tail also cutting off his circulation entering his mind as his brain clouded.

Did you ever notice that when you’re exhausted, your fingers don’t grip as tightly as they could? That some things slip right through them when you don’t want them to. Right now, Steve was those fingers, and the thing slipping through his fingers was his life. Inch by inch, falling to the ground as he desperately attempted to pull the vines away from his neck.

But it was too late.

“Shit, Steve?”

“I’m fine, Robin. I’m fine, I just gotta—” he choked out, Robin picking up the switchblade as she was released from the makeshift shackles around her throat and limbs, slitting the tendrils away from Steve’s bruised neck.

You watched wide-eyed as Steve’s body fell to the ground, on his hands and knees, gasping for air, and you felt her world shattering into crystalline pieces beneath you.

“I’m-“ he choked. “I’m gonna make it, Nance. Don’t worry about me. Y/N, I’m gonna—“

“Steve, we’re going to get you out of here. Please hold on a little longer,” Nancy pleaded, holding him in her arms.

“Nancy, can you do something for me?” He stuttered out, his laboured breathing raspy, reaching up to caress her cheek the best he could. “Please.”

“Anything. I’ll do anything you want, Steve.”

“Tell Y/N…”

“I’m right here, Stevie. I’m right here,” you said quietly, taking his hand in yours, salty tears trickling down your face, landing on Steve’s, your tears mixing together like the saddest, most heartbreaking cocktail on earth. “What did you want to tell me?”

“I love you, Y/N. I have always, always loved you, and- and I know you don’t feel the same way about me but that’s fine. I… I’m used to that. But I just had to tell you before I—”

“Is that why you can’t get any girls? Because you don’t want to? Because you wanted Y/N this whole time?” Robin chimed in, fishing the liquor out of her backpack. “Damn, Harrington. How long? I can’t believe you didn’t tell me! I’m a great wing-woman! You two could have been together, like, two years ago!”

“I’ve been in love with you since the first moment our eyes locked, on your first day of highschool when you sat next to me in chemistry. You made me feel so happy, more happy than anyone else can,” he sniffled, bringing your face down closer to his. “I love you, Y/N.”

“I remember that day so well, Stevie. And you made a joke about us having chemistry. I love you too, Steve Harrington,” you said back to him, smiling through your tears. “Steve? You still there, honey?”

“Still here,” he choked out. “Can you do something for me, Y/N?”

“Anything for you, Stevie.”

“Could ya take care of the kids for me? Take on the mom role in case I don’t make it? And have some fun, yeah? Don’t want you to be wasting your life away waiting for me...”

You slumped down to sit next to him, pulling him into your arms. “No-no-no-no-no, you are not doing this right now, Harrington. You’re gonna take care of ‘em yourself, with me. Who’s gonna cheer our kids up? Who’s gonna keep Henderson in check, huh? Who’s gonna tell Mike that he’s wearing too many clashing patterns, and who’s gonna give him fashion advice? Who’s gonna be the big brother Max never had?”

“Y/N, I—“ Steve began but you cut him off.

“Steve. I’m not letting Vecna take away the one thing that I love. It’s not happening.”

Your feelings and emotions began to dance around you like an ignited flame, mocking you, and you were left there, listening to the sound of the love of your life’s hoarse breathing. Alone.

Nancy and Robin had run upstairs to tackle the mission of killing Vecna, with their lighters and bottles of flammable liquor, and two pairs of sunglasses Robin robbed out of Dustin’s halloween costume box so the fire wouldn’t blind them both.

And you were left there, the person you loved dearly looking up at you with an almost lifeless look in his eyes, fading away in your arms as you kept talking to him, kept trying to keep him away. But that would be soon gone as his soul began to drag away by an angel to a place where he could feel like he belonged. Hopefully.

Steve was a lover, a fighter, a mother to seven wonderful children (and Robin and Eddie), and a hero for the town of Hawkins that put everything he had into everything he did. And now he was slowly withering away, laying to rest in peace in your arms as you sobbed uncontrollably.

“Steve? Steve, my love, can you hear me?” You asked softly, combing your fingers through his soft hair, and you wondered how the Upside Down hadn’t even matted it a tiny bit. “Stevie? Steve, wake up, handsome. Please. Steve!”

You sobbed into his cold neck, your salty tears stinging your eyes as your lover looked up lifelessly at the old wooden ceiling, and so you shifted your body to sit up next to him, delicately pushing his eyelids down to close with your shaking hands, the pads of your fingertips pressing lightly against his cold skin.

“Please, wake up.”

But even though Steve had died in your arms that night, everything felt right. Like it had all fallen into place perfectly, like this was written into the story of his life, and that this was his destiny. To die a hero. Even if he didn’t know it.

And that night, after pulling yourself back into Eddie’s empty trailer, you kept Steve in your arms, Eddie in Dustin’s, not wanting to leave their bodies behind. And maybe, just maybe, that night when you were down on your knees praying to your God/Gods, which you normally didn’t do: when you wished to swap places with him so he could continue his path in life, because you would give up anything for Steve Harrington… Your wish may just have come true.

#stranger things #steve harrington #steve harrington angst #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #stranger things x reader #stranger things angst #angst #fanfic #eddie munson #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #st4 #stranger things 4 #Spotify #my phone’s on 2% so i’m posting this now #i’m in sad girl hours can you tell?

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schrijverr · 2 years

Text

Cracking the Code

Eddie finds out that Steve knows hanky code and that he would fit perfectly with Eddie. The revelation is enough for him to finally make his move.

On AO3.

Ships: Steve x Eddie

Warnings: it's about hanky code, people, though there's nothing beyond a steamy make out here. And it's the 80s, so homophobia mention

~~~~~~~~~

After their fourth run in with the Upside Down, the group has grown even closer with the new addition of Eddie, of course.

The man in question is glad for his new friends, who have helped him so much when he was recovering from his wounds in the hospital, recuperating right alongside Max. They’ve also been there for him as the town got used to him being innocent.

Steve has been the most helpful in that department, almost aggressively befriending Eddie and dragging him around town. He is unafraid to be seen with Eddie, shooting looks to anyone who even thinks to question it and loudly regaling the heroic tale of Eddie saving Steve’s life from a serial killer, per the government cover up.

It loosens something in Eddie’s chest that he has been ignoring since his second time Senior year, which he had shared with Steve.

Not that the man makes it easy to ignore the embarrassing crush Eddie has developed on his very straight best friend. He is always there hanging out with Eddie, letting him invade his personal space and taking the joking flirts in stride, blushing at some of the nicknames.

Still, Eddie has long since resigned himself to admiring Steve from a distance. He’s not messing up this friendship, no matter how badly he wants to hold Steve. Because Steve while might not mind Robin and shrug off Eddie’s joking comments, that can all change. A boy accepting a lesbian is very different than finding out their male friend’s joking flirts weren’t so joking at all and Eddie likes his teeth where they are, thank you very much.

So, he just lets his gaze linger and makes his comments, leans in close and hopes Steve never figures it out.

But Steve is not the only good thing about the whole Upside Down business. The whole group of friends are amazing and the days on which they all collectively hang out are some of Eddie’s favorites.

Today is such a day.

They’re all hanging around the new Byers house, which is still remotely located and is near a clearing in the forest. It’s a nice day out, warm enough that Eddie has shrugged off his heavy leather jacket as he leans back and tries not to blatantly stare at Steve, who is in nothing but his jeans and a tight shirt as he pitches balls for Lucas to hit, sweat sliding down his neck in a way that makes Eddie want to loose more than the jacket.

Dustin is sitting next to him, which is the only reason he is able to tear his eyes away. Because he’s not going to gawk at the man his favorite kid considers a mother (“Brother, Eddie, brother.” “Whatever you say, man.”).

At some point, Steve decides enough is enough, calling to Lucas to drink some water as he makes his way over to Eddie and Dustin. Eddie doesn’t know whether he is happy Steve is coming or sad he lost the view.

He resolves to be happy when Steve rolls up and uses the bottom of his shirt to wipe his face, showing off a strip of skin.

Steve grabs a water for himself as well, drinking half, before splashing his face with the rest as he groans: “It’s fucking hot, man.”

“You chose to wear jeans,” Dustin points out to him.

“It was too cold for shorts this morning,” Steve defends himself. “What did you want me to wear instead?”

Dustin shrugs: “You could wear ripped jeans like Eddie’s,” and Eddie will later claim that he cannot be blamed for imagining Steve in his jeans and being distracted.

“Why would I want to dress like Eddie?” Steve frowns, though there is a light blush coloring his cheeks.

“Because it’s cool, duh. I think you can pull it off,” Dustin tells him, plucking the hanky out of Eddie’s pocket, who just gets with the program, letting out a soft: “Huh?”

Dustin ignores them, stuffing the hanky in Steve’s left pocket as he smiles: “See. You can pull it off. Told you.”

Steve tries to look at his back pocket, arcing his back slightly as he squints at the hanky. But all Eddie can think of what that means and how Dustin and Steve don’t know, but he does and it makes his throat dry.

Then Steve rolls his eye and gets the hanky out of his pocket. Dustin starts to protest, but stops when Steve puts it in the other pocket. The right pocket. The one that would be compatible with Eddie’s. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

He can’t know. Steve can’t know what he’s doing, right? Steve Harrington. King Steve. The straightest, jockiest boy in high school can’t know hanky code. He can’t. But that’s hard to convince himself off as Steve gives a satisfied smile and says: “That’s better.”

“No, Eddie always wears it in his left pocket. Always,” Dustin says and Eddie doesn’t know if he wants to hit the little shit or sink into the ground of mortification.

“Well, maybe that’s what’s best for Eddie, but not for me. Right pocket fits me best,” Steve informs Dustin easily, like Eddie’s brain isn’t exploding.

Dustin huffs: “God, you’re always so peculiar about your fashion,” before walking away.

Meanwhile, Steve’s words are playing on repeat in Eddie’s head. All before that could just be Steve unknowingly doing stuff, but that last part sounds like he knows. Like it’s on purpose. And it leaves him reeling.

Shocked he looks at Robin, his eyes screaming the question if she is seeing this shit?

In turn she just smirks and he remembers all the times she told him to come out to Steve that he was safe. How he had always shot her down, explaining how being a gay man was different than a lesbian and how they couldn't know for sure. How she had always bitten her lip like she wanted to say something, but couldn't before dropping it.

Suddenly it clicks for Eddie that she didn’t want to out Steve. Because Steve isn’t straight. Steve knows hanky code. Steve is meeting his eyes and winking.

Fuck, Eddie is going to explode.

It crashes down on him that Steve knows hanky code. Steve has been watching him parade around with that hanky that Eddie thought no one but Robin recognized. Holy shit, Steve has known what he likes in bed this whole time.

The thought of Steve thinking of Eddie in bed washes over him, but he quickly pushes it down. Not the time, he tells himself.

Steve’s cheeky smile from before when he winked has fallen and Eddie misses it. He dislikes seeing Steve worry and right now he definitely has his concerned frown on his face. Steve glances around gesturing for Eddie to follow.

He must have seen something on Eddie’s face and a hand grips Eddie’s heart. What is Steve going to say to him? Did he finally notice the crush Eddie has? Is he finally getting beat up? Unlikely if Steve knows hanky code, but his brain isn’t really running on all cylinders.

“Are you okay, man?” Steve asks, all soft concern when they were out of sight, behind the Byers house.

Eddie chuckles humorlessly, maybe a tad hysteric. He cards a hand through his hair and decides to just go for it. If he’s to die of embarrassment than today will be the day, because if he doesn’t talk about this, it is going to ruin him. Thinking about Steve with that hanky, his hanky, is going to ruin him.

“Uhm, Steve- God this will be even more humiliating if you don’t. Fuck,” Eddie takes a deep breath, glad Steve is giving him the room to figure it out. “Steve, do you know hanky code?”

“Oh!” Steve’s mouth forms a perfect ‘O’ as he catches on to what Eddie is saying. He blushes a bright scarlet and looks away before muttering: “Maybe.”

“Holy shit,” Eddie can’t help the exclamation that passes over his lips and he blurts out: “You’ve just been watching as I put a giant I’m kinky sign over my head. Fuck, that’s so embarrassing. I thought I was all subtle and shit.”

“Eddie. Eddie! Calm down,” Steve cuts him off before he can really start up and dig an even deeper hole for himself. “The only reason I even know is because I’m also, you know…”

“Kinky? Queer?” Eddie gives the two options, hoping Steve says both.

“Uhm, yeah, that,” Steve says, the blush returning now that his worries have been soothed. He looks away and softly says: “Robin keeps telling me I should make a move, but I never wanted to assume that just because you’re, you know, into that, that you’d be into me.”

Mentally Eddie apologizes to Robin, who has apparently been caught up in their pining for a while, unable to do something without outing one of them.

However, with the confirmation that it’s okay, confidence floods back into his system. A wolfish grin appears on his face, as he puts a step forwards, forcing Steve to take a step back. He brackets him against the wall leaning in close.

He hasn’t said or done anything else, but he has a front row seat to how Steve swallows, head titling slightly, almost subconsciously at Eddie’s advancement.

“So pretty,” he whispers. “Just waiting to be swept off your feet, aren’t you? Needed to be backed into a corner and told you’re liked, like one of those blushing school girls? You like this, don’t you, sweetheart?”

Steve nods, his breathing picking up.

“I’m going to need some words, pretty boy,” Eddie tells him. Not touching him just yet, both teasing Steve and waiting for consent to move further.

“Fuck, Eddie,” Steve breathes harshly. “Yes, I like it, green, or whatever. Please.”

And isn’t that an interesting tidbit of knowledge. Steve knows the traffic light system.

Eddie’s grin widens and he hotly whispers: “Oh, we’re going to have so much fun, princess,” in Steve’s ear, enjoying how he gasps as Eddie finally presses close, licking a strip over the offered neck.

Steve gasps. So responsive, Eddie thinks, a plan already forming in his head. He buries his hand in Steve’s hair, his precious hair, and pulls Steve into a kiss. It’s filthy and wet, but perfect. One of his knees slides between Steve’s legs, letting Steve grind slowly against it as he swallows the small noises he makes.

They make out for a bit more, Eddie waiting until Steve’s hands start to roam. He allows it for a second crowding in more. His hand glides to Steve’s ass, but his real target is something else, though he doesn’t deprive himself of a feel, before taking the hanky and stepping back.

As he does, Steve lets out an honest to god whine, his chest heaving, face flushed and lips slick with pit. His eyes are hazy as he asks: “Huh?”

“I believe this is mine,” Eddie grins, holding up the hanky, before stuffing it back in his own pocket. “Now, I think we’ve been gone for awhile and I wouldn't want the kids to worry.”

Steve’s brain catches on to what Eddie is implying and he lets out a soft noise, face contorting in such a pretty pout that Eddie almost changes his plans. However, he’s not doing anything with Steve if the kids can walk in on them, not to mention Hopper or Joyce. He might actually die of mortification if that happens.

“I know, sweetheart, I’m so mean,” he teases. “But you deserve more than a behind the shack fuck, pretty boy. So, why don’t you try calming that dirty little mind of yours down and if you’re still up for it, you can come by tonight. We can talk, do more if you’re good… How does that sound, princess?”

He watches Steve take a deep breath, blinking a few times as he comes down from their make out session. Reason creeps back into his eyes and he flushes more, adjusting himself and giving Eddie the stink eye as he grumbles: “I hate it when you’re right.”

“You must hate me a lot, sweetheart,” Eddie grins.

“Oh shove off,” Steve says, before making a waving gesture. “Just go. I’ll be right behind you. Last thing I need is for those little shitheads to ask questions.”

Eddie nods, suddenly a bit unsure. Steve seemed into the make out, wanted to continue and Eddie has offered his invitation, but what if Steve changes his mind? Eddie doesn’t know if he could handle the heartbreak if Steve didn’t show tonight.

Steve must have caught on, because he gives Eddie a soft reassuring smile as he promises: “I’ll see you later,” and it could have been about walking back to the gathering, but something in his tone tells Eddie that it’s not.

He smiles brightly, before straightening out his clothes and walking back, pointedly ignoring Robin’s cheeky smirk and knowing eyes. A look that only gets more knowing when Steve joins them a little later, his hair not as perfect as usual.

They don’t speak much throughout the rest of the gathering, but Steve keeps sending him heated glances and Eddie keeps sending him smirks.

Yeah, he isn’t surprised at all when Steve shows up on his doorstep that evening.

#rr writing #tw: homophobia mention #steve x eddie #steddie #steve harrington #eddie lives au #steve harrington x eddie munson #eddie munson #robin buckley #st the party #the party #st fic #stranger things fic #stranger things #hanky code

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awhoreforeddiemunson · 2 years

Text

The Element of surprise

Chaper nine

Summary: Marley seemed to become more confident in her powers, but also she meets some new people. Together they try towork things out. Marley has secrets she can't seem to share with her friends or her mother and her feeling for Eddie become stronger each day.

Mentions: Slight bullying, enhanced individual character, guilt trip, fluff, romantic cheesyness.

Tag: @readers-posts

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The next morning came fast, last night Marley was overwhelmed by all the information she got. First finding Eddie at Reefer Rick's house who happened to be a drug dealer who now was serving time in prison and she found out that Eddie had connections with him as well, he dealt his drugs and even used some. It didn't surprise Marley completely though.

Second of all, her mother told her about her heritage and what she actually is. And then to top it all off she was told about the history of Hawkins and the upside down, about a girl with superpowers, their friend Will byers being kidnapped to the upside down, the mind flayer and the traumatic event at Starcourt Mall. It made her mind go in to overload and she honestly needed sleep to comprehend all of this.

Now, more than ever did she feel the duty to practice her powers, not to mention she feels watched by something and it's not a hard guess to know who it is. She didn't tell the others of course, she felt like she needed to find a solution on her own because everyone had enough on their plates already. Sure, she could do something about this herself.

Today Marley was going with the rest of the gang to the trailer park to find some more clues about their enemy. But she needed a good shower first. She got out of bed and went to her closet to find some clothes to wear for the day. She found some high waisted jeans with a nice colorful blue and pink shoulder top that would accentuate her collarbones perfectly, because it was still a little chilly outside, she paired it with a bleach washed denim vest. For footwear she decided for something easy, her converse would do just fine.

She laid her outfit on the bed for display and was pleased by her fashion sense, it was simple but she liked it. She walked towards her bathroom and turned the faucet and waited for the water to get warm. While waiting she decided to take a quick glance at the mirror, she remembered the last time she took a look at herself in the mirror, she was staring at her distorted reflection. But now she looked like herself, her freckles on her rosy cheeks still playfully displayed and her eyes were glistening more than ever. Each day she felt herself become more confident, but she was still scared to let others know about her powers. Her mother's words kept replaying in her head, to be careful. And for now, it would be wise to listen to her mother. But she wouldn't hesitate to safe a life, especially when it came to her new friends.

The shower was already steaming hot, just the way Marley liked it. She stepped in the shower and let the water run down her body. The soothing feeling made her mind empty for the rest of the shower. After Marley was done, she got dressed and waited for Steve to pick her up.

Her mother was already at work so she was all alone. The time Steve said to pick her up was 30 minutes away so Marley decided to watch some tv to kill some time.

She turned on the tv but she was only met with static screen and sound, normally banging a few times on the tv would work, but this time it didn't. ''hmm, maybe a couple more bangs?" Marley muttered to herself. She did a few more bangs and soon the screen came on, an image of a clock popped up, it was almost at twelve o'clock. And as soon the clock striked twelve it made a sound, the same distorted sound she heard yesterday. And she knew that he was there too. Lurking around with his mutilated face. She felt his presence linger.

But when she turned around, she was met with her father's face. A frown on his face was showing. He reached his hand up to caress Marley's cheek.

Marley just stood there, her father was here, with her. She leaned her face in his hand. It had been such a long time since she saw him. It felt like a comfort to be with him.

"My magical Princess, look what you can become, such power''

There was something different about him but Marley simply ignored it, it wasn't everyday you would get the chance to see your dead loved ones.

''Dad, I know now, about everything'' Marley wanted her father to know about what her mother told her.

''But of course, you do, then you also might know that this is all your fault''

Marley had to do a double take on what she just heard; did he really just blame her? But deep-down Marley knew it was her fault, if it wasn't for the accident that day, her father and uncle would still be alive.

''You just had to lose control did you, grabbing that metal and melting it only for the construction to collapse, you killed innocents Marley, you killed your uncle and you killed me''

Marley shook her head, trying to shake away the cruel words that left her father's mouth.

''The power you harness, it is not meant for this world, it can end us all, but instead you are here practicing those powers like you can use them for good use, what a shame''

Marley's eyes were watering, this is not how her father would talk to her, he would never say such things.

Her father turned around and walked away, but as he noticed that Marley was standing still on the spot, he motioned for her to follow him. Marley hesitated for a while but decided to follow him. They went through a long hallway with boarded up windows, at the end of the hallway was a door, the door looked like her old bedroom door but this one was decaying. Her father opened the door and stepped inside the room. It was her old bedroom, in the middle of her room was her uncle, floating in mid-air and shadows were swirling around them.

''Look at this, your poor uncle doomed to dwell in his own shadows, and for what, because you couldn't keep your hands still''

His face was cruel and an evil smile was displayed on his face. He seemed to enjoy the guilt trip he was giving Marley.

''You can still make a choice, use your powers for what they were meant to do, they were meant to create chaos, the only thing you need to do is join me.''

There it was again, the bargain, her father's face morphed in to something else. It was him, Vecna.

''I would never join you'' Marley tried to be confident in front of him. But he seemed to see through all her layers and he was slowly peeling those away.

''You'll see in time''

Marley snapped back to reality; she was standing in her living room with her tv still on static. A loud horn was heard from the background, it was Steve waiting for her.

''Shit!'' she got to the front door and locked up, in the hurry she almost fell down the steps of her porch but she quickly regained herself.

''What took you so long?'' Steve asked, followed with a frustrated sigh. He stepped his foot on the gas and drove off. His driving style was different than Eddie's. He was less reckless.

''We have to pick up Robin first and then we need to go do some supply run because the metal dude is hungry''

And they did as Steve told her.

---------------------------------------------------

Eddie was chewing on some honey combs and downing some chocolate milk as the rest of the group were talking about trying to figure this whole situation out. His face turned to Marley and Marley couldn't help but giggle a little at his face, his cheeks were full and crumbles were around his lips.

''What, something on my face?'' he questioned her in a comedic way. She wiped away the crumbs that were on his lips. Even in times like this he knew how to make her smile and he was the one hunted down.

''So, we know what we should do, let's go then'' Robin said.

''Do you guys mind me staying here with Eddie?'' Marley just wanted to spend time with him, and she was pretty sure Eddie didn't want to stay here alone any longer, so some company would be nice.

Eddie gave a hopeful look towards the group with big puppy eyes.

''yeah fine, you can keep him out of trouble'' and with that the group left to go to the trailer park.

''So, what do we do now? Eddie asked.

''I don't know'' Marley giggled

''Let's go inside the house, it's probably less cold there, we could probably think of something to do, would you follow me my lady?'' Eddie held out his arm for her to take.

''Always the gentleman I see'' she said as she took his arm. They walked towards the house together, Eddie's pace being a bit faster because he had longer legs than the girl. Eddie noticed and slowed down his pace a little.

They got inside the house, it looked a little cleaner than before, the trash that was laying around the house was now dumped in a corner.

''I uhm cleaned a little, especially the trash from the floor, I saw you stumble on it yesterday and to be honest with you, this morning when I woke up I myself stumbled on a piece of thrash and landed face first in a dirty sock, but you didn't hear that from me okay?''

Marley visualized Eddie at that moment, it must have looked hilarious, she tried to hold her laughter out of respect for Eddie, but seeing his face, now all she could see was a dirty sock clinging to it, a small burst of laughter erupted from her and soon Eddie joined the fun.

''You think that's funny huh? Let's see if I can make you laugh louder''. Marley didn't know what he was implying but in one swift movement Eddie's fingers reached her waist and started tickling her.

Luckily Marley had all the freedom around her and ran away from Eddie, God bless him for cleaning up the floor because now she could move freely around the house without tripping on something.

''Don't run away from me Mars, you know you deserve the tickles'' he chuckled.

"Mars?'' Another nickname Eddie just gave her, she didn't hear this one in her lifetime, but she liked it. It came from him so of course she liked it.

''Yeah, I thought it's a nice nickname for you, it suits you, plus I like planets'' Eddie saw that Marley was a bit taken aback so he took the chance to launch himself at her and lift her up, she squealed as Eddie threw her over his shoulder. The two were having a little fun moment they much needed.

''I told you, you deserve the tickles, now tell Eddie the Banished you're sorry for laughing at him or be tickled''

Marley laughed ''Never!!!'' she yelled.

''Then so be it, the tickles she will get!!'' Eddie laid her down on the couch and straddled her so she couldn't move away anymore, and he mercilessly started tickling her.

Marley's eyes were watering from all the laughter, her breathing became harder as Eddie kept on tickling her, she knew she needed to surrender or if she didn't, she could faint from all the intense tickling.

''Okay okay, I surrender, Oh Eddie the Banished I hereby apologize for laughing at you'' Eddie stopped tickling, a proud look was showing in his face. "That's what I thought.''

Eddie stood up, still laughing a little, he moved towards a sofa in the corner of the room and sat down on it.

"I heard you nearly stabbed Steve in the neck with a bottle.''

The comment made Eddie look towards her, he wasn't proud of that moment, but can you blame him, everyone was out looking for him, to see him behind bars and to see justice done for Chrissy, if only he could tell the people that he didn't do it, but they would never believe the freak.

His face faltered, thinking back to that unfortunate night, seeing Chrissy's body float up to the ceiling and seeing her bones break was something he did not want to see. It frustrated him that no matter how many times he screamed for her to wake up it never helped.

His uncle must be worried sick about him, he felt bad for leaving him, but he had no choice. He just hoped uncle Wayne wasn't questioned in a brutal way by the police, the man had enough on his plate already by working the nightshift to keep a roof above their heads. His uncle had sacrificed so much already for him. The biggest sacrifice was his free life, because suddenly he had become a legal guardian for Eddie after his father was sent to jail. But his uncle loved him none the less.

''Eddie, are you okay?'' Marley looked at him, unsure of what to say next.

Eddie's mind filled with answers but he didn't know which answer to give, so it took him a little longer to respond. He looked at her face, worry was written all over it, she looked so pure, like a dream in the middle of this nightmare he came to be in.

''I don't know, it is all happening so fast, my mind is like a whirlwind and at night I keep having the same images of Chrissy inside my brain keep me awake. It's haunting me. I don't know what will happen to me and it honestly makes me scared for my future.''

Eddie rubbed his hands on face in frustration.

''We'll figure it out, just know that I will be there all the way, you can count on me''

It warmed Eddie's heart to hear her say those things, but what could she possibly do for him other than moral support. He smiled weakly to her. The mood was quickly dimmed by their thoughts and now they were sitting in silence, both not knowing what to say next.

In the distance they heard police sirens coming closer, this made them both alert and jump into action. Eddie moved away from the sofa and hid under the windows while Marley took her place on the floor behind the couch. Luckily for them the police cars passed by them and soon they were met with silence again.

'' You should probably head back to the group, it would be better if you tried to keep your distance a little, I don't want the police thinking you are my accomplice'' These words made Marley's heart feel an ache in her chest, and her eyes said it all, she was easy to read when it came to emotions. Eddie hated how she reacted, hurt was visible on her face and he knew it was because of what he had said. He just didn't want to take her down with him. She deserved so much more than all this crap.

'' But what about you?'' Marley questioned; her eyes still displayed displeasure.

''I'll be fine for now'' But Marley still wasn't convinced by his answer. Eddie sighed '' Look, if there's something wrong, I will let you know with the Walkie, I promise''

Marley seemed to relax a little with this promise. She then stood up from the floor and walked towards the door. ''I am not leaving you alone to fight this battle Eds, we can take this'' and with that she left.

Eddie sighed; he was alone again, alone with his thoughts. He tried to keep his mind off the horrible stuff and thought back to their little moment together they had a few moments ago. He knew he needed to tell her how much he liked her. He wanted nothing more than to go ask her out on a date, to take her to the hide-out to let her see his band, but destiny had other plans for their relationship.

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Marley was walking home, she needed to let her mom know she would be hanging out with Steve and Robin before she would get worried where she would be. Marley knew her mother was already home because she usually came home after 3 PM. She was mindlessly walking, only ten more minutes and she would be home. She was snapped out of her mindless trance when a voice called her name.

''MARLEY!!'' It was Jason, ooh great, just the person she needed to see, she totally forgot about his existence until now, he was stomping towards her with his fists balled tightly.

'' You are friends with that freak, so you must know where that psycho killer is hiding, so spill!'' His face was red with fury as he clenched his jawline.

''Jason, please leave me alone'' This was the first time she stood up for herself towards him, but it still wasn't done in a confident way, Jason was difficult to read, especially when it came to his actions. She didn't know what he was capable off.

''Not until you tell me where that freak has run off to.''

Marley tried to walk away but Jason blocked her way.

'' I think it would be wise for you to open your mouth, or else I'll make you talk, where is Eddie?''

Marley tried to keep her stance as poised as possible, she was done with being the shy insecure girl, but she was especially done with people like Jason telling her what to do.

''I don't know where Eddie is, now let me through'' Jason was surprised by how she stood up for herself, but he didn't let his surprised manner show.

''You really don't want to make me do this'' he gritted his teeth, a warning look shot in his eyes as the threat left his mouth. But Marley stood her ground and Jason seemed very displeased by her behavior.

''It would be wise for you to let me through'' Marley threatened back, and maybe her threat wasn't an empty promise, because this time she was consciously heating up her palms already, but not too much to reveal her powers, but good enough for a punch probably. But only if Jason engaged the fight first.

''Look at you, is this supposed to make me scared, you acting all tough, I'll tell you what it is, it's pathetic, but fine, have it your way. But don't blame me when I tell the police you probably have been working along side the freak himself in these schemes.'' And with those words he walked away.

As soon as Jason was out of sight, Marley's shoulders slumped back from the former tension, keeping Eddie hidden might become more difficult than she thought.

After the last ten minutes of walking, Marley finally came home. She saw her mom's car in the driveway signaling her mom is home. She walked inside the house to find her mother making some sandwiches.

"Hey sweetie, you want a sandwich too? I forgot my lunch today at work so guess I am making up for that lost meal.'' Her mother cut the sandwiches in half and put them on a plate, there were two plates so she gave one plate to Marley.

Marley ate the sandwich, how is it that mothers can always make the best sandwiches?

Her mother finished up before Marley and walked towards the sink to wash up her plate, but something was occupying her mind, and her daughter was involved in it.

"Sweetie, word around town is that Eddie Munson killed a girl from your school, he's been missing for more than 24 hours, you don't seem to know more, do you?''

The fact that gossip was already spreading faster than the police making statements was worrisome for Marley. Soon everyone would be out there looking for Eddie, especially because the victim was Chrissy Cunningham, the queen of Hawkins high.

Marley didn't know how to respond and she really didn't want to lie to her own mother, so she decided to stay quiet.

''Remember what I told you yesterday, you can tell me anything'' her mother reassured her.

But Marley didn't want to bring her mother into all this mess, the less people knew the better, but her mother knew her own daughter better than anyone, so she kept pressing on.

''Eddie is in hiding'' Marley muttered quietly, it was soft and barely audible but her mother heard her.

'' Oh sweetie, have you been seeing him?''

Marley nodded, she was ashamed that she had to keep this a secret, but who was she kidding. She could never lie to her mother or keep away certain details.

''How is he?'' Marley's face shot up for that question, so her mother also thought he was innocent? Her mother waited for her answer patiently.

"He's fine, but he's scared and confused, he didn't kill Chrissy mom, the day I found him he was completely broken down, you should have seen him, I don't know what to do''

Marley threw her hands up in frustration and her mother looked at her daughter. She had a proud look on her face, to which Marley became a bit confused. "Why are you smiling like that?''

Her mother walked towards her and grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze, "You are becoming such a powerful young lady, I can see that. You don't know what you should do, but you'll figure it out, be careful out there and keep him safe, I fully believe that, that boy isn't capable of murder, just know, that when you need something from me, just ask''

Her mother gave her a wink and walked away, what just happened?

But then she remembered she needed to let her mother know that she would be hanging out with the group today. So, she ran to the living room, her mother was just about to open a book to read. "I'll be hanging with Steve and Robin today''

''Okay sweetie, be careful and you know what I told you'' with that her mother put on her reading glasses and started reading. Marley walked towards her room to pack a few things in her backpack, a flashlight, a switchblade and a book that was tattered around the edges, the book belonged to her father. It had weird fairytales written in it and when Marley was a little kid, he would read her these stories. But now she realized the stories in the tattered book were only stories from his home planet.

She went downstairs again and grabbed an apple from the counter for if she got hungry, she didn't know when she would be returning to home, so a little food for the road would be good idea, and maybe even a bottle of water would not be so bad either.

''alright mom, I'm heading off, bye love you!'' she screamed.

What she thought was the strangest thing about her mother's behavior is that she just let Marley go, even when her mother knew that whatever she had to go through could be dangerous. It was almost like her mother was planning something for her, or she saw something in her that needed to come out.

She walked her way to the Wheelers who lived across the street, she was told to meet up with the group there, she has never talked to Nancy before so it made her nervous. She knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer the door. The door was opened by a grumpy middle-aged man. ''oh great, more company.'' Could this man be any more enthusiastic?

''Ted, let the girl through, hello dear, if you are looking for Nancy, she is upstairs with Robin in her room, but the rest is in the basement, Robin told me I should send you downstairs with the rest, here why don't you take this tray of lemonade down with you''. Marley did as Mrs. Wheeler told her to, the woman was kind and liked the idea of having many people over, especially when they were Nancy's or Mike's friends. It made the woman happy to know that her kids were liked.

Marley walked down the basement stairs, everyone was still brainstorming and had a serious look on their faces.

''ahh Marley, how great of you to join us, we have some news and a plan'' Dustin said.

Marley sat down, signaling Dustin to begin explaining.

''This morning we got the news that another victim has fallen in Vecna's grasp, his name was Fred Benson, he was found in the middle of the road near the trailer park, he worked on the school paper together with Nancy. Good news is, we now have a lead, it might be a small lead but Max told us Chrissy and Fred shared something similar in behavior and they shared their time at the guidance counselour. So, we are going to the guidance counselor's house for answers, maybe she knows more. Nancy and Robin have been to the local library and found some interesting stuff that happened a couple of years ago, it's connected to a man named Victor Creel who now resides at the Pennhurst Mental hospital, Nancy and Robin will go there this afternoon while we go to Ms. Kelly for answers''

Dustin kept on rambling about the whole ordeal, he was way too quick with moving on after he just said that there was another victim, another person lost from this world.

Marley thought back to a few weeks ago, when she thought that moving to a different town would be a solution to a calm life, but this town seemed even more fucked up than where she lived before.

-----------------------------‐------------------------------

After Marley had a small and quick introduction to Nancy, they split up again, she could see Steve in the corner of her eye staring at Nancy, he sure still had feelings for Nancy, and it was quite obvious.

Marley got in the car together with Steve, Max and Dustin and drove off to Ms. Kelly's house, thinking it might be a surprise to see her student in Spring break at her door. But they needed to do this.

They arrived at her house and Max stepped out of the car, the rest of the bunch had to wait in the car while Max did some digging. Marley's mind went somewhere else while the two boys were arguing. But Marley paid them no mind. Instead, she was thinking back to her visions of Vecna, why did he keep trying to persuade her to join him. Did he really want to use her for her powers? Or was this something else. The bigger struggle was, why didn't Marley tell her friends? They could help her, but she chose to keep it a secret for an unknown reason.

''Hey dude, not cool, not cool!'' Dustin interrupted her thoughts. Hearing by Dustin's words the argument got a little to heated, Steve apologized immediately. In the distance Marley saw Max hastily walking back towards the car.

Max had stolen a key of a file cabinet at school, so they needed to go to school to do some further research. But Marley had other plans, truthfully, she just wanted to go to Eddie. She had been there this morning but she couldn't help but think about him being all alone in that house. Plus, it would be nice if someone kept him updated about the situation. Even if Eddie told her to keep her distance, maybe she didn't want to listen to the metal head.

''Steve, do you mind if you drop me off at Reefer Rick's house?'' Steve nodded and drove away.

---------------------------------------------------

''Thank you'' Marley wanted to close the car-door but Dustin stopped her.

''Wait, don't forget to communicate with the walkie , this way we can contact each other and keep each other updated on any new things'' Marley nodded at Dustin's statement.

''Just so you know, code red means something's wrong, only use it when things are serious''

Marley walked away from the car and towards the house, but Eddie wasn't inside, so the second option was the boathouse. Marley walked inside the boathouse, leaves that blew inside at some point were crunching underneath her as she stepped on them. The boathouse was empty, no Eddie to be seen. She walked further inside; she could have sworn she heard something move.

Not even a second later she was pinned against the wall and a broken beer bottle was held near her neck, this action startled her so much that it activated her powers. A pile of old newspapers erupted in flames. She was met with eyes that had so much fury in them, but they were Eddie's eyes. As soon as the flames became higher, Eddie came back to his senses and looked Marley in the eyes and then to the flames that were now dancing higher. Eddie's eyes almost popped out of its sockets when he saw the fire. He ran towards the pile of newspapers and stepped on it with his feet, hoping to put the fire out. As Eddie was busy and his attention was to the flames, Marley held out her hands to control the fire, to make it stop burning. She made sure Eddie didn't see her use her powers, she wasn't ready to tell him yet.

Finally, when the flames stopped Eddie turned around to Marley with an angry look, it made Marley all the more anxious for what was about to come. In the time they knew each other, Eddie had not been angry with her. ''What are you doing here? I could have killed you Marley!" he walked over to her and grabbed her face, and started inspecting her neck, hoping he didn't hurt her. Marley was taken back by this and suppressed a squeal. When Eddie saw no visible injuries on her he relaxed a little. He stared at the now burned newspapers, questioning how they could suddenly erupt in flames. Sure, for the past few days weird things have been happening but something happening like that was another mystery to add to the list. He squinted his eyes to Marley, she was quiet, but he could see her eyes becoming glassy already.

''Fuck, I am so sorry Marley, I didn't mean to snap at you like that, it's just I have been very on edge''

Marley sniffled a little, Eddie hated seeing her cry, and now it was because of him, he scolded himself for doing something so stupid. His hands reached for her hands and caressed them to calm her down a little. ''Hey, I'm sorry okay, come here'' and with that he gave her a heartfelt hug, they stood there in each other's silence for a moment, enjoying each other's presence and touch.

He released the hug and looked Marley in the eyes ''all better?'' he asked. Eddie made a mental note not to question the incident about the burning newspapers, maybe that was a topic for next time.

''I know you said to keep my distance, but I don't want to Eddie, I just can't do it'' For some reason this made Eddie's heart leap in his chest, he kept saying he was the most cynical person out there but when it came to Marley, he could swear all of those thoughts vanished. He wanted nothing more than to just kiss her now. She was so beautiful, his muse. It was an understatement that he felt the need to write a song about her. It was cheesy yes, but Eddie didn't care.

Their faces were very close and both teenagers didn't know were to stare other than each other's eyes, both their hearts were thumping violently in their chests as their desires grew bigger each second. Eddie seemed to lean in, his eyes were now on her lips. Was he willing to do this? Or the bigger question was, is Marley okay with this?

''Can I kiss you?'' He asked her in a soft voice, he wanted her consent, but he was scared of her answer, because what if she said no, that would mean she didn't have romantic feelings for him, it would break his heart for sure. But luckily Marley's heart was filled with as much desire for Eddie than he had for her.

She gave Eddie a small nod, and with that their lips touched. Eddie's had reached for her cheek to deepen the kiss.

This was Marley's first kiss, so she was a little nervous, she didn't know what to do but luckily Eddie guided her perfectly and patiently.

''Open your mouth'' he said in a breathy manner. And Marley did as he told her. She opened her mouth and Eddie went back to kissing her, this time his tongue came in to play. Marley still had no idea how to do all of this and Eddie noticed her inexperience. He released for a second. "Move your tongue with me.'' Marley felt grateful that he was there helping her. But it was safe to say that his kiss was nice, tender, deep and passionate. He was careful with her.

As soon as Marley started to understand the art of kissing, she moved her arms and tangled her fingers in his hair. A low groan left Eddie's mouth as her dainty fingers were playing with his curls. This girl was going to be the death of him.

The kiss got more heated and the room felt hot, Eddie wanted more but he knew the girl wasn't ready yet, so he pulled away. His heart was still beating fast. Marley's lips were swollen and her chest was heaving heavily. She just had her first kiss; it made her smile like a complete idiot.

'' You have no idea for how long I wanted to do that'' Eddie told her as he smiled back at her. He walked towards the boat and motioned for Marley to sit next to him.

''I might not be prince Charming but once this shit is all over, I would love to take you out, you know on a proper date'' Marley giggled and said ''Who said I need prince Charming, when I can have a guitar playing metalhead'' And with that they stared across the water with Eddie's arm around her shoulder and her head on his shoulder.

Everything was going to shit, but at least they were together.

#eddie munson #stranger things #joseph quinn #nancy wheeler #robin buckley #steve harrington #eleven #eddie munson imagine #dustin henderson #vecna/henry/one #max mayfield

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josiebelladonna · 1 year

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"absolutely atrocious."

"that thing is an eyesore."

😷 (which apparently is emoji-slang for "gross")

also, "gross." (like 5 times, no less) plus, "disgusting" and "appalling" and "ghastly".

"dial back the sexuality, will you?"

these are all comments i got in the last couple of days alone on one of my drawings, either on the thing or through my dms (mostly through dm’s).

what on earth was it? you ask. was it a picture of a dead animal being desecrated? was it a picture of children being mutilated? was it a picture of ebenezer byers just prior to his day of death, or hasashi ouchi right after his first skin graft (don't you dare google that, just so you sleep tonight)?

no, actually.

it was this:

this. this drawing right here. with its bright colors and nods to four different kinds of folklore (native american, irish, jewish, and mexican), overall vibe akin to japanese block art and even art from like west africa, centered around 7 people whom i absolutely love with all my heart (alex, chris, eric, xana, joey, krista, and mark lanegan), based in a city i love, seattle.

look, i don't care how people react to my art anymore: if i offended you, you probably needed it and if anything, i consider it job well done on my part.

but... did i miss something here? like what's gross about this?

about monarch butterflies from iroquois folklore, or the marigolds found in day of the dead celebrations, or hummingbirds in central american folklore, or the tree of life and six-petaled flowers in kabbalah?

about candles found in jewish lore (think: the maccabees for hanukkah) or candles found in honoring the dead (how many times have you seen someone light a candle for someone who's died?), or the celtic knots, a couple of which are coming undone in the vein of salvador dali's paintings, or stepping stones and warm, tropical colors found in african art?

about a meeting of life and death, of showing my love and basing it off something that alex did (took a detour down from canada into seattle to see ringo while on tour and i asked him if he visited chris while he was up there)?

what's gross about this?

and the "dial back the sexuality" thing is absolutely sending me, and the person who sent it wouldn't clarify what they meant by it, either. like... there's nothing sexual about this. it's just alex looking on at chris wistfully and eric, xana, mark, joey, and krista milling about like passersby. i guess there is a slight overtone to it maybe, but you really have to look at it to even think about it a little bit. unless you're armie hammer, there's nothing erotic about this. *alex voice* i don't wanna fuck a bronze statue.

#when i said get creative with the trolling i didn’t mean this #oh my god 😂😂😂#text

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k1ngdingus · 2 years

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* @7rolled prompted: ❝ i thought that i’d be satisfied. instead, i’m left with this strange feeling of emptiness. ❞ - from max

make a deal with god & get him to swap our places ( he would, if it meant keeping her out of harm's way ) . . . the lyrics muffled in the background & there’s an appreciation to them, never had been much of a kate bush fan until now. pulled herself free from whatever hell vecna was causing but that didn’t mean they had won . . . instead just delayed what was coming. her letter remains folded in his back pocket ( won't admit to the fear of the words hidden in that envelope or the moment a fail safe would have been activated ). everyone else is asleep . . . it doesn’t surprise him that henderson was on watch duty & yet his snores were the loudest ( was gonna kill that kid one of these days ). digits rub at his sore neck, body cramped from it’s awkward position . . . if anyone asked, he wasn’t hovering over her, was just stretching. max is tougher than the rest . . . more guarded & isolated, even more so after billy & he can see it, the weight on her shoulders, the weariness no kid her age should be carrying around.

silently comes up behind her, a stolen cup of coffee warming his hands ( ignoring the side eye ted wheeler had delivered when emerging from the basement; some things never changed ). eyes squint while he attempts to make out colored drawings . . . never took her for much of an artist, that had always been a byers’ niche ( whatever floats her boat ). lips part to ask how she is, even knowing that it’ll earn him a classic mayfield eye roll most likely matched with a substantial groan. but her confession has his mouth snapped shut, hues of tawny softening with concern. a free hand comes up to squeeze her shoulder before he sits down at her side, no one’s ever accused him of maintaining much depth in life but this moment isn’t one to be fixed with cheap humor & a brush off ❛ we don’t have it all figured out yet . . . but we’re getting close, alright ? ❜ all night had been spent following the threads that hopefully bring them one step closer to defeating vecna & freeing her from this curse. ❛ we’re gonna get you out of this. ❜

#* ━━━ ˹ bada bing bada boom . . . there she is. ˼ » 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞. * ˹ default. ˼#7rolled #listen im adding him to this slightly canon moment bc he wouldve been there #i said what i said #anyways im crying & i hate life

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starboygrove · 2 years

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Surviving Eddie Munson - Chapter 18

A bonfire is roaring with life, crackling delightfully where it rests in the middle of the yard between the Munson and Mayfield trailers. The sun is just starting to set; a gorgeous warm toned sky littered with fluffy clouds hangs overhead.

Max, El, and Will are chasing each other with sparklers while Dustin, Lucas, and Mike are lighting firecrackers and fountains in the street. The entire trailer park as a whole is lit up with a cacophony of fireworks and colorful conversations. Steve, Eddie, Robin, and Nancy are sat around the bonfire on a mismatched set of chairs, taking in the scene before them.

Everyone is content at the moment. It’s Independence Day tomorrow, and the anniversary is bringing back some painful memories, so the young adults banded together to ensure that everyone feels as safe and as happy as they can be. There was a water balloon fight earlier in the Hopper-Byers’ backyard, and they just got done having the most amazing cookout any of them have ever experienced in their lives. They have even more planned for the next few days, trying their best to create more happy memories for the holiday than sad ones.

To everyone’s surprise, Uncle Wayne requested the weekend off, including today. He’s over on the Mayfield’s front steps talking with Max’s mom Susan, an interesting sight to behold. Steve watches them interact for a while and contemplates the nature of their relationship, wondering if he’s overlooked any other signs of the budding romance unfolding before his eyes.

Joyce and Hopper are lingering around, surveying the usage of pyrotechnics mostly, but also allowing themselves to enjoy the night it seems. They each have a beer in hand and are currently laughing about something so apparently funny that Joyce is doubled over, causing her to spill her drink. Steve and Eddie both chuckle at the same time when she realizes the bottle is empty, making her laugh even harder.

The past couple of days have been tough on Steve, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel for him. Hopper mentioned earlier today that he’s making good progress on his case, and that they should be able to get his charges dropped and pursue charging his parents and Eddie’s abuser. Hopper didn’t explicitly say exactly how he’s going to pull this off, but Steve and Eddie trust him completely.

On the flip side, the past couple of days have also been wonderful. Eddie and Steve made things official during their talk in the woods, wasting no time to share the news with their friends. Although he wanted to be mad, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pride when Dustin wordlessly pulled out a five dollar bill from his pocket and slapped it into Lucas’ hand when they took the boys out for dinner. Mike and Will were both suspiciously quiet at the news, and Steve is just counting down the days until they finally do something about the unresolved tension between the two. He thinks his talk with Mike after dinner last night was productive, but only time will tell.

El and Max’s reactions were far less exciting, arrogantly stating that they knew it was going to happen before bounding off down the road like they had told them the most boring news they had ever heard. Steve loved hearing Eddie’s recount of his conversation with Nancy; they’ve begun to grow quite close, developing a friendship that is reminiscent of his own with Robin. Speaking of the which, when Steve told Robin at work yesterday, she had the most spectacular mini meltdown and demanded every painstaking detail possible.

Steve is so lost in his thoughts that he doesn’t notice at first, but good lord when he does, he is so stricken with fear that his body responds in a way that he didn’t think was physically possible. With an intense, sudden surge of anxiety induced nausea, he dashes inside the trailer and makes it to the bathroom just in time to vomit into the toilet. Every single nerve ending in his body is on fire, a cold sweat already forming over his skin, and he starts to shake uncontrollably.

Right outside the trailer is a rush of voices, their tones ranging from shock to fury. He barely notices the front door opening and a figure approaching, but soon a pair of warm hands are on his back and rubbing soothing circles to help him relax.

“Eddie?” he whispers, receiving a sweet kiss to the crown of his head in confirmation. His body is still engaged in flight or fight mode, so he lies like this for a bit, with his head resting on his arms propped up on the rim of the toilet seat. It’s not long before his boyfriend’s ministrations do the trick and he is able to stand up, albeit shakily.

“That has never happened before, literally what the fuck.” He groans, blowing his nose roughly. Steve cleans himself up, swishing a mouthful of Listerine and spitting it out aggressively into the sink.

The expression on Eddie’s face is nearly unbearable, conveying the gravity of the situation. He knows he should probably go outside, likely being the only one who can resolve the issue at hand, but he really doesn’t want to.

“Will you stay inside, please? I just…I don’t trust him not to do anything rash,” he admits, running a sweaty hand through his hair.

“Are you crazy? That’s exactly why you shouldn’t go out there. I don’t even know why he’s here.” Eddie huffs, protectively pulling Steve into his arms.

“He’s here because of me, obviously.” He mutters into Eddie’s shirt. It’s the Metallica one that he borrowed on his very first night here, which in a way is oddly fitting for their current predicament.

Steve leans to give Eddie a quick peck on the cheek before he leaves, but the other man turns his head at the last moment for a full on kiss.

“Bro, nasty!” Steve just laughs, giving Eddie a playful shove on the shoulder.

“What can I say, I’m something of a freak,” he retorts, wiggling his eyebrows to coax another laugh out of his boyfriend. It’s short lived however, and their faces fall, parting from one another so Steve can go outside and face his father.

The scene he steps into is akin to a renaissance painting. In the light of the roaring bonfire and waning sun, everyone is standing in various poses of opposition to his father, who is attempting to gain access to the Munson trailer. Joyce, Susan, and the younger teens are gathered near the Mayfield trailer, all looking ready to fight at a moments notice. Robin and Nancy are standing side by side, the latter holding an empty beer bottle as a potential defense weapon.

Hopper and Uncle Wayne, however, are right up in his father’s personal space. They are forming somewhat of a human shield to deter him from coming any closer.

“You have got some nerve showing your face around here!” Hopper bellows, pointing an aggressive finger in his father’s face. It’s a satisfying sight, despite the context.

Steve approaches, making his way to the halfway point between the trailer and his father, standing parallel to Nancy and Robin. His father catches sight of him and a most foul expression slides onto his face.

“What the hell do you want?” He asks, trying to keep his voice steady. Even with the amount of distance between them, he’s still nervous about his father’s capabilities.

“Why aren’t you in jail!?” His father demands, moving to close the gap, but Hopper and Uncle Wayne quickly disrupt his movement.

“How can you even call yourself a lawyer if you don’t even understand the concept of bail?” He knows he should be careful about what he says, but it just comes right out of his mouth without a second thought.

His father’s face contorts out of sheer rage, clearly displeased with Steve’s newfound ability to talk back to him.

“You are SO fucked, you hear me you little shit!? I am going to do everything in my power to make sure the rest of your life is miserable!”

“Oh, well, that wouldn’t be anything new from you.”

The juxtaposition of their demeanors isn’t lost on Steve. He’s proud of himself in this moment for keeping steady and not letting his emotions seep into his words, much unlike his father. He’s legitimately foaming at the mouth, and that vein is back threatening to burst more than it ever has before.

“You need to get out of here,” Uncle Wayne’s gruff voice alarms Steve, quickly reminding him to never get on his bad side. “Or else there’s gonna be some issues.”

“Is that a threat?” His father challenges mockingly.

“Like how you just threatened Steve?” Nancy shouts defiantly. He turns to give his friend a smile, which she reciprocates in full force.

At a loss for words, his father peers over the crowd of people gathered to defend Steve, and wisely chooses to back down.

“This isn’t the last you’ll be hearing from me, mark my words Steven!” He calls out warningly before aggressively getting back into his car and speeding out of the trailer park.

Steve’s heartbeat is in his ears and he lets out a shuddered breath the moment his father’s car is no longer visible. In a rush, everyone gathers around him to evaluate his emotional status. El, bless her heart, retrieves Eddie from the safety of the trailer. The sight of her in her petite, shorthaired glory tugging on Eddie’s wrist makes him feel a mixture of emotions he can’t describe. It’s doing some real funny stuff to his tummy.

The other man wraps his arms around Steve from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder. He hugs his boyfriend’s arms to his core in return, stroking the soft skin of his forearms.

“Pardon my French, but that was fucking wild man.” Dustin says, perhaps a little too excitedly for his liking, and there is a chorus of agreement from the younger teens.

“I don’t even know what to say other than I am SO sorry that asshole is your dad,” Lucas chimes in.

“I can’t believe he would just show up here like that! Ugh, the next time I see him…” Max trails off, a murderous expression on her face.

Hopper gives the kids a look that screams ‘run along, the adults are talking’ which quickly achieves the desired affect. They scamper off back to the street to resume their interrupted All-American past time of setting stuff on fire.

“What do you need right now?” Hopper asks, concern written all over his face.

Steve leans back into Eddie’s embrace and doesn’t think long before answering in earnest. “Honestly, I just want to get on with the night. I don’t want to let him ruin the good time any more than he already has.”

“That’s very mature of you, Steve,” says Nancy.

“What can I say, I have my moments.” That gets a chuckle out of everyone, and eventually they all go back to what they were doing prior to Harrington Senior’s unwanted intrusion. He gets a couple lingering glances directed his way throughout the rest of the night, but otherwise they are able to spend their time enjoying the festivities and put the disruption behind them.

All of the younger teens are having a mass sleepover at the Hopper-Byers, so when the sky turns to black and the stars come out to shine, Hopper and Joyce bid their goodnights and wrangle all the children to walk home. Nancy and Robin insist on spending the night at the Munson trailer, and Uncle Wayne is more than happy to give the young adults free reign of his home, taking the opportunity to spend some quality alone time with Susan.

They’re gathered around Eddie’s coffee table playing Uno and going over their plans for the holiday weekend. Robin’s parents are going out of town to visit family in another state and there is a current debate as to whether or not they should extend an invitation to the younger teens to the party she’s hosting tomorrow.

“Honestly, I’m cool with it! My closest neighbors are a couple of geriatric hippies who are doing their best to smoke their pension away. I don’t think a couple of extra teenagers will be an issue for them.” Robin gestures so wildly while talking that Steve gets a full look at her hand of cards at least three times on accident.

“I think it should be a mutual decision, we’ve had this planned for a couple weeks now,” Nancy adds while placing down a Skip card, causing Eddie to curse under his breath. He only has two cards left.

“Okay, well what if we compromise?” Steve asks, despite being originally opposed to the idea. He shuffles his hand to find the single Blue card he has tucked away, and then sighs deeply when Robin tosses a Reverse card on top.

When Steve can’t play a card, Eddie – the sneaky little shit he is – sets his second to last card down and triumphantly calls out ‘Uno!’

“Did you have something in mind?” Nancy asks after being forced to pick up a card from the draw pile, unable to play anything from her hand. Like Steve, she also voiced protest to having the kids over; Mike has been giving her the cold shoulder ever since his talk with Steve.

“Well, why don’t we start hanging out at Robin’s earlier in the day and then kick them out when it gets to beer o’clock?” Eddie suggests, and Steve could kiss him for it.

“That’s literally what I was thinking!” Steve exclaims jovially.

“I win,” Eddie says smugly while placing down his last card after Steve played a wild card, unwittingly changing it to the remaining color in his boyfriend’s hand.

After working out the specifics, they agree on extending the invitation to the kids, planning on having a full afternoon and evening of summer fun. The moment they’re done lighting fireworks, the teens will part ways so that the young adults can spend the rest of their night enjoying activities and entertainment that aren’t quite suitable yet for their friends.

The group stays up playing various card games and discussing their mutual interests well into the night, finally acquiescing to bedtime when they’re yawning more often than speaking. Steve is hyperaware of the fact that, because Nancy and Robin are staying the night, he will be sharing a bed with Eddie for the first time.

Their relationship is still very new time wise, but also in the sense that it is a new experience for both of them. Whereas Steve has a decent amount of experience dating and sleeping with people, he’s never been with a man before. And although Eddie has been with a man before, his relationship experience is nonexistent. So, needless to say, there is a giddy yet hesitant atmosphere in the bedroom while they prepare to go to sleep.

The other man is already in bed and under the covers when Steve returns from the bathroom after changing into some pajamas; he has all but claimed the pair of sweats Eddie lent him a while back, and opted to remain shirtless due to the warm temperature of the trailer.

“I would make a joke about this being your first time sleeping in my bed, but…technically, it isn’t.” Eddie chuckles.

“Good point,” Steve replies with amusement. “But I can’t help but be reminded of the last time we were on this bed together.”

He was recalling the positive side of their short lived yet delectably wonderful romp in the back of Eddie’s van, but it’s clear that his boyfriend is thinking differently when he notices the sullen expression settling onto his face.

“I’m sorry I pushed you away,” he says softly, fiddling with the hem of a thin blanket pulled up to his chin.

“It’s okay, I forgive you. You’re allowed to have boundaries, and I much rather would have you tell me no than do something just because you think I want to do it.” Steve crawls onto the bed and slides under the blanket, lying on his side to face Eddie, his head propped up by his hand.

Eddie mirrors his position and his eyes are glistening with the threat of tears. Steve reaches up with his other hand to gently caress his face, stroking a thumb over his cheekbone before tucking Eddie’s hair behind his ear. The tip is bright red, matching the flush that is blooming across his cheeks, and Steve feels so grateful for how far they have come.

“You’re so beautiful…” he whispers candidly, examining his face. “Are those--wait, hold up. Do you have freckles? Munson, you are going to be the death of me.”

Sure enough, there is a light dusting of freckles over the bridge of his nose. He feels a sudden urge to kiss each and every one of them, so he leans in and gives Eddie’s nose a soft peck.

“Someone has been forcing me outside more lately, guess it was only a matter of time before they came back,” he says with a shrug.

“Back? As in, you used to have freckles?”

“Yeah, as a kid I had a face full of ‘em. I thought I grew out of it, guess it turns out I’m just a lowly basement dweller afraid of some good ole’ vitamin D.”

“That settles it, straight to the tanning booth you go! Freckles are a bit of a weakness for me, I’ll be the first to admit that. Seriously, you’re gorgeous.” Steve’s soft smile spreads into a wide grin when Eddie bashfully ducks his head down. He takes the opportunity to wrap his arms around the other man’s shoulders and head, pulling him in for a hug.

“Is that why you were crushin’ on Buckley last summer?” Eddie mumbles devilishly into his chest; he can feel the smirk on his skin.

“Keep that up and I will personally ensure that you regret it,” he threatens lightly, fingers dancing along the sensitive areas of Eddie’s torso, ready for a tickle attack at a moments notice.

“Okay, okay! I yield, oh please be merciful my lord,” he jokingly begs, holding his hands up in surrender between their chests. They laugh together and then settle into each other’s bodies more, getting comfortable with cuddling each other. Eddie slides his hands up and over Steve’s shoulders, hooking his arms together behind his neck and pulling him in for a deep kiss.

Steve melts at the contact and reciprocates enthusiastically, gliding his hands up and underneath Eddie’s shirt to stroke the soft, warm skin he finds waiting for him. Subconsciously, he rakes his fingernails down his back gently and is delighted to hear the noise it causes the other man to make.

He has noticed during their physical moments together that the other man has gravitated towards a bit more of a rougher style of intimacy than Steve is accustomed to; though he certainly isn’t complaining. There is something more freeing about the strong, muscled figure beneath his hands in comparison to the typically soft, delicate nature of the women he has been with in the past. In those relationships, he always felt like he needed to be extra careful and handle those partners with care.

With Eddie, he allows himself to tap into his naturally aggressive inclinations, and it’s obvious that this is what the man prefers. They kiss like this for what feels like hours on end, pawing roughly at each other, but also making a concerted effort to make sure it doesn’t go further than either of them are comfortable with. Although they mutually agreed to take things slow, Steve is finding it a little hard to keep that promise at the moment, so he forces himself to break the contact.

“You. Are. So. Good. At. That!” Eddie emphasizes each word with kisses to his face before rolling over to face the other direction. When Steve doesn’t move, he peers over his shoulder and gives him an incredulous look.

“Spoon me, dammit,” the other man grumbles, and Steve obliges with gusto. They fall asleep like this, with Eddie wrapped up protectively in his arms, getting the best night of sleep either of them has ever had in their entire lives.

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