#Steve Harrington is not a real person.

[steviewashere]

If my stupid headcanons about Steve Harrington, a character that's not even fleshed out in his canon universe, bother you so fucking bad, go ahead and block me.

All rude asks at this point get deleted. I'm not wasting my time answering them because you're all pissy about an opinion.

For reference, this is about my headcanon where I said that Steve's six kids and winnebago dream is something he grows to hate/dislike because it embarrasses him now. I've said that. It's something I've already argued with somebody else about.

There are so many real world problems that you can be directing your unmitigated anger at, rather than a person who just has an interest. Like be so fucking for real right now.

Once I'm done sharing all my headcanons, I'm just gonna turn my asks off. I'll turn them back on when necessary, but this is ridiculous. For my mailing list project, for any questions/concerns/comments, you can either DM me or send me an email on the form provided in my pinned post.

Thanks.

[hbdttg]

“Hold the elevator!”

The elevator doors are mere inches from closing, but Steve dutifully shoots a hand out to stop them. They slide back open, revealing a flustered-looking man about Steve’s age on the other side.

He’s dressed head to toe in black, decked out in a simple black pullover with a modest V-neck, snug black jeans, and all-black leather Chucks with a messenger bag slung across his chest. The messenger bag is, unsurprisingly, also black, but covered in a collection of tough-looking patches and pins in varying shades of—well, it’s mostly red, dark red, white, and some yellows, but the pops of color still stand out against his otherwise monochrome ensemble.

His dark, curly hair reaches a little past his shoulders and he’s got this frankly outdated fringe that, despite its very 80’s vibe, frames his face perfectly. His eyes are large and expressive, and he’s got this frantic energy about him that reminds Steve of a live wire. He’s nothing like the buttoned-up suits Steve usually shares his elevator rides with each morning, and it’s a refreshing change of pace.

The man gives Steve a thankful look before stepping into the elevator and leaning against the side wall. “Thanks,” he says, a little distractedly. He’s got a pair big of headphones on and Steve realizes he’s in the middle of a phone call when he adds, “No, not you, Gare, I was thanking the guy who held the elevator for me. Yeah, this building’s crazy. There’s a whole-ass sixtieth floor—guess I’m kind of a big deal now.” He lets out a small, self-deprecating chuckle, reaching for the panel beside him.

As the doors close and the elevator starts to slowly ascend, Steve notices the man pressed the button for the floor above his. Both the fifty-second and fifty-third floor buttons are lit in a halo of green.

“You know I didn’t want to leave you guys,” the man continues, a bit more quietly now that he and Steve are sharing the same small space, “but shit, I couldn’t turn down the pay.” He scoffs. “Ugh, listen to me, just another cog in the capitalist machine. Man, if high school me could see me now. High school Eddie used to talk big about forced conformity and rising up against the man, and now here I am—”

Steve tries not to listen to the one-sided conversation going on beside him, but it’s difficult when a moment later, he hears his own name.

“—clocking in for my first day at fuckin’ Harrington Hargrove Hagan. The pretentious bastards can’t even shorten it to an acronym or something. God forbid they have to miss out on the sound of their own names.”

Steve manages to hold in the obnoxious snort that threatens to escape him. He’s starting to think he might like this guy—Eddie, his mind supplies helpfully—but Eddie’s next words have him freezing in place.

“And it’s nepo baby central. Yeah, pretty sure all the H kiddies are hotshot brokers with the company. All the biggest accounts—gee, I wonder why.”

Steve can feel the back of his neck burning hot with a mixture of annoyance and shame as Eddie cracks a caustic joke about silver spoons and trust funds.

“You’re kidding, one of them works at this branch? Damn, I guess I’ll just keep an eye out for the guy who most looks like he’s got a giant stick up his ass.”

This is quickly becoming the longest elevator ride of Steve’s life. He grits his teeth and stares fixedly at the floor display panel above the elevator doors, watching the numbers climb higher and higher. Thirty-seven. Thirty-eight.

“Listen, I should go, but let’s grab a drink at the Hideout later. Cool, see you then. Bye.”

Forty-one. Forty-two.

Eddie removes his headphones and shoves them into his bag, angling slightly toward Steve. “Sorry about that, man.”

“You’re good,” Steve says shortly, not looking away from the changing numbers. They reach the forty-seventh floor, and all the while, he feels Eddie’s gaze on him.

It’s not like he’s openly staring, but there’s a certain weight to his furtive glances that completely counteracts his attempts at subtlety. It’s the type of gaze Steve’s familiar with, one that he’s been on the receiving end of since his sophomore year of high school when he hit a growth spurt and actually learned how to style his hair. Assessing. Appreciative. Interested.

And in any other situation, Steve would gladly engage. He’d turn on the charm, quirk the corner of his lip up in that way Robin always rolls her eyes at but reluctantly acknowledges as ‘passably effective’, and maybe even make up an excuse to sidle a bit closer.

But he’s not giving this guy his A-game.

Instead, Steve waits in stifling silence until the fifty-second floor is announced and the doors slide open. He steps forward to exit, but at the very last moment stops in the doorway.

He initially wasn’t going to say anything—though, a past version of himself would have definitely spat something biting and bitchy to Eddie about his snark, would have snootily told him to take his little assumptions and shove them where the sun don’t shine—but sooner or later Eddie’s going to realize he and Steve are colleagues, and he’s going to remember shit-talking him in an elevator on his first day of work, and it’s going to be awkward and uncomfortable.

Steve’s just speeding up the timeline, pushing for the sooner rather than the later, when he decides to spin around and fully face Eddie.

“I think you pressed the wrong button,” he says, all sweet and helpful like he’s talking to Dustin’s mom over a sink full of soapy dishes. “Couldn’t help but overhear that you work at Harrington Hargrove Hagan. It’s on the fifty-second floor, not the fifty-third.” Then he takes a small step backward, moving out into the carpeted hallway.

“Oh.” Eddie scrambles for his phone, unlocking it and scrolling quickly until he finds something that has him straightening up and smiling gratefully at Steve. “I guess I remembered it wrong. Thank you.” He pushes away from the wall, takes a step forward to follow Steve out, but then stops dead in his tracks.

Steve gleefully notes the line of Eddie’s gaze, how it lingers at the breast pocket of his shirt, where, clipped to a retractable badge reel, his building keycard hangs. Eddie evidently hadn’t noticed it during the elevator ride up, but he’s certainly fixated on it now.

Perhaps on the abstract yet easily recognizable Harrington Hargrove Hagan logo in the top right corner.

But more likely, based on the positively mortified look growing on Eddie’s face, on the name clearly printed underneath Steve’s photo in bold, black lettering: STEVE HARRINGTON.

Slowly, Eddie drags his eyes back up to Steve’s face. He stares in silence, eyes bugging nearly out of his head, face turning a concerning shade of pink, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, and his reaction is extreme enough that a small part of Steve is almost inclined to take pity on the guy and laugh it all off.

Unfortunately for Eddie, a bigger part of Steve thinks Eddie looks kind of cute all red-faced and embarrassed like this. So he glances down at himself thoughtfully before turning his attention back on Eddie. “Wow,” he says with exaggerated astonishment, “now that you mention it, I guess I do look like I’ve got a giant stick up my ass.”

As if on cue, the elevator chimes in warning. The doors begin to close, but Eddie just remains rooted in place with that same wide-eyed, horrified expression.

When it becomes clear he has no intentions of actually exiting the elevator, Steve chuckles and wiggles his fingers in a cheeky little wave. “Welcome to the team,” he says airily, before Eddie’s still-blushing face disappears behind the elevator doors.

/ Now with a Part 2!

[musicalchaos07]

Jonathan Byers who is so caring and compassionate that he was able to punch empathy into Steve

[paintedpatroclus]

where the spirit meets the bones by @starrystevie with art by me!

chapter one 🧺🪵

art for the steddie big bang! 🌲🌿

(appalachian eddie, my love!!)

read here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52240651/chapters/132146137#main

[munsons-hellfire]

About Me & Masterlist

18+ mdni (you will be blocked)

skye. 25. she/her. writer. movie fanatic. book lover. music. horror. marvel. stranger things. scream. a court of thorns and roses. shatter me. divider credit: saradika

updates will be monday, wednesday, and friday every other week.

find other information here.

emoji system: fluff - 🫧, angst - 🥀, smut - ❤️‍🔥, dark themes - ☠️

MASTERLIST (Updated: 03/30/24)

CASSIAN

Chaos (Ongoing | Original Character: Evangeline Nightbane | Playlist | 🫧🥀❤️‍🔥☠️) - Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

Lost (Ongoing | 🫧🥀❤️‍🔥☠️) - Part 1, Part 2 (Coming Soon)

AZRIEL

My Love Will Never Die (Ongoing | Original Character: Circe Archeron | Playlist | 🫧🥀❤️‍🔥☠️) - Intro Summary: Circe Archeron, Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

Broken (Kallias!Sister Reader)

Untitled (Coming Soon)

You're Losing Me (Ongoing | 🫧🥀❤️‍🔥☠️) - Part 1, Part 2 (Coming Soon)

The Last Time (Coming Soon)

RHYSAND

You're Losing Me (Ongoing | 🫧🥀❤️‍🔥☠️) - Part 1, Part 2 (Coming Soon)

ERIS VANSERRA

My Love Will Never Die (Ongoing | Original Character: Circe Archeron | 🫧🥀❤️‍🔥☠️) - Intro Summary: Circe Archeron, Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

The Power of Emotions (Ongoing | Archeron!Reader | 🫧🥀❤️‍🔥☠️) - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Happiness In The Heart 🫧🥀

Ice & Fire (Coming Soon | Archeron!Reader)

Untitled (Coming Soon | Rhysand!Sister Reader)

LUCIEN VANSERRA

Chaos (Ongoing | Original Character: Evangeline Nightbane | 🫧🥀❤️‍🔥☠️) - Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

Untitled (Coming Soon)

The Last Time (Coming Soon)

How Did It End?

TAMLIN

Life Eternal 🫧🥀

Untitled (Coming Soon)

HELION

We're Just Friends 🫧🥀

Discovery of Memories (Ongoing | 🫧🥀❤️‍🔥☠️) - Part 1, Part 2 (TBA)

POLY!BAT BOYS

Forever Together (Ongoing | 🫧🥀❤️‍🔥☠️) - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

POLY!FEYSAND

How Did It End?

EDDIE MUNSON

The Dark Paradise (Ongoing | Biker!EM x Teacher!Reader | Playlist | 🫧🥀❤️‍🔥☠️) - Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6

Ruin My Life (Ongoing | Older!Rockstar!EM x Pop Star!Reader | Playlist | 🫧🥀❤️‍🔥☠️) - Chapter 1, Chapter 2

A Curse (Fem!Harrington!Reader) 🫧🥀

I Always Knew 🫧🥀❤️‍🔥

Runaway Bride (Coming Soon)

STEVE HARRINGTON

Season Of The Witch (Ongoing | Witch!Reader | Playlist | 🫧🥀☠️) - Act 1: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5 | Act 2: To Be Announced

STEDDIE

Broken Hearts Can Be Mended (Ongoing | Writer!Reader | Playlist | 🫧🥀❤️‍🔥☠️) - Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 3, Chapter 5

PEDRO PASCAL

Debut (Completed) - Part 1, Part 2 🫧🥀

JOSEPH QUINN

Fall Into Me 🫧🥀☠️

ROBBIE MERCER

All Your Fault (Platonic!Robbie Mercer) 🥀☠️

STEVE ROGERS

It All Fell Down 🫧🥀

EVERETT ROSS

Forbidden 🫧🥀

CIA!Avenger Reader Headcanons 🫧🥀

JANE FOSTER

Reunited In Valhalla 🫧🥀

JJ MAYBANK

Mutual Feelings (Fem!Character) 🫧🥀

KATE DENALI

Human/Vampire!Reader Headcanons

Untiled Human!Reader Series (Coming Soon)

LINKS TO OTHER SOCIALS

Spotify

AO3

Pinterest

Wattpad

[infinite-orangepeel]

constantly torn between:

a) wanting steve harrington to rail me

b) wanting to rail steve harrington

c) wanting to watch eddie munson rail steve harrington

[discocandles]

I know I'm not the first person to say this but if Steve harrington is any popular superhero, he's Batman, right?

Like yes there's the fun shit like haha nail bat, Batman. Both are rich boys who take in a crazy amount of children like it's their favorite hobby, both have a bitchy, playboy personas which they use to keep people from looking too deep, because they have to be that hollow, vapid, and bullshit. Big house, no parents?

I know that it isn't exact given Steve's parents are alive(presumably), but I know for a fact i'm not crazy here. Both guys live in luxury, but for some reason or another, their parents are gone. And the only thing they've left behind is their obscene amounts of riches. Like that makes up for having your parents in your life. It kinda left both of them with this anger that they have utilized, sometimes against other people, and always when they fight legitimate threats. And overall they try to be a good person even if they often tend to be haunted by their mistakes.

If you want to get a little meta with it, both work with a character who was originally planned as a love interest for them but is now canonically a lesbian because it makes their characters more compelling. Though Steve and Robin are on far better terms than Bruce and Kate are(doesn't take much for that. iykyk)

Also they have a partner in crime(read:fighting) named Robin if that counts for anything. Sometimes more than one for Bruce but eh. The guy's been around for 85, almost 86 years now, compared to Steve who's been around for like 7. Im taking liberties here.

Speaking of the role of Robin, trying to fit the party into the batfamily is a task and a half. Like I guess Dustin would have to be dick and max could work as Steph, but would that make Lucas Tim? Suzie could be Babs, that would make sense. Wait, am I making mike jason? It's a mess and my brain is on fire. The only ones i feel a little bit confident about is that Erica would be Damian, el would be cassie and Will would be Duke. Before you ask, no I don't know how Nancy, Jonathan, Alfred, or the other adults would fit in here but I have a side tangent to entertain y'all with instead.

Yes, I do think that this would make eddie Superman. Yes I think it fits quite well.

Listen, from what I do know of Eddie's backstory(I have not read flight of Icarus), it could be matched with Clark's. Boy is sent away from parents to live somewhere else and is taking in by someone who becomes their parent(s) wholeheartedly, no matter the fact he is different from the other kids. And then when they try to live their life as best they can with those differences. Something happens that gets a while city's population looking at them, and a notable member of the community wanting them killed or arrested because of how "dangerous he is".

Listen even if I'm being a little conspiracy board-esque about eddie as clark kent, the parallels of Jason Carver and Lex Luthor are plain as day. Jason is more of a religious bigot compared to Lex's capitalist xenophobia, but these two green and white bitch-asses mirror each other. Also the religious imagery for both Eddie and Superman is off the fucking charts(like Eddie is seen as a demon by the mobs and Superman is seen as a god. And both are feared for it)

I can talk more about this, but I'm already scared that I have said too much.

[augustjustice]

The rockstar!Eddie/teacher!Steve future AU is more real to me than anything that’s going to happen in Season 5.

[cerise-angel]

just thinking a lot about Steve being the most supportive ever. even though hes not in college, he still shares genuine excitement whenever you talk about your classes, your major and your finals. he stays with you while you have maraton study sessions, even if he falls asleep in the process. always encouraging you and making sure you know that he loves you and that he knows you're smart. bringing coffee to you in his breaks, kissing you when you get a right question while studying. taking you on fancy dates whenever you ace a test. making sure you know that even if you got a low score on that particular test, he still loves you, and thinks you're the smartest.

[pumpkinrootbeer]

i understand the "oh Steve is so bad at fights" sentiment comes from the fact Jonathan and billy rocked his shit but I do feel the need to remind everyone he is 4-0 when it comes to beating monsters in fights. played pinata with the demogorgan. beat back multiple demodogs in a very literally sense. rammed monster billy with a car. bit a demobat and then beat it into the ground after getting strangled and chewed on. he is feral. he is desperate. like at what point do we acknowledge that he holds back against people 🤨

[ashes-writing]

stranger things ● forever pt 4 ● s.harrington

warnings

[ multi chapter ] angst - so much internal angst, past traumas / dealing with the fallout, robin's falling in love with Barb / struggling with how and whether to risk it all and come out, you/reader have a 3 year old so.. dad!steve and baby talk because your kid is still grasping the art of talking.

reader/you is female with female parts + appearance, a 3 year old named Stevie. reader/you are also the cousin to Robin Buckley. reader/you also has a past, your own traumas and personality. this is self indulgent and i do not apologize, not even a little.

word count + prev. part

pt 3 <- can be read by click.

4549 exactly.

summary

Barb's car pulls to a stop behind Steve's car and Robin's entire face lights up. "And that's my cue. Hey.." Robin looks from you to Steve, "Why don't you guys hang out tonight?"

You know perfectly well what she's up to. From the way Steve shuffles his feet, you can safely assume he knows too. He starts to beg off, protest, do something because he doesn't want to impose. And he's just about to when you speak up. "I don't mind..Unless you don't want to, Steve?" he's shocked that you're saying it, he wasn't expecting it. 

He chuckles quietly. "Yeah. I'd like that."

taglist + shoutouts

taglist is here <- click to add yourself. if you're here for gareth/eddie or other ST men..lemme know.

@allelitesmut @caravelofthesun @chaoticcancer @dylanwritesgood @eddiemuns0nl0ver @just-a-blue-nerd @jaydaaasworld @music4life42 @slyisbehindyou @spaceconveyor & @tbmunson bestie ilysm and i'm so happy to have you to bother you with my weird ideas you're amazing omg.

other links

masterlist ● steve's masterlist ● about + rules

FOUR

Stevie is coloring quietly. You're flipping through channels on the TV and unwinding after work. The faintest echo of the car door as it slams outside of the trailer has you turning to look out the window of the trailer. Steve's car is sitting in the driveway and as soon as Stevie realizes, she's making her way to the door. You slip out of your seat and pick her up, wandering out into the yard.

You tell yourself it's just so you can let Stevie see Steve but deep down, you know it's not only that. You're not prepared to admit it to yourself but there it is. The truth.

Steve is leaned against the driver side of his car and he's twisting his keys around his finger as he talks to Robin. Stevie climbs down from your arms and runs over, hugging against Robin's legs. Robin picks her up and lets her get comfortable and you lean against the side of Steve's car. Just close enough that the side of your body brushes right against his. Steve glances over at you. 

"How's the job going?" he asks.

You laugh. "Today was long. So long. I think I sorted paperwork and files until I thought my eyes were gonna bleed." you open your eyes and give a tired smile. "The good news is that Stevie seems okay in their daycare so far. I think she's even made a friend."

Steve chuckles quietly. "That's good."

Stevie scrambles down from Robin's arms to tug at Steve's pants legs. Steve bends down, scooping her up and she nuzzles her face into his neck, yawning. "I tired. Played wit other girl today."

Steve chuckles. "You did, huh?"

"Mhm. Had fun." Stevie yawns again. "I missed you and aunt Wobin."

Barb's car pulls to a stop behind Steve's car and Robin's entire face lights up. "And that's my cue. Hey.." Robin looks from you to Steve, "Why don't you guys hang out tonight?"

You know perfectly well what she's up to. From the way Steve shuffles his feet, you can safely assume he knows too. He starts to beg off, protest, do something because he doesn't want to impose. And he's just about to when you speak up. "I don't mind..Unless you don't want to, Steve?" he's shocked that you're saying it, he wasn't expecting it. 

He chuckles quietly. "Yeah. I'd like that."

You smile at him as Robin and Barb drive away and you make your way up the 3 steps into the trailer. As he goes to step inside, he rubs against you to pass through the doorway and your breath hangs.

So does his but you'd never know it. He manages to play cool, smiling at you as he stands inside your aunt's trailer with your almost sleeping daughter in his arms.

"So.. are you hungry, Steve?" you ask the question because if the air gets any thicker between you both you will lose it.

"I could eat." Steve chuckles quietly as you close the front door behind you. You step up to him to take Stevie so you can lay her down and let her nap because the lady over the daycare for your new job mentioned that she hadn't gone down for a nap today.

"I'll take her." Steve mutters quietly, and you nod. He follows you to the bedroom and places Stevie on the bed. You tap his shoulder to hand him her blanket and when he turns, it puts you body to body. "Sorry, I.." Steve mutters and you smile. "It's okay."

He takes the blanket from your hands, putting it over Stevie.  You lean down, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she sleeps. Then you leave the room with Steve closing the door just enough that the tv doesn't interrupt her late nap.

"I think I'm gonna order a pizza. Is there a certain one you prefer, Steve?" you ask as you walk over and pick up the phone to dial.

"Not that picky." Steve answers, lingering in the end of the hall. You're slinking around the kitchen and twisting the phone cord around your finger as you place the order and at one point you pause in front of him and tilt your head, staring up at him. 

" Everything okay?" you mouth the question, tilting your head slightly as you look up at him in concern. He manages to make himself nod and you try to stop yourself but you place your hand on his chest, continuing to gaze up at him in concern because you're remembering the day before, when he had that nightmare and you happened to witness. 

" Yeah, that's ___. At 12 Forest Hills Road." you hang up after telling your address and as soon as you have, you step closer to Steve. "Steve.."

"Yeah?"

"It's okay to not be okay." you mumble. 

He nods. Tries to give a convincing smile and you shake your head, stepping closer. Closing the miniscule amount of space that remains between you both as your breath hangs in your throat. "I'm sorry." you step away just a little and when you do, Steve misses the contact. And the realization has him up in arms. If he thought it was just going to disappear, it’s not. And being alone with you like this is only going to make the way he’s starting to feel and get way too attached way too quick so much harder to fight.

The two of you wind up sitting down on the sofa, close but not too close. You hold the remote out to Steve but he shakes his head. You turn off the television and he tears his eyes off the screen to look at you.

"I want to get to know you."

"I'm boring." Steve insists, shaking his head. Laughing quietly. “I am.”

"Somehow, I doubt that, Steve." you smile a little. He smiles too and he nods. "I am, though. But I wanna get to know you too."

"Ask me anything." you laugh softly. "I mean it. Anything."

"Anything,huh?" Steve rubs his chin. "Favorite food."

You laugh. "I don't even think I have one..maybe shrimp scampi, there was this diner in Shreveport, ugh..they made the most amazing shrimp scampi. Okay, your turn." you look at him and he laughs. 

"Spaghetti.. my mom hired this nanny once that made the best homemade spaghetti sauce." Steve is smiling to himself.  You smile. "I prefer to make my own if I eat spaghetti. I uh…ate it a lot as a kid? And my mother was the worst cook." the smile fades just a little. Just enough that Steve senses family might be a sore subject with you like it is for him. 

"Mine doesn't cook." Steve admits quietly. And there's just something about the look on his face when he says it..you just know without asking that his mom and your mom might be similar.

"I dunno if my mom ever learned to cook or not." You shrug as you say it.

"You lived with your dad?" Steve asks, curious. Robin didn’t mention her aunt much at all and the handful of times that he’s heard her mention the woman, it was always with the slightest hint of irritation and disgust. So he’s just hoping that maybe you lived with your dad, that your parents were split up or something.

You shake your head. "Don't know the guy. And I haven't seen Jenna since I was 17."

Steve grimaces. And when he sees the slightest hint of a hurt look, he speaks up quietly. "You don't have t' talk about it."

"It's okay. It's not a big deal anymore." you shrug again. "She threw me out."

Steve's jaw clenches and he sighs, shaking his head. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not. It was better that way. And Stevie saved my life anyway, I was..a totally different person at 17 than I am now at 20."

It hits him exactly what you're getting at and he can't help but feel angry. Angrier than he should. He barely knows you, after all. But he's angry that from the sound of it, you went through everything all alone. And he's also in awe, it's telling him you're strong. Very, very strong. It also bothers him because no one should have to go through everything you have all alone.

"My parents weren't ever around. Made for some killer house parties but sometimes.." Steve goes quiet, "it's too quiet? And all I ever do anymore is think. And overthink." his words die away and he shrugs as if it’s nothing. 

"My brain won't shut down either." you admit quietly. You've moved closer to him on the sofa because the way he's just opened up to you… you can tell that what he's admitting now is only scratching the surface. And now that you're both talking and opening up…you almost feel connected. It's harder to shut out all the little things about him that caught your attention to begin with.

That slope you're on is getting more and more slippery.

Your eyes catch on the red scar circling his neck and you try not to stare too long or anything. Your hand raises, fingers gingerly brushing against the healed wound and you rush to snatch them away as soon as you realize what you’ve done.

You remember what Robin told you, the story behind how he got it. Steve shifts the way he’s sitting a little because he wasn’t expecting the little touch and now that it’s gone, he kind of misses it, but he’d die before admitting it.

“Robin, she uh.. Told me what happened in March.” you stammer out and then you go quiet. Steve tenses a little. He shrugs and he mumbles something you can’t quite make out. 

“You’re really brave, y’know? I think I would’ve died like a thousand times over.” you mumble quietly because you can’t think of anything else to say. Your words die away and you look down for a few seconds. 

The pizza you ordered thirty minutes ago has finally arrived, the delivery person is knocking at the door of your aunt’s trailer. You use the arrival of food to slip off the couch. Distract yourself before you’re dumb enough to touch him again because you want to and you want it badly.

You pay for the pizza and close the door behind you, turning around puts you body to body with Steve. You’re beginning to realize exactly why you’ve been attempting to limit yourself from one on one time with him because the air is thick again, you can’t breathe. And instinctively, before you can stop it from happening, you’re stepping up into him, the pizza boxes in your arms keeping space between you both.

It’s space you don’t want, but space, nonetheless.

Steve reaches out, taking one of the pizza boxes. Your head tilts and you’re lost in his eyes. Staring and quiet. Lost in thought.

Steve can’t take the building tension so he turns and walks into Robin’s kitchen to place the hot pizza box in his arms onto a counter. You follow behind him and do the same. Steve opens one of the boxes and grabs a slice and so do you. 

And as the two of you stand in the kitchen, quietly eating your slices, the tension grows just a little more. Especially when you step closer and all the space between you both vanishes because you’ve raised to your toes to wipe away some pizza sauce from the center of his bottom lip. As your thumb rolls across the surface of his bottom lip, Steve’s breath hangs in his throat and he coughs a little because he nearly chokes on the bite of pizza. 

Both of you are desperate to steer the conversation back to lighter topics in a way, but it also feels so good to get some of the stuff that’s been said out in the open. Especially for you, because until now, you really didn’t have anyone to say some of these things to.

And Steve’s still thinking heavily about what you admitted to Robin.. That you could love him. The more the two of you talk like this, the more tempted he is to fight for that. To try and make you love him. The more he wants to let himself love you.

But it’s all so fast.

Enough to make your heads spin.

Brown eyes catch on pizza sauce smeared at the corner of your mouth and Steve’s hand raises before he can stop it, the pad of his thumb rolling over the saucy stain. Your breath hangs and you swallow hard, locking eyes with him.

“Favorite color?” Steve asks after a few seconds.

“Red. You?”

“Yellow.. No,no.. Dark blue.” Steve chuckles and the sound dies away after a second or two. 

“Stevie told me you played basketball.. In high school?” you mutter, tilting your head as you look up at him. Steve chuckles, shrugging. “I wasn’t that great or anything.”

“I doubt that, Steve.” you’re doing it all over again, stepping closer. “I used to take dance.. There was this old woman who lived like… two shotgun houses down from Jenna. She was kinda like a grandma to me? She taught me a little ballet. It’s been years since I tried t’ do any of it.” you admit. “I was a cheerleader for a little while.”

Steve chuckles, gazing down at you. He steps just a little closer too. Somehow, he pictures it easy, a younger version of you doing ballet. Then cheering. 

“I can see it.” he admits, going quiet.

“Stevie.. She acts like she wants to do ballet when she’s a little older. Guess I’ll see about it when that happens.” you take another bite of your pizza and you’re looking up at him all over again. A teasing smirk as you tell him, “I bet you had girls all over you in high school.” and you want to die as the remark leaves your mouth because you did not mean to say it out loud, it just slipped out.

Steve laughs and shrugs. “None I really liked… I mean there was one girl.” he goes quiet. Winces just a little. “And I thought maybe we’d have a shot again.” he shakes his head and shrugs. Trying to pretend it doesn’t still sting a little.

And he immediately decides to turn the remark around on you. “I bet you had a ton of boyfriends.”

You laugh and take a bite of your pizza, shrugging. “I didn’t uh.. Do the whole boyfriend girlfriend thing. Kind of a serial dater.” you go quiet. Swallowing down the bite of pizza you’ve just taken as you admit quietly. “The only guy I attempted to get serious with was Nick. He’s Stevie’s father.” you rub the bridge of your nose as you take another bite, “That was a huge mistake.”

Steve grimaces. “Sorry.”

“Oh no, no. It’s totally fine. I am perfectly capable of admitting I was an idiot.” you wipe some of the pizza sauce and grease off of your mouth and Steve’s eyes are drawn to it as you do. You laugh  quietly. “Stevie’s never gonna know him. He didn’t want anything t’ do with either of us after he found out I wasn’t getting rid of her.”

Steve’s fist clenches at his side. “Seriously?”

,, At one point.. Before you grew the hell up, man.. You might’ve been the same way.” the thought comes but it’s quickly replaced with the reminder, no, no you wouldn’t have.. Because you’ve always wanted a huge family. To make up for the way you had t’ grow up.”

You nod. “Mhm. His name’s not attached to her like.. At all.I just didn’t fill in the space on her birth certificate. They pushed me to just put a name down but I refused. I’d rather not have to deal with him ever again and this way, I won’t have to.” you go quiet for a few seconds. “I’m dreading the day she starts t’ ask questions. Because I don’t want to lie to her but I know the truth would kill her. I’m hoping she won’t.”

Steve nods.

You laugh softly. “Okay, this one is lighter. It’s funny. I didn’t actually settle on a name for Stevie until a few months ago? I called her Lily or Nicole for the first two years. I.. Everything was overwhelming at the time and I was too busy worrying about how I’d even take care of her so like.. It hits me as I’m giving birth to her that I don’t have a name picked.” you laugh a little, shaking your head all over again. “So I tell the nurse I’ll fill everything out with Lily Nicole but I might change it later and I need forms to do that. So she gives me the forms and I put them up. It was always in the back of my mind that I wasn’t keen about the name, or Nicole for her middle name. So, I’d always just call her bug or peanut, a little nickname.”

“Lily’s pretty.”

“Right? But it didn’t suit her, not at all. I don’t think she liked it either.” you laugh and continue, shuffling your bare feet against the floor where you’re both standing. “Then, a few months ago, I’m driving Stevie to my friend’s place so I can go in to work. And I hear The Chain on the radio. Stevie loves this song, mind you. So I called in sick, went back to my apartment and tore it apart to find her paperwork. I filled it all out and stuck it in the mail so I could change her name to Stevie Robin.”

Steve chuckles quietly. “That’s actually kind of awesome.”

You smile. “Thank you.”

As the thickness begins to build in  the silence all over again, you speak up quietly. Stepping close to Steve before you can stop yourself. “Whoever this girl was, Steve..She’s the one who’s going to miss out.”

Steve shrugs. “Doubt it.” - and he’s being honest because Nancy went from admitting that she didn’t feel like she was sure about being with Jonathan to leaving town with him soon. And it bothers him. Maybe not as much as it did at first, but it does still sting. 

“From where I stand, yeah.. She really will. I mean.. You seem like a really nice guy. And my daughter loves you to pieces.”- you feel like you have to say something because he looks like it hurts him and this bothers you a lot more than it really should.

,, and I’m starting to get attached myself. Which is scary, dangerous for me to even be contemplating.” that thought comes racing to the front of your mind but you don’t dare say it. You can’t.

“And Nick sounds like an asshole. You’re better off without the guy.” Steve blurts it out and as soon as the words leave his mouth, the thought pops into his mind ,, if I were him, I never would’ve made her go through all this alone.”  and he tries to shove it down and bury it but he just can't. 

“You’re not wrong there. Not even a little.” you agree. And you lean forward to take another slice of pizza from the box as Steve does the same, your sides brushing. You give him an apologetic smile and he laughs, shrugging. Laughing harder as the cheese from your slice tries to slide away from crust and you dangle it over your mouth to try and pull the cheese off. 

You flip him off playfully.

He does it right back. And then his eyes fix on the tomato sauce on the corner of your mouth and he really focuses on it, leaning into you to drag his thumb over the corner of your mouth to wipe it away. You barely bite back a whimper but you do exhale and it’s shaky. 

“Pizza sauce again.” he states quietly, giving a little bit of a smirk, “You’re kind of a messy eater, you know that, right?”

“Bite me, Harrington. Like you’re not.” you tease him right back as you lean into him, wiping away a sauce smear on his lip. 

As the conversation dies away, Steve reaches for the remote and turns on the tv and you settle in closer to him, both of you getting caught up in an episode of Magnum PI. 

Stevie wanders in at some point, slipping up onto the sofa and balancing herself on both your laps as she nibbles on a slice of cheese pizza that you take out for her. And when you look over again about an hour later, she’s completely on his lap and they’re both asleep, Steve with his head thrown back against the back cushion of the sofa and Stevie with her head against his chest.

And everything feels good. Like it’s as easy as breathing. But as soon as that thought comes, you shove it out again because you can’t give in. You’re too afraid.

Steve wakes up because he can feel someone moving around in his lap. At first, he’s confused and then he remembers where he is. And then he catches sight of the way you’re even closer to him now, your head on his shoulder right next to Stevie’s. Stevie’s starting to wake up but she’s fighting it a little. Whiny. She latches onto his body and grumbles about how tired she is and Steve chuckles quietly. “You want me to take you to your mom’s room?”

“Pwease. But don’t wake up mama. She finally sleep.”

“Finally?” Steve questions, concerned brown eyes settle on your sleeping form as he wonders what Stevie means.

Stevie nods. “She can’t sleep sometimes at night.”

“Me either, kid.” Steve admits, carefully slipping his jacket under your head for a pillow as he slips off the couch to carry Stevie to her room. As he tucks her in and makes sure there’s a pillow on either side so she hopefully doesn’t roll off the high bed, she raises her arms, making grabby hands at him so he leans down and she hugs him again. “Night, Steve. Can y’ come back more? Pwease?”

He laughs quietly. “Yeah.”

As he makes his way out of the bedroom, you’ve slipped off the couch and you’re stretching. The way you raise your arms reveals just the slightest hint of ink peeking up from the way your shirt comes up with the movement and your jeans dip down enough. He tears his eyes off the hint of hidden ink and meets your sleepy gaze.

“I had fun tonight, Steve.”

“So did I..” Steve’s stepped even closer before he can stop himself. You bite your lip as you stare up at him, a hand raised to give the front of his hair a little fluff. “I’ll see you again.” he promises and you smile, nodding. “I’ll hold you to that.” you answer as you walk him out to his car.

 As he drives away, you stand in the doorway, watching until the red of his cars taillights fade from view completely.

Then you wander back into the house and lock the doors, turn off the tv and go to your room, flopping down into bed. Stevie rolls over to put her little hand on your cheek.

"Mama?"

"Yeah, cupcake?"

"I wish Steve was my daddy. I like him a lot."

You take a deep breath and pull her closer. "Me too, cupcake. Me too. But it's not that simple."

"Wish it was." Stevie yawns out as she begins her usual self soothing fall asleep method of playing with your hair. Just as your eyes are getting heavy again she speaks up. "I think he likes you."

"Sweetie, shh.. time for sleep." you coax. She snuggles a stuffed bat she came home from Family Video with earlier in the week against her little body and soon, she's snoring quietly. 

But for you, your minds too full. And when you finally do drift off at last, it seems like minutes later, it's morning and Robin is flopping down beside you after floating through the door of her bedroom.

"Hey.. remember when I said there was something I needed to tell you?"

"Yeah..wait, does this have anything at all to do with how happy you are around Barb?"

Robin's giggling fit answers your question and then she's quiet. "You and Steve are the only people I've told. And like..the more time I spend with her, the more comfortable I get and then I remember I have this huge secret. What if I tell her and it's a huge disaster? I can't just confess my feelings but I wanna and it's driving me crazy."

"I have a feeling it'll be anything but a disaster, Robbie. Body language expert, remember?" you give a sleepy grin as you reach out and stroke your cousins hair. "I thought she was about to kiss you the day I left Stevie with you guys at the video store."

Robin is thinking hard. To distract herself, she turns the topic of conversation to you. "How'd it go with Steve?"

You sigh. And she can see the dreamy look on your face. Then your frowning. "Kind of like torture when you get attached to someone you know you can't have.."

"Why couldn't you?"

"Robbie.." you sigh and yawn. "I'm not going to put her through what Jenna put me through. Besides.. pretty sure Steve is not looking for a situation like mine, Robbie. He's 21. Doubt he wants to get all settled and shit. And I'm not going to turn party girl either. I did my time as the Buckley family wild child. Kind of burnt out on it." 

Robin laughs and you raise a brow. "What? It's true and you know it. I don't wanna hold him back."

"Do you know what he actually does for fun?"

"Well, no.." you answer. "What's he do?"

"He hates parties. His typical night is to go home and eat nuclear food. He probably goes out two times a month now? And it's just to see our other friend Eddie and his band play."

"Oh."

"He's burnt out on it too. A girl who works the salon next door has been trying to slip him her number since like…January and he just walks away every time."

You nod. " You have to stop making it too easy to fall for him, Robbie. I'm a mess. He deserves way better."

"You're scared, in other words." Robin is teasing, but it bothers her that you even think the way you do about yourself.

"Terrified. I didn't even feel the way I do around him when I was so 'in love'" you air quote the phrase and roll your eyes as you say it, "with Nick."

"Thats.. a huge deal."

"It is. But I've gotta fight it."

"You don't, though." Robin insists.

You laugh softly. 

"Where did Stevie get the bat?"

"Steve won it for her while we were waiting for our lunch order earlier this week."

And her telling you that…it only makes it just a little harder to resist him.

[idkimtiredanddumb]

I am so normal about STEVE AND EDDIE REACHING OUT TO GRAB EACH OTHER BEHIND NANCY OUT OF EXCITEMENT WHEN THEY MANAGE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEIR CHILD (DUSTIN)

[waywardwonder]

Nothing hurts me more then reading a nice stranger things fic just to find a bunch of unwarranted Nancy bashing smh

[someforeignband]

making eye contact across this coffee shop with someone wearing a hellfire club tee shirt as i sit at my laptop writing gratuitous, toe-curlingly sloppy, nasty steddie smut. 

[starrystevie]

not in like a delusional ‘steve harrington can do no wrong' kind of way but season 1 steve is like genuinely a good dude. im rewatching st1 right now and (given the fact that he had no idea what was actually going on in hawkins), he was just like… a guy.

he broke jonathan’s camera? yeah, that’s bad but it was his roundabout way of protecting nancy cause he just found out the dude was taking pics of his gf taking her top off. all the stuff with the spray paint and awful things he said about the byers before fighting jonathan? again, bad but understandable when you think about the fact that his feelings were hurt because (he thought) his gf was cheating on him so he took it out on the person who caused it all to happen (in his eyes).

he never pressured nancy into sleeping with him, wasn’t an asshole to barb even though the hierarchy would have let him, he didn’t go along with tommy or carols jokes and would actively tell them to stop. like the list of "times when steve could have been a dick like a stereotypical popular teen boy" and the list of "times when steve wasn't a dick like a stereotypical popular teen boy" hardly ever intersect.

idk man, from the lens of it being the eighties where popular guys are shown in media shoving people into lockers and all that and steve being “the king”, he doesn’t really do anything that makes me think he was ever actually a douchebag.

[devondespresso]

i will always be a "Steve is a highly sensitive person" truther for good and valid reasons but mostly because im a hsp and i kin that guy