#all three of her dads out number nancy

[powderblueblood]

HELLFIRE & ICE masterlist

life in hawkins, indiana is bittersweet for an eighteen year old like you. up to this point you've enjoyed your reign as the resident rich bitch ice queen of hawkins high. you glide above the student body with an impenetrable grace— until the IRS comes knocking and your family loses everything that makes you you; the money, the super-trendy clothes, the people you called friends. you're forced to trade your plush suburban life for a double wide in forest hills trailer park— directly across the lot from resident hellfire king and noted freak, eddie munson. you've got plenty of reasons to hate him, but number one with a bullet? his daddy put your daddy in jail.

pairing: eddie munson x f!oc, mentions of unrequited steve harrington x f!oc and unrequited jonathan byers x f!oc, platonic!nancy wheeler x f!oc, platonic!ronnie ecker x f!oc

tags: NSFW / MINORS TURN BACK NOW! f!oc is written in the immersive second person; she does have a name and a background, but no physical description is mentioned in the text. enemies to star-crossed lovers on a slow burn setting, angst, misunderstanding, yearning, swearing, smoking, drinking, era-typical classism/sexism/homophobia/sexual harassment, smut including but not limited to voyeurism, masturbation, public sex, discussion of crime that i pull out of my ass kind of, really mean jokes, eventual fluff (i promise). extremely canon divergent with references to flight of icarus.

ready to light this place up?

❦ - SERIES

❦ - chapter one: THE POISE, LUCK and INTEGRITY OF A KENNEDY

❦ - chapter two: VIOLENT DELIGHTS at HARRINGTON'S HOUSE

❦ - chapter three: EDDIE MUNSON COMMITS TREASON (BREAKS UP a CAT FIGHT)

❦ - chapter four: HOT SKIN and a HALL PASS

❦ - chapter five: CHEERLEADERS MAKE BAD NEIGHBORS

❦ - chapter six: IN MY ORBIT

❦ - chapter seven: WELCOME to the REAL WORLD, JACKASS

❦ - chapter eight: SEWN UP

❦ - chapter nine: EDDIE the OBVIOUS and the LADY SPHINX

❦ - chapter ten: THE NEW FACE OF FAILURE

❦ - chapter eleven:

❦ - chapter twelve:

❦ - chapter thirteen:

❦ - epilogue

❦ - BLURBS N SHIT

in-universe requests are open for business

flashback - LACY'S DAD GETS ARRESTED

flashback - EDDIE MUNSON STAMPS NICOLE SUMMERS' V-CARD (NOT A BOARD WAXER, NOT IN MAUI)

what if - EDDIE FOUND LACY'S JOURNAL

what if - LACY FOUND EDDIE'S WEIRD SERIAL KILLER WRITING SCRAPS

lore - ALL ABOUT THE BOOKSTORE

blurb - EDDIE HEARS LACY HAVING A SEX DREAM AND...

blurb - EDDIE TELLS LACY HOW HIS PARENTS MET

blurb - LACY VISITS HER DAD IN PRISON

blurb - FOUR TIMES YOU WERE STRUCK INCAPABLE OF IMAGINING YOUR LIFE WITHOUT EDDIE MUNSON

blurb - YES, NURSE RATCHED

blurb - THE BANDANA

blurb - EDDIE FS CASS FINNIGAN IN THE A

blurb - THE LACY AND JONATHAN OF IT ALL

❦ - FUN STUFF

soundtrack - VOLUME ONE

[rainylana]

Patty Munson

note: a potential series if you guys want it! so please, let me know your thoughts and if you like my version of eddie’s daughter, named after pat benatar!

warnings: mentions of an absent parent, single dad!eddie, and language.

Patty Munson was the exact replica of her dad. From her looks to her attitude, you knew she was the daughter of Eddie Munson. With curly, jet black hair and doe, brown eyes, she had a spit fire attitude that raised a brow with strangers.

She didn’t like her vegetables like him, either, but Eddie always made sure she ate them off her little plate. “Eat at least some of it, Patty.” He’d say.

She started cursing at four, and though Eddie tried to correct her when she’d say something inappropriate at the age of five, he always had a laugh about it when she wasn’t around.

“Look at this crazy bastard, daddy!” She had said, holding up a fish that Uncle Wayne had helped her catch. Wayne shook his head, laughing quickly behind her with a hand to her back, making sure she didn’t slip in the mud.

“Patricia.” He tried to keep his voice from shaking from a choked laugh. “What did I say about grown up words?”

She was an extremely stubborn child. She liked doing things herself, absolutely everything. She was a daredevil, another thing she’d gotten from him. She almost always threw a fit when she had to hold his hand when crossing the street. He had just began letting her get the mail down at the driveway by herself, and she was smiling widely the whole walk down there.

Her mom had left Patty to him after she’d delivered her, and Eddie hadn’t heard from her since. It was hard raising her alone, especially in the beginning, suffering from a broken heart. If it hadn’t been for Wayne and his friends, he surely would have crumbled.

She didn’t talk much about the fact she didn’t have a mom around, but Eddie knew one day she’d start asking questions. The idea of it made him sick to his stomach.

She liked her dad’s tattoos. She colored on some of them sometimes with markers. He had outlines, line work, of tattoos that “need pretty pink color, daddy.”.

When she was a baby, she pulled on his hair all the time. Never Steve’s or Nancy’s. Always dad’s. Eddie never had trouble with the terrible two’s, however three was a particular rough age. She was sick a lot then. Nothing serious, but it always seemed she had a cold or some sort of allergy. He took of work a lot during that time and lost money he didn’t have to loose, but he made it work. He quickly learned that as a parent, you somehow always found a way to manage. It was a superpower.

She was a good kid. She didn’t cry much as a baby, and when she does cry, it’s usually when she’s tired. She hates naps, but anytime she pouts and her lip pulls down, her eyes start to water and she stomps her foot, Eddie knows she’s ready to take a nap. He can almost always bribe her to lay down with reading a story to her.

Anytime she tries a new food, he always makes sure they’re at the parking lot of the hospital, paranoid you’re going to be allergic to something he’s given you. He also learned that being a parent takes years off your life. You’re scared all the time, yet you’ve never been happier. You love like you’ve never loved before. It was the most joyous, powerful thing he’d ever felt. Patty was the love of his life.

She always wants to go to work with dad. She doesn’t like school much. Yet another thing she got from Eddie. She’s good at her letters and numbers, has friends, but more often than not she’s being send home with a note about cursing in class or saying something out of turn.

Her first day of school was hard on both of them. She didn’t understand why dad couldn’t stay. He tried to make it seem like a playdate with all her friends, just a really long play date. He almost cried on the way home, hating the way she cried with her teacher when he left. It was like that everyday for the first week of school, becoming easier over time,

The first time Eddie punished her he could barely do it. He’d told her she couldn’t watch tv before bed. She’d gotten angry and cussed at him. He almost backed down, because it was his fault she learned the words anyways. But he stayed strong, though her tears tore him up on the inside, thinking that she would hate him forever. Another thing he learned, kids got over things quickly.

Patty and Eddie were best friends, two peas in a pod. They were the dictionary definition of father and daughter. He loved nothing more on planet earth than her, and he knew now, that his life finally had meaning.

[heyitspersephone]

Thinking about stranger things again now that the strikes are over and how, narratively, it would be way, WAY cooler to have Mike get Vecna’d instead of Will in s5

It’s just something about the way Mike’s trauma is never addressed or handled in any way?? Like, he hugs his mom twice and then when he was depressed in season 2 and 4 nobody did anything (his parents scolded him for his behavior in s2 ig but that’s not support). His best friend went missing leaving from his house, he watched his body get pulled from the quarry, watched El (in his eyes) kill herself stopping the demogorgon, watched Will be possessed, saw Bob die, was in Star Court when everything went down, saw Billy die, had his best friend move away, was SHOT AT (and really too few people talk about the shooting in Cali bc omg??), buried a body, and watched the apocalypse start. And that’s just off the top of my head.

(And yes I’m aware that the other characters (especially Will) are traumatized too but I will get to my point in a second just hold on)

The plot is geared towards this idea that Will and Henry have to have some big face off (and they should, in my opinion, but I don’t think it should be in a possession, or at least not the the Vecna kind of possession, yk?) but that makes it all the better, writing wise, to have mike be the one in danger. Will was helpless and hiding in s1, I think Will should get his big strong moments in s5 where he gets to be the hero of the story.

It would just be a lot more fun to work with Mike being Vecna’d than Will, because what are we going to bring up with Will’s visions? His dad? His sexuality? The events of s1 from his perspective? It would be cool to see, for sure, but we already know most of that. Mike, on the other hand, has a number of untapped things, like jumping off the quarry, why he’s so hesitant to tell El he loves her, how someone who was smart and kind enough to take El in in s1 and come up with the spy and sauna plans in s2 and s3 could turn into the oblivious asshole that he was in s3 and s4 (he needs therapy, ik, I still love his character but I want to explore the reasons he went from his s2 characterization to his s3 one)

It would be a very interesting parallel, I think, to explore Mike’s thought processes in this way, especially with all of Mike’s repression business (bc whether you ship byler or milkvan he is repressing his feelings HARD. Like, beyond his inability to say I love you there’s the fact that he doesn’t bring up the apparent many times he called pre-s4 during the Rink O Mania fight?? That literally would’ve absolved him of guilt in that argument since he WAS reaching out to Will the whole time? Hellooooo????).

Anyways, this all brings me to my main point: Vecna targets isolation as much as he targets trauma and guilt. The whole party was traumatized by the events in s1, s2, and s3, but Max was the one targeted. Plus, Henry went for Fred, Chrissy, and Patrick (I think his name was Patrick) instead of going for the perceivably easy targets that the mcs would make (ik narratively that would’ve made it more boring but shhh), so why Max and those three specifically? They were isolated. Lucas and Erica have each other, Dustin goes to Steve and Robin, Will and El have each other and Jonathan and Joyce, Nancy probably goes to Jonathan, and who does Mike go to?

No one. And don’t say Nancy because if those two have heart to hearts then I’m the next coming of Christ. Max separated herself from the Party in the aftermath of her grief and guilt over Billy, and it feels quite obvious that Mike was doing the same (like I said, he has repression issues). So Mike is traumatized, alone, and guilty (be it Will getting taken from Mike’s house, losing El in front of him multiple times, the many deaths he has witnessed, or the internalized homophobia angle), which makes him more of a target than Will, in my opinion (or at least an easier one, especially given his tendency to put himself on the line during fights (quarry, most of s2, s3 mindflayer fight), which would set him up on the suicidal ideation path)

Furthermore, as I’ve seen a few other people point out (and I can’t find the posts but one of them had eight screenshots of the various moments), Mike is always the one getting in the way, so it would be a strategic move for Henry to target him to get him out of the picture. Mike was the one that found El and got her involved in saving Will s1, he was the one who came up with the spy plan and called out the ambush in s2, he was the one to monologue Will out of his possession s2, he was the one with the sauna plan for Billy in s3, he was the one trying to help El get the strength to fight s4 (even if the monologue sucked ass it’s the intention that counts). As much as people like to hate on Mike, he is in the leader position most of the time when the party is grouped up (barring his mental health struggles slowing that down beginning of s3 and throughout s4, but he’s still capable of it). He’s the idea man, and he’s the one whose character’s foundations were built on the desire to keep his friends safe, so it would be a very fun plot line to watch him be the one targeted in s5. Like Will said, as lovestruck and cheesy as he was, Mike is the heart of the party when he’s on his A-game, so Henry should 100% be trying to keep him in the issues he’s been struggling with.

Obviously, Will and El are the Targets with a capital T for Henry since they’re the ones that got away or whatever, but I think Mike is a weakness of Will’s (and El’s tbh but also I think they need to have separate character arcs and I don’t exactly ship milkvan) that should be exploited.

TL;DR: Mike should get Vecna’d instead of Will in s5 because it would make sense in lore and be a very cool way to resolve his character arc

[abibliophobiaa]

hello lunieee

I would like to request some dad!Steve-

HAH

just kidding.

I would love some dad!Eddie in the summer playing with his tween kid - maybe running through the sprinkler or someone gets sprayed with the hose, maybe eating ice pops, but most important of all is Eddie being a nerdy, kinda lame adorkable dad that his kid both loves and cringes at. Bonus points if we are watching him and really feelin' a surge of attraction or affection based on his antics.

thank you love youuu 💕

Gone Fishing: Just Go With It…

warnings: r is pregnant, minor injury & barely edited — i needed something soft, sweet and fluffy today. (2.6k words)

dad!eddie munson x afab!mom!reader.

masterlist

——

It’s meant to be a joke.

A little Russian Roulette game, if you will. A precursor to the barbecue plans with your friends for the summer festivities to determine if the pitcher of sangria Robin put her heart and soul into will end up going to waste.

Once you’ve all taken your tests, Max and El have you all turn around and scramble the order. When ready, you all turn around to find the three tests face up on the countertop.

“Mine’s negative,” Robin says, dramatically wiping the back of her hand over her brow. “What a relief!”

But she’s met only with silence.

Until. “Holy shit,” Max breathes out, trying to not break out into incredulous laughter.

“That one is definitely positive,” El points out, hooking her chin over Nancy’s shoulder.

Two lines.

Two very dark lines.

So you…or Nancy.

Baby number four for her, or number three for you.

Shit.

Nancy bites her lip. Turns to you, smile a little hopeful despite the fact your nerves are buzzing to life at the prospect of another baby when you and Eddie hadn’t intended for another baby.

“Guess we have to take another,” she says, reaching for more test strips.

——

“Hey man, can you watch Quinnie?” Eddie asks, passing off the giggly two year old to her honorary uncle. “I’m just going to run to the bathroom.”

And they prove to be famous last words.

Words that change a lot.

Because as he’s washing his hands, humming a song that had been playing on the radio before he’d run inside, he spots the tests.

Multiple tests.

He’s seen a few since becoming a dad to know what two lines or a smiley face means.

He also knows that you, Nancy, Robin, El and Max had all gone to the bathroom at the same time to ‘take care of something.’

So despite it being his bathroom, in his home, he’s not sure if it’s your test.

But, he does know someone is pregnant.

Someone standing outside in his backyard just a few feet away.

The sudden realization hits him then. Either he’s becoming an uncle again to four, or a father of three.

Shit.

——

“And you’re sure?” Steve asks, carding his fingers through his hair. Eddie pulls the strips out of his pocket and Steve whisper-yells, “There’s pee on those!”

“Grow up, Harrington, they’ve got the caps on. We have bigger things to worry about.” Eddie holds the tests in the space between the two of them, bent low near the grill, far away from the rest of the guests.

In the distance he can see you and Nancy watching the youngest Harringtons and Munsons in the pool while the older “kids” watch on. James’ laughter echoes as Dustin and Lucas toss him up into the air and catch him, his little rubber ducky floaties keeping him from slipping too far beneath the water’s surface.

You’re glowing, Quinn bouncing on your hip, wearing the same brightly colored summer dress you’re wearing that flutters around your thighs in the cool summer breeze. And he wonders briefly whether or not you carry a little secret beneath your heart.

“So one of us is pregnant?” Steve exhales deeply as Eddie nods, running a palm down his face. “Look—I know I said I wanted six, but I’m overrun by girls at the moment, Ed. Do you know how terrifying throwing a fourth girl into the mix is?”

Steve’s gaze travels over to Nancy and his three little girls. One reaches out to grab at her little ‘cousin’ Quinn, while the other two try to quite literally become mermaids in the pool, little legs kicking behind them, spraying Mike Wheeler in the face until he’s redder than a damn tomato.

“What do you think we should do?” Eddie asks, flipping over the burgers on the grill, waving as you look over your shoulder and give him one of your wonderful smiles he loves so much.

“Should we ask them?” Steve wonders, tossing some cheese on top, both men watching with increasing nervousness over their present (potential) situations.

“No—no, you absolutely cannot ask them if they’re pregnant.” Eddie shoves the bag of burger buns into his best friend’s chest. “Start laying the buns in that container right there. Yeah, that one. But as I was saying…asking a woman if she’s pregnant is enough to get you as number one on their to-kill list. Do you not fear death?”

Steve seems to consider this, swallowing thickly as he lays out the buns in the tin container so Eddie can begin loading burgers on top. “Nancy will murder me in my sleep.”

“Exactly.” Once the burgers are loaded up, he calls out into the open yard that dinner is ready and then claps Steve on the shoulder. “Best plan of action is to be supportive, remain calm, and act natural.”

——

“Are the guys being a little weird?” You ask, running your fingers through Quinn’s little curls, the two year old dozing against your chest.

“You two married the weirdest guys in Hawkins,” Robin says, sipping her cup of sangria. “I’d say this is within normal limits for them.”

“Steve knocked my drink out of my hand,” Nancy points out, pulling at a piece of cookie and popping it into her mouth.

“And Eddie kept demanding I eat more,” you add, laughing at the memory of your overly eager husband adding more macaroni salad to your plate as soon as you’d finished your first spoonful. “He also kept asking me if I should be holding Quinn.”

The men in question are presently standing in the yard bare chested in their swimsuits, with the sprinkler running. The kids rush through the stream all taking turns, still donning their little pool floaties, little shrieks of joy and peals of infectious laughter warming your heart.

Because you and Eddie finally saved up enough to buy this home, and are now sharing it with your friends who are more likely family now, and seeing the happiness on all their faces has made all the endless hours of work, hardships and obstacles so worth it.

So no, you can’t help the fear that wedges into your heart if you disrupt all of that.

——

“J! NO!”

Quinn whines from Eddie’s lap as James leans over and snatches a marshmallow from the bag his daughter is insistent upon keeping clutched in her tiny palms.

“Quinnie, give me!”

Quinn’s newest favorite word in the dictionary other than Momma and Dadda?

No.

She uses it so often, Eddie sometimes forgets she’s picked up others throughout the past few months.

“NO!”

This time, her little fingers curl in her brother’s hair and give a harsh tug. Hard enough he winces and scrambles onto Eddie’s lap, knocking the wind from him when his knobby knee jabs him in the stomach, to try and alleviate the stress on his hair.

Catching his bearings once more, Eddie grips his daughter’s hand and unfurls her angry little knuckles, finger by finger until she reluctantly releases James.

“Quinnie, let’s be nice to your brother,” Eddie coos, bouncing her on his thigh as you start to rise from your chair, conversation with Nancy and Robin pausing to see the commotion. Wanting to show you he can, in fact, handle three kids, he shakes his head, reassuring, “I’ve got this.”

“NO!”

Steve glances over from beside him, braiding both his little girl’s hair into braids at the backs of their heads. Eddie frowns, and Steve gives him a sympathetic smile as his own littlest one trips over the leg of his chair and takes a tumble onto the patio below, scraping her knee and bursting into ear piercing wails, crying out for Mama.

——

“Chloe, do you want vanilla or chocolate ice cream for being such a good girl?” You ask, leaning your back against the kitchen counter as Nancy finishes putting a pink bandaid on her youngest daughter’s knee.

Hazel eyes that resemble her father’s peer up at you, fingers pointing to the vanilla container held up in your hands. “‘Bow sprinkle, pease!”

“She wants rainbow sprinkles,” Nancy clarifies as you get to work on her daughter’s ice cream, shoulders slouching, tears burning on your lower lash line. “Hey. Hey. What’s going on? You’ve been quiet tonight.”

Forearm pressing to your sweat-slick forehead, you sigh. “Eddie and I never talked about having another baby. We’ve been trying to save up for the house, we got the house, and now we’re really only just settling into the house. And I don’t even know how this happened, or how he’s going to react, or if he even wants another baby. We always said two and I-I—”

“Momma cry,” Quinn huffs beside Chloe, lifting at the edge of her frilly little summer dress.

You let out a weak laugh at that, sniffling noisily. “Momma is crying, yes sweetie.”

Nancy tugs you close as you join her and the girls on the counter, handing each of the greediest little ones a tiny spoon to likely smear vanilla ice cream on their faces with.

“We planned for James and planned for Quinnie.” With a groan, you grab your own spoon and shovel a spoonful of rainbow sprinkles into your mouth, needing a little sweetness to quell the nervousness bubbling in your belly.

“Well, it seems like that little one had other plans. I know it’s not ideal. But if you take away the house, if you take away all the other things stressing you out right about now, what do you feel?”

And that’s the thing. If you think about it. If you really think about it, you love your husband. Have for so many years now. You married him for all of the reasons you’d said in your vows. Wanted to take on life together, build a family, build a home.

Now here you are, still as deeply in love with him as you were that day, in the house of your dreams you never thought you’d own, with your sweet little boy who has love in his heart and joy in his laugh, and your little girl with her father’s tenacity and your features, and this unexpected little one, faceless and nameless and yet loved.

So so loved already.

“I’m happy. Just…really happy.”

“Then you’ll figure everything else out as you go.”

——

Outside, Eddie’s sitting near the bonfire with his acoustic guitar on his lap, strumming along to a silly song meant for the children. Made up, naturally. A tale of beautiful princes and princesses who wield swords and fight impressive dragons, of harrowing tales and defeating evil.

James sits on his lap, beaming bright, with chocolate smeared across his cheeks, heading into what is surely to be a lovely night of sleep induced by a food coma. Steve’s got his two older daughters, Olivia and Violet, draped over each of his thighs, their heads swaying back and forth and feet kicking as Eddie slips in and out of singing and speaking his stories.

The older kids in “The Party” have started cleaning up, weaving in and out of the house as you and Nancy make your way back outside the sliding glass door with Chloe and Quinn on your hips.

And later, as Steve and Robin show the kids how to safely play with sparklers, tips of their little fireworks exploding into colorful light, Eddie pulls you into his side and presses a kiss to your temple, murmuring he loves you against your skin.

You reply the same, turning your head enough so you can peck him once. Then again, humming into his smile. “Our first party in our new home.”

“The Munson home,” he says, kissing you once more.

And as his arms loop around your waist and James calls out “Mommy and Daddy look!” his little face illuminated in the dark, excitement blooming across his features, and your little girl dancing with Max and El off in the grass, you know you’re exactly where you’re meant to be.

In this home, with your family, and these people.

——

Quinn is already down for the night when Eddie starts getting James ready for bed. The boy in question yawns and protests very little as his father lifts him once he’s done dressing for bed and lays him down in his bed shaped like a little race car that Steve had helped put together for him on his sixth birth.

“Can we read The Hobbit?” James asks, clambering over his father’s chest as he settles down beside him on the mattress.

“Yes, but only one chapter, okay?”

James nods his agreement and Eddie begins where they left off, using all the silly fake voices that James always laughs at. Those belly laughs that shake the boy, and warm Eddie from head to toe. Those same laughs that remind him he’s not his father. That reminds him that he’s been made for this; to be your husband, James’ dad and Quinn’s dad. He’s got his support system. His uncle who is more a father to him now than anything else and the strength of his friendships. All he needs, really.

As he finishes reading, and James’ eyes grow heavier, his head curling into Eddie’s neck, James whispers, “I love you, daddy.” Eddie replies the same. Lifts his head and finds you there in the doorway.

Sees the worry lining your brow, remembers the way Nancy had warned him you’d been a little upset as her, Steve and the kids had left, and he has an inkling why. But he doesn’t know for certain.

All he knows is no matter what, as long as you have each other, it’ll all be okay.

You’ll figure out the rest as you go.

——

“Hey, baby? Can you come here for a second?” Eddie calls, just as you finish brushing your teeth and pat your face dry.

Exhaling deeply, you slip out of the bathroom and find him already propped up against the mountain of pillows on your bed, bare chest on display. He’s added tattoos as time has gone by, meant to cover the tapestry of scars across his skin, the same ones that you’ve traced countless times over the years, forever thankful that he’s still here.

His hands reach out to curl around the fullest part of your hips as you lower yourself down onto his lap, a thigh bracketing each of his hips, your own hands resting against the heat of his chest.

He rubs gentle patterns there. Callus scarred fingers dance across your thighs, along the curve of your hips, over your ribcage, the smallest point of your back, the softness of your stomach. Eddie pauses there, dark eyes meeting your own, tongue dragging a slow line across his lips.

“Eddie…” you begin, but Eddie jumps in before you can say any more.

“I want you to know I saw the pregnancy tests in the bathroom. I don’t know if they’re yours, but I wouldn’t be upset if they are. We have this home, we have each other. I got that promotion to manager at the shop, we’ve been saving. We might not have planned for another one, but I think we did a pretty damn good job with the first two, and I would love this baby so much and I—”

“It was my test. Both of them. I’m pregnant.”

His fingers spread further across your stomach, before reaching up to grip at both your cheeks and pull you close for a lingering kiss that has your toes curling. Before you can say anything else, he’s rolling you over onto your back and shoving at the flimsy sleep shirt you’re wearing, pressing kiss after kiss to your midsection.

“I’ll take it that you’re happy?” you giggle, threading your fingers in the soft curls at the back of his head.

Another kiss, this time to your belly button. “So happy,” he says, a grin growing against your skin. “Hi Maisie, it’s your daddy. I already love you so, so much.”

“Maisie, huh?”

“We always liked the name, and I have a gut feeling.”

Several months later, Eddie’s right.

Maisie Munson enters the world.

Seven pounds, six ounces, and pure love.

——

——

[moonah-rose]

Sorry gonna ramble about Robin and Kitty again. I just find it fascinating how they're both pretty much the same age but they couldn't have had different lives.

Robin's seemed to be mostly travelling with his tribe all across the continent until they came to what's now Britain. One can only imagine the world and creatures he saw growing up. He lived a harsh, brutal existence where he had to fight to survive, had to hunt and make fire and craft tools and clothes. But he also had a lot of uhm...intimate relations, we know at least with his sister but apparently thirty others? Can never work out if that number refers to lovers or kids, could be both. He was probably a dad before he was fifteen. He watched family members die in brutal ways until it desensitised him. So by the time he's twenty three he looks twice (er hem) his age because he's lived a full life in such a brief time.

But then you have Kitty, who we can assume was adopted quite young. We don't know what kind of life she had in Jamaica with her original family but she doesn't seem to remember them and considers the Highams her true family. But from then on we know she was incredibly sheltered and basically kept as a child, simple and carefree. Lolly describes her as a Georgian teenager despite being in her early twenties. While Robin had a very hypersexual life, Kitty seems to know next to nothing about sex or how babies are made, and while she coos over the sight of Nancy she doesn't seem to really like babies themselves if they take attention away from her, in the case of Mia.

And yet these two wildly different "youngsters" of the group both share a love of balloons, dancing, singing, finding shapes in the stars/clouds and just being happy and silly for the sake of it.

[liminalmemories21]

Hi Lim!

A writing prompt: “You go first.”

He's walked in on any number of scenes at the firehouse in the last three year, from prank wars, to foosball competitions, to sweaty one upmanship in the gym. Sometimes they're even working, although not usually between the hours of 12-1pm unless the trucks are out on a call.

When he walks in today the entirety of the 126 is standing around the kitchen table staring at something.

"It was for you, Cap," Marjan says, and there's more than a hint of aggressive innocence in her voice. "You should take the first bite."

Owen makes a dubious noise. "It was for the firehouse, as Captain I should really eat last."

Carlos raises his eyebrows, and wonders what can possibly be on the table.

"So, reverse seniority?" Paul asks. "Mateo should go first."

He's familiar with the particular silence of Mateo trying to find a polite way to say hell no to food. Granted he's more familiar with it when Mateo is presented with something Owen has made that he claims is a healthier version of something that usually tastes good, but Owen doesn't seem eager to eat whatever it is either.

He finds TK on the other side of the table, eyeing whatever it is with the expression Carlos usually reserves for the live crickets they give Lou II as a treat. He tries to peer at the table, but Judd is a solid wall in front of him, and he gives up and clears his throat.

"Hi guys."

They all turn and look at him with eerily identical expressions. "Carlos should go first, he's a guest," Nancy says triumphantly.

TK opens his mouth, hopefully to defend him from whatever the hell it is that's on the table, and then shuts it abruptly on a squawk when Tommy clearly steps on his foot, and really he wouldn't have suspected that of Tommy.

"What should I try?" he asks, and hopes he doesn't sound quite as filled with trepidation as he is.

"Kendra brought Cap a present," Judd offers, and Carlos narrows his eyes, because there's definite amusement in Judd's voice.

"Kendra very kindly brought a present for the station," Owen corrects. "She was in Italy on business recently and brought us back some cheese."

"Okay," he says slowly, because there has to be more to this story than a wedge of Parmesan. "What kind of cheese?"

Tommy flips open a card and reads, "Casu Marzu is a traditional sheep's milk cheese from Sardinian. Once considered a rare delicacy it has now been classified as a traditional food and is being introduced in the finest restaurants."

The name rings a very faint bell in his head and he steps up to the table with more curiosity. TK elbows his boss. "Read the rest of the card."

Tommy eyes the cheese and grimaces. "The ancient traditional cheese making process is further enhanced by the larva of cheese flies hatching inside the ripening cheese and adding to the fermentation process." She pauses. "The larva may be removed before consuming, but many people consider them to add a subtle nuance to the flavor and be an integral part of the experience."

He takes a hasty step back, hands behind his back. Judd snorts, but Carlos notices that he's a safe foot away from the table. "And you're actually planning on eating it?" he says faintly.

"You're a foodie," Paul says mildly.

He glares at him. "So are you."

Paul shakes his head emphatically. "That shit's moving. I gotta draw the line somewhere."

He shudders and swallows hard. TK comes around the edge of the table and takes his hand. "Don't worry baby, I won't let them make you eat Dad's weird cheese."

"Dirty," Nancy mutters, and TK scowls at her.

There's a noise behind them and Buttercup wanders in, visibly torn between demanding affection from all of her favorite people and the food on the table. Carlos eyes her and then the cheese and then her again. "What if," he says slowly, "what if you said you were about to try the cheese and then a call came in and Buttercup ate it while y'all were out."

"We are not feeding that cheese to Buttercup," TK objects, horrified.

He shakes his head. "No, we put the cheese in the dumpster," or the incinerator he thinks privately. "You just tell Kendra that Buttercup ate it."

Paul leans around Marjan to high five him. "I take back what I said about the pudding cup. You, sir, are a criminal mastermind."

[livwritesstuff]

2003, established relationship, dads!steddie w/ 2yo daughter

The afternoon that Steve and Ed get a phone call that changes their life starts out with Steve at home alone, Ed having taken Moe to a park nearby for a while so Steve could have some time to go over his schedule of clients for the week and get all his notes organized.

He’s finished now, though, and working on throwing lunch together, and Ed’s pretty good with the timing of this kind of thing so he and Moe should be back any second.

Indeed, only a few minutes later, Steve hears the door open as Ed lets himself and Moe in.

“Bug, I promise I’m not trying to help you,” Ed is saying, and Steve can’t help a snort (the first month of Moe’s terrible twos had proven itself to be less terrible and more an ongoing debate over what she could and couldn’t do by herself; the second month is shaping up to be much of the same), “Maybe I just don’t want to watch you plummet back down the stairs we just spent five minutes walking up. Forgive me. You’re a very big girl and don’t ever need help with anything. Noted. Understood.”

A moment later, Moe barrels into the kitchen.

“Papa!” she exclaims, crashing into his legs.

Steve swings her up into his arms, and she immediately buries her face in the neckline of his t-shirt.

“You have fun?” he asks. He feels her nod against his shoulder, “You gonna take a long nap for daddy while I’m at work.”

She shakes her head.

“Weird — something tells me you might.”

Ed appears a few moments later.

“How was it?” Steve asks him.

“I spent twenty minutes watching that kid try to step onto the curb,” Ed replies with a grin, “She’s fantastic. How long until you have to head out?”

“Another hour or so,” he tells him as he sits Moe down in her booster seat at the kitchen table and runs a hand over her blonde hair (it’s just long enough to put into little pigtails now, which is so so cute, and Steve definitely sees bangs in her future once it gets a little longer).

“Excellent. How are we tricking the child into eating vegetables today?”

“There’s squash and cauliflower and the orange one she knows the name of in the mac and cheese sauce,” Steve replies. 

(With Moe’s vocabulary increasing exponentially, he and Ed are finding themselves speaking in weird vegetable-related code more and more while they decide how they’d like to navigate a phase of picky-eating she’d recently entered. Steve has been doing his best to sneak vegetables into as much of her food as he can get away with in the meantime, but he has a feeling that Moe might be catching on).

Once Moe is settled in with her lunch, Steve heads upstairs to get dressed for work and fix his hair. When he returns to the kitchen, he finds that the dishes have been cleared into the sink and Ed is using half a cookie to bribe Moe into telling him that the square root of nine is three — not because she actually understands the math, obviously (she’s only just started being able to differentiate one number from the next), but since she learned (memorized) one plus one equals two, Ed has been on a crusade to find the most complicated equation she could memorize the answer to. She now gives a confident Twelve in response to What’s three times four? and he’s apparently moved on to square roots (which might be too big a leap, Steve thinks, but only time will tell).

“Damn, Ed, if math was this important to you back in high school you might’a graduated on time,” he says, running a hand over Ed’s shoulders.

“Oh, fuck off. Do you know how much money Holly makes?” Ed asks, tipping his head back to look up at him, “Nancy told me how much money that kid makes. She’s twenty-three years old and making an absurd amount of money, Steve. Sue me for wanting our kid to develop some profitable proclivities.”

Steve shakes his head as he lifts Moe out of her seat, rescuing her from her dad’s flights of arithmetical fantasy.

When the phone rings (with the call that changes his and Ed’s life a second time), Steve is sitting on the ground with his back against the fridge watching as Moe plays with the colorful, plastic magnetic alphabet letters stuck to the stainless steel (“stainless my ass,” Ed had once muttered while trying to wipe Moe’s little fingerprints off the metal). Most of the letters have been shifted up to Steve and Ed’s eye level after months of spelling out multicolored messages to each other — currently, some of them are spelling buY mORe EgGs (Steve’s doing), with no fUck u (Ed’s) underneath.

Ed, standing at the sink and carefully scrubbing a cast-iron pan, is closer to the phone so he doesn’t hesitate to reach for it.

“Hey, this is Ed,” he says. A moment later, he turns and levels an eyebrow at Steve, “Oh, hi Lorraine. How’re you?”

There’s a pause, Ed’s face relaxing while he listens to Lorraine. After only a moment or two, his eyebrows shoot up.

“Oh…shit.” 

continue on A03

[londonharrington]

cardigan | steve harrington x fem!reader

Y/N has been always Steve’s number one girl, until Nancy came along. now that they’re done, Steve wants her to be back in his life, however Y/N’s not sure if it’s worth it.

notes: 7/9 of my 100 followers celebration! this is a prequel to mine. hopper!reader. 

and I knew you'd come back to me.

Ever since Y/N could remember, she was always Steve’s best friend.

She remembers the day that Steve willingly asked if he could push her on the swing so she could go higher like it was yesterday.

She remembers the flower-picking “dates”, the picnics by the park, even the fake wedding that she and Steve had when they were seven and Y/N’s parents invited Steve’s for one weekend.

She remembers him picking her up for school and dropping her back home where he’ll stay ‘till god knows that time. She remembers all the sleepovers and the making of breakfasts together.

But all of those seemed like a distant memory now.

Now that Nancy has became Steve’s girlfriend, Y/N was pushed to the sidelines. Before they were thick as thieves, but now he seems to forget that she was there.

And then everything changed.

Y/N was dragged to the mess when she was supposed to be babysitting Mike, Lucas, and Dustin but to her surprise, there was a girl with them as they dragged her along to escape the bad men that were looking for the little girl that was with them.

Her dad was obviously shocked that she was even involved, but he couldn’t help but feel relieved as he didn’t have to keep such a huge secret from her.

When Will was found and they were in the hospital, Y/N was surprised that Steve was even there. She thought that Nancy was there so obviously he was there as well.

She knew that he kept on looking at her but all she had to do was to lay her head on her dad’s shoulder and let him do all the bad staring he wanted to Steve.

That was the last time they interacted that year.

♡ ♡ ♡

Now it has been a year and a lot has changed.

First, Y/N and her dad moved in the middle of the woods when he found Eleven last Christmas, which Y/N treated as a sister. She hasn’t been a sister to anybody since they lost Sara.

Secondly, she heard that Nancy called Steve bullshit and they were now broken up. Y/N on the other hand had taken an interest on Billy, the new Hawkins High king, as he lightly proclaimed it.

Thirdly, Y/N was currently on her way to the old junkyard where they hid the year prior along with Lucas and Billy’s little sister, Max.

To her surprise, Dustin and Steve were already there, for some reason, pouring a bunch of raw meat in one spot.

“I said medium-well!” Lucas suddenly shouted, waving at the two of them.

The three of them made their way towards Steve and Dustin as they had confusion written on their faces.

As Dustin and Lucas talked behind a car, Y/N helped Max in building some sort of wall against the school bus. She was trying to avoid Steve as he kept on looking at her.

“Hey! dickheads! How come the only ones helping me out is this random girl and Y/N? We lose light in 40 minutes. Let’s go.”

When they were done in whatever they built, Y/N still didn’t understand what it was, they hid inside the school bus. As Lucas and Max were up in the roof, Dustin was pacing, Steve was playing with a lighter, and Y/N leaned by one of the windows.

Y/N zoned out in whatever they were talking about and only took notice when Steve stood right beside her.

“Some day, huh?” Steve said, trying to start a conversation with the girl he hasn’t talked to in over a year.

Y/N just shrugged before saying, “What do you want Harrington?”

“Ouch. Now I’m just Harrington to you? Have you forgotten that we are married?”

“That was 10 years ago and it wasn’t legally binding.”

“Still. We’re married. What’s up with you and Billy?”

“None of your business, Harrington. Leave me alone.”

Steve was about to reply when they saw something moving amongst the fog. He went out of the bus with the bat as he stepped towards the sound.

“He is so fucking stupid,” Y/N said.

Steve continued to urge the demogorgon as he swung the bat around.

“He’s insane.”

“He’s awesome.”

Lucas noticed another demogorgon as he tried to warn him.

“Steve! Abort! Abort!”

“Steve! Get your fucking ass back in this bus!”

They all screamed at him to get back in the bus and Y/N quickly shut the door as he got back in, preventing the demogorgons from entering.

All were taking deep breaths that they didn’t even realize that Steve and Y/N were holding each other’s hand. When Y/N realized, she quickly let go and wiped her hand on her jeans.

Little did she know this action hurt Steve’s feelings more than she’ll ever know.

♡ ♡ ♡

Many, many hours later, Steve and Y/N were forced as babysitters as her dad took El back to the gate and the Byers’ along with Nancy went to their cabin in the woods.

The kids were trying to come up with a plan as Steve tried to interject.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! This is not happening, No buts. We promised we’d keep you shitheads safe, and that’s exactly what we plan on. We’re staying here on bench, and we’re waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand that?”

The kids protested at Steve’s idea but Steve wasn’t having it, “I said does everybody understand that? I need a yes.”

Before the children could agree, they all heard an engine right outside the house. Y/N and Max rushed to the window as they knew whose car it was.

Y/N stepped away and looked at Steve as he nodded his head and going outside the house.

“Am I dreaming, or is that you, Harrington?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Don’t cream your pants.”

“Billy? Why are you here?” Y/N asked going outside the house, standing beside Steve.

Billy’s jaw tightened when he saw Y/N with Steve, “What are you doing here babe? Along with this, amigo?”

“We could ask the same, amigo,” Steve said as he stepped towards Billy.

“Looking for my stepsister. A little birdie told me she was here.”

“Huh? That’s weird. I don’t know her.”

“Small? redhead? Bit of a bitch. Babe, you seen where she is?”

“No, I don’t know where she is Billy.”

Billy dragged his cigarette out of his mouth and started talking to Steve and Y/N.

“You know, I don't know, this... This whole situation, Harrington, I don't know.  It's giving me the heebie-jeebies.”

“Oh, yeah? Why's that?”

“My 13-year-old sister goes missing all day. I did not here anything about my girlfriend for the whole day. And then I find the two of them with you in a stranger's house. And you two lie to me about it.”

“Man, were you dropped too much as a child, or what? I don’t know what you don’t understand about what I just said. She’s not here.”

“Then who is that?”

The two looked back at the house and saw the kids looking out window.

“Shit. Listen--”

Steve was cut off when Billy pushed him and when Y/N tried to stop him, he slapped her across the face.

Billy marched his way towards the house and when Steve and Y/N got inside, they saw Billy pinning Lucas against the wall.

“You are so dead, Sinclair! You’re dead!”

Steve pulled him off Lucas, “No. You are,” as he threw the first punch.

Y/N rushed to Jonathan’s bedroom because she knows he has 2 guns in there. And to her luck, he didn’t grab both.

She quickly grabbed the gun and saw Steve and Billy punching on another, with Billy almost killing him.

Y/N tackled Billy down and pointed the gun towards his head.

“Leave us alone, Billy. Or I’ll shoot this.”

“Didn’t know you had that kind of fire in you princess.”

“My dad is the chief. He’s wrapped around my finger, he’ll manage to cover up whatever shit I pull.”

Billy hit Y/N across the jaw as he grabbed a beer bottle that was lying around and he hit Y/N’s head with it.

Billy was about to punch Y/N again when Max stabbed a needle in him, leaving it in.

Y/N vision got blurry as she laid right beside Steve, with Billy following the two of them. She passed out in with confusion as she saw Max grab Billy’s car keys.

♡ ♡ ♡

When Y/N finally woke up, she saw Steve along with the kids standing in front of the car, hands covering part of their eyes.

Y/N stumbled out of the car as Steve rushed to her aid, “What fucking happened?”

Steve just let out a sigh of relief as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Basking in relief as he took in Y/N’s scent.

“Can we talk? Alone, please?”

“Now, Steve?”

“Yes, now. Kids, get inside the car.”

The four kids had their eyebrows furrowed as they got in the car.

“What do you want to talk about, Steve?”

“I want to say I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything. When I just dropped you because of Nancy. When I stopped picking you up and as well as when I never called you again. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s all in the past--” Y/N tried to interject but Steve cut her off.

“When you weren’t waking up earlier, I was so scared. Not only because of your dad, but I thought I lost you again, without telling you how I feel. I love you, Y/N, ever since we got married 10 years ago,” Steve laughs at the memory as he placed his hand on Y/N’s cheek.

“You’re just saying that because of the adrenaline, Steve,” she replied as she tried to shake his hand away from her face, but it remained.

“No, I’m not.”

“I’m not sure, Steve. I don’t want to get hurt because of you again. I don’t think my heart will be able to take it.”

“I won’t hurt you, ever again.”

“Promise?”

“I promise. Plus I think you dad will shot me if I break your heart again.”

The two of them laughed as they remained on each other’s arms, trying to come down from the high with everything that just happened. The two were finally back in each other’s lives and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

♡ ♡ ♡

A/N: I’ll upload the one I have for Lover last because it’s my favorite TS album :))

taglist on the reblog

add yourself to my taglist

[moonchildreads]

small town

Chapter 17 - Girls Just Want to Have Fun

IN THIS CHAPTER: A short roadtrip, blackmailing a jock, and Lady Di sends a signal [7.7k]

WARNINGS: andy the bully makes an appearance but nothing serious happens! lots of foreshadowing tho lol

A/N: shout out to my beloved @justahappycloud for vibechecking andy and dot's conversation for me! you're absolutely wonderful and i honest to god cannot believe i'm gonna hug you in a couple of days. i love you so so much, and i can't wait to tell you that in person. having said that, i'm gonna take a break from posting because i'm going on holiday! i'll still be around if you want to talk and i might leave... a couple of extras for you... you'll have to see! regular updates will return on friday, june 30th!

masterlist - prev - next | main playlist - chapter playlist

Oh, daddy dear, you know you're still number one But girls, they wanna have fun

Friday, May 23rd - 1986

Dorothy Burke couldn’t remember being this fucking angry in her entire goddamn life. She was pretty sure that if she were a cartoon character, steam would have been coming out of her ears the minute she heard Andy fucking Humphrey brag about getting an A in his latest AP Spanish pop quiz. She’d been watching him all week, eyes always stuck to his back during class, ears perking up when she heard his obnoxious cackle in the cafeteria, hands turning into fists when he’d “accidentally” tripped a quiet sophomore on his way to the bathroom. So when Mr. Lorenzo returned last week’s pop quizzes to them on Wednesday and praised him for “finally deciding to take his studies seriously” after she saw him cheat on the entire test, Dottie began plotting for revenge. Not because of the test, she didn’t give two shits about that and, of course, snitches get stitches. No, this one was for Gareth, and Dustin, and Donny, and Jeff, and any of the times he thought being Hawkins High royalty absolved him from sin. She’d make him pay. Not right now, but eventually he’d get what was coming to him. And it all began that Friday before finals week.

Her last class on Fridays was, thankfully, AP Spanish. Dottie planned everything to perfection, tested her escape route on Wednesday in case she needed a quick getaway, and asked her friends to wait until her Dad came to pick her up so she wouldn’t be caught alone in the parking lot if everything went to shit. Hellfire had been canceled because the boys had tickets to see Poltergeist II: The Other Side at 6 pm, but the props room they used as headquarters was unlocked in case she needed a place to hide for a bit. When the final bell of the day rang, she hurried to get her things in her bag and approached Andy’s desk with a sweet smile and shy act that she’d successfully tried on Fred earlier that week. Nancy had, of course, asked her what that had been about, but Dottie had simply told her that the less she knew, the better. The blue eyed girl had grinned with a weird sense of pride and left her to her devices without any more questions.

“Hi! Andy, right?” Dottie asked, carefully crafted honey dripping from her tongue.

“Who’s asking?” he said without looking up, still gathering his things.

“We’re in this class together, I sit over there,” she said, waiting until his eyes landed on her to point to her desk. She could feel his confused eyes scanning her: cute little dress, frilly socks, no Hellfire shirt, pearls in her ears. He has no idea who I am.

“Yeah, of course! I’ve seen you around,” he said, trying to hide the fact that he actually did not know who the fuck Dottie was. Sadly for him, it wasn’t working.

“I saw you did really well on the last pop quiz and I was wondering if you could help me out,” she widened her eyes a little bit to look more innocent and saw the corner of his mouth lift into a half smirk. God, men are so easy, she thought, remembering how Fred had rapidly blinked three times in a row when she pulled that move on him. “Can I see your answers, please?”

“Uh, sure, yeah,” Andy stammered, extremely confused but not about to complain if a pretty girl was making goo-goo eyes at him. Dottie wasn’t the type he usually went for; he liked them better skinny, tall and tanned, but there was a certain kind of charm to the girl-next-door type. “I could, y’know- I could help you study for the final, if you want.”

“Really? Wow, you’re so nice,” she pretended to fawn over him until he got the test out of his binder and gave it to her. The classroom was empty now. “Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you about…”

“Go on,” he said, sitting on his desk to flirt back with her. “Ask me whatever you want, babe.”

Babe. Oh, he was gonna get it now. She had him right where she wanted, and all she had to do was reel him in. Channeling her inner devil, she came up to where he was sitting to stand between his open legs, hand resting on his knee.

“Anything I want?” she smiled, and he nodded. “Well, how about… you leave my friends alone for the rest of the year and I don’t tell Mr. Lorenzo you cheated on this?” she waved the test in the air.

“What?”

“See, you might not know who I am, but I know you, Andy,” she dropped the sweet act instantly, hard eyes on his. He looked so confused. “And last Wednesday, you made the mistake of letting me see you cheat. You even smiled at me while you did it. I gotta admit, it was the first time I saw someone write down the answers on the inside of a water bottle sticker, that shit was clever.”

“Who put you up to this?” he asked, rage beginning to catch up to his bewilderment. She had to get out of there, fast.

“I know you egged Gareth Coleman on Thursday after class. It would be a shame if Mr. Lorenzo found out about your little water bottle trick, don’t you think? You really need this A if you’re gonna keep that Division II scholarship you got to, where was it? Indiana Central?”

“You’re a fucking bitch,” he got up from his desk, getting in her face. He was barely an inch shorter than Eddie, and while the metalhead’s height had always been comforting for her, Andy’s was downright intimidating.

“And you’re a lousy cheater,” she retorted, grabbing the strap of her bag, ready to bolt out into the packed hallway.

“You have no proof.”

“Don’t I?” she said, pressing on her backpack where she’d tucked in an empty plastic bottle. It wasn’t even the correct brand, but he didn’t know that, and his eyes burned when he heard the crackling noise. “Stay away from the boys in the Hellfire Club. This is your only warning.”

And with that, she bolted straight to the girls’ bathroom at the end of the hallway before he could even think about reacting. This particular bathroom had two exits, and she took advantage of that knowledge to sprint across to the other door, past the labs, turning the corner to the Art room and out into the parking lot, where she immediately clocked her friends hanging out between Eddie’s van and Donny’s car, Dustin and Mike leaning onto their bikes while they talked. All the way across the parking lot, was Jason Carver’s car, where its owner and his friends were clearly waiting for one Andy Humphrey to arrive.

“Eddie!” she yelled through gritted teeth, trying to get his attention. “For the love of God, Eddie!”

“Hey, what’s- woah!” she threw herself on him and stuck her hand in his front jean pocket, getting his keys out and opening the van’s back doors before jumping inside with the haste of a madwoman. “Dot, what’s wrong?”

“I fucked up- close the fucking doors! If Andy sees me, we’re all dead!”

“Wait, what? What did Andy do now?” Donny asked, climbing into the back of the van behind her. The rest of the boys looked at each other before they too got in and closed the doors, separating themselves from the rest of the student body.

“He didn’t do anything, I just- I threatened to tell a teacher that he cheated on a test if he bothered you guys again.”

“You did what?!” Eddie asked, eyebrows raising to his hairline.

“I know! I know I fucked up, I was just so fucking angry! He thinks he’s untouchable and it’s about time someone showed him he’s not!”

“Okay, back up. What exactly did you do?” Dustin asked.

Dottie took a deep breath and began retelling the week’s events to the six boys that were surrounding her in the back of the van. The parking lot began to empty and only a few cars remained by the time she had finished but her Dad was still nowhere to be found. An uncomfortable silence settled between them while they took in the situation at hand.

“She can’t be alone anymore,” Mike said, looking at Eddie for guidance.

“You really think he’s gonna hit her?” Gareth asked with worried eyes.

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Dustin said. “Do you think he’s gonna tell the rest of the team?”

“I didn’t tell him my name,” Dottie remembered. “They might not even know who I am, I mean, he didn’t and we’ve been in the same class for months.”

“You told him to leave Hellfire alone, it doesn’t matter if they don’t know you. They know us.”

“Shit, do you think we’re all gonna be targets now?” Jeff looked scared.

“You say that like we weren’t before,” Mike argued.

“We have to move in groups, we can’t let them catch us alone,” Donny said.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough!” Eddie raised his voice, cutting the chatter short. “You good, darling?”

“I didn’t mean to make them come after you,” she put her head in her hands. She’d been so angry that she didn’t stop to think how she might be making things worse with her well-intentioned actions. “God, I’m such an idiot.”

“You’re so not an idiot, come here,” he tucked her under his arm, squeezing her protectively. “You meant well but that’s not how these guys work. They are meatheads, you can’t reason with them.”

“So what do we do?” Jeff asked him.

“Donny’s right, we move in groups from now on. No one goes anywhere alone for the rest of the school year. We’ve got three more weeks and we’re done. Avoid the basketball team, keep your heads down,” Eddie turned to Mike and Dustin. “If anyone does anything to you, you come to me. You think Sinclair can help you two out?”

“We haven’t talked to Lucas in months,” Dustin admitted, looking a little ashamed.

“We don’t need him,” Mike dismissed his friend quickly. “We’ll stick with you guys.”

“Carver’s car is gone,” Gareth announced, peeking through a side window.

“Get home now, take the backroads,” Eddie opened the doors and heaved Dustin’s bike up from the concrete for him. “We’ll figure out pairs on Monday.”

“I’m sorry,” Dottie tried apologizing again, but Dustin went in for a hug.

“It’s okay. We’ve been through worse, I promise,” the younger boy smiled reassuringly.

“Besides, this means you’re officially one of the freaks now,” Mike said, successfully getting a low snort from her.

They said their goodbyes and Dustin and Mike climbed onto their bikes, speeding off the parking lot with impressive alacrity. Donny and Jeff sat themselves on the back of Eddie’s van, surveying the area. Only a couple of cars remained, mostly belonging to teachers. Gareth’s bus had already left, and Eddie offered to give him a ride before turning to Dottie.

“You sure your Dad’s coming?”

“Yeah, he said he was gonna get off early so we could go to Indy. Maybe he got held up at the office?”

“What are you going to Indy for?” Jeff asked.

“Prom’s in two weeks and I still don’t have a dress so hopefully I’ll find something there today or else I’m going naked.”

“Auditioning for Playboy at prom? That’s bold,” Gareth joked, and she immediately kicked his leg.

“Don’t get cute with me, Gareth, I know where you keep your porn.”

“We all know,” Donny said, leaning back on his arms. “He’s not very good at hiding it.”

“I bet his Mom knows too, she just pretends she hasn’t seen it,” Eddie snickered.

“Shut up!” Gareth jumped on Eddie, trying to wrestle him down to the dirty floor.

“Hey, whose car is that?” Jeff asked Donny and Dottie, completely ignoring the other boys yelping while play fighting between their rides. “It’s been there for like twenty minutes.”

“Must be a teacher’s,” Donny guessed. “I saw a pregnant lady come out of it earlier.”

“There aren’t any pregnant teachers.”

“Yeah? Then who’s that?” Donny pointed to the school doors where there was, indeed, a pregnant woman waddling towards the mystery car, another lady behind her searching through her big purse, probably trying to find her car keys.

Nothing could have prepared Dottie for what she was about to see when she turned, because never in her wildest dreams had she imagined she’d see two of her aunts casually strolling through the Hawkins High School parking lot towards a car neither of them owned, as evidenced by its Indiana “Wander” license plate. What on Earth-

“Auntie Rachel?” Dottie raised her voice, and the woman going through her purse looked up instantly, keys finally in her hand.

“Hey, there you are! We’ve been looking for you everywhere!” the woman now known as Rachel said, quickly changing paths and power walking towards them, heels clicking on the concrete. “Your Dad said you get off at two!”

“I do, I just got held up,” Dottie hurried to wrap her arms around her Auntie. “What are you doing here?”

“Your Dad called for backup and we honestly needed a girly weekend,” the pregnant woman said, one hand resting on her belly and the other one at her back, her flowy floral dress swishing around her ankles as she waddled closer to them.

“It’s the last time Mary Elizabeth’s gonna be able to get on a plane until Rose arrives so we spent all my miles and we’re taking you to Indianapolis for a shopping trip.”

“You came all the way to Hawkins to help me buy a prom dress?” Dottie said, disbelief painted all over her face.

“It’s your senior prom, baby,” Mary Elizabeth said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Did you really think we were gonna miss it?”

“Are these your friends?” Rachel asked, directing her attention to the gaggle of boys that were staring up at them.

Gareth still had Eddie in a loose headlock, both letting go of each other instantly when the women approached with curious smiles and mischievous eyes on their faces. Auntie Rachel was a tall severe looking woman with thick rimmed glasses and a classy bob. Her lips were painted a deep burgundy, and she wore stylish pants and low heels - she looked as sophisticated as she was independent and open-minded. She was an accountant and many of her clients included investors that dabbled in the theater sphere, making her the one responsible for Dottie’s intense love of Broadway and musicals. She’d gone through a messy divorce around a year ago, had two boys (Nicky and Peter, ages 14 and 10), and had recently realized that maybe all those times Dottie had begged her to go see Rocky Horror together had been more enlightening than she had assumed they had been at the time.

Aunt Mary Elizabeth - not Mary, not Elizabeth, Mary Elizabeth - on other hand was the poster child for the 70’s hippie movement. What Rachel gave off in casual formality, Mary Elizabeth matched in cozy comfort with her sleeveless prairie style dress and sandals, baby bump proudly on display under the soft flowery pattern. She was married to Uncle Johnny, the same Uncle that Dottie had gone to for advice regarding Eddie’s moldy ceiling, and Rose, who was currently softly kicking her, was their first baby. She hadn’t been born yet but was very much expected and hard fought for.

“This is Hellfire! Guys, these are my Aunts: Rachel and Mary Elizabeth. Plus Rosie,” Dottie said, excited as always whenever her worlds collided.

“Which one of you is giving my niece latkes with applesauce?” Rachel asked, looking at them over the rim of her glasses.

“Uh, that- that’d be me. I’m Gareth,” the curly haired boy said, nervously.

“You’re my fave kid,” Rachel declared, nodding once.

“She’s Jewish,” Dottie said, like that explained everything and to Gareth, it did. “She’s never cooked for me though.”

“You know I can’t cook, my kids don’t even let me make toast,” she laughed, and the boys smiled. So Rachel is the fun aunt.

“Okay, then who is the one that makes those great mixtapes you were talking about the other day?” Mary Elizabeth wondered.

“I guess that’s me?” Donny chuckled, the tips of his ears red. “I’m Donny. Congrats on the baby!”

“Oh, aren’t you a sweetheart,” she said. “He’s my fave.”

“Which one’s yours then, bug?” Rachel joked.

“Definitely Jeff,” Dottie said and the boy beamed.

“Hey! I’m right here!” Eddie complained dramatically.

“You’re Eddie, right?” Mary Elizabeth said; he nodded. “I wouldn’t worry too much if I were you, you’re my husband’s favorite.”

“I am?”

“Yes! My husband was our DM, he thinks you’re very creative.”

“She’s married to Uncle Johnny,” Dottie told him. “The one that was in the bathroom picture from when I was a baby?”

“Ah, yes! Your Dad’s brother from a different father!” Eddie clapped once, knowing he got it right. “He knows about me?”

“Dorothy tells him about all your sessions,” Mary Elizabeth said. “Half of our friends don’t live in New York anymore so we haven’t played as much lately, he’s living vicariously through you guys at this point.”

“It’s great to meet you boys, but we should get going. We’re never gonna get to the shops in time if we keep dilly dallying,” Rachel said, ushering the girls towards the car.

“Okay, let me say goodbye first, damn,” Dottie got away from her insistent palms and headed straight into Donny’s arms. “I’m sorry about today.”

“Stop worrying about it. We’ll take care of each other.”

“You’re one of us, Dot. We got you,” Jeff said, joining the hug too. Gareth and Eddie looked at each other, shrugged once, and joined too.

“Go get your princess dress,” Eddie said, pulling away, not wanting to be clingy in front of her Aunts.

“Call when you get back?” Gareth asked as she walked away. “I wanna know what you got to see if we match!”

“When are you gonna be home?”

“Uhhh, around 8:30 maybe?”

“Gotcha. I’ll call around that time. Have fun, guys!”

“We’re still on for tomorrow, right?” Eddie wondered.

“Of course! Final stretch, Ed, you got this!”

Dottie got into the backseat of her Aunts’ rented car and waved to her friends as they sped away, Pat Benatar’s Invincible filling the air with girlish excitement. Andy fucking Humphrey didn’t matter anymore, not when Mary Elizabeth was singing along to the radio without a single care in the world and Rachel laughed like they were in their 20s again heading down to the beach in her brother’s old Jeep. All that was left, was to find the perfect dress and Dottie could finally convince herself that despite her major fuck up, everything would turn out fine.

They could not, in fact, find the perfect dress. They couldn't find any dress, actually, because if they were the right color, the size was wrong, and if the size was right, then it didn't come in Hellfire colors. Auntie Rachel had announced she was paying for the dress, and Aunt Mary Elizabeth and Uncle Johnny were paying for the shoes. But without the dress, there were no shoes, and without dress and shoes, Dottie couldn't spend the money her Dad had given her on accessories, and every minute that ticked on, she was closer and closer to auditioning for a Playboy centerfold at prom like Gareth had joked about.

Everyone was aware that prom was a sensitive topic for Dottie, and there wasn’t a single reason as to why it was that way. Past bad experiences coupled with the knowledge of yet another milestone she wasn’t sharing with her mother were bound to make anyone’s heart feel tender, so after Rachel noticed the decline in her niece's mood, she declared that they were taking a break from the prom-related shopping and instead let Dottie pick any shop in the immediate commercial area to explore. This wasn't an unusual activity for the girls; they had spent many afternoons browsing weird stores and open air markets, gathering silly little trinkets and handmade goods to bring back to their homes with tired feet and satisfied smiles. Dottie looked around mildly interested and clocked a big thrift shop with what looked like a comfy red couch in the middle of the store to her right, deciding to go in so Mary Elizabeth could rest her swollen ankles for a bit.

The shop was quirky, to say the least. Dottie loved thrift shops, having spent most of her early childhood browsing through rows and rows of clothes picking new tops and bottoms for the school year. Mary Elizabeth knew how to sew, and she'd taught Dottie basic skills like how to hem pants or how to tighten up the waistband on a too-big-skirt - a thrift shop was a treasure trove for creative and resourceful eyes. Rachel was distracted showing Mary Elizabeth baby clothes while the latter rubbed her growing belly on the couch when Dottie saw it. Red glittering chiffon, sweetheart neckline with delicate ruffles at the top and the bottom, and a full skirt that looked straight out of a fairytale.

A few years ago, back in 1982 when she was barely a freshman in high school, Dottie had seen in one of her Auntie Rachel's magazines a picture of one of the prettiest women she had ever laid eyes on. The woman was Lady Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales, and the magazine had run a full issue about her style and fashion choices, calling her an icon and praising her usage of patterns and bold colors. She remembered that in one of the pictures, Lady Diana had been wearing a red Bellville Sassoon dress during a night out at Covent Garden, and that she'd found it so beautiful she'd asked Rachel if she could keep the magazine because she wanted to wear a dress like that one day. That same dress, or one that looked very much like it, was currently staring back at Dottie from the very back of a rack full of poofier and tackier formal dresses.

"Found something you like, bug?" Rachel asked, coming to stand behind her with her hands on her niece's shoulders.

"I think... I think Lady Di is sending me a signal," she muttered breathlessly.

"What?"

Dottie walked up to the rack, almost scared to touch the dress in case it disappeared, but when her fingers buried themselves into fine chiffon, she pulled the dress off the hanger and pressed it to her body in awe.

"It's the dress, Auntie Rach. Remember? The Lady Di Covent Garden gown! With the black cape and silver shoes!"

"I can't say I remember, bug, but you like this one? Do you want to try it on?"

"I can't see a tag," Dottie said, frowning. "I don't know if it's my size."

"Go try it on anyway, we'll find an employee," Mary Elizabeth said, getting excited at the prospect of having found a miracle dress.

It was mere minutes later when both Aunts and an older lady that worked at the store wearing khaki pants and a name tag that said Cynthia heard a soft "holy shit" coming from behind one of the changing booth's curtains. It opened to reveal a dumbfounded Dottie, looking like a princess herself in the floor-length glittery gown.

"How does it fit, sweetie?" asked Cynthia.

"It's... it's perfect? The skirt is a little bit long but everything else is... yeah, it's perfect."

"Never mind the skirt, I can hem that for you in a couple of hours. And it's red, just how you wanted, right?" Mary Elizabeth said.

"Yeah, it's the shade of red I wanted," Dottie said. The dress was the exact same shade of Eddie's tie. "How much is it?"

"I don't think we put a price on this one yet," Cynthia said. "It came in late yesterday and I haven't gotten around to it. This woman came in and dropped three boxes full of stuff on us, said she was moving away and couldn't take everything with her. You’re a really lucky girl!”

“I think I am,” Dottie mumbled, looking at herself in the mirror while she lifted the skirt up to fit her better.

“Okay, how about we go see if there’s anything else you like while Rachel gets this sorted out for you, huh? Maybe we can find some cute shoes to go with it!” said Mary Elizabeth, staring pointedly at Rachel with a clear message: Get her the dress before she can overthink it and convince herself she doesn’t deserve it because the price isn’t right.

With the help of Mary Elizabeth (and Rosie, who was being very active today), a full outfit was put together rather quickly. A gold round sparkly handbag was added to the pile, along with gold kitten heels and a dainty gold necklace with a single white glittery stone. Dottie knew exactly what other pieces from her own jewelry box she was gonna wear: her Mom’s wedding ring and earrings, simple, classy, and meaningful. A way to keep Margaret close on a very special moment. Also on their checkout pile were a handful of baby clothes for Rosie, a Spider-Man backpack for Rachel’s youngest son, a couple of 70s loose dresses for Mary Elizabeth’s growing belly, and a pair of jean shorts and two new shirts for Dottie. She saved a bit of the money James had given her to buy more yarn for the blanket she was knitting for Rose, and after all that shopping, the three girls were hungry and desperately in need of a place to sit down. Rachel pointed to a nearby pub that looked fairly empty, and they made their way towards the building with happy hearts and spirits thoroughly lifted.

While Dottie was on her girls’ day out, Eddie was fidgeting in his theater seat. He knew that he was gonna have to share her with her Aunts all weekend, and he was scared about what they’d think of him constantly invading her personal space. They looked nice enough, and he was aware that Rachel herself was a bit of a freak - she had, after all, seen Rocky Horror live as many times as Dottie herself had -  but there was still some part of him that kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Things were going entirely too well for him, and he wasn’t used to that.

During the week, he’d tested out a few more theories he had about Dot and was now more certain than ever that he had an opening with her. It had been rainy and cold on Monday, and he’d slipped the flannel he had tied around his hip on her shoulders before second period began; she’d worn it all day and he’d caught her burrowing into it during lunch while she waited for him to get his tray. On Tuesday, she’d brought Wayne homemade banana bread, and on Thursday, she’d asked Eddie to hang out in their spot at Lover’s Lake for a bit before bringing her home, saying she needed to clear her head. They’d sat side by side with legs dangling off the back of his van, and he’d tried teaching her to skip stones to no success. She’d snorted every time the rock sank into the water, and leaned into him when he stepped behind her and grabbed her hand to guide her through the correct motions. He would have kissed her right there and then, but he was convinced she deserved more than a lousy confession in a deserted clearing in the middle of the woods. So Eddie waited, knowing that graduation was only three Fridays away, and he was gonna sweep her off her feet while they wore their ugly black and green gowns and make her feel like the princess he thought he was.

Truth be told, he shouldn’t have been so worried, not when 45 minutes away Dottie sat in that Indianapolis pub, eyes glued to the small menu in her hands but mind in Hawkins, wondering what Eddie was gonna wear for prom besides the gorgeous tie Chrissy had gifted him. She was comparing pros and cons of him wearing a white or a black shirt when Rachel tapped the top of the laminated paper and brought her attention back to the table.

“Can’t decide?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Dottie said, sheepishly. “Which one do you think is better, the cheeseburger with bacon or the chicken stripes with BBQ sauce?”

“The cheeseburger sounds good. I’m getting the buffalo wings,” Mary Elizabeth said, rubbing her stomach. “Believe it or not, this girlie likes spicy things.”

“She’s gonna run circles around all of us,” Rachel said fondly. “I’m gonna get the Reuben. And a glass of wine.”

“Okay, I’ll go order then. Lemonade?” Dottie asked Mary Elizabeth, getting up to head into the bar area.

“Oooh, please!”

Dottie left her Aunts at the table with their shopping bags, and got in line at the register behind a middle aged man while she glanced around the pub. It was a good size, probably even a bit bigger than The Hideaway where she’d gone to play pool with her Dad and Uncles Rob and Joe while they were in town for her birthday. There was a jukebox near the entrance, and a low small stage to the right with a lone mic and stool. A tired looking young man was putting up a poster advertising the weekend’s shows near the bar area. It was a cozy place, probably a cheap hangout spot for college students to relax at after a long week of studying and working. Behind the bar counter was an attractive young woman with wild, crimped raven hair and bold makeup.

“What can I get for you?”

“Hi! Can I get a cheeseburger with bacon, a Reuben, buffalo wings, two lemonades and a glass of wine? Red, please.”

“Uh, you’re not over 21, are you?”

“No, I’m 18, but it’s not for me. It’s for my Aunt, we’re sitting over there,” Dottie pointed at the two older women.

“Good. I’ll get a server to bring you your order when it’s done. Normally I wouldn’t care about the age thing, but it’s still kinda early, y’know?” the girl said, punching a few buttons on the till. “Gotta wait until the sun goes down to start ignoring IDs.”

“I imagine most college kids around here are grateful for that, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, it gets busy after 8. You don’t go to IUPUI?”

“No, I’m not from Indy. I’m going to Michigan next year.”

“State?”

“UMich. You?”

“Final year at Purdue. Forensic science,” she shrugged. “You look like an English major.”

“That was my second choice, actually. Decided on being an elementary school teacher.”

“Yikes. Good luck with that,” the girl laughed. “I’m the oldest of six so kids… not my jam.”

“I’m an only child so, kids? Totally my jam.”

“Figures. I’m Jessie,” the girl said, putting out her hand for a shake. Her dark apron moved revealing half of a logo on the front of her shirt Dottie would recognize anywhere: Metallica.

“I’m Dottie. I’ve got a question for you, if you don’t mind.”

“Shoot.”

“How do I get a really cool band up on that stage?”

“You in a band, teach?” Jessie grinned.

“No, my friends are. They’ve got a regular gig in our town, I think you might like them.”

“Yeah? What’s their name?”

“Corroded Coffin. They play metal covers mostly, but they’ve got a few originals too.”

“You their manager or something?”

“Maybe,” Dottie smiled. “I know next week’s setlist if that helps convince you.”

“Go for it.”

Dottie began ratting off the list she’d heard them put together on Wednesday, which included Black Sabbath, Mötorhead, Judas Priest, Dio, and the lone Anthrax song Gareth had insisted on for ten minutes before they relented and said yes. She mentioned how they also played Metallica and Iron Maiden regularly, and were known to crank out a Mötley Crüe song or two upon request without admitting that she was the one doing the requesting, much to Eddie’s chagrin. Jessie listened, nodding approvingly with her arms crossed. She had a snake tattooed around her left upper arm peeking out from her black t-shirt, and Dottie thought it might be the coolest tattoo she’d seen in her entire life.

“Okay, teach. I’m convinced. Let me see when we’ve got an opening.”

Jessie grabbed a battered notebook from under the counter and pulled a pen out of her apron, quietly muttering to herself as she flicked pages. Dottie turned to her Aunts who were eyeing her with interest. The Dorothy they knew didn’t talk to strangers, at least not willingly. She hated small talk, only engaging in it if an old lady started it in order to not come across as rude, but had developed the ability to quickly direct the conversation to non-personal topics like the weather or the price of the bag of oranges the old lady was purchasing. Seeing their niece chit chatting like it was something common she did all the time was downright strange, even if it was a welcome sight. How much had living in Hawkins truly changed her? Did it have anything to do with the boys hanging out with her in the school’s parking lot?

“Earliest spot we’ve got is at the end of June,” Jessie said, grimacing.

“Oh, that’s perfect! That’s after graduation, we’re totally free during June.”

“Friday, June 27th is okay then?”

“Absolutely, yes!”

“We can pay $25 per performer and you can have free drinks all night, but we’ll cut you off if anyone gets too drunk. How many are there in the band?” she asked, writing Corroded Coffin under the aforementioned date.

“Just four. Two guitarists, one drummer, one bassist. We have to bring our own equipment, right?”

“Yeah, all that’s on you. Are you all under 21?”

“Yes, lead guitar is the oldest and he’s 20.”

“They’ve got one hour divided into two chunks with a ten minute break in the middle, shows start at 9:30 usually. You’re coming with them? We can pay you after the set’s done, I’ll keep a free table for you guys at the front. You can watch them from there, we don’t have a green room.”

“That sounds wonderful, thank you, Jessie.”

“Here,” Jessie gave her a napkin with the bar’s info. “Call that number if you need to cancel or reschedule. If they tell you I’m not around, ask for Mark, he’s the day shift manager.”

“Okay, I will. See you in a month then! They won’t disappoint you, I promise!”

“I’m counting on it, teach!”

She came back to the table with an unprecedented giddiness, or at least, nothing her Aunts had ever seen in a long time. Dottie explained her conversation with Jessie the night shift manager while they waited for their food, and when it had arrived, her Aunts grilled her for more information about her friends and their band. She explained what each of them did within Corroded Coffin, taking the time to praise them separately for their skills, mentioning Eddie’s recent songwriting knack and Gareth’s future career as a trained percussionist. She told them in confidence that Jeff was thinking of joining a choral ensemble in West Virginia, excited about the prospect of traveling to perform around the States. Her Aunts let her talk as much as she wanted until the sun had gone down, the college students started showing up, and after a quick bathroom visit, it was finally time for them to leave. They were walking back to the car when Dottie spotted a payphone and began rummaging through her backpack.

“Hold on, let me- I gotta make a phone call!” she told her Aunts, speeding away towards the cabin with her coin purse in her hand.

“Do you get the feeling someone exchanged our Dorothy for a new one?” Rachel asked, following her niece at a much slower pace.

“She’s happy here,” Mary Elizabeth simply said.

“Did you ever notice she was that unhappy back in New York? What was going on under our noses? How couldn’t we tell?”

“That doesn’t matter now. Let her have this. She deserves it.”

“Hello, Mrs. Coleman? It’s Dottie!” the teen said into the phone, both Aunts trying to eavesdrop from outside the cabin. “I know Gareth is still at The Hawk, but could you tell him to come to my house as soon as he arrives? Everything’s okay, I just have good news I want to share with him. Yes, thank you! And could you please tell him to bring the guys around too? I think I’ll be home at around 9 probably, so- okay. Okay, thank you! Sorry to have bothered you at this hour, have a good night!”

“Your friends are coming over?” Rachel asked when she hung up.

“Yeah,” Dottie grinned, and for a brief second, they could have sworn it wasn’t her but Margaret the one who was smiling at them.

A girl’s road trip was never complete without gossiping, and Rachel was showing an incredible amount of restraint when she waited until they had passed the "Leaving Indianapolis - Come Again Soon" sign to lower the radio's volume; Mary Elizabeth looked at her with confusion in her eyes when Madonna’s Angel was cut short halfway into the song.

"So. We've got 45 minutes until we’re back in Hawkins. Gonna tell us what's going on with that Gareth kid or what?"

"Rachel!" Mary Elizabeth chastised.

"There's literally nothing going on. I don't know why you're even asking."

"You called last week to tell me all about the little sleepover you two had and you expect me to not be curious? You’ve been talking about him all day, bug."

"As you know, because I told you about it, we worked on a science project during that sleepover, which we got an A+ on. That's it, I don't see him like that," Dottie said. "Besides, we'd kill each other if we decided to date. He made me see The Exorcist last weekend, I would have murdered him if I didn’t fear prison."

"Hey, that's a good movie!" Mary Elizabeth said, and Rachel looked at her like she was insane. "What? Okay, yes, it's disturbing, but it's a good movie. It's well done."

"You worry me sometimes," Rachel told her before looking at Dottie through the rearview mirror. "You two had a movie night and he picked a horror flick?"

"It wasn't just us. Everyone else was there too, it was Eddie's birthday."

"Aw, that sounds fun. Did you have a good time?" Mary Elizabeth asked, turning in her seat to watch her niece's face.

"Yeah! I mean, the movie sucked and I think I had a panic attack for two hours straight, but we had ice cream later and saw Rocky Horror. That part was good,” she had a wistful look on her face as she looked out the window, remembering Eddie’s birthday.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Actually, everything's been really nice," Dottie laughed. "I just… I didn't know having friends was supposed to make you feel this good."

"Oh, baby," Mary Elizabeth reached out to grab her hand. "You really love those boys, don't you?"

"I do. And I really think they love me too. I don't feel lonely anymore when I’m with them."

"That's good, baby. I'm so happy for you. We were so scared after what happened last year, that awful girl was just-"

"It doesn't matter anymore,” Dottie shook her head. “I don't want to talk about that."

"So nothing's going on?" Rachel asked, but this time her tone was much more soft. “With any of them?”

"They are my friends. Best ones I've ever had," Dottie smiled. “I’d tell you if something was happening with Gareth, but there’s nothing there. I promise.”

“If you say so, bug,” Rachel said. “Johnny was once Mary Elizabeth’s best friend too, you know.”

“Oh, drop it, you nosy old lady,” Mary Elizabeth poked her.

“Who are you calling old?! We’re the same age, flower power!”

During the short trip back to Hawkins, somewhere between being grilled about one of her best friends and Rachel missing the correct exit, Dottie had dozed off in the back of the car while Sade’s Smooth Operator played in the background. Mary Elizabeth had taken off her sandals and propped her feet up on the dashboard, looking out at the quaint little houses and quiet downtown area, wondering if Rosie would like growing up in a place like this instead in the busy city she was so fond of. Rachel pulled into Dottie’s street and saw a familiar old van parked outside her home, four boys hanging out in the front lawn and James leaning onto the front door frame, all engaged in friendly conversation.

“Baby?” Mary Elizabeth called, rousing Dottie. “Your friends are here.”

Dottie opened her eyes, expression caught between drowsiness and excitement when they parked outside the house, all five men turning to look at them when they got out.

“Shopping went well, I see,” James smiled, looking at their bags dangling from their arms.

“Told you to leave it to us, Jamie-boy,” Rachel said, coming to hug her old friend.

“Everything okay?” Gareth asked, anxious. “My Mom didn’t tell me what was going on, just that you called from Indy.”

“Everything’s fine, something really cool happened and I didn’t want to wait until Monday to tell you about it,” Dottie yawned, locking arms with him and Donny. “Let’s go inside and I’ll tell you.”

The boys walked in behind her towards the living room where she motioned for them to sit. The adults headed towards the kitchen for a nightcap, keeping an eye and an ear on the kids. James had no idea what was going on, but Rachel had simply shaken her head when he lifted his eyebrow in inquiry and pointed at the teens. Mary Elizabeth busied herself making coffee for her two friends and tea for herself, smiling in anticipation.

“Okay, so. We went to this pub to get dinner,” Dottie began, taking the napkin Jessie had given her out of her pocket and giving it to Jeff. “It’s a really cool place, not too big, but I really liked it and the food was great.”

“What did you have?”

“Cheeseburger with bacon. They cut their own fries and leave the skin on them.”

“Sick,” Jeff nodded.

“I was thinking we should all go together soon. Maybe on Friday, June 27th.”

“Why?” said Gareth suspiciously. “What’s happening on Friday, June 27th?”

“There’s this awesome band that’s gonna play there. You might have heard of it, it’s called Corroded Coffin.”

The room was filled with an awkward silence for a few seconds while they processed what they just heard before all of them erupted in questions and screams at the same time. Dottie laughed, and held up her palms trying to contain the situation, but the cat was out of the bag and she was all too happy to share all the details with her friends.

“You got us a gig?” Donny asked, coming up to her in disbelief.

“I got you a gig!” she confirmed, and Gareth began hollering. “You’ve got an hour-long set, divided in two chunks. Drinks are free the whole night but you can’t drunk, and they’re gonna pay you guys $25 each-”

“They are paying us?!” Jeff asked while Gareth shook him. “They never pay us at The Hideout!”

“You’re the fucking best!” Donny declared, lifting Dottie up and swinging her in the air, making her laugh.

“That’s so cool,” James said in the kitchen, browsing his pantry for sugar to add to his coffee. “I’m happy for them, they are good kids.”

Rachel and Mary Elizabeth didn’t reply; they were locked onto the scene in front of them. When Donny put Dottie down, Jeff and Gareth immediately came to hug her too, each on one side. They all began talking at the same time, shouting songs they wanted to include in the set, things they needed to do before the big day arrived, planning how they were gonna go, who was gonna drive, how much money they needed to pool to pay for the gas. None of that was as interesting as what happened when it was Eddie’s turn to hug their niece.

He was so quiet as he came up to her, it almost looked like he was choking back tears. Without words exchanged, his arms wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her towards his chest where she instantly tucked her head into, her own hands ghosting upwards from his waist to the middle of his back where she clung to his shirt. This wasn’t an excited, celebratory hug. This was so much more, and yet none of the boys paid them any attention, like this was common enough for it to not be something to look at anymore. Eddie’s hand came up to cradle her head, and they pulled away for a few seconds, staring into each other’s eyes with matching elated smiles pulling at the corners of their mouths. For a single heartbeat, Dottie’s Aunts thought Eddie was going to pull her into a kiss but his lips collided with her forehead instead and stayed there like it was their rightful place. Dottie exhaled, melting into the rugged boy’s arms, their eyes closed, both of them savoring the moment. His hand moved from the back of her head to the side of her jaw, foreheads coming together and they saw her hand wrap around his wrist before the boy mouthed a quiet “thank you”.

Like nothing had happened, they unentangled themselves from each other and joined the festivities, him excitedly patting Donny’s back before they embraced with boyish roughness, her plopping onto the same armchair Jeff was sitting on to help brainstorm the setlist. Rachel turned to Mary Elizabeth only to find her friend already staring at her.

“Oh,” Mary Elizabeth said, lifting an eyebrow.

“Oh, indeed,” said Rachel, and they both silently agreed to not speak of it in front of James until they’d gotten their chance to debrief later that night.

taglist (comment below or shoot me a dm if you want to be added!): @munsonology @kurdtbean

[the-lark-ascending69]

your nancy wheeler whump is incredible, ty for the food

— sincerely, a nancy wheeler fan who is also a whump enjoyer

About this post, I think.

Omg anon hiii i'm so happy you liked it!! 🥰🥰 Nancy is such a whumpeable character, maybe because shes so broken inside already 💕 she's just a scared wet cat who needs to be wrapped up in a warm blanket.

A few headcanons for youuuu 💕💕

Robin's parents will be out of town for a few months (they're visiting family far away), so she has the house all to herself, and since the Wheelers are gone and Nancy has nowhere to go, that's where they take her.

Steve and Robin spend a long time looking for the Wheelers. They make a hundred phone calls a day but they keep hitting dead ends. The Wheelers left Hawkins shortly after Nancy was "confirmed" dead, and Mike quickly lost contact with his friends. Finding them has become impossibly difficult, and Steve and Robin worry that they'll never get to tell them Nancy is alive. Nancy misses them like crazy.

The party gets involved super quickly - Lucas, Dustin and Will, as well as the two new kids, Max and El. The boys all cry when they see Nancy, and to Nancy it feels like having siblings again, three new little brothers to try to fill in the space left by Mike and Holly. Max and El just want to help - they're excited to finally meet Nancy Wheeler, Mike's famous sister - he never shut up about her. He always talked about how smart and brave she was and how nothing has been the same since she died. Nancy was a bit surprised to know Mike said that about her, and it only makes her cry. She misses her brother so much.

Max in particular spends a lot of time with Nancy. She helps take care of her when Steve and Robin can't.

Will makes a lot of drawings for Nancy, and she keeps them all by her bedside. She particularly loves the one portraying her family - Mom, Mike, Holly, yes, even her dad.

Nancy experiences a lot of ugly withdrawal symptoms after having been on drugs so heavily for so long. Lots of vomiting and headaches.

Hopper gets involved in her case. She tells him everything, and he begins his investigation. He visits every now and then - it's in his nature. Up until two years ago, he was a father without daughter, and Nancy is a daughter without parents and a sister without siblings. It's only natural when El shows up at Robin's house to spend more and more time with Nancy, happy to have an older sister figure, even if she takes care of Nancy more than Nancy takes care of her. And it's only natural for Hopper to visit a few times a week to ask how she's doing and make sure all her needs are met.

Joyce is overjoyed to hear she's alive, and soon joins Steve and Robin in their search for the Wheeler's new number. She brings food whenever she can and instantly takes on a motherly role in Nancy's life. She agrees that it's best for Nancy to stay at Robin's for the time being, since Joyce and Jonathan spend a great deal of time at work and she'd be all alone for most of the time, but she plans on taking her to live with them when Richard and Melissa Buckley come back.

Jonathan awkwardly tries to help as well - he's often busy with work, but he stops by whenever possible to see if she needs anything. Nancy appreciates that.

Nancy hates appearing weak, but she's set off by the smallest thing - the party's boys hi-fiving each other reminds her of the way soldiers raised their hands to hit her. Steve's loud laughter reminds her of the way the general used to laugh when she cried. Out of the house, she's terrified of needles and hates getting blood tests or vaccines, and going to the dentist is paralyzing - the clattering of the instruments on the metal tray, the shapes of them so similar to the ones they used to rip her nails out, the horrible feeling of foreign objects in her mouth... she has two reactions to these things: she either freezes or she breaks. Freezing includes being almost completely non-verbal, trembling slightly but obeying every order. Breaking includes a lot of crying and panicking.

Her sleep schedule is all messed up - sometimes she can't sleep for more than three hours. Sometimes she blacks out for 18 hours straight. She can never seem to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, and she often suffers from nightmares.

She likes cuddling with either Steve or Robin, or even better, both of them. Sandwiched between the two of them, she almost feels like a little kid sleeping between her parents.

Robin really really really didn't like bathing Nancy, or helping her dress up. It feels like she's taking advantage of her. She feels the same when she shares a bed with her. Steve is the one to largely take care of Nancy when it comes to those things. They're still dating, technically, though at this point Nancy can't say she feels love for him. She clings to him because he's familiar, and he loves her, and he makes her feel safe. She appreciates him and cares deeply about him, but if she's honest with herself... she can't love him. She can't bring herself to say that to Steve, of course - after everything he's done for her, she just... tries so hard to convince herself she loves him in the way she's supposed to.

She actually quite enjoys Robin's company, and in part, she'd prefer it if it was her doing all of this for her. Robin can't bring herself to refuse when Nancy asks. They've slept together many times, Nancy cuddled into her chest. It makes Robin's heart ache, but she pushes those feelings down - creep, she thinks to herself. Freak. Pervert. Last thing Nancy needed was a person she trusted secretly lusting after her like a... like the dyke she was.

Nancy realizes she's not having a nice dream at the end of her first day after being rescued. She's drinking a cup of tea with Robin, talking about mindless things - Robin just wanted to make her feel comfortable and she supposed keeping it simple would be best, so she tells her about band and the time she passed out during a school play audition from the nerves. And Nancy looks down at her cup, feels its heat in her hands and the sweet taste in her mouth, and the soft texture of Robin's clean clothes on her skin. She hears the crickets outside, the creaking of the wooden floorboards when Robin paces, and it dawns to her that she is free. She suddenly breaks into tears, and Robin freaks out - calls Steve - and they both try her best to comfort her. Nancy hugs herself - she wants her mother and brother and little sister, it breaks her heart to know they left, that they thought her dead. But somehow, in Robin and Steve's arms, she feels warm. Safe, for the first time in years.

[ally-holmes]

Nancy’s Wedding | Steve Harrington x Reader (ch.4)

Series Masterlist

Chapter Three – Chapter Five.

Pairings: Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader.

Word count: 4342

Nancy's Wedding | Chapter Four.

Although their drive was meant to be about less than four hours, they got stuck in traffic for about twenty minutes before they could finally get out of Chicago and they stopped at a gas station in Indianapolis because Robin really, really, really needed to pee. After that little stop, Y/N and Robin changed seats; it just made sense, Robin was going to be dropped off at her house before Steve and Y/N resumed their drive to his. That's why Robin got out of the backseat when they were in front of her house; Steve helped her with the suitcase and waited in the car until his friend got inside her house.

"Was that Robin's mom?" Y/N asked about the woman that had opened the door.

"Yup. She didn't know about Robin yet."

"My lips are sealed."

Hawkins wasn't so bad. The number of trees was overwhelming but she loved it. Even if she had drawn Steve's house, she wasn't expecting it to be so big and so alienated from any neighbor. They even had a pool!

"You didn't tell me you were rich, Harrington!"

"That's because I'm not. My parents are."

"Am I going to meet my in-laws?"

Rolling his eyes, he locked the door with all their luggage already out. "I called beforehand to ask if they were going to be here. My dad has a business convention in Idaho, I think. They won't be here."

"Did you tell them you were coming?"

"Of course not, I'm not an idiot. If I had told them that– Mom?"

With his keys still in hand, blocking the entryway, Steve was facing his mother. She had her hair loose for the first time since he could remember, and she somehow looked happier all of a sudden. She opened her arms and hugged him like a mama bear.

"Oh, my baby! Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I'm so glad I found Mrs. Wheeler at the grocery store… She told me you were coming down for Nancy's wedding with Jonathan. And with a girlfriend! I told your father I wouldn't accompany him this time. I'm sure he's enjoying his freedom very much. Come on in, come on in. Don't let your girl wait outside. Hi, sweetheart, I'm Steve's mom; please call me Maggie. No Mrs. Harrington between us. Oh, look at you! I thought you were going to look more like Nancy…"

"Mom–"

"I'm not saying I don't like the change. You are gorgeous, honey. Come on in. This is your house now too. How was the trip? Do you want to see your room? I didn't know if you two lovebirds had planned to sleep in the same room or not, so I arranged a guest room just in case."

She had stopped taking her pills; that, and the freedom of having the house by herself for the first time in God knows how many years, had Maggie Harrington in such a good mood. He had learned about his mother's depression when she was already recovering, with therapy in Indianapolis two days a week and some pills. Today she seemed euphoric and kind of nervous, she was trying to make a good impression and Steve could tell.

"I'm sorry to intrude. I thought Steve had told you we were coming."

"No, honey, no intrusion. Let me show you around while he gets your luggage upstairs. I'm dying to show you all the photos of Steve as a baby."

"I'm dying to see them, Maggie." She shot a mischievous grin at Steve.

"No embarrassing photos! Mom! MOM!"

With the idea of hiding all the photo albums he could find, Steve got upstairs with his backpack hanging on one shoulder, her duffle bag on the other, and a small suitcase in each hand. His mother had prepared the room right in front of him for Y/N's use, so he put her luggage there, by the end of the bed. His bedroom hadn't changed since he moved out, although it didn't have much personality to begin with, just like his bedroom in Chicago. At least this one had small car pictures framed on the wall, a reminiscence from his childhood. After unpacking, he looked through the window. The views hadn't changed much, the trees in the forest might've gotten bigger, and now Y/N was standing by the pool, alone. Barbara's face flashed in his mind; his body moved before he noticed. He ran downstairs, making a beeline to the backyard door, only stopping when he was finally next to her.

Her eyes were lost in the pool, her mind was absent and although she had registered his presence, she didn't talk for a few minutes. Steve was kind of freaked out, trying to recover his breath.

"You know, this looks more and more like an X-Files situation. Like… Shit, you're going to think I'm insane, but, I feel like I've been here. It's like I remember it. It might've been a dream for sure, a nightmare because– because in my memory this place is exactly the same, but darker. The pool is empty, plant roots or vines cling to its sides, alive. There's a permanent storm with red lighting. There's a growling sound that vibrates out of the woods. It's… it's spooky, isn't it?" Her eyes finally found him. She was back for whatever memory she was recalling and the moment she finished her sentence her tone found life again.

"That would be an amazing zombie scenario," he tried to sound casual.

"I know, right? Your mom seems nice."

"That surprised me as much as you. Come on in, let's eat something and have some rest."

*

At five in the afternoon, Y/N took a glance at her reflection one last time. For the rehearsal dinner and the official 'meeting Steve's friends' situation, Y/N had decided on a velvet deep-green colored dress that had long sleeves but the back basically naked, long to her feet with an opening on one of her legs. She'd been reluctant to buy such a dress, but Denny had claimed with much fervor that she looked amazing. It fitted her body too tightly, although the fabric wasn't oppressive and mostly felt like a second skin; very comfortable. As for the shoes, she wore the most comfortable sandals on earth; they were black sandals with a platform that went up slightly on the heel, thin stripes, and looked so fancy with the dress that made her feel powerful. She fixed her own hair like one of the latest actresses she'd seen on a red carpet, with shiny clips that looked like little pearls on her hair.

The moment she descended the stairs, she forced herself into hiding the smile that was fighting for occupying her face at the sight of Steve, in a suit, getting his tie fixed by his mother and looking like a child. She was about to arrive next to him when he finally looked at her, his mouth hung open.

"Oh, Stevie, close your mouth, sweetheart. And you, you Y/N look like a princess. Doesn't she look amazing?" Mrs. Harrington pushed them together at the bottom of the stair, produced a camera from somewhere, and took several shots without much of a warning.

"Cat got your tongue, Harrington? At least you could compliment your girlfriend, don't you think?" She muttered as they made their escape through the door.

"Like you don't already know you look stunning. Seriously, what's wrong with you?"

"Are you ashamed of my outfit?"

"That's not– Shit, they're going to take a look at you and see you are the fuck out of my league!"

"Don't be stupid. You wanted a girlfriend that seemed the kind of person you would fall in love with and introduce to your family and friends, and let me remind you that just yesterday you asked me if I had proper clothing items for this shit. Let me warn you, though, I might need your jacket by the end of the night."

"I can get inside again and–"

"I did it on purpose, Steve. It's romantic! Come on in, I don't want to be late."

The rehearsal dinner was taking place at the new hotel in Hawkins, The Royale. The building was just by the main road and its wedding hall was so big and beautiful, so tastefully decorated that Mrs. Wheeler felt the urge to rent the place for both the rehearsal dinner and the actual dinner after the wedding. On their way there, they stopped to pick Robin up. They complimented each other on their looks. As they got out of the car in The Royale's parking lot, Robin gasped dramatically.

"What the fuck happened to your dress?"

Y/N took a look at her body and shrugged, "Nothing?"

"It's the other way around, isn't it? Like, where did the fabric on your back go?"

"Don't you like it? I like it." To prove her point, Y/N made a turn to show better her outfit, even pulling from the fabric to show the cut on her leg.

"Y/N," Robin took a serious tone, closing the distance between them, "are you sure you're straight? Because let me tell you, if you have doubts– If at any moment you have doubts, please call me. I'll help you. I'll– Ouch! Dingus, that hurt! Be careful with my hair!"

"Don't be a vulture, go find Vickie and leave my girlfriend alone."

"As much as I like Vickie, she could never pull off a dress like that."

"Leave."

Robin sprinted towards the door. Y/N linked her arm with Steve's and smiled sweetly at him.

"Robin liked the dress."

"Robin liked it too much."

"Are you jealous, Stevie?"

"No." He didn't sound convincing running a hand through his hair.

"Whatever. It's showtime, pretty boy. Are you ready?"

Instead of going inside, he stopped and looked at her eyes. "You look amazing. The dress is very pretty."

"And my hair?"

"Looks amazing."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah…"

Something was happening. Something between them was buzzing, ready to strike if it just had a few more seconds. Steve's eyes were diving into hers carelessly. The door burst open, breaking their moment, just like that.

"Steve!"

"Henderson!"

Steve and the intruder hugged each other with little jumps before doing a very dramatic handshake with a lot of gestures. It was the nerdiest and most childish thing she'd seen Steve Harrington doing; she considered to hid her smile, but decided otherwise, smiling as wide as she could with a mischievous light in her eyes.

"Robin got inside and you didn't and I was like what. Oh my God, man, you look amazing! Old, but amazing."

"Yeah… Yeah… Great hair, dude. What do you use?"

"Uh, the new product for curly hair I told you about. Smells incredible too. Smell me."

"It smells amazing!"

"I told you."

"You're not wearing the brackets anymore!"

"Surprise!! I thought about telling you, I took a lot of work for these pearls to get into their proper position, you know, but then I thought it would be better to show it to you. What do you think?"

"Awesome, man. Great smile!"

"Thanks, buddy." He did then a bubbling sound with his mouth that sounded half like a growl and half like gargles.

"Don't do that."

The intruder finally looked at Y/N, still with a big smile on his face that made his shiny eyes smaller. That man smiled with his whole soul. She approached with a hand extended.

"You must be Dustin. I've heard a lot about you. I'm Y/N L/N."

Shaking her hand he looked at Steve with amazement before refocusing on her, "Holly shit!! Really? You're Y/N? I've heard a lot about you too! Man, I didn't know you actually got the girl. Good job!"

"Shut up." He covered Dustin's mouth with his hand and pushed him, causing him to walk backwards through the door. "Don't listen to him, he's already high or drunk. He's not making any sense."

"Did he talk good or bad about me?" She ignored him. Dustin gave her a thumbs up and a wink. "Oh, Stevie, you've been talking about me? Since when?"

"I have not. He's making it up. Shut it, Henderson, or I swear to God something very bad would happen to your hair."

Dustin gasped, "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

"Guys! Guys, look who's here!"

As he turned the topic and attention towards Steve's arrival, a bunch of people came to meet them. They hugged Steve or punched him in the arm. Robin had told her so many things about the group that she quickly named everyone on her mind. Max was clearly the blind redhead that walked with a limp; Lucas and Erica Sinclair were the siblings always arguing; Mike was the lanky man, taller than Steve, that looked like the only one who didn't really be there; Jane had her arm linked with Mike's with her big eyes paying attention to everything.

When the commotion calmed down a little, Dustin offered Y/N his arm for her to take and changed the focus from Steve to her.

"And this, guys, is Steve's girlfriend… Y/N."

"No way!"

"The same Y/N that the one in the bar?"

"Like that Y/N?"

"She's too good to be with Steve."

"Steve's good!"

"Sure, but not that good."

She didn't know what was more fun, knowing that Steve Harrington had been talking about her with his hometown friends, the fact that the man was blushing so hard he was about to combust, or the noisy discussion that was taking place just before her eyes.

A woman in a very beautiful dress in the best Audry Hepburn style came towards them. She looked a lot like Mike, with sharp edges and very skinny. Steve immediately smiled at her.

"Hey, Nance. Congratulations!"

"Thank you, Steve. I'm so glad you came," she hugged him as she spoke. "Is this your girlfriend? Robin had been talking to me about her since she arrived. You must be Y/N."

"Nancy Wheeler," she responded to the salutation, "is a pleasure to finally meet you. Congratulations, too. I'm dying to meet the groom."

"Oh, yes. Jonathan is with his brother and his mother getting some last details done. I'm hiding from my mom, mostly."

"You can't hide from her, she'll go insane," Mike complained.

"Why can you hide from her and I cannot, Michael?"

"Well, maybe because this whole getting married was your idea, not mine. I'm already suffering enough! She woke me up at the crack of dawn just to try out ties! Ties, Nancy!"

"It's not my fault!"

"I beg to differ."

"Good to see some things never change." An old man, bald and with a thick mustache, approached them and clasped a hand on Steve's shoulder giving him an affectionate squish. "Karen's looking for both of you. Go hide elsewhere."

"Chief," Steve stopped the man before he could leave, "can I have a word with you?"

"Sure, son. What do you need?"

"Um… Just– Hey, Y/N, do you mind hanging around with them for a couple of minutes? I promise they're good people… mostly."

"Go. I'll be fine."

"Yeah, we'll take care of her," Lucas guaranteed with such earnestness that Max elbowed him on the ribs.

"Don't get mad when she falls in love with me, Steve." Dustin, in a very gentlemanly fashion, accompanied Y/N to keep meeting people.

Steve just waited until he was alone with Hopper and walked him towards the bar where the bartenders were too busy preparing things to pay attention to them. It was weird to be on that side of the bar counter after three years of work at The Silver.

"What can I do for you, son?"

"Could you run a check-up for Y/N? Investigate a little."

"That's your girlfriend."

"I know. I know what it sounds like, but listen, I think she lived here for a while and I think she not only saw a demogorgon, she went to the Upside Down."

He explained between whispers about the drawings and the description she'd made of his pool from the Upside Down. He wasn't sure what was there to find, but it was worth the shot, nonetheless. Hopper wrote down the name and year to take a look at the old files, he wasn't in Hawkins in 1979 so he couldn't remember anything important for that time.

Mrs. Wheeler's voice calling everyone to their assigned seats made their conversation finish. Steve found Y/N already seated next to Dustin, who was talking about his Suzie. It was impressive that the kid was still dating her although her family was against the relationship.

"How went the things with Suzie's father?" Steve asked, giving Y/N a little touch on the back of the hand as an apology for leaving her alone.

"They're improving. Yes, the last time we met he threatened me with ending my life, but that was a good sign. Up until that moment he had just growled at me, refusing to acknowledge my existence. I think he's growing fond of me."

The rehearsal dinner went well. Their pretending didn't include much more touch than what they were comfortable with, and it was easy to answer the questions they threw at them. In the end, they just banter non-stop like children, always ending it with Steve running a hand through his hair in defeat or crossing his arms across his chest.

A boy with a very thick mustache and short hair was introduced as Will, Jonathan's little brother and best man for the wedding. The young man held a cup and pronounced a very interesting speech in which he thanked his brother for always being there for him, always supporting him, and always encouraging him to be his true self instead of hiding in conventionalism, he thanked his brother for being on his side when he finally found the words to come out to his mom and thanked Nancy for be the person Jonathan could rely on.

"Damn, that kid had grown a lot," Steve muttered.

"Feeling old, pretty boy?" She teased.

"Will Byers used to have a buzz cut, be all small and skinny… I'm not exaggerating if I tell you that the first time I spent any time with him he was as tall as my waist, and he was about eleven or twelve. These monsters had grown so much so fast but he… Jesus, he's all buff and big now. I can't grow a mustache like that!"

"Of course, you can't, you'll look like a pedo."

Mike, who was overhearing their conversation as the others, laughed so hard while he was trying to drink that the liquid came out of his nose. Y/N handed him a napkin with a smile that made him blush.

"Yeah, now that I think about it… You would look like a sexual predator with a mustache, Steve." Lucas nodded.

"And you find that out now?" Max snorted.

"I hope you're enjoying the lapidation I'm suffering." Steve seemed stern, but the light in his eyes showed joy.

"Very much, thank you."

The engaged couple opened with a little dance that Mrs. Wheeler insisted on making happen. Joyce Byers —Jonathan and Will's mother— was just enjoying how many states of emotion Karen Wheeler could cover without losing her mind. Hopper didn't lose time and asked her to dance with him the moment other couples started to join on the dance floor.

Robin found Steve and Y/N, she was wearing a gloomy aura around her. Apparently, she'd been excited about the wedding to meet Vickie again, a crush she had ages ago in high school, and that, also apparently, had gone to the wedding with her new boyfriend.

"I should've brought a date."

"Were you expecting something to happen with her?" Y/N asked her.

"No. Well– I don't know. Maybe?"

"Hum… Well, I'm here as Steve's girlfriend and I'm no Vickie, but if you want we could dance until you feel better."

"No. It's fine, you two go have fun."

Y/N shared a look with Steve, who nodded. Each of them took one of Robin's hands and dragged her to the dance floor where the three of them had their best moment just jumping to some old rock song. Robin laughed and forgot about Vickie.

When the first slow song hit the speakers, Dustin, in the most smooth fashion, offered Robin his hand asking for the dance like a British gentleman from the regency era. Robin did a little bow just for fun and went with him. Steve asked Y/N if she was up to the challenge just with an arch of his eyebrow, she pursed her lips to avoid smiling and put her hand on his shoulder. He put his hand on her lower back, his skin suddenly burning with the touch of her skin; damn dress. Option number four of slow dancing took place at that moment. If it felt perfect at Steve's living room apartment, it felt fucking magical on a dance floor full of people.

With the event finished, the gang gathered at the exit in small groups talking about different things and plans for the next day. Steve saw the way Y/N's skin broke into goosebumps the moment the cool April air touched her; he took off the jacket of his suit and placed it on her shoulders.

"Such a gentleman," she smiled.

"Steve!" As someone called his name, both of them turned around to see Jonathan walking fast toward them. Without prior notice, Jonathan hugged Steve awkwardly but with affection. He smelled of a bit too much alcohol and his face was all flushed. Nancy, was right behind him, with Will and his boyfriend. "Tonight was a total– a total something, dude. Like there was no time to stop and say hi to people, you know? Dude, and you know, Argyle's plane got delayed. He wouldn't be here tonight. Obviously. I– I want to thank you for coming here, man. Means a lot to us. Really. I know we didn't understand each other pretty well when we were young and that, but– but after the– after the thing you've always been there for the kids, you know? Even for my brother! Like, it's my brother, right? And I thought that you would– you would hate him or something, but no, and you treated him so well always… Dude, you're cool. Cool. Cool. I never got to thank you for the camera that Christmas. I know you felt bad because you broke the other one I had, and– and let's be real here, what I did was way out of line, and if– if I found someone had done that I would do the same thing at least, you know? You– Steve Harrington, dude."

"I'm so sorry. My mom's being kind of a nightmare to both of us and he had too much to drink."

"It's fine, Nance. Go home, Jonathan, you need to sleep."

"Yeah! Sure! Oh, but first, you–" he pointed to Y/N with his index, not very steady on his feet. "You better take care of him, get it? He's Steve. Steve's family. We– We don't hurt Steve anymore. Steve's cool. Don't hurt Steve."

"Noted."

Alone again, Steve sighed leading the way towards his car.

"We work surrounded by drunk people. How is it that it still hits differently when it's someone we know?" Steve was definitely curious. "I mean, he's not like that at all. And I've seen him high as a plane, but drunk is a totally different feeling."

"Was it weird for you not to drink tonight?"

"Not really. I'm more used to pouring drinks than actually drinking them."

"I'm not much of a fan of alcohol, it makes me sleepy. If you want to drink tomorrow just let me know, I know how to drive."

"I'll think about it."

The silence inside the car was comfortable and nice. Recalling the night, Y/N was glad she accepted Robin's stupid plan of pretending to be Steve's girlfriend.

Oh…

Oh, there it is.

It was all pretending, wasn't it? She forgot about it. She forgot it was a lie and really felt like she was dating Steve, being introduced with affection to his friends, befriending Robin… She liked Dustin, he seemed very sweet, and they kind of clicked, what would he think when Steve told him that they broke up (a fake one, of course, just as fake as their relationship)? Oh the other hand, Steve had been talking about her with them for some time now, not like his girlfriend but like herself. Was it possible that Steve had feelings for her as she had feelings for him?

"Thank you for tonight," Steve talked after dropping Robin off at her house. "With Robin and the others, with me. It meant a lot, thank you."

"Well, you're going to clean the washrooms at The Silver for a whole year, aren't you?"

Steve sighed as he looked at her for a moment, not wanting to lose focus on the road. "Would you have done it without that incentive?"

"Pretending to be your girlfriend? No. Pretending is much work."

"And if I had just asked you to come with me, no pretending involve?"

"But you didn't, did you?"

"Would have you said yes?"

Y/N stared at him, his face barely illuminated by the lights of his own car from outside. She enjoyed that her silence was making him more and more anxious. "I would have said yes, Steve, if you had asked without the pretending bit."

He glanced at her, probably to see if she was playing with him or being serious. He saw something there that made him nod.

"I like Dustin. He seems nice."

"Dustin Henderson is amazing."

Just like that, she changed the topic and he accepted the change. 

To be continued… 

If you want to be added to the taglist let me know.

Taglist: @blackbirddaredevil23 @marisurmommy @lovesreality @noname10234 @p-rspective @heyyimmisunderstood @out--of-the-reality @lxdyred @i-always-come-back-xoxo​ @shireentapestry​ @popcrone818​

[hexiewrites]

make this inn our own: chapter one

for @thefreakandthehair's spicy six winter prompt challenge, my steddie hallmark au!

read it on ao3

summary

After a family secret threatens the upstanding Harrington name, Steve is forced to leave Hawkins right after highschool. Life carries on without him, The Party defeats Vecna and the gates close, and ten years pass. Then, Otis Harrington dies and leaves Steve the Carnation Inn. With Christmas fast approaching, business man Steve must return to Hawkins and fix it up to sell. But coming home comes with guilt, trauma, and grappling with his identity in the Harrington family, and the family secret that tore him away from the one person who may have understood what he was going through. Add in a dilapidated inn, a snarky handyman, a meddling gang of no-longer-kids, and a little bit of Christmas Magic, and everything Steve has fought so hard to build is suddenly threatening to crumble around him.

chapter one: boys don't cry

“Umm. Mr. Harrington?”

Steve groaned, and scrubbed a hand over his face as he looked up from the screen in front of him, immediately losing track of the numbers swimming across the screen. “Candice,” he said, slow as he tried to keep the anger out of his voice. “I told you to hold all my calls. I need to get these reports done and I just don’t have time.”

Candice shuffled, nervously, in the doorway. He couldn’t fault her too much, truthfully. She was one of those perpetually slightly nervous girls, flighty and a little bouncey, but she was a good assistant. One time, when someone had tried to barge in unannounced, she held on to the doorframe so tightly to stop them that she’d almost broken a nail. And when his brain hit the point where the numbers mixed up more than usual, if he asked, she’d read them out to him, careful and slow, with no judgment whatsoever. “I know,” she said, and let out a sigh. “I told them that, trust me. But the person is insistent. They, um. They told me to tell you it was about, uh, Otis? And they said you’d know who that was, and they won’t hang up until you answer the phone.”

Steve felt the colour drain out of his face, heart lurching into his chest. Otis Harrington, his granddad. Family, and even though his dad hadn’t talked to the man in at least ten years, Otis was one of the good ones. One of the ones who still sent a card every Christmas, still told Steve he was always welcome, still answered Steve’s calls even though as the years went on the time between them stretched further and further. He hadn’t seen Otis in probably three years now, the last time the man had come into the city and gotten lunch with them, but he’d been thinking about maybe trying to get back to Hawkins for Christmas. But it was always the war inside of him: half wanting to see Otis, to curl up in the giant arm chair in front of the fire like when he was a little kid, to listen to his stories and hear Otis’s big belly laugh, sneak drags off his pipe, and half the voices in his head, Nancy, bullshit bullshit bullshit, his father, this fucking town is only good for fags and commies, and Harrington’s are no fags and commies, and Dustin, who he could still hear through his tinny voicemail, why did you leave without telling me? We almost died and we needed you and you weren’t here! Good to know we mean shit all to you just like everybody else.

No. He knew, in his heart, he was never going back to Hawkins for Christmas.

keep reading on ao3

[steviewashere]

70-78

Okay, this one is a doozy. Buckle in. 😎

Number Seventy: His go to order at a diner is a cheeseburger with crispy fries (he has to request them to be crispier) and a strawberry milkshake with extra whip. He dips his fries in his milkshake. When Robin tries to tell him that dipping his fries like that is disgusting, he chews proudly with his mouth open, which makes her grimace and shut up.

Number Seventy-One: He regularly hangs out with Robin, obviously. They have sleepovers, go see movies (however reluctant he is), and sometimes even go roller skating. His favorite thing is taking her out to eat just so they can gossip about customers that come in at Family Video.

Number Seventy-Two:  His go to song on a jukebox is Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock”.

Number Seventy-Three: If he were to be Vecna’d, his song of choice would either be “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen or “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen.

Number Seventy-For: Some of his happiest memories that he could pick from if he were Vecna’d (after season 4):

-his grandpa teaching him to ride a bike -his dad showing him how to shave (clapping him on the shoulder in praise) -his mom dancing with him in the living room until he was a giggling mess -him and Dustin talking on the train tracks -when him and Dustin see Star Wars: A New Hope (and then when he dropped Dustin off and they created their secret handshake) -watching Back to the Future with Robin (and also mocking Tammy Thompson in the bathroom) -when Robin suggested they just combine -helping Lucas practice his free throws for basketball tryouts -when he asked Nancy out and she actually said yes (he later went to the bathroom and had a silent dance to himself out of pure excitement) -the first day he became friends with Tommy -later at some point when Max wakes up and she’s happy to see him (she lets him read her letter and finds that she calls him a brother figure. He cries from that.)

Number Seventy-Five: He’s always wanted siblings. But a sister especially.

Number Seventy-Six: Is a very sentimental drunk. Like he’ll call Robin to tell her how much he loves her. (Sometimes a sobbing, unintelligible mess, too. Those are on rougher nights, she comes over and comforts him until they’re in a cuddle pile on his bed.)

Number Seventy-Seven: Allergic to bees, pine needles, and tree nuts. Bees and tree nuts could kill him, so he carries an epipen just in case. When he worked at Scoops Ahoy, he made sure to wear double gloves for orders that contained tree nuts, and always washed his hands three times afterwards.

Number Seventy-Eight: Working at Scoops Ahoy gave him an aversion to ice cream for several months after. The scent of sweet things all the time always made him lose his appetite, he’d often take his lunch in the passage way behind the stores or even in the food court by himself.

[stranger-marauders]

shattered

six: the road trip

chapter summary: Kate finds her escape not as easy as it appears. Steve, Dustin, Max, and Robin fill Nancy in on what they know.

chapter warnings: language, canon-typical violence, allusions to alcohol and drug use

word count: 3.3k

series masterlist | masterlist

KATE COULD HAVE sworn up and down that someone was following her.

At first, she thought it must’ve been her anxiety getting the best of her. Every time she turned around, she didn’t see anyone that could have possibly been following her, not until she was about a mile from her car.

She’d finally seen the woman in question. If she wouldn’t have been looking for her, she probably wouldn’t have spotted her at all. The woman had been following her presumably since she’d left her building, and the only reason she’d finally recognized her again was because she’d recognized her face, her clothes.

She was onto her.

Kate could only assume the woman was a government agent of some kind, probably belonging to whatever agency actually had knowledge of her sister’s existence. She looked important, mostly because of her clothes, her pinbacked hair. Whoever this woman was, she was most definitely looking for her.

So much for the dumb blonde gag.

She picked up her pace slightly, not too quickly as not to avoid suspicion. She thought she might be able to lose her if she was inconspicuous enough, if she didn’t panic. She couldn’t freak out—she had to act like nothing was wrong.

Kate realized she had been made whenever the woman also started picking up her pace, making sure she didn’t lose her. She couldn’t turn around again—she had to focus on getting to her car. The agent was about thirty yards behind her. That was enough time to get inside the car, start the engine, and drive off, right? It had to be enough time. 

The woman following her began to close the space in between them, making Kate’s heart race. She couldn’t get to her, not when she had gotten this far. Who knew where she would take her? Kate had to get out right now.

“Excuse me, ma’am!” the agent called. She was only twenty feet behind her now, just close enough where Kate could hear her and not ignore her.

Kate, however, continued walking. She clipped her Walkman onto her belt, putting her keys in her frontpocket. She impulsively went down an alleyway that could be considered a short cut to her car, one that would probably throw the agent off. 

“Ma’am!”

She didn’t care. Kate started walking swiftly down the alleyway, but the woman was faster. The agent grabbed her by the arm, quickly restraining her by her wrists.

It was too late—Kate had been caught.

“Ma’am—” “Why are you following me!”

“Miss Hopper, I need you to come with me.”

“Why?”

The woman sighed. “I can’t answer that until you come with me.”

Kate evaluated her options for only a moment as she stood in the alleyway with her hands behind her back, restrained by her wrists. She could try running, but she knew that would end horribly, as she was not a runner by any stretch of the means. She could try acting like she wasn’t herself again, but she figured it was a little late for that.

The only thing she hadn’t tried was fighting her way out.

When the agent pulled at her wrist, Kate instinctively kicked her in the shin, making the woman let go of her. She had never gotten into a physical fight before, but she had to keep in mind what her dad had always told her just in case she did have to defend herself.

Rule number one: no kicking. They’ll either grab you by the leg or move closer to you. Rule number two: if you punch, make it count. If you punched someone the wrong way, you had the opportunity to fracture your knuckles, and that was something that would really be of no help. Rule number three: aim for vital organs, the back of the head, or the jaw. Any of those places could completely distract a person if you hit them the right way.

As she worked against the government agent, her father’s words rang through her head. The agent tried to land a blow around her kidneys, but Kate avoided her, managing to punch her in the diaphragm, just like her dad had taught her. The final blow she made was the punch in the jaw, causing the woman to fall to the ground.

She took a few deep breaths, staring at the agent on the ground. Holy shit. And to think Steve made it look so difficult to win a fight.

Kate didn’t think about it for another moment before running as fast as she could to her car. She had been given an opportunity and she wasn’t going to waste it.

Now she had to pray there wouldn’t be a felony charge for her whenever the agent woke up.

Steve, Dustin, Robin, and Max sat Nancy down at the trailer park to tell her about everything they knew.

“So you’re saying that this thing that killed Fred and Chrissy, it’s from the Upside Down?”

“If the shoe fits,” Steve answered.

“Our working theory is that he attacked with a spell or a curse,” Dustin explained. “Now, whether or not he’s doing the bidding of the Mind Flayer or just loves killing teens, we don’t know.”

“All we know is this is something different,” Max said. “Something new.”

“Doesn’t make sense,” Nancy said, still confused.

“It’s only a theory,” Dustin explained.

“No, Fred and Chrissy don’t make sense,” she clarified. “I mean, why them?”

“Maybe they were just in the wrong place,” Dustin said. “They were both at the game.”

“And near the trailer park,” Max added.

“We’re at the trailer park,” Steve said, somewhat anxiously. “Uh… should we maybe not be here?”

“There is something about this place,” Nancy said. “Fred started acting weird the second we got here.”

Robin turned to face her. “Acting weird as in…?”

“Scared, on edge, upset.”

“Max said Chrissy was upset, too,” Dustin said.

“Yeah, but not here,” Max clarified. “She was crying in the bathroom at school.”

“Serial killers stalk their prey before they strike, right?” Robin asked. “So, maybe Fred and Chrissy saw this Vecman—”

“Vecna,” Dustin corrected.

“I dunno about you, but if I saw some freaky wizard monster, I would mention it to someone,” Steve said, scratching his face.

“Maybe they did,” Max said, a moment of realization hitting her. “I saw Chrissy leaving Ms. Kelley’s office. If you saw a monster, you… you wouldn’t go to the police. They’d never believe you. But you might go to your—”

“Your shrink,” Robin said, following her perfectly.

Max only nodded in response.

The group of five walked back to Steve and Nancy’s cars, everyone but her heading with him. When he saw that Nancy was going on his own, however, he started walking toward her.

“Woah, woah. Nance. Nance!” He took a few steps closer to her. “Nance, where you going?”

She almost looked as if she’d been taken off guard. “Oh, there’s just something I wanna check on first.”

“Something you maybe wanna share with the rest of us?” Dustin asked.

Nancy shoved her hands in her pockets. “I don’t wanna waste your time. It’s a real shot in the dark.”

“Yeah, okay. Are you out of your mind? Flying solo with this Vecna creep on the loose? No, it’s too dangerous. You need… You need someone to…” When Nancy raised her eyebrows at him, he turned to Robin, throwing his keys at her. “Here. I’ll stick with Nance, all right. You guys take the car, check out the shrink.”

“I don’t think you want me driving your car,” Robin said, a panicked look flashing across her face.

“Why?”

“I don’t have a license?”

Steve had almost missed what she’d said. He hadn’t ever realized Robin, a freshly turned eighteen year old, didn’t have her license. “Why don’t you have a license?”

“I’m poor.”

“I can drive,” Max offered.

“No, no! Never again, please. Anybody but you. No.”

Dustin didn’t say a word, only giving a suggestive face.

“No chance.”

“Come on.”

“No.”

“All right, okay. This is stupid,” Robin said, taking Dustin’s walkie from his backpack and handing Steve his keys. “Us ladies will stick together. Unless… you think we need you to protect us.”

Steve gave her an unreadable look as he tried to hide his annoyance, and Robin chuckled as she walked toward Nancy’s car. Nancy shrugged, smiling as she walked in the other direction.

“Be careful,” Steve said with a raised voice, and Robin waved to him in response.

“You just gonna stand there and gawk?” Dustin asked, smiling.

“Shut up.”

“Why don’t we go? Okay?” Dustin asked.

“Shut up and get in the car,” Stve said walking over to the car somewhat bitterly. While Ma had already gotten in, Dustin moved to get in at the same time as him. “Wipe your feet.” Dustin did as instructed, wiping them on the carpet floor of the car. “On the outside, not the inside!” When he finally got in, trying to start the car, he sighed. “Always the babysitter. Always the goddamn babysitter!”

Kate had been out of city limits before the end of the lunch rush.

She hadn’t eaten lunch. In fact, she hadn’t stopped once before her tank hit near empty. She was only going to stop for something like that, a chance to try and call Jonathan again to warn him about the agents and to go pee simlutaneously, maybe to get a Coke and a bag of chips, but nothing more. She couldn’t waste time—she knew it would be a long drive.

Even though it was about eleven hours away, Kate knew she could make the drive to Hawkins in one day. Even though almost every fiber in her being screamed at her not to go, told her that it was a terrible, terrible idea for multiple reasons, she knew she needed to go. If agents were looking for her, that meant something else had gone wrong, and she wasn’t just going to sit aside and do absolutely nothing. Besides, maybe El had been taken to Hawkins.

There was no way El wasn’t in federal custody at this point, not if federal agents were looking for her already. Maybe they’d taken her again, to try and get her powers back, but Kate didn’t care. She was going to find her sister, and she would do everything in her power to prevent any more loss from happening. She couldn’t take losing anyone else.

Bartholomew was doing a lot better than expected, considering how she was driving. It was a seven year old car at this point, it being a 1979 Ford Escort, but she hadn’t put too many miles on it considering she had only made the drive from Hawkins whenever she and Steve had moved her in. This would be the first time she’d gone back since she’d left. She’d only stopped a little bit before halfway in between Pennsylvania and Ohio to refill her tank, trying to call Jonathan again. She didn’t try calling him again when she found the line was still busy.

She blared music loudly in her car as she drove, trying not to think about the hundreds of thoughts that seemingly flew through her head at once. She thought about Mike, Will, and Jonathan, wondering why the line had been so busy. She thought about what might’ve been going on in Hawkins currently, how boring she hoped it would be even thought she knew that was far from the case. She thought about EL, where she was and what she was doing. Most importantly, though, her thoughts were overwhelmed by one person.

Kate knew there was a strong chance she would see Steve Harrington before she could leave Hawkins again, and she didn’t know how to feel about that. While, yes, she wanted to see Steve, she knew it would hurt her, hurt him. She hadn’t seen him since she had dropped him off at LaGuardia, seeing him off on his flight.

She remembered that moment still, replayed in her mind constantly.

“Did you know this’ll actually be my first time on a plane alone?” Steve had said, trying to ease the tension. “Crazy, right?” 

Kate had laughed, tears swelling in her eyes as she’d pulled him into a hug. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

“I know,” he’d replied, wrapping her arms around her. “I wish I could stay with you.”

“I know,” she’d said, her voice cracking slightly. “Thanksgiving, right?”

He’d pulled away from her, wiping away the stray tear that had gone down her face. “Nothing any sooner?”

She’d laughed, trying not to rack a sob. “I can’t afford anything sooner, and neither can you. Besides, I need you to stay with El before she leaves. We already have Thanksgiving planned out.”

He’d nodded, giving her a tightlipped smile. “Thanksgiving it is, then.”

She’d nodded once, breathing out shakily as she wiped underneath her eyes. She didn’t want him to go. God, she didn’t want him to go, but he had to go back. 

He’d cupped her face with her hands, pulling her into a kiss one last time. He’d known it was tacky, but he didn’t care—at that time, he’d thought he’d be going three months without seeing her, and he wasn’t not going to kiss her one last time. Whenever she pulled away, he pressed his forehead against hers, wiping a stray tear from her cheek with his thumb. “I love you, Kathy.”

“I love you, too, Steven.”

Before either of them could have said another word, boarding for his terminal called, and he’d dropped his hands from her face, smiling at her sadly. “That’s me.”

She’d seen him off, only watching him as he began his journey back home.

Kate almost hated to remember that moment now. How they’d talked about the Thanksgiving that never was, the one that she’d wanted so desperately but couldn’t have because she made the decision to cut it off with him. She missed him so much. She missed his dorky smile, his stupid hair: she missed him more than he possibly could know, even if she’d done everything in her power to make it appear as otherwise.

Because of that, Kate didn’t know how she’d feel if she saw Steve again, nor if she needed to.

Steve and Dustin camped out in his car outside of Ms. Kelley’s house whenever Max had gone inside.

“Okay,” Steve said. “She’s in.”

“I’m missing collarbones, not eyes.”

Steve didn’t reply, only watching Max carefully.

“So,” Dustin started, “we gonna talk about… it?”

“Huh?” Steve finally turned to look at Dustin. “Sorry, talk about what?”

Dustin gave him an unconvinced look. “Your temporary insanity earlier today when you basically threw yourself at Nance?”

“Okay, first off, that’s not what happened, okay?”

“Pretty sure that’s what happened,” Dustin countered. “It was public. There were a lot of witnesses.”

“Are… Are you implying I still have a thing for Nance?”

“No. I’m not implying.”

“You’re—”

“I’m stating, and, as it relates to your steadfast refusal to date Robin, it’s pretty much the only logical explanation.”

“That’s not the only one,” Steve said, somewhat bitterly. “And as for Nance, I was just trying to protect a friend.”

Dustin nodded, giving an unconvinced smile—he couldn’t believe him. He never would’ve thought he would go back to Nancy after all this time. 

“A friend, Henderson. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“I don’t wanna find her in the morning with her eyes sucked out of the front of her skull by this Vecna creep.”

“Why can’t you just tell me? You acted the same way about Kate, like, two years ago, by the way, so I can see right through your bullshit act.”

“This is not the same thing.”

Dustin chuckled. “You’re, like, bright red in the face right now.”

“No, I’m not. I dno’t wanna talk about it, I’ll punch you so hard your teeth will fall back out.”

“Woah,” Dustin said, immediately dropping his smile. “Too far.”

Steve paused, a moment of realization hitting him. “Not cool. Sorry.”

“Not cool. It’s okay.”

He nodded, sticking out his fist as a truce. When Dustin bumped it back, he knew things were cool.

Dustin should’ve known not to bring Kate into it. Steve had reacted badly to anyone bringing her up besides him since she’d broken up with him, especially that first two months. The first week he’d been single, Dustin couldn’t think of a time where he hadn’t found Steve drinking his sorrows away, smoking a blunt that Robin had scored from some of the dealers at school. For a while Steve had picked up smoking again, stopping whenever he was spending all his money on a pack or two a day. He could’ve sworn he even saw him shed a tear over it once or twice, quickly wiping it away where no one could see. Steve hadn’t been right since then whenever Kate Hopper was merely mentioned, even all those months later, and that was something Dustin forgot every once in a while.

Steve still hadn’t gotten over the pain of losing her. He didn’t mean to take it out on Dustin, but the fact that he’d even suggested that he’d gotten over her and moved on to Nancy, for that matter, made him hurt. The fact that he was even trying to move on was hard enough for him, but why would he go back to Nancy, the girl that had made him realize he was in love with Kate in the first place? It didn’t make sense. Not in the slightest.

He still remembered the night that she’d broken up with him, the night that he thought his life was over. He’d pulled out his old cigarettes from his bedside drawer, some old weed, and broke into the alcohol cabinet just to feel something. He didn’t remember it, but he knew he’d called Robin at some point, only because she’d been at his house the next morning whenever he was so hungover he could hardly move. He remembered how terrible Thanksgiving had been, how much worse Christmas had been because she wasn’t there. He wasn’t going to let Dustin erase that, and he surely didn’t want to talk about it with him. Not when nothing would come out of it.

It hadn’t taken long for Max to come back, holding something in her hand.

“Here she comes, here she comes, here she comes,” Steve said softly, getting Dustin’s attention. They both watched her and she ran to his car quickly, jumping into the backseat.

“What’d she say?” Dustin asked.

“Nothing, just drive.”

“Nothing?”

“Steve, drive!” Max said urgently, evading his question.

“Okay,” he said softly, cranking up the car and driving away without another question.

next chapter

taglist:

@thatsonezesty13 @cece5298 @thepowerstoner @alovelytardis @coolchick333 @stand-tall-pineapple @littlet-holmes @guichu @cinderellacauseshebroke @blackbirddaredevil23 @mads-weasley @ilovemarauders @pearlstiare @liableperfections @khaylin27 @girlwiththerubyslippers @cyarikaaa

[catharusustulatus]

There’s no hairspray in the apocalypse. Steve had only done a partial wash before volunteering at the high school, and after the ash started falling, and the town shook again, a great thrashing, everyone was called to the cabin, and from there it only got scarier and busier. Three days later his hair is flat and curled only at the ends, waking up on Hopper’s old cot with bed head. It’s getting longer again, after his haircut post-Starcourt. He doesn’t know what to do with it.

After a long day of setting traps for demodogs and fearing for his life, sweat pooling in the back of his shirt, he asks Robin if she can put it in a ponytail. It’s not quite long enough but the ends can fit, and she obliges quietly with a tender smile.

The cabin barely has hot water and there’s so many of them he doesn’t push showering for longer than five minutes. He scrubs the dirt and blood off, changes his bandages, puts his now stained blue henley back on. If he’d known this is what he’d be wearing every day, he’d have dressed differently. He’d have packed his toiletries.

A week later they’re patrolling near his neighborhood. Lucas and Nancy are lookouts as he chances finding the spare key to his house; everyone else’s are empty or already swallowed by the growing number of sink holes. His parents won’t care, they haven’t even answered his calls, so he doesn’t feel bad.

He runs through his house, heart beating like a drum, knowing he has little time to salvage what he can. He grabs what he sees; all of the canned food, the cereal, some almost expired milk, the can opener just in case. Two clean kitchen knives. His first aid kit. The extra blankets Robin always uses when she sleeps over. His toothbrush, floss, eye drops, his brush his comb his shampoo oh my god his hairspray. It’s his last can and it’s almost empty but he takes it. He grabs the nail bat, a notebook and pen. He takes the denim vest, pushed far under his bed in shame and sadness. He’s so glad to take it all.

They’re running back to the cabin from where he parked the beemer, Nancy wincing from a sprained wrist - she got blowback from the shotgun, saving their asses after the house raid - and Steve is so thankful it’s not worse. That they have more food to eat. That he has at least one more week of Farrah Fawcett spray.

Another week later and they’ve built a rhythm, as a group. The kids play games and draw in their free time. They all play cards. Joyce tells stories with a flashlight. Argyle is actually a great cook, and he makes their canned food somehow last - and he’s caring too - Steve clocks, quietly, that Argyle always serves himself last. Steve braids everyone’s hair, recalls sports statistics with Hopper, washes the dishes, makes up sequels to movies with Robin, makes peace with Jonathan. He hums pop songs to go to sleep. He cries a lot. He misses Eddie and doesn’t know why it aches so much. He runs out of hairspray.

Nancy half jokingly gives him a headband from her bag but he takes to wearing it to tame the beast. No one’s ever seen his hair so wild, so flat and tall at the same time. He’s vulnerable in a way he’s never been, even as they take to peeing with the door cracked open at night and having heard everyone’s nightmares a dozen times. One night it’s so bad Steve wakes up just to puke in the bathroom sink, and Joyce runs cool water over his neck, kneeling over the bathtub, shivering. His tears are thick and clean down his grimy face in the bathroom mirror. She hugs him for a long time. “What was it this time?” She asks. “My dad.” He tells her. “Mm. Real piece of work.” Her hands soothe his aching neck. She had told him before, how she knew his dad from high school. For some reason, even with all the monsters, his worst fear is still human. He tries to focus on the humans that love him instead.

By the time the apocalypse is over, a final quake ending their fighting, Steve’s hair is longer and can fully fit in a pony tail. He wears the headband to push back his flyaways but also because it’s from Nancy. The shock of survival hits him and he’s on his knees, and then he wakes up somewhere else.

The first shower he takes in the Indianapolis hospital he sobs, hot water beading down his body like a christening. He traces his wounds, his scars, the lack of sleep deep set in his face. He can’t believe he survived. He has no idea what happens next. Every moment is a gift, relief floating in his gut. He shaves his head.