#and lucas absolutely has more than robin and also the rest of them

[brbsoulnomming]

Heart On Your Sleeve Part 8

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

written for steddiebigbang2024 and belatedly posting here!

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The kids leave the next day, after Steve's heart has mostly reformed itself. It's still a little beat up and mangled, but it's clearly a heart again, and it barely hurts anymore.

He doesn't know how he'll ever be able to thank them.

Eddie doesn't call.

—

His house stops being empty.

Robin's over almost constantly, their hearts in each other's chests more often than not. He can tell Robin's worried about him, and he likes feeling her emotions - it tells him when she's upset, or sad, and he can respond without her having to say anything.

The rest of the kids are over almost as constantly, as though his house has just become the de facto hang out.

He minds it a lot less than he pretends to.

Erica sulks at him, and he can't figure out why until Lucas makes a comment about their heart sharing and she rolls her eyes so hard he's afraid they're going to pop out.

Steve frowns at her, hanging back after the others have gone on into the kitchen.

“That's an extra level of snide, even for you,” he says.

She gives him a look. “You want it directed at you?”

He holds up his hands. “What'd I do?”

Her look only becomes more unimpressed. “You had my brother over for your little healing pow-wow? He wasn't even part of Scoops Troop.”

Oh.

That's.

Oh.

Never in a hundred years did he think Erica Sinclair would be throwing a fit because she didn't get to be a part of their group heart sharing, but here it is.

“You want to swap?” Steve asks.

Erica scoffs at him. “I don't need your pity heart exchange.”

“It's not pity,” he protests.

This time the look practically burns through him.

“Robin and I do it all the time,” he insists. “It's easier. It means we can understand the way the other one feels without having to figure out how to say it.”

Her eyebrows raise. “And you want to know how I feel?”

Steve holds out his hand in response.

She stares at him for a long moment, then sighs in a far too long suffering manner before she takes her heart out and gives it to him. He exchanges his for hers, and -

“Is it messed up again?” Dustin demands. “Why didn't you tell me?”

He honestly isn't sure if the surge of somewhat affectionate irritation he feels is his or Erica's, and he exchanges what he suspects is a near identical look with her.

Dustin narrows his eyes at them. “What's this look you're doing, I really don't like it on both of you.”

“That's because it's bad news for you,” Erica retorts.

“We're just swapping,” Steve says.

“It's what you do when someone is a little too hard headed and out of touch with their feelings to realize how insensitive they're being.”

That is absolutely not what Steve had been going for, but Erica says it with such superiority and Dustin is looking so contemplative at it that he just sighs and goes with it.

Erica shoots him a smug little look - she knows exactly what she's doing and how he feels about it.

“Mike!” Dustin shouts. “Come here, we're swapping, so you can know that I'm right!”

Steve groans, but there's no stopping it now.

Swaps are called to settle arguments, to prove that this movie really is scary guys come on, for a dozen other reasons until Steve honestly can't be sure who has whose heart at any given moment.

He'd worry about the effects of so much heart swapping, but - the kids seem happy. Sometimes he even catches them just sitting with each other and swapping, and after everything they've lost - who is he to say what's healthy and what isn't?

Steve can't complain.

Well. He can, and he does, but he also knows this is probably the happiest he's ever been in this house, so he doesn't complain too much.

—

Eddie still doesn't call.

He doesn't answer, either, when Steve calls him. Any of the times Steve calls him.

Steve drives out there, once, stupidly. He's pretty sure he can hear Eddie's music, but the trailer’s dark, and no one answers.

Steve takes the hint after that.

He doesn't let anyone but Robin swap with him for a while, as long as he can get away with. He doesn't really have a name for what he's feeling - he doesn't want to put a name to what he's feeling - and she doesn't make him.

—

The Hopper-Byers are moving.

None of the party take it well, but it seems to hit Max the hardest.

Or at least, he assumes it does, because she's suddenly not over for a week straight, and Steve knows avoidance when he sees it.

He finds her sitting at the skate park, all alone, but she doesn't protest when he sits down next to her.

“Swap?” Steve asks softly.

Max rolls her eyes. “I'm fine.”

He gives her the most unimpressed look he can muster.

She scoffs, then gives him one right back. “Okay, so, what, you want to feel angry and miserable too?”

Steve weighs his options for a moment, considering how to respond, then decides just to go for honesty. “Yeah,” he says simply. “I'm not here just for the good stuff, Mayfield, I'm here for all of it.”

She looks at him for a long moment, her expression hard. Then she wrenches her chest open.

He pops his open, too, taking his heart out and offering it to her. Steve expects her to take it and put her own in his hand, but instead she shoves her own heart into his chest before he can so much as blink, snatching his out of his hand. He blinks at her, but - yeah, okay, fine, that works.

She is angry, and miserable. She hated Billy, and she's still sad, and El is the only one who really gets her, and she knows that's not true, and everyone leaves, and he hasn't left, and she loves and she hates and she's so tired.

Steve can't really put any of it into words, but he doesn't have to.

He just has to be there.

—

School starts, and it gets quieter. He and Dustin still have their weekly movie nights, and he plays ball with Lucas, cooks dinner with Max, but Robin's the only one over as much as she used to be.

It's - actually fine, this time. He gets a job at Family Video, and he hangs out with Robin and spends time with the kids and goes on dates, and he's still happy.

Well, except the going on dates bit. Something's missing, something obvious, but he tells himself that's fine, too.

—

Dustin starts talking about Eddie, a few months into school.

Well, he talks about Hellfire, which Steve doesn't really put together at first, but he's happy Dustin's having fun with his club.

When he mentions Eddie, Steve probes a little, asks how he joined up. Dustin lights up, talking about how Eddie looked out for them starting from day one, even if he's definitely a little scary at times, and Steve -

“Swap?” Robin asks the second she gets to his house later, like she took one look at him and knew he needed it.

They both need it, actually.

She has feelings about Vickie, and he has feelings about Eddie, and they're both complicated and messy and neither of them know what to do about it.

“Ask her out,” Steve tells her.

“She doesn't even like girls!”

“How do you know?”

“How do you know?”

And that's - point, okay, Steve has nothing to counter that. Yet. He just has to start collecting proof.

Robin feels his intentions and gives a dramatic huff, but she doesn't try to stop him.

She won't admit it, but she's grateful.

“Do you regret asking Eddie out?” she asks.

He makes a face. “I mean, I didn't ask him out so much as take him out a bunch of times, realize like halfway through it that's what I was doing, and then he ran the second I made it obvious, so… I guess I regret not actually asking him.”

She considers that. “Do you think it would have changed anything?”

“I don't know,” he admits. “Maybe I could have made it so he didn't feel like he had to run, maybe we could have still been friends? I wish I'd known what I was doing and I'd done it different, but… I think I'd regret it more if I didn't try at all.”

She drops her shoulder against his. “Of course you would. You always go for what you want, it's like you have no fear.”

He has plenty of fear - she's felt it - but not about shooting his shot. She's right; he's a man of action, and he's not sure he knows how to be anything else.

“Ugh, let's stop talking about it. I'm glad he's still a good guy and is watching out for the little shits, end of story.”

It's not the end of the story, but for now, they both let it be.

—

Dustin calls him to beg him to play in Hellfire with him, and Steve groans audibly.

“Does Eddie know you're asking me?” he asks.

Dustin scoffs. “Of course not, but I have to show up with someone on Friday.”

Steve frowns. “On Friday? That's the championship game. Lucas is playing.”

Dustin groans, and Steve makes a little bit of a face at himself when he realizes the kid sounds almost exactly like him.

“Don't remind me,” Dustin grumbles. “He's the reason we have to find someone in the first place.”

“Lucas asked you to find someone to sub in for him?”

Steve doesn't even need Dustin's heart to be able to tell the silence that follows is guilty as hell.

“Dustin,” Steve says.

“Ugh, fine! Lucas asked us to come to the stupid game. He asked us to get Eddie to move Hellfire so he wouldn't miss the last session.”

“And did you?” Steve prompts.

“Of course!” Dustin says, indignant. “Eddie was pissed. Called Lucas a traitor, said now it was our responsibility to find someone to fill in for Lucas since he ditched us.”

That - isn’t what Steve was expecting at all.

“And instead of standing up for Lucas, you're doing what Eddie says?”

“He ditched us!” Dustin insists.

Steve pinches the bridge of his nose. “Go swap with Lucas.”

Dustin makes an almost incomprehensible noise of protest.

“Swap with Lucas, and tell him what Eddie said. If you guys come to an agreement and you still need a sub, I'll think about it.”

He'd rather watch Lucas play, and that's sure as hell what he's going to do if Dustin doesn't follow through, but if both Lucas and Dustin agree, then he'll sub in.

Not just to give Eddie a piece of his mind about this whole thing.

“You're no help!” Dustin retorts, hanging the phone up.

Robin leans against him. “Are we talking about it now?”

He considers that, then wordlessly takes his heart out and offers it to her. They swap, sitting in silence for a moment as they adjust to each other's feelings.

She's upset. He is, too, though not about exactly the same thing.

“I'm still not mad at him for how things went between him and me,” he says.

“I am,” she replies, sharp and firm. “He made your heart hurt, I still think I should get to kick his ass.”

It's not Eddie's fault, though, not as far as Steve's concerned. Steve was the one that fumbled around without knowing what he was doing, that came on too strong. He didn't get it then, but now that he knows Robin and Will and how difficult things are for them - he understands it better.

But one of the things that made Steve fall for Eddie in the first place was the way he watched out for people. It wasn't the same way Steve did it, but - they were both protective, both willing to take the hits so other people wouldn't have to. It's disappointing to see how he's pitting the kids against each other like this.

He wishes they were still friends, wishes he could call him and ask what was going on.

“If he hurts one of the kids’ hearts, then you can kick his ass,” he says finally, once he's worked through his feelings and felt Robin's support.

—

It comes back, because it always does.

It comes back, and Eddie comes back, and Steve wasn't expecting that.

—

There's tension in the boathouse even after everything's been explained, and Steve knows everyone can feel it.

Knows because it's only a few moments before Dustin's announcing, “Hearts out! We'll show you we mean it, right, guys?”

Steve sneaks a look over at Max. He still hasn't gotten a really good look at her heart since after the 4th, but maybe - no, she clearly hasn't shown anyone else here, because she's gone pale, and she looks a combination of pissed and afraid.

“Dustin,” Steve snaps, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice and failing a little. “Did you forget that some of us have hearts that aren't all that reassuring to see?”

Dustin's expression scrunches for a moment, and Steve feels most of his irritation fade away as he realizes that, yeah, Dustin did forget that.

“Oh,” Dustin says quietly. “It's okay, Steve, you don't-”

“No,” he cuts him off, still a little annoyed. “Look, we all know that I'm the one causing doubt here, right? I'll show my heart so Munson knows I mean it and we can get this over with.”

He doesn't want to, but he wants even less for this to put a spotlight on Max.

So he takes his heart out, gets back in close enough for Eddie to see it, says, “We're not lying, man, I promise.”

His heart beats true, true, true in his hands, but Eddie's eyes are going wide and wet as he stares at Steve's heart, and he isn't any less pale.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” he whispers. “What the hell happened?”

“Nothing you have to worry about,” he replies, putting his heart back in his chest as soon as he can. “It's not going to happen to you.”

It comes out a little more protective than he'd intended, and it makes Eddie's eyes dart up to his, trying to search for something in there. Steve can't tell what, and he doesn't have Eddie's heart in his chest to help him out.

Strange, how quickly he's come to rely on having that familiarity with those he cares about.

Less strange that Eddie is still someone he cares about.

“Do you want to see mine?” Eddie asks, soft enough that Steve's pretty sure he's the only one who can hear it.

Steve does, is the thing. He really does.

But not like this.

“Do you want me to?” he asks, just as soft.

Eddie looks away, silent enough that Steve knows what the answer is without him saying anything.

“People try to make me show it all the time,” Eddie says, a little bitter. “I'm not trustworthy, you know. I'm not honest. I'm just going to screw them over.”

Steve's quiet for a moment, unsure what to say. He doesn't know how to tell him that Steve's never seen him that way, that all those other people are stupid.

Finally, he settles on, “I still haven't asked.”

Eddie turns to look at him again, his eyes gone molten. “No,” he says softly. “You haven't.”

Steve gives a half shrug. “There you go then.”

This is already written, and my plan is to post one part a day until it's all up here!

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Part 9

Taglist (always happy to add more to this if anyone wants): @fairytalesreality @lostonceandneverfound @wheneverfeasible @awkwardgravity1 @theintrovertedintrovert @thewickedkat @ravenfrog @scarlet-malfoy @missmagillicuddy @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @ollyxar @cringe-culture-is-dead-99 @thedragonsaunt @makewavesandwar @cryptid-system @ajeff855 @mae-liz @the-fantastical-asexual @jettestar @warlordess @persnicketysquares @samsoble @my-love-of-books @mydysfunctionallife @dreamercec @holyangelstudentuniverse @breealtair @shunna @xtraordinarally @thatdamnfan @justalittledrainbamage @strangerfolks @disrespectedgoatman @amber-ambience @anxietyfulloption @thepossummoldypasta @irregular-child @th30ra3k3n

[stregoniconiconii]

I think a lot of people really don't get the Eddie Dustin dynamic. They think Dustin and Eddie are new best friends, that they are equal, which is not the case. Their dynamic is more mentor-student coded. Eddie said it himself he sees the people in his club as little sheep he saved, he never really was their friend. His world view also shaped Dustin's personality. This kid and his friends saved the world 3 times, they consider themselves heroes and yet by society standards they are seen as nerds and get bullied. Then there comes a dude who they think gets it, so they latch on. Even though he is not that different from popular kids who think they are better than the rest. His harmful opinions influence Dustin (I would argue even Mike) that they suddenly ditch their friend, are mean, failing school even though in Dustin's case he absolutely loves learning and so forth. Eddie brought out the worst of them which contributed to the tensions in s4 between Steve and Dustin (along with Dustin maybe being jealous of Robin tbh I haven't considered that way but it makes sense). You can't compare the Steve and Dustin dynamic with Eddie and Dustin because Steve never saw himself as something better than Dustin, he always treated him as someone equal which is why their bond will always be stronger than the bond Dustin has with Eddie. I really hope for s5 they somewhat touch on this. (Sorry for coming in your inbox like this)

Most people in this fandom don't get Eddie, full stop. They completely buy into the bullshit he spews about conformity and "the man", which isn't helped by the Duffers also leaning into it. Most egregious example being the supposed conclusion to Lucas' s4 arc. It's ridiculous precisely because Eddie does begin to learn that his assumptions/"doctrine" is wrong through his growing admiration for Steve and his bravery.

Eddie's relationship with his friends is absolutely not based on any kind of equality. He is looked to as a leader and not a particularly forgiving one at that. More like a tyrant. It's played for laughs but Mike and Dustin are genuinely anxious about how Eddie will react to not only Lucas not being available for DnD on one particular night, but him being unavailable because of a basketball game. Lucas didn't even want to talk to him himself, probably because Eddie has already shown himself to be unreasonable when it comes to DnD and basketball.

It's not purely Eddie's influence that leads Dustin to his meaner path, but he certainly doesn't help. Dustin has always been a know-it-all and cocky, he has a foul mouth, and he clearly has hard set ideas about other people that he finds very difficult to let go of. I think Eddie's main influence is in the us vs them attitude that Dustin adopts regarding the "popular" kids, but Dustin's overconfidence is definitely also because he has cheated death 3 years in a row. Nobody that was real to Dustin has died and he believes his plans are infallible... until Eddie dies following one of his plans. Yes, Eddie made the stupid decision to run into certain death for no real reason, but it is through Dustin that Eddie is connected to the larger plot. If he had just witnessed Chrissy's death and then hid, then he would have eventually been found by someone else and never directly involved with the Upside Down.

The thing I mentioned about jealousy over Steve and Robin's friendship, I think it's something that gets overlooked Way too much. Dustin was very invested in his idea that Steve and Robin are perfect for each other. We all know why they're not together, but Dustin doesn't. He just sees Steve being best friends with Robin instead of boyfriend and girlfriend like he had expected/predicted and that throws him off. 1. He was not right about something and 2. HE'S supposed to be Steve's best friend. He feels replaced. So, he tries to replace Steve. Not totally, because he can't, but Dustin Literally says to Steve "You're just jealous I have another older male friend". Dustin doesn't have subtlety. He's Trying to make Steve jealous and it is working!

Steve and Dustin's friendship was so fresh and unexpected. They're not supposed to be friends, but they are. Steve watches Star Wars with Dustin, Steve does Dustin's hair. They save each other's lives. Attempting to recreate that brotherhood with Eddie just...doesn't work. They haven't gone through what Steve and Dustin have gone through. Plus, you're right, Steve and Dustin are on a more equal level. There's elements of mentor-student with them, but most importantly they teach each other. Steve isn't leading Dustin down a road of enlightenment, he's just hanging out with his buddy. Eddie doesn't compare.

I have zero faith in s5, which I'm barely certain I'll even be watching. The Duffers lean too hard into fan service so they're going to recreate the Justice for Barb storyline but with Dustin and it's going to suck. The Duffers don't think it's a bad thing that Dustin snipes at Steve constantly or puts down his intelligence, because it's meant to be funny. Comic relief yay. The characters on this show are mean to each other, yes, but it's annoying to deal with when we see Steve apologise for going too far when he bites back at Dustin.

[hersterical]

Loving the love that soccer player Robin has been getting lately so I decided to share some of my thoughts on it

She has a huge water bottle that’s the same size as her head that she absolutely refuses to share with anyone (unless it’s someone she has a crush on and then she’s too flustered to say no)

She also brings little snacks to every game and practice. Mostly fruits, like oranges, grapes, and watermelons and things like that. But she’ll also bring crackers. She’s much more willing to share her snacks than her water but would still rather not unless she really likes them.

Robin always tucks in her jerseys (too much fabric gets in the way and is super annoying).

Off the field her teammates think she’s pretty chill and laidback (she still masks around them) but on the field she’s really intense and fouls just as much as she gets fouled.

Everyone thinks she’s really good at flopping but really she’s just that clumsy.

Robin is the best trash talker of any and every team she has ever been on, but she only ever trash talks if a player is a jerk.

She might fall down a lot and is a little on the slower side (but not as slow as she thinks) but her footwork is phenomenal.

She usually plays left defender (she’s one of the only players who’s any good with her left foot) but enjoys and is passable at every position except for goalie.

Between having to be coordinated with your hands, the weird texture that the gloves always have, the being confined to a small area, and having to spend so much time just waiting for the ball to come to her but still always needing to be on high alert anyways just in case, goalie is by far her least favorite position. Plus that one time she took a ball to the face and got knocked out gave her a bit of a sour taste for that position.

She has gotten into two fights during games and it’s generally agreed that she won both of them (though she did have to sit out for the rest of the game after getting a bloody nose).

It’s largely debated who started the first fight (Robin insists she didn’t but everyone else thinks she did), but for the second one Robin was trying to stop her teammate from getting into a fight when the other player threw a punch (giving her the bloody nose). After that, all bets were off.

She did stop playing before season 3 because she just had so many extracurriculars to keep up with, but Steve got her to start playing on an inter mural team after they defeated Vecna as a way to help her cope.

Steve taught her how to play basketball (she sucks) and went easy on her the first time they played. Then Robin taught him soccer and refused to go easy on him (he sucks, but not as bad as Robin does at basketball). After that, all bets were off while playing basketball (it’s fine though because Robin was always on a team with Lucas which evened things out until Lucas got better than Steve at basketball, then Steve and Robin would be on the same team).

Steve and Robin go to all of each other’s games. Everyone’s annoyed by how loud they either cheer or heckle each other (depending on their mood).

Robin is a little disappointed that Lucas never took to soccer like he did basketball, but he’s always willing to play.

Mike and Dustin flat out refused to play, Will tried it but he was really bad and hated it, and El is actually almost scary good at soccer but only ever plays when they play an adjusted version that allows Max to play as well. Max is down for any and every activity that allows her to be physical even if soccer isn’t always her first choice. Erica hates playing soccer but will occasionally play to make Robin happy (not that Erica looks up to and thinks Robin is cool or anything…shut up).

Robin loves soccer because it feels like the only time she can trust her body just as much as she trusts her mind (or even more so after everything with the Russians and Vecna went down).

[stobinesque]

the shape of things lost; the shape of things to come

processing some of my own grief by writing about the blorbos <3 rating: T | wc: 1k | cw: Major (Canonical) Character Death, Post-Season 4 Vol. 2, Grief & Mourning, fatalistic thinking

Steve is sitting out on the porch of Hopper’s cabin, lit joint dangling from his mouth.

“Steve?” Robin drops down next to him, a frown pinching between her brows.

“Hey, Birdie,” he murmurs, watching as smoke curls through the night air. He turns to stub out the joint, sparing Robin the secondhand hit.

“Are you…well, I know you’re not okay. You want to talk about it?”

Steve shrugs, staring up at the night sky. They’re far enough from town that there’s no light pollution. But the dusting of stars he knows are visible is blocked by the canopy of trees surrounding them. “You ever think about how…weird this all is?”

Robin doesn’t laugh at him, even though she probably should. Instead, she rests a hand on his back and stares up in the same direction he’s facing. “Yeah, all the time.”

Steve leans into her side, resting his head against her shoulder. “We lose someone every time,” he says. Quiet, like if he says it too loud he’ll…what? Jinx them? He shakes his head. “And somehow it hasn’t really touched me yet.” He reaches out a hand as though to blot out the words, or take them back. Something about them feels wrong, leaves him twisted with guilt.

“I was sad when we found out Barb died, but it was…abstract. There was never a body, and I didn’t know her at all. Didn’t even really know what the potential of knowing her might be. I was sad because Nancy was sad. But mostly I was just…guilty and scared.”

 Robin rubs at his shoulder, making a vague comforting sound. “That makes sense.”

Steve shrugs, and somehow the movement doesn’t jostle Robin at all. She sits there steadfast. “I guess so.” He takes a shaky breath. “And then there was Bob, and that devastated Joyce—and I think Will, and even Jonathan and Mike, too. And we thought we lost Hopper, and Murray lost some friend he made last year in the mess of everything, and now—” Steve’s voice cracks, and he doesn’t bother reaching up to try to stem the tide of tears he feels building, because crying in front of Robin never counts. Or maybe it’s the only time it counts? “And now Eddie, and I-I can’t—” he can’t get the rest out because the tears have built to a sob, and his chest is too tight, and he can’t breathe—

“Hey, hey,” Robin says, low and urgent, her own voice a little choked. “I’m right here.” Something damp lands on Steve’s head and if he turns to look at her he knows he’ll find tears pouring down her face as well.

“I know,” he gasps out. “And I’m so—I’m so fucking relieved that I didn’t lose you or-or Dustin, or any of the kids, or Nance, and I—I feel like shit, because Dustin lost him, and-and Mike did, and Max is—” he can’t bring himself to say anything about Max, because she’s still alive. She’s going to make it, because she has to. The alternative is—it’s unacceptable.

“Hey.” Robin’s voice is firm, and she’s pushing, pulling at him, making him turn to look at her. He lets himself be moved like a rag doll, staring at Robin’s tearstained face. “You don’t need to feel bad about being relieved that any of the rest of us made it, alright? It doesn’t mean you’re happy Eddie didn’t, or whatever else is running through your head right now. I’m relieved that you survived. And I’m grateful to Eddie for getting Dustin to safety, even though I’m also pissed at him for running back into danger as though that kid wasn’t going to just jump right back in after him. And I’m so fucking relieved that Erica and Lucas didn’t get hurt more than they did, but I’m also absolutely livid at all of us for not thinking Jason and his shithead lackies might try to come after them. It’s okay to have messy feelings when someone dies. It’s a messy business.”

Steve nods slowly, face sandwiched between Robin’s hands. They’re soft on his face. Gentle, as she rubs a thumb across one cheek, and brushes hair out of his face with the other. “I thought…” he hiccups. “I thought maybe…I thought we could be friends, after everything. And now we’re never going to get the chance.”

“Yeah.”

“I just want it all to be over.” Steve feels like all of his strings have been cut. If Robin wasn’t still holding him up he’d have collapsed back into her by now. “And it’s not. It never is. I feel like I’m just waiting for it to catch up to me. For my luck to run out or—”

Robin’s hands tighten on his face and Steve blinks his eyes back open, not realizing he’d closed them. “Stop. You can’t—I can’t—” The tears are rolling down her face again, and snot is dribbling from her nose and she looks distraught and Steve feels sick, because he did that, he put that there, and “—you can’t give up on me, okay?” Robin’s grip is so tight Steve feels like she’s crushing his head, and she’s looking at him with steel in her eyes. “Whatever ever happens, whatever’s coming…you have to fight, Steve? You have to promise to make it out the other side. There’s going to be another side.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know that I can’t lose you. I know that anywhere you go, I’m gonna follow.”

Panic lances through Steve’s chest like a stab to the heart. “No.”

Robin just shakes his head in her hands. “You’re not getting rid of me, dingus. Not even in death.”

Steve wants to shake his head, but he can’t. “You can’t die Robs. You gotta live.”

“Then I guess you have to, too, asshole.” Robin smiles and drops a hand down from his face. “Promise me?” She extends a pinkie.

Steve stares at her, and doesn’t know what to say. They both know this is a promise that neither of them can keep. And they both know that’s not the promise she’s asking him to make. He links his pinkie with hers. “Promise.”

[deylightsfictionalcompanion]

A while ago [see: when Stranger Things season 4 first came out] my friend and I were talking about “what would the gang think about Princess Bride? It came out around Halloween of ‘87, so they absolutely would have seen it.” And thus, the story was born.

I haven’t written a story in years [see: because college] until I just sat down one day and cranked out this 12k thing. I wrote this giant Steve Harrington x F! Reader fanfic like it sustained my whole life (it did, though, in a way).

I’m sharing it on tumblr first (it’ll go on AO3 after some minor grammatical edits) because why not.

More under cut

Fandom: Stranger Things

Genre: xReader (thought I hate Y/N so you’re Dustin’s older sister in this as “Ms. Henderson” mostly)

Word Count: 11.9k

Rating: I’m gonna go with Teen but think more CW Teen than normal Teen.

Synopsis: You’ve known Steve since high school. You’ve been apart of the craziness coming from Hawkins since the beginning. And worst of all: you’ve loved Steve ever since he first took your brother under his wing—but you’ve kept it a secret. Until now. All because of The Princess Bride.

Important info: I’m a lover of pop culture, and there’s so much of that in Stranger Things, I’ve tried to keep that feeling. This is why the bulk of the story revolves around The Princess Bride and Halloween. I’ve tried to keep it within a 1987 time frame too, just because.

Tags: #Steves A Dork #Everyone Lives #Eddie/Chrissy is there because I love them both your honor and they deserve nice things when Steve is too busy being in love with you, the reader #Listen I know there’s some small grammatical issues I’ll fix them later #Copious amounts of 80s product placement #Theres some heavy petting but like. Again, nothing worse than what you’d see on the CW #Also Eddie took Will under his wings and they DM together #Robin plays too cause they let her woo princesses #I tried my best and therefore anyone may constructively criticize me #Oh yeah Robin/Vicki are there too because I say so #this is my first time posting fanfic so like please be gentle at a time like this ;)

As You Wish

By Deylightsfictionalcompainion

Somehow the light always felt brighter after coming out of the movie theater. It wasn’t a surprise, given you went to see a matinee on a Thursday and the movie was less than two hours long, but still. That initial shock of stepping out from a darkened theater to the afternoon sun made it difficult for you to see for a while. You imagined it was the same for everyone in the group.

“Do you think when Peter Faulk said ‘As You Wish’ at the end, he was implying that maybe it was his book? Like, you can actually check it out from the library or something?” Robin asked, her rough-cut voice echoing in the parking lot. She held up a hand to her forehead to block the sun and looked back at the rest of the group.

“I very much doubt that, Robin.” Dustin let out a small chuckle. “I’ve skimmed every part of that library and I have never come across a copy of The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern, let alone one written by Columbo.”

“Well, it still would be cool if it was an actual book to check out. But I guess I’ll just have to look into more movies directed by that guy that plays Michael Stivie from All In The Family. Personally, I think he’s a better director than actor, but that’s just me.” Robin shrugged her shoulders and grabbed the handle to the passenger door of Steve’s car, placing her weight on one foot as she waited for the rest of you to circle around the car and get in.

You caught up to her in no time and leaned in on the hood, watching as Dustin, Eddie, and Steve slowly made their way around.

You’d picked this Sunday to go because most of the group was off. Nancy and Jonathan insisted on watching it as part of their new attempt at foraging a date night together and Mike, El, Will, Max, and Lucas had already seen it last weekend—they actually convinced everyone else that they had to see it too.

“I’d love to make it into a D&D session,” Will had beamed up at Eddie during the last D&D session they’d had together. Eddie had, upon meeting Will, found it necessary to take the kid in under his wing since he was the only one of the boys that he deemed could carry on his title as DM of Hellfire. Will took an instant shining to him, and in return, started to really take his newfound apprenticeship seriously. “I think I could really work in the part about the Pit of Despair and Dread Pirate Roberts lore. You should see it so you can help me get it set up.”

“Very well,” Eddie responded to him, slouched in his chair that somehow survived Jason’s rampage through the club room. It looked a little out of place sitting in the basement of Steve’s perfectly primmed house—but Eddie had insisted if Hellfire (at least for the summer) was to continue, he’d need his chair. And since Steve was tired of being a taxi service from one end of Hawkins to the next, he’d given up and let the club just meet up in his [empty] house. “I will see The Princess Bride whenever the Henderson’s convince Harrington to take us. See for myself if I can accurately get a feel for how to home brew the storyline into Hellfire’s campaign trail.”

Dustin immediately started to bounce at the thought and turned to look at you. “You gotta convince him.” He said, his eyes shining in the way he knew you couldn’t resist. “I’m all out of favors to ask him this month, and I don’t wanna push my luck asking for another ride.”

You sighed, closing the book you were reading (well, half-reading. Sometimes the campaign they’d play was exciting enough to catch your interest, and you’d tune in to the boys—and Robin, who weirdly got into the game one night when she found out both Will and Eddie would let her seduce princesses—as they’d play). “I’ll ask him next shift. But you owe me chore duty for a week without mom knowing.”

Dustin bounced harder. “Absolutely. It’s a deal.”

Which is how you found yourself leaning over the counter, pleading with Steve the next day.

“Come on, Steve,” you’d said to him as you watched him restock the shelves of Family Video—something you honestly hadn’t expected to still be working at after the events of ’86, yet you, Robin, and Steve all got to come back. “It’s an action-adventure story. Mostly. Just a little bit of romance. And if you watch it now, you’ll be able to recommend it better once it comes to the store. Maybe woo a few hearts with it?

“It’s not the movie, Ms. Henderson,” Steve complained as he shook his head, his hair swaying. He finished putting back the last of his VHS tapes and looked up at you. “Why do I always have to be the one that drives?”

“Not that you don’t make a point,” your words fumbling out of your mouth, still trying to become used to him calling you ‘Ms. Henderson’ after you made a joke one day last week when Janet Jackson’s Nasty came on the radio. “But do you really want me to drive? I already convinced Robin to come along with Dustin and Eddie—so you know they’ll just end up dragging you along regardless—and it would be a shame to have me, the only other licensed driver of this particular bunch, drive. Especially because last time, you compared it to—”

“Max,” he sighed, placing a hand on his hip and closing his eyes. “Never again. You’re as bad as Max.”

“She’s gotten better, you know.”

“Don’t want to.”

“So you’ll drive?” You smiled at him—the one that seemed to always work, since more than once you caught him signing and closing his eyes when you’d break it out.

“Robin and I are off Thursday,” he sighed, closing his eyes.

You bounced—a Henderson trait, it seemed—and leaned farther over the counter to give him a quick hug. “Perfect. It’s a date then, Steve.” You turned around and walked over to the return bin, only half listening to Steve as he mumbled under his breath and walked towards the back of the store.

“So boys,” you said as they each got to the car, opening it and sliding in, your tone curious. “Thoughts?”

Steve started up the engine and turned down the radio. “Loved it.” He took one look in the review mirror at you and smiled before placing the car in reverse and exiting the parking spot.

“I can absolutely see how Will and I could work this into a session or two for Hellfire,” Eddie grinned, shifting in his seat so he faced you and Dustin. “Those ROUS’s would be fun to work with. And the kid was right about the Pit of Despair. God damn title for a campaign if I’ve ever heard of one. Plus I think even our little Robin would enjoy this campaign,” he turned his attention toward the passenger seat, reaching a hand to place on Robin’s shoulder. “Up for saving a princess, Buckley?”

Robin turned back to face Eddie and smirked. “Always down for saving a damsel in distress, Munson. Especially if she’s anything like that Buttercup. Ugh. Talk about Hot. I even enjoyed the romance aspect of the film, believe it or not. And that’s so totally not my thing.”

Eddie leaned back into the seat of the car. “The romance wasn’t so bad. I think I should take Chrissy when she comes home from State. She’d love it, and I’d get a chance to analyze it better.” He flashed a smile for a second before glancing quickly out of the window to hide it.

You smiled at his bashfulness, happy that Eddie and Chrissy had finally started dating after countless hours of flirting back and forth—including when he’d played Master of Puppets in dedication to her, and she, in turn, saved his life when he heroically tried to buy them time with the Demobats. He’d nearly been inconsolable when she’d finally left to attend Indiana State University in the fall, but he’d been so proud of her for getting in he’d put on a brave face until her visits back to Hawkins would come up. “I’m sure she’d appreciate the chance to see it with you,” you said, tapping Eddie’s leg and bringing him back to the present.

“Ah, yeah. Anyway,” Eddie coughed, clearing the air. “What about you? Thoughts?”

“It was sweet. Billy Crystal and Carol Kane were probably my favorite part, though. I’m also strangely craving peanuts now too.”

“Peanuts after Hellfire, please,” Dustin said, looking at you. “Will’s been waiting for us since I told him we were seeing the matinee.”

“God, Henderson, you’re going to make me drive out again to get your club snacks, aren’t you?” Steve glanced into his review mirror, his eyebrows slightly raised. “Why can’t you guys ever just eat what I’ve got at the house?”

“Because dingus,” Robin chimed in, “when you sit in on the game you try to justify every choice that we make, and I’m tired of having to explain how things work to you. It’s fantasy. You’re not supposed to sit there and question how spells work. We have to give you reasons not to bug us every five minutes.”

Steve opened his mouth for a moment before quickly closing it. He fiddled a bit with the driving wheel before quickly flicking his eyes up to the review mirror to look at you. “Fine. But since Ms. Henderson doesn’t play, she’s got to come on snack duty with me. Especially because she’s the one that wants the damn peanuts.”

You look back at him through the mirror. “I suppose that’s only fair. But it’s on your dime, Harrington.”

Steve clenched his eyes in defeat and turned the corner, mumbling under his breath again, his big, brown eyes glancing up at you every so often for the rest of the way back to his place.

…

“And that,” Will said, his voice echoing around the room, “is where we’ll have to leave off for tonight.”

The group around him made a collective of noises, disappointed that their session had ended, once again, on a cliff hanger.

“Lady Applejack could have had time to cast a spell, if you hadn’t stopped there, Byers,” Erica chided, closing her trapper keeper and shoving it under her arm. “She better get first turn next week, or you’re going to suffer for it.”

Will turned to look at Eddie, who was smiling with what looked like pride in his eyes. “You’re DMing next week, that’s on you, Eddie.”

Eddie simply nodded his head from his chair and looked at Erica. “Lady Applejack shall get the first roll next week, don’t you worry, Erica.”

Erica smiled. “Good. Come on, Lucas. Mom said we better not be late for dinner tonight, and I’m not going to be the one to have to deal with her and dad because you can’t say goodbye to your friends fast enough.”

Lucas turned to face the group. “See you all later,” he said, following Erica up the stairs. Mike followed them shortly after, muttering something about going to meet up with El early tomorrow, leaving you, Will, Eddie, Dustin, Robin, and Steve sitting around the basement.

“So,” Will began, turning his chair to face Eddie’s. “What do you think about my idea for a Princess Bride themed session?”

Eddie smiled. “I think we could make something work out.”

Will’s face lit up. “Great! What were your thoughts?”

You put down the book you’d been half-heartly reading and got up from your chair, walking over to the stairs to head up and get a drink while they talked. It wasn’t that you weren’t curious—you were—but you’d been waiting until the session ended to go up and get yourself a refill on the Coke Steve had in his fridge.

“Mind if I join you?” Steve said, following you up the stairs. “Robin refuses to leave this conversation to get herself some snacks. Said she needs to make sure the princess arc in it is challenging enough or something.”

You nodded your head as you continued up and turned to wait for him until you were both off the stairs and in the Harrington kitchen. “I only half listen into their sessions—more for the plot than game play. Plus it’s fun to watch Dustin have fun again. Thanks for letting Hellfire make base here.” You walked over to the fridge and opened it, pulling out a can of Coke for yourself. A quick open, the fizzing noise echoing in the room, and you take a swig before pulling back the bar stool from the kitchen’s island counter and sitting down. “I don’t know if I’ve ever really thanked you for being there for Dustin in a way I couldn’t, really.”

“Henderson’s a good kid. And I know you’re an amazing sister to him. But I get it,” Steve opened up a cupboard and pulled out a bag of microwave popcorn. He walked over to the microwave and popped it in, hitting some buttons until it turned on, and swung around to face you, his hips lightly resting on the edge of the counter. “Not that the little shit gave me much of a choice in the matter, but he really just needed some man-to-man conversations. Pain in my ass, still. But he’s grown on me. All those little shitheads have grown on me. They’re like—”

You take another sip of Coke and smile slightly up at Steve. “Your chicken nuggets?”

The microwave dinged and Steve blinked. “You talked to Nancy, didn’t you?”

You tactically looked around the room, taking yet another sip. “It…may have come up the day we helped Chrissy pack for State.”

Steve lowered his head, carefully turning around to open up the microwave and take out the popcorn, shaking it sadly to make sure all the pieces were covered in the fake butter from the packaging.

“Steve,” you said, your tone shifting into one of sympathetic laughter, “hey. Listen.” You got up from the stool and walked over to him, lightly placing a hand on his shoulder. “I think it’s really great that you want to have a big family. You’re good with them…even if you go around calling them shitheads all the time. You’ve kept them all safe, just like they were you own. You taught them important things, and helped them out when they asked, and most importantly?”

He turned to face you, popcorn bag in hand, his brown eyes wide and looking up at you through his lashes. It catches your breath for a second—enough for you to feel your heart skip a beat—and you have to close your own eyes to finish your sentence. “Y-you never fail to always keep on with that charming Harrington attitude. I know you hate always being the god damn babysitter, but Steve?”

His full attention is on you now, and you can feel yourself getting closer to him; his face inches from yours. “You are a genuine, caring person underneath all that hair.”

“HEY DINGUSES,” Robin’s voice shouted from the bottom of the basement stairs. “I can smell the popcorn! What is taking you so long?”

Steve backed away from you, and you turned around to grab your coke, your cheeks surely as red as they feel hot.

“Coming, your Highness,” Steve yelled out, “Or whatever it is you call yourself.”

“Dame Gaylord, for the record, Steve.” She called up. “Just hurry up with the popcorn, I’m starving down here!”

Steve looked over at you, shrugging his shoulders as he walked back down the stairs, popcorn bag in hand.

You gulp and sit down for a moment back on the stool, cradling your hands in your face.

What was that, you think, staring at the off-white counter. Did…am I going crazy? Or was that—you shake your head.

Your crush on Steve wasn’t new to you, but it had never seemed to be more than one sided. You had painfully made yourself make sure he never noticed it. So why now? Did he notice it now?

It started when you were both still in high school—he was the king of Hawkins high: all smiles, all suave charm, the way he carried himself…you couldn’t help it—but as you grew to know him, especially as he started to interact more with Dustin, taking him under his wing and helping him out; as you watched him time and time again put himself first to protect you and the rest of the gang, never failing to keep a smile on his face even in the most drastic, dangerous situations—your crush developed beyond a schoolgirl trope. You fell hard for Steve Harrington. It was hard at first to keep those feeling in check. Once or twice you had to hide your blush from him and shake it off cleverly, smiling and laughing, or changing the subject to something you know he could talk about for a ridiculous amount of time. You were pretty sure that he had no idea how much you liked him.

That is.

Until now.

The carbonated fizzle from the can of Coke beside you shook you from your thoughts, and you grabbed the can, chugging down half of it before walking back downstairs.

“But what I’m hearing,” Dustin’s voice rang through the basement, “is that you have tomorrow off.”

“I said I would think about calling off tomorrow—” Steve began, his hands planted firmly on his hips.

“Matty owes us time, Steve,” Robin said, tossing popcorn into her mouth. “We haven’t taken a day off since our shifts started back up this summer.”

You walked over to Eddie, who had his legs swung over the arm of his chair. “What exactly did I miss here, Munson?”

Eddie looked at you, a smile spreading across his face. “Midnight ride. Dustin’s trying to book us an overnight stay to finish plotting out Will’s Princess Bride session while the memory is still fresh in our heads. I know you’ve got the day off tomorrow, and I took afternoon shift at Motorwork’s. So, it’s all about convincing Harrington.”

You looked back over at Steve, who was slowly losing the battle against your brother and Robin. You couldn’t help but tilt your head a little bit and smile. He’d cave. He always caved for those two.

“Word has it, Henderson,” Eddie adjusted how he was sitting and leaned in closer to you, his hair brushing against the back of your head. “That all it would take to get him to cave right this minute is a smile from you.”

You snap your head to face Eddie, your brows knit. “On whose authority?” You questioned, your tone coming out angrier than you meant.

“I have eyes, Henderson. Unfortunately,” he leaned back into his chair, crossing his ankles and linking his hands together to support the back of his head. “I also know that sometimes our own eyes fail us at seeing the bigger picture when everyone else already can.”

You stared at him for a moment, your expression unchanging. Eddie was an assortment of flavors—you’d seen him go from being a chaotic punk to screaming child to love sick puppy in under 24 hours—but he never said anything that wasn’t true. And that would also mean that earlier…you weren’t imagining…

“How long,” your voice was quieter as you leaned back towards Eddie. “Have you noticed?”

“For you, darling?” He smirked. “First time I saw you two together. You were worse than I was with Chrissy.”

You bit your lip slightly. “And him?”

“Now, what would be the fun in telling you that?” He brought his arms back down off of his head and rubbed them on his thighs. “All I know is that if I had that kind of power over Harrington—and believe me, I’ve tried—I wouldn’t waste it.”

You blinked. A shiver ran down your spine and something inside your head—a usually very, very quiet voice—rang out. “If you won’t tell me,” you began, your eyes now focused on Steve, who was standing with both hands on his hips, slowly deflating under the weight of Dustin and Robin’s harassment. “Then at least help me figure out how to harness it.”

Eddie’s face lit up. He chuckled as he straightened out on his chair, his feet landing firmly on the floor. “Didn’t you say you wanted peanuts earlier?”

“Steve,” your voice came out louder than you anticipated, “call off tomorrow. It’s a Friday in October and the theater has better options. Matty can handle one night. Besides, you deserve a day off. Not to mention that I still want peanuts, and we’ve yet to go out and get some. We can pick up stuff to make for breakfast while we’re out.”

Steve looked at you, eyebrows raised. His stance softened a little and he tilted his head. “Why are you—”

“Are you seriously questioning my sister right now, Harrington? Go get her the damn peanuts. And pick up some Tang for the morning!” Dustin said, slapping Steve’s back.

You smiled—the one that seemed to always work; the one Eddie had noticed and said something about to you—and you watched. You watched as Steve sighed and closed his eyes.

“Anything else I can get for you assholes here at Harrington’s Bed and Breakfast?”

…

The drive out to the store felt awkward to you, but you did your best to ensure that it didn’t feel like that for Steve. It was hard, though, now that you’d had Eddie confirm Steve clearly had feelings for you to keep your usual calm, playful demeaner you’d worked so hard on the past several years. You’d tried simply keeping the volume up on the radio—you both loved to sing along to it, despite the fact that neither of you were exceptionally good at it—but that only worked until Tiffany’s I Think We’re Alone Now came on, and you couldn’t help but think that whoever was working the radio at the time was playing a cruel, cruel joke on you.

“I thought you loved this song,” Steve said, shifting his head quickly to look at you after you went to change the station. “Why change it?”

He reached over your hand and changed it back, turning it up.

“I think we’re alone now,” he sang at you, loudly. “There doesn’t seem to be anyone around.” He shook his shoulders and tapped the steering wheel in time to the song. “Come on, Ms. Henderson. Don’t even try to deny it. I’ve seen you sing this song into your hairbrush.”

“The beating of our hearts is the only sound.” You sang back at him, the smile returning to your face.

“There she is! That’s my girl,” he chuckled. He turned the volume up louder and you both sang along to the rest of the song until finally you pulled into the Kroger parking lot and he pulled into a spot, killed the engine, and turned to face you.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Steve said, looking at you, his brown eyes darker in the florescent glow of the parking lot lights.

“I am just focused on our task at hand,” you waved your hand at him and reached down to unbuckle your seatbelt. “That’s all.”

“Getting peanuts shouldn’t distract you enough that you change the radio station like that. I know you better, give me a little credit.”

You turned to face him, taking in how he was propped up in his chair; one arm over top the steering wheel, the other linked back around the seat. “I…I,” you had no idea how to bring out the question do you like me like I like you? in any manner that wouldn’t be embarrassing, so you just said the first thing that came out of your mouth instead. “I am just trying to think about how the boys and Robin are going to put The Princess Bride into their campaign.”

Steve blinked back at you. “S-sure.” He said, not quite believing you, you could tell, but also too polite to call you out on what clearly was a lie. “I mean, if they had asked me, I would have told them to focus mainly on the dread pirate Roberts stuff and go from there.”

The look you gave Steve was one you couldn’t stop yourself from making even if you tried. “Have you thought about this? I thought you didn’t understand D&D?”

“Yeah, well, I don’t get how you play that stupid game, but I know how to tell a story, thank you very much.” He said, taking his hand out from behind his seat and turning himself front facing. “I watched the same movie you guys did. In fact,” his tone in voice shifted, one that sounded like it had a bit of pride mixed in with shame. “I’ve seen the movie twice already.”

“When the fuck did you have time to see the movie?” You blurted out, unable to stop yourself.

“First time was on a date with…Stacey? Or maybe Sandy. Can’t remember. Second time was by myself, because Stacey-slash-Sandy was too busy trying to stick her tongue down my throat for me to pay attention to the movie. And I just. Really wanted to pay attention to it. It was a good movie.” He sighed and turned to face you. “That’s why when you asked me to drive you all to the theater, I wasn’t upset about the movie choice.”

You blinked. Fast at first, and then slowly a second time. “Steve Harrington likes a rom com.”

“You make it sound like I’m not allowed to enjoy movies with romance in them.” Steve said, offended.

“No, it’s not that. I just. Never pegged you for someone who would go see a movie like that on your own. The date thing I get. Me and the rest of the gang dragging you to a movie, yes. But on your own?”

“Yeah, well, a lot about me had changed in these last few years, if you hadn’t noticed. Though you should,” he said, his hand coming up to rest on your shoulder. You shivered. “You’ve been there alongside me. Hell, helped me change even. I’ve got a lot to thank you for, Ms. Henderson.”

You smiled at him, soft; warm. “Really?”

“Shit yeah, Henderson. You seem to genuinely care about me and call me out on my bullshit when I need it.” He looked down and smiled, his voice shifting in tone. “You’ve helped pick me back up and sewn me back together after all those times I’ve taken a beating; shown me how to grow and find ways to be part of the solution rather than the problem. I’m really lucky to have you in my life.”

The red in your face burned. But you didn’t care. “Steve, I—”

He cut you off with a single look up through his eyelashes. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you for a while now. But I’ve never had the chance to. Until now.” He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he leaned in closer to you. “I’ve had a crush on you for a while now. I just didn’t know how to tell you in case you didn’t feel the same way I did. I didn’t want to ruin what we already have by putting my feelings into the mix. But I have to tell you now. Especially after what almost happened in the kitchen. I’d regret it if I didn’t.”

You stared at him. For several seconds, unsure of what to do. It was like being caught in headlights.

He stared back; tried to lean back to give you your space, his hopeful smile starting to faulter, but you grabbed his hand tightly in yours and squeezed. “Steve, I…” you start, your brain firing off thoughts in different directions and your mouth unable to release any of them.

“Hey,” he said, patting your hand. “It’s okay. I get it if you—”

You pulled him in and lightly placed a kiss to his lips, messy and simple, because it’s all you could think to do to let him know how you feel; that his feelings were reciprocated.

When you pull back, Steve’s eyes were closed, his mouth slightly opened. You stared at him like this, wondering if what you did was the right move when his eyes snapped open and his mouth spread into the biggest grin you’d ever seen.

“I am going to take that as a positive sign,” he said before leaning in closer to you. He grabbed both of your hands and looked down at them, his thumbs rubbing random patterns into your palm. “But I would really, really love it if you’d say something.”

You looked down at your hands, your brain still processing what you’d just done, unable to look at him in the eye yet.

“Hey,” Steve lifted up your chin and brushed your hair carefully behind your ear. “I’m kinda sticking myself out on a limb right now and I could use some good old Henderson comforting I’ve come to love.”

Your brain finally stopped. “I’ve had a crush on you for a while, too.”

“That was what I was hoping you’d say,” he said, bringing his face in closer to yours, inches from your mouth. “There’s just one more thing I’m hoping for, though.”

You looked up from his mouth and into his eyes, confusion swirling in your thoughts.

“There is?” You breathed, so close to him you could hear the beat of his heart and smell his shampoo.

“Tell me that I can finally kiss you.” He whispered. “A real one.”

You smiled—the same one you’ve used so many times before. “Absolutely.”

Steve smiled back. “Have I ever told you that that little smile of yours does things to me that I’m not particularly proud to admit in detail yet?”

“Steve,” you plead, your arm now reached up and carded through his hair.

“Tell me I can kiss you again?” He said, his lips brushing against yours and his nose nudging your cheek.

“For you, Harrington?” you said, bringing him in closer. “You can kiss me any time you want.”

You felt his smile as he kissed you; light and soft at first, quickly turning into something deeper as he slid his hand from the base of your jaw to your ear, slowly combing through your hair as he cupped the back of your head. It was breathless and loving, unlike any kiss you’d had before. You lost yourself within his embrace and it was only when he bit your bottom lip, pulling you closer and tilting your head that you were able to catch your breath. In doing so, you moved your hand to his shoulder and forced yourself to pull apart, deep breaths taking over you both and fogging up the windows surrounding you.

“That was—” you started, your focus still lingering on his mouth.

“Worth the wait,” he finished, resting his forehead on yours. He grinned and leaned back in again to steal two more kisses from your lips before you pushed yourself off of him again, giggling.

“Steve,” you protested as he turned his head and began gently placing kisses along your jawline and down to your neck. “Steve, we’ve still got to go in and get those peanuts or everyone’s going to get suspicious.”

“Who gives a shit about what they think,” Steve said in-between kisses. “We’re alone now. I’ve finally got you all to myself, and I don’t want to waste a second of that.”

You felt a jolt of electricity tingle in your head and it softened your eyes. You could just forget about everything for a while—enjoy they fact that Steve Harrington was here, kissing you after professing his crush. And wouldn’t that be enough?

You grabbed Steve’s head, pulling him up so you could look him soundly in the eyes. His hair was messy, his pupils blown, and his lips plump from kissing you. He looked almost feral—flushed and salacious—but still soft, comforting, gentle. “I promise,” you stroked his cheek with your thumb, doing your best to hold his attention. “I won’t let you waste any second you’re with me. But there will be so much more time for that if we get what we came for and go back to your place. Steve,” you gave him a quick kiss, reminding him you were still there with him, “the quicker we do this, the quicker I can show you just how long I’ve waited for you.”

Steve stared at you, his eyes trained on yours.

“Because there’s only so much I can show you in a car. It’s…a little cramped. I expect your bed will accommodate many more things.”

He pulled himself from your grasp at that, and you watched as your words ignited a fire in him. “Pancakes or French toast for breakfast?” He said, opening up the car door and swinging his leg out. “Come on, Ms. Henderson. Let’s go! Move your ass, we’ve got things to take care of. Mainly…me.”

“As you wish,” you chuckled as you opened the door and stepped out in the cold night air.

…

Halloween was Saturday. The Byers were throwing a party because the kids all complained they were too old for trick-or-treating, and you and Steve had decided to go in on a couples costume as The Princess Bride herself and The Dread Pirate Roberts.

Steve was more excited about it than you—he hadn’t stopped telling everyone about how much he loved the film (even though Robin, sick of hearing him quote the movie endlessly at her, threatened to push him down a hill if he didn’t stop it at work), and he was quick to ask you about doing couples costumes once he stopped prompting make-out sessions.

“I didn’t take Steve Harrington for one wanting to do couples costumes.” You said when he’d asked you.

“What can I say?” He responded, hand on his hip. “I like to surprise people. Plus I’ve been thinking about all the things I used to be—who I was in high school—really wasn’t who I wanted to be. It was all some deliberate attempt to be someone my father wanted me to be. Everything that people say you should care about, it’s all just bullshit. When I’m with you, I feel like I can drop the bullshit and just be myself. And myself is someone who wants to do a couples costume with you from a really good movie.”

You stepped closer to him and grabbed his hand, kissing his cheek and smiling. “That is why I started liking you in the first place. Because I watched you challenge yourself to be the best possible version of you that you could be.”

Steve blushed. “Turns out all I needed was a thump on the head to change my life. And I’m grateful for it every single damn day.”

You cupped his face and rubbed your thumb along his cheek before pulling him into a hug. “I am too.”

“I’ll see you and Dustin after my shift tonight.” He said, breaking away from the hug. “You’re going to have to tell me how you convinced Matty to give you the best shifts when I get there.”

You laughed. “I don’t get the best shifts. I just get lucky. I also don’t spend half of my shift trying to flirt with you, Steve.”

Steve shifted his stance. “You saying you want me to stop, Henderson?”

“No,” you chuckled. “I’m just saying Matty doesn’t do love-sick.” And love-sick was probably the best way to describe Steve ever since last Thursday. It was almost like he couldn’t get his fill of you—stolen glances as you two put movies back on shelves; winks and nods while on lunch; a stealthy grabbing of your hand as he walked you to his car at the end of a shift, a passionate kiss sometimes on the hood that left you both aching for something more.

Those days were the best, because as he drove you back home, anticipatory for intimacy, you’d talk. About your day, about your struggles and excitements and plans for the not-so-distant future dates you’d take. The make-out sessions you’d had in his car were amazing (Steve was an excellent kisser. More importantly, he was good with his hands. The way he’d cup your face, his thumb on your jawline, fingers behind your ear. How it slowly slid back until he held the base of your skull and moved your head so he could get the best angle. How his other hand carefully caressed your back and slid to your hips…or sometimes…sometimes, when the day had been particularly stressful, he’d reach around and lift up the side of your shirt to cup your breast, teasing your nipple in such a way that it would send a wave of pleasure through you and create a small hitch in your breath that always produced a toothy smirk from him. This was, of course, followed by a pull on your lips so forceful it dragged your entire head forward and allowed the kiss to become deeper—his mouth opening yours and his tongue finding its way inside. You’d get him back, though. After the kiss deepened, you’d push him backward and climb on top of him, running your fingers through his ridiculously perfect hair; starting at the base of his neck and grabbing and pulling it slightly once your whole hand had found its way into the feathered layers. Then you’d grind into him a little bit until you could feel the bulge in his pants, give him your own deepened kiss until you could hear him moan, and then…excuse yourself off of him, kiss him one last time—soundly on his cheek or forehead or a peck on the lips—and bid him goodnight, enjoying the dazed and confused look he gave as he watched you walk up to the front door and blow him a kiss before stepping inside) but those conversations before then were something even better. You’d always been close to Steve, but this was new territory. And it felt…right.

“Lucky, sure.” Steve picked up a bunch of VHS tapes and walked over to an aisle. “I’ll see you tonight, Ms. Henderson.”

…

“Hey,” Dustin called through your closed door, knocking once before letting himself in. “I just need a bit of help getting my hair just right.”

You looked him up and down, smiling at your brother’s costume. “Han Solo. I am guessing Suzie is Leia?”

“Yeah. We’re going to be calling each other later tonight to watch Empire Strikes Back together over the phone.” He sighed, sitting down on your vanity chair. “But for now, I’d like some help getting my hair to be less curls, more poof.”

You chuckled and moved towards him to help. “No problem.”

“Are you and Steve going as Princess Buttercup and Westley? Your costume looks spot-on.”

“We are. And thanks, Steve sewed it himself.”

Dustin broke away from your comb and turned to face you. “Steve knows how to sew?”

“He took Home Economics our sophomore year to impress some girls and wound up actually enjoying it. Says it was worth the entire class because now he knows how to hem his pants and cook basic meals—which he also thought doubled his chance at being able to woo women.” You turned Dustin back to face the mirror and started to brush out his curls again, taming them with whatever product you could find so they fanned out around his face.

“I have heard the ladies love a man who knows how to cook,” he said, watching you work in the mirror, a giant grin on his face.

“Ladies love a man that knows how to take care of themselves, Dustin. That’s like…bare minimum qualification. Know how to take care of yourself, which includes being able to ask for help when you need it. And, suffice to say little brother, you’ve got that down.” You applied some hair spray to the top of Dustin’s head and leaned down so your face was right next to his. “Suzie is one lucky lady to have a guy like you.”

“Thanks,” his face turned a light shade of red. “But I feel like I’m the lucky one.” He took one last look in the mirror before he got up and headed toward your door. “I’ll be downstairs with Steve, attempting to calm mom down about us leaving for the night. But don’t take too long. I’m starving, and Argyle is supposed to be bringing pizza. I want to get there before there’s nothing but pineapple left.”

You smiled. “Be down in a minute, then.”

It was time for the final check. You walked over to your mirror to look at your reflection. Buttercup’s head piece was neatly pinned into the cheap wig you’d picked up and her belt was securely wrapped around your waist. The bottom of the bright red dress was hemmed perfectly so that it fell down at your ankles and you smiled in spite of yourself, feeling like an actual princess. You only got to see Steve’s costume once while he was giving you yours, but it wasn’t on him—just casually draped over the back of a chair. In fact, the only part of the ‘costume’ you’d gotten to see at all was the thin little mustache Steve had been growing since you agreed to do the couples costume. It was a good look for him, actually.

A final brush of your dress and you opened your door.

“Dustin said you were almost ready, but to try and convince you to come down faster so he wouldn’t be stuck with pine—wow.” Steve took a step back from your door, glancing at you up and down. “That dress really. It really works for you.”

You grinned and looked down at the dress. “Thanks. You don’t look so bad yourself.”

Steve regained his composure and took a bow. “At your service. M’lady.”

You giggled and pushed past him, heading for the stairs. You could have stayed there, in your doorway, eyeing him up and down in that costume though. His pants were a little tighter than the ones Cary Elwes wore, and the thread that was supposed to lightly fasten the top of his shirt was loose, exposing the top of his chest hair. He’d yet to put on the mask and black cloth around his hair, but that was what made it better. But if you did that, you knew you’d never get to the party on time and Dustin would berate you for missing the non-pineapple pizza for the next three weeks.

“Let’s get going to the party, less Han over here gets stuck with pineapple pizza,” you called out as you descended the staircase. “We’ll be home late tonight, mom. If you desperately need us, call the Byers.”

“Finally!” Dustin threw his hands up and opened up the front door. “Let’s go, Harrington! Get your ass down here so we can leave.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get your panties in a twist, Henderson.” Steve said, trailing out the door and unlocking his car. “We still have to pick up Robin and Vicki.”

You followed them both out, blowing a kiss to your mom before shutting the door behind you and heading towards Steve’s car.

“Why are you always the chauffeur?” Dustin asked, opening up the backseat and sliding in.

“You know, Henderson? I ask myself that same god damn question every single time I get in my car.” The engine roared to life. “If you—either of you—want to tell me how I ended up with this job, I’d really like to know.”

…

Hopper opened up the door, his skin painted green and a brown suit swimming on his body. “Glad you kids could make it!” He said, moving to the side to let you all in. “Argyle’s late with the pizza, but we’ve broken out snacks until he gets here.”

“Thanks, Hopper.” Dustin said, pushing past him. “Good to know I won’t miss out on the good pizza.”

You smiled as you walked past Hopper, your hand holding Steve’s.

“Well, that’s new.” Hooper closed the door and turned back around to face you. “When did this happen?”

“A couple weeks ago,” Steve said, gripping your hand tighter. “But it’s been a long time coming.”

Hopper laughed. “I know the feeling. Joyce is around here somewhere, make sure you tell her the party’s going great. She’s been on edge since this morning about decorations and party games. Even though I told her you kids were probably just going to end up playing that game you guys always play. Or watching whatever monster flick is on the tube tonight.”

“Will do, Herman.” You nodded your head at Hop, letting a single chuckle escape your mouth.

“And here I thought you kids wouldn’t get The Munsters reference.” Hopper smoothed down his jacket, grabbing it by the lapels once done.

You smiled and pulled Steve forward into the living room, where you found everyone else sitting around, talking.

“I see Buttercup and Westley have made their grand entrance, finally.” Eddie said, standing up from his seat to walk over to you. “M’Lady,” he made a swift bow when he reached you, his hair falling down in front of his face and his arm raised behind him. “Glad to see that you could make it with Harrington, in matching costume, no less.”

Steve pushed Eddie back slightly on the shoulder and grinned. “Looks like we’re not the only one in matching costume.” He pointed towards Chrissy, who was busy talking to Nancy.

“Aragorn and Arwen, from Tolkien’s masterpiece, dude.” Eddie grinned, his face going soft when he looked at Chrissy. “I sent her with all the books to read while at State. She’s really gotten into them. She’s the one who suggested we go as Aragorn and Arwen, and I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to dress as the great Strider.”

Steve’s expression turned into one you recognized as confusion. “This is like, related to that Mordor thing, isn’t it?”

“Lord of The Rings, Harrington.” Eddie patted him on the back. “It’s a good thing you’re pretty.”

“Alright!” You clapped your hands, walking farther into the room. “Who’s ready to finally have some fun for once?”

“I know I am,” you turned to see Max approach you, dressed as Freddy Kruger—or, at least you thought that’s what she was going as from the looks of her sweater and hat.

“Bit too much on the nose, don’tcha think, Red?” Eddie sat down next to Chrissy, who beamed up at him, and wrapped his arm around her.

“Thought it was funny. Plus I wanted an excuse to wear a sweater and jeans,” Max said, plopping down on the couch across from where you stood. “Lucas wanted us to do a couples costume this year, but he and I couldn’t agree on one we both liked. So, I chose Freddie Kruger, and he—”

“Decided to go as The Terminator,” Lucas finished, walking into the room wearing a leather jacket and a pair of sunglasses. “I ran out of time at the last minute because someone didn’t want to do The Breakfast Club with me.”

“Sorry Lucas,” Max said. “But I’m no princess. No offense,” she added, looking at you and Chrissy.

“Oh, none taken, Max! Truth be told,” Chrissy said, adjusting her legs so they no longer crossed. “I always hated being shoved into that princess stereotype, so I understand. Before I met you guys, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to break it.”

“With that roundhouse you’ve got,” Eddie beamed, “I never doubted for a second you were anything but a terrifying badass.”

“Yeah Chrissy,” Dustin chimed in. “Who’d a thought you could take out so many demobats with backflips and cheer movies. Most metal thing I’ve ever seen.”

Chrissy blushed, tucking away a strand of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear. “Thanks guys. And also, just for the record, Arwen isn’t a princess. She’s the daughter of Elrond; Lady of Rivendell and later Queen of the Reunited Kingdom.”

Eddie placed a kiss to the side of Chrissy’s head. “That’s my girl.”

You chuckled and shook your head, turning to face Max. “Believe me, Max. I don’t think anyone here is princess material, despite their costumes.”

“I thought about being a princess,” El chimed in, her hair piled in curls on top of her head. “But then Mike and I went to see Alien and I thought I would make a much better Ellen Ripley.”

You turned to get a better look at El and realized she was in a near-perfect replica jumpsuit, complete with a stuffed cat and plastic gun slung around her.

“You make an excellent Ripley, El,” Lucas said, opening up a piece of candy from the table in the middle of the room. “You’d also give her a run for her money. Not that I think you two would fight. But….that might be a cool match to see.”

You leaned over to Steve to let him know you were going to go grab something to drink before walking out of the living room and towards the kitchen. The Byers’ house was a lot bigger now that Hopper and Joyce were living together and you could tell it was slowly becoming well-loved. Pictures hung up in the hallway on your way there: Will smiling as he was painting, Jonathan contemplating in the background; El and Will sitting on the couch reading together; Jonathan and El sitting on the floor of the living room, headphones on and listening to music; Joyce and Hopper smiling and looking at each other, snow on the ground with Christmas lights in the background; all five of the found family laughing around a table covered in pumpkin guts from last year’s Halloween. It was comforting to know that they were able to create a sense of normalcy again after all the trauma they’d endured the past couple of years.

“Princess Buttercup.” Will’s voice, now deeper than it had been just a summer ago, caught you off guard as you entered the kitchen.

“Luke Skywalker.” You took a step back, your head tilted to get a better look at his costume.

Will smiled before pulling down on the black sweater he was wearing. “I’m glad you know who I am.”

“I’m sorry sweetie,” Joyce bent down and put a glass pan that appeared to be full of cheese inside the oven. “I’m sure he’s a wonderful character from that film series you and Jonathan won’t stop talking about. I’m just a little preoccupied at the moment.”

“Mrs. Byers,” you said, as you took a step closer to her, “do you need any help with that?”

“Sweetheart,” she replied, adjusting her long, black wig that had fallen forward on her face. “I’ve told you—all of you kids, actually—Joyce is just fine. Thanks for the offer, but I’ve got it handled!”

“She’s just making some nachos to tide us over until Argyle gets here, whenever that may be.” Will said as he walked over to the kitchen table to put on a belt. “I could use your help with this, though. I couldn’t find a scabbard to wear, but I did manage to construct Luke’s lightsaber and belt just right. I even found a pair of boots at the thrift shop that work. But…I can’t seem to get it on without help.”

“No problem,” you stepped forward and turned Will around to help attach the belt.

“I’m guessing that Steve is dressed as Westley?” Will questioned, his head turning slightly to the side to see your face.

“Yeah. It was his idea too. He’s seen the movie something like three times now and convinced me we’d be the perfect Buttercup and Westley.”

Will let out a small laugh. “I’m glad you guys are going out. It was painfully obvious to everyone else that you two needed to end up together—”

“God, every single time we had Murray over for dinner he wouldn’t stop talking about putting you both in a room rother until you came out a couple.” Joyce called from the pantry, interrupting Mike mid-sentence and causing you to raise your eyebrows. “I knew eventually you two would work it out—like Hop and I did—because god knows Murray doesn’t need to control everyone’s love life around here.”

“I like Murray well enough, but she’s got a point.” Will said, holding his belt up as you gave it one last adjustment before turning him around to face you. “We all knew you’d wind up together one way or another. Except maybe Mike. He still thinks Robin and Vicki are just friends.”

You snorted a laugh. Robin had come out to the group a little after what happened last spring, right before Steve helped her get the courage to ask Vicki out. Everyone took it pretty well—especially Will and Eddie, who hugged her excessively when she was trembling her way through her speech—but Mike had just sort of stood there, unable to grasp what it was Robin was saying. “He’s very dense. Nice, but…”

“Yeah,” Will sighed, stepping back and smoothing out his pants. “Thanks for helping me. Though I’m sure that’s not what you came into the kitchen for in the first place.”

You blink, trying to remember what it was that you came in here for. “Coke.” You finally blurt out, your thoughts distracted by the tone in Will’s voice.

Will turned and headed over to the fridge to pull out a can for you, his arm stretched out as he comes back. You wavered a bit before you decided to reach out and pull him into a hug, your arms clasping around his back, his hand still outstretched, holding a Coke. Everyone had been through a lot over the years, but it was always Will that seemed to need a little more comforting than everyone ese. You knew Jonathan would always be there for him, and since Eddie had met him, he’d made sure Will knew he was accepted into the Hellfire club. But still. Maybe it was just the sister instinct that took over when you were around Will that made you want to comfort him. “Thanks Will.” You pulled back from him and smiled, grabbing the Coke out of his hand. “Make sure Dustin see’s your outfit. I have a feeling he’ll go bananas over it.”

Joyce walked out of the pantry, a bag of tortilla chips in her hand. “Happy again to hear about you and Steve, sweetheart. These nachos should be done in a couple minutes, make sure to let everyone know there’s something here in lieu of pizza.”

“Will do, Mrs. Munster.” You smiled.

“Lily.” Joyce corrected.

You laughed as you walked out of the kitchen and back towards the living room.

“Robin and Vicki did a couples costume! We could have had the whole Breakfast Club!” You heard Lucas shout as you entered the room. You saw in the corner that Robin and Vicki had finally made their way into the Byers house (they opted to stay in the car to get ready, as when you went to pick them up, neither one of them had costumes on), and you couldn’t help but wonder why they were dressed as Ally Sheedy and Molly Ringwald from The Breakfast Club of all things.

“Feel free not to answer,” you said, walking up to the two ladies. “But The Breakfast Club?”

Vicki smiled and placed her hand on Robin’s shoulder. “Your idea, so you explain it to her.”

Robin took a sip from the cup she was holding and closed her eyes. “So,” she began, her voice competing with the sound of the music someone had put on while you were gone, “you’ve seen the movie, right? There’s that scene, in the end, where Molly Ringwald’s character takes Ally Sheedy to the side and completely redoes her make up. Which, first of all, didn’t need to be done. Because she was just fine the way she was. But, more importantly, she did the make up the way she though would make her look better. It was soooo intense. And it just, clicked? You know? They totally could have been a couple. The princess and the oddball. It’s a huge literary trope, so, why couldn’t it be like that with the two of them? Honestly, that whole film could have been the gateway into making gay history. I mean, it’s clearly an undertone of the entire film. It’s subtext—”

“Robin, sweetheart,” Vicki chimed in, placing a hand on Robin’s shoulder. “The film did a pretty good job with the written material, regardless of the subtext. Not that your theory isn’t fascinating. But…I thought Claire’s make-over for Allison was nice. All she did was wash her face and pull her hair up so you could see her eyes. I liked how simple it was.”

“Vicki, Vicki, Vicki,” Robin said, turning to face her girlfriend. “You’re missing the point. We’ve talked over this! It’s—”

Vicki placed a finger on Robin’s lips. “Okay, smartypants. I secede. Why don’t we go and get something to eat? I’ve been smelling nachos for the past five minutes, and I want to grab some before the teenaged boys do and leave nothing left for us.”

Robin smiled. “Yes. I am famished.” She turned back to face you, her hand now captured in Vicki’s. “As for you, don’t think I didn’t notice how you’re dressed up as Buttercup when Steve is Westley. You and I will have a chat about that later! I know I can convince you to have him stop quoting that damn movie all the time!”

Vicki tugged at Robin’s arm and the two headed back to the kitchen.

You went to go and stand next to Steve, who was sitting on the arm of the chair next to Dustin, watching Michael Jackson’s Thriller video on the TV, when the front door opened.

“Happy Halloween, brochacos,” Argyle said, walking through the front door, bringing with him the scent of pizza and weed. “I’ve brought the pizza and Halloween because I think it’s absolutely the right way to go about today.” He set down five pizza boxes on the couch and held up a VHS. “And one of those pies has pineapple, my guys. May I remind you again, try before you deny.”

El smiled. “I enjoy pineapple on my pizza, Argyle. But I do not understand your costume.”

Argyle laughed. “I am Brand from The Goonies, my alien fighting friend.” He snapped at his red head band. “Please tell me someone here has shown her the greatest movie of our time.”

“I’ll make sure she sees it, Argyle.” Will said, walking over towards El. “It’s one of my favorites. It’s about a group of kids that go on a treasure hunt in order to save their home. Mikey’s optimism got me through the worst of the nightmares after last spring. He just. Reminds me of someone I know. I think you’ll really like it.”

“If Will says it’s a good movie,” El said, “then I will be sure to watch it, Argyle. But first…pizza.”

“Second on that,” Nancy said, moving out from her corner and towards the couch, adjusting her sweater and corduroy pants. “Thanks for bringing the pizza, Argyle.”

“Totally no problemo, Nance. Or should I say…?”

“Oh, I’m Carrie Fisher’s character in The Blues Brothers. Jake is around here somewhere.” Nancy said, picking up the gun she’d placed on the floor.

You looked closely at the gun, your eyebrows raising when you realized—

“Excellent prop gun, Nance!” Argyle smiled, his entire face beaming with joy for a moment before his eyebrows crossed. “Right?”

Eddie snickered from the corner. “Guess again, my friend.”

“Can’t be too lenient around here, even if things have quieted down. Had to work this thing into my costume somehow. It was easy enough to dress Jonathan up in a suit, too. Plus,” Nancy walked over to the pizza, opened the box, and took out a slice. “I just like Carrie Fisher.”

“Me too,” Argyle said, his smile returning to his face. “I don’t know if I would have gotten that one right away. Not like Westley and Buttercup over there from the second greatest movie of our time.”

“Thank you!” Steve said dramatically, raising his arms. “I am not the only one here with taste.”

“It’s not that you don’t have taste,” Robin walked over towards the pizza, a can of Coke in her hand from the kitchen. “It’s that you’re annoying about it.”

Steve just stared at her, his mouth slightly open, trying to think of something to say back to her.

“Aw man, just let it go. Best not to argue with Allison Reynolds.” Argyle slapped Steve on the back. “Which. Digging the costume, Robin. I take it Vicki is Claire, because of that whole make-up scene, right?”

“Argyle,” Robin said, opening up the pizza box with pineapple and grabbing a slice. “You have excellent taste.”

“Thanks, dude. Now,” Argyle slapped Steve on the back again, causing him to flinch slightly. “Why don’t you and your princess come grab a slice of pineapple before it’s all gone. My taste extends beyond that of film!”

You grabbed Steve’s hand and walked over to grab a slice of pizza together, enjoying the atmosphere of being surrounded by your friends.

…

“You seem a decent fellow,” Steve said, circling the table in the middle of the living room. “I hate to die.”

You watched as Steve and Dustin continued to circle each other, Steve holding up his plastic sword and Dustin his plastic blaster. Everyone was in various degrees of watching them—Eddie was enthralled by their performance while Robin and Vicki had left the room completely after Steve brought out the movie quotes.

“This is such a boring conversation,” Dustin stopped circling and held up his blaster. “Besides, ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side.”

“There is something I ought to tell you,” Steve said, his sword now in front of his face—which had lost the mask and bandana long ago, giving his hair a wild look to it.

“Oh? As long as it’s not the odds. Never tell me the odds.” Dustin motioned his plastic blaster so it dropped a little.

“Get used to disappointment.” Steve lunged forward at the exact time Dustin began making blaster sounds and ran his sword under Dustin’s arm.

“Laugh,” Dustin choked, dramatically falling to his knees. “It,” he dropped his blaster and looked down at the floor before lying down, the sword still sticking out from his armpit. “Up,” he coughed. “Fuzzball.” Dustin closed his eyes and curled up, faking his death like the dramatic kid he was.

You clapped. “Alright, can we please head out now? Some of us have to work in the morning, you know.”

Steve turned to you, his expression of satisfaction still plastered on his face.

“You’re really not going to mourn the death of your own brother?” Dustin said, looking up at you from the floor.

“I shouldn’t need to mourn. Han Solo doesn’t miss. Maybe you should have dressed as a Stormtrooper,” you joked, watching Dustin’s brow furl. “Kidding. I’m very sad for you, Dustin. But I also really just want to take a shower and get to bed. It’s almost eleven. Half the party is gone, anyway.”

Besides Robin, Vicki, Eddie, and Chrissy, everyone had trickled out of the Byer’s house throughout the night.

“Your sister’s right, Henderson,” Steve said, walking over to you and wrapping his arm around your shoulder. “Besides, aren’t you supposed to call Suzie tonight or something?”

Dustin shot up. “She’s gonna kill me if I’m late! Movie’s on at midnight.” He rushed to the door. “Robin! Vicki! Let’s go! Thanks for the party, Mrs. Byers! See you at Hellfire, Will!”

You shook your head and waited for everyone to say their thank you’s and goodbyes before walking out and getting into Steve’s car. You dropped Robin and Vicki off first, then turned the radio on and enjoyed the ambiance of Halloween decorations to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. When you finally pulled into your driveway, Dustin shot out of the car, barely thanking Steve as he ran into the house to call Suzie.

“That kid has it bad,” Steve said, shutting off the engine.

“Suzie’s good for him, I think.” You said, shifting to look at Steve. “I’m glad he’s found someone.”

“I’m glad I found you,” Steve said, pulling you in for a kiss. “Thanks for being my Buttercup tonight and every night.”

You smiled. “I’m glad I found you too, Steve. Thanks for being my Westley, babysitter boy.”

Steve chuckled as you opened up your car door and got out. “I’ll see you later.” You blew him a kiss and headed for your front door, a faint mumble from Steve barely hitting your ears.

…

Turns out, a hot shower after a long night can also wake you up considerably. You were lucky enough to have a bathroom attached to your room; it made the transition of getting out and getting dressed easier.

Or so you thought.

“There’s a shortage of perfect breasts in this world,” Steve said, lying on top of your bed, his arms behind his head. “T’would be a pity to damage yours.”

You stood in the bathroom doorway, robe halfway on, your hair tied up. “Steve?”

“Guilty as charged.”

“What—how—why—HOW did you get into my room?”

“You keep your windows unlocked. I’ve been plotting a route up here for days, ever since you agreed to do Princess Bride costumes. I wanted to surprise you.”

You stared at him, open mouth, not paying attention to your robe as it slowly opened up more. He smiled at you wider, sitting up a little on your bed. “Too much? Too cheesy?”

You shook your head and grasped at your robe, pulling it tighter (causing Steve’s smile to fade a bit). “Steve, I watched as you and Dustin made pew-pew and clanking noises for five minutes. I don’t think it was too cheesy.”

He sat back, relieved.

“Besides,” you walked over to your bed and sat down on the other side. “What I like most about you is your cheesiness.”

Steve quickly turned his head towards you and scoffed. “I am not—”

“Steve. You’re cheesy. Charming. Gallant and almost stoic to a fault. Maybe not the most gracious with words or coordination…but that is why I love you.”

Steve looked at you, his mouth a straight line. “Ms. Henderson,” he began, sitting up once again. “I believe you’ve just said something there is no going back from.”

You blinked. “I did?”

He smirked and scootched closer to you. “You looooooove me.”

You felt your cheeks grow hot—not just because you were embarrassed, but because you hadn’t planned on telling him on accident. There were three options you could go with now. Option one: playfully hit him and deny it. Option two: kiss him to shut him up. Option three: disrobe and distract him completely.

You knew which option it had to be.

You faced him and gently reached up to cup his cheek, pulling him closer to you. “Steve Harrington, I have loved you since the first day you brought Dustin home with a smile on his face. I love your charm, and your determination, and how incredibly stupid you can be, risking your life for everyone in an attempt to always be a better version of yourself.” You kept eye contact with him, watching him as he watched you. “You may act like you don’t care, or that you’re too cool, or that you hate being the babysitter, but I know you Steve. And I love what I see.” You reached up to run your fingers to the back of his head, your eyes flicking between his and his lips. “I love you, Steve Harrington.”

This kiss was different than the ones you’ve had in the past. It was more passionate—more pure; it left all the others behind Steve would quote to you later on—and left you feeling light headed. Slowly, you found yourself crawling up on your knees. He grabbed at your waist and pulled you flush against him, one hand pawing at the small of your back and the other cradling the back of your head, reaching up to loosen your hair so it cascaded down and tickled your ears. You turned your head to deepen the kiss, your hands digging into his hair to keep a semblance of keeping upright. Ultimately this was useless as you found yourself melting into him, sighing unapologetically as he nipped at your bottom lip. He reached his hand up to cup your face and pulled apart for the briefest of seconds before he lightly kissed you once; twice; three times before resting his forehead on yours, his breathing faster in effort to catch his breath.

His eyes remain closed, but yours looked at him gently, your cheeks red and your mouth slightly agape.

“You know, Ms. Henderson,” he opened his eyes finally and flicked them up to match yours, a cheeky smile growing on his puffy lips. “I love you too.”

You leaned in to give him another kiss, soft and gentle, the smile on your face growing wider. “You know,” you said, breaking away from the kiss, much to Steve’s disappointment. “Since you went through all that trouble of recreating the scene where Westley comes to rescue Buttercup…”

Steve gently fixed your hair behind your ear, his eyes only leaving yours for a minute. You reached up to place your hand on top of his before placing it back down across his chest. You smirk. He had less than a second to register as you pushed him down on the bed, straddled him, and reached for the belt of your robe, loosening it. “Why not really give into the scene?”

Steve’s mouth closed shut as his eyes moved up and down on you, watching as you leaned forward and began to kiss him, starting with his forehead and working your way down to the two tiny little moles along his jawline.

“Gently,” he whispered, his hands on your hips.

“At a time like this, that’s all you can think of to say? Gently?” You tuck one hand behind his head and lift him up slightly, grabbing his mouth in yours.

“Gently,” he said again before you released him from your kiss, his head knocking against the headboard of your bed. “Ouch.”

You giggled. “That’s for Robin. Stop quoting the movie to her at work so much.”

Steve took a hand off of you and rubbed at the back of his head. “Fine,” he said, scooting himself down further so his head was at the bottom of the pillow. “I’d much rather hear you quote the movie to me anyway. It’s hot…”

You placed a finger over his mouth and smirked before leaning back down to kiss him again. “As you wish.”

[charlie-pippin-faraday]

the stranger things gang ranked by oldest sibling energy to youngest sibling energy

jonathan byers

nancy wheeler

steve harrington

lucas sinclair

robin buckley

will byers

mike wheeler

eddie munson

argyle

max mayfield

el hopper

erica sinclair

dustin henderson

[italiansteebie]

I could teach you waking up in my t-shirt.

also on ao3 (preferred format) 2.3k Words

Steve Harrington has a really cool T Shirt. 

It was the exact type of shirt no one would expect him to wear, it was soft, and worn, and the design looked hand made, and sometimes there was a long, dark, curly, strand of hair stuck to it, like the person who made it left a piece of themselves there. 

Dustin didn’t know where he got it, or how someone like Steve came across a shirt like this, but any time he asked about it, the teen got… Defensive. 

Once Dustin asked Steve if he could borrow it, and Steve freaked out, like properly freaked out. So he stopped asking about it. It was a little strange how protective Steve was over the shirt, and how he never seemed to wear it to school, or outside of his house. He had to wear it somewhere though, because more often than not that long, dark, hair would be present, and Dustin knows for a fact Steve washes the shirt. 

So where did he get it?

What exactly does “HellFire Club” mean? 

Is it a band?

And Dustin asked all these questions only to be met with a nervous silence from Steve, which was unlike him. So, he stopped asking. There were more pressing matters than Steve’s shirt, like demodogs and Russians under the mall, and the fact that the girl Steve works with somehow knows him better than Dustin, all of a sudden. 

He’s not jealous, though. Well. Not that jealous. But why does she get to know where the shirt came from, and not him? It’s Steve’s biggest mystery, and it was well kept. At least, well kept from him. He remembers the day clearly. He walked into Scoops Ahoy with Steve who already happened to be in his work uniform. He usually changes at work to avoid walking through the mall looking like a Naval monstrosity. He watches the way Robin Buckley smirks, like she’s let in on a secret, “No Hellfire shirt today, Steve-o? Trouble in paradise?” she asks slyly. “Haha. Shut up, Robin.” Steve replies through his teeth, strained. Dustin whips his head around to face Steve. “You talked to her about the shirt? C’mon, Steve! We’re friends!” Dustin whined. Steve pushed his head away, “You’re like, 5, this is grown up talk. Now get back to your mom, she’s gonna freak if you’re late for camp check in.” Dustin sighed, “Whatever. See you later, Steve!” They hugged briefly and Dustin left, the shirt and what Robin Buckley said about it, still rocking around in his brain. 

But then Dustin got back from camp, with a big ass ham radio, a new, very real, girlfriend, and a Russian interception. And suddenly, the t-shirt didn’t seem all that important. In fact, Dustin forgot about it until one fateful day. 

The first day of highschool. 

There he was in all his glory. 

Eddie Munson, and guess what he was wearing.

The shirt.

Steve’s shirt.

So Dustin made it a point to seek the guy out, and in his mission he found that HellFire was not a band, but a DnD club. And that only made him more confused, did Steve secretly belong to a party? And that’s why he never played with them? No way. The betrayal. 

So, Dustin infiltrates the group. 

Along with Mike, and Lucas. 

Because it’s a DnD group, and well… Will’s gone, and they still wanted to play. 

And they become a part of the group. 

It’s fun, and the way Steve’s eyes almost bug out of his head when he sees all of them wearing his shirt is absolutely hilarious. 

Dustin keeps the whole “shirt debacle” to himself. He knows that Steve was in HellFire and didn’t tell any of them. He decided to let him keep his dignity, and put the whole mystery behind him. The only strange thing was, that whenever he brought up Steve during their sessions, the rest of Hellfire got… Weird. Gareth, Jeff, and Grant would smile slyly in Eddie’s direction and Eddie would blush. Did they have some type of falling out? Eddie never seemed to want to talk about Steve, and Steve never seemed to want to talk about Eddie OR HellFire. Why were they pretending not to know each other? It was weird. 

Steve would pick them up from sessions, he and Eddie would share a short wave back and forth, and that was the end of it. It was still weird that Eddie’s hair seemed to get tangled in Steve’s shirt, even though Steve didn’t go to the meetings anymore. In fact, now that Dustin joined, Steve didn’t seem to wear the shirt at all anymore. 

So another mystery was upon him.

But then a cheerleader died, and no one could find Eddie. 

And all of a sudden his face was plastered on the news, his name becoming synonymous with ‘Satan’ and ‘murderer’ which Dustin thought was ridiculous. Eddie Munson was not a violent person, not by any means, in real life. As a dungeon master he could be pretty merciless, but. That was just a game. 

And the newest mystery revolving around Steve and Eddie was put on the back burner.

They found Eddie a few hours later in Reefer Rick’s boathouse, a suggestion made by Steve, the stress too high to consider how he could even know that. But then there was a bottle pressed to his jugular and sorry Eddie, but he needs Steve alive for this. So he pleads until Eddie drops the bottle, Steve’s eyes reading more concern than fear, but Dustin would think about that later. He watches Eddie as Eddie watches Steve be comforted by Robin, wiping the stray tears away, looking back at Eddie with a look that Dustin thought Steve could only give to girls… 

Unfortunately, as entertaining as it was, Steve’s love life was not the hot topic of the moment. So he moved on, and the events unfolded in succession of disaster, like they usually do when the upside down rears its ugly head. And all of a sudden Steve is telling them not to be cute, and Eddie says ‘Make him Pay,’ in a tone that anyone could hear, means something different. 

—

Nancy delivered the final blow, and Vecna was down. But there was a pit in Steve’s stomach. Something was very, very wrong. So he ran. Nancy and Robin were hot on his heels, shouting for him to slow down but he couldn’t. The scene came into view and Steve couldn’t breathe. Dustin was sobbing over Eddie’s prone body, bats from hell surrounding them. 

Steve could only run faster, he reached them, dropping to his knees. 

“Eds,”

“Stevie,”

“Don’t do that Munson. We’re getting you out of here. I swear to god. If you die, I’m going to fucking kill you.”  

And through his grief clouded brain, Dustin knew Steve meant what he said. 

From that moment on it was a blur, Nancy and Robin helped Dustin limp towards the gate, only looking back to see Steve lifting Eddie from the ground in what looked like sheer will. They’re going to make it out. He can feel it. He’s got to figure out the mystery. And maybe that was a stupid thought, but he was only 15, and that was what gave him hope. 

The gate that split in the Munson trailer was beginning to close, and it was a fight to get through, Dustin didn’t get to see the end though, because when his broken leg was met with the force of hitting the right side up, he passed out. 

—

He woke to a steady beep and a pressure holding his leg in place. 

He cracked open his eyes to see his mom sitting in the plastic hospital chair next to his bed, reading a book. 

“Mom?”

“Dusty,” She gasped, pressing the Call button, and reaching to grab his hand.

“E- Eddie?”

“I- I’m sorry baby.” And for a second, Dustin’s heart dropped, “He’s still in surgery. That earthquake really did a number on him. The doctors think he’s going to pull through.” Dustin breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, and Steve was admitted for his wounds. He’s in the next room over. They’re going to put Eddie with him as soon as he’s in the clear, Steve’s request.” With the news that his friends were okay, and the soothing motion of his mom brushing her hand through his hair, he fell asleep. The next time he woke up it was by a doctor, getting him ready to be discharged with strict orders of rest.

He ended up moving from his room, to making a home in Steve’s room. 

It was weird to see Steve in the hospital, unmoving, hair flat against his forehead. It almost brought tears to his eyes to think about his brother like that, the only thing keeping him together was that Steve was here, awake, and the heart monitor’s beeps were steady and reassuring. 

—-

It had been a few days, Steve’s wounds were healing nicely, and he was allowed to go home. 

Eddie had been cleared from the ICU and moved to a long stay ward. 

He was still asleep, but the doctors said that was his body’s way of healing. That’s what they said about Max too. They were confident both of them would eventually wake up.

Dustin had expected to see Steve around the hospital after his discharge, checking Max, and keeping up with his own check ups. What he didn’t expect to see was him and Eddie’s uncle Wayne in what looked like a heartfelt embrace. He didn’t really mean to eavesdrop, but he also didn’t move away. “He’s gonna wake up, son. I know he’s strong. And I know you’ll be right there waitin’ for him.” Wayne's gruff voice floated through the quiet hospital. Dustin didn’t realize Steve knew Wayne like that but, he guesses it’s from Steve’s secret HellFire days. 

He shook off the initial confusion and went to join the two men in Eddie’s room. They would sit and talk. Talk about Eddie, Steve’s interactions with weird customers, how Wayne was settling in to the new government provided house. Anything. Just to fill the room with sound, to let Eddie know they were there when he was ready to wake up. 

Dustin knew it was going to be an emotional day when Eddie woke up for real. 

He’d been opening his eyes, and saying one word responses for about a week now, and the doctors predicted he’d be starting to wake up for longer periods of time real soon. 

“S-tv?”

“Eddie! You’re awake, do you feel okay, can I get you any-”

“Slow down, boy.” Wayne said, resting a hand on his shoulder, Dustin pausing as he does. “Any pain, Ed?” 

“No,”

“Good. They got you on the good stuff.” Wayne chuckled. 

“Steve?” Eddie mumbled, and Dustin was confused for a moment, but he thought that Eddie was probably concerned about the guy that carried him out of hell. Dustin watched as Wayne smiled, “Your boys gone to get some coffee and chips for the kid and I. He’ll be back real soon.” His boy? Interesting… 

Dustin was close to figuring out the mystery, there was just one thing he was missing. He knew these things took time, but this was taking forever, when was he going to figure this out? And right as he finished that thought, Steve walked in. He handed Wayne his coffee and tossed Dustin his chips, floating around the room on autopilot. Wayne and Eddie both watched with familiar fondness, as though they had seen this before. Steve finally let his eyes drift over to Eddie, who was wide awake now, smiling in his direction. “Eddie.” He breathed, eyes wide. 

“Hey, Stevie.”

“Oh, you bastard! I told you not to be cute! I told you,” Steve’s voice cracked, 

“C’mere.”

Steve slumped over to Eddie, basically crawling into the bed with him, and cried against his chest. Dustin felt as though the solution to the mystery was about to be revealed, were they related? No way. Best friends? Secret Best friends? Perhaps… 

“I told you,”

“I know you did, baby.”

Wait. Baby?

And y’know, he shouldn’t have been so surprised at what happened next. 

“I hate you,”

“No you don’t.”

“You’re right,” Steve sighed, leaning up and pressing a soft kiss to Eddie’s lips, savoring the sweet reunion. That is until Dustin breathed in sharply, trying to be quiet so as not to disturb them, but instead choked on a piece of potato chip. He coughed and hacked, and Wayne clapped him on the back and handed him some water, and there was snot and tears running down his face. “Sorry,” He said hoarsely, still partially choking. “I didn't mean to ruin the moment I just-” Steve cut him off with a smile, “You finally put two and two together, huh? Guess I owe you five bucks, Eds.” Dustin watched them carefully. “What?” He asked, only slightly embarrassed at the implication that the two had bet on him. 

“Me and Stevie bet that it’d take us kissing in front of you for you to figure out we’re together. He thought you’d figure it out before that.” Eddie said, smiling through his words. 

“I thought you were smarter than that, Dust. You really let me down,” Steve teased. 

Eddie sighed, “When you saw me in the shirt I thought I had lost for sure, but you never really said anything about it.”

“I thought that Steve might’ve been secretly a part of HellFire…” He trailed, looking down sheepishly. 

Wayne barked out a laugh, “It’s okay, kid. I was bettin’ that you’d figure it out at their weddin.’”

And Dustin gasped at that. “Mr. Uncle Wayne, I'm hurt,” He said dramatically, a hand clutching at his chest. Wayne sighed, “Boy, you are just about as bad as Eddie.”

And both Steve and Wayne shared a good, long laugh when Eddie and Dustin let out simultaneous “Hey!”s. Dustin shook his head, but let a smile rest on his face. This was a better outcome than he could’ve hoped for. 

And if he’d heard Steve and Eddie’s “I love you’s” whispered back and forth as they all settled in for sleep, well. 

He’d just keep that to himself. 

[solarmorrigan]

Between one thing and another, Steve doesn’t end up seeing much of the kids for the rest of the summer, after Starcourt burns down. Their parents worry about them, want to spend time with them, and Steve is trying to recover from a hell of a lot of damage and also find a new job – it’s understandable that they mostly check in with each other via walkie talkie, rather than in person.

He does, however, promise to give Dustin, Lucas, and Mike a ride to school on their first day at Hawkins High (apparently, he is a marginally cooler choice than their parents, and less work than a bicycle). Max declines no matter how much they all wheedle, but that’s an issue for another day

An issue for today is the fact that Steve hasn’t really spent any extended amount of time with any member of the party other than Dustin in nearly two months.

He’s forgotten that teenagers grow.

“No,” is the first word out of Steve’s mouth when he gets out of the car to greet Mike and Lucas, who are both waiting in the Wheeler’s driveway. “Absolutely not.”

“What?” Mike asks, though the smirk on his face says he knows exactly what Steve is talking about. Dustin (already in the car, the first one Steve picked up) and Lucas start snickering.

Steve walks up to Mike, just to be sure he’s seeing things correctly. Back in July, he’d still had to look down to talk to him. Now, they’re nearly eye to eye.

“No,” Steve says again. “You have to cut this freaky teenage growth spurt shit out right now.”

Mike snorts. “Why am I the only one you’re yelling at? Lucas is almost as tall!”

“Because Lucas isn’t gonna be a dick about it,” Steve says. “And we all know Henderson’s got a ways to go before he catches up.”

“Hey!” Dustin tries to interject, but he is soundly ignored.

“What about Will?” Mike challenges.

“What? Why? How tall is Will?” Steve asks, then shakes his head. “Never mind, doesn’t matter, he can be as tall as he wants, he’s earned it. But you--” He points a finger at Mike that seems to be amusing him more than intimidating him. “You are sneaky. And you’re not allowed to be taller than me.”

“Why not?”

“Because I said so. Now everybody shut up and get in the car, we’re gonna be late.”

Steve claps his hands together in the universal dad-slash-coach signal for “let’s go” and Dustin ducks back into the passenger seat while Mike and Lucas settle into the back with minimal teasing or complaining. Once Steve’s backed out of the driveway and started down the road, however, Lucas leans over to Mike and stage whispers, “Wait until he sees how much taller Erica is.”

“Erica isn’t allowed to get taller, either!” Steve snaps. “Everyone just needs to– to– stop growing.”

“Dude, you sound like my mom,” says Mike.

“You sound like all of our moms,” Dustin adds.

“Combined,” Lucas chimes in.

“Shut up. This has nothing to do being anyone’s mom, jesus,” Steve huffs. “You’re all just easier to push around when you’re small. And it was easier to fit more of you into the car, since you keep demanding free rides.”

“Mhm,” Dustin hums, sounding like he absolutely does not believe Steve. “Sure. Whatever you say.”

“You’re laughing now, but let’s see if you think it’s funny when the three of you have to cram into the back once we pick up Robin,” Steve says.

The resulting explosion of complaints puts a little smile on Steve’s face. Maybe the kids have grown, but they haven’t really grown up. Not just yet.

[authorbarbie]

take my hand, now and forever.

pairing. steve harrington x reader.

summary. the battle for hawkins is over and the damage has been done. still reeling from the loss, your heart feels much more bruised than your skin.

warnings. reader uses she/her pronouns, soft steve, hurt/comfort, crying. spoilers for stranger things volume 2.

“Head up, sweetheart. Let me take a look at you.”

The words are spoken so softly in the quiet of the dark bathroom that for a brief moment, you wonder if you simply imagined them. After all, it’s been less than twenty-four hours since the so-called ‘earthquake’ occurred and to say your mind has been scattered would be an understatement. 

It’s almost laughable how Hawkins can be violently split into four, leaving the town covered in dark smoke and disarray, and the general masses still manage to find a rational explanation for it. 

In reality, there’s nothing rational about what happened. Nothing rational about Eddie’s heroic sacrifice for a town that hated his guts or what happened to poor Max, now resting in a hospital bed with little signs of life remaining. Shit, just the mere thought of them causes the back of your eyes to sting painfully with unshed tears.

You used to have so much faith. Maybe not in deities or some omniscient presence way up in the sky, but in the world. In people. You believed there was a purpose to it all, that you and your friends could tackle just about anything when you came together. 

Today, you lost that faith in one fell swoop.

“Come on… Don’t go quiet on me now.” The pads of Steve’s fingers reach to graze the length of your jaw and you’re suddenly grounded back to reality, blinking rapidly to stave off the obvious upset. 

You’re both exhausted right down to the bone, still covered in the disgusting dirt and grime of the Upside Down. The ligature marks on Steve’s neck from his previous demobat attack have only been made more prominent by the vines that had wrapped tight around him back at the Creel house — and now, you have your own battle wounds to match.

That’s what he’s so damn insistent on checking over as you both sit on the edge of the bathtub; the bruising that’s beginning to darken harshly along your skin. You swear you can still feel the effects of the choking, like your lungs haven’t yet returned to their regular capacity and are struggling to gain a full breath. Then again, that could also be attributed to the overwhelming guilt and panic that continues to rest upon your shoulders. 

“I’ll be fine,” you say feebly. The last thing he needs to do right now is dote over you. “You have it a lot worse than I do.” 

“What, you mean this old thing?” He gestures towards his neck before swiping a hand dismissively through the air. “Please, I’ve gotten worse injuries in the past just from play-fighting with you.”

“Are you saying I’m deadlier than a demobat?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

The familiar teasing brings a whisper of a smile to your face and though it’s barely visible in the grand scheme of things, Steve’s heart lifts with hope. 

“There she is.” The hand that had been hovering near your neck shifts slightly to cup your cheek, thumb sweeping delicately over the skin, even as a hot tear finally falls from your eye. It’s a miracle he hasn’t broken down yet, too. “It’s okay, I’m here. You don’t have to hide from me.”

“We lost, Steve.” Just three words — three measly goddamn syllables — yet they have the power to open the floodgates before his name has finished leaving your lips. His arms are wrapping around you within seconds, pulling you into the comfort of his lap to hold you close to his chest. You’d done what you could to put on a brave face in front of the kids, but now that they aren’t around, there’s nothing holding you back from breaking down. 

You weep for them. For Max and Eddie, a grieving Dustin and a sick to his stomach with worry Lucas. For a devastated Nancy and Robin. For Eleven, wherever she is, and the rest of the Byers family who are blissfully unaware of the night’s events. For Hopper. So much pain and death, and what was it all for? 

Hawkins has fallen. You can’t see a way to bounce back from this.

As you cry — the horrible type of crying that has you shaking like a wet dog in his arms — Steve remains quiet and guides your head to rest into the comfortable crook of his neck, the wetness from your lashes dripping onto his skin. He swallows thickly past the growing lump in his own throat. Tonight has taken its toll on everyone and he is no exception, the adrenaline that had been pumping through his veins and keeping him moving slowly waning until he’s finally nothing but a dull husk of stress and panic. 

“I’m not very good with words,” he begins softly, voice thick with emotion while he shakily tucks a loose lock of hair behind your ear. “I never have been. I mean, let’s face it, I’m not the most poetic or even that smart, so… all I really know how to tell you is that I’m here. I’m here. Things are at an all time low and I’m terrified, too — believe me, I am. But we don’t have to be terrified alone. You hear me? No matter the time of day, no matter what I’m doing, all you have to do is call and I will drop everything to be there.”

Now that, you know, is true. Steve has never lied to you before and he would never start now, especially not when he’s never seen you so utterly broken. For the last few years, through each fight that came your way, he’s been your one constant. The one thing you can always rely on.

“We’re going to get through this,” he continues. “We’ll regroup and figure this out. Max will get better in time and be back to rolling her eyes at us before we know it. But for now… For now, just take my hand and we can pretend like we’re anywhere else but here.”

A beat passes before your hand slips safely into his.

[eskawrites]

sports anon got me thinking about a ronance volleyball au so headcanon list let’s go

Nancy is a fiercely clever setter, she can take in the whole court and make a decision in a split second and her precision never falters

she has a rough first couple of years dealing with hitters who can’t keep up with her--and jealous hitters who just want every set to go to them (looking at you, Carol). but once she and Robin start working together she really shines

Robin is an opposite hitter (she’d be a great outside too but i lowkey hc her as a leftie so she’d do great as an opposite, plus the backwards set-spike combo is so fucking beautiful)

a setter who consistently sets to her opposite over her outside would also probably throw people off, at least in shitty midwestern public school leagues (yes this is from personal experience), so Nancy and Robin get a few easy points that way

Robin takes a while to find her confidence on the court. they place her front row because she’s taller than most other girls, but she’s clumsy and nervous during her first year or so. no one hits the net more often than her and yes Nancy yells at her about it at some point

she figures it out eventually though. gets her form down, learns to place herself better, gets better at spatial awareness. and once she starts actually trusting herself to do it right? damn is she powerful on the court

even after Robin and Nancy start getting along more, no one actually thinks they’re that close until Robin rolls her ankle during a hitting drill. she’s coming down from absolutely nailing a back row attack and lands directly on a loose ball. it’s actually really harrowing, watching her go from a perfectly controlled jump to a crumbled heap on the gym floor. but no one reacts more than Nancy, who rushes to her side, already snapping at the freshmen who let the ball roll loose, then turns so gentle as she tries to help Robin. she doesn’t leave her alone until they get Robin off the court and their coach forces Nancy to get back to work

it’s not a serious injury, but Robin does have to sit out for a few games. she does her best to play it down so she can keep playing, but Nancy is the one who calls her out on her bullshit and forces her to rest (this is incredibly hypocritical of her and everyone on the team points it out. Nancy tells them all (except for Robin) to shut up)

Max is libero btw. and she’s constantly covered in scuffs and bruises from diving to get the ball, but damn if she isn’t the best passer they’ve ever had

Nancy only paints her nails before a big game. the color doesn’t matter, but the feeling of the polish itself is just enough to make her more aware of her finger placement, so she makes no mistakes while setting (like she makes mistakes anyway

once they get closer, Robin starts painting her nails for her as a way to help her de-stress before a game

Karen Wheeler is volleyball mom. Ted hasn’t been to a game since Nancy was in middle school but Karen has never missed one. she coordinates meals for the team before away games and follows their summer league with plenty of sunscreen and a cooler full of gatorade

Mike is reluctantly dragged along to a lot of Nancy’s middle school games, and once he gets older he fully intends on never going to one again, but once Max joins the team Lucas makes everyone go to support her and him, Dustin, Will, and El are immediately so into it, so Mike finds himself dragged to all of Nancy’s high school games, too

Robin and Nancy both help run the elementary school volleyball camp in the spring. Holly always goes because her big sister is there, of course she does. but the year Robin and Nancy start dating, Holly chooses Robin as her pepper partner every single day. Nancy tries so hard to be jealous, but she can only barely manage to hide how fond she is

Max and Robin pepper whenever they need to have a serious conversation. it gives them both something to focus on that isn’t the heart-to-heart and makes it easier for both of them to open up

Nancy and Robin practice serving together and they’re super competitive about it. Robin has the best jump serve on the team and she can put so much power into it--she’s great at nailing those back corners. but Nancy has this gorgeous topspin to her serve and she can get the ball to drop almost as soon as it clears the net, so she’s great at putting the opponent setter out of commission. every other team in their district hates both of them

Nancy is so damn hard on herself and takes every loss and even some of their victories really personally. after hard games she’ll sit alone at the front of the bus, curled up against the window, going over every little detail of the game and all the things she could’ve done better

she tries to push Robin away when she tries to sit with her, but Robin just stays quietly by her side. eventually, Nancy will uncurl and lean against Robin a little bit, or they’ll talk softly about it

other times, after better games, Nancy will fall asleep with her head in Robin’s lap, and Robin will play with her hair and hold her in place on windy roads so Nancy can sleep peacefully

[abstractnaturaldisaster]

Steddie Flower Shop / Tattoo Parlor AU

Part One I Part Two I Part Three I Part Four I Part Five I Part Six I Part Seven I Part Eight I Also on AO3!

We’re getting close to the end! A little Valentine’s Day flower delivery update prior to the boys finally getting to have their big date! Thanks for sticking with me! Happy Valentine’s Day!

***

Whatever Robin said, Steve had absolutely not spent the rest of the day yesterday fretting about delivering flowers with Eddie. What he had done was prepare to be excellent company including fishing out his old cassette to ipod converter so he could provide a classic valentines day soundtrack to the delivery route, put together a bag of snacks and a blanket for the car, and tried on more outfits than he was willing to admit to decide what to wear to accompany Eddie on his delivery route. He’d eventually landed on a pair of joggers and a soft light purple sweater. He felt like it looked festive but wasn’t obnoxiously Valentine’s-coded. Robin had taken a different tactic on her outfit and was fully decked out for the holiday including candy heart earrings and bright pink corduroys. After Steve had told her that he would be out all day with Eddie, Robin had volunteered to hang back with Chrissy at De Lucas’.

“Man, it’s a little early to move in with him, Steve,” Robin joked when Steve had pulled together his bag for the day.

“I just want to be prepared, Robs. I want to at least try to be helpful,” Steve answered.

“Dude, it’ll be great. You’ll be the best little passenger princess Eddie has ever seen.”

“Fuck you.” Steve knew Robin was just messing with him; however, he did feel like maybe he had gone a little overboard. But Eddie had spent the last month secretly wooing Steve and he felt like he owed it to Eddie to make at least a little romantic gesture even though they were officially celebrating tomorrow. “Be nice to me or I’m going to start giving you shit about Chrissy.”

“What about me and Chrissy?” Robin asked.

“Seriously?” Steve glanced over at Robin with a smirk.

“Steve,” Robin warned

“Robin.”

“She is not into me that way, dude,” Robin reasoned.

“This conversation is sounding very familiar,” Steve laughed.

“Goodbye, dingus,” Robin said. “It looks like your chariot is ready.” 

Eddie was honking loudly across the street and waving his arm maniacally out the window of the van in the direction of the tattoo studio. Steve slung his bag over his shoulder and made his way over to Eddie’s van.

“Are we participating in a heist I don’t know about?” Eddie asked as Steve got closer.

“What?” Steve asked. “Oh, the bag! I just brought like snacks and stuff. I figured you might need stuff to make the long day more fun.” Steve blushed a little but hoped Eddie would think it was just the winter chill.

“Stevie! That’s so sweet,” Eddie said. 

“Seriously, it’s not a big deal. Also, I don’t want to, like, distract you from work, so let me know if it’s too much.”

“Nah, I could use something to break up the monotony of Valentine’s deliveries. Ready to get the show on the road?” Eddie said as they got settled into the van.

The van started up and whatever tape Eddie had in the player started blaring. Steve reached over and turned the volume down.

“So, you can totally say no, but I did find my old cassette / ipod converter if you trust me to dj?”

“Do you take requests?” Eddie asked.

“From you, never,” Steve laughed. 

Steve loaded up the playlist he made which happened to include the songs from the Hall & Oates tape Steve had gotten Eddie as well as that one love song from Eddie’s Led Zeppelin record. Steve had of course added other classic sappy Valentine’s Day hits and was singing along to them very badly in the passenger seat. Thankfully Eddie didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he’d join in every once in a while.

“Hey, you have a pretty good voice, dude,” Steve said.

“I thought we’d moved past dude, man,” Eddie teased.

“Do you have a favorite pet name?” Steve asked.

“I dunno, honestly, I’ve never really done the whole like ‘going steady’ thing,” Eddie answered.

“Really? Shit. I’m gonna romance the hell outta you, Munson.” “I don’t think Munson is it, babe, a little too sporty,” Eddie laughed.

“Hmm. Back to the drawing board,” Steve said and settled back into the surprisingly comfortable seat. Steve listened to Eddie croon along to an Elvis standard and smiled to himself, wondering how he got so lucky. After driving through most of Chicago’s neighborhoods the morning deliveries were finished.

“Should we go pick up lunch for the girls on our way back?” Eddie asked when he got back into the van.

“Yeah! I also feel like I need caffeine or I will fall asleep on you this afternoon,” Steve answered.

They made it back to the shop with bags of deli sandwiches, chips and chocolates. 

“How goes it on the home front?” Eddie asked as he threw open the door to the flower shop. 

“We almost ran out of red roses but Chrissy threatened your supplier within an inch of their life until they sent out another order.” Robin answered, her voice full of admiration. 

“Yeah, we probably need to send Mr. Lee some cookies or something after today,” Chrissy flushed a little at Robin’s praise. 

“Eh, he’ll be fine. He’s just a drama queen. All right. Eat up then we have to get the afternoon deliveries ready!” Eddie responded. 

After they eat, the group makes an assembly line to prepare the delivery orders. Eddie and Steve packed up the van again and left Robin and Chrissy to handle any last minute shoppers and clean up the flower shop. Steve held Eddie’s hand over the gear shift as they sped back out into the city. 

The afternoon continued much like the morning, Eddie gently ribbing Steve’s music taste and Steve judging Eddie for his horrible takes on Valentine’s Day candy. They finished out the last few stops and made it back just as Chrissy was flipping the open sign off and Robin swept the shop floor. 

“Good day, Stevie?” Eddie asked. 

“The best, babe.” Steve said and pecked a kiss on Eddie’s cheek. “Wanna grab a drink or something or are you ready to crash?”

“As much as I want to, I should probably head in. I need to be in top form for our date tomorrow, big boy,” Eddie answered. 

“I get it. Can I kiss you good night?”

“Oh, sweetheart, absolutely.” Eddie said as he pulled Steve into their first kiss. 

As Eddie started running his fingers through Steve’s hair, Steve melted into Eddie and pulled him closer. Eddie was about to pull Steve up into his apartment when Chrissy and Robin banged on the flower shop window and whistled. Steve jumped out of Eddie’s arms and Eddie had to laugh. 

“Continue this tomorrow, Eds?” Steve asked.

“Tomorrow, princess,” Eddie smiled back.

***

Last part is up now!

Taglist: @a-little-unsteddie @maya-custodios-dionach @eboyawstenn @swimmingbirdrunningrock @sadcanadianwinter @thehumblefigtree @throwbackthrowaway @micheledawn1975 @blisschaoss @vecnuthy @grimmfitzz @spectrum-spectre @croatoan-like-its-hot @momotonescreaming @beckkthewreck @korixae @citrus-owl @baron-zemo-trash @sleepdeprivedflower @nuagedemots @lololol-1234 @books-and-current-obsessions @acrolius @mightbeasleep @vi-an-te @gregre369 @i-must-potato @vampireinthesun  @steveisabicon @child-of-cthulhu @whimsicalwitchm @aceflavouredyougurt @that-bi-gremlin99 @oxidantdreamboat @goodolefashionedloverboi @notaqueenakhaleesi @briceslayed @raisedbylibrarians @bejeweledbaby @avacrebs @magpiemuseum @majesticenbypancake  @r0semaryyy @nerdsconquerall @lifeisnotsobadonceyoustopcaring @shiyshy2004 @zerokrox-blog @straight4joekeery

[outerspacebisexual]

A Place in this World - Steve Harrington

Book B - Part Two

Summary: You and Steve Harrington are together, and now you're in hiding, which leaves him less than impressed.

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Reader

Word count: 3.71k

Warnings: SPOILERS for Season 4 Vol. 1 & 2, swearing, smoking, canon violence, fluff, angst

Masterlist

Lucas was absolutely shitting himself.

The constant balancing act of trying to understand what was happening and also lead Jason, Andy, and Patrick astray to protect you and Eddie was starting to unravel. He was on edge, especially being in the trailer park trying to avoid being spotted by cops.

At your trailer.

Jason handed him the spray paint. “Come on, Sinclair. She’s the devil’s bitch, and I want everyone to know it.”

Lucas stared at the red can for another moment, before looking up to see what the others had already done.

Andy clapped him on the shoulder and nodded towards the trailer. In his mind, Lucas begged for your forgiveness. He begged you to understand that he was only doing this to protect you and Eddie. So that you guys would have a chance.

He wondered if you would ever forgive him when the first line of paint sprayed across the wall.

+

“Hold on. I’m confused,” you said, leaning forward from where you were sat on an upside down milkcrate. “How have you guys seen this happen before?”

You question was directed at all of them, but no one seemed especially keen on filling you in, until Max said, “It’s all a bit complicated. We’ve fought a Demogorgon and demo-dogs and the Mind-Flayer and Russians, but this is new. This is different.”

“Yeah, see we normally we rely on this girl, Eleven, who has superpowers, but those went bye-bye—” Steve started.

Robin cut in. “So, now we’re in sort of the—”

“Brainstorming phase,” Max finished.

You stared at them, face surprisingly blank considering that you had just been told a number of life-changing facts:

You were being hunted by the Hawkins P.D. for your suspected connection to the murder of Chrissy Cunningham;

It was only a matter of time before the town found out and you and Eddie would be Hawkins’ Most Wanted; and

Apparently, all of your friends had seen this kind of shit happen before and had come out alive. More than once.

“OK,” you said finally. You looked at Eddie who had a similar look of astonishment on his own face.

You were losing your mind. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation. You had barely slept last night, for the second night in a row. It turned out that being in hiding and also being in a boatshed did not make for the most ideal sleeping conditions.

You had wanted to go with Steve last night, but he had reminded you that you were still wanted, meaning spending another night at Reefer Rick’s. Steve hadn’t wanted to leave you there, but you had promised not to go anywhere again until he and the others returned in the morning with food. A promise you had kept, despite the ache in your back from the cold floor and the images of Chrissy’s body every time you closed your eyes.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Dustin added, and you and Eddie only stared at him. Little Dustin Henderson, who had apparently fought inhuman monsters and won.

You leaned over and put your head in your hands. “Jesus Christ.” At this point, you wished that you were going insane.

You felt Steve kneeling in front of you before his hand rested on your shoulder, running his thumb up and down your collarbone. “I know it’s a lot. But like Robin said earlier, we’re feeling confident.” His voice was so soft and tender that you had to hold back tears as the palms of your hands pressed into your eyes.

Before you could answer, sirens ascended up the hill and your head swung up in alarm.

“Tarp! Tarp!” Robin yelled, and Steve was pushing you towards the boat as Eddie grabbed you and threw the tarp over the both of you.

Your heart was racing as you laid there, Eddie squeezed beside you. Both of you were perfectly quiet, wide-eyed as you waited for the inevitable.

But then, the sirens faded, and you furrowed your brows as Steve pulled back the tarp and helped you out of the boat. “They’re headed up towards the park,” he said. “I’m going to check it out.”

“I’ll go with you,” you volunteered, but Steve held up his hand.

“You need to stay here. Everyone is looking for you. And we are heading towards the police.”

You shook your head. “I’m not leaving you again. If they’re looking for me, how long do you think it is until they knock on your door?”

Steve opened his mouth and then stopped short. He hadn’t thought about that. You two had been pretty public with your relationship. And you worked together. He glanced between you and Eddie, the latter of who just shrugged and said, “She’ll either go with you now or follow you after you leave.”

Steve heaved a sigh. “OK. But you need to stay low. No getting out of the car. At all.”

You nodded before turning to Eddie. “You’ll be all right here?”

Eddie gave you an easy smile. “I’ll be fine. Plus, someone has to protect Harrington here,” he joked, and for the first time in two days, you laughed, even as Steve rolled his eyes.

Then, satisfied with a hug from Eddie and a promise that he wouldn’t move, you were in Steve’s car, crouching between Max and Dustin as you pulled up to the ambulance and mass number of police.

From where you were, you could see the cordoned off area. And…Nancy Wheeler?

“Don’t move,” Steve mumbled to you, as each of them got out.

You could see the utter relief on her face as she spotted them—spotted Steve. You couldn’t blame her, not if the body under the white sheet was another victim like Chrissy. You wondered who it was.

It turned out that you didn’t have to wait long to find out because Nancy squished into Steve’s car as you all headed back to the trailer park, filling you guys in. You leaned with your back against the door in front of Max, her legs up on the seat to accommodate you, Dustin in the middle, with Nancy on the left.

She had been visibly shocked to see you when she climbed in but hadn’t said anything. You stared at her as she looked ahead. She looked beyond uncomfortable, and you were pretty sure you knew the reason.

“We didn’t do it,” you said, breaking the silence.

Her head swung around to look at you. “What?”

“Kill Chrissy, I mean. We didn’t do it.”

She looked at you for a moment before looking away again. “I know. Mr Munson said you couldn’t have.” She paused, thinking about something. “He said that even though you and Eddie have your eccentricities, you weren’t capable of it.”

“Did you think that we did? Before that?” You weren’t sure why you wanted to know. The entire town knew you guys were different, sure, but did they honestly think that you were capable of something this horrific?

Nancy didn’t reply straight away, and your heart sank.

You swallowed harshly and leaned further back into the door. You made eye contact with Steve in his rear-view mirror, his eyes soft, almost sympathetic. You hated it.

You were surprised to find the trailer park almost deserted. You guessed that Fred’s body had taken the focus to the backroad. For that, you were grateful.

As Steve pulled up beside Eddie’s trailer and everyone got out, he reached a hand back and stopped you. “There are still people here. You can’t get out.”

“They’re my neighbours, Steve. They’re good people.”

He shook his head. “If they think you did this, I guarantee that they will call the cops on you. Just please, stay in the car.”

You huffed. “Fine.”

Steve gave you a grateful smile as he ran his thumb across your knuckles, before joining the others at the table outside Eddie’s. You wondered sadly where Wayne was staying. There was no way he was staying at his place.

You found yourself insanely thankful that your parents were away and would be for over a week. The last thing you wanted was for them to get caught up in any of this…supernatural shit.

You placed your head in your hands again.

You couldn’t believe that Nancy had thought that you were insane enough to murder someone. And not just kill them, but mutilate them. You knew that your choices in style and who you were was divisive. You knew that people across the world thought that Dungeons & Dragons was devil worship, but you hadn’t thought that people in Hawkins believed it.

The Hellfire Club were harmless. You guys played a game.

You thought back to Steve’s words as you peaked your head over the doorframe. Maybe your neighbours did think that. People who had known you since you were a toddler. Maybe they thought you were a devil worshipper who sacrificed people.

You went to sag back down when you caught sight of your trailer and your entire heart shattered in your chest.

Numbly, you reached for the handle and opened the door, stepping out.

You could hear Steve calling your name in the background, but your eyes were focused on your trailer—on your home.

You couldn’t hear your footsteps. You couldn’t hear Steve and the others rushing towards you.

You could only hear your thundering heartbeat as your beheld the graffiti painted all over your home.

HELLFIRE BITCH YOU’LL DIE

Along with some crude images of a pentagram and a giant target.

You were crying as Steve stepped between you and your trailer, trying to shield your view of it. “Y/N,” he said, “I need you to get in the car. Please.”

But you looked past him, weakly trying to push him away. He held steadfast, instead wrapping his arms around you as you cried.

The others stood in silence, no doubt taking it in.

Steve squeezed you tighter. “Baby,” he begged. “I need you to get back in the car. If someone sees you…” He started pulling you to the car.

You stopped listening. You stopped listening as you felt your heart begin to burn hot with rage.

Someone had destroyed your home. Someone was hunting you and your best friend for something you didn’t do.

Steve’s arms were the only thing keeping you grounded, even as he manoeuvred you into the backseat. He reached a hand up to your face, wiping your cheeks and holding your face in his hands, forcing you to look at him.

“It’s going to be OK,” he said, and you could see the promise behind his brown eyes, the one that said that you would get this fucker. That you would stop this. That it would be all right.

You nodded, and Steve kissed you, helping to calm your racing heart, before turning back to the others. You could vaguely hear them arguing about going somewhere, but you tuned it out. You tuned everything out, even as Max and Dustin got back in along with Steve, Nancy and Robin nowhere to be seen.

You could feel Max’s eyes on you, and you looked at her. She tried to give you a reassuring smile.

Even with everything going on, it helped. And so, you gave her one back.

+

Sitting outside the school shrink’s house waiting for Max was about as exciting as it sounded.

“Hey,” Steve said, turning in his seat so he could see you. “How are you feeling?”

You looked at him for the first time in half an hour. “Why didn’t you tell me about the monsters?”

He was taken aback for a second, glancing at Dustin who just raised his hands. “I, uh, I don’t know. I thought it was all over. I thought we wouldn’t have to deal with another one.”

“Were you ever gong to tell me?” you asked, voice low.

“I don’t know.”

You sighed, leaning back against the door again. “Why didn’t any of you tell me? All of you had this huge secret and none of you thought to clue me in?”

Steve placed a hand on your knee. “It’s not really the kind of thing that makes sense to a lot of people, babe.” You traced your fingers gently over the veins on his hand. “But I am sorry for not telling you,” he said.

“Don’t be. I’m not mad. It’s just…a lot,” you admitted.

Everything was fucked, you thought as you rested the back of you head against the door. This whole situation could have been avoided if Eddie hadn’t been so kind, if he hadn’t tried to sell Chrissy something stronger.

The boatshed was colder at night, the blanket you had ‘borrowed’ from Rick’s place pulled tight around your shoulders.

Sleep was evading you, no matter how much your eyes begged you to close them and your brain clouded with fog. You just couldn’t sleep.

Eddie rolled over from where he was curled up in the boat and you looked at him. “Hey, Eddie?” you called, hoping he was awake.

He let out a tired hum, not opening his eyes.

You hesitated, before saying, “Why was Chrissy Cunningham at your trailer in the first place?”

Even from metres away, you could see the way his whole body tensed. “She, uh, she came over to buy drugs.”

That caught your interest. “Drugs? Since when does she do drugs?” You were fairly up to date with Eddie catalogue of clients, and he had never mentioned Chrissy. Ever.

“First time. She wanted weed at first, but then she asked for something stronger, I picked her up after the game and Hellfire. Brought her back to give her the stuff because she seemed like she really needed something to take the edge off. That’s when she…she started…” His voice shook as he trailed off.

“What do you mean she needed something?”

He sighed, clearly not wanting to go over it, but you needed to know. “She was acting weird at school when we met at the table. She was…skittish, like she was scared of something. She even said she felt like she was losing her mind.”

“And you thought hard drugs were the answer?” you quipped.

“I obviously didn’t realise that there was actually something wrong,” Eddie spat back. “She mentioned having headaches and nightmares on the drive over. I thought she just meant about school. Or Carver.”

“And ket was going to help with that? She’d feel even worse when she came down from the high.”

Eddie ran his hands over his face, letting out an exasperated sigh.

You could feel the fear and fatigue mixing like a deadly cocktail that would explode the longer you guys kept up this line of questioning. “I’m sorry,” you said. “That it happened to you.”

Eddie cracked open his eyes. “You have a terrible habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lighting one up before throwing you both a cigarette and his lighter. It was both an observation and an apology.

You let out a bark of laughter as you lit up. “Don’t I know it.” You closed your eyes again, taking a drag. “Our guitars had better be somewhere safe. I’ll kick your ass if they’re gone.”

Steve squeezed your knee, bringing you back to the present. “You’re handling this whole ‘monsters in Hawkins’ thing much better than I did.”

“You should have seen him, Y/N,” Dustin chimed in, grinning like a madman. “Nancy and Jonathan had to protect him because he wouldn’t stop screaming.”

“All right, Henderson.” Steve rolled his eyes. “She doesn’t need to know that.”

“Nancy even had to hold him at gunpoint to get him to calm down.”

You raised your brows, smirk edging its way across your face. “Really?”

Dustin continued, despite the annoyed look on Steve’s face. “Really. But he did look cool with his nail bat, I guess. One time, he used it to stop the demo-dogs getting me, Lucas, and Max when we were in a bus.”

“What nail bat? Why were you in a bus?”

Steve cut in, “Long story. All you really need to know is that you’re doing exceptionally well in spite of the whole…situation.”

His eyes were warm as he continued to run his thumb over your knee.

“How about the time you squealed like a girl in the Russian elevator?”

Steve smacked Dustin with his free hand. “That’s it, Henderson. Once more and you’re walking.”

“Nice try. Y/N wouldn’t let you do that to me.”

“Oh, really? And why’s that?”

Dustin nodded, a smug look plastered across his face. “She likes me better.”

You laughed at that, and Dustin’s smug look only grew as Steve’s fell and he removed his hand from you, grumbling, “Sure. Why wouldn’t she? You know, with all your pre-pubescent charm.”

Dustin’s smile dropped. “I’m a teenager now. And we like the same stuff. I don’t see you offering to play D&D with her.”

You could only watch on in amusement as they got lost in themselves arguing, which happened almost every time.

“I don’t need to play D&D with her. I see her at work, and we hang out all the time.”

Dustin scoffed. “Hang out? What are you, ten?”

“You know, your ego is going to be the death of you—”

Steve was cut off as Max reefed open the car door and jumped in, slamming it closed and screaming, “Drive, Steve!”

Steve fumbled for a minute before taking off down the street, ordering Max to tell him what was going on.

Max held up a set of keys. “We need to do a bit of breaking and entering.” She looked at you, already smiling. “You should be able to help us with that.”

You shared her conspiring smile.

+

“How do you know how to do this?” Steve asked as you all stood outside the entrance doors of Hawkins High under the cover of night.

You jiggled the pin inside the lock, biting your lip in concentration. “Practice.” Ms Kelley’s keys worked for most of the locks inside the school, but the outside doors were a different story.

He looked between you and the lock before settling his eyes on Max. “How did you know she could do this?”

She shrugged. “I’ve seen her and Eddie do it before.”

“I don’t know how I feel about you watching me, Mayfield,” you added, just the lock clicked open. “I know we’re neighbours, but I might have to get a restraining order.” You pushed open the door.

The four of you raced inside, heading straight for Ms Kelley’s office.

“I can’t believe you know how to pick locks,” Steve said to you as you walked.

“I grew up in a trailer park. The people there are usually nice, but they’re often not the best influence.”

“What other skills do you have that I don’t know about?”

You waited for Max to unlock the door to the office. You glanced at Steve, patting him on the chest. “I guess you’ll have to wait and see.” Then you were inside, leaving him standing there with Dustin.

Max headed straight for the filing cabinets, pulling them open and leafing through the files.

You would probably feel bad about the prospect of looking through students’ most private folders, but you were a bit pre-occupied with ensuring that you and Eddie didn’t end up getting caught and charged with murder. You really didn’t want to die, and you would, because you most definitely would get the death penalty—especially because of your so-called ties with Satan himself.

“Holy shit,” Max said, and you swung your flashlight to her.

“You found it?” Steve asked.

“Yeah. And not just Chrissy’s file. Fred was seeing Ms Kelley, too.” She sat the desk, Dustin and Steve crowding her as she started to read Chrissy’s file.

You stayed at the filing cabinet, pulling open one of the drawers that said ‘Past Students’. You had no idea why they kept old student files. It wasn’t like they needed them once you’d graduated. You scanned the tightly packed drawer, eyes finally landing on the one you were looking for.

L/N, Y/N

You pulled it out. It was relatively thin compared to some other people’s folders. You hadn’t seen Ms Kelley regularly, just when the school decided that you need to. Same thing happened to Eddie. Apparently, they believed the two of you needed some serious counselling because no normal people could randomly decide to start dressing and acting the way you did.

You flipped it open, surprised with the photo tacked to the notes. You looked so young. It was hard to believe that it had been over two years since you’d graduated.

You ran your finger over the notes, skimming the words Ms Kelley had written.

Started a school group with a friend—Edward Munson—game playing? – Will need to reassess in a few weeks. Music is big part of life. Plays guitar—wouldn’t consider joining school band. Said she ‘would rather die.’

You chuckled at that. Over your dead body would you join the school band.

Bullying incidents have risen since return for tenth grade. Numerous times has been accosted in the halls by other students. Reports that Edward has also been at the receiving end. Is adamant that she does not want to involve staff.

You flipped the page, seeing your senior year notes. Most were just average that you didn’t even remember, but one you did.

Most recent incident resulted in having a week off school. Again insists that she does not want to involve teachers. Became teary when speaking about the incident. Spoke about wanting to leave school, but she decided against it—wants to graduate with Edward.

You bit your lip as you read the rest of the notes. You imagined telling your high school self about everything happening. Trying to explain that there were monsters in Hawkins. Trying to explain that you were in a relationship with Steve Harrington. Old you would probably think you were crazy.

You could hear Max talking, and silently put the folder back. Getting lost in old memories wouldn’t help you now.

Not if you wanted to save yourself and Eddie.

a/n: thank you for reading!

please check out my new prompt celebration and put in a request if you want to!

<3 aeia

[fastcardotmp3]

toooootally agree that steve dying in s4 would have made sense. after all the mentions of running away and steve never doing that, his death would have hit home that standing and fighting isn't always the best (or smartest) choice. also think about how interesting that could have been for eddie, unceremoniously placed in the big brother position

LOTS of potential for interesting character moments but. 🤷‍♀️

no EXACTLY.

It's a plotline that not only /didn't/ fit Eddie's overall story, but /would/ have fit Steve's arc so perfectly if they hadn't decided to use him largely for comic relief and regurgitated relationship drama in S4 and had actually, y'know, written him an arc.

This is a guy we've seen come back from having the absolute shit kicked out of him three seasons in a row, who throws himself into the line of fire with very few questions asked of himself other than "will this choice help keep these people safe" and who-- this is the interesting part for me-- always gets back up.

He's almost over powered with the way he can take a hit and keep going and it grows with intensity every season 1-3 to the point where you can see him getting more reckless with his human shield endeavors. Steve has gotten up before, he knows this about himself, he has convinced himself that this means he'll be able to get up again, convinced himself that he'll resurface from that lake to the degree where he just does it so casually.

But that's not true. The opportunity to have Steve run headlong into a frenzy of creatures that he was already almost taken out by once and /needed/ backup to survive without that backup, to do it for Dustin's sake after building that relationship up so thoroughly during s2-3, and then for him to not only not get back up again, but for it to have BEEN IN VAIN? because they still don't WIN?

AND THEY DECIDED NOT TO TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY?

The version of that scene where Dustin is sobbing over Steve's dying body pleading "No-- Steve-- you die, I die-- Hey, stop, you die, I die, got it? You son of a bitch you die. I die. Don't you fucking dare, please, please--" while Steve smiles and reassures him because he has so much faith that this is worth it because it's over now, it must be lives rent free in my mind.

The version of S5 that gives us the opportunity to see the fallout of what losing one of our original s1 characters does to the rest of them-- does to Dustin in the trauma of watching it happen, does to ROBIN who is half a soul down when she was within /walking distance/ of his final stand, does to Nancy who has got to be convinced at that point that her love is a death sentence, does to Max who has now lost two older brothers (even if this one is both less and more complicated because she actually felt /safe/ around him), does to Lucas who has looked up to Steve in so many ways, does to Eddie who is new to this group and now feels the utterly incomprehensible size of the shoes dropped at his feet to fill-- a sword to carry when his chosen path had always been a shield? Yeah. that lives rent free in my mind too.

The Duffers are cowards who didn't want to kill off a fan favorite and risk losing viewership in their last season and I for one think it hurt them in the long run.

sorry for blabbering I have so many thoughts about this 😭

[flohamilton]

Hi can you do a headcanon about someone who's autistic went to Hawkins and meeting the main characters. What is their interaction

hi so disclaimer, i know autism is different for everyone and what i have written may not be accurate or relatable to everyone!! if ANY part of this seems inaccurate or offensive in any way please please please let me know so i can fix it!!

first of all i feel like the older kids (robin, nancy and steve in particular) would be so stoked to hang out with you and just chill

if you are more quite and reserved they would be happy to just have you sitting in on the group as they laugh and joke around with each other

if you're more outgoing they would be super excited to listen to whatever you are passionate about

i think especially robin, she would always be so excited to learn about whatever topic you are interested in and just seeing the joy on your face would make her light up

sometimes when you get overwhelmed or overstimulated robin and nancy will pull you off to the side to help ground you and make you feel more comfortable

i can totally see robin trying so hard to make you feel comfortable by distracting you and telling you about her day or about something funny that happened to her and steve

but in true robin fashion she starts rambling on and on to the point where you actually start feel worse than before she started talking

nancy has to kick her in the shin to make her shut up

if you don't drive, steve is always happy to give you a ride and will literally take you anywhere you want to go

steve would also be your personal body guard

if anyone was every rude or mean to you he would not hesitate to put them in their place

he has famously never won a fight in his life but the poor guy will always be willing to stick up for you when you need it, even if he ends up with a black eye or some bruised ribs

i think the younger kids would look up to you a lot

the kids have always been outcasts of sorts and have been led to believe that being different is a bad thing, but you show them that it's okay to be different

will especially likes to hang out with you, he is also pretty reserved so sometimes while the rest of the gang is being rowdy you two are just on the sofa watching tv or will is showing you his latest sketches

dustin would always be including you in the conversation if he notices you're not speaking much, he would just like to randomly check up on you to catch up/have a nice conversation, aww he's such a cool and sweet kid who loves his friends very much

i think lucas would always give you a ticket to his basketball game, but if sporting events aren't really your thing he will be so understanding and happy to know that you listened to his game on the radio

el and max love you and always try to join in on whatever you may be hyper-fixating on (i'm thinking new crafts and hobbies!! they would always be right there with you, making trips to the craft store)

mike and eddie in particular would always be inviting you to sit in on hellfire club meetings

eddie would let you plan a campaign with him and would love to hear of all of the creative things you come up with

also eddie would try his best to never smoke or do any sort of drugs around you if that makes you uncomfortable

in conclusion the gang absolutely adores you

they're so supportive of you and will always be there to help you through meltdowns or times where things get overwhelming, they are such a great group of people <3

[sky-neverending]

someone needs to either teach me to draw or take my funky little ideas away from me because like i have so many steddie drawings i want to do and little to no talent to do them. which is why i’m going to leave a list here, in case anyone wants to steal them. you have my consent. also if you want to turn any of these into fics, feel free to do so! (some of these are scenes from fics i’ve written already lol)

the classic flower shot x tattoo artist deal. Eddie does tattoos, Steve sells flowers. They work right next to each other. it’s an enemies to lovers situation. and because Eddie does tattoos, he can draw decently, and offers to give Steve a new logo for his shop. Steve reluctantly agrees and they fall in love. also then Eddie gives steve a flower tattoo. bada bing, bada boom. easy as that. simple idea, really.

another tattoo related idea, but this one is sort of canon compliant. Steve sees Eddie’s new tattoo, learns Eddie did it himself, and impulsively asks for one of his own. for a fic, this could go anywhere. for art, i just image Eddie with his hair tied back holding the little tattoo gun thing, and kneeling next to a very flustered Steve. and they make eye contact. and kiss maybe.

Eddie cooking Steve eggs in the morning while Steve watches in awe. I just like the idea that Eddie is the one who cooks sometimes, even simple things like eggs, because he wants to take care of Steve

Eddie doings Steve’s eyeliner. There knees are like pressed up against each other on the couch and Eddie has one hand on Steve’s chin while the other one holds the eyeliner. His tongue is doing that little thing where it sticks out his mouth. and Steve’s just like “I’m in deep shit.” (i wrote this one already, i just want to see it drawn.)

i have a scene from one of my fics that i desperately want to draw. it’s if the party having a movie night. i’ll put a few moments from it here:

Piling into Eddie’s trailer, the group settled into their usual spots, leaving Steve to wonder where he was supposed to go. El was seated on a cushion on the floor, next to Max, who was in her wheelchair. Lucas was sprawled out in front of the coffee table, closest to the television. Dustin was next to a loveseat, which held both Mike and Will in it, cuddled up to one another in a way that seemed a tad bit more than friendly. Jonathan had made his way to the floor in front of the couch and behind the coffee table, and behind him was Nancy, who sat next to Robin. And sort of under Robin. Robin was very spread out. Steve felt himself growing tired around 9:30. His head fell to the side a bit, brushing against Eddie’s shoulder. He began to lift it up, but Eddie placed a hand on the other side, pulling him back down gently. Steve felt an arm wrap around him, resting lightly near his hip. Warm fingertips brushed against the hem of his polo that had been pulled slightly upward, so that a sliver of skin was showing.

Ok that’s all for now I think, if you want to draw/write any of these i’d be absolutely honoured. Also, feel free to comment what you think, or what else you’d want to see drawn if your like me- with an active imagination and no skill lol!

[willel]

I’m going to be a bit cruel but they wrote a Lucas book, and he’s clearly less popular than El, Will and I’d even say Joyce; on the other hand there isn’t a Steve book, the ultimate fan fav. So idt that it’s necessarily about marketability, I just don’t know how these choices are being made tho.

So far, Hopper, Max, Lucas, Robin, now Eddie have gotten a book.

I tried to read the Hopper book but it was so irrelevant to the plot and uninteresting that I haven't even picked up the rest of the novels.

While I agree Lucas isn't an obvious pick for a book, I'm still glad they made it. I just wish they'd do it MORE.

Out of this list, I actually think the outlier is Hopper. It seems to me like they'll give books to characters whose stories aren't deeply related to the main plot. It may still line up though because like I mentioned already, Hopper's book had absolutely nothing to do with the events of Stranger Things. It was like an existing novel and they just slapped Hopper's name on it.

Steve, as popular as he is, is still alive. There are still stories of his to tell in the show itself whether we want it or not. Writing a book would be pointless and there's no way they're going to write a novel about him when he was still a jerk (even if they do they'll make him less of a jerk) and there's not much angst going on in his life compared to all the other characters you can write about. I can see why there is no Steve book. YET

Joyce/Hopper are at least getting an entire play about them I guess.

Will has had a buttload of comics from his point of view of varying quality. There was even a game about him being developed by Telltale games before they went bankrupt a few years back. But... it's not really a NOVEL. There's so much more you can write in a novel compared to a 4 issue comic.

Jonathan has had fuck-all. I think he has appeared in exactly 1 comic of Will's and that's it.

El also pretty much only appears in other peoples content briefly. She sorta had a comic where everyone was telling her about holiday/Christmas movies, but.... not much of substance. The comics about the lab are pretty much debunked as canon so not even her brief appearances in those are real.

I don't know what their strategy is with novels either, but without a doubt Hopper, Robin, and Eddie's novels were written because they were fan favorites at the time and they were able to write stuff that had no relationship to the plot of Stranger Things at al.

So I guess what I'm actually asking for is plot relevant deep dives into how the main characters are dealing with their life between seasons and what they're doing to cope with how poopy their lives are most of the time.

Lucas is the exception <3