#and now when Jonathan is talking about a break up and Nancy is sensing he’s distant and being closer to Steve at the same time

[truegodofthearena]

i feel like some fans might be overestimating the duffers when it comes to romance. The romantic storylines have always been pretty straight forward in the show narratively. Kind of have to take them at face value. There’s no hidden complex agenda. I’ve always felt the duffers focus more on a complex plot and the sci fi stuff and they keep the relationships fairly simple and fun.

I may be wrong but I feel if they were setting up Stancy in season 4 it’s very likely it will reach its resolution in the last season. The only times they’ve done things that are random are when they’ve suddenly changed their mind about a character (robins sexuality at the last minute even though she was supposed to be a love interest for Steve). So until they do something out of the blue like that, their plan so far is pretty clear when it comes to Stancy. Narratively speaking. It’s gonna be exactly what it seems to be building towards.

[thegoblinboy]

Never Say Die

You are here | part two | part three | part four

I can’t get this concept out of my head steve being a prisoner instead of hopper and coming back home.

Steve sat in the back of the car, unsure what to expect. Six months. Six months he hasn’t seen his friends, who he considered to be his family if anything. He wished he could say that it had been six months since the last time he seen his parents but that would be a lie. Strange how he could place the date and times when he last seen his real family but yet he didn’t know when he last seen his parents. It was a chilling thought. He doesn’t remember being this nervous about seeing his parents for the first time in a long, long time.

Then again this was under different circumstances. Last time he seen Dustin, Robin and Erica it had looked like he had died. The last time he seen Hopper and Joyce, both of them had been trying to reach them from god knows where with their own personal Russian translator. Now, when he steps out of this car his new life will begin. One that was much different compared to before he “died”.

He was stunned if anything. He doesn’t know how he survived. He had thought the torture he had endured at star court, tied to a chair was bad. Little did he know, the Russians got very creative in their homeland. His body sometimes still aches from his time there. Though, he’s been through hell and back nothing was more scarier then seeing his family again. What if they were different, what if they didn’t want him back? All questions that were bothering him. All questions that disappear the the second he he sees all of the kids gathered together in a drive way. Smiling and laughing as they all help the Byers unpack their boxes into a nicer home then what they had lived in before.

He smiles to himself. He’s unsure if they were told he was coming. He stops the agent in front of him from stepping out. To break the moment he was watching. Lucas was laughing as he carefully holds one hand on the back of Max’s back. Crutches under her armpits as she leans on on foot. Her other leg in a cast, along with one of her wrists. Both of them talking to each other in a way that told him they made it through the little dispute from six months ago. Off to the right of them, stepping out of the van carrying boxes was Jonathan. Handing them to Nancy, who was smiling brightly up at him. Mouth moving as she talked. Next to them, in a bean bag sat a boy with long silky hair. Obviously stoned off his ass as he wore a button down shirt eating pizza. Steve wanted to hear some of what they were saying, he pulls his window down just a smidge to catch Jonathan laughing.

“You know, the pizza was supposed to motivate you helping us carry our stuff in.” Hes looking at the other with a smirk. Steve chuckles softly to himself before his eyes move over seeing Will sitting on the hood of a car. Talking to El, who seemed to have lost all process in her hair growth. Both of them huddled together and talking with serious expressions. Both of their faces cracking into smiles when Mike comes walking over to them. There’s something awkward going on there but it seemed like they were all friends.

The front door of the house opens further, and Steve’s heart stops. Breathing not in his dictionary anymore as he watches Robin Buckley walk out with flying hands. God it was so her, though what takes him by surprise was the fact she was wearing his letterman jacket. How the hell she got a hold of it was beyond him. Then again Dustin must have told her where the key of his house was hidden. Let her in and it warms his heart in a way that doesn’t even make sense to know she wanted something that was his. Her hair is in a Bob and she’s yelling at someone. That someone showing his presence, walking out behind her. Steve’s in a near heart attack and near tears when he sees Henderson walking out with a cap on. Hair styled in the way that he had showed him, a hat firmly placed on the top of his head. Mouth moving a mile per minute. Talking right back to Robin. Even from here Steve knew the kid was being obnoxious.

“Come on Robin. It’s not that bad, right Eddie.” The boy turns. Looking for confirmation from Eddie the freak Munson. And Steve really shouldn’t be that shocked that Dustin would find a friend in a drug dealer. If there was trouble in Hawkins, Henderson sure as hell would find it. Steve’s about to freak out, but stops when he sees the amused look on the metal heads face. His hair was much longer then what he remembered it being.

“Sorry dude. Im with Robbie on this one.” Eddie moves a hand playfully moving the others head on his shoulders. None of them noticing the suspicious car on the other side of the street. Next came Joyce, whose hand was wrapped tightly in Hoppers. That was not a shock to see at all. Both of them laughing as they look around at the children. Like Steve had.

As expected, Hoppers eyes land on the car. His face going a bright red as he lets go of Joyce’s hand. Storming forward catching everyone’s attention. Breaking the peace as he looks like he’s ready to kill someone. “Get the hell away from my property. Don’t need the god damn government spying on my daughter. Last warning, next time I’ll -“ his words die in his throat as Steve steps out of the car. Hoppers back blocking the view of everyone behind him.

Steve looks at him with a amused look, holding his side. Body still recovering from his stint in another country. “Wow, nice welcoming home gift hopper.” He laughs. Coughing a little from the bruised rib. Though the bruised rib is nearly the least of his worries as Hopper pulls him into a bear hug.

“Never got a chance to thank you for saving Joyce and the kids. Considering the fact you fucking died.” Hopper gruffly rasps. “Everyone’s going to freak you know.” He warns.

“I know.” Steve says softly. Stepping back with a tight smile.

“Hopper what’s going on?” Joyce is now walking over. Obviously warning the kids to go inside. All of them complaining and bickering as they do. Steve could hear them. Her face pulls into a shocked expression when she sees Steve. “Oh my god.” She gasps as she moves nearly tackling him.

“What is it mom?” Jonathan’s voice is heard from the van.

“Everyone inside now.” Joyce yells. Helping hopper hide steve from everybody. They knew that the second they all seen him, the neighbors attention would be all over them. Something that they didn’t need was for everyone talking about how a whole group of people started sobbing in the middle of the drive way. That and Steve Harrington was supposed to be dead. Word got around, that was all they would need.

When he hears the front door closing Joyce finally looks at him. Looks right through him actually. “Oh god what did they do to you.” She sounded in pain as her hand cups his face. All of them still standing in the middle of the road. Only remembering where they were when a car try’s coming through. Hopper quickly thinks as he pulls off his ugly Hawaiian shirt. Quickly tossing it over Steve’s head. Who starts to gag.

“Oh my god you stink. I shared a cell with a guy who had stomach issues and you somehow stink more then our toilet.” He gags, being dragged up the driveway. Letting Joyce’s hand wrap around his as she moves him to what he assumes is the front door.

“Shut up-“ hopper rasps out.

“Honey, everyone’s going to freak out. Are you ready for this?” Joyce sounded like she was crying herself. Hand shaking in his. Steve felt like his world was just beginning again. Rotating, revolving whatever the earth does. It was happening again for him.

“Yeah.. yeah I’m ready.”

Im thinking about doing a part two though I’m unsure. If I did write more, it would be eventual Steddie. I don’t know if I should though 😭 should I?

[eddiemunsonspantschain]

The Boyfriend Experience - Ch.2

Author's Note: I'm sorry this took me like 289380 billion years to finish. I hope you guys like it

Word Count: 5.9 k

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Reader

Warnings: Depression, loneliness, isolation, negative thoughts and emotions but fluff to make up for it

You do not have permission to copy, translate or repost my work onto other sites or social medias. This work is my own and it is owned by me.

Nothing was happening. At this point, you thought Eddie had forgotten all about his ‘Boyfriend Experience’ proposal. Since that night in your apartment, Eddie hadn’t done anything. You had both seen each other, too. So it wasn’t for the lack of being around one another. Once a week the party gets together to hang out. Sometimes it was a movie night, sometimes an excursion to do other activities depending on the season. It was getting closer to fall. The heat was starting to break and cool down more and more in the daytime, staying nice and chill in the evening. You loved this transition into fall. All the things of comfort that you loved. Comfort food, soft blankets and scary movies. It made you happy. However, you also found yourself thinking of Eddie. When you curled up on your couch with a horror movie on and some good food, your mind wandered to how nice it would be to have someone with you. Before, it used to be a vague idea of a ‘someone’. Just wanting another body next to yours, enjoying the same things that you enjoyed. But now? Now all you could think about was the warm smell of Old Spice and brown curls out of the corner of your eye. 

Your hope that you had shamefully attached to Eddie without him knowing was starting to dwindle fast. The more time that passed without him bringing up his plan or doing much of anything with you made that hope fade and fizzle out. Eddie was still nice to you, of course. Like he always had been. He talked to you, included you in the conversation with the group when you grew quiet and off to the side. He even gifted you a little affection when in front of the others. It dawned on you one day that he probably didn’t want to do anything because of the others being around. Of course, it made sense! Why would he want everyone to know he had done something with you? Kissed you? It all made sense now. Even if a small voice at the back of your mind said Eddie wasn’t that type of guy. But you weren't the one most wanted. 

You went through phases like the one you were in now. You were fine with being alone a lot. You had been and felt alone for most of your life. Not many friends, no romantic partners, and just faded into the background. You grew accustomed to loneliness. However, every now and again, you yearn. You yearn for companionship. Wherever you could get it. You once again found yourself in that position. Yearning. As you scrolled on your phone, you saw a few Instagram posts from friends, liking and commenting on some things. You chuckled as you spotted a photo of Nancy and Jonathan looking at puppies in a pet store. You transitioned to your messaging app, texting Nancy asking if she and Jonathan were planning on getting a puppy now that they lived together. After a few more minutes of scrolling, you decided to set down your phone and get some chores done.

You spent time dutifully cleaning your apartment. You always felt better when your place was clean. Too cluttered with mess made you feel like you coudn’t think or focus. However, you decided to take a break from running around busting your ass and sat down with some water, picking up your phone. You went to see if Nancy texted you back since you had texted her a while ago. No new messages. You opened up your text to Nancy.

Read: 2:17 pm

You looked at the time on your phone. 5:45 pm. You deflated, setting your phone aside. ‘Maybe she’s just busy’, you tried to rationalize. But the tiny voice in the back of your mind told you otherwise. No, she just didn’t care enough to answer. You sighed, going back to Instagram seeing another recent post from Nancy. So she was on her phone. You tossed your phone across the couch. To anyone else, this wouldn’t be a big deal. You were being too sensitive, you tried to tell yourself. You took the pillow from behind your back and shoved it on top of your phone as if it would somehow silence the bad thoughts swirling in your head. 

When things like this happened, you knew it was time to step away. If you continued the way you were, you would only get hurt. So you ignored your phone for the evening. Sometimes, that helped, but sometimes it didn’t do much to ease the thoughts swirling in your mind. Instead, you tried to stay positive. The next day, you decided to venture out of your home. You got dressed in something that made you feel comfortable. A large black hoodie, some black leggings and your red boots. Large and comfy, not wanting to feel self conscious today in any way. You found yourself wandering back to Family Video to rent some movies. When you walked inside, Steve and Robin weren’t alone.

All the gang, minus the kids, were there talking about something. When you walked in, Eddie was the first one to look up and see you. You smiled softly at him and wandered over to the horror movie section. Seconds later, Eddie was there.

“Hey, sweetheart.” he greeted, leaning against the shelf of movies.

“Hey, Eddie. How’s it goin?” you asked as you pulled a few movies from the shelf.

“Pretty good. Work’s keeping me busy,” he sighed, “But money is good. Means I can do more fun things.”

“Oh yeah? Like that?”

He grinned. “Spend it on something or someone I care about.” He shrugged, as if his answer meant nothing.

You looked at him, raising a brow before frowning. “If you think you’re gonna be spending any money on me, put that back in your head.” you warned, and Eddie sighed dramatically.

“C’mon, babe.” he murmured and moved closer. “Can’t treat my best girl to something?” Best girl. His best girl.

You shook your head. “You’re a ham, Eds.” you told him, bumping your shoulder with his as you head back to the counter. You placed the old movie you rented on the counter, adding the new ones to be rung up, too. Steve jumped to take care of your movies.

“So we can all leave here by six tomorrow? Should make it there on time. Maybe get a motel for the night?” Nancy suggested to the group, the others nodding along.

“There something going on?” you asked them.

Eyes turned to you as Nancy nodded. “We’re heading to the city to go and check out this club.” She answered.

“You’re all going?” you asked, glancing around the group as the others confirmed they were going. “Oh,” you murmured and silence followed.

“We know clubbing isn’t exactly your thing. That’s why we didn’t invite you.” Steve supplemented when the awkwardness began to kick in. You thanked whatever god was out there that you managed to control your face quick enough when you realized everyone was looking at you. You felt the ache in your chest of being excluded. Clubbing wasn’t Jonathan’s thing either, yet he was invited. Eddie didn’t like clubbing either unless it was somewhere that played music he liked. Yet, he was invited. You managed to school your face into a neutral expression. Neither happy nor sad. Just nothing. You felt the familiar burn of tears threatening to make themselves known and averted your eyes to the top of the counter. You dug into your pocket and handed your money to Steve. This was the second time now you’ve come into Family Video and had your feelings hurt. Maybe next time you’d rent somewhere else…

“Have fun.” you murmured with a small smile, taking your movies and swiftly exiting the store. You didn’t make it very far before tears gathered on your lash line. You got to your car and pulled open the door, sliding into the driver's seat and tossing the movies into the seat beside you. You took a long, shaky breath and turned the ignition. You saw the door to Family Video open up, Eddie stepping outside. You already pulled out of the parking spot, turning and heading back to your house before you could even think about what Eddie wanted. He most likely was stepping out for a smoke since Steve had had to yell at him in the past for trying to smoke in the store.

—----------------------------------------

Eddie was trying to take things slowly. He realized with his proposal that he might have come on too strongly. He didn’t want to scare you. No, he wanted this to work out well. Not scare you off before he gets the chance to get close to you. So he kept a little distance. He hadn’t meant to be as distant as he was as work took over his life. He wanted to see you. He missed you. He cherished it when he’d get to see you at least once a week at group functions. Eddie was invited to Family Video by Steve, something about plans they were making. So he had gotten dressed and hopped into his van, driving over to Family Video. When he walked inside, he saw everyone but you and felt the disappointment take hold at not seeing you standing with everyone else. He wandered up to the counter and scrunched his nose hearing a club mentioned. The only time Eddie liked going to clubs was if they played the music he liked to listen to. He wasn’t fond of the usual shit the clubs played. He’d go just to have some overpriced drinks and smoke inside, but otherwise he had no stake in it. He agreed to going, assuming that you had also been invited but weren’t here to make plans for it. You usually went along with whatever plan was made beforehand. 

When the door opened and the bell went off, Eddie looked over and grinned at seeing you walk inside. Of course, as soon as you broke off to go look at movies, he followed after you. He hadn’t seen you in two days, not that he was counting. He walked with you back to the counter and when you had asked what was going on; it hit him that you weren’t in on the plans to go to a club in the city. The second that ‘Oh’ left your lips, he wanted to hug you. Hearing the sad tone was enough to crack his heart. At Steve’s words, Eddie couldn’t help the prickle of annoyance in his chest. They knew he didn’t like clubbing either, but they had invited him. He knew the last time you all went to a club you had practically stuck to whoever was closest to you, not wanting to be left alone with all the drunk strangers. 

Then Eddie saw it. 

He had been looking at you and after Steve’s words he saw the flash of hurt on your face. It was in your eyes and on your face for all of half a second. Then he saw your face melt into indifference. Nothing shows on your face to betray your feelings. He just watched you go stone cold in seconds to cover how you felt. But he knew. He saw it. He saw the hurt and rejection. Even your tone as you told them to have fun held no emotion in it. The smile you offered was one to throw them off. Then you were gone. Eddie watched your retreating back and he looked back at the others. They seemed none the wiser. Eddie knew that they had good intentions. That they didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable in any way. However, he couldn’t shake the feeling he got seeing you school your features to not let the others in on how you were feeling. Eddie moved without thinking and without explanation, pushing the door open of Family Video just in time to see you pull away from the store. He wanted to jump out in front of your car. Anything to make you not run off from them. From him. But Eddie watched you go. Standing out there in the parking lot was when Eddie decided he would not be going tomorrow evening. No, he couldn’t do that to you. Instead, he headed back inside to let the group know he was bailing on them. Citing something more important that he had to do and ignoring the looks from Jonathan and Nancy as they glanced at one another.

The next evening was when Eddie’s plan came into action. He knew you well enough, listened to you well enough to know you would be at home in comfy clothes, keeping to yourself. So Eddie packed himself an overnight bag and headed to your place. It was sunset, and he knew you were home. He was happy to see your car parked outside your apartment and quickly made his way to your door. He could hear you inside. It sounded like you were cooking something. He knocked on the door a couple of times. When the door opened, he grinned at the sight of you. You were in a hoodie, hair pulled into a messy bun at the top of your head. Your sweatpants were baggy and tied around your hips like you had bought mens sweatpants and were unable to keep them up. Orange socks with jack-o-lantern faces on the tops of your feet poked out from the legs of your sweatpants. 

“What’s cooking?” Eddie asked, smelling something savory coming from your kitchen.

—--------------------------------

It was homemade chicken noodle soup. A comfort food for you. After the past few days, you were ready to just take time for yourself. Sometimes a self care day just makes you feel the tiniest bit better. So you planned a good meal, a bath, skin care and lots of comfort. You had chopped up all your vegetables. The usual carrots, celery, onion and garlic go into the pot. You seasoned your chicken bone broth with thyme and a sizable bay leaf. You always made more soup than one person probably needed. Usually getting a couple of bowls out of it, but you didn’t care. You had put all your veggies into the broth to simmer to soften the veggies and get some good flavor into them. You shredded up some chicken, noodles already ready to throw into the soup when it was finished. A movie played in the background as you tossed some garlic bread into the oven. Jack was just touring the hotel he would be working in for the winter. You smiled softly as you moved to your coffee table, lighting up a candle and going back to the kitchen for a drink when you heard a knock on the door. You stopped mid-stride. You certainly weren’t expecting anybody since all your friends had gone into the city to that club and you had no other friends. You frowned and approached the door carefully before leaning up on your toes for the peephole. Despite the fact that the thing was murky as hell, you could always recognize the mop of brown curls on the other side. You quickly opened the door, staring up at Eddie. At his question, you opened your mouth and closed it again. Why was he here? Shouldn’t he be with everyone else? Your eyes drifted to the bag on his shoulder. 

“Uh, chicken noodle soup and garlic bread.” You answered, stepping back to let Eddie inside. He moved inside like you had expected him. There was a dull thud as his bag hit the floor. Eddie crouched down and opened up his bag, pulling out clothes. You blinked, slowly backing up into the kitchen, a little more confused now. You opened the fridge and poured yourself some water. “Water or beer?” You called out.

“Water!”

You grabbed another glass and poured Eddie some water. You shuffled back to the living room and stopped short seeing Eddie changing in the middle of your living room. “Uhh, Eds?” you tilted your head to the side. His pale skin contrasted his tattoos well. Black ink against alabaster skin portraying things Eddie had drawn up himself. Unique art on a unique human being. For never being a jock, Eddie had muscle. You’d seen the amplifiers he had picked up before, so you knew his arms were muscular before you even got this chance to ogle them. He had a little waist and a tiny bit of pudge on his stomach. It was funny to you in that moment that you admired his tummy, but you hated your own. You wanted to poke at his tummy and hug him, feel the warmth of his skin against yours and the contours of his body.

“What’s so funny?”

You moved your eyes from Eddie’s chest to his amused face. “Nothing,” you murmured and held out the glass to him.

Eddie took the glass and took a sip before humming and shaking his head. “Nope, something was definitely funny. Was it something about my chest? You were staring pretty hard.”

Your face immediately grew warm knowing that he had caught you staring at him. “I-”

“You can stare all you want, sweetheart. Take a picture if you want, too.” Eddie set his glass down and reached for his belt, undoing it faster than you had ever seen someone unbuckle and remove a belt from their person. He popped the button on his jeans next.

“Soup! Gonna… soup.” You half shouted, half mumbled before retreating into the kitchen quickly. You removed the lid from the pot and stared down into your soup as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

When you finally got your breathing under control and you stopped picturing Eddie taking his belt off in your living room, you returned to your task of making dinner. You pulled the garlic bread from the oven and dumped the egg noodles into the pot. You reached up to grab some bowls, but another pair of hands stopped you in your tracks. Eddie grabbed the bowls, chest pressed to your back. He grabbed two of them and two small plates for the garlic bread, then set them on the counter. You swallowed thickly and wondered if he had put a shirt on. You turned your head and discovered that he hadn’t. You wiggled around until you faced him. Eddie smiled, placing his hands on the counter and trapping you in. “Not cold?” you murmured softly.

Eddie shook his head. “No, not cold,” he murmured back. One of his hands moved to your hip before sliding behind to slide up into your hoodie, touching your back. 

You stared up at him, chewing on your lip thoughtfully. He stared back at you and you watched as his eyes wandered from your eyes, then down to your lips. As he leaned in, you reached up and placed your hand on his jaw, your thumb resting on his lips. “Hold on, before you distract me,” you chuckle, feeling his lower lip jut out a little under your thumb in a pout. “Aren’t you supposed to be in the city?”

Eddie’s face shifted at your inquiry. No longer pouting, he now looked a bit sad and you thought you might have hurt his feelings by making it seem like you didn’t want him there. You moved your thumb off of his lip to let him speak. “I guess? But I knew you weren’t going and I wasn’t going to go without you…” he murmured. You watched his face for a moment. He looked like he had more to say to you and you hoped your silence would soon egg him on. You nodded your head a little. “How did you do that?” he finally asked quietly after a few moments of silence. 

“Do what?”

“You shut off.” You raised a brow at that. Shut off? Shut off what? “In the store the other day, Steve mentioned why they didn’t invite you. You looked upset for half a second, sweetheart, then… nothing. Like it never happened. I watched you just kinda… shut off?”

Oh. “You noticed that?” you whispered and Eddie nodded. His fingers soothingly rubbed the skin of your back. 

“Yeah, I noticed that.” he answered, “What was that?”

You didn’t want to tell him. You’d learned sometimes it was far better hiding your feelings than making other people ‘deal with’ them. You didn’t want to bother anyone with your emotions. “It was nothing, really.” you waved it off but Eddie was stubborn and you knew this. So it didn’t surprise you when he shook his head. 

“No, no. Not nothing. C’mon. Boyfriend time. Be honest with me and how you feel.” 

You sighed. There was only so long you could go with this and you knew this. Eddie was persistent when he wanted to be. Your hands moved to his chest before settling down at his waist. “I just… hid it.” you murmured with a small shrug as if it was nothing.

“Hid it?”

“My reaction. How I felt.”

“Why?”

The simple question in and of itself stopped you. You knew why but you also knew for some people it probably was a hard thing to grasp. You took a breath and sighed. “Because it’s better to tuck it away than to let people know you’re upset. So they don’t get upset that you’re upset and have to deal with how you… I, feel.” you murmured your explanation, distracting yourself with the tattoos inked into Eddie’s chest instead of looking up at his face. “It happens. Especially when I’ve had a rough week. It just… feels easier to tuck it away for the time being.”

“And what happens when it doesn’t stay hidden away?” Eddie practically whispered his question like he was afraid of the answer.

“You wouldn’t want to see that when it happens. It isn’t pretty.”

“I’m not here for just the pretty.” 

Your eyes moved up to his face. “Yeah?” your voice cracked a little and you resisted the urge to ask why he had waited all week to kiss you then if that was how he felt. Why he didn’t want to in front of everyone else. It never occurred to you that it might be for your comfort and not his own.

“Talk to me,baby. Tell me what’s happened this week.” Eddie murmured, pressing closer to you. His lips met your forehead in a soothing touch as you took a shaky breath. 

“I just felt…” your lips closed again. It was nerve wracking just telling someone plainly how you felt. How you hurt.

“Go on,”

“I felt ignored this week,” you admitted softly.

“By who?” Eddie asked, pulling back so he could see your face now.

“Nancy was first. Reached out and she left me on read that’s all… there was also what happened at Family Video the other day. You and Jonathan got invited to the club and I know it isn’t my scene but it isn’t yours either but you guys got invited. Then,” you stopped. The last thing had been Eddie. Not hearing from him since the first night he was there at your apartment with you and when he did see you he had acted as if none of this was happening. It made you feel a way you didn’t want to feel again.

Eddie was too observant in his day to day life but sitting there watching your face intently as you spoke he knew not just from your trailing off into silence that there was something else but he could see it in your eyes. He gave your side a gentle squeeze as if to pull you back to him. “Then,” he murmured softly.

Your eyes moved back up to Eddie’s face. You were afraid to hurt his feelings and the urge to tell him that it was nothing was strong. The way Eddie watched you made you feel like you should just tell him. If you didn’t, you risked him acting as if nothing had ever happened again. It felt almost like being used. “I know this isn’t real.” you started, “but you… I just hardly saw you this week and I know I’m probably overthinking it like the idiot I am but I didn’t see you for so long and then we finally have a party gathering and… I don’t know. I expected something, I guess.” 

“Something? Can you give me more details?” he asked, his other hand now moving to cradle the back of your head.

Band aid. Just rip it off. “Did you not want to kiss me in front of everyone else? It’s because it’s me, isn’t it?” you practically rush out. 

The look on Eddie’s face has your face growing warm with embarrassment. The shock written on his face at your words like he almost couldn’t believe you had asked him that. “No! No, Y/N. It’s not because it’s you. How could you… Fuck, babe. I’d kiss you in front of all of them but I didn’t for you. Not because of you. I didn’t wanna scare you off and I also didn’t want everyone to have a million questions especially cause I had no idea what you were thinking after last week. Trust me, if I thought I could get away with it I’d make out with you in front of all of them and risk whatever would be thrown at us to make us stop.” Eddie chuckled, tucking a piece of your hair back into your bun that attempted an escape. You pouted, lightly swatting his side as he mentioned making out with you in front of the others. It made sense what he was saying. If no one else knew of your ‘arrangement’ it might seem weird it happened. Besides that, one moment you both were just friends and the next you were all over one another? You supposed it wasn’t far off. “I know you’re also not huge on public displays of affection.” Eddie added on.

You shrugged your shoulders. That was actually due in part to being on your own. Being so lonely, yearning what other people had and those experiences sometimes made it hard to see people lavish affection on one another. It usually brought on a bitter feeling and thoughts about how you would never know what that would feel like. It was better not to see it than to see it and crave what you couldn’t have. You pressed your face to Eddie’s chest and sighed, taking in his warmth. “More like jealousy than anything else,” you mumbled your confession against his skin. You’d never been this close to a shirtless man before. 

“Jealousy, huh?” Eddie hummed and you could hear the smirk in his tone. “Might just have to make out with you on our first public date outting. Movies? Go real old school with it.”

“Not really old school like Skull Rock or Lovers Lake?” you tease and rested your chin on his chest.

“Oooh, you wanna go really old school, huh?” Eddie laughed and nodded his head, “We can do that.” 

You felt a little better having talked it out with Eddie. The conversation didn’t go deeper after that, but even the little that you had touched on felt like a weight was lifted off of your shoulders. Eddie made you feel validated. Not that your feelings were unimportant in any way. Sometimes you knew what was upsetting you could be ridiculous and was linked to a deeper problem at the time but it was nice just to be heard. There were multiple reasons why someone might not answer their phone or decide they will answer later and just forget. You sometimes just got into these depressive episodes where it felt like everything was the issue. The smallest thing was blown up in your mind because your mind was telling you these negative things. It was why you found nights like these helpful. A good meal, some movies and self care could sometimes knock you into a good headspace to start fresh again.

After your conversation, you and Eddie took your food into the living room. You both eat in silence as you watch the movie. Every now and again, Eddie makes a comment on the film or your cooking. When the food was finished and the rest put up, you sat on the couch and knew you should move on to your other parts of the evening before it got too late. Eddie dramatically draped himself over your legs as you stretched out on your couch. He wriggled his way up until his head rested on your stomach. “So, what else do you do on these cozy nights of yours?” Eddie asked, eyes glued to the TV.

“I do some skincare, have a good bath or shower. Get all pretty and soft skinned.” you answered as you began playing with his hair. It then occurred to you that Eddie was there. You moved your hand to his face, feeling his cheek before feeling his forehead then his nose. 

“Sweetheart… what are you doing?”

You giggle at his question and shrug. “Feeling your face compared to your T-zone.” you answer as if it was obvious.

“My what zone?” Eddie lifted his head to look at you.

“Your T-zone.” you poked his forehead, running your finger across his forehead, then down the bridge of his nose to form a T. “Some people are more oily in their T-zone. I was curious about your face. Do you wanna join me?”

“Are you gonna touch my zones again?”

“I’m gonna touch all over your face. Maybe your neck too.” you laughed. If you really wanted to you could spoil him by laying him down and giving him the full treatment. “Shower first though.”

Eddie immediately grinned. “Are we gonna shower together?” he wiggled his brows at you.

“I think it’s a tad early for you to see me naked.”

“Damn it.” Eddie sighed dramatically, “... you can still see me naked though.”

“You almost did show me. Remember?”

“Oh yeah… where did I throw that belt?”

—--------------------------------

Both of you took separate showers. Once you were clean, you had set out your stuff on your night table and sat on your bed. Eddie laid down on your bed with his head resting in your lap. You already had a face mask on and had diligently pulled Eddie’s hair back, strapping a headband onto him to keep his hair at bay from his face.

“So this is supposed to be good for you?” Eddie asked, eyes closed as you picked things up off of your bedside table.

“Yes, Eddie. It’s good for you.” you laughed as you wet Eddie’s face. You squirted some of your face wash into your hands and lathered it up before starting to clean Eddie’s face. You made sure to massage the cleanser into his skin. A small smile tugged at your lips feeling Eddie’s body relax further as you massaged his face. Once it was clean, you took a damp towel and wiped the cleanser off.

“Tranquilizer fingers over here.” Eddie mumbled quietly. You hummed as you started to paint a mask onto his face. “Oooh, what the fuck, is this normal?” Eddie asked, chocolate eyes open and turned up towards you.

“What’s happening?” you asked him with a frown.

“My face is tingly. Is my face gonna fall off?” his eyes were wide, concerned for the state of his face.

“Does it tingle or burn like a sunburn?”

“Tingle. It doesn’t hurt.”

You laughed and shook your head. “That’s normal, babe. If it burned then no.” you reassured him, smoothing more of the mask over his face.

“Oh thank god. My beautiful face,” he sighed dramatically. “So this relaxing stuff, you do it often?”

You nodded your head. “It helps me relax. Forget about everything that happens when it’s a bad day. Makes me feel fresh and renewed in a way. Relaxed, too.” you explained with a small shrug.

“Do you masturbate on these nights too?” Eddie chuckled, “Sounds like it’d go well together.”

You roll your eyes and nod. “Yeah, perv. That goes hand in hand too.” you laugh, gently tugging on his hair. 

Eddie managed to let you finish doing a face mask on him followed by putting some hair products into his hair. You even managed to paint his nails for him. Black, of course. At the end of the night when the beauty products were put away and the dishes cleaned, Eddie crawled into bed with you. You curled up beside him, snuggling close to him as he turned the night table lamp off. You listened to his heart beat. You took a breath and shut your eyes.

“Eddie,”

“Hm?”

“Thank you for spending time with me tonight.”

“Of course, sweetheart. Anything for you.”

—---------------------------------

It was still chilly. You were thankful for it. You had been watching your curtains blowing from the breeze coming through the open window for a while now. You looked over at the clock. It was later than you usually woke up but you had the day off and you currently had a man cuddling you. You found you liked cuddling or maybe you just liked cuddling Eddie. Either way, you were content. His breath fanned over your skin every time he breathed out, very much still asleep. You had entertained the idea of getting up and making coffee but that meant moving from where you were. Comfy and warm under your covers. Eddie’s arms tightened around you as if in his sleep he was telling you not to move either. You laid there just a bit longer.

It was your need for the bathroom that finally made you move. You carefully extracted yourself from Eddie’s hold and grabbed your hoodie from last night, pulling it back on. When you slept it was like a delicate balance of temperatures. Nice and cold inside the room but you couldn’t bundle too much to sleep or you’d grow too hot. You started up some coffee and then started making scrambled eggs with sausage. Just as you were finishing up Eddie stumbled out of the bedroom. You let your eyes linger on Eddie’s shirtless form walking mindlessly towards you.

“Hi,” you laughed as he shuffled towards you.

Eddie grunted, wrapping his arms around you and leaning in. His lips pressed against yours, lingering there, pressing gentle kisses against your lips. You melted against him, kissing him back and deciding this was something you could get used to. When he pulled away you whined quietly at the loss of his lips on yours. “Hi,” Eddie answered, voice gravelly from sleep. “You make me breakfast?” he murmured as his head moved to press his face to your neck. 

“Mhm,” you hummed, rubbing your hands over his back before wrapping your arms around him. “Hungry? Got coffee too.”

“So good to me,” Eddie murmured before lifting his head to kiss you again.

“C’mon,” you laughed, nudging him gently before pulling away to give him a mug.

Eddie took the mug from you and started to make his coffee. Soon the two of you were cuddled up on your couch to enjoy your breakfast together. Sitting there having coffee with Eddie felt good. It was comfortable and you found yourself thinking maybe you could get used to something like this. Maybe, just maybe, this was something you could have.

[captainlunaxmen]

Just a Little More

Steve Harrington x fem!reader

Summary: Steve's over Nancy, and there's a girl on his mind. One night out and some flirting might lead to a jealous Steve getting drunk.

This is a repost since the old blog doesn't work anymore. 🥰

I'm not a party person. I'm definitely not a party person.

The music is too loud, the people are... too many. I don't know how Steve always manages to drag me in these things.

And yet, here I am, once again.

"C'mon, don't give me that face," he tells me as we walk to the house hosting the party. "You need to go out more,"

"I'm fine as I am. Thanks" I complain. "you just insist because you need moral support"

"For what?" He asks, faking innocence.

"You want to see Nancy"

"That's... no, okay? I'm over her. I swear." He says confidently "my eyes are on someone else now"

"Oh yeah?" I ask, with a surprised laugh "and who might that be?"

"I'm sure you already know her" he answers.

"Please don't tell it's Robin" I beg, I couldn't even warn him.

"Nah, don't worry." He says wrapping an arm around my shoulders urging me to walk faster towards the party "you'll find it out... sooner or later"

"Whatever"

I hope he's not gonna have his heart broken again. I hated seeing him after the break up with Nancy.

We've been friends for a little while now. We got closer last year after an alternate dimensional creature attacked me, Nancy, Jonathan and him at Byers' house. He turned out to be not so much of an asshole, he even became my brother's best friend... big surprise. And now we're here.

As we enter the big house we're instantly surrounded by music, people and a strong smell of alcohol.

"Want something to drink?" Steve shouts over the music in my ear.

"No, thanks" I shout back.

"I'll be right back" he tells me.

"I'll go get some air"

He gives me a 'already?' look, nods and goes to the kitchen I suppose.

Yep, I decide I already need some air so I try to find my way to the back.

I walk through the sea of people dancing and chatting at the party as quickly as possible until I successfully get to the back.

Luckily there are a very few people, some are smoking and some are... holding their heads, feeling dizzy probably.

I try to enjoy the moment of peace, my mind wandering about who the girl Steve has a crush on now might be. Especially since he told me I know her.

Could it be Casey from my art class?

Or maybe it's Kelly...

I really can't-

"Hello there"

A voice interrupts my stream of thoughts.

Turning around I find myself face to face with none other than Billy Hargoves himself.

"Uh... Hi" I politely say, turning back around away from him.

I sense him walking beside me, he doesn't speak, though I can feel his eyes on me. The gesture makes me more nervous as seconds go on.

I try to not acknowledge him tok much, hoping he'd get tired and walk back inside, but unfortunately he stays.

Where the hell is Steve when I need him?

"I feel very lucky tonight" he casually say.

"Why's that?" I ask, knowing there's no way to ignore him anymore.

"Because I finally got you on your own and not attached to Harrington's hip" he answers with a grin.

"Yeah... uhm.. he's just getting something to drink. He... he'll be here sooner or later" I nervously laugh, trying to sound as casual as him.

"The later the better" he says softly.

"Uhm..." I think of something to say but nothing comes out.

"You tutor my sister, right? Well.. my step-sister" he asks.

"Yeah,I think. Max, right?"

"That's her. She always talks about you with my father and his girlfriend. She always talks about how nice and gentle you are" he speaks softly, slightly leaning towards me.

"Yeah.. well, that's nice of her..." I say, not looking at him "I only try to make her feel as comfortable as I can"

"And we all appreciate it" he basically whispers in my ear.

I step away, but I tripp into what looks like a vase and almost fall.

Billy's hands quickly catch me, helping me up, but even when I'm up straight again he doesn't let go. His grip isn't tight, I could shrug it off, but I can't seem to anyway.

"Careful there, gorgeous" he winks.

"Sorry... uh... thanks" I finally get out of his grip.

"My pleasure" he says looking down at me. He's still very close to me and as soon as I can catch his eyes falling to my lips, I take a deep breath turning my head to look back inside for Steve.

"Uhm... I think I'll go find Steve... I'll see you around" I say walking past him, but he moves to block my way.

"I'm sure he's fine. Stop worrying about him, for once... and" he moves his hand to rub, so slightly, my arm. "And start to worry about yourself... maybe we-"

He's cut off by Steve's voice.

"There you are!"

He's drunk... already?

"Ah! King Steve finally joined us!" Billy declare sarcastically.

"Are you drunk already?" I ask.

"Me? I could never..." he walks towards us, but almost fall as he nears.

"Yeah... sure" I say unconvinced.

"Damn... don't you look stunning..." he hiccups.

"Yeah. Okay. We're going." I state.

"No no no no no no" Steve blurts out. "You were having fun with him. Keep... keep going"

Oh god...

"C'mon Steve." I try to grab him to make him walk, but he yank himself away, falling to the ground.

"Don't worry, I'm okay" he quickly blurts out.

I let out a bug frustrated sigh, thinking about how to bring him home.

"Need a help taking his ass home?" Billy suddenly asks.

"I... you don't" I start.

"It's no trouble, sweetheart" he grins. "C'mon"

He grabs Steve's arm and lifts him up, helping him walk all the way to Billy's car.

"Open the door" he tells me and I rush to open the backseat door so Billy can make Steve lay there.

Then Billy and I get in as well and he starts to drive.

------

"Thanks, Billy" I say as Billy help Steve sit on the couch in Steve's house.

"No problem, sweetheart" he smirk looking back at me. "Take care, King Steve" he adds sarcastically

I walk him to the door.

"You know...how about you and I finish what we started earlier?" He suggests.

"Uh?"

"About you starting to worry about yourself instead of him." He says, moving to grab my hand.

"Uhm... I.. I'm sorry..." I carefully move my hand out of his grip, glancing quickly at Steve on the couch "I better check on him"

"As you wish" He raises both hands in surrender, but surprisingly he smiles too. "If you ever change your mind, give me a call, sweetheart"

When Billy walks back to his car I walk back to Steve.

"Let's get you to bed, uh?" I say and he mutter something I can't catch.

I help him upstairs and to his bed.

"Oh thanks" he says like he just realised what's happening.

"No problem, Steve" I say as I help him take his shoes off.

"I ruined your night" he mutters.

"What?" I'm confused.

"You seemed reeeeeally comfortable with Hargoves tonight" he blurts out.

"What are you talking about?"

"I say you two talking.. and he was preeeeeetty close" he explains.

"We were talking about Max, his sister. I tutor her"

Why do I need to explain myself? And why does he sounds... jealous?

"He was too close" he states and he finally crawls to lay under the covers of his bed.

"Yeah. I guess." I say with a say and heading downstairs to grab him a glass of water.

"Where are you going?" He asks.

"To grab some water"

"You coming back... right?" He seems.. anxious. Why?

"Sure"

I walk downstairs to finally grab a glass and quickly go back to Steve only to see him talking his shirt off, to sleep, the sight blocks me.

It happened before... I already saw him taking his shirt off, for any sort of reasons.. well.. not all possible reasons. But now... now feels different. Why?

Fuck.

I take a deep breath and walk back in his bedroom.

"There you go" I hand him the glass and sit on the bed.

"Thank you" he says and manages to drink the whole glass.

"You're welcome"

We stay in a comfortable silence for a little while, Steve layed down taking deep breath and me sitting on his bed playing with my fingers.

"You feeling okay?" I suddenly ask and he hums nodding.

"Good. You need anything I'll be downstairs" I tell him with a smile and get up.

"What? You're not sleeping here?" He gestures to the other side of the bed.

"You want me to sleep there?" I chuckle.

I always sleep on his couch when sometimes it's too late to walk home... never in his bed.. with him.

"Yeah." He says as a matter of fact.

"I... o-okay" I say. "I.. I just don't have anything to wear to bed"

My plan was to take off my trousers and shirt and rely on the covers... I obviously can't if sleeping in his bed.

"Just grab something of mine. I don't mind.. quite the opposite actually" he says simply.

"What?" I chuckle surprised.

"Well.. seeing the girl I have my eyes on in my clothes... God..." he says, without thinking probably.

What...

"Uh?"

"How you have realised I'll never understand" he giggles.

Okay.. he's drunk.

"Sure" I say unconvinced.

I grab one of his shirts and a pair of pj's pants and get changed in the bathroom.

As I walk back in his room he's still laying down, but he uncovered the other side of his bed for me to get in.

"Hey!" He exclaims.

"What?" I ask.

"I haven't seen you!" He complains.

"You're basically sleeping, Stevie. You can't keep your eyes open." I tell him. "Go to sleep"

"You don't believe me" he states.

"About what?"

"You being the girl... I.. like" he hiccups.

Is it true?

"You're drunk, Steve. Your just-"

"No, no, no, no" he says holding his finger to my lips, to stop me from keep speaking. "You're that girl. You. You. Yooou"

So... my crush isn't one-sided as I always thought..

"Stevie..."

"Kiss me?"

"Uh?" I ask taken aback.

"Please?" He says getting closer. Cuddling against me.

"How about this... you sleep and tomorrow morning, if you still feel like this, I'll kiss you." I tell him.

"And you'll believe me?" He asks looking at me with puppy eyes.

"Yes Steve. I'll believe you" I say, thankful for the darkness hiding my flustered face.

"Great" he says cuddling more against me.

"Goodnight Steve"

" 'Night... love"

The thing is... I do believe him. I just want him to suffer a little more.

[withacapitalp]

How to Rehabilitate a Jock in Four Months Part 13

Part One Part Twelve Link to Ao3. Part Fourteen

This is the stoncy chapter I've been talking about y'all enjoy!

All I want is to be left alone, in my average home

But why do I always feel

Like I'm in the Twilight Zone?

Click. 

No one heard a single word you said

They should have seen it in your eyes

What was going around your head

Click

Mama, oooh

I don't want to die,

I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all.

Click. 

Static. 

“Just leave it off Jonathan?” Nancy murmured. Jonathan shrugged, clicking off the radio and  putting his reaching hand back on the steering wheel. Ten and two, perfectly safe.

Did that matter to Nancy? She had always made a fuss about Steve driving one handed, but he had ignored her, even joked about her being a nag. He thought it was fun, the teasing little jabs that a couple gives each other when they’re young and dumb and in love. 

Was this one of the million things he had missed about Nancy? Was that why she had stopped loving him? 

Hell, maybe she never even started.  

Or maybe Steve was just overthinking things. None of it mattered, not really. Not anymore. It was a bunch of inconsequential details, that was all. Nancy just didn’t want to listen to the never ending changing sounds of Jonathan trying to find something on the radio. Steve was also grateful it was finally quiet, even if the tension filling the silence of the car was threatening to crush his lungs flat. 

“I don’t think it’s your fault.”

That was his voice. He had just said that. 

Why the hell did he just say that?!

Steve snapped his mouth shut, eyes widening as he realized he had just spoken without even meaning to. He hadn’t even really been thinking about it, but now it was out in the air for all of them to deal with. 

Jonathan flinched violently when he heard the words, like Steve had just hit him right in the jaw, and Nancy’s entire body was stiff as a board. Steve’s own limbs were locked up, joints starting to ache from how straight his spine was. 

“You said-“ Steve cut himself off with a frustrated little sigh, looking out the window at the trees rushing past them. He forced his body to relax, taking a deep breath the way Joyce said to. 

“I don’t think it’s your fault,” He repeated, quieter. 

That’s what she had said before, after he told her off. She said it was her fault they broke up, so that meant she blamed herself, right? Or that she thought Steve blamed her? He didn’t, and he didn’t want her thinking that he did. 

That was probably why she wanted to be friends so badly. All this time he hadn’t really gotten it, but now it was starting to make sense. She just wanted to get rid of the guilt, or maybe she pitied him. 

It wasn’t real. It was just Nancy being Nancy- trying to make things better. 

Steve wasn’t really that sure this was better. For any of them. Maybe knowing that he didn’t blame her would be enough to make Nancy give up pretending that she cared, when he already knew what he was to her. 

Bullshit. 

The quiet had stretched out too long, every second grating on Steve’s already frayed nerves. But just as he went to speak, to tell her to forget the whole thing, Nancy finally replied. 

“I thought you didn’t care that she was dead.”

Oh. 

And the fog was back. 

When the power had gone out, a fog had fallen over Steve. Thick white clouds and emptiness with nothing around him to hold onto. He wasn’t in his body anymore, just nearby. Jeff had helped him start to find the light, but now Nancy’s words were throwing him dead into the center of the mist. 

“I thought it didn’t matter to you. That my best friend was dead, and no one noticed,” She continued, her voice breaking.

It was good he couldn’t feel anything right now. 

If he could, he would probably act stupid about this. Get mad, or be angry, try and hide all the other bigger, more confusing, emotions down under things that made sense. But, since he couldn’t feel anything, Steve thought. 

He thought, and thought, and thought; wracking his brains, treading the water as he tried to think about what else he could have possibly done to show Nancy he cared. He had gone to every dinner at the Hollands with Nancy, every memorial. Steve had even gone to Barb’s funeral, and that had happened after they broke up. 

The only thing he didn’t do was the one thing that could put them all in danger. Steve had just tried to keep everyone safe, because Barb was gone, but Nancy was still here, and Steve could help her. 

But apparently that was the only thing that had ever mattered. All the rest was just bullshit.  

“I haven’t gone in my pool since that night,” Steve managed to say through the fog, “not once.” 

It was true. He hadn’t gone in any other pool either. The smell of the chlorine made him nauseous now, and the feeling of water on his skin left him anxious and jumpy. He had given up his spot on the swim team, and Nancy had never asked why. She thought he didn’t care, but she didn’t even notice that. 

Eddie would have noticed. 

Steve sucked in a sharp breath, viciously thrown out of the mist by that idle, ludicrous thought. Eddie might’ve noticed, but that didn’t mean anything. Why on earth would it matter if Eddie would have asked? 

But Eddie noticed tonight too, a strange little voice said in the back of his mind, Eddie noticed when you ran off, and he went looking for you. 

No. No. They all went looking for him. They all did, because they were his friends. It wasn’t like Eddie- It wasn’t like Steve-

“I’m really tired,” Steve whispered, lacing his fingers together to try and make his hands stop shaking, his mind pulled in too many directions to form a coherent thought. 

“Same,” Nancy agreed with a humourless laugh. 

“Yeah,” Jonathan sighed, taking the last turn into the cul-de-sac. 

If there was going to be any more conversation after that, it was quickly put on hold, because the second Jonathan’s headlights flashed across the front of the Wheeler house, the kids were spilling out the front door. 

Somewhere along the drive, the power must have turned on, because all of the lights were on in the house. Bright gold light spilled along inky black grass as Jonathan smoothly pulled into the driveway, throwing the parking brake just in time for the kids to practically slam themselves into his car. 

“Geez, easy guys!” Jonathan barked as he shot out of the car, inspecting to see if there was any damage. Steve and Nancy got out slower on the other side, coming around as the kids began their interrogation, throwing words and bodies directly at Steve. 

“Where were you?!” 

“Why didn’t you answer your walkie!” 

“What is the point of party rules if you don’t follow them!” 

And on and on. It was another long ass lecture, one Steve was not interested in hearing. He wanted to snap and tell them all to knock it off, but just a single look over made him close his mouth and force another deep breath. 

They were good at hiding it, shoving it deep under anger and indignation, but Steve knew his kids. 

Dustin’s face was buried right in the middle of Steve’s chest, his hat knocked off in the calamity, and Lucas was practically glued to his side. Mike was yelling, but he had his eyes firmly on the ground, a tell tale sign he was tearing up, and Max hadn’t even spoken yet. Even Will had pulled away to nestle against Jonathan, wide eyed and worried, alternating between looking at his friends, and their babysitter. 

He had scared them. Badly. 

“I’m sorry,” Steve said, apologizing easily as he made direct eye contact with Max, who was staring him down. “I shouldn’t have left my walkie where I couldn’t get to it quickly.”

“Where were you?” Dustin demanded, still latched onto Steve like a koala. 

“I went with Eddie and Hellfire to go see his show,” Steve explained, gently starting to extract himself from both Dustin and Lucas. “I told Hopper about it, but he must have forgotten to tell you guys.”

Was it particularly nice to blame Hopper? No, but Steve could do damage control later. Right now he had to get his kids back to at least a somewhat controllable emotional state.

“A show?” Mike said incredulously, crossing his arms. He looked up from behind his bangs for a second as he spoke, quickly going back to glaring at the ground. 

Progress. At least a little bit.

“He’s in a band,” Steve replied. “They’re called Corroded Coffin. They play metal music.”

“Cool name,” Max said shortly, speaking for the first time since he got there. Steve nodded, mentally counting. 

One and Two in his arms, Three and Four standing in front of him, Five with Jonathan…

“Where’s El?” Steve asked, his heart dropping to his feet. The looks the kids shared only made the feeling worse, and Steve could feel his hands starting to shake. 

The fog was rolling back in.

——————————

“She hasn’t woken up at all since Hopper dropped her off,” Lucas explained in a hushed tone as they went down the stairs. It was hard to manage with all the kids still crowded pretty close around him, but Steve managed the best he could. 

El was lying on the couch, snuggled tight under a handmade blue and yellow quilt. Her curls were poking from one end, and mismatched polka dot socks peeked out from the other. 

“What happened?” Steve wondered, walking over in a daze and pulling the corner of the blanket back to look down at El’s face. 

“Apparently they were watching a movie, and then the lights started to flicker,” Dustin said as Steve squatted down to examine El more closely. 

She was sleeping still, but not peacefully. Her brow was furrowed, and her eyes darted back and forth behind her eyelids. Whatever dream she was having, if it was a dream at all, was not good. 

“She sat up, gasped, and then just… passed out,” Will added, looking uncomfortable. “I didn’t feel anything when the power went out, not really. Maybe a shiver? I dunno, but my mom went with Hopper to check the lab out.”

“We’re lucky my parents are out with Holly visiting Nana for the holidays,” Nancy said. 

“Very lucky,” Steve said hollowly, not really feeling lucky at all. He took El’s wrist as he spoke and felt out a pulse, just to be safe. 

It was there, strong and steady. The tension melted from Steve’s shoulders, and he sighed again, keeping his fingers pressed against her pulse point. 

“She’s fine,” Mike insisted, sitting on the floor next to Steve and staring at El, still avoiding looking at Steve. 

“Of course she is,” Steve agreed, unable to help the smile on his face. “Like you would ever let anything happen to her.”

This was enough to crack through Mike’s icy facade. He looked up at Steve for a second before sighing and roughly jabbing his elbow in Steve’s direction. It was the closest he was going to get to forgiveness, and he would take it. 

Besides, he had bigger things to worry about now. El was waking up, and not in a good way. She had started to whimper, her head tossing and turning. Then, just as Steve was going to try and shake her awake, she sat straight up, eyes wide open. 

“Steve?!” El said, panic and fear heavy in her tone, cutting straight through his heart. She looked around in a panic, curls flying as she seemed not to notice any of them near her. 

“Steve!” El yelled again, sounding even more terrified. 

“Hey, I’m right here,” Steve said, reaching over gently and putting his hand on El’s back.  He went as slow and careful as possible, but El jumped anyway, letting out a small scream of fright just at being touched, which only made Steve’s heart hurt more.  

The second she realized it was Steve that had his hand on her, El launched herself at him, practically welding her arms around his neck and squeezing on just the wrong side of too tight. 

“Had a bad dream,” El whimpered, nearly inaudible from where she was buried into his shoulder. Steve hugged her back, lifting her off of the couch and into his arms, gently rubbing his hand up and down the way Hopper had done for him the other day when he had his migraine. 

“It’s okay, it’s over now,” He said, trying to soothe her. 

“No,” El insisted, squirming her way out of Steve’s hold so she could latch her hands around his 

forearms, fingers pressing in hard enough Steve was almost worried he would have bruises. 

“You were holding something silver,” El started, her voice going dead monotone as her eyes glazed over. She wasn’t seeing him, just looking now. “You thought there was not enough time, so you made a choice.”

“Ellie,” Steve whispered, using his nickname for her to try and pull her from wherever she had gone. 

“Me for them,” El said, steamrolling right over Steve’s attempt, “you kept thinking that over and over. Me for them. Me for them. Me for them.”

She continued to say it, lowering her voice to barely a whisper as tears pooled in her eyes. 

“It’s okay, Ellie, it was- it was just a dream,” Steve said helplessly as El burrowed back into his arms, shaking her head. 

Whether it was or wasn’t, she was miserable, and Steve couldn’t leave her like that. He  wrapped her in a firm hug, blindly turning around to give Jonathan and Nancy a confused look, hoping they had some sort of answer. 

Unfortunately they were clearly just as perplexed by El’s sudden downturn into weirdness, and the kids seemed downright freaked out. 

“There is always enough time, Steve. Do not run,” El murmured, sounding utterly exhausted. “It is not you or us, and I do not want you Gone.”

Gone. The word El used because she couldn’t even think about the other one. 

“I’m not going anywhere, El, I promise,” Steve swore, hoping that would be enough to stop whatever this was. 

“If you run, it will get you.”

A cold shiver ran down Steve’s spine at El’s declaration. Judging by the looks the others were giving him, they had felt the same thing. It was more than just the words of a traumatized child in the throes of a nightmare. It was…

It was…

It was just more. More in a way that made Steve want to let the fog come back. He wanted to not feel anything, wanted to be blank, but he couldn’t. He had to fight it, because everyone was looking at him for an answer, and Steve didn’t have one yet. 

“You were watching a movie before with Hopper?” Steve asked, going with his instincts. 

“Yes,” El said slowly, unsure of why Steve was asking her. She furrowed her brow, pulling an absolutely adorable confused look. “It was called The Unsinkable Molly Brown.”

“My mom really likes that movie,” Mike said idly, mostly talking to himself. 

That meant that the Wheeler’s definitely had a copy. And El hadn’t finished the movie. 

“We should finish it,” Steve declared, coming up with a plan at the speed of light. “Mike, go get it.”

“What?! No,” Mike said, more shock than actual denial. “We can’t just sit around watching a movie! What if something happens?”

“Then something happens,” Steve shot back immediately, using his snarkiest tone of voice. He stood up, easily lifting El alongside him and dumping her onto the couch next to Max and making both girls let out unexpected laughter as they were jostled around.  

“Until Hopper and Mrs. Byers get back, we have a job… building the world’s best blanket fort,” Steve said, placing his hands on his hips and squaring his shoulders. 

“Yes!” Dustin hissed, holding out his hand for Lucas to smack. They had instantly caught onto Steve’s infectious energy, grabbing Max and Will and planning a layout that would be ideal for holding all six of them. 

As they began to debate the pros and cons of grabbing chairs from the kitchen upstairs, Steve turned to Jonathan and Nancy. Jonathan looked dubious, and Nancy wasn’t much better, but they weren’t arguing against him, and that was what mattered most. He only had one more hurdle to get over, and apparently Eleven was going to do it for him. 

“I enjoyed your old fort,” El said softly, giving Mike one of her tiny wonderful smiles, “it was fun.”

Mike melted into a puddle of goo, like he always did when it came to her. If it was just Steve, the answer would be no. If it was the party and Steve, the answer would probably still be no. Even with his sister and Jonathan thrown in, it wouldn’t stop Mike from pitching a fit.  

But El? There was nothing that boy wouldn’t do to make her happy. 

“Fine. I’ll go get the stupid movie,” Mike grumbled, stomping towards the stairs. Dustin blew past him in a rush with Will hot on his heels. 

“I’m stealing your pillow, Mike!” Dustin yelled from the top of the stairs, sounding positively gleeful. 

“Like hell you are!” The boy snarled, taking the steps two at a time to catch up with his friends. 

Steve could hear them arguing all the way to Mike’s  bedroom, happy fighting that meant his distraction was working like a charm. 

That was what he was best at. He couldn’t stop the monsters, he couldn’t make the fog go away. But Steve could light some candles and make shadows on the walls with his hands to tell a story. He could create something for them to focus on that wasn’t fear, for as long as they would take it from him. 

That had to be enough. It was all he had to give now. 

“Alright Mayfield, where do you want to start?” Steve asked, turning towards his favorite redhead. 

——————————

There they were, all six of them sleeping in a pile. Again. 

El in the middle, her face now lax and soft with peaceful sleep. Will on one side, Dustin on the other. Lucas and Max resting their heads on her stomach with Mike holding her hand over Will’s chest. 

And there Steve was, just sitting there watching them. 

Again. 

It was probably going to start being creepy at some point, but Steve couldn’t stop. There was a part of him that was convinced if he looked away, maybe even if he blinked for too long, they would disappear. A single moment, and they would be gone, and it would be his fault for not watching.

At least there wasn’t any pool light to shine on them now. Just the soft orange glow of the street lamps filtering in from the high basement window. 

“Hey,” A voice said from behind him, pulling Steve out of his thoughts. 

“Hey,” Steve replied, not bothering to turn and look as Jonathan eased himself down, sitting crosslegged on Steve’s left. They sat quietly, both staring at the sleeping kids in companionable silence. 

“Our parents used to fight a lot,” Jonathan said, cutting through the quiet. His voice was soft, low so it didn’t wake the kids, but sitting this close, Steve could hear every word. 

“Mom would send us to our rooms, but it didn’t matter. When they were screaming at each other, you could hear it all the way down the street.”

You could hear it in the woods too. Steve could remember a few times he was walking through the forest and caught the barely there sound of Mr. and Mrs. Byers arguing. 

He had tried not to listen, but the curiosity had been too alluring. Steve’s parents fought cold, cold to the point of freezing. They hurt each other with pointed words in a polite tone, or icy silences that made even Steve shiver. To them, being the first one to yell was losing. Then you were ‘overdramatic’, ‘irrational’, and above all ‘wrong’. 

There was something so foreign about the way the couple screamed at each other, but still so compelling. Like there was no hiding their feelings, no need to push down the pain. They gave it to each other loud enough for the rest of the world to hear, and everyone in town knew almost every detail about their extremely messy separation. 

Almost no one knew that Steve’s parents rarely ever slept in the same bed anymore. They continued to remain the perfect couple, a pillar of the town’s upper class society. It was a dirty little secret, the kind that kept Steve up at night. 

He still wasn’t sure which way was better. 

“So I used to put on music for us,” Jonathan continued, unaware of Steve’s thoughts. There was a ghost of a smile on his face, the kind that seemed to be solely reserved for Will and Nancy,.“The Clash, Bon Jovi, The Police. Whatever would be loudest.”

It seemed that even quiet kid Jonathan was loud when he had to be, truly his parent’s child. Another little quirk of his for Steve to remember, even if he had no idea why Jonathan was telling him this story. 

“I get it now. Why you act the way you do,” Jonathan whispered, watching Will like a hawk. “You don’t want this to be the only thing they know. You want them to still get a chance to let this go someday, even if we never will.” 

A familiar rush of envy shot through Steve’s veins. Jonathan was just so damn perceptive, able to cut straight to the heart of an issue in a way Steve could never do. Steve was perceptive, but never on purpose. It was like there was this secret part of his brain that processed things and gave him little tidbits whenever it felt like it. 

Jonathan just understood. 

“Do you think it was just a power outage?” Steve murmured, needing to know if Jonathan felt the same way he did. 

“I don’t think it will ever just be a power outage anymore,” Jonathan said with a sigh, hitting the nail perfectly on the head, “not for us.” 

“Fuck,” Steve swore, hating the way Jonathan’s words made tears prick at his eyes. It was just so damn exhausting, annoying in a way that was impossible to explain. Steve had survived as long as he did by being able to let things go. Nothing stuck, nothing held on, and he was safe. 

But there was no letting go anymore. 

Steve had memories, and Steve had migraines, and Steve had kids. They needed him to remember, because they needed to be able to rely on him. He had to remember because how else would he keep them safe? 

It was sacrifice, and Steve didn’t mind it, but damn if it didn’t make him so tired all the time. 

“At least you aren’t going crazy all by yourself,” Jonathan offered, ducking his head down the way he always did when he was being genuine or kind. Like he was scared to see what people would do when he was nice to them, or nervous if he looked they would take it differently. 

Steve huffed out a soft laugh, leaning over to bump their shoulders together. It was silly, but a little bit of the awkwardness was gone. Not just the awkwardness of staring at a bunch of sleeping preteens, but also the awkwardness that seemed to permanently exist between him and Jonathan. 

The door from the house to the basement creaked open, light spilling down onto the kids. Jonathan looked up, and Steve risked a glance away from them as well. If Jonathan thought it was fine, it probably would be. 

Nancy was slowly making her way down the stairs, balancing three steaming mugs with the precision only she seemed to have. Both boys jumped to help her, each grabbing a cup before walking back to their spots. 

“The kids?” Nancy asked as she sat on the couch nearby them, taking a sip from her mug. 

“All good,” Steve reassured, looking down at his own drink. Hot chocolate, foamy and smelling absolutely divine.

He took a sip, letting it burn the roof of his mouth just to give himself something to do. The awkwardness had returned with Nancy’s arrival, sitting like a rock in all of their stomachs. Unconsciously Steve began to count the seconds, timing his breaths to beats of four. 

Four. In.

Eight. Hold.

Twelve. Out.

Sixteen. Hold. 

Twenty. In-

“I should have noticed,” Nancy murmured, cutting through the silence.

Steve blew his breath out early, glancing over at Nancy. She was staring down into her cup of cocoa, but her eyes darted up to meet Steve’s as soon as she spoke, needing to see his reaction. 

He couldn’t give her much. Steve didn’t know what she had apparently not noticed. 

“That you never went in the pool anymore,” Nancy continued when she realized he didn’t understand. “You always loved to swim before.”

Oh. 

Steve placed his mug on the floor next to him, going back to staring at the kids. 

“It was wrong,” Nancy started, brave as ever, unable to hide the way Steve always did. “I knew it was, but I knew you loved me, and you wouldn’t hurt me, and I was just so-“

She cut herself off, sounding uncharacteristically choked up. Steve couldn’t see, because he wasn’t looking at her.

“But I knew it was wrong to start dating you again. And I’m sorry.”

Was she sorry that she had dated him, or sorry she said yes? Did all of that mean that there really wasn’t anything that mattered between them for an entire year? 

Steve didn’t want the answers. He didn’t even want to talk about this. He wanted the fog and he wanted to hide, and he even wanted the awkward silence from before. 

Anything but this. 

“Nance-” 

“I hurt you, Steve,” Nancy said, interrupting him before he could stop the conversation. 

She said it so plainly. A statement of fact, not opinion. Steve had justified everything by telling himself he was a shitty boyfriend, that he had done a bad job, and that’s why they didn’t work. 

He had never even let himself really consider that it was Nancy and not him that had been a bad partner. That just wasn’t how relationships worked. He was the one that did the wrong thing, he was the one that didn’t work hard enough. 

But Nancy hadn’t noticed he didn’t swim anymore. 

“And I made myself think that you had done something to cause our problems,” Nancy said, with a laugh that bordered on a sob. Steve was glad he wasn’t looking at her. If she was crying, he wouldn’t be able to have this conversation. “I made it so you didn’t care enough, or that you didn’t notice, when the truth was I refused to let you in. I had to make it your problem, because I couldn’t handle it if it was just me doing the wrong thing.”

“You didn’t hurt me on purpose, Nancy,” Steve said dumbly, inserting himself in the middle of her self-deprecating spiral, unable to listen as she took the entire weight of their failed relationship. 

“Does that matter?” Nancy asked.

“It matters to me,” Steve said, his voice firm and his tone set. 

He forced his body to stand, walking over to the couch and sitting next to Nancy, risking a look over to see her face. Sure enough, there were tear tracks on her cheeks, and just seeing them was enough to make Steve want to balk and forget the whole thing. 

But he didn’t waver, didn’t stop, because if Nancy could be brave enough to do this, then Steve had to be too. 

“I meant it, Nancy, when I told you that night that it was okay,” Steve said, leaning his forearms on his knees. “You weren’t happy with me and…”

He gathered his courage, needing to admit the thing he hadn’t even really been able to say to himself before tonight. 

“And I wasn’t happy either.”

“What?” Nancy breathed, turning to stare at Steve with complete bewilderment in her eyes.

Just saying it was like cutting the strings holding him up. Steve’s entire body sagged in relief and he wasn’t afraid to look at Nancy now. 

“I made myself think I was, or that we would be able to get there,” Steve explained, finally fully realizing what he had been feeling in the weeks since their breakup, “but that night that El closed the gate? When I told you to go with Jonathan and let me stay with the kids? I felt this… release. Like we could both just finally breathe, because we were broken up, but we weren’t losing anyone. I wasn’t losing you, and you are never going to lose me.” 

That was at the heart of everything, wasn’t it? Nancy had lost Barb, and she didn’t think she could go through that kind of pain again. Steve knew she could, he was pretty sure there wasn’t a thing in the world that would knock Nancy down permanently. But she didn’t know, and the fear of that was enough to make her act a little crazy. 

He could get that. He was still counting the kids. 

Steve opened an arm, and Nancy hugged him tightly, the same desperate clutching hold that she had given him earlier in the parking lot. 

“I do care about you, so much,” Nancy whispered harshly into his ear, saying the words like she needed to make herself believe them, “I do care. I do.”

“I know,” Steve replied, shocked at how true it was. He did know how much Nancy cared. She cared more than anything, but she was scared about that. All that bravery, all that courage, and she was still terrified to say she loved, because she thought it would hurt worse when loss came. 

It was funny how similar they were. Steve could see that now. 

“Everything’s okay now,” Steve told her as they broke apart. 

“Is it?” Nancy asked dubiously, turning to Jonathan who shrugged. 

“If it isn’t, then we’ll survive. We always do,” Jonathan pointed out, coming over and sitting on Nancy’s other side. She leaned against him and he hooked his chin overtop her head, raising an eyebrow towards Steve. 

“Still have your bat?”

“Well it’s in my car that’s sitting in Eddie’s driveway, but I think we can probably make a pit stop before the devil dogs get us,” Steve offered. Nancy and Jonathan both immediately began to laugh, trying to smother down giggles and snickers so they didn’t wake up the kids. 

“What?” Steve said, teasingly defensive. “Mad that I have friends?”

“D-d-demodogs, Steve,” Nancy said through her tamped down laughter. “Devil dogs are a p-p-p-pastry!” 

All three of them lost it. Nancy hid her face in her hands, and Jonathan put his forehead against the crown of her head, his shoulders shaking. Steve bit down his grin, watching the two of them with a soft golden glow sitting in his chest. 

No, things weren’t perfect, and they probably never would be, but there was something about getting to laugh about all of this that was incredibly cathartic. 

“Okay what is going on with you and Eddie Munson?” Nancy finally asked when she had control of herself again. 

“What do you mean, Nance?” Steve asked, grabbing his mug and holding it close. 

“You’re like total opposites,” Jonathan explained, still grinning. “It’s like Freaky Friday.”

Nancy snorted, and Steve sputtered as he tried to defend himself and his friend. They weren’t that different, at least Steve didn’t think so. Eddie was sweet, smart in a kind of unconventional way, and he was always trying his hardest in everything he did. He noticed everything, but he didn’t always have to comment. At least, not in a way that was too deep. 

They were similar in the ways that mattered. The ways that mattered to Steve anyway. 

But there was no way to explain that, was there? Not one that would make sense to anyone but him. 

“He’s safe,” Steve said simply, wrapping it all up in just two words. 

Nancy and Jonathan shared one of those secret couple looks after Steve spoke, communicating without words as they processed his explanation. But before either of them could comment, bright headlights raced across the windows. Someone was outside. 

Instant mood shift. The easy going warmth between the three of them had disappeared, replaced by a panicky cold that made Steve’s hands tremble and his mind go blank. Nancy stood and the two boys got up right after, all three moving as a single unit out of the basement and up to the driveway. 

Hopper and Joyce were getting out of his car, hopping down with drawn weary looks and slumped shoulders. Nancy grabbed Jonathan’s hand, and, after a moment of hesitation, she grabbed Steve’s with her other. They let Hopper and Joyce approach them, both groups staring the other down in the strangest standoff Steve had ever seen. 

“Well?” Nancy asked, still brave. 

“Nothing,” Hopper answered with a sigh, “no gate.” 

No gate. 

It should have been a relief. Steve should be happy now, calm and content. Instead it was a hollow victory, an achievement that only made him feel worse. 

“That’s not possible,” Jonathan insisted, and Steve had to agree. After everything they went through tonight, that was it? 

“There’s nothing there. Owens took us through the entire lab. Everything was still condemned, locked up tight. We even went down to the basement, and there was no gate,” Joyce explained, rubbing a hand over face and wrapping her arms around her middle. 

“It was just a power outage,” Hopper said, as if that was the end of it. 

But it wasn’t. It would never be the end of it. There was still too much unanswered. 

“El passed out,” Steve protested, speaking up for the first time since they came outside.  Not only had she passed out, she had also had some sort of vision about him that ended in him being Gone. That didn’t feel like just a power outage. 

“And she’s a traumatized kid,” Hopper replied, using the same soft tone he had when they were sitting together on his steps. “She’s entitled to a few overreactions.” 

An overreaction? Was that really all this was? But then what had Steve seen in the woods by the trailer park? Why had the headlights on Eddie’s van flickered? 

He wanted to tell them, wanted to explain why he was pressing the issue, but Steve couldn’t make his mouth form the words. They just swirled around in the back of his mind, dark and stormy. 

“We made sure. There’s nothing there,” Joyce said, reaching over and holding out a hand for Jonathan. He pulled away from Nancy and went to his mother, both of them starting to speak in low whispers. Hopper stepped closer, giving Steve a once over. 

“Seems like you and El both are going for the whole MTV punk thing,” Hopper teased. Steve gave him an unimpressed look, and Hopper held up his hands in surrender. “No hate, just pointing it out.”

“I went to Eddie’s show tonight?” Steve reminded him. Recognition flitted across the man’s features and his good mood soured ever so slightly. 

“Ah, yes, drug dealing Eddie Munson,” Hopper said with a sigh. Steve stuck his tongue out, annoyed that he was so focused on that one single detail. So what? Eddie sold drugs. He wasn’t the only one who did, and at least he wasn’t cutting them with ridiculous shit like Marty Feldman liked to. 

“Where’s your car?” Hopper asked, clearly hoping to change the subject.  

“At Eddie’s place,” Steve promptly answered. Hopper huffed out a sarcastic little laugh and Steve scowled. 

“What?” He challenged, daring Hopper to say something. 

“Nothing, nothing,” Hopper said, making himself the picture of innocence. He put his hands on his hips, leaning back on his heels with a sigh, “Listen, I’m gonna go in and grab El, tell the kids everything, make sure they’re okay and aren’t about to go trespassing to make sure things are settled. Do you want me to give you a ride to go get it? Or maybe you should just stay at the cabin tonight, and-“

“Steve already said he was staying here,” Nancy said in a rush. She was still holding his hand, but she squeezed it tight when she spoke, “Jonathan and I asked him. That’s still okay, right?”

Oh. She was talking to Steve. They were both looking at him, waiting for an answer. 

“Yeah, that works,” Steve lied smoothly, turning to Hopper with a shrug. “Sorry, Hop.”

“Whatever works, kid. Just an offer,” Hopper shrugged. Jonathan and Joyce walked over and Hopper and Joyce started towards the basement, leaving the three of them standing alone in the driveway

“I just- I don’t want you to leave. Not yet,” Nancy explained when Steve turned to her with an absolutely bewildered expression. 

For so much of their relationship, it felt like Steve was always the one asking her to stay. There were a thousand times in their relationship Steve had wanted to hear those words coming from her instead of him. And because of that a part of him wanted to leave. 

That little bit of him wanted to lash out. Leave her in the dust and see how she managed it. It would be easy to do that, to put up a spikey wall to keep her out now that Nancy was showing her own vulnerability. 

But that vicious little part of him was overwhelmed by an easy love for Nancy. Not romantic, not the same yearning painful ache he had carried for a year and half. This was warm, soft, coated in something that Steve knew was love, just not the kind he was used to feeling. It was nice, and Steve didn’t want to leave. 

“Okay,” Steve whispered, lacing their fingers together. 

“Steve’s staying tonight,” Nancy said to Jonathan. Steve had a second of being worried he was overstepping, afraid Jonathan was going to be less than thrilled at the impromptu sleepover. But Jonathan just gave Steve one of his rare smiles, grabbing Nancy’s other hand. 

“Good,” Jonathan said, dragging them both back towards the house.

Tag List:

[jadeylovesmarvelxo]

Fall For You 🌸❤️

Summary; After Nancy breaks his heart for the last time Steve has enough and decides to branch out of Hawkins with you and Robin at his side, Travelling in a Winnebago.

Nights stargazing, camping and Steve seeking comfort in you lead to more... Your feelings deepen. You just don't know if he feels the same.

Warnings; angst, fluff, comfort, fwb relationship, smut, 18+, minors dni.

I don't give anyone permission to copy, reuse or repost my work.

Pls consider reblogging, liking, etc if you enjoyed this ❤️✨

❤️

It happened again.

Nancy had chosen Jonathan again. It's not like he shouldn't have expected it. How many times had it happened now?

He thought that after all the shit that had happened in the Upside Down that things would be different.

"It's always been you Nance," he told her about his fantasy involving her, the Winnebago, six little nuggets.

It wasn't enough, he felt like he wasn't enough, the same horrid sense of not being good enough fills him, like how he felt when Nancy and Jonathan got together after him and Nancy broke up.

The two main saving graces he had was Robin and you.

After staying a while to help with rebuilding the town after the earthquake caused by The Upside Down and Vecna's destruction by El, the three of you had left Hawkins.

It was just for a little while, to travel, see a bit more of the world outside of your little town in a Winnebago.

You and Robin were close anyway, just finished senior year together and you grew close to Steve since all the shit that went down last year.

There was a huge double bed in the camper van. The three of you took turns using it or would use the bunk beds, and talk well into the night.

It was a little awkward when dates were around, usually when one of you would bring a date home the remaining two would camp out under the stars to avoid any awkward encounters.

Well that being said there hadn't been much practice on that rule yet.

"Let's all camp out together. It's a beautiful night" Robin announces excitedly as she holds the hand of her date Elise who's very sweet, and adores Robin already.

"Yeah, it's romantic if you're on a date" you point out and Robin smiles and nudges you along beside Steve.

"You and Steve can look at the stars together, come on it will be fun. Ghost stories, roaring fire, pretty sky, Steve already got the tents and fire set up"

Buoyed by her enthusiasm you nod.

"Okay, okay. I'll get the marshmallows" Robin looks so delighted and it's nice watching her be so happy with her date and in general.

"Okay, okay" you join Steve who smiles at you.

"Hey, honey, guess we're a twosome tonight huh?" he motions you to sit on one of the logs that surround the fire, it's getting even darker outside and slightly chilly.

Robin goes first telling spooky ghost stories, anything that happened in Hawkins is off-limits, you're all trying to deal with the trauma entailed with what happened the last few years.

The four of you have flashlights and take turns in telling a story each, Elise's story is truly terrifying, a real story about the woods you're all in and a double murder.

Steve notices that you're shaking and he wraps his jacket around you, you give him a grateful smile.

💕💕

When you get in the tent there's just the one massive sleeping bag.

"Take the bed, I'll get some blankets, sleep on them" he assures you and you pat the bed.

"We're adults Steve, think we can share the bed and keep our hands to ourselves" you tease and he nods, turning his back as you get changed into your night clothes, he keeps his boxers and shirt on.

There's a funny tension in the air between you, it's been hanging around for a while now and you don't know what to make of it.

Steve is handsome, very handsome you've always thought that, the butterflies in your belly are new though.

Steve glances at you, noticing your furrowed brows.

"You okay sweetheart?" how can you tell him that just him laying beside you is giving you butterflies?

"Mmm," he props up on his shoulder and you know he doesn't believe you, his hand touches your shoulder, thumb grazing over it sending tingles over your body to your horror a small moan escapes your lips.

"Um, that was. I uh" you stammer but barely finish as Steve's eyes darken.

"That moan all for me honey?" you're pretty sure your brain goes haywire as Steve moves closer.

"What if it was? What are you going to do about it?" the words fall from your lips and Steve smirks, his lips meet yours and you kiss hungrily, he pulls you onto his lap and his hands cup your backside.

"Steve" you sigh as he kisses your neck, sucking at the skin, your hand's fist in his hair and you rock against him.

"Shit" he groans and you feel how hard he is, he takes off your nightshirt and strokes your cheek.

"You're so beautiful, do you want to do this sweetheart? We can stop if you want to?"

"Don't stop, I want this, do you?" he kisses you again.

"Fuck yes"

💕💕

When you wake up your body is entwined with Steve's, he kisses your neck as he wakes up and you turn to him meeting his lips.

"Steve that was" amazing you say in your head and Steve seems to read your mind.

"Mindblowing, it was a one-time thing though right?" he caresses your cheek, your stomach sinks a little bit but you nod.

"Yeah, one time".

It's a lie that you both tell yourselves until it happens again a few nights later.

And the night after that. Sneaking around so Robin doesn't notice. Stealing moments together, Steve buried between your thighs or you riding Steve until your both spent when Robin is out buying groceries for you all or exploring.

It's just sex though. You know that Steve still loves Nancy, sometimes he says her name in his sleep or you hear him mention missing her to Robin.

It sends ice through your veins and you try to hide how much it does hurt. Of course, he still loves Nancy, he's not gonna fall out of love with her in the space of a few months is he?

That's the crux of your first argument, you spend all day ignoring his flirty gazes, trying to fight these feelings that are brewing up inside you, as close as you are with Robin she's equally as close to Steve so you can't mention your feelings to her either.

It's annoying you that you can't switch these feelings off, bury them away and when Steve comes up to you while you're preparing dinner you are still brooding.

"Hey, you've been off all day? What's going on?" you shrug.

"I'm fine. Just because I don't want to have sex with you, Steve doesn't mean I'm in a mood or something. Maybe I don't want to be used you ever think of that?"

His eyes widen. "Use you? We've always been clear about what this is. I don't hear you complaining when I'm balls deep inside you"

His words make you fume even though he's right and you concentrate on dinner.

"Yeah, I'm very clear this is just a friends with benefits thing, Steve, so that means I can go on that date with Aaron then?"

Aaron was a guy you kept bumping into when you were in town, He was nice, funny and he had asked you out earlier this week.

At first, you said you'd think about it but if Steve doesn't care then maybe you should say yes. Steve's eyes flash dangerously and you wait for his response.

"Fine" he snaps irritated and stalks off.

Fine? He was fine with it. So it looks like you were going on a date tonight.

💕

Robin could sense a weird energy in the air ever since your date Aaron had come to join the three of them for hot chocolate and smores.

Steve was currently brooding and had been overprotective and tense since Aaron arrived.

She doesn't know what's going on. Every time Aaron touches you Steve stiffens.

He must be jealous. So does that mean he likes you? When did that start happening? She's confused, very confused and vows to keep an eye on things closely from now on.

💕

Steve tries to ignore the burning feeling in his gut but he can't, he's pissed and every time Aaron touches you it sends pulses of anger through him.

You laughing at the dickhead's jokes makes him even more irritated. He's relieved when the guy leaves.

As you're getting ready for bed he corners you, gently tugging at your arm.

"How did the date go?" he asks you and you shrug.

"It was fine. He was fine" Steve scoffs.

"Fine bet he got your panties wet at being just fine huh?" you roll your eyes. Could he be more obvious.

"Oh, my god. You can't even admit that you're jealous, can you?"

"You think I'm jealous of that douchebag? As if he can pleasure you like I can" his hands rest on the wall, at your sides.

"Arrogant much?" you huff and he leans closer to you twirling your hair around his fingers.

"No, I just know you, honey, I know what you're doing. Like you think that shithead could bother me?"

"Aaron asked me out on a second date I told him no but if you don't care then..." His jaw tightens and he gently tugs at your arm and a growl escapes his throat.

"I want you to tell that douchebag to clear off, you want the truth? I am fucking jealous and the thought of him near you drives me crazy alright"

Robin is out like a light on the sofa snoring loudly so he takes your hand and leads you into the bedroom.

It's risky, Robin could wake up at any time and you could be caught but that doesn't stop him from kissing you, hitching you up so your legs wrap around his waist and he fucks into you relentlessly against the wall.

You stifle your moans by burying your head into his shoulder, biting down on it. Waves of pleasure rock over you as he stills, a guttural groan issuing from him as he comes.

Breathing heavily he rests his forehead against yours.

"Tell him no please" he murmurs as he strokes your cheek.

"Why?" your heart is racing as you wait for his answer.

"Because I'm jealous and because you're mine"

❤️❤️

Something between you and Steve deepens after that night, your conversations last through the night, him lying in your bunk with you as the sun rises and you've both had no sleep but are smiling nonetheless.

Baking attempts with Robin that go awry as you attempt to make mega brownies and Cookies.

Movie nights where you fall asleep nestled into his chest after the credits roll and he and Robin continue talking.

The first time the two of you tried to have shower sex and it was so not how the movies showed it to be, though the two of you ended up breathless with laughter.

Listening with a smile on your face as he manages to communicate with Dustin via walkie talkie and his parting words melt your heart.

"Henderson? I miss you know" His eyes light up as Dustin says the same and you nearly tear up because their brotherly bond is so sweet.

Nights like tonight stick in your mind as you lay with him and Robin laughing at the names you make up for each star.

It's when Steve is grinning at Robin and his eyes catch yours, all soft and full of warmth that those three little words enter your head.

I love you. Stunned you get up, stumbling a bit, mind racing. Shit! Shit! Shit!

"You okay?" Robin asks you looking worried and you nod, faking a smile.

"Uh yeah, headache, think I need to lay down" you reassure her and Steve gets up.

"Do you want me to come with you?" you shake your head.

"Nah, stay out here with Robin. I'll be okay" You practically race inside and urge yourself to calm down.

Those three words were a timebomb, now that you knew how deep your feelings were you were screwed.

Why the hell did you have to fall in love with him when he could still love someone else? Would you ever compare to Nance in his eyes.

"It's always been you Nance" he told Nancy that, there was no use telling him how you felt because he wouldn't feel the same way you did.

It was a catch-22 because you didn't want to stop this thing you had with Steve but you didn't want to get your heart broken either.

What the hell were you going to do?

❤️

Steve joining you in bed wakes you at around four am.

"You feeling better honey?" he asks you as he kisses your hair.

"Not really" you mumble and turn around so you can cuddle into his chest. His heartbeat speeds up and you peer up at him.

"Your hearts beating really fast" he chuckles as you say this.

"Hmm, Sure it has nothing to do with the beautiful girl in my arms" The words are lovely and to your horror tears pool in your eyes, shit you needed to get a grip.

"Hey, he soothes what's wrong?" you make something up, tell him it's just your head but you can tell he doesn't believe you, he does pull you back down to his chest.

"You can tell me anything sweetheart. Is something bothering you?" the tears keep coming.

"I'm falling in love with you" His breath hitches as the words spill out and now they are out you can't take them back.

"What?" you sit up your stomach sinking, he runs his hand through his hair and you wait for his response and wait.

"Jesus... Honey, I... We" he stops and starts and you look away as the tears keep falling.

"It's okay, you still love Nancy, I know. Maybe you should go, Steve. Maybe we should stop this...us" He startles, swallowing hard as he stares at you.

"Stop?" it causes you pain you've never felt in your life but you give a firm nod.

"I'm not Nance, I'll never be Nancy or compare to her and I can't keep breaking my heart hoping you might feel the same, whe you don't"

Robin comes in at that point, chatting excitedly about a meteor shower, she freezes as she sees your tears and the look on Steve's face.

"Robin can I bunk in with you tonight?" you ask her and she nods as you race into the room and cry out all the tears.

"What the hell is going on?" you hear her question Steve and you borrow under the covers blocking out their voices and letting the pain take over.

❤️❤️

It's quiet, too quiet as the three of you have breakfast. Robin keeps looking between you and Steve and you figure he filled her in on what was going on or maybe she already knew deep down.

You hate this, the tension. This should be fun for Robin, fun for you and Steve but now it's awkward.

Maybe things would be easier for Robin and Steve if you went home for a little while. Just until things blow over?

Until your heart stops feeling like it's been split in two. What can you do though? You can't force Steve to feel the same way, he doesn't and you have to accept that.

With that decision in mind your head to your room and use the phone to call your parents. Turns out they are on holiday with their friends but you figure you could crash at home for a few days.

"Honey, you should have called sooner you could have come with us," your mother tells you.

When the conversation is done you head back out to tell Steve and Robin. Steve isn't there when you go to the kitchen and Robin explains he's went to clear his head.

"Uh. I'm gonna head back home for a little while" Robin's eyes widen.

"What no!! You can't. We're like the three musketeers, we can't split up. I get why you and Steve didn't say anything about what was going on, though to be honest I'm kinda hurt you didn't"

"We should have. I'm sorry Robin. It was just all so confusing and happened so fast, I fell in love with Steve and it's just a mess" She rushes over to hug you tightly.

"He's the world's biggest dingus" You smile at her words, you know she doesn't mean them she's just upset.

"I'll be back before you know it, I promise you" She still looks sad but perks up a bit, you squeeze her arm and begin to pack your heart heavy.

❤️❤️

Steve returns from his walk and finds Robin looking upset, he feels guilty for not saying about his relationship with you and made sure to tell her everything last night.

It still doesn't stop him from feeling guilty for keeping secrets though, she is his best friend.

"She's going back to Hawkins just so you know," Robin tells him and she takes his hand.

Something cracks in Steve's chest or at least it sure feels like it.

"For good?" he can't imagine not seeing you, the thought makes him feel sick.

"No for a little while. I don't want her to go but maybe it will be good for her. Maybe she might meet a nice guy or something, we can become a foursome on the road"

Robin's words hit Steve hard and the thought of someone touching you, making love to you, calling you his tightens the knot in his stomach.

He's not stupid, he knows how he feels about you but he's scared of getting so close to someone again because he's fallen for you more than he ever did Nancy and it's terrifying.

"You love her don't you?" Robin squeezes his hand and he nods.

"Yeah, I do" she looks exasperated.

"Then stop being a big dingus and go tell her or you'll regret you never did" he swears and gets up.

"Do you think I don't want to? I do but I'm terrified okay? Terrified because I'm in love with her, way more than I've ever loved Nancy and you know how much I loved Nancy, I'm scared I'll just get my heart stomped on"

She softens. "So you'd risk losing the person you pretty much just admitted is the love of your life because you're scared? I get it love is terrifying at times but it's also beautiful and sometimes you just need to suck it up and grab life by the balls" She looks confused. "At least I think that's the saying"

He smiles as she pats his arm.

"Don't lose her because you're scared Steve" He takes a deep breath and then heads to the bedroom knocking on the door.

"Can we talk?" he asks as you stop packing, you agree and he sits beside you.

"I don't want things to be awkward Steve, maybe if I go away for a bit then when I come back we can go back to normal"

"Back to normal? Just friends you mean?" you confirm this and he shakes his head.

"No, I don't want you to go anywhere and I don't want us to be just friends" This stops you in your tracks.

"Steve" you begin to say but he cups your face tenderly with his hands.

"I love you, sweetheart, I love you too" Your lip wobbles and you choke out a sob.

"I'm not Nancy though, I know I'll never measure up to her" he scoffs and looks deep into your eyes.

"No, you're not Nance. You're the love of my life and what I feel for you is more, so much more than what I felt for Nance, she was my first love, yeah but I want you to be my last"

He's crying softly now too and you kiss him, and he's kissing you back gently, then he moves to kiss your forehead.

"Stay" he pleads and you nod throwing your arms around him. Robin peeks her head around the door.

"You're staying?" she asks hopeful and you tell her yes through tears. Happy tears.

"Thank god! Now come on I need help making the pancakes" Steve stands up gesturing for your hand and pulling you in for a kiss.

"Come on, step to it lovebirds" Robin calls and you and Steve exchange grins as you head back into the kitchen to join her.

❤️

[ladykailitha]

All My Roads Lead Back to You Part 9

Hello! Here we have Edie pumping Robin for info like she always planned. Eddie makes an effort and Edie is a little shitTM (affectionate) about it. Also Eddie would totally use text speak. Steve? Not so much (like me!).

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

***

Edie didn’t have a chance to sit down and talk to Aunt Robin about Dad and Eddie until the night before she left with Viv. Viv was upstairs packing and Dad was in his office talking to someone in Wales.

“I’m not asking to break the NDA or whatever,” Edie began, “but you have to have some insight about how they were before Mr Munson got a record deal. Because I’m sorry, I highly doubt he would have asked Dad to come with him California if he didn’t have some indication Dad would have gone with him.”

Robin sighed. “I think that if the record deal had been after school started, I think you dad would have gone with them.”

Edie shifted on the sofa. “What do you mean?”

“Look we both know your dad is the biggest protector on the planet, yeah?” Robin asked. Edie nodded. “After the earthquake it amplified. By a lot. We had these ridiculously large walkie-talkies and Steve would constantly be checking in on people, making sure they were safe.”

“Makes sense,” Edie agreed. “Remember how he was after broke my arm after falling off my bike when I was eight?”

Robin nodded again. “Now imagine that turned up to eleven.” She snickered briefly and Edie raised an eyebrow. Robin cleared her throat. “Sorry, that’s an NDA joke I can’t explain.”

Edie threw her arms in the air.

“Anywho...” Robin said. “All I’m saying is that if Eddie had wanted to ride off into the sunset with Steve, September or October would have been better. Dustin, Jane, Lucas, Max, Will, Mike, and Erica would have started their sophomore year. Uncles Jonathan and Argyle and me and Aunt Nancy all would have been at college. Your dad would have felt at a loose end and gone with him.”

“What makes you say that?” Edie asked with a frown.

Robin took a deep breath and let out a shuddering sigh. “Because that’s when your grandparents came back and started throwing pretty girls at him.”

“Oh.” Just hearing about her grandparents sank like a stone in her stomach.

“I’m assuming you at least know about the witch hunt that Eddie went through?” Robin asked.

Edie nodded. “Enough, I guess. Dad won’t let me look it up and Harri doesn’t talk about it much either. So I guess it was pretty bad.”

“Oh yeah,” Robin agreed. “The whole town got together a lynch mob.”

Edie’s jaw dropped as she recoiled on her self. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

Robin shook her head and pulled her knee up to her chest. “Even months later, he had a hard time walking down the street without someone giving him dirty looks.”

Edie sank back against the cushions of the couch. “Fuck. So when he got the record deal he was in hurry to get the hell out Dodge.”

“Yeah,” Robin said. “And look, I’ve been assuming that Eddie said something more than ‘run away with me’ because Steve was gutted when he left, but your dad says no.”

Edie shrugged. “No more gutted than when you went to college, I’ll bet. He doesn’t have a lot of friends his age, and Uncle Dusty and them are all four to five years younger and while that doesn’t matter now that they’re older...”

Robin sighed. “Yeah. Losing us all once must have been so hard on your dad. So yeah.”

Edie nodded. “I just worry about him, you know?”

Robin pulled her in for a hug. “Me too, Miss Thing, me too.”

*

Steve stood in the hallway listening to his daughter and best friend talk about him. He knew he should have walked away, but he was too curious. He smiled because they earnestly cared about him.

Robin was also right. He probably would have run off with the band had the offer came later in the year. But it was too soon. He couldn’t leave so soon after Vecna. The kids needed him. And yeah maybe he should have said that instead of being an ass.

He slunk back to his office and sat down at his desk with a sigh. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t have Eddie’s number. He couldn’t explain or apologize for the hurt he caused.

Suddenly he was getting a text message from an unknown number. He picked his phone with a frown.

-Hey this is Eddie I got ur # from Dustin hope thats ok

Steve scrambled to save the number in his phone. His phone had the slide out keyboard because his fingers were too clumsy with the little buttons on the number pad. He typed out a quick message.

-Eddie! No its great to hear from you

-You want to grab lunch tomorrow?

Steve stared at the message for a couple minutes in shock.

-Yes!

He hit his head on his desk. He sounded too eager damn it.

-I mean, sure. Sounds great.

He threw his head back and groaned. That actually sounded worse.

-lol CU tmrrw @ 1 Tonys

Steve blinked. Tony’s? That old pizza joint was still around? Holy shit.

-Yeah. See you then.

Steve looked up at the ceiling in wonder. He had a hard time believing in a god when his life had been one horror after another for five years in a row. But he was willing to start up again if Eddie came back into his life as permanent fixture.

Hell he’d take passing acquaintances at this point. He just needed to see Eddie again.

*

Steve pulled up into the parking lot of Tony’s Pizzeria, feeling a little shocked. Robin and he used to come here all the time whenever she would be visiting from college. He didn’t know that Eddie was familiar with it, too.

He got out his car and looked around the parking lot, trying to figure out which one was Eddie’s, if any. He spotted the most likely culprit. Sitting three spots away from Steve’s Beemer, was a sleek black 1970 Pontiac Firebird. He chuckled, shaking his head as he walked into the restaurant.

Steve winced at the music. It was a little loud. He reached up and turned down his hearing aid in a little in hopes of avoiding a migraine.

Eddie waved from a nearby table and Steve pointed him out to the hostess. She smiled and let him past to go sit with Eddie.

“Stevie!” Eddie cried out. “You made it, man!”

Steve’s knot of anxiety loosened and he flashed a smile. He could be normal about this too. He slid into the seat across from the former metalhead.

“Hey!” he greeted warmly. “I haven’t been to this place in ever. Does it still have the best pepperoni pizza?”

Eddie’s face lit up with the biggest grin. “Yes! I already ordered, is that okay?”

Steve nodded. “Sounds great.”

The pizza came shortly afterwards and they dug in.

Steve was halfway through his first slice when he realized Eddie had said something.

“Shit,” he swore. “Sorry I didn’t hear that.”

Eddie cocked his head to the side and signed, “The music too loud?”

Steve nodded with a sigh of relief. He had forgotten that Eddie had signed to him that first night in Steve’s bathroom. So he set his pizza down and signed back. “Yeah. I turned down my hearing aid and forgot about conversation in the face of good food.”

Eddie laughed and Steve smiled back. “Fair enough,” he signed.

Signing was bit hard with finger food like pizza, but they made due. Steve learned that Eddie had recently retired from the music industry and came back to Indiana to be closer to Uncle Wayne.

Eddie learned that despite all of Steve’s concussions he was a hot shot in the business world but donated most of his money to charities for hard of hearing deaf kids and to concussion awareness in school sports.

“I got lucky,” Steve signed. “I had a genius teenager willing to create a better a hearing aid and that we could capitalize on it. But most people don’t have that.”

Eddie smiled softly. He tapped his ear. “That the reason you never made it out to any of my shows?”

Steve nodded with a wry twist of his lips. “Was going to go to the one in Evansville, but Robin wanted me to get my hearing checked first.”

Eddie winced. That was early in their tour, like their third or fourth stop. “Shit I didn’t know.”

Steve shrugged. “I didn’t want you to. I was so sure you’d be upset that I couldn’t go. That I just...didn’t.”

Eddie slumped in his seat because Steve was right. Eddie would have been upset, maybe even tried to pressure into Steve coming anyway. Which would driven a wedge between them just as effectively as Steve staying away did.

“I get that.”

They finished their food and Eddie paid. They walked outside and Steve turned back up his hearing aid.

“This was fun,” Steve said brightly. “Though maybe next time let’s go somewhere where the music isn’t so loud.”

Eddie scoffed but smiled softly. “There going to be a next time?”

Steve ducked his head and looked at him through his eyelashes. “I’d like there to be.”

“Same time next week,” Eddie said with a grin. “You pick the place.”

Steve’s face lit up and he grinned back. “You’ve got a deal.”

“See you on Wednesday,” Eddie said with a wave.

“Wednesday?” Steve asked cocking his head, puzzled.

Eddie laughed. “I’ll be picking Harri up from band practice, right?”

Steve’s face cleared and he chuckled. “Yeah, man. See you on Wednesday.”

*

Edie came home from school to the weirdest sight imaginable. Her dad was singing “Prisoner of Your Eyes” by Judas Priest in the kitchen as he made the pasta for lasagna.

“I didn’t know you had even the barest passing familiarity with metal,” she said tossing her backpack against the end of the island counter and slid into one of the bar stools.

Steve laughed, bright and sweet. “Despite what people thought in school, I liked all kinds of music. Yes, I tended toward alt and hard rock for the most part, but I liked all kinds.”

Edie eyed him warily. “Uh-huh.”

Steve just laughed again.

“Someone’s in a good mood,” she said when he handed her a sandwich.

He blushed. “It’s been a good day.”

“You going to tell me what happened to make it such a good day?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Steve chewed on his lip and blushed a deeper.

Her other eyebrow shot up, too, a smile growing on her face.

“Shut up,” he groused.

Edie laughed. “I didn’t say anything!”

“I could hear you thinking from here,” he said, turning back to toss his freshly made noodles into the pot of boiling water.

“You went on a date!” she shrieked.

“I did no such thing,” he growled. “I just went to lunch with a friend.”

Edie waggled her eyebrows. “And this ‘friend’, he wouldn’t happen to have long, beautiful hair in dark waves around his face with deep, dimpled cheeks, and soulful chocolate button eyes, would he?”

“No!” Steve yelped. “And what the hell is up with that description anyway?”

Edie just cackled gleefully.

***

Part 10 Part 11  Part 12  Part 13 Part 14  Part 15  Part 16 Part 17  Part 18  Epilogue

Tag List:

@spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk​ @trashpocket @goodolefashionedloverboi @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @plyerice27 @mightbeasleep @thedragonsaunt @chaoticlovingdreamer @trashpocket @sapphirecobalt-1 @a-little-unsteddie @i-must-potato @danili666  @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @itsall-taken @steddie-as-they-go @lillemilly @callas-shitshow @bisexualdisastersworld @renaissan-vvitch @immortal-iratze @bookbinderbitch @thylatrek @lilacrobin @nightmareglitter @nerdsconquerall

[friendsdontlieokay]

Jancy is my home alright? No question about it, but STANCY OH STANCY, not exaggerating it, not even kidding but the emotions I feel towards them cannot be described by words at all! All that I can say is they're my guilty pleasure, and I'd love them even if I tried not to, and even if I tried to hate them (I'm talking about the couple, not the individuals just to be clear, I'll forever love Steve and I'll forever love Nancy from the bottomest core of my heart).

And to be honest I did, I did try to dislike them together, because I used to think in order to love Jancy I needed to hate Stancy, or rather because subconsciously I felt like I was choosing Jonathan over Steve and I never wanna compare them, I love them both differently, but I had a small epiphany, which is I don't think characters define by their romantic relationships, and I think that sense somehow helped me to understand that I love both the ships, even though for me, Jancy is slightly on top.

But here's the twist, which is why I don't know if I ever liked stancy during stancy. Well during the period, when stancy was actually a thing, when Steve and Nancy were in a relationship.

Now don't get me wrong, Steve loved, in fact loves Nancy more than anyone and anything (Robin and Dustin are exceptions), and honestly I think he loves her more than Jonathan does, he always gave her the princess treatment that most girls ask for, he was the "perfect boyfriend" and yes duh, Nancy loved him a lot too, but her life got so crumbled up before she could even realize that he loved her so much, that he indeed was the perfect boyfriend, If not to anyone else than at least to her.

To her, barb died because of her, because she slept with a boy and left her alone, and even if she doesn't want to she'd subconsciously blame Steve too eventually, right? And despite Steve being that perfect boyfriend, he wouldn't be able to understand her fully, not as much as Jonathan did, because they were going through the same thing at the same time, and of course, the shared trauma, as a bald eagle once said.

Now here comes the point, when Nancy finally got to "bury" Barb, and her life finally came to an equilibrium, well not really, things were never really balanced she just learnt to deal with it, so yeah when she finally learnt to deal with it and befriended Steve again, a lot of things became crystal clear to her which were once blurred with trauma and sadness, to sum it all up, she finally got to understand how amazing of a person Steve really is and how much he looks out, loves and cares for the people he cares about and oh- who's topping the list of all the people he cares about? Yeah right that's her!

And this is the exact reason why season 4 stancy means the world to me, the chemistry is equal from both sides, and to be honest it's kinda hilarious to me, because I didn't like stancy when stancy but I liked stancy when they weren't a thing, and it's not a joke, and yes I know I'm insane and irrational and out of touch but can you save your lecture because I really don't give a shit right now I just- I need to tell you a little something more, about Mileven! Which is, this whole thing that I wrote is kinda familiar to a way I view Mileven because to me it's kinda hilarious too that Mike can't say or even write "I love you" to his girlfriend, but if they break up, he can finally say "I love you" to his ex girlfriend because whether they're in a relationship or not, they're soulmates and absolute best friends. Period!

[suspiciouslackofclowns]

Some things never change. It’s why Nancy is oh-so looking forward to coming home this summer, funnily enough.

She wants to have her mom’s meatloaf, pretend to be interested enough in sci-fi to sit through a movie with Mike, and stare at the photos posted on her vanity. She wants to feel like she’s seventeen again and worrying about studying for chemistry quizzes, not worrying about what Jonathan is up to right now.

If he’s talking to other girls. If he’s sliding up next to Argyle in the back of his van, too close for your average smoke session. If he’s having a blast with his time apart from her.

She knows they both need space — it still doesn’t feel good to dwell on it. She needs distractions or she’s going to blow a gasket.

Anything to alleviate the stress. Even if just for a night. Hell, even if just for a minute.

As much as it feels wrong to admit… she’s also looking forward to seeing Steve. To teasing him a little bit since she’s back in town, maybe flirting with him like she used to.

She has no idea what’s coming over her, what’s possessing her to have these thoughts — she doesn’t like Steve, at least, not like that, but just knowing that part of him will always love her brings an odd sense of comfort. It’s the normalcy that she’s craved while away at Uni. While she and Jonathan are taking a break.

It’s shitty. And she knows it.

After a quick ask around, she’s pulling up to a trailer at Forest Hills, parking next to the Beamer and stepping out of her car.

Steve might not have gotten into any of his choice colleges, but he’s making something for himself nonetheless, so she’s heard. Nancy wonders if he’s looking to reminisce about old times too when she knocks on the door, only… Steve isn’t who answers it.

It takes a few moments. Nancy can hear fumbling and a quiet curse before the deadbolt turns and the door cracks open.

“Uh… hey?” Billy greets lamely.

He squints in the sunlight, his posture hunched as he leans his arm on the doorframe. Nancy clutches her purse at her side, all of her scripting for this interaction bursting to flames in the back of her mind.

“Hey,” she says. Leans back enough to look at the plaque above the doorbell. “Am I at the wrong place?”

Back in school, she never really interacted with this guy. Just heard rumors, mostly. Saw him strutting around the halls like her worst testosterone-filled nightmare come to life. He doesn’t seem so big and tough now, confusion plastered all over his face.

She still doesn’t expect him to sound so gentle when he speaks.

“Steve’s out right now,” he says. Stands up straight and rubs his eye with the heel of his palm before gesturing over to the Beamer. “He took mine. Asshole always uses my shit.”

Nancy glances over her shoulder. Nods, more to herself than anything, and sighs.

This was a bust.

The door hinges creak from Billy leaning more of his weight into it.

“You, uh, wanna come in?” he asks.

Nancy presses her lips into a line, considering making up some lame excuse to run off until he spreads a little smile. It has her mind going blank in under a second.

Right. She forgot how charming this guy can be.

“Sure,” she murmurs.

Struts inside when he clears the doorway, trying to ignore the fact that she can smell the faded remnants of Steve’s cologne on him as she passes by.

Come to think of it, it looks like he’s wearing Steve’s clothes too. They fit better on him than they ever did on Nancy.

“I’m gonna make some coffee,” Billy says.

He shuts the door, and Nancy nods. Looks around, subtly trying to scope out the place. It’s not the stereotypical bachelor pad that she was expecting — the couch has a decent amount of pillows, the curtains match the rugs, and the posters on the walls are actually framed.

It looks lived-in, but not messy.

There are trinkets and tabletop things kind of strewn about, and it feels homey. More so than Steve’s parents’ house ever did.

The only thing that really catches her attention is the fact that there’s a single bedroom.

Billy brews a pot and glances over his shoulder when he opens a cupboard.

“Coffee?” he sighs.

“Sure,” Nancy says. Watches as he pulls two Garfield mugs out. “So, you guys… live together?”

“Mhm.”

He pours both mugs generously. Sets the sugar and the creamer on the counter so Nancy can fix hers how she likes. Surprisingly, he takes his coffee fairly sweet.

She half expected him to drink it black.

“How did that happen, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Nancy stirs her mix vacantly until the color lightens, watching the way that Billy’s lips quirk up into a smile again.

He splays his free hand against the counter and leans into it, shrugging his shoulders.

“He begged me, really,” he lilts. “Or did you mean how did we become friendly?”

“The ladder.”

Billy nods. Sips from his mug and hums to himself.

“I dunno, it kinda just happened. He’s a lover, not a fighter, after all.”

He fucking winks at her, and her face starts to feel warm.

She wants to chalk it up to the fact she obviously woke him up when she knocked. His hair isn’t primped, his curls less defined and perky than usual, and his eyes are half-lidded. Like he hasn’t quite adjusted to being awake yet.

Something tells her that’s not the only reason, like a little siren in the back of her head is going off.

It’s the same feeling she got when she noticed the disproportionate amount of time that Mike started spending with Will, as opposed to their other friends. When she noticed that they started sharing the bottom bunk of his bed rather than splitting up during sleepovers.

Her eyebrows quirk up ever so slightly. Really, it should be obvious. Billy isn’t even trying to hide it.

“He always has been,” she says.

Amused, Billy leans forward a little more. Lowers his voice like he’s making accusations in church.

“That why you decided to swing by unannounced?”

There’s no hint of danger just yet. Nancy knows it’s lurking around the corner, though, so she chooses her words wisely.

“Just… wanted to catch up.”

She shrugs nonchalantly, still stirring her coffee. Billy nods, but his eyes suddenly look dark. Like the surface of the ocean at night.

Eerily still and almost black in the absence of the moon.

“Sure,” he says. Stares hard at her for a moment, like he’s picking apart everything, reading her mind. It sends a chill up her spine. “Y’know what I want?”

Nancy stops stirring when his eyes flick down to her hand.

“What’s that?” she asks, almost breathless.

He taps his finger against the countertop, and his smile returns. It doesn’t feel as charming and suave as it did earlier.

Reminds Nancy of the fake smiles that the preppy girls would give her at school when she first started dating Steve. Come to think of it, it’s exactly that.

“I want you to call first next time.” He chews his lip while he thinks. “I want you to keep this little visit between us when you catch up,” he warns. Chuckles after a moment and tilts his head to the side. “And I want you to say hi to your mom for me when you leave. Think that’s too much for lil’ old me to ask?”

Nancy shakes her head, face burning now. Billy seems fairly pleased with that.

“I’ll… let myself out.”

“Door gets stuck, so be sure to pull hard on it.”

He waves goodbye before she even moves. Once she does turn away, he grabs her untouched mug and dumps it down the sink. She breathes a sigh of relief once she’s outside and the door is closed behind her.

It doesn’t feel good, leaving the trailer park with this rotten feeling stirring in her gut. Funnily enough, she’s not even mad at Billy.

She’s mad at herself.

As embarrassing as it is, she needed this. She’s glad it happened this way, because simply knowing that Steve is taken makes her heart feel a little lighter. Like she didn’t fuck him up too bad to find love.

Like she can finally let him go.

The walk of shame up the driveway to her parents’ house still makes her sick.

“Back so soon?” Karen asks. She has a pan of meatloaf ready to go into the oven. “I thought you’d be out for a while, I was gonna surprise you.”

The look on her face is disappointed, like the highlight of her night was going to be presenting her daughter with a fairly average meal. It does good to make Nancy think.

About how she’s been putting too much thought into things that don’t matter. About how she’s been worrying about things that are out of her control. Obsessing over them, even.

It makes her think about how she should have just been excited to eat her mother’s meatloaf and watch shitty movies with Mike.

From the start.

Nancy smiles, and Karen mimics it even though her plans are clearly ruined. She thinks they can fix it together.

“Billy says hi.”

[emblazons]

a post in defense of (a very much alive) S5 Jonathan Byers

under the cut b/c this is more frustrated commentary than strict analysis, and you shouldn't have to read if you don't want to.

I feel like it must have come from the dry spell between seasons, but I have to say it: all of this “Jonathan is gonna die and that means Stancy could happen” stuff lately is not only giving "I just like angst for its own sake," it's lowkey nonsense if you look at it thematically (in context of the Jon/Nancy/Steve madness yes, but especially in context of the Byers family).

—like? Friends.

Given the Duffer’s track record of refusing to fully kill off major characters even when it could have made sense to (cc: Hopper and Max), I don’t think anyone is actually meeting their end, but let’s be SO serious about who is actually likely to get axed: the boy with a mom, brother, step-sister and girlfriend who have been central to every single moment in this show…or the one they've put into a triangle we all thought was over until S4, who they’ve honestly written into a corner, & whose primary drive in four entire seasons was getting a girlfriend and protecting a bunch of teenagers?

I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's just talk Jonathan.

The Duffers (Matt especially) have openly gotten upset at even the notion of Mike dying because "that's depressing" AND "that's Nancy's brother" (showing the familial ties are a HUGE part of what would keep them from ending someone), in addition to them saying they've thought through every imaginable scenario" on who might die—

—and you think its Jonathan whose meeting his end? King of championing "not liking what you don't have to" and the outcasts in all areas from music taste to being queer...after all the Byers have been through and knowing The Duffers write toward championing the outcasts and those who embrace their differences?

That, combined with the fact that the only "evidence" I've ever seen for him potentially dying has been that speech he gave to Will in the SBP somehow being connected to (you guessed it) setting up angst for Will...I'm gonna take a hard and wild educated guess based on the entirety of the rest of the show and say that was literally written so Will could catch a goddamn break, not as a death tag.

The fact that Noah confirmed it wasn't in the Duffer's OG script, was written day of filming + was done because "it was important for people to see will wasn't alone" is evidence enough for that.

Even so, the fact that there are still at least 4 unresolved plots Jonathan is part and privy to makes his death even less likely, because it wouldn't make sense for resolving anything for him to die at all, never mind in the episodes before our supposed timeskip.

Jonathan's messy relationship with Nancy, the fact that he's the only one who actually knows Will is gay, and the fact that he's the only other character who saw & understood the ULTIMATE Chekhov's gun in the form of that painting (on top of also having a longstanding relationship with Mike )should make it clear he isn't going anywhere from a narrative perspective...and I'm not even sure where the idea that he would die popped up, other than fandom warping the canon and projecting onto the plot.

The Duffers have always been clear about not doing things solely for the sake of surprise + not liking things that don't make narrative sense...and Jonathan's death would be both of those things, done solely for shock value.

I just. Be so serious right now. if you want to imagine the weight of Jonathan dying SOLELY for fandom angst DO THAT...but don't pretend like his death in the show wouldn't be the most poorly foreshadowed thing in this entire show, on top of not matching a single theme of the ongoing Stranger Things narrative. ☠️

Put some respect on his name lmao

Bonus: If you really want to talk about character's dying (and not just jump into angst for its own sake): they haven’t given Steve a proper love interest EVER outside of Nancy, made Dustin cry over Eddie instead of staying close to Steve S4, and haven’t ONCE referenced that boy’s family properly more than a few times in passing (and only by Steve himself).

He is the only character who craves normalcy despite this show being about championing the outcast, was supposed to die seasons ago but stayed because Joe Keery was so beloved, and has now been written into a corner where every single person who is central to him (esp Dustin and Robin) either have a new love interest or are worried about something else more than him, which...if you want canonical evidence for a possible death, you're looking in the wrong corner of this love triangle.

[kedreeva]

Steve gets to have the talk with Jonathan that he wanted to have at the end of S1

I know who sent this one, and I know why she went on anon, and I SEE YOU, SUNSHINE.

collected on AO3

-----

It doesn’t take long for Steve to feel out of place in the too-bright waiting room. He’s exhausted and achy and still reeling from spinning his entire life hard 180 degrees only to find himself in utter freefall. He’d already had his own injuries looked at and been told to have someone keep an eye on him for his concussion, but there was no one at home, so he’d collapsed into the nearest unoccupied chair.

But now the lights are too bright and the kids had all shot up to see their friend when he woke up, and the adults had either gone with them or disappeared for business, and Steve finds himself once again alone. The silence - or near-silence anyway - is nice, but every time the dying light down the hall flickers, his heart kicks his ribs and he’s right back in Jonathan’s living room. He’s watching the girl he loves point a gun at his face while his misconception of the world as a safe place falls apart behind her.

He heaves himself to his feet, and heads for the door.

The chill November air greets him sharply, and he welcomes the way it braces him. He doesn’t go far – not supposed to be alone – just leans against the cold bricks of the front entrance to take a few deep breaths. He closes his eyes, head tipping back against the stone.

The door opens to his right, and he hates the way his hands twitch for a weapon, so he sticks them in his pockets as Jonathan joins him. He doesn’t know what to say, how to break the ice; he’d broken too much already in the past 24 hours. How can the knowledge of what he’d said live right there beside the knowledge that he’d lay down his life for this boy without a single thought? Sorry isn’t big enough to bridge the gap he'd made between them.

“How’s your brother?” he says, because he has to say something or he’ll crawl out of his skin and they’ve had enough of that tonight.

“Alive. Happy to see his friends,” Jonathan says, not looking over as he leans back against the wall now that he’s had an invitation. He puffs out a laugh. “Maybe not as happy as the kids were to see him.”

Steve manages a thin smile around the shards of his heart. He cannot imagine having friends that care that much, the sort that would go to the ends of the earth for him, that would burn it to the ground to save him. Tommy’s loyalty ended at a single rejection.

Jonathan may have rightfully kicked Steve’s ass, but he’d also taken his hand. He can still feel the gut-pull shiver of Jonathan demanding jump and his own instant and unthinking obedience. He can still see the flicker of lights through the window. He can still hear his one, crystal thought: he can’t leave them.

Not Nancy. Them.

“They’re good kids,” he says quietly. “Your brother too.” His breath twists up in his lungs as his face pinches up. “Look, I uh- I shouldn’t have said what I said about him. Or you.”

Jonathan remains quiet, not looking at Steve for so long that Steve nearly opens his mouth to continue the apology he’d gone there to make, but Jonathan beats him to the punch again. “It was pretty shitty of you. Honest, but shitty.”

“It wasn’t,” Steve says, and then quickly amends- “Honest, I mean. That’s why- I don’t know, dude. Maybe you knocked some sense into me. I was being a huge dick to you because I couldn’t handle my own problems.”

“King Steve has problems?” Jonathan asks, though it sounds more like a barb than a question.

Steve pulls a hand from his pocket to run it through his hair. “I guess,” he says with a little shake of his head. “I don’t know what it is about Nancy. It’s like… she’s the first person that’s ever looked at me like she just… expects me to be a better person than I am. And the crazy thing is, when she looked at me like that, I wanted to be, I just… I didn’t know how. I either had to climb up to her level or drag her down to mine and when I saw I saw the two of you, I was just… I dunno. Furious.”

“It wasn’t like that,” Jonathan says. It’s not the truth, Steve knows; or at least, it’s not the whole truth.

“It was, but that’s not- that wasn’t it. I thought it was, but it wasn’t,” Steve admits. It feels weird to say it aloud. “I thought I was mad that she… would come down to my level, I guess? After I let myself think… it doesn’t matter. And I was mad at you for… I dunno. Being the reason.”

“Nothing happened, Steve,” Jonathan says, a little hotly.

“That’s not true,” Steve says. “I mean, yeah, okay, you two didn’t screw or whatever, but… something happened. She went to you for help. Not me. Or, y’know, it’s- it’s worse than that. She did come to me, and I was too much of an asshole to help her. I was too worried about my dad’s opinion. He’s not even- It’s stupid. I should have helped her sooner. I was furious at myself for not listening to her. I should have.”

Jonathan doesn’t argue that, and Steve tries again to pull the knife of the realization from his gut, but it doesn’t move. She’d needed help, and he’d walked away, and he’d gotten exactly what he’d deserved for it. He’d gotten off easy, looking back.

“Well, you can’t go back,” Jonathan says, almost as if he’d read Steve’s mind. “None of us can, after this. There's only forward.”

“Yeah,” Steve agrees. He’s going to try to get back to normal, or make a new normal at least. He’s going to make sure they think this is over, and then he’s going to do his level fucking best to forget any of this ever happened.

Almost any of it, anyway. Maybe not the part where he's trying, now.

“I’m sorry,” he says, trips over the words in his rush to make good on his decision. “I meant- I meant to say that, before. It’s why I… came over to your place. I wanted to apologize. Even before the monsters.”

He’d wanted to apologize once the monster had gone, but Nancy had rushed them into the cars and told him to meet them at the school gymnasium, and then they’d been so frantically trying to find where the kids had disappeared to that nothing had even been explained until they finally sat down at the hospital. Steve still isn’t sure he totally understands, but he’s not sure if there’s explanation missing or if it’s the concussion talking.

“I already… told Tommy and Carol off, that bridge burned pretty goddamn quick. I cleaned off the theater sign. I was coming to apologize to you, and then I was going to see Nancy, and apologize to her, too,” he adds, remembering the speech he’d thought about the entire drive out to Jonathan’s house. “I want to do better. I messed up and I don’t know if I can make up for it, but I want to do better.”

“Okay,” Jonathan says. Simple as that.

“Okay?” Steve echoes dumbly.

Jonathan shrugs and pushes away from the wall. “Yeah. You want to do better- okay. But, I’m freezing my ass off out here. Come back inside.”

Jump.

Steve pushes away from the wall, too, and follows him inside.

[empress-of-snark]

Rewatching s4 of ST with my brother cause he hasn’t seen it yet (on episode two), and when I told him about Steve’s “six little nuggets” monologue that comes up later, he brought up a good point.

(mini rant incoming)

When Jonathan talks to Argyle about his and Nancy’s relationship, he says he’s worried that Nancy will give up on her dreams for him and would end up resenting him for it later on. He doesn’t want to be the reason she doesn’t go to her dream school.

Whereas Steve wants her to marry him and have six kids which, even if he’s the primary caretaker, would require her to make a lot of career sacrifices or risk being a mostly absent parent. Not to mention the physical toll it would take for her to get pregnant that many times, cause Steve sure as hell won’t be the one giving birth.

(Plus, where would the money even come from to raise that many children? If Steve’s a stay-at-home dad, then that makes Nancy the sole breadwinner, which means she’d have to be working pretty much 24/7 to make enough money for a family that big, especially considering women’s salaries in the 80’s/90’s. Is Steve expecting to live off his parents’ money forever? Cause something tells me Nancy wouldn’t go for that.)

Point is, Jonathan is thinking about the future that Nancy wants. Steve absolutely is not. If he knew her at all, he’d know how career-oriented she is, and that she very likely does not want anywhere near that many kids.

Now Jonathan obviously needs to work on communication, that’s very clear. And I’m not even necessarily saying that Jancy is endgame—I could easily see them breaking up before college (or one of them being killed off, honestly). But there’s no endgame for Steve and Nancy that makes sense for their characters. They just want different things, and one of them would end up giving up on their dream for the other.

Sorry for the rant, I just have a lot of strong opinions about this lol. I do love Steve, and that’s why I wish they’d just let him move on from Nancy. No hate to St*ncy shippers (censoring so it doesn’t show up in the tag), this is just my personal opinion. Everyone’s free to ship what they want.

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Bathroom Shenanigans

A Stancy One Shot

A/N: Steve’s middle name is from Friends.

All was mostly well. Vecna was dead, Max was alive, and so was Eddie. Vecna's victims had returned as well, which meant that Eddie was no longer accused of murder. The town, unfortunately, still had been split, which meant that Max was recovering in the hospital with broken bones and impaired vision. Eddie could move around, but it hurt to do so. He was moving around the gym, helping with the relief aid. It allowed everyone to see the hero who saved the town from a deranged serial killer or so, Hop had suggested that the town see that for a little bit. Chrissy was helping him, which also didn't hurt the image that they were both heroes. Eddie had proudly proclaimed that he couldn't have done it without her. Steve figured there was more to that story, considering Chrissy's hand never left Eddie's hip.

"They're cute," Nancy said softly.

"Yeah," Steve agreed.

Lucas and El were at the hospital, but everyone else was here at the school helping out. Robin was across the gym, still on the sandwich duty with Vickie. Nancy was by his side, helping him sort clothing. They were in this weird transition from being friends to being something more again. Nancy had broken up with Jonathan, and according to her, they had both been relieved, which meant they had really been over for a while. Judging by the way Jonathan was currently looking at Argyle, it looked like something was starting there, not that they said anything to them about it, nor would they.

Nancy reached over to grab an article of clothing, pressing herself up against Steve. Her arm was against his side, her hip digging into him as well. Steve’s heart was pounding in his chest as her hair tickled his chin, and he caught a whiff of her hair as well as her perfume. The feeling of her pressing up against him was overwhelming his senses and making his head all fuzzy. Okay, she keeps grabbing more clothes. Shouldn't she be done by now? She dug her hip harder against him, and he sucked in a breath. It wasn't like there was anything sexual about it. . .well, maybe a little. It was the intimacy of it all, of her being so close to him. He wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms again. He looked at her and saw there was a little smirk on her face. Was she doing this on purpose?

"Are you okay, baby?" Nancy asked, putting a hand on his chest.

Steve jolted. Did he hear her, right? Did she call him baby? When they were together, they hadn't been much for nicknames, but maybe they had been too nervous to try them out. Hearing Nancy call him that made his brain go haywire. It felt much like the static on the television. Oh, he liked it.

"Yeah, yeah," Steve said quickly. "Are you okay?"

"More than okay," Nancy said. "You know, I think I could use a break. You should take one too. . .baby."

Okay, yeah, she definitely said it. He jumped when her hand went into his back pocket for a moment before pulling out and leaving behind a piece of paper. Steve watched her walk away before pulling out the piece of paper.

Meet me in the bathroom. - Nancy

Steve grinned and slipped the paper back in his pocket before heading towards the direction of the bathroom. Unfortunately, he got blocked by Chrissy and Eddie.

"Hey, settle something for us," Eddie said. "Chrissy thinks - "

"Sorry, man, talk to Robin, I, uh, have to go to the bathroom," Steve said and started to walk away.

"That tea will go straight through you!" Eddie called out.

"No, Eddie, that's not what's happening. I saw Nancy go to the bathroom too," Chrissy replied.

"So, Nancy drank the same tea," Eddie said.

"No, babe, get there faster," she giggled.

"Oh!"

Steve laughed as their voices faded into the crowd as he moved closer to the bathroom. He opened it and frowned when he had seen that it was empty. He opened his mouth to say something when he was suddenly pushed up against the wall, and then Nancy's lips were on his. He was shocked for a moment, but then he smiled and eagerly responded to the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling her closer to him as Steve moved his hands to her hips. Nancy deepened the kiss and moved her hand to the nape of his neck, tugging on his hair. He moaned into her mouth and broke the kiss with a gasp.

"You called me baby," Steve said, stunned.

"Did you like that?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, I did," he said softly. "I didn't think we were those kinds of people."

"I don't want to pick things up where we left off. I want to do things differently. I want this to be a brand new relationship," Nancy said. "I was just trying something out. I don't know if - "

"Yeah, I want that too," Steve said. "Oh, so, should I give you one too?"

"If you want," Nancy said.

"What about. . .honeybunch?"

"No! Absolutely not!"

"Sugar pie?"

"If ever call me that, I'll shoot you!" Nancy laughed.

"Hmm, baby girl?" Steve asked with a smirk.

"I'll shoot you twice," Nancy said, and then she smirked. "What if I call you baby girl?"

Steve blushed and grinned. Oh, shit, why did he like that so much?

"Um. . ."

"You like that huh, you want to be my baby girl?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I do," Steve admitted softly.

Nancy's smirk widened, and she began kissing his neck.

"Baby," Nancy muttered in between kisses. "Baby. Baby girl. Mine. All mine."

She placed gentle kisses on his neck, her lips moving to the scar wrapped around his neck.

"What about darlin'?" Steve asked, and she moaned against his neck.

"I like the you say it," Nancy said, pulling back.

"Love?" He asked.

"Yes."

Nancy attached her lips back to his neck, her hands drifting her hand under his shirt. Steve hissed as her hands touched his bat bites.

"Sorry," she said as she pulled back.

"It's alright. Even though it's mostly closed, they still hurt sometimes," Steve said.

"Yeah, mine do too," Nancy said.

"Wait. . .you got bit? Why didn't you say anything?" Steve asked.

"Well, they weren't as bad as yours and Eddie's plus, I was focused on the mission," Nancy said. "See?"

She pushed her shirt off her shoulder, revealing the tiny bites on her shoulder blade. Just like she did with the scar on his neck, Steve bent down and started placing gentle kisses on Nancy's shoulder blade. She stood on her tiptoes, letting his arms slip around her waist to support as she gave him better access. They froze when they heard whispers outside the door.

"I'm telling you that it's the tea thing," Eddie's voice came from outside the door.

"I'm telling you you're wrong," Chrissy said, and they heard the door being pushed open. "See?"

"Oh my God! We're both wrong, Chrissy! Steve’s a vampire!" Eddie exclaimed. "Is that what the bat bites do? Am I next?"

"Oh, you're lucky you're cute," Chrissy said.

"Thank you! . . . Hey! Okay, yeah, I'm wrong. Wheeler's clearly getting to second base. . . Second base, that's where you grab . . . "

"Yes, Eddie!"

"Well, I'm trying to!" Nancy exclaimed.

"Oh, shit! They know we're here!" Eddie whispered loudly.

"Yeah, because you're not quiet at all!" Steve exclaimed.

"I told you, you were loud!" Chrissy exclaimed.

"Are you guys pervving on people in the bathroom?" Robin's voice came from behind them. "You know, there are other normal things that couples can do around here."

"That wasn't my intention!" Chrissy squeaked as she closed the door. "I was just trying to show Eddie - "

"Now, Chrissy, you know that's not how you teach someone about the female anatomy," Robin said.

"Excuse me, I know plenty about the female anatomy!" Eddie exclaimed.

"Actually . . . you could use a few pointers," Chrissy said.

"Bat bites, baby, bat bites!" Eddie exclaimed. "I'm not up to my usual game!"

"What game?" Robin scoffed.

"Oh, is the bathroom the new hangout spot?" Argyle's voice sounded.

"We have strange friends," Nancy said.

"The stranger, the better," Steve laughed.

"What's going on?" They heard Jonathan asked.

"Eddie's got no game, and apparently, he can't make Chrissy arrive on time," Robin said.

"That is not what Chrissy said!" Eddie squeaked.

"Oh, there you are, Robin," Vickie's voice said. "Uh, what's going on?"

"Eddie can't make Chrissy cu -," Argyle said.

"Shut up!" Eddie shouted.

"What's going on? Jonathan, mom's looking for you," Will said.

"We're never getting out of here," Steve muttered.

"Eddie apparently doesn't know anything about the female anatomy," Robin exclaimed.

"Neither do I!" Will exclaimed happily.

"Hey, has anyone seen Steve?" Dustin asked. "Mike also can't seem to find Nancy either."

"Okay, there's a window. You should be able to climb out, but you're going to have to give me a boost," Nancy said. "And then we just walk around front. There's no way that I'm walking into all of that."

"Like ninjas," Steve said and Nancy laughed.

"What the hell is going on here?" Hopper's voice asked.

"Shit, shit!" Steve exclaimed. "I am not getting caught by my pseudo dad."

Steve boosted Nancy up to the window, and she paused halfway out of the window.

"Wait, we're adults now. Why are we sneaking around like we're not?" Nancy asked.

"A little late to be realizing this now, love," Steve said.

Nancy jumped out of the window and grinned when Steve did the same. They turned around only to find Wayne Munson leaning against the wall, smoking.

"I don't want to know," Wayne said.

They waved at Wayne as they passed and walked quickly hand in hand into the gym. They walked to the back and down the hallway toward the bathroom. Everyone was panicking. Joyce and Mike had obviously arrived.

"What's going on?" Joyce asked.

"Steve and Nancy disappeared from the bathroom," Chrissy replied.

"They were just right there!" Eddie exclaimed.

"There's no way they could have left through the door," Jonathan said. "And we checked the stalls."

"Maybe they climbed out the window," Steve spoke up.

"That's a good idea, Steve!" Dustin exclaimed, and then his head snapped to look at him. "Steve!"

Everyone crowded around the couple, speaking in raised voices.

"That wasn't very funny, Steven Muriel!" Robin exclaimed.

"It was a little funny," Nancy said and then paused. "Muriel?"

"It's a family name," Steve said. "The only reason she knows it is because she pickpocketed my wallet."

"Why did you do that?" Dustin asked, slugging him in his shoulder.

"I think Nancy thought it would be funny," Steve said.

He put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head as she laughed.

"You guys are back together?" Jonathan asked.

"Yeah," Nancy said.

Jonathan smiled, looking quite relieved. Steve wasn't sure what it was about. Maybe it was just the simple fact that they were happy. Dustin beamed as he asked for details while Robin cheered with Vickie. Eddie handed money over to Chrissy because apparently, they made a bet. Things were never going to be like they were, Steve thought as recalled his previous time with Nancy, but they were certainly going to be better.

[krumble0]

Ok is it just me or does Ronance make the most sense like ok hear me out stancy won’t work out nancy and Steve want completely different things in life, in season 1 Nancy was talking about her family and stuff when Jonathan went shooting with her saying “screw that” while Steve over here is ambushing her with “6 little nuggets” and “you where always there” like bro what. Jonathan basically admitted he was slowly breaking up with Nancy, Nancy and Jonathan did not do long distance very well and when jancy reunited Jonathan asked if they where ok and obviously Nancy lied like gurl was not convincing. Now Ronance I may be a little bias but Robin makes the most sense they have the same view on things there dynamics fit perfectly and why wouldn’t Nancy fall in love with Robin During her speech same thing goes for Nancy like girl literally stares Vecna down and shot him out the window. To be realistic Natalia is pushing Ronance the duffers know it exists and it seems like the best option it’s ether Ronance or Single Nancy. I swear to god if duffers make stancy happen I will find Vecna myself and make him Vecna me

[spookylady92]

A Night To Remember

With Steve Harrington and Billy Hargrove

(A/N) I’ve never written anything like this before but I hope you guys enjoy it!

Characters: Steve Harrington; Billy Hargrove; Reader

18+ only

Mature content

I knew what I wanted that night. I wanted to forget all my worries. I wanted to forget my breakup with Eddie. After two years he decided I wasnt what he wanted.

I pull up to the Hargrove house. People littered the yard and road. Most passed out. Some making out. I pushed my way past everyone and made my way in. My first stop was the kitchen. I needed a hard drink… or four…. Nancy and Steve were huddled in a corner in what looked like a heated argument. Nancy slammed down her cup and walked away. Steve sighed, “I swear women make no sense at all! Who breaks up with their boyfriend who looks like this” he said motioning to himself, “for a guy like Jonathan Byers?! “Men aren’t much better. I got broken up with too..” I said as I wrapped my lips around a shot glass filled with Tequila. Steve and I talk for a little while about our past relationships before we head yelling in the living room.

As we enter, there are people gathered around a table watching the end of a beer pong game. “One more and I win boys. And you better pay up!” A small ball flies through the air and perfectly lands in the other teams cup. “I fucking told y’all I had this game from the beginning! Now pay up and let someone else try to beat the champ!” I look at Steve and he nods, “Let’s do this!”We walk over to the table and Steve says, “We’ll have a go.” The guy looks us up and down and says, “Alright then let’s do this!” A smug smile comes across his face. “Hey I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before. What’s your name gorgeous?” I roll my eyes, give him my name and ask his in return. “Its Billy… Billy Hargrove.” I almost completely miss his name because his ocean blue eyes are so distracting. And his body is damn near perfect. He has on an unbuttoned blue shirt, tight jeans and black boots. His blonde curly hair sat perfectly at his tanned and toned shoulders. “So are we playing or are you just going to stare at me all night?!” He asked with a devilish grin. “Why can’t I do both?” I say letting out a little giggle. “Maybe your boyfriend there won’t appreciate me saying this but damn you are sexy as hell.” Steve looks at him with a small smile and says, “Actually we aren’t together. Just friends.” “Oh is that right?” Billy says as he bites his bottom lip. “Mmhm… are we playing or not guys? I’m trying to get drunk and forget about my breakup that happened like 10 minutes ago. Damn have some respect.” Steve says letting out a little laugh and nudging me.

“And it’s looks like I’m still the champ!” Billy says walking over to me and throwing his arm over my shoulder. “Yeah great for you Hargrove. Now I look like a fool in front of the pretty girl” Steve says in an irritated tone looking at me. “Awww Steve I still think your a strong and handsome man!” I said as I laughed and touched his chest. “Um yeah so can one of you point me in the direction of a bathroom?” “Yeah gorgeous I’ll show you!” Billy said with excitement in his voice. Billy takes me upstairs to the bathroom. When I finish I come out and he’s still there waiting for me. “Come on I wanna show you something…” Billy said grabbing my hand. I followed him into his bedroom. “So what did you want to show me? I said giving him a skeptical glance. “This..” he said putting his lips on mine. His body was warm and inviting so I just let him take control. His tongue tasted like cigarettes and beer, but I didn’t mind. This was exactly the distraction I needed. His hands cupped my breast as he kiss my neck. Just as things start to escalate Steve walks in. “Oh and what is going on in here guys?” Steve said with a smirk leaning against the door frame. “Uh you know just hanging out.” I said, my cheeks flushed from being caught. “Either get out or sit down Harrington, I’m kind of busy.” Billy said in a low husky tone his eyes never leaving me. “I guess I can stay for a minute as long as it’s cool with you..” Steve said staring at me with hopefulness in his eyes. I looked at him and then back at Billy with an approving look. Steve moves a desk chair from the corner of the room closer to the bed, his eyes staring at me the entire time. Billy started to kiss my neck again. But this time he was licking and sucking. I let out a slight moan as my body started to move closer to him. My hips moved up and down, begging for him. My eyes were still on Steve who was obviously enjoying the view. I could see his dick start to harden in his pants. “Don’t just leave him hanging baby.” Billy whispered closely to my ear. Those words sent a piercing sensation through my body. The mere thought of having both of these strong chiseled men to myself at the same time scared me. But it also excited me. Was I really about to do this?

I guess I took to long to make a move because sudden Billy had flipped me over and off the bed. I stood there looking at him confused. “Strip” he said as he positioned himself back against the wall. I began to take off my clothes slowly until I was completely naked looking back and forth at Steve and Billy. Steve was sat back in his chair looking me up and down as he let out a little moan. “Damn you are sexy as fuck baby. Isn’t that right Harrington?” Billy said as he stood examining my body. “Fuck yeah.” Steve said biting his bottom lip. Billy grabbed me by my wrist, forcefully pulling me and then pushing me to my knees on the floor in front of Steve. I looked back and Billy and he said “Well show use what you got.” I smiled and crawled further in front of Steve. I lifted his shirt exposing his perfectly toned body. I kissed his chest down to his stomach as I unbuttoned his jeans. When I pulled them down his dick stood straight up waiting for me to make my next move. I started by licking the head in a circular motion causing him to let out a throaty moan. At this point Billy was on the bed rubbing himself through his pants. Steve grabbed my head and started to slowly push it down to take all of him in. I moaned with excitement and I could feel my wetness starting to drip down my thigh. I reached over to Billy and started to rub his hard dick through his jeans. He threw his head back and began to take his pants off. I took Billy in my hand and started to jerk him off. Steve had a fist full of my hair pushing and pulling my head fast and then slow. Just then, Billy stood up and pulled me off the floor. “Now it’s time for some real fun” he said through heavy breath.

Billy threw my on the bed, my head dangling off the end. Before I could even think straight he had forced his dick into my mouth. Pushing further and faster as I moaned against his hardness. I felt the bed move and then my legs spreading apart. Steve had inserted his throbbing dick into my opening. “Fuck you’re so tight” he said as he thrusted inside me. Billy grabbed my throat and said “You’re just a dirty little whore huh? Want all the attention on you you filthy slut!” He pulled himself out of my mouth and said “Say you want my cum inside you. SAY IT!” “I want your cum inside me sir!” I said softly through my moans. Billy seemed to really enjoy that because he shoved himself inside my throat and let out a long and loud grunt as he thrusted. Cum and spit dripped out of the sides on my mouth. About five seconds later Steve began to jerk around. “I’m about to cum!” “Cum inside of me! I screamed as I felt I was just as close. Just then I could feel him filling me up and it sent me over the edge. I screamed out as I wrapped my legs around Steve and let myself feel the ecstasy.

Billy and Steve both put their pants back on looking at me with pure delight. “Well that was amazing” Steve said. “That was more than amazing Harrington. Maybe us three should make this a regular thing?” Billy said looking at me and winking. “I’m so down with that!” Steve said with excitement in his voice. I looked both of them up and down and said “I think that’s be best idea you’ve ever had Hargrove..”

[netflixnormalthings]

new insane ronance analysis for your viewing

so i was watching the season 4 v2 finale, as one does, when i recognized some background music that appeared in a possible significant way. after playing the scene, the song, and looking it up, i was right in guessing that the track was from the score of season 3, and entitled “Tammy”. It appears in these 3 episodes: (look under the cut for theory this is kinda long)

first of all, tammy and nancy are already sort of connected, and if you don’t believe me, read this analysis that put it better than i could

in the first, its in the bathroom during Robin’s coming out scene, specifically the part where she admits she had a crush on Tammy. Okay, cool. ALSO OF NOTE: Nancy is mentioned twice in this scene. Once, before the song plays, during the track “You’re a Fighter”, which specifically appeared in a scene about Nancy’s place in the world (her mom gives her a pep talk about the horrible old dudes at the paper). Steve mentions he was in love with her once. The next time, while Tammy is playing, Robin says she isn’t like Nancy Wheeler. (These statements deserve their own analysis, as the “she’s such a priss” statement was later disproven and robin’s view on nancy changed, perhaps giving way to possible subtext about robin and nancy being similar in the sense of queerness, which was the theme highlighted in robin’s coming out scene as a given) Okay, so Nancy, in a scene about coming out, has a noticeable impact despite not being there physically. 

In the next scene, in the next episode: Joyce talks to Will and says he’l be fine with Johnathan. Keep the fact that he is mentioned in mind. Also while the song is still playing, Hopper tries to get El to be careful. She responds by saying “I’m a fighter.” So, in both scenes so far, the idea of a fighter is mentioned. This brings about the idea of identity and Nancy Wheeler herself, as both are tied to the song’s original appearance. 

for the final scene it appears in: nancy and johnathan catch up, still dance around certain topics, etc etc. first off i would like to point ou the interesting decision that is to have them hammer things in, while johnathan lies about his college status, perhaps alluding to a “nail in the coffin” when it comes to their relationship. also to point out: steve is mentioned here was well, described as having grown up. nancy also mentions being sort of glad johnathan wasnt there over spring break, before saying it was so mike had someone to watch out for him, but you can connect the dots that that is only a half truth given that the later statement was hastily tacked on. In this scene, nancy, as opposed to being subtextually connected to scenes, is actually in it. 

Now, together, what does all of this mean? First, we must acknowledge that the song ultimately refers to unrequited love given it’s placement in the scene it appeared in. So, j//ancy or st//ancy endgame then, right?? Or at least no ronance, right??? Wrong. You see, in the original Steve + Robin + Tammy + Nancy scenario, Robin had a crush on Tammy, but Tammy didn’t like her because she liked Steve, and he didn’t like her because he was with Nancy. So, four people, the outcome is two people in a relationship and two people burned. 

What does this look like now? Currently, we would have Nancy + Johnathan + Steve + Robin. How can I prove that Robin is the one who will end up with Nancy according to this theory? Spread over three scenes, Steve and Jonathan both appear in one significantly and are mentioned in another. All scenes include both Nancy and Robin in subtextually ways, such as mentions, the whole “fighter” thing, and the fact that Tammy is ultimately a Robin song, just as You’re a Fighter is a Nancy song. This matches as both also are scenes surrounding one’s place in the world, especially in the face of adversity (sexism and homophobia discussed respectively for Nancy and Robin). It starts with a full Robin appearance, and ends with a Nancy one. Not only are they omnipresent, they also come full circle- a well rounded relationship. 

Comparatively, Nancy and Robin would be Nancy and Steve, while Steve and Johnathan would take the spot of the originally rebuffed: Tammy and Robin. 

Now, if we are comparing Nancy and Robin to Nancy and Steve, doesn’t this mean that even if they do get together, they will break up? No, this analysis/theory only deals in the whole getting together thing, while Nancy and Robin have proven in separate threads of both text and subtext that they generally work better as a duo and therefore a couple, and don’t fall to the same inevitable pitfalls as Steve and Nancy (Nancy and Robin have similar dreams, are willing to alter their first impressions on eachother, listen, etc etc wheras Steve and Nancy will always be haunted relationship wise by Barb and directly conflicting plans for the future, as in screw suburbua, i want independence vs six nuggets suburbia). TL;DR, this does provide evidence for Nancy and Robin getting together, but not staying together; however that does not negate the existence of evidence that proves that they could indeed be a healthy couple that does stay together. 

To conclude: musical cues, known to be important subtext in Stranger Things historically, points to signs of Ronance endgame. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk