#aunt robin and uncle steve are definitely there too

[fiveraccoonsinatrenchcoat]

Quiet My Fears (With The Touch Of Your Hand)

Steve Harrington x f!reader

Description: It was Steve's fault you got hurt last time, and it's Steve's fault again this time, too.

Warnings: pregnant!reader, mentions of being sick, blood, mentions of s3 events, lots and lots of crying

Word Count: 4409

Notes: Hello everyone I kinda poured my heart and soul into this pls enjoy

My Masterlist! - Series Masterlist!

Next Chapter!

July 5th, 1985 - 4:05 am

Steve had already decided what he was going to tell his parents about the state of his face. He was at a party, he’d say, and got into a fight with some drunk asshole who was hitting on you a little too hard. He tried to tell him to fuck off, but the guy got mad and threw the first punch. Steve won, of course.

A semi-believable story that involved zero Soviet torture doctors. 

You’d made it out of the night without any black eyes or broken noses, but there was a sizable gash peeking out from under your hairline. The blood that had dripped from your temple down to your neck had been wiped away by one of the EMT’s, so the cut was really only visible if you already knew it was there. It wasn’t bad enough to warrant stitches, thankfully, but that did very little to quell Steve’s incessant worry. He didn’t like the way your whole body was trembling. Or the way your tights were ripped. 

It took hours for the two of you to be able to go home, made longer by the mountains of contracts and NDA’s you were forced to sign. Steve had already gotten the super secret security rundown twice before. “You’ll probably end up with a good chunk of hush money, at least,” he had joked with you. “All of us did.”

You trailed behind Steve like a lost puppy as he unlocked his front door. He was just happy that you were alive at all.

You, for whatever reason, hadn’t made it into the same interrogation room as Robin and Steve. You weren’t there when Dustin and Erica arrived to get them, and you were nowhere to be seen during the big fight. Steve hadn’t even realized that you weren’t with them until whatever he’d been injected with was out of his system, but he was plunged into an ice cold panic the moment that he did. He begged Hopper to let him go back and look for you, though the idea got shot down immediately (‘Because clearly, you did so great down there the first time!’). Funnily enough, it was actually Murray, of all people, who found you first. He said you were about two seconds away from breaking his nose, if not for the fact that you were chained to the steel bench built into the wall. 

The house was empty. Steve’s parents were spending the holiday weekend with his aunt and uncle two states away; thankfully, Steve hadn’t been dragged along this time. He always thought his dad’s brother was a creep anyway. Your parents were across the street, most likely sleeping soundly at the thought that their daughter was just out at a house party like a regular 18 year old. Of course, nothing about any of this was regular.

Steve’s usual post-saving-of-world routine was to down two doses of ibuprofen, take the hottest shower known to man, and sleep for a day, and there was definitely a part of him that wanted to do just that, but you were still hovering behind him like a ghost. Steve clicked on the lamp on the table next to the sofa as the two of you entered the living room.

“Sit, okay?” he told you. “I’ll find you some pajamas or something.”

You nodded to him, sullen and shaky, and lowered yourself into the pristine couch. It was cream colored and satiny, like it was designed to be easy to stain, and Steve had never actually been allowed to sit on it when he was little. 

His whole body ached, but he trudged up the stairs anyway. He ducked into his own room to quickly strip off his decidedly disgusting uniform and put on a too-big sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants before picking out something for you. Steve came back down to find you wincing as you slowly pulled off your shoes. 

“Jesus,” Steve remarked at the state of the white socks that slouched around your ankles over your tights. The backs were drenched in angry red, spread all the way around the heel and down the sides, and the nylon of your tights had big holes worn through that exposed just how ripped up the skin of your heels had become.

“I decided to put on new shoes this morning,” you sighed. “Hadn’t broken them in yet.”

While humiliating, he and Robin’s Scoops uniforms were actually pretty comfortable. The sneakers Steve had worn to work that day had held up wonderfully to all the walking (and running for his life) that he’d had to do all night, but you worked at one of the fancy department stores. You couldn’t wear sneakers or comfortable shorts, you had to wear smart, grown up clothes. You’d been running around all night in a pair of brand new, shiny black mary-janes and a skirt. It made Steve feel just a little bit sick to his stomach to think about. 

“Fuck,” Steve huffed out. “Alright, hold on. There’s a first aid kit in the bathroom.”

Steve bandaged up your ankles, carefully cleaning the wounds with the softest cloth he could find and cursing himself when you made a noise at the pain. 

God, this was all his fault.

“You can take the room next to mine, if you want,” Steve said after you’d changed. “My parents won’t be home until Monday, so we won’t have to worry about them at all.”

“Okay,” you said, voice mouseish. You’d been to Steve’s house a million times before; you grew up across the street, the only other person his age in a neighborhood full of elderly couples and houses for sale. Even before Steve de-assholed, you’d still sneak out of the house to come drink stolen beers on the roof of his garage on the nights when he couldn’t stand to sleep. 

That being said, ‘welcoming’ was not really a word you’d use to describe the Harrington household. The guest room next to Steve’s was, similar to the living room, untouched and pristine. Perfectly made bed, easily palettable decor, somehow devoid of dust despite the fact that it was clear no one had used the room in a very long time. The bed had a pink comforter, a dusty-rose kind of color.

The two of you had only been apart for an hour, maybe less, before Steve heard a knock on his bedroom door. He opened it to find your teary eyes on the other side.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Steve asked. He couldn’t either. 

“I can’t-” you stuttered out. “I don’t think I can be alone right now.” 

Steve knew the feeling.

He stepped out of the doorway to make room for you to come in. The pair of you stood too close to one another in the middle of his room in heavy, suffocating silence. 

“I’m sorry,” Steve whispered.

“Don’t be,” you replied. You stepped forward and pressed your forehead against his shoulder. 

“I am, though. I got you wrapped up in this fucking mess,” Steve said as he wrapped you up in a hug. “And now you’re hurt, and it’s my fault.”

“I’m the one who wanted to help you guys. I could’a just gone home, but I chose to stay. You didn’t do that, I did.”

“I still think you deserve to be mad at me.” 

You stayed quiet for a moment, with Steve above your head wishing he could go back in time and fix all of this before it had the chance to get back to you.

“They told me you were dead,” you admitted through the quiet.

“What?”

“After they pulled me away,” you explained. “You and Robin, they told me you were both dead.”

“Oh, my god,” Steve huffed out. “Oh, my god, I’m so sorry.”

You muttered his name into his collar bone, and Steve pulled away just enough to be able to look at you. You were crying now, but so was he, and fuck, he wanted to kiss you. Kiss all of the tears away, and pull all of the horrible, fucked up things that had happened to you out of your memory, and as you stood looking at him, Steve realized that you had gotten the memo.

You leaned up and kissed him, so incredibly soft, making sure to be careful of his split lip. Steve’s eyes fluttered shut as his hands came to meet the junction of your jawline and neck. 

You pulled away from him first, tears still silently spilling from your eyes, and he touched his forehead to yours. 

“I’m really happy you’re not dead.”

February, 1989

Steve was entirely zoned out behind the counter at Family Video when the shrill ring of the phone broke through his trance

“Thank you for calling your local Family Video. My name is Steve, how can I help you today?” Steve regurgitated the same spiel as he does every time he picks up the phone. 

“What time do you get off work tonight?” you asked him. Steve knew your voice in an instant, and even through the crackle of the phone, he could hear that something was wrong.

“Eight. Why?” Steve inquired.

“I need you to come over,” you said. “It’s an emergency.”

Steve’s heart dropped into his stomach.

“Should I be calling Hopper?” he asked you. If something. . . upside down-ish was happening again, he was gonna lose his shit.

“No, nothing like that,” you clarified, and Steve let out a silent breath of relief. “It’s an entirely non-supernatural emergency.”

“Do you want me to come over now? I’m the boss-man. I can leave whenever I want,” Steve joked. He was trying his damnedest to hear your laugh come from the other end of the line.

“You’re a shift lead, Steve.”

“Yeah. Boss-man.” 

There was only silence on the line for a moment. 

“I don’t want you to get in trouble, is all,” you explained, and it made Steve's heart ache just a touch. 

“It’s fine, I won't,” Steve said to placate your worry. “Twenty minutes, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” you said, though you didn’t sound thrilled. It made Steve worry even more as he hung up the phone. 

Steve knew the two of you were wildly codependent on each other. Believe him, Robin had been reminding him constantly over the past year since she’d caught the two of you in a house party bathroom. 

The fact that the pair of you hadn’t actually made it official yet, despite the fact that you’d been sleeping with each other with relative consistency for three and half years, definitely didn’t help matters at all. 

‘You are in love with her,’ Robin loved to point out. ‘And pretending to not be in love with her while also sleeping together is going to destroy your brain!’

She was right, of course. It absolutely was destroying his brain, but if he had to pick between having a destroyed brain but also having you, or not having a destroyed brain but also not having you, he’d pick a destroyed brain anyday. Even if he thought (knew) you didn’t necessarily feel the same way he did.

Steve parked his car in the empty space next to yours in your apartment building’s lot. He knew the code to the building’s door by heart now, and he’d had a spare key to your apartment for the last six months.

He let himself in, making sure to lock the door behind him once he was inside, and saw you shaking like a leaf on the couch. 

Steve paused for a moment before he dropped his car keys onto the little table by the door. He was instantly plunged into crisis-management mode. 

In recent years, Steve had become quite familiar with crisis management mode; put all the feelings to the side, and deal with the situation at hand. Was it healthy to stub out all of the mushy shit like that? No, probably not, but emotional healing was a lot easier to do when he didn’t have the threat of  interdimensional horror hanging over his head.

Though, over the phone, you had promised him there was no interdimensional horror at the moment.

He toed off his shoes and rounded the coffee table to crouch in front of you. Your eyes followed his every movement, wide and glassy and enough to make Steve’s rib cage feel like it was about to cave in. He took your hands in his.

“What happened?” he asked you. 

You shut your eyes, forcing more tears down the slope of your cheek. A small, quiet sob escaped your lips as you dipped your forehead onto Steve’s shoulder. He brought a hand up to graze over the back of your head, holding you close to him. 

You were tougher than you looked, always had been. That wasn’t to say that Steve ever thought you were weak, but you were timid and quiet. Shy since birth, you never really stood out to Steve as a fighter until he saw you crack a Russian soldier over the back of the head with his own gun. You’d had a fire in your eyes that could’ve rivaled Nancy’s that night, before you had all been separated from one another. That fire was decidedly missing right now, though. Your tears seemed to have extinguished it.

“Hey, hey. Tell me what’s going on, yeah?” Steve asked.

“I’m sorry,” you whimpered into his neck. You sounded small and, more pressingly, fucking terrified. Steve did his best to place a hand on either side of your face and pull back to get a good look at you, though you clearly didn’t want to be pulled away from your spot tucked into the collar of his crew-neck. 

“Sorry for what, baby?” Pet names had previously been reserved for dirty-talk purposes only, but you’d started calling him ‘handsome’ a few months back as a joke (which quickly became much less of a joke), and now that rule had been thrown out the window. One more blurry boundary line in your relationship. “I wanna help, but I can’t do that if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

“Steve,” you murmured.

“You’re scaring me,” Steve told you, and it was true. “Is it something with your mom? Did she call?”

“No. She won’t. You know she won’t.”

“Then what’s happening? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this upset, and I will do everything I can to help, but-”

“I’m pregnant.”

You whispered it and Steve swore he felt his heart stop. 

“What?” he whispered back. Surely you didn’t mean it. Surely he had to have misheard you.

“I’m pregnant.” 

Definitely hadn’t misheard you, then.

“You-” It felt a bit like his brain had been replaced by cotton balls. “How sure are you?”

“Uhm, I took a test here, and it came back positive, but the box said that you can get false results sometimes, so I waited a couple days and took another one, but then that said the same thing,” you rambled. “So then, I went to that clinic on Poplar and got a blood test, and they called me earlier today and said that that one was positive, too.”

“Very sure,” Steve said in response to your onslaught. 

You only nodded in agreement.

Steve could hear the drip drip drip of your leaky kitchen sink, the sound of your cat batting around his favorite toy mouse, your neighbors downstairs fighting like they did most nights. He could hear your ragged breathing, and the beginnings of your quiet sobs, and his own heartbeat in his ears. He didn’t know what to say to you, how to get you to calm down, and he didn’t think he had the mental capacity to figure it out right now, so he didn’t say anything at all. You stayed quiet too, tucked away in your own little world of the smell of Steve’s cologne and the soft of his hair. 

Steve was about two seconds away from completely shutting down when your pitiful voice sliced through the silence.

“Steve, I don’t know what to do.”

That kicked his brain back into gear. 

“That’s okay,” he said from his spot on the floor. His emotions get tucked underneath the floorboards so he can deal with yours first. “It’s okay. You don’t have to know right now.”

And you two stayed there, you on your couch and him with his back pressed against the hard edge of  your coffee table, for a good long while. Your sniffles had graduated to full on bawling and you were clinging to him like he was a liferaft. You were petrified. His head was swimming and he felt a little bit like his heart might explode, but he wasn’t about to let you know that. 

Logically, the next step would be to talk about. . . all of it. What you wanted to do, and what that would look like, and all of it, but you weren’t able to get a word in. Even though Steve knew it was what needed to happen next, the thought of actually having to face the music made him feel sick. 

“We’ll figure it out, alright?” Steve said into your hair. “We’ll figure it out. It’ll be okay. I promise.”

You just sort of fell limp against him once you had run out of tears. Steve’s back was starting to cramp up from being squished against the table, and when he moved to plant himself onto the sofa next to you, you stayed adhered to his side. 

“Steve, I don’t-”

“I know. It’s okay.” I don’t know what to do had become your mantra of the evening. Steve was in the exact same boat, though, and the best idea he’d had all night was distraction, so distraction it would be. He paused for a moment before asking you, “are you hungry?”

You tilted your gaze to him, looking confused.

“How ‘bout I go and get us something to eat from that diner you like, and we can watch a movie or something. Then we can talk about it in the morning, yeah?” Steve suggested. You didn’t seem all that on board with the idea, though. “Is that okay?”

“I can’t keep anything down,” you explained after a moment.

Oh, yeah. People get sick when they're pregnant. Steve hadn’t really thought about that part yet. 

“Right. Well, have you tried at all today?” he inquired. You shook your head.

“Not since last night.”

Great. You’re already terrified and now you can’t even eat.

“Look, I’ll get you a grilled cheese, and an extra large Sprite for your stomach in case the sandwich doesn’t work out, and I’ll stay here with you all night,” Steve said. 

“Okay,” you said with a nod and a sad smile. You seemed to understand what he was doing, though you showed no signs of protest. “Do you want me to go with you?”

“No, it’s okay,” Steve said as he got up and slipped his feet back into his shoes. He scooped up his keys and shot you a smile before opening the door. “I’ll be quick, I promise.”

You nodded, giving him the green light to leave. He half-jogged down the stairwell and out into the parking lot, and he barely made it into the driver’s seat before he started crying.

Guilt settled in his chest in an instant at the thought, but the first thing that popped into his head when he was finally alone was that his dad was going to fucking kill him. And not just in a figurative, ‘oh no I scratched the car, dad’s gonna kill me’ kind of way; his father was going to pick up a weapon and actually kill him. Then, Hopper was gonna kill him after his dad did. You two weren’t even actually dating; how was he going to explain any of this? ‘Hey, dad! I accidentally knocked up my not-quite-girlfriend/best friend with benefits!’  That’ll go over splendidly. That’s two people added to the list of people who wanted to kill him. 

What was going to happen next, then? He was having difficulty figuring out the answer. 

Whatever you wanted to do, obviously, but you didn’t know what that was, and yeah, he was scared shitless, but you were beyond terrified. Scared in a way Steve had never seen you before. That made him feel about a million times worse.

‘Cause he was still just a shitty kid, who still lived with his shitty parents and worked a shitty job, and even with his shitty promotion, he still made a shitty wage. A shitty wage that definitely wouldn’t be enough to raise a kid, and-

He was spiraling, he could feel it, and he’d never been more grateful to see the glowing neon of an OPEN sign in his life.

He parked the car. He got out of the car. He opened the door to the restaurant. He walked up to the counter and a girl he used to know from high school took his to-go order. If he remembered correctly, she was a tattoo apprentice.

“You alright?” possible-tattoo-apprentice ask Steve after ringing in the food. “You seem a little, I don’t know, freaked out.”

“Yeah,” Steve replied with a tight lipped smile and curt nod. “Yeah, no. I’m good.”

She looked right through his lie, but moved on to a couple of older men sitting at the counter with coffee refills anyway.

 Steve, in the ten minutes it took for the food to come out, stood leaning against the wall in utter silence. In that silence, he allowed himself to live in what was probably an irresponsible thought; the one where the two of you actually did have a kid, and a house, and maybe a dog if he’s lucky. Something that maybe was a lot less far off in the future than he thought. Steve used to want kids, when he was younger. Maybe it was just the fact that he’d had every single stereotype of the American dream shoved down his throat his whole life, but he really had wanted it at one point. That was before everything, though. Before the monsters, and the chaos, and all the awful shit he’d roped you into. Before it all came back, and then came back again, again, again. Any dream of a family had been stubbed out by the fear that it could all one day be ripped apart. 

Despite that, despite the fact that he knew every single reason that it could never happen like the back of his goddamn hand, he did nothing to try and save himself from drowning in the fantasy. The image of you holding his baby made his chest go tight and he wanted it more than anything in the world, but fuck, what happens if everything goes to shit again? He had done a pretty awful job at keeping you away from it the first few times, you had the nightmares to prove it, so how could he possibly protect his kid from it, too?

The food came out and he was rocked back into reality.

He left the restaurant, stopping on the way back to your apartment at a 7/11 for the Sprite he had promised. He grabbed some anti-nausea medicine too, but it wasn’t until he got into the car that he realized there was a big warning on the back of the box: ‘Do not take if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.’ 

Awesome.

He did his best to scrub any evidence of tears out of his eyes in the rearview mirror, and got out of the car.

You were waiting for him on the couch, just as you had been when he had left. You smiled at him when he walked through the door, still the sad self pitying kind, but a smile nonetheless. 

“I come bearing grilled cheese,” he said as he placed the bag on the coffee table. The joke didn’t land.

“You were crying?” you asked once you were able to get a good look at him, the shake in your voice back once again. Clearly he hadn’t done a good enough job in the rear view. 

“N-no, no. I wasn’t, I-”

“You were,” you interrupted him, and Steve knew better than to try and deny it. You looked like you were about to start crying again, too, and Steve could feel the twist of the knife in his side. He rounded the table to sit next to you, and you drew yourself into him in an instant. Tucked into his arms, you did start crying again (how you had any tears left, Steve didn’t know) and just barely whispered, “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, hey. No sorries, okay?” he said. You wouldn’t look up at him, just shook your head. “Look, if we’re gonna blame anybody, it should probably be me, right?”

Thankfully, that line was enough to finally bubble a laugh out of your chest.

“I’m serious!” Steve took the joke and ran with it in a desperate attempt to lift your spirits even in the slightest. “I mean, it was my, y’know. . . fluids.”

“Oh, gross, dude!” you exclaimed, playfully slapping his shoulder as you sat up straight. “Don’t say it like that!”

“That’s just biology, babe.”

“I know that, I just don’t want to have to think about your fluids when I’m trying to eat,” you quipped at him as you pulled the styrofoam boxes out of the bag on the table, opening the first of the two and passing it his way. It seemed like you were feeling better, and even if you were faking it, Steve would take it. 

“Hey,” Steve called to you through the quiet chatter of the TV after a moment. You turned your face to meet his and the moment his eyes locked on to yours, it seemed like every word he had wanted to say to you had slipped out of his mind. Your voice reeled them all back in, though.

“Yeah?”

“Whatever you wanna do, okay?” he stuttered out. He was pretty sure he might start crying again.

“Right. Yeah.” Your smile faded in an instant at the reminder of the situation.

“And whatever that, y’know, looks like,” Steve continues. “I’ll be right next to you, holding your hand the whole time.”

You give him a pitiful, heart crushing smile, and the pair of you didn’t bring it up again all night. 

[forever-rogue]

Hi Bee,

OK I got a Nurse Steve request for you. I was thinking tooth rotting fluff. I'm thinking it's been a few days since Cami was brought home and Steve doesn't leave her side. He's talking to her in a baby voice, badly singing, watching her every movement, telling her that if she ever considers dating Uncle Eddie and Aunt Robin will help bury the body..etc. The reader watches smiling, Steve's sees her his eyes light up with so much love. He knows its time for Cami to eat he says something like "Mommy's the best, she's going to feed you, just go easy on her " Or something like that. Then he kisses the reader, presses their foreheads looking into her eyes saying. "Thank you for everything, my clumsy girl"

(Let me know what you think <3)

AN | Okay, but imagine Stevie and his clumsy girl bringing home baby Camila 🥺 This can be read as a companion piece to the below but also as a stand alone!

Warnings | Mild Language

Pairing | Nurse!Steve x Fem!Reader

Word Count | 2.1k

Masterlist | Steve, Main, Nurse Steve

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Camila May Harrington had been home for almost a week. 

And it had been singularly the best and most stressful week of Steve’s life. There wasn’t a way for him to properly describe the feeling that came from being at home with his wife and daughter. To put in simple terms it was the best feeling in the entire world; he had everything he could have ever wanted. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The two of you were lying in bed, thoroughly exhausted but happy. You were hoping to squeeze in a few hours of sleep before Cami woke up again; it was hard adjusting to the sleep schedule of a newborn, but at least you’d had some practice with the last trimester of pregnancy where you could barely sleep yourself. 

“Hey,” Steve whispered softly, shifting over to face you, a sleepy smile on his own face. He reached over and tenderly brushed his knuckles over your cheek, causing you to lean into his touch.

“Hey yourself,” you reached for his hand and brought to your lips, pressing a soft kiss to it, “do you think we’ll be able to get some sleep for real this time?”

“I think we might be in the clear,” he laughed softly, draping an arm over your waist and pulling you closer to his warm body, “maybe Cami will have some pity on her poor old parents.”

“Can’t even blame her but fuck, this is hard,” you hated saying the words out loud but if anyone in the world understood what you were going through it would be him. He knew, at least technically, all that your body was going through. Plus he was there with you in the thick of it all; you were so thankful that he’d taken time off to be home with the two of you, “I love her so much but do you think it’ll get easier? Am I…am I a bad mother?”

“Angel,” he tutted gently and shook his head, “it will get easier, I promise. We’re adjusting to a whole new little person being with us, and having to be the people that keep that little person alive and happy. It’s a big change and responsibility but it’ll get better the longer we do it. And you are not a bad mother. You’re amazing-”

“How do you know? It’s barely been over a week,” you felt the tears well up but Steve pressed a kiss to your forehead in what he hoped was a sign of reassurance, “I don’t wanna mess anything up!”

“You’ve already been taking care of her for nine months,” you couldn’t help but snort in amusement at his bright smile, “and it’s easy to see how much you love her. She knows that too.”

“Okay,” there wasn’t a way you could love him anymore if you tried. He really was everything to you, “you too, you know. It’s easy to see that you adore our daughter.”

“I do,” he promised, even though it definitely didn’t need to be said, “and I like getting to say our daughter.”

“She definitely takes after you,” you yawned and he raised an amused eyebrow, “those pretty brown eyes and an already full head of hair. And she’s got you wrapped around her little finger.”

“So does her mother,” he took your hand and laced his fingers through yours, “we’ll make sure the next one takes after you.”

“Oh? You assume I’m going to go through this again, Steve Harrington?” his cheeks pinked as he sheepishly shrugged. But you ruffled his hair affectionately, “you already know I would, my love. We’ll have all the little Harringtons running around one day.”

“I am so-” before he could finish whatever he was going to say, you hear Cami’s soft cries coming from her crib. You didn’t bother to hide your sigh; this was a normal reaction after all, it didn’t mean that you loved her any less.

"I'll go," you couldn't even remember whose turn it was to go and check on her but it had just become such a natural reaction. Steve wrapped his fingers gently around your wrist and kept you from getting out of the bed, "Steve-"

"I'll get her," he insisted softly, but with a firmness that suggested he wasn't going to take no for an answer. He kissed you softly before making his way out of the bed and towards the door, "I'm going to take her to the nursery so you can try and get some rest."

"Thank you," you looked at two of them, the absolute picture of perfection, before slumping back against the pillows, "I love you both so, so much."

"We love you too," he replied softly as he held Cami against his chest, "lots and lots."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Hey there Cami girl," he cooed softly as he held her gently, but securely, against his chest. Her cries had quieted slightly but she was sniffling and had big crocodile tears running down her chubby little cheeks, "its alright baby girl, Daddy's got you."

He opened the door to her nursery and turned on the nightlight before gently sitting down in the rocking chair. Steve remembered how much you had loved it while you were pregnant and how'd you sit in there while you watched him work. He wouldn't have had it any other way.

"Shh, shh," he cooed as she laid against his bare chest, her chubby little hand holding onto his pinkie. He liked getting to hold her like this and was a big fan of skin to skin contact, "yeah, you're okay, huh? Daddy's right here."

He smoothed his hand up and down her back in the way he'd come to know that she loved. She hiccuped lightly but the gentle rocking of the chair seemed to lull her and calm her down.

Steve started singing softly to her, lullabies that he remembered from his childhood - some of the earliest and best memories he had of his parents - and one that he’d taken the time to learn during your pregnancy. He thought he sounded terrible, but you always insisted that you loved his voice; he hoped that Cami agreed. 

Once she grew more tired and her breathing evened out, he switched to telling her stories from when he was younger and all the people that she was going to meet soon. 

“Family,” he stroked her pink, chubby little cheek, “one thing you’ll learn in life is that sometimes the best parts are the family that you make. But I hope that you always know that your mama and I love you so much. We’re always going to be here for you.”

She made a small sound almost like she was agreeing with him, which brought a smile to his face. He closed his own tired eyes, willing himself not to fall asleep; there was a part of him that was still worried about accidentally crushing her despite the fact that he knew that was extremely unlikely. 

“You’re already so loved,” he promised her, “you’ve got a huge family all waiting to meet you. I think you’re going to be stuck with them for life. Like Aunt Robin, Uncle Dustin, and Aunt Nancy and Uncle Eddie. You’re never going to be lonely. And, as you get older, you’ll be so thankful for them. Except for maybe when you start dating…Aunt Robin and Uncle Eddie would be the first to help me hide a body, but I’m just putting that out there. But we won’t have to worry about that for a long time.”

Before the two of them managed to fall asleep, Steve told her some stories about his adventures with his friends, the parts that were either suitable for children or severely edited, and about his story with you. Eventually, sleep won over and Steve fell asleep along with the baby snuggled up on his chest. Meanwhile, you were passed out in bed, snoring softly as you caught up on some much needed sleep.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You weren't sure how long you had been asleep by the time you woke up but you were still alone in bed. You stretched, enjoying the popping of your stiff joints before making your way down the hall to the nursery. You had a feeling you'd find your loves there.

Sure enough, the two of them were in the rocking chair, both snoozing away. You didn't want to wake them but you also felt bad for leaving them like that knowing Steve would have a stiff and sore neck. 

"Hey, my love," you gently put your hand on his shoulder, attempting not to startle him. His sleepy, pretty brown eyes slowly opened and he graced you with a gentle smile, "come back to bed. It's your turn for some rest."

"You sure?" He mumbled as you nodded. Your husband gingerly stood up, doing his best not to wake the baby as he padded back down the hall after you. 

Pulling back the covers you made a space for him and he almost all but fell into bed. You slid in next to the two of them, snuggled up as best as you could.

Cami seemed to have other ideas as she started to squirm and fuss around again. Steve gently cooed at her, attempting to calm her down, but nothing seemed to work. It only took him a few minutes to realize what was going on, "you're hungry, huh baby girl? Well, your mama's the best but you have to ask her."

"Yeah, I think I can help out here," you whispered, gently reaching for her small body to hold her to yours. It was amazing what just a few hours of sleep could do, but you already felt a little better. 

"You gotta be good to her, okay? Be easy on her," he murmured as fixed your top so she could easily nurse. He rolled onto his side and closely watched the two of you with nothing but awe and reverence in his eyes, "you gonna be okay, angel?"

“Of course,” you settled Cami on your chest so she could latch on properly and start nursing. After a little bit of struggling the first couple of days, it had become so much easier, “the little bit of sleep helped. And I’ve got you right here….there’s nothing better.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” he wished he had his camera then and there to capture the sweet moment of his family, “my whole world, right next to me.”

“You’re such a romantic,” you carded a hand through his dark hair, gently scratching at his scalp, “I love you.”

“I love you,” he yawned and felt his eyes getting heavier again, “‘m sorry you have to do all the hard work.”

“What do you mean?” you couldn’t help the small giggle that escaped your lips, “Stevie?”

“You’re the one that had to be pregnant and your whole body is still going through so much,” yeah…that had been pretty hard, “would do it for you if I could.”

“I know,” and you both knew that he was being serious, “you’re a good man, my love. But don’t worry, it’s all okay. And just so you know, I’d do this all again.”

“Again?”

“Mhmm,” you soothed your hand gently along Cami’s back, “and we’ll do it again eventually, yeah? Have baby number two.”

“Only if you want,” he loved the idea of having more children, but he’d never push you to do anything you didn’t want, “you’re really cute pregnant, but you’re always cute. Beautiful, sexy. All of it.”

“Oh Stevie,” you sighed contentedly, “I love you so much. We’ll figure it all out eventually. But for now, we’ll take it day by day.”

“That sounds perfect to me,” he agreed softly, “my girls, you’re everything to me.”

And he was everything to you too, as was Camila. 

That broken ankle really was one of the best things to ever happen. 

[stonathandreamer]

Married!Stonathan with a daughter headcanons to brighten your day ✨

🔸 Masterlist

🔹 You can read part 1 here | part 2 here | part 3 here

A/N: I've been thinking about Steve and Jonathan having a kid a lot lately! Also, might've turned this into a semi-fanfic, but I don't care!

--------------------------✨✨--------------------------

✨ First of all, I want to tell you that I headcanon Jonathan as being a photojournalist (because that's his dream job and I want my baby boy to be HAPPY!) and Steve... Well, I imagine him as a police officer (maybe because of the fact that Joe Keery played a cop in the 5th Season of Fargo, but it also opens the possibility of imagining Steve working with Father-in-law!Hopper!);

✨ Their daughter's name is Elizabeth Harrington-Byers, but they call her Lizzie or Liz (because I love the name "Elizabeth," and it's definitely a name Steve and Jonathan would pick);

✨ They only call her "Elizabeth" when they're mad at her (which is pratically never);

✨ Steve tries teaching her how to say his name as her first word (because "daddy" could be either of them), so Jonathan tries teaching her his name;

✨ Joyce watches over her when they're at work. Steve and Jonathan (mostly Jonathan) call her every hour or so to check on Lizzie;

✨ Jonathan takes thousands of pictures of Lizzie and proudly shows them to Nancy;

✨ Nancy and Robin proudly take on the role of the "cool aunts";

— Robin: [Holding Elizabeth and pointing at Steve] Say "dingus", Lizzie!

— Steve: [Taking Elizabeth from Robin's arms] Don't come near my daughter ever again, Robin.

✨ One time, Elizabeth babbled something that sounded eerily similar to "mama," and it sent Steve and Jonathan into a spiral of panic;

— Steve: Did she just say "mama"?!

— Jonathan: No, no, no, no! It’s just baby talk... Probably.

✨ Her first word was, obviously, "dada," and she said it while pointing at both of them;

✨ Thanks to Steve's lack of a baby filter, Elizabeth knows a couple of bad words;

— Joyce: [Calling Jonathan] Your daughter just said "shit." You, Steve, and I are going to have a talk later...

— Jonathan: But, mom! It's Steve's fault...!

✨ Uncle!Will has a special nickname for his niece - Lilibet - and no one else is allowed to use it, not even Mike;

✨ They often get confused whenever Elizabeth calls dad because they don't know which one she's calling;

— Elizabeth: Dad!

— Jonathan: Yeah, sweetie?

— Elizabeth: No, Dad Steve!

✨ Elizabeth, in turn, gets confused when Steve and Jonathan call themselves "dad;"

— Steve: Okay, Lizzie, dad's going to work now, and your other dad's staying here with you.

— Elizabeth: Which one?

— Steve: Me.

— Elizabeth: So... You're staying home with me?

— Jonathan: [Sighs] No, sweetheart, I'm staying home with you.

✨ These are life long confusions, by the way;

✨ Uncle Will and Uncle Mike, who are a comic book illustrator and a writer, respectively, make several special comics for their niece;

✨ Elizabeth calls every member of the Party "Uncle" or "Aunt" much to El, Will and Mike's (her real uncles and aunt) annoyance;

✨ The party definitely teaches her how to play D&D - they haven't played that game in years, so they're a little rusty;

✨ As his daughter gets older, Jonathan starts to worry if she'll stop seeing them as her parents because they're not biologically related, or if she'll start asking for a mom;

✨ They're terribly concerned if she'll suffer bullying when Elizabeth starts at school;

✨ Jonathan is a bit more overprotective than Steve, and also a bit more strict too (but just a tiny bit);

✨ But he also has a huge soft spot for her. All Elizabeth needs is a "puppy eyes" stare, and Daddy Jonathan will do anything she wants;

✨ One time, Elizabeth got into a fight at school because some students were making fun of her for having two dads, and Lizzie, being Jonathan Byers' daughter, kicked their asses.

— Steve: Ha! She has your fighting prowess, Jon!

— Jonathan: Don't encourage her, Steve.

— Steve: Oh, come on, she was just defending our honor!

— Jonathan: [Sighing] Alright, fine... It was kinda cool.

✨ They freaked out a little bit (actually, a lot) when their daughter had her first period;

— Steve: [Holding two different brands of pads at the pharmacy] What's the difference between this one and this one?

— Jonathan: Uh... This one is regular and this one is ultra-thin.

— Steve: Ok... So what's the difference?

— Jonathan: [Sighs] We should've called Nancy... Or Robin... Or any woman...

— Steve: We're taking both!

✨ Jonathan teaches her photography and even buys her a Polaroid camera for her birthday;

✨ Steve teaches her basketball, but Elizabeth's favorite sport is soccer. They watch soccer matches together, and Steve lets her curse freely, much to Jonathan's chagrin;

✨ They enjoy torturing Elizabeth's boyfriends. After all, a boyfriend's worst nightmare is meeting his girlfriend's dad, and Elizabeth happens to have two, so double the nightmare;

✨ It's Jonathan who teaches her how to drive because, and I quote, "your dad Steve drives like a cop chasing robbers";

✨ They love embarrassing her with stories of when they were younger;

— Steve: Hey, Liz, have I ever told you how I fell in love with your dad?

— Elizabeth: Ugh. Not again...

— Steve: He kicked my ass in high school! That's when I realized, "This is the man I want to marry!"

— Jonathan: And did you know your dad used to work at an ice cream parlor called "Scoops Ahoy"? Steve, go grab the photo album, show her the pictures I took of you wearing that cute sailor uniform!

— Elizabeth: Please, no!

✨ Elizabeth would never do even half of the stupid things Steve and Jonathan did when they were teenagers. Still, they worry she might do something dumb;

— Jonathan: But Liz is such a good kid...

— Steve: Yeah, but she's also our daughter!

— Jonathan: ... Fair point.

✨ When Elizabeth turns into a teenager, Steve realises his dream of having "six little nuggets" would be a nightmare, so they decide to stick with just one kid... For now.

[munson-blurbs]

When Man Plans, God Laughs (Eddie Munson x Single Mom!Reader)

Summary: You're a single mom of two who recently moved back to your hometown of Hawkins, Indiana, after a nasty divorce. When your friends take you out for the night, you run into your high school crush: Eddie Munson. But are either of you satisfied with just a one-night stand?

This will be a multi-part series! Let me know what you think!

Warnings: single motherhood, divorce, smut (18+ only minors DNI), oral sex (m receiving), fingering (f receiving)

WC: 2.7k

Part One

You know the saying, "When man plans, God laughs"? That was the theme of your life.

Getting pregnant two months before your college graduation? Not part of your plan.

Marrying your boyfriend of only a year while wearing a maternity wedding dress? Not part of your plan

Balancing a new career and motherhood? Not part of your plan.

Getting pregnant again because your then-husband insisted that your daughter needed to grow up with a sibling? Not part of your plan.

And moving back in with your parents in Hawkins, Indiana after your alleged soulmate up and left you for a perky 19-year-old? Definitely not part of your plan.

You hate asking for help; it was a struggle for your mom to convince you to come home. But after having the water shut off in your apartment, you'd caved, packed up your stuff, and drove back to the tiny town.

The doorbell rings; it's probably Steve Harrington and Robin Buckley, picking you up to go to the Hideout. The dingy bar had been a staple of yours during high school due to their inclination to serve alcohol to minors. You'd initially turned down their offer for a night out, so they'd pushed you away and told your parents that they were going to abduct you and force you to have fun.

Before you can open the door, your daughter's fingers twist around the knob and yank it open.

"Gracie!" you scold. "Baby, you can't just open the door for strangers."

Grace rolls her eyes, a habit she's already picked up from you at just five years old. "I saw Aunt Robin and Uncle Steve from the window. They're not strangers!"

You exhale slowly, smoothing down the skirt that fell a few inches above your knees. You haven't dressed like this since, well, the night Grace was conceived.

Matthew is, as always, trailing behind his big sister. His blue eyes widen when he sees who's at the door. "Uncle Steeeeb! Aunt Wobin!" he shrieks. Robin scoops him up in her arms, squeezing him into a hug. You and her had been close in high school, and you'd picked right back up where you'd left off when you moved back a few months ago. The only major surprise was that she had befriended Steve Harrington, but he was starting to grow on you, too.

"Are you playing with us tonight?" Grace asks them, nearly pleading.

Steve shakes his head with a laugh. "Sorry, kiddo. We're takin' Mommy out for a night on the town." He squints at your daughter's frown. "Next time, okay? I'll even play Barbies with ya."

This seems to appease her until she processes that you won't be playing with her, either. "Mommy, don't go!" she whines, throwing her little arms around her waist. Matthew mimics her, tightly hugging your thigh.

You're so close to giving in, ready to change into cozy pajamas and watch Elmo for the umpteenth time, but your mom swoops in and untangles your babies from your body.

"Mommy will be home when you wake up," she tells them gently. "Speaking of which, it's almost bedtime! Who's gonna get in their jammies the fastest?" She gives you a wink and whispers, "Have fun, but not too much fun. As much as I love these guys, I can't handle another one right now."

Your cheeks redden as your friends pull you out the door. Having another kid is the last thing on your mind.

~

You wrinkle your nose as you enter the bar. It reeks of sweat, cheap beer, and stale weed. "Why are we here, again? We can drink legally now. Go to any bar you want." The soles of your heeled shoes stick to the floor.

"Our friend's band plays here," Steve shrugs. "D'you remember Eddie Munson, from high school? Long, frizzy hair; ran Hellfire Club; loved to give a rousing cafeteria speech?"

You think back to the days when you roamed the halls of Hawkins High, desperate to leave it behind for college in a big city. You hadn't had many classes with Eddie, considering you took honors courses, but you vaguely remember seeing him during PE and lunch. "I think so," you reply finally.

"It's his band--Corroded Coffin," Steve explains, taking a sip of a lukewarm beer. "They used to just play on Tuesdays, but now they do Fridays, too."

"Hey, Y/N," Robin pipes up, snickering. "Remember when you had a crush on him?"

"W-what?" you sputter, making Robin laugh harder.

"Yeah," she says between giggles, "our freshman year, his junior year. You were taking some music class with him and were in love for, like, a month."

"I forgot about that!" You played the piano and Eddie played the guitar--still does, apparently. When you two had been paired up for a project in your music composition class, you were immediately enamored by his passion for songwriting. The obsession had swiftly faded when he didn't turn in his part of the project, claiming he was too busy with real music for his real career, and earning you both a C. Still, you never stopped thinking he was incredibly attractive, even if he was a total slacker.

Steve exchanges a knowing glance with Robin. You're about to question what it means, but your chance is cut off when Corroded Coffin takes the stage. Eddie is front and center, instantly catching your eye. His hair is wild, curls everywhere. His ripped jeans cling to his legs, and a denim vest frames his torso. He's not wearing a shirt underneath, allowing his myriad tattoos to be visible. You feel a flutter in your lower belly that you haven't allowed yourself to feel in ages.

No, you tell yourself, you're a mom now. Moms don't hook up with their high school crushes while they're struggling to get their life together.

You try and focus on the music, all-too aware of the thoughts echoing in your mind.

~

Robin and Steve head backstage after the show, bringing you with them.

"It's getting late!" you protest, but they ignore you and insist that it'll be a good time. You roll your eyes but oblige.

"Buckley! Harrington!" Eddie calls out, pulling them in for sweaty hugs. "You made it!" He opens a black tin box and pulls out a joint, lighting it up and taking a hit. You can't help but notice an assortment of bottles and containers inside as well.

"We did," Steve agrees with a laugh. "And we brought a friend. This is Y/N." He nudges you forward. Eddie's eyes take you in hungrily, eyes conspicuously scanning your body.

"We, um, worked on that music comp project together," you manage, purposely omitting his lack of participation.

He snaps his fingers, bouncing slightly with excitement. "I knew you looked familiar!" he says excitedly. "These two told me you'd moved back, but I had no idea..." He pauses, cocking his head slightly.

"What?" you ask. Did you have something in your teeth? Sweat stains from dancing all night?

"Nah, 's just," he ducks his head, running his tongue over his lower lip. "I remember you bein' cute, but now you're, uh..." He glances down at your short skirt.

"Hot?" Robin fills in. "Gorgeous? Still totally out of your league?" You shoot her a glare, and Eddie takes the opportunity to send Steve a silent plea for privacy.

Steve grabs Robin's elbow. "I think I dropped my keys in the bar," he mutters through gritted teeth. "Help me find them?"

"Wha--oh," she starts, quickly getting the message. "Sure, yeah." She turns to you. "We'll be...right there if you need us."

And then they're gone.

"Wow, they were really subtle," you joke, easing the tension.

Eddie laughs, and it's such a sweet sound that you smile even wider. He flops down onto a beat-up couch, more foam than leather at this point, and pats his lap.

"Tell me what you've been up to since high school, sweetheart."

You gulp, trying to think about anything besides getting married, giving birth twice, and getting divorced. Remembering the way Eddie drank you in with his eyes, you decide to use it to your advantage.

"Do you really wanna talk?" There's a sultry note in your tone as you saunter over to him.

He cocks an eyebrow, manspreading slightly. "Thought I'd try to be a gentleman."

You just shake your head, climbing on the couch so you're straddling his thigh. "I'm kinda on a tight schedule here." It's not a lie; your mom didn't tell you to be home at a certain time, but you still needed to be awake enough to take care of Grace and Matthew tomorrow.

Eddie exhales as you press slow, precise kisses along his jawline. His hands roam your lower back, shifting you even closer to him. "You look like a fucking rockstar tonight," you whisper into his ear.

He smiles mischievously. "And you look like you're fucking a rockstar tonight." The spaghetti straps of your top graze your upper arms as he nudges them down with his thumbs. He sucks bruises into your collarbones, making you shiver.

"You good?" he asks teasingly, and you nod with enthusiasm. It's not enough for him. "Gotta use your words for me, baby."

"I'm good," you confirm. You place your hands around his neck and pull him in for a long kiss. "Really...really...good." You moan into his mouth. It's the truth; it feels incredible to be wanted, to be desired like this. A one-night stand is exactly what you need. Just a moment of passion without the drag of dating.

"Can you feel how bad I want you?" Eddie growls, bringing your hand to the seam of his pants. His erection presses against them, and he lets out a soft moan when you unbutton his jeans and let down his fly. "Right there." The man is practically whimpering at your touch.

"Eddie," you pant, grinding on his muscular thigh, "g-grab a condom."

He freezes, and you feel his confidence deflate. "Fuck," he hisses, biting his lower lip in frustration. "I can--I can pull out. I'm clean; I promise." As tempting as it is, as much as you want to quell the throbbing between your legs, you can't risk it. Your last "I can pull out" resulted in pregnancy.

"N-no, Eddie," you say reluctantly. "But I can still help you with that," you offer, getting on your knees between his legs. It actually worked out better this way; he wouldn't be able to see the stretch marked that marred your stomach, thighs, and breasts from carrying two babies.

You pull him out of his boxers, leaky cock in your hand. You smear his precum over the head, and you swear his eyes roll to the back of his head. He threads his fingers into your hair but doesn't push you down; just waits until you bring your lips around him, dragging your tongue along his shaft.

"Feels s'good, pretty girl," he whines, throwing his head back. A sense of pride surges through your body as you suck harder, fingers gliding around the base where your mouth can't reach. His cock twitches, and you know he's about to cum. You're prepared to swallow him, but he pulls himself out and spills onto his bare stomach with a few pumps of his own fist.

"You didn't have to--I would've--" you stammer, but he just shakes his head and reaches for a towel to clean himself up.

"Trust me, baby," Eddie purrs, "you did more than enough." He leans over for a kiss, slipping his fingers into your panties. "Now let me return the favor." You whimper when he moves his hand away, but he whisks you over to an old makeup table. He hoists you atop it, sitting you on the edge, and pushes your skirt up until your lace thong is fully on display.

"Touch me, please," you beg him, and he obliges, rubbing his thumb expertly over your clit. The small circles elicit the most guttural moans you've ever made. You'd be embarrassed if you weren't so entranced.

He slips his thick middle finger into you and your walls immediately clench around him. "So tight f'me, aren't you?" he chides, and you feel another finger inside you. He pumps them, quickening his pace as you get wetter around him.

"Harder, Eddie, more." His eyes widen at your need.

"Sure you don't want my cock?" he asks, only half-joking.

You shake your head. "I-I do, but I..."

"No worries," he interrupts, fingers still inside you, "I'll bring protection next time."

Next time? What did he think this was? You don't get to think further on this before your orgasm overtakes you, Eddie's name spilling from your lips as he helps you finish and brings you down from your high.

"I, um, I gotta go," you sputter, adjusting your panties and skirt and pushing yourself off of the table. "This was...you were amazing, really amazing."

"You don't wanna stay?" He looks confused and disheveled, nothing like the cocky musician that commanded the stage just twenty minutes prior. "I never finished that joint...we could split it, if you want?"

There's no way you're going home reeking of weed, so you politely decline. "I'll see you around," you tell him, an empty promise, kissing his cheek lightly.

You leave him to join your friends, who are frothing at the mouth for the gossip. Eddie stands there, puzzled and overwhelmed. He'd promised himself he'd start to settle down, that he would stop leaning on lustful urges and actually try to find love. And he'd screwed it up again.

~

Robin's phone rings at 9 AM the next day. "Hello?" she answers, munching on some cereal.

"Buckley," Eddie's voice, hoarse from his performance last night, comes through the phone. "You have that fancy three-way call thing, right? Can you add Harrington?"

"Sure thing, Casanova," she teases. "Heard you and Y/N had a great time backstage."

Eddie sighs. "Kinda what I wanted to talk to you guys about." He runs his fingers through his hair, reminiscing on his brief moment with you. The way your eyes sparkled, the way your body rested in his lap, the way he felt when you kissed him.

"Hello?" Steve gets on the line.

"It's me and Eddie," Robin speaks first. "He wants to talk to us about Y/N."

"Oh, Christ," Steve groans. "We already got all the details, Munson. You don't need to brag."

"No, no," Eddie reassures him. "I just wanted to ask for her number. She ran off last night before I could get it."

There's a pause before Robin talks. "Why do you want her number?"

"Uh, so I can ask her on a date?" More silence; it's so palpable that Eddie's worried that his friends hung up. "Still there?"

"Y-yeah," says Steve. "I'm trying to wrap my head around this. Never pictured you dating someone with kids."

"Steve!" Robin chastises him, but the damage is done.

"Y/N has a kid?" Eddie's jaw hits the floor. He really is in over his head.

"Two, actually," Steve relents. "And she's going through a divorce. So I don't think this is the best idea, Munson. Maybe just leave this as a one-time thing."

"But I don't--" Eddie throws his free hand in the air. "All you two did was talk her up, tell me how awesome and sweet and smart she is, and then you tell me that I can't be with her?"

Robin lets out an exasperated breath. "We thought you two could hook up, especially since she had a crush on you in high school--"

"She what?"

"But we didn't expect you to, like, fall for her," she barrels past the crucial detail she just dropped.

"Well, I did. I fuckin' did." Eddie's voice raises slightly. "And Y/N's an adult; she can decide whether or not we try something more serious. So just please give me her number."

"Fine," grumbles Robin. "But don't come crying to us if she breaks your heart."

"And don't break hers," warns Steve; Eddie recognizes the seriousness in his tone.

"I won't," Eddie promises. He half-listens as Robin babbles on about something.

I'm gonna figure this out, he thinks. But it wasn't just about winning you over; no, it was beyond that. It was about becoming the man, a man, that he'd always been too afraid to be.

--

[stevieharringtonwifeguy]

i think when steddie have their first baby (not sure if they have more) it's an accidental pregnancy. eddie's been on t long enough that he didn't really think he still could get pregnant, and he hasn't had his period in a while, so it takes him a second to realise why he's been so nauseous lately. wayne picks up the test for him, and waits outside the bathroom door while he takes it. eddie'd moved in with steve like a year ago, but he's so off-kilter he needs waynes stability right now.

the test is positive. eddie walks outside the bathroom and wordlessly hands wayne the test. wayne sees it, puts a hand on eddies shoulder, and asks if this is good news. and now eddie has to think. he always kind of wanted kids, abstractly, and he knows steve does too (six of them, the mother hen), but he always thought that it would be some time nebulously in the future. he feels too young right now, still feels like a kid himself, even if he is in his mid-20s. and carrying a pregnancy to term is resigning himself to at least 9 months of definite misgendering. but also he's not sure he'll ever get a chance like this again. he hasn't had a period in years, so he kind of assumed his uterus was just like. dust and cobwebs at this point. it's probably an act of god this happened in the first place, like what are the chances?

and then he looks down at his stomach. again, it took him a while to realise anything was up, so he's about two months along now and just starting to show, even though his bump is still small enough he thought he was just getting fat. and he thinks about the little bump of life inside of him. his and steve's baby. thinks of him and steve raising it together. and he thinks it might be good news.

but first he has to tell steve. it goes well. mostly well. at first when eddie says he and steve need to talk, all serious and sitting him down at the kitchen table, steve has a minor panic attack thinking eddie's gonna break up with him. but they smooth it over, and eddie tells him he's pregnant. honestly, steve's elated. but then he thinks about eddie, who's a dude, and maybe won't want to go through such a traditionally feminine ordeal as pregnancy. steve'd carry their baby himself if he could (don't read into that, steve), but he doesn't want to accidentally guilt eddie into it if he doesn't want to. so they go back and forth for a bit like 'how do you feel about it' 'idk how do you feel about it' 'idk how do y-' but they eventually do talk it out like the adults they are. eddie can handle it, for their baby. and yeah their apartments kinda small, but it's big enough for one more (robins gonna have to give up her allocated guest room, but don't worry, she's cool with it), and money will be tight, but eddie knows how to make a pay check stretch

eddie's pregnancy is kinda rough. nothing goes seriously wrong, but no obstetricians know how to deal with a pregnant man, and the constant misgendering wears him down a little. the constant pissing and back pain and foot pain and everything pain really don't help matters. but at night he lays down next to steve, who curls around him and lays a hand on his stomach, and they feel their baby kick together. and he thinks it's probably worth it

their baby girl is born in the fall, happy and healthy. they name her alexis (lexie munson), and she grows up into the weirdest little kid ever, with two parents (and aunty nancy and aunty robin and uncle dustin and-) who love her very much. she collects bugs and plays dnd and loves metal and climbing trees. she joins the softball team (that night eddie cries himself to sleep while stevie gloats) and always gets one of her aunts to help her with her homework because her parents are helpless. stevie almost cried the first time she asked, no idea what was going on there.

they're not a normal family, and sometimes lexi gets teased for this. but she goes home to two parents who love her so much, who always support her and her passions, and who would do anything to put a smile on her face. so yeah, not a normal family, but a very, very happy one.

[findafight]

Why do you (personally) think so many Steve fans loathe the idea of him becoming a dad? becoming a parent is the only dream we know he has, but it's thrown in the trash in most fics. I keep reading about steve being childless by choice, because the party is enough for him, which I really don't get, they're only 4 years younger than him, their relationship is brotherly, not parental, and they have their own parents who raised them. I love found family, but it's not the same as raising children

Oooh. Anon you are so bold giving this to me, a person who has an elaborate studio era lavender marriage au where Steve and Robin just. Get adopted by children who break into their house AND one where Steve becomes brotherdad to his half sister. A person who clearly also doesn't know why people have future!Steve childless. Man attracts kids like the pied piper.

But let me try. I have some ideas.

First off there's less space between Steve and Dustin than me and my little sister, but more than me and my big brother, so I can for sure say, you definitely become more friends less caretakery with your siblings once you/they are not fourteen. Still protective though. Maybe many people writing those don't have close sibling relationships with moderate age gaps? Like, there's a point where you feel comfortable letting your little sibling do mostly whatever, because they're big, but you're not gonna let them get hurt if you can stop it. There's also never a point where you stop looking at your older sibling to help you. That doesn't mean my big brother is like my dad?? It's very different, and that's important!! The Party for sure has a sibling-like relationship with Steve, especially Dustin, and Max, and I'd say Lucas (he has a little sister, but no older sibling, and Steve and Erica are scoops troop bonded so. Bonus brother for Lucas!)(will and Mike have their own older siblings. El and Steve interaction WHEN!!!!) and they all have actual parents. So yeah. Steve has a gaggle of little siblings he'd fucking die for, and his kids are going to have so many uncles/aunts/non-binary sibling of parent (there is no good word for that)

So. I think it's possible that because a lot of people headcanon Steve as queer, that immediately makes "having kids" a bit more complicated given the state of things for queer folk in the 80's. That's fair.

With that, possibly people sort of...transfer Steve wanting kids and a big family to working with kids. Which isn't that big of a leap for Steve! He obviously does well with the Party and Erica, and he canonically worked as a lifeguard, which almost definitely means he taught swimming too! (Small pool def wanted duel certs. Trust me). He likes kids, works well with them, and wants them. These are three things that are separate, but blend well with each other.

However I don't really agree. Obviously being parents was harder for gay/queer people in the eighties, especially men. But it wasn't unheard-of! I think saying that because he's queer and in a relationship with a man in the eighties that he'd have to give up on his dream of being a dad is rude. There would be obstacles but, really, I think Steve would see it as totally worth it.

Another reason I think people don't want to give future Steve kids is. Listen it's been a while since I saw it but. His little speech was pretty embarrassing. Mostly because it was to Nancy. And that he followed up on the way to vecna and said he thought it would be her there too... Literally any other character would have made it not awkward, but because he and Nancy haven't talked about anything other than the upside down since season 2, it was awkward and bad. If it was ANYONE ELSE it would have been so cute (it still kinda is just. Ignore that they tried to give stancy development without actually giving them development) like if Robin was there? If Dustin or Max? Erica? Lucas? Were sitting in that seat, it'd be Steve sharing a dream of a big family he had, trying to lighten the mood, of opening up to people he cared about. They'd tease him, but the implication of him wanting them there as well would be clear and very cute. Adorable.

Because those are characters that don't have the same baggage in their relationship with Steve, but the six nuggets speech was made to Nancy so immediately it's already a bit off for people who want the characters to actually, y'know, talk about the past and move forward from it. Nancy and Steve's relationship is so messy and interesting and if they wanted me to get into actually rooting for it then maybe they should have an actual conversation about it!! And have Nancy break up with Jon before!! Not just half dreams of the future while her bf isn't there!

People also try to use it as saying Steve assumed Nancy would? Just be a Sahm? Or something? When that was never the implication? Maybe Nancy would have interpreted it that way, but I didn't. Steve wanted a big family who spent lots of quality time together having adventures. Six kids is a lot, but I betcha if Steve thought that much about having that many kids and road tripping to the ocean, he was probably imagining being the primary caretaker of those lil nuggs. He was daydreaming about first day of kindergarten and tearing up for real I know it.

Also I think people are cowards if they don't think Robin and Steve would get convenience married and adopt a couple kids even tho Robin is slightly terrified of toddlers (they are fast and they BITE) and Steve would be Robin's trophy husband who's a stay at home dad that wages physiological suburban warfare by being a Wife Guy and the envy of all early nineties housewives.

[anarcoqueer1994]

I think about this alot because Eddie and Steve would be a little older than my dad, and I am 27(about to be 28), thus they could definitely be grandpas by now. Like could you imagine thier daughter, and her partner have a 3 year old and she is about to have thier next grandkid. And like she is in the hospital, just gave birth and this poor woman has to deal with them gushing over this baby, her Aunts Robin and Nancy, there too, also gushing. And Steve insists on taking a million pictures on his phone, so he can show his students(he is a middle school guidance counselor.) Over the next week, she and her partner are bombarded with dinners they can just heat up, and visits from ALL her Aunts and uncles(the entire party) because Steve and Eddie were the first to have grandkids. Not to mention all her friends showing up, some pretty much her cousins because she grew up with all her dads' friends kids. And she wants to hate it but can't help but think how lucky her kids will be to have all these people in thier lives loving them.

[thatonecurlygirl]

The Best Stories

Fandom: Stranger Things

Pairing: Dad!Steve x Reader

Word count: ~900

Summary: (A Danny and Lily story) Danny loved the stories Max, Dustin, and Lucas told him and is excited when Uncle Eddie says he has a story to tell him.

It’s been a few weeks since Dustin, Lucas and Max had babysat the kiddos while you and Steve went out on a date. Steve’s fearless mini-me, Danny was thrilled to hear the stories the kids came up with about his dad fighting monsters like a super hero. It’s any little boy’s dream come true to hear stories like that, although to him that’s all it is. Stories that his Aunt Max and Uncles Dustin and Lucas made up all for him to enjoy.

“Your Uncle Edds, was a super hero too, kid!” Eddie announces adamantly, catching Danny’s attention as he whacks another monster puppet with his bat.

“Did you beat the monsters up with a bat too?” Danny jumps up, running to Eddie and plopping down at his feet, ready to hear the story of how his favorite Uncle Eddie beat the monsters.

“No, cooler! I even saved your Dad.” Eddie smiles wide.

“You saved Daddy?” Lily perks up from across the room, slowly making her way over.

“Child friendly please, Eddie.” You warn glancing over at Steve who is cautiously glaring at him.

“Yeah, yeah.” He waves you off.

“So we were in the Upside Down, your Dad, Nancy, and Robin were at the monster’s house. Dustin and I were on top of trailers.”

“Where was Mommy?” Danny asks, looking over his shoulder at you.

“Your mommy was in Hawkins, making sure Lucas, Erica, and Max were safe.” Robin pats the top of Danny’s head as she walks in to the family room and takes a seat next to you.

“Anyway, Dustin and I were all set up and waiting for the signal. We had to distract the scary bat monsters, the Demobats.” Eddie stands up on the couch. “We got the word to start and Neeeaaaaawwwwww” He starts playing air guitar, mimicking how he played Master of Puppets.

Steve goes to yell at Eddie for jumping on the furniture again like a child, but Danny quickly stands up and taps on Eddie’s leg, pulling him out of his rockstar trance.

“You played the guitar?” Danny asks.

“Yeah, cool right?” Eddie jumps down off the couch and kneels to be level with Danny.

“No,” Danny shakes his head.

Robin busts out laughing along with Steve, the two of them in stitches, nearly rolling around on the floor with laughter, “Steve, he is so your kid!” Robin giggles.

Ignoring Steve and Robin, Danny tilts his head to the side. “You didn’t beat up any monsters?”

“I definitely bear up monsters with a spear and a shield,” Eddie steps onto the coffee table acting like he is fighting back demobats with his imaginary weapons. “I was trying to protect Dustin and give you Dad, Robin, and Nancy time to kill the big monster, but the bats got me.” He dramatically falls off the coffee table.

“Oh no!” Lily shouts.

“But they got the monster and I survived, but I have these nasty.” Eddie goes to lift his shirt to show the children the scars.

“That’s enough.” Steve quickly cuts him off, shaking his head at Eddie. “Kids dude, kids.”

“Right I forgot.”

“I like when they tell me stories Dad.” Danny jumps to my feet. “The stories are much better than the ones they tell me at school.” He wrinkles his nose in disgust.

“When you’re a little older, you can join Hellfire and we will tell you about all the monsters.” Eddie promises little Danny.

“Great, trying to turn my kid to the nerd side.” Steve rolls his eyes, folding his arms across his chest.

“I think Uncle Eddie is cool.” Danny defends Eddie. “Not a nerd.”

“He’s definitely a nerd, kid, but that’s okay.” Steve fixes Danny’s hair and gently brushed his knuckles across his jaw. “We kind of like him.”

“‘Kind of’ my ass, Harrington, you love me!” Eddie smiles wide.

“Language!” Lily and I shout in unison.

“My god, your kids are miniature versions of the two of you.” Robin says with wide eyes.

“Do you have a story too, Aunt Robin?” Lily asks, climbing into Steve’s lap.

“Me? O-oh no, I’m not a good story teller.” Robin stutters nervously.

“I bet your the best storyteller, just try.” Danny encourages her and he sits up on the couch with Eddie.

“Yeah, Rob, why don’t you tell the story about the Russians.” Steve’s eyes light up.

“About how Erica and Dustin saved us from the evil Russians that kidnapped us?” Robin says in a wildly whimsical and mysterious voice.

“Yes!” The kids… and Eddie, all shout in unison.

“Well, your Dad and I worked at an ice cream shop…”

Robin continues on with her story and you look around the family room. Steve sits on one side of you with Lily perched in his lap. Steve kisses the back on her head and smiles as Robin rambles on. Danny, dressed in the outfit the kids put together to make him look like Steve did, sitting next to Eddie who is listening like he had never heard this story before. Now that you think about it, he probably hadn’t, when you all initially went over what was going on with Hawkins at Reefer Rick’s you gave an overall summary but never delved into the stories.

Steve slips his hand into yours, giving it a light squeeze. He smiles lovingly at you when you look over at him. “God I love you.” He mouths to you, resting his chin atop Lily’s head.

“I love you too,” You mouth back, “forever and always.”

“He’s my daddy.” Lily fusses when she sees you and Steve ogling each other. “Don’t look.” She attempts to push you away.

“Sorry.” Steve chuckles quietly.

—————————-

Tags: @xicarcalii @asheseiler @loulouloueh @lacunaanonymoused

[moonlit-imagines]

Chicago (Part 1)

Steve Harrington x Wheeler!reader

warnings:

a/n: set just about where s3 starts

prompt: reader is mike and nancy wheeler’s cousin

part 2

From the Windy City to a boring little town in Indiana, what a downgrade. You were being forced to finish school in Hawkins and live with your Uncle Ted and his family. You didn’t see that side of the family very much, so it didn’t make the move any more desirable.

Last time you saw your cousins was when Holly was born. That was about five years ago, and everyone had grown a lot since then. They were unrecognizable. Your Aunt Karen picked you up from the train station and brought you to her two-story house that you’d call home for the next year. You grabbed your suitcases from the trunk and she showed you to your room.

“Y/N! It’s good to see you, god you’ve gotten tall.” Uncle Ted said without moving from his chair.

“Yeah, good to see you, too.” You followed Aunt Karen upstairs. Mike ran down the halls and passed righy by you, but backed up once he processed who you were.

“Y/N?” Mike’s head tilted.

“Hey, Mike. Long time no see.” You chuckled.

“You can talk all you want at dinner, Michael, y/n needs to get settled in.” Karen proceeded down the hallway.

“See ya, kid.” You followed your aunt down the never ending hallway of the giant house. It was bigger than what you were used to.

“We already have you enrolled in school, so you’re all set. Classes start in a couple weeks, senior year, yay!” Karen cheered. “You get to graduate with Nancy.”

“Sweet.” You dropped your bags on the floor. “Where is Nancy?”

“Probably with Jonathan.” Your aunt chuckled.

“Jonathan?” You flipped your suitcase open and unloaded some clothes.

“Her boyfriend. He’s an interesting kid.” Karen sat down in a chair beside her. “A lot different than the other guy she was dating.”

“Polar opposite?” You hung up a few shirts.

“Exactly.” She snapped her fingers. “What’s up with that?”

“I think she’s discovered boys and trying to figure them out. Good luck with that.” You joked. Karen stood up from the chair.

“Well, I’ll leave you to unpacking, I’ll start dinner, Nancy should be home in less than an hour.” Your aunt stepped out the the room.

“Thanks, Aunt Karen!” You told her. You refolded some clothes that moved around during your trip and put them in the dresser drawer. You took a quick look around your new room, which was bland and boring. You had no posters or pictures or trinkets or anything fun. Just your clothes and your bags. You had a year to make it your own, though.

You finished your short task and walked downstairs, running into a boy who was about your age. He was with Mike and a few other kids.

“Y/N, hi, you should come downstairs and meet everybody. You’re going to see them a lot.” Mike explained.

“Alright...” You chuckled. Your cousin led you downstairs to a group of younger teens who all waved at you.

“Everybody, this is my cousin, y/n, from Chicago.” Everyone waved at you. “Y/N, this is Dustin, Lucas, Max,” he pointed at each person as they greeted you, “El, Will, and—”

“I’m Steve. Steve Harrington.” Steve cut Mike off and shook your hand. “It’s a pleasure.” The kids were chuckling at his efforts.

“He’s our designated babysitter.” Dustin smiled and nodded. You giggled at the boy’s description of Steve.

“Yeah, I mean, I take care of these kids a lot, they’re kinda reckless.” The group shot him a glare.

“Noted. Well, it was fun meeting you all, I’m gonna take a quick look around Hawkins. See you around.” You walked up the stairwell and told your aunt that you were going to explore for a little bit. Steve followed you out the door.

“Hey, why don’t I navigate a little? Show you some cool places around town? I’ve got a car, I could take you to the mall.” He proposed. You hesitated to respond. “It’ll be fuuuuun.” Steve shook his keys.

“Fine. I wanted to get something for my room, anyways.” You shrugged.

“Perfect. This way!” He pointed to his maroon BMW and unlocked the door for you.

—————

You and Steve walked side by side through the mall.

“And that’s where I work.” He pointed to an ice cream parlor where a girl was serving ice cream. “That’s Robin, she’s mean to me sometimes.”

“Interesting, very interesting.” You giggled.

“You want some ice cream?” He asked.

“Sure? I guess I could go for some. Just not too much, my aunt is making dinner now.” You followed him into Scoops and approached the counter.

“Hello, Robin. This is Y/N Wheeler, I’m showing them around town today.” Steve introduced you.

“It’s nice to meet you.” You told her.

“Yeah, you too. Steve can I have a word in the back?” She opened the door to the breakroom while you sat and waited in front. “Wheeler? As in Nancy Wheeler? As in your ex-girlfriend Nancy Wheeler?”

“It’s her cousin, they’re not really close. Y/N’s gonna be here for this upcoming school year. By the way, you should hang out with them, they’re pretty cool.” He told Robin.

“You like them, don’t you?” She shook her head disapprovingly.

“Maybe a little. I mean, I’ve only known y/n for half an hour, but half an hour well spent.” He awkwardly chuckled. “It’s not like they’re innocent either, y/n’s flirting back a little!”

“Does y/n know that you’re their cousin’s ex?” Robin reasoned with Steve.

“Nancy doesn’t care about what I do, so what’s the big deal? I’m gonna get some ice cream and have a nice time with y/n.” He pushed the swinging door open and got some ice cream for the two of you. “What do you wanna do now?”

“I kind of need some room decor. Posters or something nice?” You suggested.

“I know just the place.”

—————

You rustled through your bag of posters and the little stuffed animal Steve bought for you.

“Thanks again for the Chewbacca plush.” You smiled at him.

“Of course.” He parked in front of the Wheeler residence. “Now go eat dinner, I’ll definitely be seeing you around.” You shut the door and winked at him through the glass. He watched you enter the house, then left the scene.

“Hey, everybody!” You announced. Nancy heard your voice and rushed over to you, engulfing you in a hug.

“It’s good to see you, y/n. It’s been too long.” Nancy pulled away.

“Agreed.” You ruffled your hair a bit to fix it.

“Dinner’s on the table, c’mon.” She led you to the dining room. “So what’d you do?” She eyed your bag.

“Oh, yeah, the Harrington boy took me shopping at the mall. I needed to find something to hang up in my room.” You pulled out the Chewy stuffed animal. “And he got me this.”

“Ooh, he’s quite a catch, y/n. You guys would be great together.” Nancy told you.

“You think?” You smirked.

“I know. Seriously, if he’s buying you stuffed animals, he probably likes you. You should give him a chance.” Nancy poured you and her a glass of juice.

“Maybe I will...”

[linkispink1995]

Better as Friends (25) A new Routine

Previously

Series masterlist

Chapter warnings:language , mentions of smut and a lot of fluff , kissing

A/N:this is the last part to this series but fear not there is a prequel and a sequel to this series,I want to thank everyone who enjoyed the series. This was my first series that I'm actually proud of so like always feedback is appreciated , stay safe and enjoy (Also there is a small q&a at the bottom feel free to fill that out).

~~~~~~~~~~

February 10th 1983

Dear Y/n , I honestly don't know how to start this other then I'm sorry. I'm sorry for leaving , I'm sorry for ignoring you and treating you so wrong , but not only that but I'm sorry for being so distant towards the baby. Our baby , the baby we made with our love and I'm pretty sure on a beach towel but that's besides the point. I promise that I'll be there for you whenever or wherever you need me , I love you and hope with all the love and kindness in your heart that you can find a way to forgive me. I might not deserve it , I mean I definitely don't deserve it but if you can forgive me maybe we can start over. Raise our child together like it supposed to be , love Steve.

June 7th 1988

Dear Y/n , I love you and I'm not sure when I exactly figured it out but I do , I can't think of a particular moment I realized this it maybe its was when I heard you laugh first time or the first time and maybe I realized it again when I saw how you were with Jackson . I don't know when it was but it will be something I'll never forgot but I've been waiting for this day for a while to realize that I'm still in love you but now in this moment I know I don't want to let you or Jackson go.

Love Steve

~~~~~~~~~~~

I felt tears begin to prick in my eyes reading those words , Steve however was silent probably waiting to hear my responses. I didn't respond though , I couldn't I was speechless and I didn't know why. Maybe it was because of how long ago he wrote this or maybe it was that he had this letter or maybe it was because I realized that maybe someway somehow this is how we were supposed to get back together. I looked up at Steve before he wiped on of the fallen tears that stained my cheek before I placed my lips onto his. He pulled away saying "I love you" I responded saying "I love you too" we reconnected our lips before walking down the hall to finish what had been started before the phone call

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

I awoke the following morning to an empty obis of sheets 'was last night a dream , it felt like dream , it was a dream' , I then wrapped some of sheet around myself since after last night's events I was to tired to change into pajamas "good morning". I turned to see Steve exciting the bathroom with a towel hung loosely around his waist , I responded saying "good morning". He then pecked my lips before saying "as much as I hate to leave this view , I gotta go to my place and get some stuff and make sure that someone is gone" I nodded before saying "yeah I should probably get up too before he comes home" He sighed saying " god I love you but your such a procrastinator" I nodded saying "well when you get back I'll make your breakfast" he nodded before I got up and kissed his cheek again before walking to the bathroom. After my shower I exited the bathroom and walked into the bedroom to see that the bed had been made and there was a small note on the bed , I then walked towards the kitchen since I had yet to have my morning cup of coffee. I had put the creamer into the fridge when I felt a that familiar samll figure run into my legs I pulled Jackson into my arms before saying "hi my sweet pea , did you have fun at grandma's" he nodded before saying "I missed you mama" I responded saying "I'm missed you and you know what I have a surprise for you" his face lit up before I added "aunt Colleen and uncle Matt had the baby and you me and daddy can go see her today his face lit up with a smile saying "really" I nodded as he added "but I thought we were mad at him". I sighed saying "well I think daddy and I have made up now" he nodded as my mom stood there with a look of shock on her face causing Jackson to giggle before I added "hey why don't you go play so I can talk to grandma". Jackson nodded before running back to his room. As I began to take a sip out of my coffee mom spoke saying " where you safe last night " I gasped saying "mom" she shrugged saying "Y/n I love you but isn't he still with that girl ". I quickly shook my head saying "no mother they broke up" she then asked "well at least you were safe" I rolled my eyes saying "jesus my mother , that's not your business". She nodded before I changed the subject since this wasn't something I wasn't going to talk to my mother about. "How was he last night" she nodded again saying "good , he's a really good kid sweetheart I'm really proud of you". I nodded as she added " besides that did you get to talk to him at all" I nodded as mom added "really" I again nodded before she added " was this before or after he gave you that marking on your neck" I responded saying "oh no this is a-" she cut me off saying "sweetie if I didn't know what a hickey was you probably wouldn't be here" I cringed at my mothers words before saying

"whatever mom" before feeling lift me off the ground and then peck my cheek a couple dozen times. Robin rolled her eyes again before saying " well I'm gonna go , Steven will you walk me out , we need to talk " Steve then pecked my cheek before walking outside with mom.

August 12th

Steve's p.o.v

I awoke as the sunshine began to pour into Y/n's bedroom window , I yawned before Y/n snuggled into my side I kissed the top of her head before trying to soak a few more minutes of sleep. A few minutes later I felt a kiss on my cheek and voice say "good morning" I opened my eyes before pecking Y/n's lips before saying "good morning". We then continued to lay there in silence soaking up our last minutes together before we'd have to wake Jackson up since todaywould be his firstdsy of kindergarten , a few minutes of laying there watching the sunrise through the blinds before Y/n spoke saying. "He has to get up soon" I nodded saying "I know but he could just stay here with us" she sighed saying "Steve I wish he could stay but -" I cut her off by pecking her lips before saying "Y/n I'm kidding , I want him to go and have a good time". She nodded before rolling over to view her alarm clock causing her to say "I should probably get out of this bed now" I responded saying "I'll miss you baby " to which she responded "I like when you call me that" I then started to kiss the back of her hand and start to work my way towards her neck only to pull away before getting to her sweet spot to say. "You know there are other names too if you don't really love that one" she then gasped as my lips ghosted her collar bone before I added "like babe , and honey or pumpkin" my lips finally made it to where I knew she had wanted them causing her to gasp before I could continue there was a knock at the bedroom door causing Y/n to pull away and walk towards the door. As she opened the door to reveal Jackson on the other side whoa seemed surprise to see her there since he said "can we go now" she sighed saying "no sweet pea not yet , how about we go and have breakfast" he nodded as the two left for the kitchen.

Y/n p.o.v

I entered the kitchen with Jackson in tow , the excitement could be felt in the air with a small mixture of sadness since my sweet baby boy who I could once carry in my arms was now going to kindergarten. Jackson had been waiting for this since the beginning of summer , he'd probably been counting down these days. On the other hand I was a mess and each day it would get worse , I thought I'd never stop crying after buying his backpack. It would get better , and then I see his school clothes that he had on his dresser since May. Steve however was doing really well and was acting like nothing was going to change and maybe he was right maybe the only thing that was changing except my baby was going to kindergarten.

After breakfast Jackson quickly ran to his bedroom to get dressed , before practically nagging Steve and I to get dressed cause he wanted to go early. After Steve and I got dressed Jackson then dragged us out of the house , the entire car ride Jackson was talking a mile a minute about all the things he was excited to learn but I not Steve was silent almost as if he wasn't really there. I pulled into the school parking lot before looking into the backseat to see Jackson grinning like the Cheshire cat , we exited the car before waling to the school. I was honestly nervous since he did seem so excited but I was afraid that the second he got up to the classroom he wouldn't want to leave my side since Jackson had always been close to me especially in new situations. To my surprise when we got to the classroom he didn't put or cry he just walked away from us , not even a goodbye kiss or an I'll miss you hug. Jackson just walked in the classroom no problem. As Steve and I began to walk back to the car I spoke saying "are you okay" he shrugged before I added "Steve honey what's-" he didn't responded he just fell in my arms saying "he didn't say goodbye he just walked away from us , he's done with us pretty soon he'll be driving and he'll-" I cut him off saying "he's play Steve will see him in seven hours okay" he frowned saying. "How about we pick him up at ten instead of two" I shook my head saying "no he's gonna stay the whole time okay and will pick him up and go out for ice cream afterwards how does that sound". He nodded saying "fine" I responded saying "and we can't worry okay he'll be fine , at least he didn't have a meltdown like someone I know". Steve huffed saying "mom told said we were going to the park that was not the park" I rubbed his shoulder as Steve continued his rant about how he didn't have a kicking screaming fit on the first day of kindergarten (he did) as we got into the car I couldn't help but think about how long it had been since I was in a classroom

Flashback

It was a rainy cold Thursday , I was sitting in Ms. Stone history class watch the rain drops tap the window . I probably should've been listening to her speech on the second world war , my perfect view of the first spring rainstorm after the snow had melted was disturbed by feeling someone tap on my shoulder. I knew exactly who it was , it was the person who sat in front of me since the beginning of the year , Steve Harrington. We had been best friends since Mrs. Andrew's third grade class after he poured paint in my snow shoes and I returned the favor by placing a rubber spider in his bookbag but that was over now. Are small rivalry had turned into a really good friendship and if I was being honest I couldn't help but want more my thoughts were interrupted by Steve saying "do you have a pencil" I sighed before handing him the one I was using "thanks" he said before I realized that was my only pencil. I sighed knowing that Ms. Stone was extremely stick about pencils I knew that because of Steve constantly asking for one. I hesitated before raing my hand before she spoke saying "yes Y/n you had a question"

I swallowed the lump in my throat given that I was never one for public speaking "I don't have a pencil and I was wondering if I could borrow one"

I felt as if every eye was on me "Ahh Y/n I thought to expect more from a grade A student" she said while walking towards my desk I was ready to hear what an idiot I was when all of the sudden someone interrupted "actually Ms. Stone , Y/n let me borrow her pencil I didn't realize it was her only one" it took me a moment whose voice it was , I though I was dreaming but I couldn't have been no mater how boring Ms. Stone's class was I never feel asleep, but my eyes had not deceived me it was Steve , Ms. Stone sighed and looked at me again saying "you knew you only had one pencil so you gave it to your fellow classmate" I nodded "ahh I see well Y/n , Steve since you both like pencils so much why don't you come in to detention on tomorrow and sharpen some for me" Ms. Stone snarled before placing the pencil on my desk and walking back to the board before Steve turned around to mouth the words "sorry"

After class I made my way to my locker before Steve caught up with me saying "listen Y/n I'm really sorry about that-" I cut him off saying. "It's fine" Steve then added "well hey listen what are you doing tomorrow" I responded saying. "Sharpening pencils with you" he rolled his eyes saying "I mean afterwards , do you maybe get something to eat" I nodded saying "yeah sure Benny's with the group sounds like fun". He shook his head saying "actually Y/n I was thinking that maybe you and I could just go" I stood there shocked as he added "like a date". My jaw must've hit the ground when he said that , before I could respond he added "you know what I'm sorry we don't-" I cut him off saying "no that would be nice yeah we can go after detention" he nodded saying "yeah that's great um yeah" I nodded before feeling the courage to kiss his cheek causing Steve to turn bright pink I then quickly walked away before heading to my next class.

Flashback over

After picking Jackson up from school the three of us had lunch at Benny's as Steve and I sat listening to Jackson entire day I couldn't help but think that maybe we weren't better as friends maybe we were better together ....

The end

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Taglist @disneyprincessbuffyannesummers @queenofthehairharrington @charmed-asylum

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[carol-effing-danvers]

where we grew up

this is part two of the series “run long, roam far, return soon” part one: “knock me the fuck out (i dare ya, babe)” (cont.) (fin.) part three: “push me, pull you” 

(click here if you’d prefer to read this in AO3′s format)

Steve assures her that he’s done all the right things, followed all the right procedures. He’s calm, he looks…not relaxed because no one could possibly be relaxed in this situation, but he looks like someone who is collected and has control of the situation.

But Robin knows him, and she can see in his eyes that some piece of him has quietly died – maybe not forever, but this day has wounded him deeply.

So, she tells him he’s got this and when their lunchbreak is over, she goes back to the high school building and immediately goes to the main office. Impatiently, she dials and waits for someone to answer, anxiously hugging herself with one arm.

“This is the 11th Hour,” El answers in her best ‘customer service’ voice. “I’m Jane. How can I help you today?”

“I need you…” Robin sighs, closes her eyes, and puts a hand over her face. “Is Hargrove there with you?”

“Yeah, Robbie, hold on.”

There’s a clattering in the background before Billy’s gruff tone says “Buckley. What’s up?”

“You…you need to pick up Steve from work, today.”

“Car break down? Didn’t sound like it was in bad shape, last I heard,” Billy observes cautiously.

“No, Billy,” she says with quiet pain. “He’s-he might be there late. But he’s going to need you, when it’s finished.”

“Okay, Rob, you need to back up here. What’s going on?”

“Steve had to call CPS, Billy,” she whispers, “One of his kids came in with belt marks all over him, and while the school nurse was looking him over, Steve brought his older sister up and started asking her some questions, and he and the nurse realized very quickly that someone has been beating her around, too.”

Billy’s stomach drops. “But they’re-they’re five year olds,” he says numbly. “Little kindergarteners…”

“Yeah.” It’s amazing how much pain and anguish can be packed into a single word. “They are.”

He is, at this very moment, imagining anyone attempting to do that to his sweet little Lulu and the blind fury that left him for so long suddenly comes back with a fiery vengeance. “What kind of monster beats a five year old with a belt?!”

But the thing is…he-he knows. He was raised by that same kind of monster – Neil Hargrove absolutely beat Billy with a belt, more than once throughout his childhood.  He has no idea how Robin is managing her side of this conversation so calmly.

“Their mom is an addict, and it seems she doesn’t pay a whole lot of attention to how her boyfriend treats her kids. Steve mentioned a couple of times throughout the year that he’d noticed both of them looking a little…unkept, but Rosie is a single mom and times are hard, so he gave her the benefit of a doubt,” Robin says grimly. “Turns out, they were looking unkept because the sister was the one trying to do the laundry and making sure they both got a bath and she wasn’t always so great at it. Not surprising, since she’s only nine.”

Swallowing past the sick feeling in his guts, Billy asks “Okay, so what do you need me to do?”

“I need you to be there when he lets himself freak out. He was acting super calm when I saw him because he has to finish class and wait with them until CPS can contact their aunt, but I’ve known him for a decade – the moment a child doesn’t need him, he’s gonna fucking lose it, Hargrove, and I know you’re the person he wants the most right now.”

Billy’s eyes go wide. “I’ll be there.”

“I know.”

Even with Robin's helpful warning, Billy doesn't really know what to expect when he walks down the Grade K hall. There are no children left in the classrooms here - school let out twenty minutes ago and these kids are too little for extracurricular activities.

He is expecting what he sees in Steve’s classroom least of all.

Steve and the other kindergarten teacher, Melanie Dohr, have rooms that mirror each other – boxy spaces slightly wider than they are long, with a doorway at one end that faces the children’s cubby stations, except that Melanie’s desk and chairs are to the left of the classroom door and Steve’s are to the right. At the very end of this room is a little sofa and an open space where they do story time and nap time and when he leans his head in to check on Steve, this is where he is sitting.

Squished right up against him on that sofa is a little girl with brown hair in two long braids. She’s a little girl, but she’s still too old to be someone Steve teaches. As Steve reads aloud, one arm around her, she listens intently as she leans into his side, a tissue clutched in her fist that she holds near her mouth as she silently cries. She’s heartbreaking and what’s worse – Billy actually recognizes her.

“Something that for lack of any other name might be called friendship existed and always had existed between Marilla Cuthbert and Mrs. Rachel, in spite of – or perhaps because of – their dissimilarity...”

This is Marcy Roberts, Martin’s big sister. He’s seen her many times, because Marcy walks her brother down to the kindergarten hall every morning before she goes back to Mrs. Webster in the third grade hall.

On their very first date, Billy had overheard Steve having a talk with Martin outside the classroom when he hit a classmate who called him names, and it reminded Billy so vividly of himself it was nearly painful. Of course Martin was the boy who’d taken a beating with a belt. He didn’t know why he hadn’t guessed it was Martin in the first place.

Silently, Billy makes his way into the room – he knows when Marcy spots him, because the fourth-grader immediately becomes tenser and tries to shrink into Steve’s side, her big blue eyes watching him wearily. Steve’s arm tightens around her, eyes briefly flicking upward before he serenely continues with his reading.

Old Billy would’ve been furious that Steve was deliberately choosing to ignore him – Old Billy was furious when Steve ignored him. New Billy slowly crept his way around to Steve’s desk while being watched by a little girl, settling back into the teacher’s chair and trying to look as innocent and nonthreatening as possible.

He wouldn’t consider himself a natural with kids, not like Steve was, and he’s definitely never had to interact with a child whose been treated…well, the way he’d been treated, he supposed. Lulu has never been afraid of him, but she also doesn’t really know any better. Uncle Billy is Uncle Billy, and he’s always been Uncle Billy in her eyes. And Justin is a worthless father, but he’s never actively tried to cause his daughter physical pain or mental anguish – though his complete disregard for her existence could hardly be called any better.

Steve is beloved by all of his students, of course, but for Marcy, he may literally be the only adult that she trusts. Marcy and Martin need him and that will hold his entire focus until they can be settled.

For a while, Billy wonders what happened to Martin, and then realizes that he probably had to stay in the nurse’s office. He knows from hard experience that sitting was likely painful and difficult at the moment if Martin got the belt. With any luck, the nurse has given him a light sedative, something to put him to sleep or even just make him a little more comfortable.

When Marcy’s focus is no longer dedicated to waiting for Billy to suddenly attack her, he takes the time to really look at her. Has she always been so small and thin? Is he only really noticing this now because he has some idea of what her home life is like? There’s a wrapping of gauze around her right forearm hinting that Marcy didn’t entirely escape the mercies laid upon Martin. Her hair – brown to her younger brother’s toe-headed blonde – is looking a bit unkempt and her clothes aren’t dirty but they are also certainly not new and Billy knows he wouldn’t have noticed any of this if Robin hadn’t already told him that their mother has been neglecting them.

But Steve had noticed.

Steve has been noticing, maybe the entire year, probably watching with helpless dismay as Marcy and Martin’s condition deteriorated right before his eyes as their home situation got more and more unhappy. Billy wonders what finally led him to the proof he needed to get CPS involved.

In hindsight, Billy now realizes that more than one of his own teachers had tried to get him to open up to them about the way Neil treated him at home, but he had been a scared and angry child and in early childhood, he hadn’t understood what they were asking for. And later on, he hadn’t trusted any adult enough to do that, until he’d become a sullen and violent teenager that everybody wanted to write off instead of an energetic and overeager child.

Marcy is still half hiding against Steve’s side, listening to him read – or maybe just letting the sound of his voice wash over her the way Billy is doing. Her hand is up near her face, fingers reflexively curling but she doesn’t actually put any of her fingers in her mouth. It’s not normal, is it, for a nine year old to still have the urge to suck her thumb?  

He loses track of time, letting the murmur of Steve’s voice soothe him into something like a doze, though his eyes are still open, when there is suddenly a knock on the classroom doorframe. A slim blonde woman with a briefcase wearing a navy blue pantsuit stood in the hall, standing beside a brunette woman with her hair cut into a short bob. “Hello, you must be Marcy!” the blonde says, just a little too bright to be entirely natural. “I’m Mrs. Rhodes, but you can call me Vicki.”

“Uh…okay,” Marcy says nervously, still glued to Steve’s side.

Steve gives Vicki a very charming smile – though now that Billy knows him so well, he can see that it’s a bit insincere. “Can I talk to Marcy for a just a second? Nurse Downing’s office is just down the hall and to the right if you’d like to check in on Martin. He might still be asleep, though.”

“Alright!” Vicki said, though the brunette looked like thrilled about this, she followed her back down the hall to the nurse’s office.

As soon as the woman’s footsteps had dwindled down the hall, Steve gave Marcy the worn down copy of Anne of Green Gables. “Keep that with you,” he tells her quietly. “It has my address and phone number inside. I think your Aunt Rachel will take good care of you, but if someone hurts you again, if you don’t feel safe, or if you just want to talk to me, call me, okay? Even if it’s really late at night, even if it’s not a school day, even if it’s the middle of summer, alright, Marcy? Any time you want to talk to me, call me. Alright?”

“Okay.” Marcy repeats, louder this time but with a wobble in her chin. She clutches the book to her chest like a shield, fingers tightening on the spine now that she knew the truth of its importance.

She surged forward, embracing Steve desperately, which he returns before plucking up her faded purple bookbag. “Let’s go find Mrs. Rhodes and Aunt Rachel. We’ll see how Martin is doing.”

---

The hand off was just as hard as he knew it would be. Martin was emotional and weepy, throwing something like tantrum – or Steve would’ve called it a tantrum if he didn’t know how scared and confused and traumatized he was – but Helen handled it pretty well and managed to calm him down. Marcy practically had a panic attack as they were leaving but Steve could almost see her reminding herself to be the responsible big sister.

Fuck.

Steve has to remind himself for the hundredth time that the state won’t let a single man with his history and his salary have one child, never mind two. No matter how much he loves them. No matter how torn up he is to watch them leave.

Rachel will do a good job, he tells himself firmly. Truthfully, Rachel couldn’t do much worse to them then her younger sister already had. Even after his gentle question of Marcy – something Vicki and Rachel will probably follow up on in more depth later – Steve isn’t exactly sure when Rosie checked out on her job as a mother. What little Marcy had admitted to, beyond the evidence directly on her and Martin’s bodies, left him believing that the real problem had been that Rosie was never checked in.

Rachel had looked unhappy with the development of this whole situation – unhappy, but not at all surprised. Steve thinks that maybe Rachel has long harbored some suspicions of her own.

Steve walks back to his classroom like a sleepwalker. He feels drained, like some kind of vampire has been sucking on his neck all afternoon.

Billy leaning against a corner of the hall, waiting for Steve to return. His eyes, so stark and vividly blue, remind him painfully of Martin and Marcy. Reminds him of a hospital bed, and a monster made of a mountain of corpses and carnage. Reminds him of the way Billy had looked against the starched white linens, and how for the longest time, that was the last image Steve ever had of him.

Deep in himself, he feels sick down to his soul. With time and practice, he’s gotten the hang of dealing with other people’s pain, but Steve has never quite gotten the knack of looking directly at his own. His voice crawls from his throat, falsely bright and without any warmth. “Picked a wild time to surprise me.”

“Wasn’t a surprise,” Billy grunted, watching him closely. The way he always seemed to be watching him. The way, Steve now realizes, the way Billy literally always had watched him. “Buckley asked me to take you back home.”

“I don’t know why,” Steve says, frowning at his desk as he idly tidies up before reaching to shut the lights off. “You don’t have to. I can drive, it’s not like I’m impaired or something.”  

“Humor me,” Billy replies shortly, in a way that tells Steve he won’t be taking ‘no’ for an answer. Not that he ever really takes ‘no’ for an answer. Steve finds it both aggravating and charming, and he knows that combination is going to get him into some serious trouble one day.

Steve shrugs, though even that’s half-hearted. “Fine, I guess.”

Maybe Billy and Robin are right – he doesn’t really remember the drive back to his apartment and he’s sure that he opened the door at some point, but Steve finds himself in the kitchen, just…staring at the cabinets, and he can’t quite recall how he got here. Standing there, with no Billy in sight.

“Billy?!” His voice cracks, his voice going shrill with the same panic that’s making his palms sweat.

“What, what’s wrong?!” Billy shouts from the bedroom. His bedroom. Their bedroom? “Stevie?”

“I-nothing.” Relief suddenly makes his legs so weak that he nearly just collapses right down to the ugly linoleum floor. “Nothing!”

Come back. Come back and hold me and don’t leave me – not now and not ever. Tell you love me and tell me you’re okay. Tell me everything is gonna be okay.

Steve slid down the side of fridge and on to the floor, breathing deeply in and out.

Back when they first began living together, Robin had very quickly caught on to the fact that sometimes Steve was…not okay, so she made him get some time with an anxiety specialist – paid for by the US government, because part of the cause of this condition was a secret interdimensional hole under the town that occasionally produced violent alien entities that killed and ate people, which Steve and Robin were both not allowed to talk about with the outside world. They taught him breathing exercises, meditation techniques for moments like this one.

When he can get his legs beneath him again, Steve hauls himself off of the ground and searches around for the cast iron skillet. They have the ingredients for cornbread around here somewhere.

It will probably still taste like sawdust to him, but the activity will occupy his mind, at least for a little while.

He feels bad that he can’t pretend cheerfulness, even to Billy. Beyond the aching numbness that has penetrated into his very bones, Steve’s anxiety is shrieking at him, telling him that if he keeps acting this way, Billy will leave. A voice in his head that sounds like Robin warns him that his inability to give a shit about even that isn’t a good sign.

They eat dinner, and Steve tries to answer like a normal person would, but he can tell by the way Billy doesn’t quite meet his eyes that he’s not doing a good job. A much less helpful and comforting voice – one that sounds more like his mother or his father – tells him not to be so sensitive. To stop overreacting.

That other voice, his Robin/common sense/better angel voice, won’t shut up. Won’t leave him alone. Tell him. If you don’t tell him, you’re always gonna feel like shit about this. Tell him, dingus.

In the end, it’s Billy himself that breaks that final barrier on his silence.

---

Billy knows how to solve this – or at least he knew how Henry solved this when he found Billy wandering around fucking Silver Lake in the rain. But he doesn’t really want to put Steve in a bath of ice cold water and pour whiskey down his throat until he gags. Lost white boy. Hey, lost white boy! Why you walkin’ round lookin’ like somebody whipped yo dog? Huh?

He never did give him a real answer. What could he have possibly said?

Part of the problem is that if Billy didn’t know him so well, Steve would seem almost normal. But he seems a little extra vacant throughout dinner, while watching television, even while brushing his teeth. Like somebody replaced his boyfriend with a friggin’ Stepford Wife or something.

As gently as he can, Billy removes the remote from Steve’s nearly limp fingers. Steve barely blinks at him – though it would usually garner at least an indignant squawk from him. He tries to think of a way to say it diplomatically. Fail, because he’s Billy Hargrove and he has no diplomacy – and says: “Are you going to talk to me about this or do I have to torture it out of you?”

He’s entirely joking, but Billy flinches when Steve absently replies, “I doubt you’ll have any better luck than the Russians,” blinks, and then says: “What?”

Swallowing down his queasiness – Max has passionately defended Steve’s bravery at Starcourt before he ever even returned to Hawkins – he sweeps back the bangs hanging into his eyes. “Your kids,” he says, still clumsily attempting gentleness. “Do you want to talk about that? What happened?”

Steve smiles weakly, giving Billy a hug that held maybe a tenth of the strength he normally possesses. “No,” he whispers, face hidden away against Billy’s neck. “No, I really don’t want to talk about it.”

Billy swallows again, wondering why he feels so disappointed. He doesn’t really want to hear the grisly details – he’s probably got firsthand knowledge of most of it already – but at the same time, it feels like part of Steve doesn’t fully trust him. Though that idea should sound ridiculous, an insecure part of himself – mostly the part that still remembers his dad calling him a fuck-up all the time – wonder if Steve is actually as serious about them as Billy is.

Because Billy is like…insanely serious about them. A hundred times more serious than a heart attack, serious.

If a single pastor in Indiana woulda let him, Billy would put a ring on the long white second finger of Steve’s left hand tomorrow. That’s how serious he is. They’ve been together less than a month, but a part of him has belonged to Steve, with Steve, for more than ten years now.

Beyond even his own paranoia and insecurity though, is just…plain old worry.

He’s pretty much always known that Steve has a heart of hold, but it’s starting to look like maybe this day has hammered it to pieces. He watches Steve brush his teeth mechanically, unaccompanied by any of his usual chatter, moving like someone twice their age.

At bedtime, they usually trade off being the big spoon and little spoon, but this time, Billy stays facing Steve, gently strokes his cheek. A part of him feels a flair of love and hope when Steve leans into the touch. “Take it easy, heartbreaker,” he whispers, sweeping back Steve’s bangs again. “I’ve got your back tonight.”

The streetlights outside spread across their bed in a warm orange glow, allowing Billy to watch Steve blinking in a heartsick daze. Faintly, Billy hears him say “He was just crying. Just crying the whole morning, and I couldn’t understand why. By the time I took him to the nurse’s office, I-I think I already knew.”

Steve is the one crying now – crying and hangin’ on to Billy like he’ll disappear.

Billy’s just stunned, stunned and heartbroken by how utterly devastating this has been for Steve. He’s speechless, and the only thing he can do is hang on and be here for him. So he does.

---

The next morning is one in which Steve is allowed to sleep in, both because it’s Saturday and also because it seems that Billy has already gotten up to feed Angie for him. Normally she wakes him up whether his alarm goes off or not. He felt the mattress move just before dawn, but Billy is in bed with him now, wrapped around Steve’s back. He’s got a lowkey headache from all the crying – or trying not to cry – that he did yesterday, but he feels calmer about the world today. Marcy and Martin are safe, and Rachel will make sure they stay that way. Billy is here.

Relaxing back into the pillows, Steve finds Billy’s hand resting against his belly and laces their fingers together. He can tell that he’s already awake – his fingers squeeze back at his own too readily.

“I thought about you,” he admits quietly, tracing over Billy’s knuckles – rougher than his own, belonging to fingers shorter and thicker than his own. “The head nurse probably thought that I was going crazy. He was just…staring at me, on the bed. And I kept thinking about the last time I’d seen you before you left town.”

“What happened to me…it’s all in the past,” Billy says simply, and the ways his arms tighten around Steve’s body is comforting but the words don’t soothe him.

It’s all in the past.

But it wasn’t. Not for Steve.

“I use to wonder where you were,” he whispers, lifting Billy’s fingers to trace his lips over the scars on those knuckles. “No…not wonder. I use to worry. About you – where you were, what had happened to you.”

And now that the words had were finally coming out, Steve couldn’t hold anything back. “I’d worry myself sick, because the last two times I’d seen you-” He chokes, surprised anew that even with Billy right beside him, those images held just as much power over him as they had before. “-the last times I’d seen you, you were dying or you were-you looked so hurt and lost…”

“I’d wonder if you were even still alive – were you okay? I used to have these-these really vivid night terrors about that night in the mall…” He closes his eyes and swallows past the hard lump sitting in his throat. “Robin made me see a doctor, it got so bad – she didn’t know the specifics, but she did know that it wasn’t getting better.”

And for ten years, he hadn’t been able to say the name of his crush out loud, like there was a terrible curse placed on Steve. He laughs weakly. “I-I remember nearly fainting when El sad she’d seen you at Max’s wedding, and you looked well. You were happier. Calmer. It seemed so silly after that – though I still wondered what happened to you.”

“That’s not silly at all,” Billy murmurs, and he sounds thought, squeezing Steve around the middle and warming him right through. “Was I okay? I wasn’t. Not for what felt like a long, long time.”

To Steve’s surprise, Billy hooks his chin over Steve’s shoulder and continues speaking. “After I tried going back to my mom’s – I was kinda homeless. I mean, I had the truck, but I’d just got out of the hospital and I could barely sleep for more than an hour or two at a time and every little noise made me wanna crawl outta my skin. I didn’t really notice much back then, but I’m sure anybody who walked down the street crossed to the opposite side when they saw me coming toward them.”

“This guy – this random black dude named Henry found me walking around Silver Lake, just wandering around by myself in the rain. I’m still surprised nobody called the cops on me. Anyway, Henry took me back to his apartment, poured whiskey in me until I gagged and threw a bucket of ice water over my head.” Billy chuckles slightly. “Miguel was so mad at him for that.”

“Miguel?” Steve repeats in a whisper, terrified that Billy will stop talking.

“Yeah, Henry’s boyfriend, Miguel. He was a nurse. I called them Harold and Maude just because it drove him crazy. They, um,” Billy took a deep breath in, held it, then exhaled hot air down Steve’s neck. He shivers and Billy cuddles closer, Steve’s heart thump, thump, thumping for him. “They were part of the group of volunteers who like…took care of people with AIDS. A lot of their families just kind of…abandoned them.”

Thrown them away, Steve thought, heart sinking. Just like Billy’s mother had (repeatedly) done to him.

Quietly, Billy says “For my first couple years, that’s what I was doing. Helping Henry and Miguel and the other volunteers. Looking back on it, they probably thought I’d lost someone to it. Most of us had, it seemed to be everywhere.”

He’s silent for so long that maybe Steve thinks that this is it, these tantalizing hints are all he will get of Billy’s past for right now, and Steve continues obviously stroking at his knuckles. He aches at the idea of Billy, still injured and hurting from the rejection of his mother, wandering through California all alone, until a good Samaritan was kind enough to take care of him.

Then Billy says, “Sometimes, I wished…I wished that had it.”

And Steve can’t breathe, he can’t move, he can’t think. With five short words, Billy had wrecked his whole thinking brain. “You…that you had…”

“Yeah,” Billy says, very softly. “I didn’t want to die, I didn’t even want to be sick. But HIV was a concept Henry and Miguel would’ve known how to understand. I know that they saw the bandages, that first night, and the scars later on. I think I spent the first year there wishing that I were sick instead, just so that I would be able to tell someone what had happened to me.”

Steve can’t stand doing this without seeing Billy anymore and rolls to face him. “You shouldn’t have had to do that by yourself,” he says, nose trailing down Billy’s neck. “Nobody should have to do something like that by themselves.”

Willing his anxious stomach to settle, he adds “I hate that you went through that and that you were in such obvious pain that a literal stranger could see it. I hate that it took meeting two complete strangers for someone to finally care about when you were hurting. But more than anything, I hate that I wasn’t there for you when you needed someone.”

Billy’s freckles show in the morning sun, and the light makes his eyes bluer. He leans into the touch as Steve holds his cheeks in both palms. And what he says next makes Steve love him just that little bit more: “Maybe not. But I used to be a little boy, just like Martin Roberts. And you were there when he needed you, when Marcy needed you.” Softly, painfully gently, Billy kisses his mouth. “Because of you, Martin doesn’t have to grow up into me someday.”

Steve caresses down Billy’s cheeks with his thumbs, palms tickled by all the bristle. He whispers, “I don’t see growing into you as a bad thing, Billy.”

Billy huffs out a laugh, long eyelashes falling to his cheeks. Just the lightest of flushes touching the tips of his ears. “You were there, y’know.”

“Hm?” Steve murmurs dreamily, caught in the spell of those freckles and lashes.

“Every pair of big brown eyes were your eyes. Every lanky brunette with a sweet smile was you. I saw you everywhere I went. Trust me, even if you didn’t know it – you were there, heartbreaker.” His eyes devour Steve’s face, gaze lingering at the curve of his lips. “You're here with me right now."

When Steve cuddles closer, he rests his head right above the scars that mark the place where the Mindflayer pierced his chest. He has never been more owned, more possessed by anything than the feeling of his bare hand on Billy's chest. "Wild horses couldn't drag me off."

[ladykeane]

Bertie and Reg dress up for Halloween at Dahlia's!! and the party!!!

To the lovely Nonny who sent this, I profusely apologise if you’re not the massive weeb/animation geek that I am. But this idea stuck, and I couldn’t help myself!

Fair warning, it’s quite silly, most definitely cracky, and completely self indulgent…

There was a lesson given to me by my drama teacher at school, Mrs Irving, that has always stayed with me. The gist of her teaching was that a good actor must have a sort of dual consciousness. I suppose what she meant was that a chap should have the power to transform his mindset into that of the character he plays - and then just as easily slip back into his usual mental space, once the curtain falls. There must co-exist a Bertie-the-Wooster and Bertie-the-Prince-Hal within a single animal. Well, I suppose I have put this lesson to good use in my adult life, as I can attest that Bertie-the-Drone, Bertie-the-obedient-nephew and Bertie-the-seducer-of-certain-Jeeveses manage to be conjured at the drop of a whatsit.

A particularly surprising example of this dual consciousness wheeze occurred just recently, on the night of Aunt Dahlia’s annual Halloween bash. I suppose the lifted veil to the spirit world aided this shift of the Wooster disposish. (Well, the costume probably helped too, not to mention my dear auntie’s insistence that her party guests never drop out of character for the whole of the evening. That can make certain things a tad awkward, such as bathroom ablutions. One must ask: does Superman use the lavatory at all?)

I was given the scoop on the event by my ancestor over the phone, as I sat digesting a fourth-or-fifth slice of Reg’s birthday cake. (This year he had requested a Black Forest, and I have to say that I outdid myself. The leftover kirsch was also a boon.)

‘Super-groups?’ I asked. ‘You mean like the Travelling Wilburys?’‘No, young clot, I mean super-groups like the Avengers, Justice League, and their lycra-clad ilk. The group with the best costumes and most convincing delivery will receive a prize from your Uncle Tom and myself.’‘Ooh! And what is that?’‘For one, a cooking lesson with Anatole. Apparently he owed Reg a favour, and your man generously donated said favour to me.’I glanced an appreciative glance at my beloved, who sat perusing the W.H. Auden anthology I had given him.‘Secondly, a near-pristine Nintendo Gamecube, complete with controllers and a collection of best-selling game cartridges.’‘You mean the one you confiscated from Angela and myself? I still think that was an unfair punishment.’‘I say, it was entirely fair! Do you forget that I got stuck with the bill to clean your old headmaster’s office!? I am told that the stench of baked beans can still be detected throughout the school halls, to this very day! Anyway, I would advise you to get cracking. The competition will be stiff, I hear Angela’s little friends have been working on their costumes since August. Perhaps you and Reg could go as Batman and Robin!’‘Perhaps, auntie.’‘Well, pip-pip then. I’ve got many a fake tombstone and skeleton to haul down from the attic.’

As I hung up, Reg raised his head from his book. ‘I believe Mrs Travers has briefed you on this year’s Halloween festivities?’‘Indeed. She’s never offered a prize for the guests before. They’re real plums, at that. I reckon it would be well worth the splurge to get some first-rate togs.’‘May I ask what this year’s theme is?’‘Super-groups. By which I mean, groups of superheroes. She suggested we go as Batman and Robin! We’re already quite the dynamic duo, anyway. What d’you think?’

As I uttered these words, the Jeevesian brow began sinking south, until the look on his face chilled the lukewarm cup of tea sitting at my elbow.‘I should say not, Bertram.’‘Oh. Well… what about Danger Mouse and Penfold? You could be DM, of course.’‘I regret that I shall be unable to attend this year’s festivities. I have much to do to complete the Earl of Rowcester’s living will.’

Of all the paper-thin excuses! ‘Oh, don’t give me that Reg! What is it? You don’t care to be in the same room as all that brightly-coloured spandex? You fared just fine at last year’s “Stranger Things” soiree, and we were surrounded by a multitude of eighties fashion, at that!’(He made quite the dashing Steve Harrington, actually. Aunt Dahlia cast this Bertram as Dustin, so while I was able to tag after him all night there was an unfortunate dearth of snogging.)‘I am afraid I must insist. I do not care to be dressed in the bright, garish apparel that is requisite of superheroes.’

Given that it was the lowly rotter’s birthday, I held on to the flames that should have escaped from my nostrils. ‘Oh, very well, Reg. Have it your way.’ To ensure that none of my internal invective against him slipped past the Wooster lips, I left the flat for a sullen trudge about Mayfair.

***

That very evening, Bingo Little summoned self and several other Drones to dinner. He was in town with his husband Randy, to look for a property where they could spend their Winters. While the reports given indicated that all was spiffy within their NYC townhouse, Randy wanted to ensure that his paramour did not lose touch with his British roots. And I think I remembered him saying that his next novel was to be set in South Kensington, inspired by the likes of Richard Curtis and Hugh Grant. All rather convenient, no?

‘That Gamecube and cooking lesson with Anatole is as good as ours, lads. I have the perfect idea for our super-group.’ Here Bingo took a long sip of tea, leaving us in a state of eye-boggling suspense.‘Christ and his disciples?’ suggested Stinker.‘The Bloomsbury Group?’ queried Boko.‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?’ asked Gussie.

‘Better,’ Bingo finally replied, a rivulet of tea dribbling down his chin. ‘Do you know “Sailor Moon”?’

‘Sparkly schoolgirl with the pigtails? Yes, I recall watching the English language version with Angela sometimes. Quite a cheesy romp, that.’‘Oh, you ought to read the original manga ,’ said Boko. ‘A perfect blend of costumed superhero action and romantic high fantasy!’

For the next half hour, we were subject to Boko and Bingo giving us a full synopsis of the dratted space opera, complete with character studies, mythological references, and feminist overtones. Now, I have known my fellow Drones to sometimes possess hidden depths, but I was unsure whether this encyclopedic grasp of a Japanese super-girl-group was more of a mild pathology instead.

‘So,’ Bingo announced, ‘I believe I’ve figured out the perfect casting for each of us. I shall be Sailor Venus, of course, the soldier of love. Randy does call me his golden love god, after all.’ (Pause here for requisite retching.) ‘Gussie can be Sailor Mercury, given his general… wateriness. Boko’s love of house plants is perfect for Sailor Jupiter. And due to his spiritual calling, Stinker will be Sailor Mars, the shrine-maiden.’

I was trying to picture each of my chums kitted out in a colour coded schoolgirl costume. Perhaps we would score points for comedic effect, if nothing else.‘And what about me?’ I asked.‘Well, you’ll be our Sailor Moon, naturally.’‘Golly! I must say, Bingo, I’m quite chuffed to be given the starring role. I assume that it’s due to my former experience with drag, not to mention my theatrical prowess and general heroic gravitas.’‘Well… I suppose. It’s also because Sailor Moon is supposed to be a ditzy blonde crybaby.’‘Ah.’The judicious nods that the others gave were a tad insulting.

‘Does this mean that I’ll have to wax? ’ asked Gussie.

***

Now, if you’ve ever seen the much-celebrated cartoon, you’ll know that one of the highlights of every episode is the spangly transformation sequences, where each heroine morphs from humdrum schoolgirl into celestial warrioress. Our first go at donning the famous fuku was much less glamorous.

Boko knew a chap who knew a lass who worked at a highly-regarded fancy dress company. Apparently, many a masquerade-goer and cosplayer has raved about their beautifully crafted goods. As we trundled our way out their HQ on the tube, we were all in high hopes of scoring the perfect outfits. As it happens, the fitting session that followed made me appreciate just how inadequate the standard sizing of womens’ apparel really is.

Bingo and I had the best luck, but the costumes closest to fitting us were narrow in the shoulders and wide in the hips. Gussie managed to squeeze into one of the larger sizes, but resembled more of a wrinkly chicken sausage than a cute superheroine. (The skirt was appallingly short on him, and when he bent over to grab his phone from his bag I was quite traumatised.) Stinker, who is built akin to a silverback gorilla, utterly utterly destroyed the costume he attempted to yank on. I offered to foot the bill for that one, as a vicar’s salary can only cover so many breakages per month.

‘It’s no good, boys,’ sighed the seamstress who had patiently assisted us, ‘you’ll need to get these custom-made.’‘And how long will that take?’ asked Bingo.She put on a brave face. ‘I’ll do my best to get them ready for Halloween, but bear in mind I’ve already got a backlog of orders to finish.’‘Chin up!’ I replied. ‘I can probably ask a favour of the drag queen who did my costuming for “Legally Blonde” - Reg cut her a sweet deal with a new agent at the time. I’ll ask if she can source the shoes and wigs and things.’

A level of relief washed on to the girl’s face at this. I’d feel the same, if I were freed from the task of cobbling a pair of Stinker Pinker-sized red pumps.‘Even so, we’ll be cutting it close with this order. I doubt I’ll be done before the morning of the 31st.’‘Send me the bill for your energy drinks,’ I offered.‘It’s a deal.’

***

Time ticked on, and All Hallows Eve drew near. While I did my best not to harbour any full-on wrath against Reg at his blowing-off of the party, I couldn’t help but act a tad pipped towards him. Were lurid leotards and shiny accessories really so horrid?When he snuggled close to me on the sofa, I scooched away. When he dropped a kiss upon my map, my only response was tight-lipped disinterest. The blighter refused to compromise, so wherefore should this Wooster succumb to his entreaties? I took a lot of cold showers that week.

The big day came, and still nary a costume was yet received.‘5pm, she said,’ Boko told me, ‘and we’ll have to go and pick them up ourselves.’‘Hm, that is cutting it close. Well, bear up, old fruits! Leather Smalls will be along this arvo to do our make-up and hair.’‘Leather Smalls?’‘Didn’t I tell you? She’s part of an all-drag M People tribute act.’

If I can impart to you the experience of tubing it across suburban London in a long blonde, pigtailed wig, a full face of makeup, and masculine civvies, accompanied by four other similarly styled blokes, you probably wouldn’t doubt my claim that it was one of the more surreal experiences in my life. Halloween is not quite the big deal here that it is across the pond, so we got quite the share of wolf whistles, disapproving auntly glares, and ‘yaaaas, queen’s from our fellow travellers.

At last, at last, we arrived at Brinkley Court, freshly finished costumes in hand. The coloured lights, costumed crowd, and strains of ‘Monster Mash’ from within indicated a party already in full swing.As we entered the front door, I grabbed for the first bowl of sweets I could find, given my lowered blood sugar.‘That’s it!? Gawd, Bertie, you could have at least made an effort!’

Angela had grabbed one of the sweets from my hand and popped it in her mouth. I wasn’t quite sure who she was supposed to be, but her costume was really quite the thing.She was caked head-to-toe in light purple body paint, with a long wig in a paler shade of the same colour. A brilliant gem was affixed to her chest, and she wielded a long double-headed whip. I did not feel inclined to backtalk her.‘So who’ve you come as?’‘One of the Crystal Gems, obvs. Anyway, you need to go easy on those. Mum says that some neighbourhood bullies have been stealing sweets from the trick-or-treating kids, and she’s promised to recompense them.’‘What!?’My blood was now boiling - what lowly cad felt the need to scam helpless rugrats out of their jelly babies and smarties?

‘Oh, it’s awful,’ said Aunt Dahlia, swiping the remaining sweets from my hand and depositing them back in their bag. ‘I just saw Captain America crying his poor little eyes out, being comforted by Bucky Barnes. A whole evening’s worth of trick-or-treating swag, stolen from them by three nasty teenagers!’‘She means Thos and Edwin,’ Angela translated.‘What teenagers?’ asked Stinker.‘Some of the nastier upperclassmen from Eton, apparently. Captain America tells me that they have a reputation for bullying even the house masters and head teachers. Great brutes.’‘Rum,’ I said. ‘But, Aunt Dahlia-’‘Who?’I took in my auntie’s costume.‘But, Catwoman, hasn’t anyone tried to pull them up for it?’‘They’ve been too wily. I was told that they also egged the Emsworths’ place, running off onto Ham Common before anyone could catch them.’‘Travesty!’ cried Boko. ‘They can’t get away with this!’‘Too right!’ I said.‘Well? You lot are supposed to be the Sailor Senshi, aren’t you? You fight for love and justice, yes?’‘Er…?’‘You must transform, and thwart the damned villains!’

The Drones and I shared a look askance. ‘Um.’‘May I remind you, Sailor Moon, of the video games and French cuisine that are up for grabs for the group who best embodies their chosen superheroes?’‘Right ho. Moon Prism Power Make Up, then!’

***

We stampeded upstairs, bottlenecking on the landing, and Stinker stumbled noisily upon the top step. Into my old bedroom, and our everyday trappings were cast off in favour of our splendid, sparkly sailor ensembles.It was a bit of a muddle - the others needed help donning their padded brassieres, not to mention adjusting their skirts to preserve modesty. But after a few fumbling minutes, we were ready to go, as resplendent a team of magical girls as Brinkley Court had ever seen.

I allowed myself an indulgent linger before the full-length mirror. I really did look cute. The big pink bow was quite flattering to my proportions, and the blue skirt and collar set off my eyes nicely.‘Come on, Sailor Moon! We’ve got a contest to win!’With a flick of my pigtails, I was off.

Bursting out of Brinkley’s front door again, we charged into the gloaming. The place looks directly out over Ham Common, and on the great stretch of lawn, it did not take us long to spot the perps.

A juvenile, quivering Wallace and Gromit were surrounded by three of the largest, most grotesque teenage boys that I’d ever beheld. Though a good decade younger than myself, they looked to be twice my height and about four times my body weight. Most ghastly of all were their choices of costume: the ringleader was dressed as Pennywise the Clown, with his two lieutenants cast as Thanos and a zombie version of Napoleon Dynamite. I admit that the hint of rotten green brain showing through his blonde afro was an impressive use of make-up, but it did turn my stomach a tad.

Just before they could rip the trick-or-treat bags from the youngsters, I put a solid, heeled boot forward.‘Leave those beloved icons of childrens’ entertainment alone!’‘Hurrr,’ slurred Thanos, ‘check out the anime drag queens.’‘Wanna come party with us, girls?’ said Pennywise. ‘We got heaps of sweeties for the sweeties!’I puffed out my padded chest. ‘Never! I stand for love and justice! And… by the Code of the Woosters, I shall punish you!’

And so it began. We swooped upon them. Wallace and Gromit scarpered, and we were met with a barrage of large humbugs. When thrown with enough velocity, those things can leave a bruise.

Behind me, Gussie boldly came up bearing a large garden hose. He turned the nozzle on the head, but instead of dousing the monsters, the force of the spray was a bit too much for him, and he clung on for dear life as the hose thrashed about in his arms. He quickly went down in a self-inflicted mud puddle.

Stinker managed to plant a shiner of a right hook on Thanos. The brute staggered away, doubled over in pain. He threw off his plastic infinity gauntlet, upon which Stinker tripped magnificently, going pumps over skirt into the turf as well.

Boko fearlessly leapt upon Napoleon’s back, wrapping his noodly arms about an equally noodly neck. Napoleon bucked about like a bronco with a bad itch. Boko did his best to hang on, but the slippery satin gloves ultimately betrayed him, and the poor soul was flung off into a nearby rose bush.

The three monsters continued running from us. It was just me and Bingo now. We exchanged a silent glance of Sailor Senshi solidarity, as we pursued them towards a clump of oak trees.With a well aimed stomp, Bingo got Pennywise right in the oversized foot, with the heel of his pump. However, before I could back him up, the two lieutenants grabbed my chum and snatched his wig by its red ribbon, hurling it up into the branches of one of the trees.‘NOT MY VENUS WIG!’Abandoning the skirmish, Bingo pathetically began clambering up the branches to try and retrieve the thing. (I mean, it was a nice wig. And if it came back damaged, I would be owing Leather Smalls big time.)

And so, the beasts turned their attention to me. Three cruel grins bore down upon me like vultures on a dying wildebeeste. They looked like they could easily pummel me into a boneless mush, and not even feel it the next day. I’m not too proud to admit that I quivered in my heeled boots.‘What was that about punishing us, sweetie?’‘Let’s hang her from the branches by those stupid pigtails!’‘Yeah! And then we’ll-’

All of a sudden, something sleek and sharp came whistling through the night air. It popped Pennywise’s balloon, and struck Thanos right between the cheeks of his ample bum.‘Ow!’‘What the…’It was a fine, thin blade, attached to a deep red rose.

The four of us whipped our heads towards the source of the floral projectile. Imagine my total astonishment to perceive, perched upon a high stone wall before the radiant moon, none other than Tuxedo Mask. Gosh, he was splendid, with his billowing black cape and aura of general rakishness.‘How dare you blackguards steal from innocent children and assault these brave soldiers. Sailor Moon, I know you can defeat them.’‘But how, dash it!?’

He tossed me a bright pink plastic object. It took me a moment to discern that it was an external hard drive. It bore a little decal of one of those colourful cartoon pony characters.I looked back at the monsters, to find Pennywise agog.‘Wh… WHERE DID YOU GET THAT!?’‘Uhm…’‘Dude… is that what I think it is?’ said Napoleon.‘GIVE IT BACK!’ cried Pennywise.

Tuxedo Mask and I shared a single silent, meaningful glance, and I dropped the thing to the grass, raising my heeled boot above it, primed to smash.‘Well… I might, if you agree to apologise to every last child you terrorised, AND return their sweeties.’‘But we already ate some,’ said Thanos.‘Alright… maybe just give them a few quid, in that case. AND you’ll be cleaning the egg off Mrs Emsworth’s front stoop.’‘Anything, ANYTHING!’ begged Pennywise. ‘Please just give me back my-’‘NIGEL!!!’

A robust, sour-faced Jean Grey was stomping across the grass, her fiery gaze fixed on Pennywise.‘You have a lot of explaining to do, young man!’‘But Mum-’‘I should confiscate your little pony stories this instant!’‘No! Please…’‘Instead, you will do exactly as Sailor Moon says, and apologise to all the people whose Halloween you have ruined! You too, Cyril, Edgar! Don’t think I won’t be telling your mothers what you’ve done!’

The clown was dragged off by his ear to begin his penance, but not before he could snatch up his pink hard drive. Now that the leader had fallen, his two henchmen slunk along in his wake.

The Sailor Senshi had regrouped, and Angela, Thos, and Edwin (sorry, Amethyst, Captain America, and Bucky) had also dashed up to join us.‘You know who that was?’ said Angela, ‘Little Nigel Belfry. I went to St George’s with his big sister Diedre. Rotten little punk. One of the worst trolls in the online “My Little Pony” fandom too.’‘He bullies us all the time,’ said Thos.‘Well, dangle the name “Eulalie” in front of him. That’s his username on all the major MLP forums. Not sure he’d like that info getting out at Eton.’ Here she thumped me on the back. ‘Well done, Sailor Moon, you gave him the punishment that he sorely needed.’‘Oh, but I couldn’t have done it without…’I turned towards the stone wall. Of course, Tuxedo Mask had already biffed off. Probably to go hunt down the Silver Imperium Crystal or something.

***

Now that the drama had wound down, we finally had a chance to mingle. I got to take in the costumes of Angela’s group: Honoria was some sort of giant magenta woman with sunglasses and boxing gloves; Florence looked lovely and delicate in a gossamer tutu, and gleefully swung about a rather frightening spear; while Madeline was surprisingly dressed in drag - some charming little chap by the name of Steven, I think. The craftwork of their outfits was simply matchless, and they were clearly the ones to beat for the contest.

After Time-Warping and Thriller-ing and Caramelldansen-ing the night away, as well as quaffing some questionable looking cocktails with names like Chemical X and Radioactive Sludge, it was time to announce the winners of the costume competition.Uncle Tom (sorry, the 4th Doctor) killed the music, and tapped a fork against his glass of Chemical X to call for silence.Dahlia-or-Catwoman hopped up on the coffee table, to better survey the throng. ‘The door prize goes to Winnie the Pooh, who clearly misunderstood the assignment.’Spode-the-Pooh shuffled up to grab his bag of humbugs, and Madeline-or-Steven applauded wildly.

‘The runners-up are Wario and Waluigi, who regrettably stayed true to their despicable characters all evening!’Claude and Eustace collected their swag of Quality Street and Jack Daniels, fighting over who would get to carry them.

Angela and I exchanged a tense side eye. Could one of us really have been left out?

‘And the first prize… is a joint win, between the Crystal Gems and the Sailor Senshi! Come on down, ladies!’Well, everyone pooh-poohs nepotism until they benefit from it. Angela and I joined hands, and led our respective groups to their shared moment of glory. (And after a little bartering, we agreed to let the girls take the cooking lesson, while we scored the Gamecube. I know that Angela has long been an avid fan of Anatole’s show ‘Cuisine Inferno’.)

***

After a little more merrymaking, the music changed from novelty festive monster songs to the cheesy fodder of slow dancing. As couples began to pair off and pitch woo, a thought occurred to me: where the devil had Tuxedo Mask gone?

At the very least, I wished to thank the fellow. It was anyone’s guess as to how he had picked up on Nigel-or-Pennywise’s little secret, but he had truly been my saviour.

I squeezed through the waves of slow dancers, trying to keep my eyes peeled for a top hat or a black cape. Alas, the only capes I could spy were of bright and garish hues.

I escaped to the quiet of Brinkley’s large, rambling back yard, in the hopes of getting a little air. As I ankled along the gravelled drive in my heeled boots, I couldn’t help but let a little melancholy sink in. Despite my search for Tuxedo Mask, I well knew who I really wanted to spend this night with.I reached the fountain, ornamented by Aunt Dahlia’s favoured statue of Artemis, and plonked my sorry self down upon its edge.‘Sailor Moon… we meet again.’

He emerged from behind the shadow of the trees, and I leapt right up.‘Tuxedo Mask! Ah… I really did want to thank you for your help back there. Awful solid of you, old chap.’

He did not come closer. ‘You are most welcome. I had been charged with organising the family affairs of the Earl of Rowcester. I encountered his youngest son, who proved to possess a most malicious and scheming temperament. I felt the temporary acquisition of the lad’s most prized digital information would prove a useful bargaining chip at some juncture.’‘And right you were, Tuxedo Mask! What a bally stroke of genius you…’

He stepped forward, and removed his eyemask.

‘Bertram, I am sorry that I was so intractable about tonight.’‘Oh… Good Lord… Reg, I hoped so dearly that it was you!’

I flew to his arms. And Angela, the sneaky brat, managed to get a good number of happy snaps of Sailor Bertie and Tuxedo Reg locked in a passionate embrace.

‘Reg?’‘Yes, my moonbeam?’‘Keep the cape.’

[sstrangerrobins]

Knocking On Your Window

Pairing: Robin Buckley x Reader, Steve Harrington x Friend!Reader 

Description: Steve tries and fails to set up you and Robin. He then feels obligated to fix his mistake.

Word Count: 2.1k

A/n: I apologize for the quality of the writing, but I needed to get over some writer’s block. I think it’s still cute though, so enjoy! :)

--

“Heyyyyy! It’s y/n! Again. For like, the fifth time today.” Steve announced loudly, trying to get the attention of Robin in the back room.

“Second time today, idiot.” You said as you approached the counter. Robin opened the dividers and leaned on the counter.

“I think dingus fits him better.” She commented with a smirk.

Steve raised his hands in defense. “Hey hey hey, what did I ever do to you two? I’m just doing my job here.” You could see the dark circles under his eyes. Clearly he was having a rough day.

“I like to think of dingus as an endearing term.” You said, trying to ease up on the teasing. “Hey Robin, what would you recommend?” You turned your attention to the blonde behind Steve. She was the reason you came in here so often. There was something about her that was just so alluring. You were never really close in school, and wouldn’t even consider her your friend now. However, ever since she started working at Scoops, you just wanted to be around her all the time.

Robin smiled when you said her name. “USS Butterscotch. It’s delicious. I’ll grab you a cone.” She hopped over the counter in a familiar rhythm and plopped down next to Steve. “I got this one, Harrington.”

Steve sighed with relief and started heading towards the back. But before he ducked his head back there, he said, “Remember, this is a workplace you two. Keep it PG.”

Steve had been your friend for a while now, and when you came out to him, he took a while to accept it. But you turned around his thinking entirely. It wasn’t even two months later when he confessed to you that he might like boys too. Ever since he started working at Scoops, he’s being trying to set you up with every girl he’d come across. It wasn’t until the last week or so that he noticed you staring at Robin.

He wouldn’t stop trying to set the two of you up, but you had no idea if Robin even noticed. You were almost certain that she was straight. How could someone like her like girls anyway? You’d tried to get Steve to stop, but he was an unstoppable force. So when he told you two to keep it PG, you felt your heart skip a beat.

“Sorry about him, he has no idea what he’s talking about.” You scrambled to say as Robin slowly began to make your cone.

Robin gave a nervous chuckle. You were watching her hands, were they… shaking? “Yeah he’s never known what he’s talking about…” She was angling her head down so that her messy hair somewhat hid her face. You couldn’t read her expression.

“Yeah, I don’t think he knows how to read people too well. He thinks they’re one way and is too stubborn to realize they’re another way.” You wanted to hint to Robin at what Steve was doing, but you were so vague Robin just shot you a confused expression.

“What are you talking about?” She asked.

“It doesn’t matter.” You dismissed it by shaking your head. Robin handed you your ice cream with an awkward smile.

“How much?” You asked, beginning to dig out your wallet.

“It’s on the house.” Robin said. She smiled at you, but there was a certain sadness behind her eyes. You gave her one last look before thanking her and heading out of Scoops. There goes your shot of even being friends.

As you walked out of the shop, Robin hung her head and sighed. No one new came into the shop for a minute, so she headed into the back room. She needed to have a word with Steve.

“Dingus, what the hell was that? Why are you so set on embarrassing me in front of every girl that comes into this store?” Robin sat and put her head in her hands. She felt nauseous from her embarrassment.

“What are you talking about? Y/n is super into you! Did you blow it? Y’know, I’m starting to think the pair of you are hopeless. After all I’ve done to set you two up-.” Steve rambled, but stopped when he noticed Robin was far more silent then usual. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Steve, she doesn’t like me. She doesn’t like girls like that. She totally dropped hints just now that you’re being an idiot with this whole set up thing.” She lifted her face to speak and took off her hat to run her fingers through her hair. Her eyes were slammed shut and her lips firmly pressed together.

“Robin, hey, I know y/n. You have to trust me on this, okay? You just have to shoot your shot.” Steve looked at his friend in sympathy. He felt terrible, thinking back on his attempts to push his two friends together. He had been too pushy and all it had done was push them apart even more.

Robin merely groaned. “Not gonna happen.” She laid her head on the table, her hands still gripping her hair.

“I’ll fix this…” Steve said softly. He never wanted to see Robin hurt like this. He messed up, and he knew it.

 Steve pulled down the gate to Scoops and locked it up. He’d let Robin go home early, so he was closing alone tonight. Once he was in his car, he already knew he wouldn’t be heading home. He turned on the engine and headed down the ever-familiar route to your house.

You treaded down the stairs and to your front door. Your parents were on a trip to see you aunt and uncle, but you somehow convinced them to let you stay home by yourself. So when you opened the door to see Steve standing in front of it, you knew you could yell at him without waking up your parents.

“Steve, what the hell are you doing here? Can’t a girl curl up on her bed late at night and do nothing in peace?” You said whining. You saw that he was still in his Scoops uniform, minus that stupid hat, so you assumed he closed the shop.

“We are going on a drive.” Steve said firmly. “You might want to put some pants on first, though.” He said, addressing the fact that you were only in underwear and an oversized t-shirt.

“Ugh, do I have to?” You were tired and definitely not up for any more of Steve’s antics today.

“Yes.” He pushed past you and made his way up to your room. You rolled your eyes and closed the front door. You followed him up the stairs, but when you got to your room he was already leaving with a pair of your pants.

“Put these on and let’s go.” He said. He was in one of his hyper-focused moods. You hoped he would explain himself in the car, so you put on your pants and walked with him to his car.

“Okay, are you going to tell me what this is about now?” You asked in irritation.

“I fucked up everything between you and Robin, and now I’m fixing it.” He said, keeping his eyes on you.

“Hold on there, buckaroo, if you think-.” You started, but Steve interrupted you.

“She likes you, y/n!” He looked over at you this time. “She was totally messed up for the rest of the day today after you left. I let her go home early because I felt so bad. Now I have to fix this because you both like each other but you’re both huge idiots who don’t know what you’re doing.” He took an exasperated breath as you stared at the road ahead in silence.

“Alright, I’ll play along. I still don’t even know where we’re going.” You were still irritated, since it was so late at night.

“That’s for me to know, and you to find out.” Steve said with a smirk. He was happy you were going along with his plan. It would have been much more difficult if you were going to resist.

 Steve pulled into the driveway of a house you’d never seen before. You both hopped out of the car and Steve motioned for you to follow him around the back. He helped you hop the fence and followed you over it by himself.

“Seems like you’ve done this a few times.” You teased.

“Ha ha, very funny. Just remember I’m helping you out right now.” He led you to part of the house and held a finger to his lips, making sure you would be quiet. He pointed at a window that was glowing purple.

“Robin’s up there. I’m going to stand here,” He pointed to a patch of dirt in a little raised garden. “And you get on my shoulders and knock on her window. Just tell her how you feel.”

You stared at Steve, eyebrows raised. “You really are a different breed, Harrington.”

“It’s gonna work, trust me. Robin’s a sucker for this romantic stuff.” He said, he was getting excited now.

“This gives me more of a creepy vibe.” You expressed, crossing your arms.

“Just get on my shoulders and get your girl.” Steve said, rolling his eyes.

You gave in. Steve would not be stopped, and you needed a ride home. The sooner you got this over with, the sooner you could get home and sleep. You walked towards him and looked up to the window. Suddenly, your stomach dropped.

Steve noticed the look on your face. “Hey, it’s gonna be okay. She’ll practically be drooling over you after this.” You looked at him and took a deep breath. He smiled reassuringly and squatted.

You two struggled for a few seconds to get your positions, but soon enough you were face to face with Robin’s window and looking into her room. Her back was to you as she laid on her bed, curled up in a fetal position.

You knocked on the window lightly and Robin’s head bolted up. She quickly sat up and turned around to see you waving at her. Her room was too dark for you to see much of her face, but you could hear through the barrier a muffled “Shit.”

Robin walked over to the window and opened it. “What the hell are you doing here? How do you know where I live? How are you even-?” Robin looked down and saw Steve beneath your feet. “Oh, Harrington. Of course.”

You studied her face. She seemed exhausted. Her eyes seemed slightly red, and still a little wet. She’d obviously been crying. “That’s besides the point.” You answered. “Are you okay?” You asked genuinely.

Robin’s lips parted slightly. “I uh, I’m fine.” She rubbed her eyes briefly and flashed a smile. “I’m just tired, my eyes are all dried out.”

You knew she was lying, but now was not exactly the best time to be talking about it. “Listen, I’m not here just for fun.” You said honestly.

“Well, what are you here for?” Robin teased.

“I um… I like you, Robin. Like, a lot.” You confessed. Robin’s eyes went wide and you could see the heat rising in her cheeks. “I’ve liked you for a while now, and Steve has been trying to set us up ever since he saw the way I looked at you but I never thought you would like me and then earlier today everything went terribly and I just felt so awful and now I’m here and I honestly have no idea what’s about to happen so I’m rambling to avoid what you’re going to say…” Your heart was pounding as you ranted out your feelings. You were so scared of what would happen next.

You looked up at Robin, who was staring at you in wonder. She kept silent, seemingly too stunned to respond.

“Please… say something.” You smiled awkwardly.

“Yes, please say something, I know I’m like the buffest dude ever, but even I have my limits.” Steve called from below.

Robin rolled her eyes and laughed at him. “Don’t worry dingus, I think I know how to wrap this up.” Robin cupped your face with her hands and pressed her lips to yours. You almost lost your balance, you were so shocked. The kiss was brief, but it was enough to send shivers through your whole body.

Robin’s eyes were glazed with an emotion you’d never seen aimed at you before. “Come visit me at Scoops tomorrow?” She asked, her voice soft and quiet.

“Yeah, always.” You said breathily.

“Did you guys kiss?” Steve called excitedly from below you.

You and Robin laughed. You gave her a goodbye wave as she closed the window and hopped off of Steve’s shoulders.

“I can’t believe that actually worked.” You grinned, still in shock.

“I told you I was gonna fix everything.” Steve bragged. You punched his arm as you chuckled. “Ow!”

“Just take me home already.” You rolled your eyes and started heading for the gate.

[theawkwardterrier]

things left behind and the things that are ahead, ch. 18

AO3 link here

“The party’s downstairs, you know.”

“Well, I’m up here, so—” Tony sips audibly from his champagne glass, spreads his arms wide. “I think the party’s actually up here now.”

He watches as his godfather walks across the gallery toward him. Uncle Steve wears a tux pretty well for an older guy, especially one who’s always preferred the comforts of home to a night out. Probably all those years of being Aunt Peg’s plus one. There’s still something strong about his carriage, a reassuring lack of hesitancy to his step, even though he has quite a few more wrinkles than he did during Tony’s childhood.

Steve stops beside him and looks up at the piece too. “See how the waves look like fingers?” He traces his own through the air to draw attention to them, as if Tony hadn’t noticed their ever-reaching grasp. He takes down the last of the champagne.

“They’re going to bring out the cake soon,” Uncle Steve finally continues when they’ve been standing in silent artistic contemplation for a while. “Your mom is going to notice that you’re gone when you’re not there to sing Happy Birthday to her. Robin might have noticed already.”

“Yeah,” says Tony absently. He almost wants to touch the painted screen in front of them, although even he, who had ducked unconcernedly past the ropes blocking off the stairs to the Met’s upper floors, holds himself firm against giving in to the instinct. His mind finds its way back to itself after a minute and he asks, “How did you know I was here?”

“You didn’t really seem in an Arms and Armor mood earlier.”

Tony’s face twitches as if it can’t decide whether to smile. “You like Robin, don’t you?” he asks instead.

“I always have,” says Steve in that easy, honest way of his. “Everyone’s glad to see her. She managed all of Rose’s questions without running, and I think Layla still wants to adopt her.” He takes in the details of the waves once more before he turns to look precisely at Tony. “But the real question is, do you like Robin? Because if you want to go through with giving her that ring you have in your pocket, you should probably be sure.”

The box, when he automatically pats at his pants, is just where it’s been each time he’s checked it tonight.

“Guess one of the grandkids found you a Super Detective magnifying glass in a cereal box,” he says to cover up the way he’s been caught off guard.

“No,” says Steve. “I know it’s been a few decades, but I once carried around a box just like that, waiting for the right moment.”

“Aunt Peggy says that she was the one who popped the question,” Tony points out.

“Well, there’s a reason we don’t listen to everything she says.” The smile gives just that little extra crinkle to his eyes. “Only most things.”

Tony lets out a little sound that doesn’t quite make it beyond the beginnings of a laugh. “You know that my—” He clears his throat, looks over toward the display without paying attention to it. “My first date with Robin was maybe three weeks after Dad died? We’d known each other a little at school and I’d seen her when I was in Boston a couple months before, so when I heard she was in town, I set it up…And I wasn’t—I wasn’t ready for any of it. I’d just been handed my father’s life’s work, I was trying to make sure Mom was managing, everything was starting with Jarvis. I was sure it was going to be a disaster. But that night at dinner, I had fun. She was fun. We could just talk - about her latest coding project or the Three Laws of Robotics, whatever.”

“And has it stopped being fun?” Steve’s head is tilted just a little, casual, patient, as if he already knows what Tony is going to say. Tony swallows and says it anyway.

“I don’t know if it ever really got past fun.” He thinks of the two of them yesterday evening. Robin had been fizzy after the train trip down from Boston, the way she always was. She’s the only person Tony knows over the age of five who regards trains as anything more exciting than a convenient way to get from here to there. They’d gone to a little burger place they liked (made the world’s most perfect steak fries and served them up in overflowing baskets), got into another good-natured debate over the implications of human cloning, stopped by to see if his mother needed any more help before the party, and went back to his place. It had been fun. It had been a good time.

“She’s sharp as hell, and that punk rock thing definitely does it for me." He risks a glance over, waiting for his godfather to clear his throat awkwardly the way he does when Tony brings up anything sex adjacent, but Uncle Steve is still watching him with that quiet, patient look. Tony finds that as he continues, he cannot look back. "Things are great when she’s here. But I don't think she knows what it would be like to be a Stark all the time, what it would be like to be married to someone who’s a part of that. Would she change for it? Would I like her the way I do if she did?” Tony wants to put his hands in his pockets despite the box taking up real estate in there, but he is still holding the champagne flute and the darkened gallery is not exactly bustling with passing waiters balancing conveniently extended trays.

“People change all the time,” Steve points out, and instead of a rising fury at the triteness of the statement, the calm around the man, Tony finds his tension beginning to unravel in response. There’s something soothing about the lack of surprise, a peaceful cushioning inside of him. It’s as if they are discussing theory, like they are back on the floor of his childhood bedroom, Steve sitting through another of Tony’s exhaustive explanations of his latest Rube Goldberg machine.

In that sort of space, even though his voice creaks as he speaks, he says, “I don’t know if I’d want her to change for me. But I don't think I'd change for her either."

“Then why are you trying to propose?”

"Gotta try to find your person, you know?" He runs a finger around the edge of his glass, looks back over. "Dad always said he regretted not finding Mom sooner. I'm trying my best here. "

"But if he had met her sooner," Steve reminds him, "I don't know that he would have been the right person for her." He shifts, and Tony remembers that however straight-postured the man stands, he's also a million years old and been on his feet all night. He's about to suggest that they go take a seat, but Steve pins him with a stare. "I've been luckier in this area than I can believe, luckier than you can understand, but I'll tell you that I knew when I had found my person. And all of these doubts you have, Tony, it sounds as if you haven't yet."

In some ways it is a relief to hear it outside of the suppressed corner of his own mind, to have the words brought into the open air with no condemnation in the tone. In others, it is as if Steve has swung the door wide and invited in all of Tony’s fears.

He can’t speak for a minute. When he does, his words are slow.

"I have this memory," he says. "I must have been really young - I don't even know if it's actually real or something my brain just pieced together. You'd brought the whole gang up to the Maine place for Christmas - no idea why, we could have all been snowed in and died - but that's where we were. And then Dad and Aunt Peggy got called somewhere and disappeared for a few days, made it back just in time for Christmas Day. I was under the kitchen table and you were cooking when they got back, and she came in to say hi to you. She just—She gave you a kiss and you whispered something to her, and she touched your cheek. Didn't really do anything, just put a hand there and looked at you. And you know, I was probably too young to know anything, but I knew that you loved each other."

Steve is quiet. "It was real. You remembered it right," he says finally, a little huskiness to his words, as if this decades-old memory is still entirely fresh for him

"No way you could have been like that in the beginning," Tony says, abrupt bravado covering the vulnerability. "I've heard all those old war stories. But you had something and you grew into it together. So why can't I—Why can’t we try to grow together like that?"

"You can, Tony.” Steve turns to him fully, resting a hand on his shoulder. “You can. But you have to want it.” In the dim light of the spot aimed at the artwork in front of them, he can read his godfather’s eyes: not solemnity or reproach, but hope for him, whatever he chooses.

He clears his throat, clears it again. “Might be that I want to want it more than I actually do.”

He thinks of Ana calling Jarvis pet names, fluttering her lashes at him as they passed in the hallway so that he stuttered and blushed. He thinks of his parents coming home from some event or another, his father’s suit coat around his mother’s shoulders. He thinks of the people who have been raised beside him as family: the Barnes’s, a carefully expanding unit, the Carters with their spouses and children and deeply committed friends.

He thinks of Aunt Peggy’s hand on Steve’s cheek all those years ago.

“Someday,” he says, a promise in a way he doesn’t entirely understand. “Someday I’ll really want it.”

“You will,” Steve says back with such certainty that Tony lets out a breath. “But for now, we should go back downstairs. We’ve been gone for a while.”

Tony waits until Steve turns, then follows him toward the doorway. “Aunt Peg will have definitely noticed we disappeared by now.”

“Who do you think told me that I should come look for you?” Uncle Steve smiles over his shoulder, hands in his pockets.

“Only right most of the time, huh?”

“Don’t tell her.”

And Tony smiles too, and shakes his head, and walks down to stand with his family and eat cake.

More chapters here

[linkispink1995]

Better as Friends (19) A baby shower

Previously

Series Masterlist

Chapter warnings:language , Alison , Mentions of alchohol and Paige being iconic

~~~~~~~

Y/n's P.o.v

I awoke in Stewart's arms before turning to see my alarm clock only for him to pull me back in his arms I sighed before he asked "what time is it". I chuckled saying "not sure I tried looking but something just pulled me back in" Stewart chuckled saying "oh let me guess you devilishly handsome genius boyfriend". I sighed saying "I wouldn't call you a genius you failed chemistry twice" he sighed saying "do we really have to go to this thing" I nodded saying "Matt and Coleen asked us and we promised". He frowned as I brushed some of the hair out of his eyes before Stewart spoke again saying "or we could just stay here and snuggle all day". I chuckled saying "as much as I'd love to do that we both promised" he nodded before pecking my lips before leaving the warm cozy bed before walking into the bathroom. As I heard the sound of the shower I got up before quickly making the bed and walking out to the kitchen to find Jackson sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal. I spoke saying "good morning sweet pea did you sleep okay" he nodded saying "yeah" I then kissed the top of his head before saying "wow and you made breakfast all by yourself". He again nodded saying "daddy and miss Alison told me I need to be independent , cause you baby me" I rolled my eyes knowing that is exactly something those two would say but remembering what Robin told me I ignored it saying. "Speaking of baby's are you excited for today" he shrugged saying "not really" I frowned saying "not really , why" he responded saying "babies aren't really fun all they do is cry'. I nodded saying "well aunt Paige and uncle Alex are gonna be there and this is the last time everyone will see you before your in kindergarten so think of celebrating that instead , except all the decorations are gonna be pink". He nodded before I looked at the picture on my fridge feeling it mock me before I decided that I could probably sneak it in the box before Stewart was out of his shower. As I turned to exit the kitchen Stewart was standing in the doorway already dressed , I peeked his cheek before he said. "Your a really good mom" I nodded saying "thank you" before walking back to my bedroom.

After getting a nice warm shower (since Stewart didn't use all the hot water) and getting dressed I exited my bedroom before peeking into the kitchen to see my son and my best friend- I mean boyfriend coloring. I hated to break up there bonding but I knew if Jackson didn't get dressed soon we'd definitely be late. "Jackson baby" I said before adding "come on you gotta get dressed , your clothes are already laid on you bed" he nodded before running down the hall. I took a set in one of the dining room chairs before putting on a pair of sandals since it was already the first Saturday in May. Stewart spoke as I did saying "you look beautiful" I nodded saying "thank you" he placed a kiss on my head before standing up to straighten his tie. He sighed a few times before I stood up and pushed his hand out the way before helping him with it as I spoke saying. "Sometimes the guys at work give me a hard time about my ties" I nodded as he added "you know I think this is the first time I've ever worn a pink tie". I again silently nodded before he said "are you okay" I shrugged saying "yeah but I mean this was supposed to be a fun day and now Steve and Alison are coming and-" I was cut off by Jackson saying "there gonna be there" I nodded as he added "why they don't even like uncle Matt and aunt Colleen". I responded saying "well aunt Colleen invited them" he frowned before Stewart spoke saying "hey it'll be fun you can just hang out with us and there'll be cake you like cake ". Almost as it were magic Jackson's frown disappeared before Stewart added "see it'll be fun , so how about you go put on your shoes". Jackson nodded before running to get his shoes as I spoke saying "Stewart that was really good" he shrugged saying "oh that's nothing I kissed his cheek before Jackson reappeared with his shoes on

Stewart knocked on Colleen and Matt's front door , they bought a small house in March that Matt was renovating before the baby's here , I straightened Stewart tie one final time before the front door opened. Alex was on the other side causing Jackson to jump in his arm saying "uncle Alex' he hugged tightly onto Alex before he spoke saying "hey uh "Collens showing the Paige the nursery and Matt and Robin are drinking so you haven't missed anything". Stewart and I both chuckled before I asked "so is everyone here" Alex nodded before placing Jackson down saying "yeah basically I mean everyone's here , Helen should be back with ice any minute now" I nodded before Matt exited the kitchen saying "hey you guys made it" I nodded before giving Matt a hug saying "oh congratulations" he sighed ayaing "you've said that a million times" I nodded saying "I know but this is exciting". Matt nodded before saying "well Colleen upstairs with Paige" I nodded before Robin grabbed my arm saying "let's let the boys talk , besides I have a few questions". I rolled my eyes wonder what in earth Robin's questions were , as we walked up Robin finally spoke saying "so Stewart's your-" I cut her of saying "boyfriend okay are you happy" she nooded saying "yeah but dingus isn't from what I heard" inshrugged saying "what". She responded saying "he called after you and Stewart left , he was hysterical okay I couldn't even understand half of what he was saying plus it sounded like jaws was chewing on him in the background" I rolled my eyes again as she added "well good thing it's just us right" as we got to the nursery I couldn't help but think that maybe nobody else knew that Steve and Alison were coming or maybe (hopefully) they canceled. My thoughts were interrupted by Colleen squealing before saying "Y/n your here" I nodded before she pulled me into a somewhat high since her bump had gotten a bit bigger since the last time I had seen her. She then added "where's Jackson" I responded saying "down stairs with the guys" she nodded before I heard the front door open and close signaling Helen was back with the ice. I took in the perfectly pink room that was perfect for Collen before she spoke saying "Matty built those shelves and the rocking chair and-" she was cut off by Paige saying "damnit Coleen". Collen responded saying "what" Paige was silent before gesturing to who was standing in the doorway , it was Steve. Colleen shrugged before walking over to Steve before pulling him again into a somewhat hug and saying "god it's been ages how have you been. Steve nodded saying "yeah I'm fine and you look uh great" Paige rolled her eyes since if there was anyone that absolutely couldn't stand Steve it was Paige. Who spoke saying "do Tommy and Carol know your hanging out with us losers" unfortunately Robin was taking a sip out of her drink when Paige said that and I honestly thought it would shoot out of her nose. Colleen spoke saying "enough" Paige rolled her eyes before Steve spoke again saying "I'm sorry about your mom Paige , I know you two were close". Paige ignored his words until she finally spoke saying "thank you" the room stayed silent until Colleen spoke saying "well why don't we go downstairs and see what everyone's doing down there" as Steve , Robin and paige left I pulled Coleen aside saying "hey can I ask why you invited them" she responded saying. "Well I know he's with that girl but I also know there's still a chance for you too and I thought you to could talk" I shook my head before saying "Colleen I'm with Stewart you know that right". She shrugged saying "yeah for the wedding but , oh my God Stewart's your boyfriend isn't he". I nodded as she added "I am so sorry I just thought that maybe it was for the wedding and-" I cut he off saying "it's okay Coleen , I'm the one who didn't say anything" she nodded before saying "what does Steve think". I shook my head saying "he's not a fan" she nodded saying "I'm sorry Y/n" I nodded before pulling Collen another hug.

Steve's P.O.V

I walked downstairs behind Paige and Robin before begging to feel as if I was in one of those what dosen't belongs books and I was what clearly didn't belong. As I went to walk back into the kitchen to maybe try and make small talk with Alex and Matt since I couldn't remember the last time we spoke wasn't really a good conversation , but of course Alison pulled me aside saying. "Okay let's go" I shook my head saying "no we just got here" she rolled her eyes saying "oh please you don't really care about these people and they obviously don't care for you". I sighed saying "but-" she cut me off saying "no buts Steven the only reason your here is so you don't look like a fool". I rolled my eyes as she added "where do you think Y/N and Stewart ran off too" I rolled my eyes saying "she's upstairs with Colleen". Alison shrugged saying "who's Colleen" I sighed saying "Colleen's the one having a baby" she nodded before saying "oh well I didn't know , there your friends you know what there not your friends" I rolled my eyes saying "well thanks for that" she huffed before walking away from me. I entered the kitchen before seeing Matt and Alex , I stood there quietly not knowing exactly what to say since our last conversation wasn't very pleasant. Alex broke the silence saying "how's work Steve" I responded saying "fine yeah I'm uh working for my dad" he nodded before Matt spoke saying "how's that going". I responded to his question saying "yeah it's good" he nodded before I added "congratulations by the way" he nodded saying "thanks yeah were excited" I nodded before Y/n walked in saying "have you guys seen Stewart" both Matt and Alex shook there heads before she turned to leave. I saw that as a chance to leave the Awkwardness so I followed her before saying "Y/n" she turned around saying "what" I responded saying "are you and I cool". She nodded saying "yeah why" I shrugged saying "well I mean it's kinda weird being here I mean since you didn't really have one". She shrugged saying "what are you talking about" I responded saying "well you didn't have a baby shower" she chuckled saying "I had a baby shower". My face fell before I spoke saying "wait who threw it for you" she responded saying "Matt , Coleen , Paige , Alex and Stewart" I huffed saying "and you didn't think to invite me , the father" Y/n rolled her eyes saying "I invited you four times , I called , I left notes for you" I sighed before saying "oh I-" she cut me off by walking away.

Y/n's P.o.v

I couldn't belive that he acused me of not inviting him to the baby shower , I did but Steve being Steve blew me off. After walking to the back porch I found Stewart with Jackson , he turned before saying "you okay" I nodded before he wrapped his arm around my waist. Before Matt joined us look as pale as a ghost , causing me to ask "Matt are you okay" he nodded before Robin stuck her head out the back door saying "Colleen has requested everyone's presence" I nodded before entering the house thinking of what could've startled Matt. as we entered the living room I noticed that Alison was nowhere to be seen , Steve walked in the room looking worse then Matt did before saying "hey uh listen I've gotta go Alison's not feeling well and yeah so were leaving" before anyone could respond he closed the door leaving everyone practically stunned. Colleen entered saying "what's going on" Matt spoke up before walking into the kitchen before calling out to Colleen , "did he'll break lose" Alex asked I shrugged before trying to thinking about what had gotten Matt and Steve all shaken up

It was the night of the baby shower , and after the whole debacle from today I couldn't shake off the expressions that Matt and Steve had , it was the look of horror , undescrible horror. My thoughts were interrupted by the phone in the kitchen ringing , I got up before answering it saying "hello" I quickly got a response "hey Y/n" it was Matt , I responded saying "hey is everything okay" , I didn't get a response instead just complete silence as I added. "What was with you today you looked like you saw a ghost and Steve too-" he then cut me off with words I hadn't ever prepared myself to hear "Alison's pregnant".....

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