#eleven/jane hopper

[anaxibiaclark]

Thinking about Steve taking Max in after she gets out of the hospital. (No, her mother did not abandon her, Max wanted to finish high school in Hawkins.)

Her body has fully healed but she still can't see a damn thing. At most, she can see blurred lines of text when she brings a book up to the tip of her nose and tilts her head slightly to the left. (Unfortunately, corrective lenses don't help.) Usually she just gets Lucas or El to read to her.

When Steve and Eddie bring her home, it's a big to do for Lucas. He's become a slight helicopter boyfriend. Always worried that she'll get hurt if she isn't using her guide cane.

As they step into the house, Eddie watches Lucas scan the interior for any obstacles that might be in the way. Panic is still clear as day on his face.

"Sinclair, relax." Eddie says, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. "Steve and I spent days mapping this place out for the safest paths to traverse."

"Really?" Slight skepticism can be heard in Lucas' voice.

Eddie sighs, "yes, really." He steps away to grab his DM notebook from a side table that is now flush with the wall. "Look," he walks back over to Lucas flipping through the notebook.

Lucas' eyes go big recognizing the notebook. "Is that your...?"

"Yes it is," Eddie confirms, placing the notebook in Lucas' hands. "But if you even think about flipping to the front, I will make sure your Ranger is the first one to die in my new campaign." Eddie smirks when he sees Lucas' Adam's apple bob in his throat.

"What am I looking at here?" Lucas asks as he studies the graph paper within the notebook.

"It's the layout of Steve's house." He points to some numbers in the margins. "We even figured out the number of steps to take before she reaches an obstacle."

Just then, Eddie happens to look up in time to catch Max approaching said obstacle. "Hey, Red?"

Max freezes in place. "Yeah?"

"Take a half step to your left." He watches as she takes the half step.

"What did I almost walk into?"

"End table."

Max reaches her right hand out and brushes fingertips over the wood. "Thanks, Eddie."

"You're welcome, Kiddo."

Eddie smiles as he watches El approach Max, linking their arms together, guiding the redhead down the hall towards the den.

Steve's voice can be heard as he gives Max direction. "So, Max, you roughly have about six steps from the hallway entrance to the laundry room. Which will be to your right."

"I'm blind Steve." Max says with a bit of snark. "How am I gonna be able to do my own laundry?"

Steve huffes out a breath. "It's a reference point Mayfield."

The girls giggle and Eddie can't help but snicker. He's certain that Steve has now taken on his "mom stance," hands on hips and annoyance written across his face.

"Jesus," exasperation can be heard in his voice. "You're just as bad as the boys."

More giggling can be heard as it fades down the hall.

Eddie turns his focus back to Lucas. "See," he gestures towards the hall. "She's in good hands Sinclair."

"Fine." Lucas sighs, shaking his head. "I'll take your word for it."

Eddie can still see the worry in the young boy's eyes. "Hey," he says reassuringly, "Max is safe here, we made sure of it. Besides, Steve already has a guide dog in the works for Red. We just have to make sure they'll be a good fit for eachother."

Lucas starts to physically relax as Eddie continues. "He also has a lady, who's coming from Indianapolis, willing to teach Red how to read braille."

Eddie notices a sheen in Lucas' eyes. "Steve did all of this for her?"

"Well," a smug smile spreads across his face. "I'm the one who came up with the floor plan," he pauses as Lucas let's out a choked laugh. "But, yes, everything else was all Steve's doing."

A calming silence washes over them for a brief moment. Until they hear a pained groan and muffled laughter.

"Let's go rescue Steve from embarrassment." Eddie says, pulling Lucas towards the hallway.

Lucas chuckles. "That's probably a wise idea."

[howstrangethingshappen]

all of almirondesign's stranger things fanart posters [so far!]

i absolutely adore this human's work. @almirondesign you are seriously one of the best graphic designers i have ever seen. & i decided to make this collection so they're all in one place & can be updated when more come out!

if the suffer brothers [yes that was intentional] do not hire you to work on the official season 5 posters? in the trash. boycotted.

anyway... onto the amazing posters!!

WILL

MIKE

100% him looking at will rising into the air- i mean what

ELEVEN/JANE

her & will have the best sibling relationship do not @ me

SEASON 4 ENDING

byler holding hands, like they should have

BYLER

the lil bi flag on mike's cheek! such a subtle & cute detail & as a bisexual i appreciate it very much :")

[lunastar92]

So, this happened yesterday. Saw these on Twitter because Finn was trending. I mean there were other things talked about under the Finn trend, but this caught my eye.

Reminds me of another actor people claim he hates a certain actress...

[imjustanasshole]

"every single character in stranger things is autistic" I say into the mic.

the crowd boos, I walk away, ashamed.

Suddenly someone speaks: "No, they're right."

It's the Duffer Brothers!

[unlockedcuriositydoor]

Now I believe that when the writers said they were going to do a time jump, what they actually meant was that they were going to be jumping around in time thanks to Mike's powers. I think that maybe they will go back in time to attempt to undo what was done to Henry, El, and all the other test subjects. If so, what becomes of them all in the future? Would this new version of El remember everyone?

Mike started off every season being late to something, like the white rabbit going down the rabbit hole (the Upside Down), and maybe to come full circle in season 5, he finally won't be too late.

These are just some ideas. Before today I was working with a headcanon that in the first episode, after Will left Mike's house, Mike went back inside and wrote Will a letter. I think the letter had to do with their DnD game, something about how in exchange for Will's honesty ( "it was a 7" ), Mike is going to let him in on some details of the campaign. When Will's fake body was found, Mike destroyed the letter in a fit of grief. Since the Upside Down is frozen on November 6th, the letter still exists there. I think it might connect with some element of Will's painting, and the letter fills in the gaps. Maybe Mike was inspired whilst writing the letter and came up with something new, but since the details were lost, that's why Will and Dustin and Lucas all say the campaign at the end of season 1 doesn't make sense. Something's missing. This would emphasize that Mike and Will really DO need to work as a team.

So many lines have hidden meaning. El's "in a way we are all time travelers" (Mike can lend his abilities), Mike's "we need to work together. As a team" ( Mike and Will work best together), Mike's "I'm just some random nerd" (he's really really not).

Credit to @doriandrifting for the Mike-as-time-manipulator theory.

[thereindeerlady]

Boyfriend by Dove Cameron is an ElMax song

Thank you that is all

[robwrecks]

Just a fun little comedy one-shot I finally got around to posting.

[mollymurakami]

were we just kids, just starting out

[imactuallyreallycool]

What a lovely dream

But that what it’ll always be. A dream.

Close ups and stuff lmao

[wackywriterwhowriteswhenever]

Went to the liquor store and found a drink El Hopper would love

[munsonson]

𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏『••✎••』

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘜𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴.

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐬): 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘔𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘯/𝘍𝘦𝘮!𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯/𝘍𝘦𝘮!𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐬): 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵, 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 2.4

This shouldn’t hurt as much as it does. 

Things could’ve ended far worse than they actually did. Hell, most of the couples in their school tended to make breakups as dramatic as possible, normally painting one half of the relationship as some kind if irredeemable monster, if not to paint them as this sympathetic martyr, than just to save face that it actually hurt. 

In her case, Eddie Munson told her they just weren’t a good match and he wanted to be friends again instead. That was as healthy as they could possibly get. And in the best case scenario, too, she’d still be able to have him be a part of her life. She didn’t think she could stand the thought of seeing him in the halls and not being able to acknowledge him. 

She’d fallen hard and fast for Eddie, embarrassingly so. 

Given the heavy duty of designated driver for the little hooligans she’d somehow decided to adopt with Steve Harrington, she’d gotten accustomed to waiting in the high school parking lot, her nose pressed into the creases of her current novel while she waited for them to finish their important campaigns, all procured from the brilliant mind of Eddie Munson. 

She’d known him before then, too, but only in passing. He’d often make a big spectacle of himself in the cafeteria just to bug the other students, and he held the record as super senior. But she’d never even talked to him until she saw him walk the boys out after a seemingly successful campaign, his arms wrapped tightly around Dustin and Lucas’ shoulders as he praised them.

He’d acknowledged her when he got to her car. 

“My fair maiden,” he’d said, “I apologize for the delay.”

She’d blubbered out some kind of half-hearted response, good enough to make him laugh, and that made her heart go a million miles a minute. 

It didn’t take long before she’d gotten the courage to ask him out, even if it was just for coffee. He was surprised, but he agreed. 

It had been nice, he even drove her home after. She probably should’ve seen the signs then because he didn’t suggest a second meet up, she had instead. And he’d agreed.

It was about a month before they made themselves official, in Hawkins High language, practically married. But it really just meant she got to hold his hand between classes and get quick kisses goodbye when it was time to separate, somehow always on her cheek than her lips. 

She’d thought their dates were fun; it was a lot of pressure since he always left it up to her, never having any other idea than lounging about her home and just watching TV. But she was the one who thought of renting movies for horror marathons, figuring it was up his alley. She thought of bowling and drive-in theaters and picnicking near the quarry for its desolate atmosphere, another thing she figured was right up his alley. 

But things came to an underwhelming end when Eddie approached her at her locker on some random Thursday to tell her things just weren’t working out and he wanted to stay as friends. Despite how much even that had hurt, she agreed. She didn’t want to make him do anything he regretted. 

She could still be friends with him, happily so. That meant she could still sit with him at lunch, hear his outlandish tales, and be able to admire him from afar, even if she was no longer able to touch him and hold his hand. 

“Be honest,” she’d heard Gareth say as she approached with her tray, “what really happened? You know, most guys woulda killed to be able to take her out, the fact she stuck around for months is surprising enough.”

Eddie shrugs, chewing absentmindedly on a pretzel he’d brought. She would pack him lunches when they were together since he always forgot and resorted to eating prepackaged things instead. Since they broke up, it seemed like old habits really did die hard. 

“To tell you the truth,” he starts rather dramatically, “no substance. Pretty face, nice voice, real sweet, but God, boring as all hell.” He runs a hand down his face. The other boys seemed surprised. Dustin and Mike share a look, but say nothing, clearly waiting to hear more. Because there was no way it could be just that. There had to be more. They knew her better than anyone, had been through so much with her. What could be the real reason Eddie broke things off?

“And?” Dustin coaxes.

“And what?”

“Dude, seriously?” Mike scoffs. “She wasn’t interesting enough for you?”

Eddie shakes his head. “Look, she’s a great gal. And I know you guys are super close, which is awesome, but we just weren’t the best match. And I felt like shit that she was putting in all of the effort when I wasn’t interested. Now she’s free to...I dunno...find someone boring, too.” He sniggers, elbowing Jeff beside him trying to get him to laugh, too, but he could see how upset Dustin and Mike were. 

Luckily, for her sake, they didn’t notice her standing there, having overheard everything. Spinning right back around, she’d ditched her tray onto one of the trash bins before leaving the cafeteria completely before there was a chance anyone could see her tears. 

God, it shouldn’t hurt as much as it does, she thinks again. He was more than welcome to have his own opinion, but why did it have to be something like that? 

He was right, she wasn’t exactly Chrissy Cunningham or Heather Holloway, being this huge spectacle that made every new day more exciting than the last. All things considered, sometimes too much excitement frightened her. Having risked her life at least once a year for nearly four years now made her yearn for the more simple things. It was stupid of her to think Eddie would want the same. Eddie Munson, who liked to make scenes in the cafeteria and rock out in a bar with his band. He didn’t crave the simplicity of life like she did.

She didn’t go back into that cafeteria for the remaining of the lunch period. In fact, she’d decided to skip the rest of the day completely, knowing she shared three periods with Eddie and right now she really didn’t want to see him. She just wanted to get away, leave herself to her own thoughts to try to calm down. 

Well, that really only lasted for ten minutes because she found herself pulling into the small parking lot into Family Video. She spots Steve’s car at the far end and knows he’s inside. It was childish of her to go running and crying to Steve Harrington, who she knew would take her side and say all the cruel things about Eddie that she couldn’t bring herself to because she really just needed someone on her side right now. Aside from Dustin and Mike, of course. She wouldn’t forget how they jumped to her defense. 

The little bell rings at the top of the door as she walks in, startling Steve into consciousness, who seemed to be snoozing on the edge of the counter, drool pooled across his forearm. He wipes feverishly at his face and blinks unfocused in her direction, trying to situate himself quickly into his customer service face.

“Welcome to Fam-Jesus, you scared me,” he cuts himself off when he at last realizes it’s her. Confused, he turns to glance at the clock hung up on the wall. “Don’t tell me school’s out already? You beat Robin here.”

“No, I’m playing hooky,” she shakes her head, unsteadily moving towards the counter. 

“What? You? I’m sorry, am I still dreaming?” Steve asks dramatically. “Since when do you, of all people, ever skip class? I’d sooner believe Nancy doing it than you.”

“Just...needed a break s’all,” she says with a shrug, looking around. “Keith not here?”

“Nah, he’s off today. Something about a new graphic novel he’s been dying to get. Says he’d have to wait overnight just to get one of the first editions. I don’t know, I don’t really listen to him unless he’s handing over my check,” Steve said. She leans up against the counter, trying to act casual. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t things be okay?”

“Well, for one, having to clarify that things are supposed to be okay when asked if everything’s okay is a pretty big indicator that things aren’t, in fact, okay.” Steve says with a laugh. “So everything’s not okay, then?”

“Everything’s okay,” she lies. “I just...can I ask you something?”

“Yeah?”

She isn’t sure how to come out and say it without sounding stupid. Better, she can’t figure out a way to come out and say it without sounding completely pathetic. But this was Steve, he was the king of asking her embarrassing things. He even called her once at three in the morning to ask how long you were supposed to leave cookies in the oven for. The follow up question was how to get the burnt smell out before his mom came home. 

“Am I boring?”

Steve tilts his head. “Huh?”

“Am I boring, Steve? Am I boring?”

“No? Who gave you that idea?” Steve snorts, like he thinks it was a foolish thing to ask. “Whoever it is clearly hasn’t seen you handle a crowbar.” He was referencing when she’d nabbed a crowbar from the junkyard lot to fend off the demodogs with him, all to protect the little ones in the bus. She doesn’t want to remember that right now, not when it makes her feel cold inside. 

“Nobody, I just...I dunno, I just think that maybe I’m not as exciting as, like...you o-or Rob or Nancy or, hell, even Jonathan.” 

“Nonsense, you’re a badass! True story, you know I wouldn’t say that about just any...” Steve trails off, finally really looking at her. “Hey...hey, why are you really askin’ me that? Something happen? Someone say something to you?”

“No, Steve, I was just asking.”

“You’re lying,” he accuses. “Who was it, was it Byers? Nancy? Not Robin...”

“No! No, Steve, they didn’t say anything, please just drop it. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Steve’s face eventually relaxes, having realized he knew exactly who she was talking about.

“Munson.”

She shakes her head. “Stop it, Steve.”

“What did he say? I thought he just wanted to be friends, where’s all this coming from?” he asked. There were too many questions being thrown at her. She doesn’t want to cry, especially not in front of him, but as soon as she feels her cheek dampen that was it. Soon she was burying her face in her hands and trying to stop the little whimpers from coming out.

She doesn’t notice Steve leap easily over the counter. He pulls her close, shushing her quietly. 

“Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you upset,” he says. She sniffles, wrapping her arms around him. He’s petting her hair, kissing the crown of her head, trying his damndest to get her to calm down and talk to him. He was the perfect person to come to, she now realizes. Her subconscious knew Steve was the answer.

When she finally stopped crying, he at last let her go, giving her some space.

She rubs the tears from her eyes and wipes the tears on her jeans.

“Want me to kill him?” he asks jokingly. She laughs. He smiles again. “What happened? Can you tell me now?”

She told him what Eddie had said, the real reason he’d broken up with her and how she ran from the cafeteria and came here. Steve was reasonably upset, but he didn’t want to make it all about pounding Eddie into a pulp, he knew she needed her friend right now and he was prepared to be just that.

“Hey, screw him,” Steve scoffs, throwing an arm over her shoulders and pulling her back into his chest. “You’re far from boring, believe me, and honestly if you ask me you could do so much better than Eddie Munson. The guy picks his nose. I saw him once. It was gnarly.”

She’s laughing again, playfully hitting him. 

“Thank you, Steve,” she says, “I’m sorry to dump all this on you, I just needed someone to talk to, you know?” 

“Well, you came to the right guy. I can’t tell you it gets much better from public humiliation, but I can tell you that you find much better shit to focus on. Like this obviously stellar job. Robin. My new stereo I saved up for. And...well, you.” He playfully flicks her nose. She wrinkles her nose and swats his hand away. “Eddie doesn’t know what he’s talkin’ about. But I know he’s gonna kick himself in the ass when he realizes he lost a girl like you.”

“Yeah, you’re just saying that ‘cause you’re my friend.” 

“Not true, I also wanna bug you for your famous cookies.” Steve winks.

“I can bring them to you tonight, then.” she said, patting his arm. “I should get going. Um...you clearly are very busy and I don’t wanna keep you from doing your job.”

“I know, such a bad influence. The gateway rebellion was skipping class. Now it’s job defiance,” Steve chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. “Hey, um...if you want, when you come by tonight, maybe you could stick around? Was gonna rifle through the back, borrow some flicks to waste my evening away. Free to join me if you want? Robin flaked out on me, says she’s doing some band practice with Vicky. Didn’t ask for details.”

She thinks about it and smiles. “Sounds like fun. Girls’ night.”

“Invitation rescinded!” Steve shouts, turning away. 

“No, I’m kidding, I’m kidding, stop!” she protests, giggling. “I’ll bring cookies and pizza, Steve. I’ll be there.”

“Alright, then,” Steve said. “Um...hey, don’t worry about Eddie, alright? He’s just being a dick. And honestly, apart from his relationship with the rugrats, he’s still gonna be a dick. He missed out on a girl like you. Clearly he’s a martian.”

“Doesn’t mean much when I’m from Hawkins. But thank you, Steve. I’ll see you tonight,” she says, squeezing his hand and finally leaving the store back to her car. She left feeling much lighter than she had going in. He was right. Forget Eddie. If he thought she was so boring he clearly didn’t need her around him. She had other friends, friends like Steve.

Smiling to herself, she climbs into the driver’s seat and turns the key into the ignition, hearing the engine roar to life.

Things would be just fine. 

[goldenmorningglory]

funny how people say gay people didn't exist in the 80s but somehow homophobia exists.

[lunastar92]

They're all chaotic besties and I love it! 😁😆

[livsmessydoodles]

the tinie

[unlockedcuriositydoor]

Looking back on season 3, episode 1 (following another instance of Mike being late), after Mike and Will are situated in the theater, the camera makes a point of showing a close-up of Mike blushing. Strong emotion leading up to the power outage? I speculated in a previous post about how Will's own strong emotions toward Mike in season 3 always led to him sensing the Mindflayer's presence - sort of a passive reception. But what if it was more of a give and take between Mike and Will than I'd previously thought? I can't explain at this point how I think the electricity/time manipulation works together, but I'm definitely thinking some latent power in Mike activated Will's senses. Not only the Mindflayer, although also the Mindflayer. That which stands between realities/dimensions. Then after Mike asks Will if he's ok, we cut to the movie they're watching (Day of the Dead, the zombies symbolizing the whole zombie/mindless horde theme of the season) and we see the main actress placing her hand over a calendar with all the days of October crossed out, zombie hands bursting out of the wall. Time's up. The attack has begun. And November was the month of Will's disappearance (though we're in July in the show's timeline).

And another thing I was saying was that if we're going the Uncle Vecna route, maybe that explains why it was Nancy who received Vecna's visions, but wasn't herself a target.

If Mike has powers around electricity and time manipulation, they are often shown to inconvenience Nancy: he makes her late to school in season 4, makes her late to work in season 3 since the power outage shuts off her alarm (and if in fact Mike has anything to do with that), and pisses her off in season 2 by stealing her coins as he rushes off to the arcade. These instances of lateness aren't necessarily connected any possible powers, though, so it might mean something else.

Later on in season 3, ep 1, Mike, Will, and El (the main three drivers of the story) are gathered in Dustin's room, looking at his inventions from science camp. Max and Lucas are in the kitchen, attending to Lucas's eye injury (reversal in season 4). Max and Lucas stand apart from the other characters, I think, in that they are driven more by practicality and the realm of the senses. Anyway, Dustin shows Mike and Will and El his "Forever Clock" and says it's very useful in the apocalypse. It has what looks like a long yellow (Will) band next to a blue (Mike)....clump, I don't know, and a red and white (El) propeller. This makes sense: El is a person of action, a propeller, while I see Mike and Will as dwelling more in the realms of thought (although that is truest of Will - maybe). Will takes the clock and studies it. The other two keep their arms back. Dustin's capabilities will serve an essential role in the apocalypse. Not sure what this all means yet. These are just stray thoughts at this point.

[undreaming-fanfiction]

As a crazy cat lady, may I offfer...

Eddie who has always loved cats, how free and soft and elegant they are, how they purr and close their eyes in affection, how they make him forget all his worries and stress. He's loved them ever since a neighbor's cat found him crying behind the trailer after he got bullied for his new haircut, the last gift from his shitty dad before Eddie got whisked away by the social services. The cat ignored his sniffling and jumped in his lap, plopping herself over the bony knees and thin thighs, and when she started rubbing her face against his scraped palm, Eddie felt complete.

He can't adopt one yet because he lives with Wayne who is allergic. Wayne offers to take antihistamines but Eddie refuses, he doesn't want to inconvenience him in his own home. Still, he dreams of one day sometime in the future, a small apartment of his own and at least two cats who will greet him when he comes home.

Eddie finds himself volunteering in a shelter and when a new cat café opens, he jumps at the opportunity. He is hired and spends his days taking of their cat ensemble and preparing delicious coffees. Cats help him be less jittery and more grounded, so it's a win win. Eddie loves this job.

Enter Steve Harrington, an insanely handsome man who stops by to make a reservation. Eddie is his usual flirty self, although he expects Steve will bring a date and that's the end of that. But then Steve leans to Eddie and asks: "Listen, uh...I will need some help."

Suppressing an internal groan, Eddie asks: "what, do you need me to drop an engagement ring into the coffee or something? Because can do, but it needs to be sanitized first."

"Oh no. Not that, no..." Steve runs his fingers through his hair and even though it looks like a nervous gesture, Eddie is seconds away from a cuteness induced nosebleed. "Not at all. I just...I have a little sister, you know? I mean, my adoptive dad is fostering her and she's the kindest girl you've met, but she had it rough in her original family. Apparently there was something involving animals and...she loves cats so much, but is terrified of hurting them. She would never!" he clarifies when he sees a frown forming on Eddie's forehead. "It's just that whenever she showed affection to any animal, her biological father made sure it would get hurt or at least chased away. And that's gone, that man is in jail and I just...I want to show her that it's okay to love animals again. That she can pet a purring cat without worrying about its safety."

Eddie just stares at him with mouth open. "That's...wow," he says. "Sorry. Processing."

Steve does the hair thing again and laughs and Eddie thinks that this man deserves a brother of the year award, yep, he'll ask Gareth to 3D print one right fucking now. "Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to dump all that on you, but I had to be honest because this is a big deal to her. To me as well. Just...listen, I like cats a lot, but I'm not the best at interpreting what they mean, their body language and all that. And I really need Jane to have someone here that can tell her what to do, when she's doing a good job...someone who will protect the kitties if she messes up. Her words. I know it's a lot to ask, but..."

But Eddie shushes him. "Say no more, big boy. I'll be here and I'll give the young lady the cat experience of a lifetime."

Eddie used to think he couldn't love his job any more. But with Jane's uncertain smile and big eyes, her incredulous squeal when a cat chose her for the first time, when she kept asking Eddie for specifics of each cat in his care - "which one is more shy, which one likes to be picked up, which one is a picky eater?" - he thinks he's finally found his calling. Steve beams at him and comes back the next day with a bag of approved cat treats for the cats and a box of chocolates for Eddie as a thank you, then asks him out for a dinner - "if that is even appropriate, shit, sorry, I don't want you to feel pressured or something, this is your job, I get it, but I just really admire you and you were amazing to Jane, uh, and the stuff you say about cats is so interesting I'd just love to hear more". Eddie's heart flutters like the traitor it is and he thinks - maybe this is someone I could adopt a cat with one day.

And unsurprisingly, he's right.