#get the item in the hoppers to the back

[octobrushwizard]

found a bit of a bulky way to create certain 2 ingredient recipes with crafters: hopper chains. with some comparators sticking out either side you can pick which item goes in when. say you want to create scaffolding; string is l and bamboo is r. your "input line" should be r, l, r, r, r, r, r. the commas mean you have to have a hopper with no comparators next to it, else the hypothetical line of redstone won't deactivate in time for the next input. basically a pause.

here's my design in a photo since everyone forgot how to read:

[stevieschrodinger]

Part One Two Three Four

TW Human trafficking discussions of injury

The front door is locked.

Eddie is almost winded, hobbling all this way on his sore feet. There’s a neat little screen on the wall that, briefly, woke up and flickered an angry red when Eddie had tried the door handle. Like that wasn’t hugely unsettling.

He found he just didn’t have it in him to try it again. Where would he go, anyway? Just getting to the gate would take him hours, and he doesn’t have any fucking shoes; he’s still wearing the white nightdress and nothing else.

Eddie eyes the curve of the sweeping staircase. No. No way. He’d have to go up it backward and on his butt to even make it, one slow step at a time. Steve said he’d got Eddie a room ready but...no.

No.

There’s probably fifty fucking rooms up there anyway, what with the size of the place; Eddie wouldn’t stand a chance, and he definitely doesn’t feel right snooping around like that. The back of his neck prickles at just the thought of doing something like that.

He needs the bathroom though. Too much bread, too much dairy. The milkshake, the creamy pasta. Eddie’s not one hundred percent sure if he’s going to vomit or just straight up shit himself, but there’s something uncomfortable happening. The stabbing, trapped wind type feelings occasionally taking Eddie’s breath away, they’re so sharp.

Okay. Logically this place is so fancy, there has to be a downstairs bathroom; which there is, Eddie finds it on the second try, after fully ten minutes of slow, painful shuffling.

It turns out to be a horrendously explosive shit, which Eddie is kind of glad about because being sick is the worst, and he feels much better after a traumatic twenty minutes in one of the fanciest bathrooms he’s ever seen.

Eddie tries his best to hunt around the lounge, but the TV and sound system are so sleek and stylish, Eddie can’t see an obvious way to control either. He’s frightened to touch the books in case they’re like, collectors items, or something. He sighs wistfully at them anyway; he hasn't been allowed to read a book in years. Well behaved Omega most certainly don't read. They might start...having aspirations and thinking for themselves and stuff like that, so it was absolutely not permitted at the ranch.

His feet are throbbing, but he didn’t think to ask for painkillers. There’s nothing for him to do but sit on the couch and feel sorry for himself.

He tells himself this is better than the ranch. It’s better. He’s safe here. He’s going to see Wayne again. Hagan’s probably been arrested already; everyone else has been rescued too. Well at least, Eddie hopes so. All of that being a lie at this point...why would Steve go to so much effort to fabricate a lie like that?

It’s a slippery slope, that thought, so Eddie tries not to entertain it. He’s spoken to Hopper himself; seen his FBI card. It has to be true, surely? Everyone is okay, Eddie tells himself on repeat.

Everyone has been rescued.

Eddie just has to...endure. He can do that.

He’s been doing it for years.

The couch is too soft to sleep on. The beds in the dorm had mattresses so thin they might as well have been a folded over blanket, so Eddie has gotten used to the creaky noises and sleeping on something almost completely solid, no give at all in the wooden slats of the bed frames.

It’s quiet here. No movement, no breathing, no whispered conversations between Omega or the footsteps of guards on patrol. Nothing.

It’s been dark for a while when Eddie realizes he’s getting cold; the thermostat, or however this place works, must have turned over to it’s night time setting.

Eddie finds blankets in the big fancy Ottoman. The room feels...too big. Too big and empty. All that fancy glass reflecting the room and making it look twice as big. He feels defenseless, open. It’s not a nice feeling.

The silence is oppressive.

Eddie shifts the Ottoman, it takes a huge effort to push, the thing is heavy, but he manages to butt it right up into the corner of the ‘L’ shaped couch. Eddie lays one blanket out on the rug, snugged right up in the small space he’s made for himself between the Ottoman and the couch, Eddie nests in the protected little triangle of space. One blanket to lie on, the warmer one pulled over top of him. He does take one cushion off the couch, for his head.

He’s warmer, and feels safer, here. It still takes him hours to fall into an unsettled and fitful sleep.

Eddie didn’t reach any kind of deep sleep; he knows he didn’t. He knows because he’s blinking, alert and awake from the noises he can hear. The front door, keys being put down, footsteps.

Foot steps on the stairs.

And Eddie didn’t experience any of the confusion that comes with being woken from decent sleep. No. He’s awake, fully alert, and he knows exactly where he is and what’s happening.

He hears those same footsteps come back down the stairs, “Eddie?”

“Here,” Eddie forces himself up, bracing his arms on the couch, knees both clicking after being curled up tight for so long.

Steve looks like shit. He definitely hasn’t slept. But then, neither has Eddie, not really, and considering Eddie’s now eaten two meals and slept a night wearing a practically see through white nightdress, there’s no way he looks any better himself; he’s got to be grubby.

Steve also looks aghast, “Eddie, I’m so sorry. I got...distracted. That’s not an excuse for just...leaving. Did you sleep there the whole night?”

Eddie nods, there doesn’t really need to be an explanation.

“Shit. Shit, okay. Okay, lets...you hungry? I’m starving. I know we ordered you clothes, but I should have given you something better than-” Steve sighs, a sharp sound, before rubbing at his forehead for a second. “Right, breakfast first? Anything you want? Pretty sure I have the stuff for cheese omelettes? And I know I’ve got sausage and bacon.”

Eddie can’t help but wince at the thought of yesterdays fecal catastrophe. It must show, Steve frowning at him from under his floppy preppy hair, “all the rich food it, uhm, gave me a tummy ache? So...just some scrambled eggs would be really, really great.”

Steve looks at him for a long moment, probably rethinking yesterday, “yeah, yeah okay, scrambled eggs,” and he heads off into the kitchen, Eddie forcing himself to limp weakly along behind.

Steve does make a mean plate of scrambled eggs, and it really does hit the spot. Eddie dodges the coffee, having a glass of OJ instead. “Okay, so lets...lets figure what to priorities here. Shower, you can borrow some of my clothes, and I’ll check your feet, does that sound okay?”

“Yeah...but you, you look real tired Steve, I mean it can wait-”

“No, no it’s fine. I won’t be able to rest if I don’t know you’re okay, plus...you look kind of tired there yourself...which isn’t surprising considering I abandoned you and forced you to spend the night on the floor-”

“Steve.”

“I...sorry. Again. If it makes you feel any better, I’ve ripped pretty much everything Hagan owned right out from under him. Or at least I will have, by lunch time today.”

And yeah...to be fair. Eddie does feel better. It’s cold comfort, but Eddie can be small and spiteful and bitter with the best of them so...yeah. Imagining Hagan sat in a cell somewhere, knowing his empire is being dismantled brick by brick. Yeah. Why not? Eddie can enjoy that for a minute. “Yeah, that’s...really good to hear.”

“Good.” They smile at each other for a long few seconds. And then Eddie yawns. And Steve yawns. And it sets off a horrible cycle of them yawning at each other across the table.

“Okay, lets get you sorted out.”

Eddie braces himself for the limp to the stairs, which he manages, shuffling gamely along with Steve hovering. For the split second Eddie allows himself to stop concentrating and actually look up at Steve...he sees Steve watching his move very intently, but also guilty as fuck.

The stairs are another matter. Having all of his weight on one foot while he lifts the other is...horrible. Stepping up is even worse, so much so that Eddie flinches from it the first time and nearly falls off the first step.

Steve steadies him.

On the second wobble, along with a pained hiss, Eddie finds himself just being...scooped up. Just straight up lifted, and he flails for a second before what’s just happened catches up to him, and his flailing ends with his arms locked around Steve’s neck.

Eddie will forever deny the panicked ‘yip’ noise that had come out of him.

Steve heard it though, and Steve’s grinning from inches away as he, very effortlessly, carries Eddie up the stairs.

Which, first of all, what a bastard, and second of all Eddie will not think about how fucking hot it is that Steve can throw him around if he wants to.

Steve has laid out a bunch of towels ready, and a change of clothes; just sleep pants and a tee shirt, a pair of boxers, but it looks like absolute heaven to Eddie. So does the whole of the bathroom, if he’s being honest. Even though this is a guest room and guest bath– which blows Eddie’s mind all on it’s own, he’s pretty sure that with a bit of inventive interior design, a family of four could live comfortably in this space.

So yeah, Eddie is able to sit safe and sound on a ledge in the bath and hose himself down. It’s not a proper shower, but Eddie doesn’t want to stand for that really, especially not with how it would soak his scabs, so this is perfect for now.

He finally feels clean after, which is a huge improvement.

Once he’s dressed, resting on a thick and fluffy towel Steve had considerately left on the toilet seat, he waits. Steve had been for his own shower real quick, once Eddie was settled safely, and he comes back toting a first aid kit in a green bag with a white cross on the side.

Steve takes a towel to cushion his knees, again not seeming worried about kneeling in front of an Omega, which is a nice change of pace.

“Oh,” Eddie says, at the same second Steve freezes in place, “the thing I could smell…” Steve has showered, and he couldn’t have reapplied blockers. Steve’s scent is only vague in the house downstairs, just a nice background scent; Alpha and comfort and home and safe...but now it’s hitting Eddie full in the face. Eddie sways forward mindlessly, trying to get closer to the source, Steve reaching out to steady him by the shoulder.

Eddie almost feels like he’s blinking awake, and Steve is right there. Like, two inches away, licking his lips and looking at Eddie with eyes so blown they’re almost back, “yeah,” Steve swallows thickly, and then visibly jumps when his phone rings. He looks startled by the noise, “sorry. Sorry I should- yeah, what is it, Henderson?”

And Steve leaves the room. Eddie feels kind of foggy, but also all kind of wonderful. Steve’s scent is...it’s good. It’s real nice. It’s...probably perfect. Smells like home and safe and mate and all that good shit Eddie had secretly dreamed about in the darkness of the dorm room at the ranch, trying to keep himself sane.

Eddie can hear Steve talking, “yeah, multiple accounts. Yeah, I know, but there wasn’t enough in there so I cleared out...no, no, you think Eddie only cost a quarter mil?” Steve laughs, “yeah, it was quite a bit more, yeah.” Steve sighs, “shut up, Henderson. Oh my god, no I did not get a receipt.”

@stylelovechild @steddieonthen @marklee-blackmore @sticknpokelightningbolt @resident-gay-bitch @somegirlsomewhere @mugloversonly @weekend-dreamer7 @lololol-1234 @anne-bennett-cosplayer @mx-jinxous @goodolefashionedloverboi @bogwitchlesbian @lunaraquaenby @steddieinthesun @pluto-pepsi @disrespectedgoatman @i-eat-spinal-cords @waelkyring @kal-ology @grtwdsmwhr @v3lv3tf0x @itsall-taken-blog @nrvscig @dragonmama76 @scarletyeager @slv-333 @abstractnaturaldisaster @tinyplanet95

[ivys-garden]

Since people seemed to like it, I thought I'd go more in depth to my idea for Pigeons in Minecraft. Criticism is encouraged and welcome

PIGEONS

Pigeons are a passive mob spawning in all forested biomes as well as deserts and tundras. Pigeons will also rarely Spawn in Woodland Mansions, Pillager Outposts, Witch Huts, Igloos and Villages

Pigeons have 8 distinct looks depending on the biome:

Pigeons can be Tamed by the player using any of the following:

● Carrots

● Golden Carrots

● Potatoes

● Seeds

● Pumpkin Seeds

● Melon Seeds

● Beetroot

● Melon Slices

● Glistering Melon

● Spider Eyes

● Fermented Spider Eye

● Apples

● Golden Apples

● Enchanted Golden Apples

● Sweet Berries

● Glow Berries

● Sugar Cane

● Honey Come

When Tamed, players can make pigeons sit, stand and Perch on their shoulder.

Bird Nests

Bird Nests are naturally occurring in all overworld tree types, they can be harvested by the player with silk touch or crafted like this:

Pigeons and parrots can be sat in Bird Nests and will lay eggs in there when fed (this doesn't require two pigeons or parrots, thisnis indicated by hearts above the birds head) This is the only way to breed pigeons and parrots. Parrot eggs have a yellow tint while pigeon eggs are speckled purple. Eggs hatch after 5 minutes, eggs can be collected via a right click from the player or when the nest is broken with silk touch. Eggs can be placed on the ground in sets of 4. Eggs placed on the ground never hatch. They only hatch when placed back into an egg

Deliveries

Pigeons that lay their eggs in a nest will claim it as there's, pigeons can claim up to two Nests at a time.

Right clicking on a tamed pigeon in a nest with an item in the player's hand opens an interface, similar to the horse, where pigeons can be given an item yo hold. Pigeons can only carry written books and bundles. Assuming the pigeon has claimed two Nests the player can send the pigeon to the other nest on either a one way or return trip.

A pigeon with an item will fly to the other nest, loading chunks as they do so (chucks loaded by a pigeon cannot Spawn mobs or perform tick updates such as crop growth, to prevent lag).

When the pigeon reaches the nest they will place the item into the nest. Items can be removed from the nest via a right click or via a hopper placed below the nest.

Pigeons can go through half block gaps to get to the nest, if they are unable to access the nest after 30 seconds they become frustrated (indicated by particles above their head) and drop the item on the ground.

Assuming that the player chooses for the pigeon to make a return trip, the pigeon will Fly back regardless as to whether or not it could access the nest.

If the player chose one way, the pigeon will stay in the second nest with the deposited item, unless it couldn't access the nest in which case it will automatically teleport back to the player

All players can use Tamed pigeons to send packages, regardless of whether or not they were the one to tame the pigeon.

Achievements and Advancements

Pigeons have one advancement and two achievements:

Special Delivery - Advancement for sending a package with a pigeon

Sky Rat Master - achievement for obtaining all pigeon variants

Spoiled Rotten - achievement for feeding a pigeon one of every golden food item

[estrellami-1]

If I Should Stay

Part 1 | . . . | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15

Steve, Robin, Nancy, Jonathan, and Eddie exchange looks. “Can you tell how long?” Nancy asks.

“Less than a day,” El says, sounding apologetic. “Other than that…” she shakes her head and slips the blindfold off. “I am sorry.”

“You’ve done more than enough, El,” Robin soothes. “Thank you.”

“We have to go after her.” Nancy looks pleadingly at Steve. “You want to save her, too, right? Not just Will?”

“I do,” Steve nods. “I didn’t know how long we’d have. I’d hoped we’d have more time, but it looks like we’ll have to go in twice: once for Barb and Will, and once to kill Vecna.” He looks around the room, focusing on the three boys. “I know Will was the artist, but Lucas, I know you can draw too. If we get you a map, can you find points and direct us?”

Lucas sets his jaw and nods. “I’ll do my best.”

“Okay. Here’s the plan, then: you three, stay here with El.” He looks at Dustin, Mike, and Lucas. “We’ll have walkie talkies, so we can keep in constant communication. El, how long can you stay in that space?”

She looks at him steadily. “I can do it.”

Steve looks at her, then nods. “I trust you. Robs, you’re with me?”

“Just try and get rid of me, Dingus.”

Dingus? Jonathan mouths to Nancy, who shrugs.

“Nance, Jon, and Eddie. You’re with us. We’re getting in and out as fast as we can. If all goes according to plan, we’ll have two more people coming with us on the out. They’ll be weak, but between the five of us, we can and will get them out safely. Robin, you stay here, direct the weapon-making. Make sure I get a bat. I’m going to go get walkie talkies, masks, and a whole lot of first aid supplies.”

“Got it,” Robin nods, then points at Eddie, Jonathan, and Nancy. “You three, with me.” She leads them to the backyard, and Steve knows she’s bringing them to the shed, where his old sports things and various tools are.

He looks to the boys. “Keep working on those plans. We’ll need them for the second attack. El, do you want to rest before we begin?” She considers it, then nods. “Okay. You know where the bed is. I’ll be back in less than an hour, alright?”

She nods and begins climbing the stairs. Steve looks around once more, taking stock, then grabs his keys and walks out the front door.

He gets to the store no problem, walks inside and starts filling his basket. Seven walkie talkies, seven masks, seven pairs of goggles, antibacterial cream, bandages, a suture kit, some ice packs. Two bottles of pain pills. He thinks about it, then makes his way to the front desk, smiling at the employee. “Hey, could I use your phone for a minute, please?”

He looks at Steve, unimpressed, then shrugs and gestures towards it. Steve thanks him and dials his home number.

“Hello?”

“Dustin. Do me a favor and get Eddie?”

“Yeah. One second.”

He hears Dustin yelling for Eddie as he walks outside, then a minute later, Eddie’s on the line. “Hello?”

“Hey, Eddie. I grabbed some pain meds, but I’m wondering if they’re going to be strong enough. I can pay you, but could you…”

“Yeah, no, I’ve got it. And no, dude, you’re not paying me. Not for this. I’ll head home and get them right now.”

“Perfect,” Steve says. “Thanks so much, Eds, you’re a lifesaver.”

“Uh, y-yeah, no problem. I’ll, uh, go now.”

“Okay. I’ll probably beat you back. See you there.”

“See you,” Eddie agrees, and they hang up,

Steve looks around for a few more minutes, finds a package of nails, adds those to his basket and goes to check out.

He’s well aware he probably looks like a serial killer, but he knows from experience the cashier is blindly scanning his items.

His luck runs out when Chief Hopper walks in and ambles towards the checkout counter. Steve does his best to keep the sigh internal. “Chief,” he says, giving him a little nod. The chief returns the greeting, peering over into Steve’s basket.

Steve suddenly becomes very interested in the gum options.

“What’s all this?” Hopper asks, inclining his head towards the basket.

Steve shrugs. “A few different things.” Please accept it, please accept it, please accept it-

“Like what?”

Dammit. “Uh… well, I noticed I didn’t have a first aid kit, and I figured I probably should, y’know? And I wanted to do some work around the house.”

Hopper grunts. “The masks and walkies?”

“Um.” Steve blanks. “It’s for a game with my friends?”

Hopper sighs. “If I get a call from your neighbors-”

“You won’t,” Steve says. Promises.

“Fifty-one sixty-four, sir,” the cashier says. Steve’s never been more grateful to be interrupted.

He pays, grabs his things, and sends Hopper a salute on his way out the door. He notices Hopper watching him as he leaves the parking lot, and he forces himself not to speed on the way home.

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[oh-stars]

Topps

Love is secretly studying up on the nerd shit he’s into.

a @steddielovemonth prompt | 2249 words | CW: N/A | Rating: T

--

It’s not often that they all make their way to Indianapolis. It’s no Chicago and getting everyone together to make a big trip of it is getting harder and harder every month. But Will’s birthday falls in line with the grand opening of a new collectibles store that promises shiny new dice and rare items among their comics and board game memorabilia. How could anyone deny his pleading eyes to make it a part of his birthday celebration: to go see the store and find a place to eat, a day trip that’s on the simpler side. 

Eddie’s just as excited as the boys are, but he’s more surprised to find Steve is practically vibrating out of his skin with how eager he is to get to the store. He’s just not showing it in the same way the others are. It’s all vibrant eyes and small smiles, bouncing knees and one too many questions. 

Eddie’s still trying to figure out what he’s excited about. 

Over the last year, Eddie’s learned how to read Steve Harrington. The man may think he keeps an even, cool composure about everything, but Eddie’s an expert in the minor details to figure out how Steve really feels. When he talks to Hopper about some sports thing, his hands will have a small tremor and he stumbles over his words sometimes, always playing it off as some headache or not getting enough sleep if you point it out. Eddie knows better, he knows Steve gets so excited that he can’t contain it and is embarrassed at how eager he is to share it, about his interests all together. 

The kids don’t help, he knows. Outside of Lucas, the others just tease him for being a meathead jock or some other bullshit insult – pulling the same shit they get bullied with, the same shit Eddie encouraged. He’s trying to get them to see how fucked up it is, but it’s a work in progress. 

They’re driving separately so Eddie doesn’t get to watch Steve’s excitement build other than the glimpses he gets in his rearview mirror of Steve, Robin, and the girls singing along to whatever mundane Top 40 shit they’re blasting. He’d listen to the shitty music with Steve over Dustin and Mike arguing over D&D editions any day, though. At least he can control the volume of the music… 

“I’m this close,” Eddie holds up his pinched fingers, “to leaving you on the side of the road,” he tells them. 

Dustin rolls his eyes. “Steve wouldn’t let you.” 

“I think I can convince him,” Eddie says with a smirk. Only Robin knows about their relationship, even now after it’s been a year, but that doesn’t mean the kids don’t know they’re close. They know they’re inseparable and good friends. Just not… naked in bed, touchy-feely ‘friends,’ ya know?  “We’re nearly at the store. Can you at least pause the screaming match until you have the editions in front of you for proper comparison?” 

That buys Eddie a few minutes of just his music as the boys have a more reasonable discussion to figure out how to split their small funds to maximize their haul. They may be turning sixteen this year, but they’re not exactly loaded. It’s the same shit he and the guys used to pull, and sometimes… still do. It’s nice seeing them like actual kids for a little while longer. 

But he’s still happy to climb out of his van and meet back up with Steve and the gang. 

He slings an arm over Steve’s shoulders, feels how keyed up he is and how his muscles are tense despite the relaxed looking posture. “Are you mortals ready to blow your minds?” Eddie asks, voice rumbly as he leans in to stare at the girls. 

Max rolls her eyes as Erica levels him with a stare of her own. 

“Let’s go already!” Dustin calls back as the guys are already booking it toward the store. 

Nancy and Jonathan have only just pulled up as the group passes. Robin, Jane, and Max wait for them, happy to hang back from this particular stop on their day. Or maybe they’re scheming about Will’s surprise that the rest of them have been left in the dark about. 

Either way, Eddie doesn’t drop his arm from Steve’s shoulders until they reach the door. 

The store’s packed with nerds of all ages, shuffling here and there as they browse the small space. It’s like nerd paradise, with walls of collectibles and big crates of comics and books, and big displays of art and promotions everywhere. It even has that musty book smell he loves so much! 

Eddie squeezes Steve’s shoulder before he completely drops his arm. “Permission to go feral?”

Steve rolls his eyes, but shoves Eddie lightly. “Go. Have fun,” he says. 

“You could always follow me, you know. Don’t want you getting lost,” Eddie says, getting back into Steve’s space even as his eyes flickered around the space. 

“I’ll come find you, okay?” Steve says, then he walks away with his hands in his pockets like he’s just strolling through the store. But Eddie can see the sharp way his eyes are searching the space, hunting for something. It’s enough to have Eddie trailing behind him, eager to figure out this mystery. 

Okay so Eddie gets briefly distracted by a wall of dragon figurines, but he manages to pull himself away when he sees the price tags are dangerously close to having commas. He stumbles his way around, only getting swept into conversation with Will once about the variety of figures they have and able to dodge Dustin’s badgering about the new Justice League comic. 

He finds Steve hunched over a glass case that’s near the cash register, at the far end where people aren’t huddled around looking at trading cards or the pricer collectibles. Eddie tucks himself partially behind a bookshelf so he can see Steve from the side. He watches as Steve’s eyes squint and he squats lower to look at the case from a new perspective. It takes a lot of effort to not let his own eyes wander to how his ass puts his Levi’s to the test, but Eddie’s stronger than that (sort of).

And because of that strength, Eddie gets the rare experience of seeing Steve’s eyes light up as his jaw drops. He looks… in awe of whatever he’s found, like someone just showed him the Holy Grail. 

Eddie can’t help himself as he walks over. Steve’s so entranced, he doesn’t even notice. For a split second, Eddie feels that familiar panic creep up his throat before he hears a soft “holy shit,” from Steve. 

On this side of the case are… sports cards. Trading cards of different sports people in various conditions, some are in little wrappers, some in packs, and others loose in the glass display case. Huh. Go figure. 

He’s kind of surprised, if Eddie’s honest with himself, he never would have taken Steve for a collector of any kind, much less trading cards. But here he is, so amazed at whatever he’s found that he still hasn’t noticed Eddie’s presence. 

Eddie squats down beside him, knees popping with the movement, and rests his forehead on the glass. “Which one is it?” 

Steve curses under his breath as he jumps, snapping out of it. “Jesus, Eds,” he says, standing up. 

“Sorry,” Eddie says with a grin. “Seriously, though. Which is it?” 

His face is red and he looks almost ashamed to be caught staring at the cards. “Find anything cool yet?” Steve asks, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

Eddie frowns. “Steve…” 

Steve just shakes his head and turns his back on the glass. “Looks like Lucas found something,” he says with a forced laugh as he points to where Lucas is struggling to carry a few different boxes of figurines as he searches for the others in the busy store. 

“And so did you,” Eddie says softly as he stands beside him, shoulders touching. “Trading cards, huh?” 

He just shrugs. 

“I think it’s pretty cool,” Eddie says. “I don’t know anything about them but,” he glances back at the rows and rows of cards, some with tiny words and charts, “those stats have to mean something. And you know how I am about stats, Stevie.” 

Steve rolls his eyes. “They’re player stats, Eddie. It’s from their games and shit.” He sighs. “You don’t… don’t have to pretend it’s cool, man. Just sports shit, right?” 

“Hey,” Eddie says, a little more forceful, “I don’t mind sports shit, remember? We had fun watching that basketball game the other day.” 

“You were just being nice,” Steve says. 

“No,” Eddie counters, “I was a little confused on the language and how it works, but I love seeing you get passionate about something you love, Steve. Even if it means seeing how angry you get at whatever the refs are saying.” 

Steve’s face darkens as he grumbles out, “It was a shit call.” He hasn’t been able to let it go since they watched it. 

“C’mon,” Eddie says, turning back to the case, “will you just show me which one you like?” 

“It’s not necessarily about liking them,” Steve starts, turning as well, “but the players themselves.” 

Eddie hums. “So which player did you find?” 

“Nolan Ryan,” Steve breathes out, pointing at the card, “he’s a pitcher for the Astros and that,” he lets out a whistle, “is a rare 1985 Tiffany.” 

“What makes it rare?” Eddie asks. 

Steve waves him off. “Don’t worry about that–”

“No,” Eddie insists. “I told you, in detail, about my Lord of the Rings theories and you listened to every word. Let me hear about your Tiffany card.” 

“It’s not mine,” Steve reminds him. 

Eddie nudges his shoulder. “Steve.” 

Steve lets out a breath and runs a hand through his hair. “Okay, so the cards are printed here, right? Like it’s one of their things? But the Tiffany cards aren’t, they’re printed in Ireland. And you see how that one is a little brighter than the one next to it?” He doesn’t wait for Eddie’s response. “They printed the Tiffany sets on white cardboard instead of gray. And they only made a limited run of the sets, right? So to just… find one,” he says, voice soft and light, “and Nolan Ryan’s card at that?” He whistles. “Kind of a big deal.” 

“So you’re getting it, right?” 

Steve shrugs again. “Maybe I’ll drive up later for it. I don’t want to deal with the kids–” 

“We’ll put it in my bag. I haven’t even really started to look, but you know I’m emptying my wallet in here, right?” Eddie says, smiling. 

“Why haven’t you looked?” Steve asks, brow furrowing. “We’ve been here for twenty minutes, Eds, what have you been doing?” 

Eddie feels his face soften as he tilts his head and plays with a strand of his hair. “There’s this guy I’ve got a thing for,” he whispers, “and he was really excited to come to some nerd store, but wouldn’t tell me why. So I had to figure it out myself.” 

Steve’s blushing again as he looks away. “C’mon,” he says, grabbing Eddie by the elbow, “show me what you want to look at.” 

He allows Steve to change the subject and does look for himself, but he doesn’t forget the wistful look in Steve’s eyes when they end up by the case again for check-out. 

“Hey,” Eddie says, mostly to Nancy and Robin who have joined them in line, “should we send some of us down to the restaurant?” 

Nancy looks at her watch, then at the line. “Yes, that’s not a bad idea.” 

Steve nods and hands Eddie some cash. “Just in case the kids need help. Nance, Rob and I’ll go check in at the restaurant. See you there?” 

Eddie lets the three of them walk out the door before he steps out of the line. Sure, he’ll lose his place, but it’s worth it. 

“Excuse me,” Eddie says to an employee behind the counter, “I need to get this card.”

The guy knows his shit, so while the line dwindles, Eddie takes the opportunity to ask some questions. He even gets a few more card packs from the newest run, card holders and sleeves to put them in, and a booklet that explains the set. There’s even a book on the history of the game that the cashier suggests; Eddie doesn’t hesitate to buy it all. Sure, he had to put away a few figures and the new dice set he found, but it’s worth it. 

He hides all of his new goods in with his other nerdy shit and carefully puts his bag in the glove box so it doesn’t get mixed up with the kids’ bags. “You guys ready?” Eddie asks, arms draped over Mike and Will’s shoulders. 

As they walk to the restaurant for the next stop in their plans, Eddie listens to the kids share about their hauls and what they want to come back for. It all goes in one ear and out the other, too busy mulling over the information he learned from the cashier. He’s kind of surprised by how excited he is to read the materials he bought, but he really can’t wait to give Steve the card. 

Now if he can just get Steve to admit he’s a nerd, too, it’d be icing on the cake.  

--

Thanks to @lady-lostmind for betaing!

Ao3 Link

[astrobei]

for @quinnick: kiss prompt #4 - lips barely touching

The car is out of gas. Will is about ten seconds away from maybe-dying (again). Mike Wheeler has been abnormally quiet today.

At least of late, one of those things is more abnormal than the others. 

The car is always out of gas. Will doesn’t know when the last time they’d filled it up was, but he does know that it’s not his problem trying to figure it out. That’s Hopper’s deal. Or his mom’s, maybe. Or Nancy’s, or Jonathan’s, or–

Whatever! The point is that the car is out of gas, Mike and Will are stranded at the currently closed general store, and they’re probably about to die.

Again.

“Mike,” Will tries, for maybe the hundredth time. “It’s not your fault, okay, it could’ve happened to anyone–”

“Yeah,” Mike grumbles miserably, as they round the corner, from aisle four – cleaning supplies and household items – into aisle five – canned goods. Most of the shelves are empty, turned over. Mike picks up a can of pickled green beans, pulls a face, and puts it back on the shelf. “But it didn’t happen to anyone. It happened to me.”

Will takes a long, deep breath in through his nose. God forbid Mike Wheeler ever let anything go. “You didn’t know,” he huffs anyway. “It’s not your fault.” The store is dark, which is great for being able to roll your eyes without Mike seeing. Will’s flashlight sputters, briefly, the bright circle of light flickering in and out of view. He smacks it against his palm once, twice, and it steadies. “Seriously,” Will adds, as Mike slows to a stop in front of him. “Stop beating yourself up. So we have to wait for a ride. Big deal.”

Mike turns around to face him. His expression is mostly unreadable in the dark, but Will’s flashlight catches the edge of it – worried, a little guilty. “Yeah,” Mike says softly. “Except there are things everywhere and waiting for a ride is just– we’re sitting ducks here, okay,” Mike frowns. “I don’t like it. It feels like tempting fate.”

“Well, the simple fact of my existence feels like tempting fate sometimes,” Will jokes. It works, for a split second – Mike’s furrowed brows smooth out into something halfway amused, and he makes a noise that might be a laugh.

“Not funny,” Mike says anyway. His lips twitch.

“You laughed!” Will insists, smiling. His voice carries down through the hallway in a vibrant echo. “I know you did!”

“Shut up,” Mike whispers, looking away. “Would it kill you to keep your voice down?”

It might. Somewhere in the back of Will’s mind, he’s vaguely aware that they’re not safe here, out in the open, and that the whole point of them coming inside instead of waiting in the parking lot was to hunker down until Jonathan and Nancy could get another car here to pick them up. And also, preferably, get some gas.

Somewhere significantly closer in Will’s mind, though, is the knowledge that this is the most Mike has said – and the closest he’s come to laughing – since the car had stalled on the way from the cabin to the general store ten minutes ago, and Mike had just barely had time to pull into the abandoned parking lot before it had stopped altogether. He knows Mike doesn’t like this – being caught off-guard, out in the open. Even minute changes in the plan – which you’d think they’d all be more prepared for, considering the way things have been going lately – get Mike a little keyed up.

And the sorry, borderline pathetic part is this: despite it all, despite the ever-present threat of danger, and the impending sense of doom that’s been hanging over their heads for what seems like forever, Will feels vaguely pleased with himself anyway, seeing Mike hold back a smile instead of forcing one on his face.

So yeah, it might kill him, if he kept his voice down. That’s okay. Will thinks it would be worth it, sometimes – the danger and the doom and everything else – to hear Mike laugh.

God, what’s wrong with him? That’s embarrassing. That’s so embarrassing.

He shakes the thought off. “Whatever,” Will says instead, praying the cover of darkness is hiding the blush that’s rapidly rising to his cheeks. He angles  the flashlight away from them anyway, just in case, and Mike’s face falls back into silhouette. “You know I’m right. You’re doomed just by being here with me.”

Mike shakes his head. “You know I don’t think of you like that.”

Will frowns. “Like what?”

“Like– like a bad luck charm,” Mike waves his hands around. “Or whatever.”

“I didn’t say bad luck charm,” Will exclaims. “Ouch! Stop putting words into my mouth.”

Mike grins. “Would you rather have, uh,” he picks up the nearest can to him, something small and vaguely gray, “tinned sardines in your mouth? Tinned sardines in water? Oh, gross. Never mind, actually.”

“I would rather not,” Will decides, even though the shelves are so bare that they might have to suck it up and take home the tinned sardines in water after all. “Would you like some, uh. Tuna?”

“I guess we know why there’s so much fish,” Mike sighs, leaning heavily against an empty shelf. “Nobody wanted it.”

“You mean the ten people outside of our circle of friends that are still left in Hawkins? Yeah,” Will scoffs, then sets the can back down with a soft clink. “I guess not.”

Neither of them say anything for a moment. It’s quiet in the store, the room dark and lit faintly by Will’s flashlight and the display in the corner. It lights Mike up a faint blue, catches the edges of his jaw and where his hair is curling softly over the hood of his jacket. 

Will’s flashlight sputters again. 

When it comes back on this time, it’s more faint than it was before. It’s dark in here, Will realizes, a bit belatedly. Like, really dark.

He takes a deep breath and shuffles closer to Mike, just a little, like the shape of his body all leaned against the empty shelves is a grounding force. Mike gives him a look that Will can’t quite decipher in the dark.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Will breathes out. The proximity is helping, a little. “Just– waiting for our ride.”

Mike leans in a bit closer too, places an arm under Will’s elbow. It’s a light touch, nothing forceful, but the semblance of support is there. “You sure? You look a little pale.”

Sometimes, Will hates how well Mike knows him. He doesn’t get antsy in the same way Mike does in situations like these, but he’d be lying if he said they didn’t affect him at all. It should be expected by now, the automatic fight or flight. 

For some cruel reason, it still isn’t. “You can’t even see me,” he says, but lets himself lean into the touch anyway.

“I can see enough,” Mike says easily. “Do you want to sit down?”

Will shakes his head. The only thing worse than waiting out in the open is sitting out in the open. At least when you’re standing, you can run. “No. I’m fine.”

Will can’t see Mike either, but he’d be willing to bet real money – that he doesn’t have – that he can tell exactly what Mike’s expression looks like. The pause grows, swells and swells and swells, until Will is sure Mike is going to say something–

There’s a clattering outside.

Instantly, Mike’s hand tightens its grip on Will’s elbow. “Did you hear that?”

“Yes,” Will hisses, twisting around to try and see through the windows. “Of course I heard that, Mike.”

“Do you think that’s–”

“No idea,” Will whispers. With no small amount of reluctance, he tugs his arm out of Mike’s grip. He misses the warmth of it almost instantaneously, and the tugging in his stomach is only amplified by the way Mike automatically leans in behind him, places a hand on his back to replace the absent touch, like it was never gone at all. Will swallows, and flicks the flashlight off. “Now be quiet.”

“The windows are boarded up,” Mike says, decidedly not being quiet. Will wonders where the Mike Wheeler of fifteen minutes ago went – the one that was sulking and fidgeting in silence the whole way down the first aid aisle. “They’re boarded up, so nothing can get in. Right?”

“We got in,” Will points out, which Mike seems to realize at approximately the same second he does. It’s getting a little hard to think, with Mike so close to him.

Will really wishes Mike would pull his hand away.

“Right,” Mike whispers, breath ghosting gently over the back of Will’s neck. “Okay. That’s fine. That’s fine.”

Fine, Will thinks. That’s one word for it.

Another clattering. It’s closer this time.

Will freezes.

Jonathan and Nancy are probably about ten minutes out. Twenty if they had to go back to the Wheelers’ for the other car. So they’d probably be fine if they stuck it out here, because the chance of something happening across them now, in the brief period of time where they’re stuck without a ride, in a building equipped with close to nothing that could help, is small.

Small, but not nonexistent.

Will isn’t really feeling inclined to take that chance. “Come on,” he says, then spins on his heel, grabbing Mike’s hand and tugging him in the opposite direction. “Come with me.”

Mike follows easily, stumbling slightly with the sudden movement. “Wh– where are we going?”

“Just come on,” Will says, then tugs Mike around to the back of the store. He yanks open a door, and shoves him inside. “Get in.”

“Whoa,” Mike says, as Will tumbles in behind him. “Will, what–”

“Would it kill you to be quiet?”

“Sorry,” Mike says, then does, at last, fall silent.

Immediately, Will wishes he hadn’t said that. It’s dark in here – even darker than out in the front of the store – and the only noise is the faint hum of a generator, somewhere behind the walls. It’s grating and stilted. Will wonders when the last time it had been repaired was.

Plus, it’s really–

It’s really fucking dark in here.

Will lets out a long, slow exhale, and reaches out to feel for the wall beside him. His palm comes into contact with chipped paint and he follows the shape of it down, lowering himself onto the ground.

“Will?” Mike says, and Will is in half a mind to say that thing about being quiet again, but–

It’s dark. It’s really dark.

“Yeah,” he says, barely audible even to himself over the faint hum of the generator, and the louder hum – demanding, prominent, persistent – of his blood rushing through his ears. “I just– sitting. I’m sitting.”

There had at least been some light out in the front, but this storage closet might as well be a void. It smells vaguely of dust, something stale and unknown and probably untouched for who-knows-how-long. Will takes another deep breath in.

“Where?” Mike asks. “I don’t want to step on you.”

Will cracks a smile. “Here,” he says, and holds a hand up in the air. “Right here.”

There’s a quiet shuffling sound as Mike moves closer, and then Will feels fingertips brushing against his. Mike latches on immediately, gripping tighter onto his hand and sits down in front of him. 

Will still can’t see anything – he can’t see anything – but he can feel Mike’s presence like it’s a tangible thing.

Mike could let go of Will’s hand now. Now that he’s found him.

He doesn’t, though.

“Hey,” Mike says, then there’s another faint shuffling noise. “Where are we?”

“Storage closet.”

“Huh. How did you know it was here?”

Will cracks another smile, despite himself. “My mom worked here, remember? For, like, years.”

“Right,” Mike laughs, and then he’s moving closer, knees bumping against knees in the dark. “I forgot. It doesn’t feel like the same place.”

“Tell me about it,” Will sighs. He’s probably breathing in dust and debris and soot and all sorts of gross stuff, but he can’t find it in himself to care. He presses his knees against Mike’s a little harder, just because he can.

“I remember,” Mike starts, readjusting his grip on Will’s hand – fingers interlocked, a firmer grip – “she’d give me free candy from the front counter. Whenever I came in with my parents, I mean. My mom was so confused about why I kept asking to tag along to Melvald’s with her.”

“That’s not fair,” Will laughs. “She never let me have any candy.”

“You were a menace all hopped up on sugar,” Mike points out. “I knew how to behave myself.”

That’s a damn lie, and they both know it. “Liar,” Will says quietly, leaning his head back against the wall. “You’re such a liar.”

“Maybe so,” Mike hums. “But I’m still the one who got free candy, so–”

“Mike!” Will shoves lightly at his knee, and Mike’s answering laugh fills the small space instantaneously. It’s loud – too loud, because they’re supposed to be hiding, goddamnit – but the nagging little voice at the back of Will’s head is vanquished almost as quickly as it came. “Shut up.”

Mike, as always, ignores him. “Why don’t we turn on a light?”

“The fuse is probably blown,” Will responds. “If there’s even a light in this stupid closet.”

“I mean this, idiot,” Mike says, and then clicks the flashlight back on. The batteries must be dying, because it flickers to life weakly, steadying out into a dim yellow-white. “Obviously.”

“Don’t waste the batteries,” Will says at once, trying to grab for it. “Come on, Mike–”

“Jonathan and Nancy will be here any minute and then we can go put in new batteries,” Mike says, holding it easily out of reach. “No point sitting in the dark, right?”

“Mike,” Will tries to protest, but it’s useless. Mike’s made up his mind.

Slowly, and a little far away, Will realizes what Mike is trying to do. He’s not being subtle about it, but subtlety has never been Mike Wheeler’s strong suit. He’s always been exuberant, quick and spontaneous with his actions, and this is no different. Sitting up close, closer than would be strictly necessary in any other situation. Turning the light on, despite the dying batteries. Telling Will about coming here as a kid, all those years ago. Making him laugh. Diffusing the tension.

Jesus, and he’s still holding Will’s hand.

A wave of affection washes over him, sudden and overwhelming enough for Will to feel borderline nauseous.

This isn’t fair. This isn’t fair. Mike can’t just sit here and touch their knees together and hold Will’s hand, and–

“Look,” Mike is saying, and then he’s holding the flashlight under his chin and grinning. “Don’t I look freaky?”

In all honesty, Mike looks fucking hilarious. The direct light casts long shadows across the dips of his cheekbones, the shapes of his eyelashes distorting wildly as he blinks. “No,” Will snorts, rolling his eyes. “You look ridiculous.”

“Really?” Mike grins, in a way that means he knows just how ridiculous he looks. “Not even a little?” He waggles his eyebrows, and the resulting effect is so comical that Will can’t help the laugh that bursts out of him, sharp and sudden and real.

“Mike,” he chides, for the millionth time. “You’re going to kill the battery.”

Mike looks way too pleased with himself. “Worth it,” he says anyway, as he sets the flashlight down. It evens out the sharp angles of his face, now that it’s farther away, lights his cheeks and nose and eyes up into something softer, more open.

Something about the steadiness of Mike’s expression is brighter than any source of light. Suddenly, it’s too much. Suddenly, it’s blinding. 

God. He’s so screwed.  “For what?”

“Getting you to laugh,” Mike says, simple and easy, like he’s reciting times tables instead of proceeding to turn Will’s entire world upside down on its pathetic little axis.

Will feels his lungs stutter on his next inhale. He looks away. “Don’t do that.”

The gleeful expression falters on Mike’s face. “Don’t do what?”

“Don’t,” Will says, “don’t– you’re being so– so–”

Mike looks caught somewhere between confusion and amusement. “So what?”

“So,” Will tries again, and then Mike moves closer, and the difficulty of articulating a halfway decent sentence immediately increases tenfold. “So.”

“So,” Mike echoes, shifting so the side of his thigh is pressed up against the side of Will’s. He’s being slowly backed into the corner, but the thought isn’t terrifying like it might have been five minutes ago. Suddenly, Will is overwhelmed in a completely new way. “So what?”

“Nice to me,” Will gets out. “Stop being so nice to me.”

Mike pauses, then says, incredulously and half-laughing– “What? Why?”

Bad choice of words. “You heard me,” Will says anyway, because he’s nothing if not stubborn. “You’re being too nice.”

“I should hope so,” Mike says. “I mean, you’re my friend.”

Maybe Will is imagining it, but the sentence feels unfinished. Like there’s a second half to it that Mike is keeping for himself: You’re my friend – right?

The obvious answer here is that yes, Mike is his friend. But that answer feels unfinished too, like a lie by omission. Will tries to imagine it, doing these things with anyone else – what it would be like if Dustin was holding his hand, or if it were Lucas sitting next to him this close.

The conclusion he comes to, almost immediately, is that it would be weird.

It would be really fucking weird.

That feels like– something. An admission, maybe. Because the fact of the matter is that things with Mike have always been like this, and they’ve never been like this with anyone else, and Will doesn’t think they can be like this with anyone else without it being the most unsettling thing that’s ever happened to him.

The silence, he realizes, has gone on just a second too long.

“Yeah,” he blurts out at last. “Yeah. Obviously.”

Something settles over Mike’s face. “Will–”

“Forget I said anything,” Will backpedals, a little bit desperate. “Never mind. Be as nice to me as you want.”

Mike bites down on his lower lip. It looks like he’s holding back a smile. “As nice as I want?”

Oh, no.

“Sure,” Will tries. “Do your worst.”

Mike lets out a shaky exhale. He presses in further, leans in closer until their shoulders are almost touching. “How about this?”

“That’s not nice,” Will says weakly. “That’s just an invasion of personal space.”

“Seems pretty nice to me,” Mike mutters under his breath.

Will inhales sharply. “Mike.”

“What?”

“What are you– doing,” Will whispers, stumbling over his words, just slightly, as Mike places a hand on his arm.

Mike’s gaze does not waver. “Is this okay?”

Is it okay? Will thinks his brain might be halfway to leaking out through his ears. This is–

This is–

“Yeah,” he hears himself say. “Yeah. Great.”

“Okay,” Mike whispers. He’s so close now that Will could count all the freckles spattered across his nose, if he wanted to. He could, and the thought is dizzying, dizzying – suddenly, it’s not the claustrophobia that’s making him feel like this. It can’t be, because Mike is in front of him, and he’s so close that Will could just lean forward and–

He could just–

“Mike.” And maybe he’s a bit of a broken record, but he can’t come up with any words other than his name. He clutches at Mike’s knee and meets his gaze and prays – to whatever deity allowed him to get trapped in a storage closet with Mike Wheeler two inches away from his face – that Mike Wheeler will find the courage in him somewhere to close the fucking gap.

He doesn’t, though, which is a sign that the universe must be majorly fucking with him. Not yet, anyway. Not anywhere near as fast as Will needs it to be – if this is what he thinks it is, it’s nowhere near fast enough.

In actuality, what it is is excruciating – the way Will’s heart is beating so loud that he’s sure Mike can hear it, in the proximity. The slow circles Mike is tracing over his other hand – the hand that he’s still holding. He’s so close that Will can discern the warmth emanating off him, the familiar scent of soap, can feel Mike’s eyes trained steadily on his mouth, and yet–

Either Mike is actually moving at a speed of one nanosecond per minute, or time has slowed to a near-stop around them. Mike’s grip on his hand is agonizing, caustic in all the places where they’re touching, each slow circle of Mike’s thumb against his wrist driving him slowly and steadily out of his mind. Do it, Will thinks, like maybe if he thinks it loud enough, Mike will be able to hear him. Do it, do it, do it.

Mike’s lips touch his.

The world stops moving.

It must, anyway. Or maybe it’s just that Will doesn’t think he’s breathing anymore – he doesn’t know if he can find it in him to remember how. All he’s aware of is this: Mike’s hands on his arm, his wrist. Mike’s leg under his own palm, warm and steady and pressed up against him in a smooth, unyielding line. The pressure of the wall behind him, the strands of Mike’s hair brushing against his face, and Mike’s lips – gentle, gentle, gentle, and nowhere near enough.

It’s like Mike is waiting for something. Waiting for Will, maybe.

God, okay.

Fuck it, Will thinks, from somewhere far off in his own head. Fuck it. Fuck this. 

“Will,” Mike whispers, pulling back a precious few millimeters, and that’s it. That’s all Will can take.

Will lifts his hand off Mike’s leg, raises it to his wrist and tugs. Mike topples into him with a small gasp, Will falls backwards into the wall, and then they’re kissing.

God. Okay.

Mike steadies himself quickly, braces a hand on the wall behind them and leans in, firm and enthusiastic. His hand, Will notices, faintly and with no small amount of affection, is shaking. Just slightly. Will’s trapped between them again – Mike and the wall – but this time he can’t find it in himself to care even the slightest bit. As if there’s anywhere he’d want to go that wasn’t here, as if he’d want to be somewhere without Mike’s hand carding through his hair, or without his lips moving softly against Will’s own, or the noise he makes when Will presses forward, too fast, too eager, too betrayed by his own fluttering pulse – something like a laugh, trapped deep in his chest.

Suddenly, it’s not enough. It’s not enough. It’s–

“Mike? Will?”

Shit.

In a flash, Mike pulls away, wide-eyed and pink-cheeked and breathing like he’s just run a marathon.

Shit.

“Yeah,” Mike calls, voice cracking just slightly on the syllable. “We’re in here!”

Shit.

“So,” Will says, aiming for nonchalance. He fails immediately. His voice cracks too. Great. “That–”

Don’t freak out, he thinks. Please don’t freak out.

Mike, to his credit, is not freaking out.

“Yeah,” Mike says, voice a little high-pitched but surprisingly even. He clears his throat. “Um. Yeah. You were–”

“Yeah,” Will finishes, rather lamely. He’s grinning like an idiot. He doesn’t even need to look at himself to tell. His expression is mirrored, perfectly, flawlessly, brilliantly, on Mike’s own face.

The closet door gets thrown open, and there’s a blinding, sudden light– “What the fuck,” Mike exclaims, squinting and throwing a hand up in front of his eyes. “Nancy?”

Jonathan peers around her shoulder. “What were you guys doing in here?”

Don’t look. Don’t look. Don’t–

Will can’t help it. He looks at Mike, and they immediately burst into laughter.

Shit.

[kennahjune]

Teen Dad AU

Part 7!! (??)

I’m losing track.

More Steddie interactions (kinda?)! Plus Steve and Louie and the kids :))

I’m so excited for this one aaahhhhh!!!!!

I’m starting this on my 15th bday lmaoooo

(Update it is now 2 months after my bday, HAPPY pride month everyone!!)

Tag list:

@cam-cat-writer @jackiemonroe5512 @finntheehumaneater @irregular-child @grimmfitzz @fantrash @bookworm0690 @fiddledeedee85 @hunterbow04 @strangeforest @just-a-tiny-void @jaimeweasley13 @thelittleclare @rebellatio-03 @sirsnacksalot @geekyfifi @sapphireoceansoc @salty-h0e @dragonmama76 @mentallyundone-blog @lingeringmirth @moomkin77 @netflixisacopingstrategymom @jaytriesstuff @goodolefashionedloverboi @hellfirebaby-86 @blu3stars @blackpanzy @strawberryyyenthusiast @lololol-1234 @thestarslittleking @silenzioperso @forest-fogg @bebopbabyy @lawrencebshaggoth @stevesbipanic @dauntlessdiva @live0rdive @y4r3luv @jonesn4coffee @sofadofax @sensationalsunburst @scarlet-malfoy @l393ndjean @asspirin-s @fandomz-brainrot @mugloversonly @virginlemontea @littlebluejane @paintsplatteredandimperfect @astrid-nomically-steddie @maferisa-7 @phantomrose17 @thoughtfulbreadpolice @fandomnerd103 @atemisiscursed @croatoan-like-its-hot @myownworstenemyyy

.

Steve didn’t want to leave the kitchen.

“Get the hell out there, Harrington!” George scolded him. “It’s a bunch of middle schoolers!”

Yeah, Steve refused to serve a table of middle schoolers. Because they weren’t /just/ middle schoolers.

They were his middle schoolers.

Accompanied by Miss. Byers and Jonathan.

Steve internally groaned. He had been completely avoiding and refusing to tell any of them where he worked and had sworn Hopper to secrecy. Dramatic? Sure. But valid? Absolutely.

Those kids were menaces. Even Will in his own way, giving Steve one of those sweet smiles of his to get him to give them rides almost whenever. Ugh.

The point is; Steve didn’t want to the Brat Bridge to know where he worked. Because then they’d come just about everyday to harass him.

But a teasing comment about “Scaredy Steve” from Mason had Steve punching Mason in the arm and marching out into the actual diner.

Gwen walked past him into the kitchen with a tray of dirty dishes. She clapped him on the shoulder with a sly smile. “Good luck, they’re a loud bunch.”

Steve sighed. “Trust me, I know.”

Five kids, one teen, and one adult. Steve would be fine. It’d be totally fine. He sees these people like every goddamn day—

“Steve!”

He’s been spotted.

Steve gave a strained smile to Dustin, who was actually bouncing in his chair between Mike and Max, who were both looking at him like a freaky big they’d never seen before.

“What are you doing here?” Lucas chirped, across from Dustin, grinning ear to ear. Will sat quietly next to him but smiled at Steve when they made eye contact.

Steve crossed his arms and popped his hip, a small grin of his own plastering his face. “I work here, Sinclair. Now what does the Brat Pack want?”

A chorus of shouts of different menu items flew at Steve all at once. He chuckled quietly, and then groaned louder— just to be a dramatic shit.

“One at a time! You learned how to take turns in kindergarten, didn’t you? Or are you guys still there?”

Dustin and Mike immediately protested, Max making a dig at Steve’s “elementary school IQ”. While the three of them argued with a not-listening Steve, Steve turned his attention to Will and Lucas.

Orders were placed quickly after. Steve turning to Jonathan and Joyce after the kids.

When he gave the paper to Mason the raised eyebrow he got back held thousands of questions. Questions Steve ignored with a smirk and wave of his hand.

.

His shift that day was rowdy and filled with teasing and laughter. Not much different than usual but it was warmer. More comforting. The kids didn’t leave with Miss. Byers, opting to stay behind with Jonathan and wait until Steve’s shift ended.

Allya and George waved Steve off about closing, insisting they’d get to it themselves.

So, Steve and Jonathan split the brats up between their cars; Lucas, Mike and Dustin with Steve, Max and Will with Jonathan.

“Steve can we go to your house? Please?” Dustin begged, hanging off of Steve’s arm while they all walked to the cars. Steve pretended to think about it, already knowing full well that he’d give in and let them storm his trailer.

He sighed dramatically, just for shits and giggles, before agreeing. Because he’s a giant push over.

Steve and Jonathan split the kids up and Jonathan followed Steve all the way to trailer park.

“Hang on—“ Dustin slapped Steve’s arm from his seat in the passengers side. “Don’t you live in Loch Nora?”

Steve huffed, his irritation flaring at the reminder. He quickly tramped it down, refusing to be angry at Dustin for being curious.

“Used to. Moved out once I got Louie.” He explained, barely even a lie.

Mike and Lucas shared a glance in the back seat. Steve narrowed his eyes at them before quickly returning his gaze to the road. He’d have a talk to them later about trying to play detective.

Jonathan and Steve pulled in side by side in the driveway. The kids got out one by one, rushing to the porch and waiting impatiently for Steve to open it for them.

Steve smiled a small smile at the antics, before catching Jonathan staring at him out of the corner of his eye.

Steve turned to him with a confused raise of his eyebrows. Jonathan raised his own eyebrows and looked pointedly to the trailer before back at Steve.

So it wasn’t Lucas and Mike playing detective, it was Jonathan.

Steve rolled and eyes and made a very pointed and obvious “later” look before pushing through the kids and unlocking the door.

The kids discarded their shoes haphazardly and spread out in the living room, looking at everything.

“I’ll be right back. Break anything and I’ll break your asses.”

Max and Mike rolled their eyes, disappearing with Will down the hall to no doubt look around more. Dustin and Lucas stayed in the living room.

“Where are you going? And where’s Louie?” Lucas asked suspiciously.

Steve rolled his eyes fondly. “Wow ok. More interested in my kid than me, Sinclair?” Lucas spluttered a reply, but Steve waved him off with a chuckle. “I’m kidding, doofus. Louie’s up at Gran— er, Margaret’s, because I had work.”

Lucas deemed this an ok answer and let Steve go.

He knocked on Gran’a door three times before she opened, Louie on her hip and the twins right behind her. Noah and Casey immediately ran out the door to hug Steve on the small porch, each hanging off of a different leg as Steve reached out to take Louie from Gran.

“Heya, baby!” Steve greeted the now teething infant. Teething, as Louie immediately stuck Steve’s shirt collar in his mouth to chew on.

Steve smiled at Gran, letting her know the brats were over but that they could still have dinner together that night if she was ok with an extra five kids (and Jonathan).

Grab waved him off. “The more the merrier, dear.”

Noah and Casey followed Steve home, Gran having to go run some errands and taking advantage of Steve finally being home. Steve didn’t mind.

He’d just made it to the bottom of his porch when something caught his eye across the street; leaving his own trailer was Eddie Munson, his hair thrown half-up-half-down and his shirt and jeans ripped to basically scraps. He was grinning and talking while walking backwards, supposedly to the old man standing in the doorway.

Eddie turned around just in time to make eye contact with Steve, raise an eyebrow, and grin devilishly. He stuck out his tongue, and Steve and Louie both giggled.

Steve broke the tension-filled eye contact to look down at little baby Louie, who was still chewing on his shirt. Louie grinned back at him, his little teeth nubs shiny. When Steve looked back to Eddie, the van was gone and the pretty metalhead was nowhere in sight.

“Steve! Why are you withholding the child?” Max demanded.

Steve snapped back to reality just enough to glare over his shoulder at her.

.

IM SO SORRY FOR THE SLOW ASS UPDATES BUT I CANT PROMISE ILL DO BETTER WITH MY ADHD AND HYPER-FIXATIONS EVERYWHERE 😭😭

[calummss]

O Captain, My Captain | Nell Jackson

masterlist

summary: running away from a forced marriage you flee onto the ship of captain nell jackson

pairing: lesbian! nell jackson x lesbian! reader

words: 1.5k

a/n: to my fellow lesbians enjoy 🧡🤍🩷 i want credit for inventing pirate nell j🤓

You had once hoped you would marry for love or at least find love in an arranged marriage like your mamma and papa. A kind of love that starts with a spark and grows into a small flame. That same flame can light a candle, a fireplace, if big enough it can even engulf entire cities. You hoped that someone would burn for but Mr. Norris didn’t love you. He wanted you. Like some prized possession to show off. The governor’s daughter, Lady Y/n Knightley. Diamond among the ladies of Jamaica. You wanted nothing more than to reject Mr. Norris’ advances but he insisted to your father that he was the perfect match. There was no persuading you. Once your father made up his mind there was nothing that could convince him otherwise. Your only plan to escape this marriage was to escape. Literally. You couldn’t bear the thought of looking that man in the face and pretending to like him. You had to run away.

You had packed a sack of a few items days before. Stealing hard cheeses, apples and bread in case you fell victim to food shortage. You weren’t quite sure how you would leave Port Royal, only that you would need to trespass on to a ship.

The next morning you woke up early, stars still in the sky, everyone else still asleep at this hour. You grabbed your sack and headed out the back door, careful to not come across any servants that were preparing breakfast.

Down at the harbour you noticed a ship, not too big, not too small. You saw that you were alone and took the illusion to hop on board, nearly losing your baggage to the ocean. It was quiet and only a few members of the crew paced the decks as they were getting ready to leave. You had gotten onto the ship without notice and prayed you wouldn’t attract notice until their next stop.

It was fiction if you believed that was what would happen.

“And who are you?” A voice sounded from above, grabbing you by the biceps with such force he almost lifted you up. “A ship hopper ey? Up you get. You’re gonna see the captain.”

You tried escaping him but his grasp was too tight. It had only been a few hours since you left shore and already you had been found.

“Please,” you tried wiggling. “Please I swear I’m not up to anything!”

“Tell that to ‘er.’ He said, throwing your forwards makes you stumble. Eye to eyes with a pair of black boots.

Looking up you saw the captain. A woman. She had long curly brown hair, hazel eyes. Such pretty eyes

“What are you doing on my ship?” Cockney accent, London, great you knew the ton in London perhaps it could help???

You stayed silent scared you might make yourself a fool.

“We can’t have ‘er on board, Nell.” The same man said. “Bad luck to ‘ave women on board.”

“Rupert, I literally have tits. You know that.”

“You’re different, Captain, same goes for the others on board. But she’s a real lady.”

She furrowed her eyebrows in response. “Are you saying I’m not a real lady?”

Rupert noticed the dominating tone. That he had pissed her off. He lowered his head and stepped back with a firm “Sorry, Ma’am.”

She turned around to face you, the sunset rising behind her making her look extraordinary. “What’s your name?”

“Y/n. Y/n Knightley.”

“And why is Y/n Knightley on my ship?”

“I had to run away, Captain.”

“From what?”

‘Marriage.”

“Understandable.”

“What?”

“What?” She repeated. “Understandably so. I myself don’t really understand it either. My name’s Nell Jackson by the way. Everyone calls me Captain, Ma’am or Nell.”

You nodded.

“But don’t call me Nellie.” She shook her head. “Don’t like that.”

“Yes, Captain.” You said with such uncertainty it sounded like a question, gathering sly laughter from the crew around you.

“Enough mesmerising our new ruby on board,” she called out. “Back to work ladies and gentlemen! You-,” she pointed at you, “with me.”

Everyone left at her command so you followed her to her office, still lit by the candles she used that night. Her office space was tidy except for the desk that bore many maps and figurines of ships.

“Are you a pirate?” You asked without thinking.

“Why yes I am.” She smiled as if you had just given her a compliment.

“You didn’t even try to hide it.”

“Why would I? I take pride in being captain of my very own crew and ship. Wouldn’t you?”

“I wouldn’t know.” You paced around the room, looking at various artefacts. “I’ve never really owned anything except for a baby lamb once. Then my father ate it.”

Her round eyes almost popped out of her skull. “How sweet,” she cleared her throat. “Look,” she came closer. “I don’t mind having you onboard as long as you follow my rules, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good. Now go ask Roxy to show you the food storage so you can have a proper meal and come back to me when you’re done.

“Thank you, Nell.”

“Go on.”

You had decided that night that you would stay on board for as long as Nell allowed it. You grew fond of her and you thought she did the same. She treated you differently from the other woman on board. Like she cared differently…

The red dress that Nell gifted you when she visited Tortuga on business fit you like a glove. It fit your chest and arms perfectly, supporting your chest yet loose past your ribs giving you free space to move about. It was perfect.

The night grew mild as the hot temperatures dropped to a more appropriate level, the night sky full of stars as the pale moonlight hit the deck. You felt like dancing. You didn’t know why or how but simply because. Taking off your shoes, you twirled into the middle of the deck as you started to lift your feet off the ground to an imaginary beat. The other’s simply stared , wondering if you were well. Your hair ribbon loosened leaving your hair flowing in the fresh air of the Caribbean. “I feel alive.” You giggled, beaming at the crew as you tried to convince them to join you. “Come on, Will!” You took his hands, pulling him in with no success.

Soon after more women and men started to join you. Simply letting the stress of tomorrow be stress for tomorrow.

A bottle of rum was being passed around, taking multiple big swigs yourself, you let the burning sensation work its magic.

Nell joined in and took sips of rum, danced, had fun.

Turning about the deck you came opposite Nell. Taking her hands you spun in circles for as long as you could without getting sick. Stumbling away from the rest you both let out a laugh as the candle light stopped illuminating. You could only see the twinkle of the stars in her eyes as you got closer. Her eyes the most remarkable shade of hazel, her eyes so big one could only stare. Heat arose from your stomach to your chest. Her lips were getting closer and your heart skipped a beat. You couldn’t move, like you were hypnotised. Your heart pounded, your knees grew weaker. The empty void that filled the space between your bodies slowly grew as she stepped even closer. Neither of you said anything. You knew what you wanted.

Your whole body tingled, the feeling of her frame leaning on yours, as Nell’s arms wrapped around you felt nearly forbidden. Her lips brushed against yours, softly, delicately, like you were a porcelain figure, one crack away from falling to pieces and being broken forever. You could only focus on how soft she felt against your mouth, how addictively she invaded all your senses. She kissed you long enough that she could inhale your breath, feel the warmth of your skin, and the taste of sea salt on your lips that would linger far after you had gone.

Realising what you had done you pulled away, squinting in embarrassment as you let out deep breaths. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me I—‘

‘—Don’t apologise for kissing me,’ Nell mumbled, placing her hands on your face, placing her lips back onto yours this time more rough. Like you were the air she breathed. The planet she rotated around. She wanted to kiss you and never stop.

Nell gently grabbed your chin, slowly pulling back from the kiss, deep down not wanting to break apart from you again. “Never apologise for kissing me again, Y/n.”

“Duly noted. O captain, my captain, kiss me again.” You giggled as you caught her lips again, throwing your arms around her neck.

[strawberryspence]

Eddie Munson first falls in love with the water at the age of seven. On his seventh birthday, his Mom and Dad drives him to California. It was one of the few times he remembers being happy with his family. His father stole an RV, just for them. His mother wasn’t really happy with it, but had to let it go when Eddie lights up at the news of a road trip to California. He remembers seeing the beach, the feeling of the sand on his feet, the blueness of the Pacific Ocean and the warmth of the water against his skin. In his room, one of the few items he packed when finally ran away from home, is a small seashell. It’s small enough to hold with your fingertips. On bad days, Eddie holds it near his ear and tries to hear the soft whisper of the ocean.

Eddie Munson is thirteen when he starts hiding behind the bleachers to watch a boy swim. He knows he’s gay, has known since the age of nine that he doesn’t feel what the other boys feel for girls. Eddie finds the swimming stands by accident, he just wanted to find a smoking spot when he finds a screaming crowd. It’s nothing like the ocean, no sound of waves crashing against the shore, the blueness only reflects with the light. A boy swims, he swims like he was born to be in the water. When he comes out of the water, he shines against the sun, golden hair wet and smile bright. Eddie falls in love. Eddie Munson’s first love is the ocean, second is Steve Harrington.

Eddie Munson is seventeen when he learns how the water can be used as a cruelty. Wayne drives the both of them to help look for this boy, just a small boy, lost in the woods. Wayne tells him that if he sees a mother, looking for her son, don’t look away, don’t glare, don’t give her pitiful looks. Give her a gentle smile, a helping hand. They trek the woods, a few times for the next few days. Eddie will never forget that day, Wayne was driving them back to the trailer when they see flashing red and blue lights just below the quarry. They both stop, looking over the edge of the man-made water, watching as Chief Hopper pull Will Byers’ body out of the water. Only then did Eddie realized how dark and menacing the water could be at night.

Eddie Munson is twenty when he starts hating the water. He’s in a boat, again, after having the worst three days of his life. Steve Harrington is more grown now, Eddie’s not entirely in love with him anymore, not when he spent a few years in high school with a group that bullied Eddie. But he doesn’t deny the way his heart beats out of his chest when Steve dives into the water, because he was born to do so, always meant to be in the water. He doesn’t know why Robin and Nancy are scared, Steve can do this, he belongs in the water. He watches as Steve lunges, breaks the barrier, and a split second of relief before Steve gets dragged down. Eddie follows the girls down the water. It’s cold and dark and it pulls him into the mouth of hell.

Eddie Munson is twenty-one and he hasn’t been in the water in almost a year. He knows, the golden boy with the the heart of gold, the boy he knew who was born to be in the water, hasn’t been in a pool just as long. Eddie understands, after the night at Lover’s Lake and after learning that Barb died in the pool. He watches the kids, splashing water around and playing games. He finds Will, laughing and smiling as he floats in the water and Eddie forces himself to remember this moment and not his fake body floating around the Quarry. Steve’s fixing the snacks with Nancy and Robin’s reading a book beside him, her head on his shoulders.

The kids have been bugging him to get in the pool, but Eddie has been dodging their requests for almost a year now. It’s suspiciously quiet for a moment and before Eddie can understand what’s happening the girls are counting down as the boys hold him by the shoulder and by the feet and throw him in the water. He hears a stream of screaming before the water hits his ears, and it swallows him whole. It’s nothing like the soft and warm embrace of the ocean. It’s cold and dark and suddenly it’s pulling him back into the mouth of hell. He wants to swim up, he needs to swim up, but he sees the vines pulling him and tries to fight it, trash against it. It doesn’t budge, so he let’s himself be pulled in.

Steve Harrington hasn’t been in the water in 11 months, 24 days, and 8 hours. But at that moment, every thought and fear in his body vanishes when he sees Eddie sinking into the pool, fighting the water before letting it swallow him whole. Steve dives so fast, he forgets how much he’s hated the coldness of the pool. But Eddie’s down there, and no place with Eddie in it will ever be dark. Eddie’s eyes are closed, as he scoops him in his arms, swimming back to the surface and immediately laying him down on the poolside.

“Move!” Steve shouts, and the kids are so surprised that they pave a way for him, they’ve never seen Steve this mad at them. He gives Eddie CPR and suddenly, he’s back in the Upside Down. His hands are red with blood, Dustin’s begging him to help Eddie, Robin’s cradling Dustin as Nancy tries to stop the bleeding. He does the same prayer as he pumps at Eddie’s chest, please let him live please let him live please let hi— Eddie coughs water. The kids collectively sigh as Robin and Nancy both wrap them in towels. But in the chaos, Steve just cries, trying to remember how to breathe again because they’re in his backyard, not in the Upside Down. Eddie’s okay. Eddie’s okay. He’s not bleeding and in the cusp of dying.

“Oh, love. I am okay. I am okay. I am okay.” Eddie holds him, wincing at the pain in his chest, but still holds him in his arms. Eddie glares at the kids, looking up to Robin and Nancy to gesture for them to go in the house and leave them. When it’s finally just them, Eddie pulls away, wiping at Steve’s cheeks and cupping his jaw. Eddie preens at the fact that Steve doesn’t pull away.

“Hey, you good?” Steve laughs at the question, “I should be asking you that.” Eddie chuckles at the sound of his laugh.

“I am okay. I’ll live. How about you? You haven’t swam in a while and you gave me another CPR. I am sorry.” Steve shakes his head.

“Don’t say sorry. I’ll do it all again for you.”

Eddie does what he’s always wanted do since the age of thirteen. He kisses Steve for the first time, and it’s like falling in love with the water all over again. He remembers the light, the blue, the warmth. It's like being seven again and wiggling his toes in the sand for the first time.

Eddie Munson is twenty-seven when he gets married. Not legally, but married in the eyes of their family. Steve’s laughing with the kids as they play chicken, the water splashing around. Eddie lets himself enjoy the sand beneath his feet, the sound of the water crashing against the shore, the sounds of Robin and Argyle arguing about the snacks and the kids laughing.

“Eds!” Eddie looks up from his book.

Steve is calling him from the water, golden hair wet and smile bright, “Come in the water! It’s warm!”

Eddie smiles back at him, slipping a bookmark between the pages before running to Steve’s arms, making both of them fall into the water. There’s no fear, not when he’s in the arms of his husband, the boy who was born to be in the water. It’s warm and soft and it’s home.

Eddie will always come back to the water, always waiting for it, always watching it, will always love it.

Because Eddie Munson is the shore, and Steve Harrington is the ocean.

"Because there is nothing more beautiful than the way the [shore] refuses to stop kissing the [ocean] no matter how many times it [had went] away." — Sarah Kay

[alwaysmoncheri]

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐥 | 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧

summary: in which best friends, y/n henderson and steve harrington get caught up in their feelings while paranormal activities occur in the small town of hawkins, indiana

cw: fem!reader, I wrote this a long time ago(I apologize for everything cringe), shit writing, first person pov, implications of anxiety, 2.7k

<3

After being taken to the police station, I sit next to Jonathan, my leg constantly bouncing and my fingers nervously picking at my cuticles, waiting for something to happen next. When Nancy returns, she sits on the other side of Jonathan with an ice pack in hand and we all wonder what the consequences are going to be.

"Found some ice." Nancy says to the boy.

"Thanks." He replies before Nancy gently holds it up to his forehead. Jonathan stares at the girl as she looks slightly uncomfortable, "Everything okay?" He asks.

"Yeah." She responds unconvincingly, "Everything's fine."

We all let out exhausted sighs before sitting there in silence once more.

With a few more moments of quiet I look up, noticing Nancy and Jonathan gazing at each other with lingering eyes. A light smile crosses my face, as I know there is something special going on between them. I'm happy knowing both of my friends have found comfort in each other.

The doors to the station suddenly slam open, revealing Chief Hopper and Joyce, who rush inside with worried looks on their faces.

"Hey, Jonathan?" Joyce says, walking up to the three of us, noticing Jonathan's bruised face, "Jesus, what... what happened?"

"Ma'am..." The officer, Callahan grabs her attention, trying to calm her down.

"I'm fine..." Jonathan whispers quietly, looking down.

"Why is he wearing handcuffs?" Joyce asks accusingly as she points towards her son's hands.

"Well, your boy assaulted a police officer, that's why." Callahan says calmly to the woman, standing from his seat.

"Take them off." Joyce demands firmly.

"I am afraid I cannot do that." Callahan says again.

"Take them off!" Joyce cries, once again with a demanding tone.

"You heard her." Hopper says from behind Joyce, "Take 'em off."

"Chief," The other officer, Powell, pipes in finally, "I get everyone's emotional here, but there's something you need to see."

Hopper and the other officers march back into the station, and set our box of weapons and shit in front of us on the table. I look up nervous, only to be met with pointed looks in their eyes.

"What is this?" Joyce asks, looking in the box first.

"Why don't you ask your son?" Hopper says, staring at Jonathan, "We found it in his car."

"What?" Joyce says shocked.

"Why are you going through my car?" Jonathan mumbles annoyed.

"Is that really the question you should be asking right now?" Hopper asks, leaning down with a threatening look, "I wanna see you in my office.

"You won't believe me." Jonathan replies instantly.

"Why don't you give me a try." Hopper responds firmly.

The three of us make our way to Hopper's office where he and Joyce are waiting patiently. Jonathan hands Hopper the paper we'd been looking at the funeral.

Sitting in my seat, I can't help but fiddle with my fingers, unable to sit still in the tense situation. I notice Jonathan is also nervously biting his nails, while beside him, Nancy sits calmly, her gaze firmly fixed on the chief.

"You say blood draws this thing?" Hopper finally says, looking up at us.

"We don't know." I say, "It's just a theory."

|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|

Jonathan, Nancy, and I sit patiently in Hopper's car, watching curiously as mysterious men enter Nancy's house. Coming back out, carrying boxes of items that they stuff into their own vehicles. With our bodies leaning out of the windows to get a good view of what's happening, I wonder what kind of things they're taking from that house. And if it could be related to the strange things that have been happening in the small town.

"I have to go home." Nancy says to Hopper as she steps out of the car desperately.

"No, you can't." Hopper replies, eyes still searching the scene in front of us with binoculars in hand.

"My mom... my dad are there." Nancy says firmly at the chief, clearly worried for her family.

"They're gonna be okay." Hopper responds simply bringing his binoculars down from his face.

Nancy starts walking towards her home, determination on her face, before Hopper grabs her arm.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey." He says to the girl.

"Let go." Nancy says attempting to shrug his hand off, "Let go!" She yells this time.

"Hey! Listen to me. Listen to me," Hopper says, turning Nancy towards him, "The last thing in the world we need is them knowing you're mixed up in all this." He's referring to her parents.

"Mike is over there—" Nancy gestures towards her house frantically.

"They haven't found him." Hopper replies, "Not yet, at least." He finishes, pointing to the helicopter flying in the sky.

"For Mike?" Nancy asks, her mouth wide open, in complete shock.

"Come on, get in the car." Hopper says, dragging her back to his car.

The two hop back into the car beside, Joyce, Jonathan and I, shutting the doors behind them.

"Look, we need to find them before they do." Hopper states, turning to us in the backseats, "Do you have any idea where he might have gone?" He asks.

"No, I don't." Nancy responds.

"I need you to think." Hopper says sharply.

"I don't know," Nancy responds again, "We haven't talked a lot, I mean lately..." She explains.

"Uh, I don't know where they are." I pipe in quietly from my spot beside Jonathan, making everyone turn toward me, "But I know how we can find out."

|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|

Hopper, in record time, drives us to the Byer's home, where we hop out and run into the house. I immediately grab the radio flipping it on before speaking into it.

"Dustin? Mike? Guys? It's (Y/n), I need you guys to pick up. This is a code red. Please, pick up." I say quickly into the walkie-talkie, before Nancy snatches it from my hand.

"Mike? Are you there, Mike?" She says repeatedly into the mic, "Mike, it's me Nancy." I grab it back from her.

"Dustin, if you're there, we need you to answer." I say firmly, "This is an emergency, I repeat, an emergency." I say again before Hopper yanks the radio from my hand, bringing it up to his mouth.

"Listen kid, this is the chief. If you're there, pick up. We know you're in trouble and we know about the girl." He explains to the boys on the other end, "We can protect you, we can help you, but you gotta pick up. Are you there? Do you copy? Over."

The radio goes silent and Hopper sets the radio down on the table with a sigh.

"Anybody got any other ideas." Hopper asks, facing the group and we all look around unsure what to do.

"Yeah, I copy." We all hear through the radio, "It's Mike. I'm here. We're here."

|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|

We all sit in silence, nervously awaiting the arrival of the boys at the Byer's house. Unable to contain my anxiety, I bite my fingernails and bounce my legs restlessly. We strain our ears, as the minutes tick by, for even the slightest sound from outside. Finally, the sound of a car pulling up catches our attention, and we all stand up in one smooth motion. We rush out of the door to greet the arriving kids.

"Holy shit, Dust." I say quickly walking towards my brother as he gets out of the car, "I'm so glad you're okay." I immediately wrap my arms around him, squeezing him tight, letting out a relieved sigh.

Dustin reciprocates my hug, before I let him go. I notice Lucas and El behind us and rush over to give them hugs too. Lucas graciously accepts it while Eleven is a bit more hesitant but still manages to hug me. All the while Nancy is busy hugging a shocked looking Mike in front of us.

Nancy holds Mike's shoulders and looks back at El with a confused look on her face, "Is that my dress?"

|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|

"Okay, so in this example, we're the acrobat. Will and Barbra, and that monster, they're this flea." Mike explains to us, shaking us a drawing as we sit on the couch, "And this is the upside down, where Will is hiding. Mr. Clarke said the only way to get there is through a rip of time and space."

"A gate." Dustin states plainly.

"That we tracked to Hawkins Lab." Lucas adds.

"With our compasses." My brother says and we look at him confused.

"Wait, so the gate has a really strong electromagnetic field and that can basically change the directions of a compass needle...?" I say, trying to figure out what he's saying.

"Yeah, exactly," Dustin says happy to know someone else understands.

"Is this gate underground?" Hopper asks, leaning on the armrest of the chair.

"Yes." Eleven says simply, making us turn our heads in her direction.

"Near a large water tank?" Hopper asks the girl.

She nods, "Yes."

"How do you know all that?" Dustin asks Hopper confused.

"He's seen it." Mike realizes.

"Is there anyway that you could... that you could reach Will?" Joyce leans forward, desperate to find her son, "That you could talk to him in this—"

"The upside down." El finishes.

"Down. Yeah." Joyce whispers. Eleven nods in confirmation that she can find the boy we've all been searching for.

"And our friend Barbra?" Nancy asks hopefully, gesturing between me and her, "Can you find her too?"

|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|

Setting the radio down, we turn it on, letting the static run, and place it by Eleven who sits at the end of the table. With everyone gathering around her, we turn off all the lights, leaving only the one directly above her. El closes her eyes and seems to be in some sort of trance, as we all anxiously wait for her to locate Will and Barbra by using her powers.

The light above the table flickers before El opens her eyes, "I'm sorry," She whispers sadly.

"W-What? What's wrong? What happened?" Joyce questions worriedly.

"I can't find them." Eleven says, tears forming in her eyes.

"Hey, it's okay." I say ushering the girl to the nearby bathroom, "I'll wait out here, okay?" She nods, before I walk back over to the group.

"Whenever she uses her powers, she gets weak." Mike explains.

"The more energy she uses, the more tired she gets." Dustin adds.

"Like she flipped the van earlier." Lucas says, and I stare at him with wide eyes.

"She flipped a van?" I ask proud of the girl.

"Yeah, it was awesome," My brother says excitedly.

"But she's drained." Mike continues, explaining to the rest of us.

"Like a bad battery." Dustin adds again.

"Well... How do we make her better?" Joyce stammers, trying to find a solution to our problem.

"We don't," Mike says, "We just have to wait and try again."

"Well, how long?" Nancy asks her brother.

"Yeah, we can't wait much longer." I say, thinking about even the possibility of Will and Barbra not making it out alive.

"I don't know." Mike says softly, looking down.

"The bath." Eleven whispers after emerging from the bathroom.

"What?" Joyce asks as we all turn to the girl.

"I can find them," El explains softly as we all look at each other in confusion.

"In the bath."

|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|

"Mr. Clarke? It's Dustin." My brother says into the phone after his teacher picks up.

We're now gathered around the telephone hanging on the wall, as Dustin calls his science teacher at ten o'clock at night.

"Yeah, yeah, I just I... I have a science question." Dustin stammers.

I look around nervously biting my lip, only to be met with everyone's gaze to be fixed on my brother in front of us.

"Do you know anything about sensory deprivation tanks?" Dustin asks simply, getting straight to the point, "Specifically how to build one?"

"You always say we should never stop being curious. To always open any curiosity door we find," Dustin explains to his teacher with urgency, "Why are you keeping this curiosity door locked?"

With a gesture from Dustin and the snapping of his fingers, I quickly locate the nearest notepad and pencil, grabbing them and handing them to my brother. He sits down in a chair, still pressing the phone to his ear as he rapidly writes down information that Mr. Clarke is telling him.

"Uh-huh. Uh-huh, how much? Uh-huh. Yep, alright. Yeah, we'll be careful. Definitely. Alright, Mr. Clarke. Yeah, I'll see you on Monday. I'll see you on Monday, Mr. Clarke. Bye." Dustin finishes before abruptly hanging up on his poor oblivious teacher.

Dustin points the pencil in his hand directly at Joyce, "Do you still have that kiddie pool we bobbed for apples in?"

"I think so, yeah." Joyce replies confused.

"Yeah." Jonathan confirms quietly.

"Good. Then we just need salt. Lots of it." My brother says.

"How much is "lots"?" Hopper asks the boy.

Dustin looks down at his paper before replying, "1500 pounds."

"Holy shit." I breath out, looking around at the group's shocked faces before continuing.

"Where the hell are we going to get that much salt?"

|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|

Turns out, the school has lots of salt.

We pull up to the school all shoved into two cars, before getting to work.

Everyone splits up to get the job done as quickly as possible. Mike, Dustin and Lucas go to set up the kiddie pool, while Jonathan and Hopper go find the salt. Joyce and Eleven look for a cover for her eyes, and Nancy and I head for a shed, with the intention of grabbing hoses to fill the pool.

"Hey (Y/n)?" Nancy asks hesitantly as we haul the hoses and supplies back to the school.

"Hm?" I say, not turning my attention away from the walk ahead of us.

"Do you... do you think Steve is an asshole for what he did?" She asks finally, turning her head towards me.

I scoff as we approach the school and begin the process of screwing in the hoses, getting them started as they fill up the pool.

"He's been a real asshole lately, Nance." I say, glancing towards her, "I don't even get why you're still with him.”

"But you like him." She states simply.

"W-What?" I reply, heat rising to my cheeks, "No."

"Don't lie (Y/n), I see the way you look at him." She looks at me with a soft smile, "I've always been jealous..." She admits, glancing at me sheepishly.

"Colder!!" We hear Lucas yell from the gymnasium and I turn the knob to the cold side before responding to Nancy.

"What, why?"

Seeing my confusion, Nancy sighs before explaining, "Because Steve talks about you like you're his whole world. Everywhere we are, he looks for you. Every time someone walks into the room, he not so subtly glances up, hoping to see your face.

"Warmer!!" Lucas yells.

I turn the knob.

"He's so infatuated by you and you don't even notice." Nancy finishes with a sigh, "He might not even know himself, but you two are so oblivious in lo—"

"No. No, we're not, Nance." I cut her off sharply, "He loves you."

"Right there!!" Lucas yells finally confirming we've found the right spot.

"But Jonathan..." Nancy mumbles to herself, clearly not meaning for me to hear.

"You like Jonathan?" I ask, a soft smile making it's way to my face. As we make our way into the gym.

"What?" Nancy blushes slightly, "No, it's not like that. We're just friends." She explains quickly.

"Now, where have I heard that one before?" I ask with a small smirk as we approach the bath and all becomes serious.

We all watch in silence as Eleven strips off her green and yellow socks and hands Mike's watch back to him.

She looks nervous.

I walk over to her, placing my hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, you're a brave girl," I whisper, rubbing her shoulder reassuringly and she nods with a smile, "You got this."

She then places the duck-taped goggles over her face and sighs before Hopper and a Joyce guide her into the pool.

Here goes nothing.

<3

next chapter . masterlist . steve harrington masterlist . taglist

thank you for reading, my darling! remember to like! reblog! and comment! i’ll give you a smooch if you do, ily! send requests to my inbox!

alwaysmoncheri © ─ all rights reserved. please do not repost/translate/copy any of my work.

[babygirlbdubs]

Hello Technoblade voters!

So, your guy lost to the GoodTimes. Maybe you don’t know who to vote for now. I mean, if Technoblade isn’t immune to the good times… who is?

I propose to you: Ethoslab.

Now, if you don’t know who Etho is, lemme give you a rundown.

he’s one of THE og minecraft letsplayers. your favorite minecraft youtuber? yeah, etho is probably one of the reasons they got into mcyt. etho is your favorite mcyt’s favorite mcyt

he’s faceless, and has been for his entire 12+ year youtube career

he has only changed his skin once or twice in those 12 years, and the most recent one was to remove the extra face on his torso because he didn’t know how previously

that skin is literally just kakashi naruto

etho is a god at redstone. he basically invented half the redstone that’s used today. hopper clock? that’s etho’s. i mean… he’s invented a storage system that lets you search for a specific item. it’s called the googler because it’s basically a search engine.

he is an absolute NERD (/aff) and insanely smart

he is genuinely kind to his friends, and has a very sweet yet mischievous demeanor. though, even his friends will call him mysterious

he’s canadian so like… arctic/antarctic solidarity… right?

he has spent many many MANY years perfecting a PVP arena game called Battle Bane. look it up. it’s insane.

actually, all the minigames he’s made are pretty insane. and most of them involve death. i mean. he had one called Hurtin’ Hermits where the whole goal was to kill the other hermits as much as possible and enact chaos

I could go on and on about Etho and what he’s like. HOWEVER. I think it’s more interesting to tell you how he’s portrayed by the fandom.

etho tends to be portrayed as a quiet, broody, mysterious guy despite actually being a bit of a goofball

he’s drawn not as kakashi naruto, but more often, a hot twink that can range from sad puppy to sexy dude covered in blood in the span of a single post

some people headcanon him to be as old as the universe, and tied to the void

he has multiple popular animal traits, from catboy to bunny to most commonly arctic fox

there’s etho titty tuesday. there’s. i mean. there’s etho titty tuesday.

i mean really, just… go into the ethoslab tag and you can see all the ways he’s portrayed.

And if that’s not convincing enough, here are some things he’s done in canon to hopefully sway you.

in season 7 of hermitcraft, he had a shop called Shade-E-E’s, where people could sign other people up to basically get harassed (/lh) by Etho’s shenanigans. “Free Glass” meant panes of light grey glass hidden in all your chests so you couldn’t put things into the chest. “Gardening” meant beehives hidden throughout your base so you would hear buzzing at random. “Pest Relocation” meant spawning endermites in your home.

also in season 7, he had the shop Sneak-E-E’s, which was a secret popup shop where he undercut prices or sold rare item overstock. you could only buy while it existed, and only when you could find it. the first time it was built was up in the sky, all out of shulker boxes so it wouldn’t render in until you got close. the second time was in the unused floor of Mayor GoodTimesWithScar’s shop. scar had no idea for. a while.

in last life, he scammed scar out of a life to give to bdubs, and then promptly killed scar and stole the enchanter. oh yeah, he did it with a fishing rod, too.

in season 9, he moved into bdubs’ basement without telling bdubs

in season 9, he also started late. so, in order to catch up, he exiled himself to a place untouched by the other hermits and wouldn’t let himself come back until he was able to defeat a full raid on his own. it didn’t take him long.

in double life, he and joel were paired, and were the most chaotic duo on the server. they hunted people for sport (notably, grian and scar) and burned things down for fun. “the ship burns everything burns” chanted as they set the entire map on fire

in last life, he went around trying to intimidate people into giving him gifts and he would spare their life. pretty much everyone was instantly afraid of him.

actually, most of the hermits are pretty intimidated by etho. including goodtimeswithscar.

also, most of the hermits are ethogirls.

etho and scar end up on opposing sides in pretty much everything, especially the life series (which is a funky lil hardcore battle royale). they are traditionally enemies. they pick fights with each other for fun.

If you want vengeance for Technoblade— blood for the blood god— vote Ethoslab.

Sincerely, Ethogirls

[a-strange-inkling]

i have nothing to offer for hellcheer anniversary week except tiny snippets of my too many wips 🙈

here is a bit of the mechanic au for the ‘coworkers prompt’:

“Hey, Jonathan,” Eddie beckons quietly through the side of his mouth, still feeling Wayne’s warning scuff burning beneath the waves of his hair. “Jonathan…Jon…Jon… Jonny… Jonny Quest…Jon Bon Jovi.” His half brother finally gives in, rolling his eyes in heavy agitation before glancing up from the other side of the car.

“What?”

“Hey uh…” Eddie peaks over at Chrissy on the other side of the garage, working dutifully on the Prius, her headphones still in her ears. In her own little world. He’s not really bothering her if he’s asking someone else about her. Right? He cups his mouth with one hand as he whispers. “What’s the deal with Tinker Bell?”

Jonathan’s dark eyes jump over to Chrissy instantly, then back to Eddie, his face turning pink before he clears his throat loudly and gets back to work. Oh, so he’s not the only one who’s taken a fancy, apparently. “What about her? You have a problem working with a girl or something?”

“No,” Eddie feels himself bristle defensively. “Course not… just wondering how someone like her ended up in this dump…I mean, c’mon, look at her.”

The girl is beautiful and polished and tiny like she should be wearing pearls and cashmere while being courted by some frat boy at an Ivy League campus that drives the same car she’s currently tuning up. And yet here she is instead, in children’s sized coveralls with an allen wrench in her hand and a smudges of motor oil on her face.

He can tell Jonathan doesn’t appreciate the jab toward the ‘family business’, but he doesn’t care enough to argue about it. He just shrugs his shoulders dismissively as he reaches over for something from the tool box. “Why don’t you just ask her yourself?”

“Because she doesn’t talk to me,” Eddie mumbles, trying not to sound as deflated as he feels about her single syllable greetings and guarded nods of acknowledgement when she punches in. “I think she’s scared of me.”

“She’s just shy,” Jonathan replies, turning his gaze her way again empathetically. “Took her a while to warm up to the rest of us too.”

“Well you two must get along then,” Eddie mutters, rolling his own eyes now, a little sting of irrational jealousy swelling in his chest area.

“We do.” Jonathan answers flatly, keeping his eyes on the stubborn, rusted bolt he’s having trouble loosening.

“Oh yeah, are you guys an item or something?” Eddie grins, mean and pestering. It’s admittedly fun to get under Jon’s skin.

“He wishes,” Will says quietly from where he’s reading his comic book on the old leather couch by the office. Eddie didn’t even realize he was there. Jonathan gives his little brother the side eye, but ultimately ignores him.

“No, she’s got a boyfriend,” Jonathan informs him.

“Total jerk.” Will adds, turning a page.

“Ahh,” Eddie muses, smiling in amusement at young William’s side commentary. “…Serious?”

“I guess,” Jonathan answers, trying for indifference and failing. “Five years.”

“Holy shit,” Eddie chuckles away the sinking feeling in his gut. “Five years… Jesus… I’ve never been with anyone longer than five days.”

Jonathan makes an annoyed face that says I’ve never been with anyone period, asshole.

Eddie decides to steer his irritation in a mutually beneficial direction. “…So he’s a jerk?”

Jonathan meets his gaze, on the cusp of a rueful smile. “Yuppie douchebag.”

“Awful lot of chatting going on over there,” Wayne calls over from beneath the Ford. “The chief is expecting that Blazer ready by the end of the day, boys.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Eddie waves his hand in the old man’s direction dismissively, not remotely concerned about Hopper.

Jonathan gets back to work, while Eddie lets his gaze slide back to Chrissy, who’s right where he left her, that pretty little enigma. She’s gently bobbing her head along to the music, completely focused on her work, her button nose all scrunched.

Damn, she’s cute.

“Why’d you ask?” Jonathan says under his breath, and Eddie realizes that he had asked the question at least twice now.

“I dunno, curious,” he supplies easily. “Not a lot going on around here.”

Jonathan nods his head, brows furrowing in a ‘yeah, sure, bullshit’ sort of way.

“Don’t worry,” Eddie tells him a little bitterly, finally getting back to work. “Wayne’s forbade me from bothering her.”

Jonathan just snorts softly in reply and the garage quiets back into a companionable silence.

[artiststarme]

Just Another Miscommunication

Based on a prompt given by @i-less-than-three-you! I hope it met your expectations! I hope you guys like it and please leave your thoughts in the comments!

~*~*~*~

Steve had never been so hurt and offended in his life. After several months of dating Eddie in secret from the rest of the Party, they’d decided to tell them. Things were starting to get serious and they knew it would only be a matter of time before someone found out and spilled the beans to the rest of the group. 

Eddie had been a little nervous to come out, this was his first serious relationship in the middle of Nowhere, Indiana, he had a right to be worried. But Steve knew that everyone would take it well, they’d dealt with literal monsters so being gay in comparison had to be a smaller deal than that. 

What Steve hadn’t anticipated was how many shovel talks he would receive. He expected the one from Wayne (although that one still hadn’t come), maybe even one from Dustin. However, the rest of them had been a bitter surprise. 

His first shovel talk came from Robin. They’d been in the middle of a slow shift at Family Video when she decided to break the comfortable silence. 

“Hey Dingus, you know that you have to be careful with Eddie, right?”

“Robin, he’s a great guy. He’s not going to hurt me or whatever else you’re afraid of-”

“No, no, no. I’m saying you have to be gentle with him. This is his first relationship so you have to be gentle with him. You have experience from dating half of the girls in Hawkins, he doesn’t have that. Just, be careful not to break his heart, okay?” She looked at him imploringly until he nodded. 

“I’m not going to hurt him, Robin. We’ve been dating for months and we’ve never had a problem before. I’m not going to hurt him.”

“Okay, I just… wanted to make sure. Now, go rewind the tapes. We just got some more returns.” He groaned for good measure but moved along regardless. 

The next one later that day was Hopper. He was leaning against the Beemer in the staff parking lot behind Family Video waiting for Steve to get off work. 

Steve smiled at him and pranced over to give him a quick hug that wouldn’t impact either of their street creds. “Hey Hop, what’re you doing over here? Did I forget plans we had?”

“Nah kid, I'm just checking in. The kids said that you were seeing Munson now?” He cleared his throat and continued in a whisper. “You know, romantically?”

“Yeah, we’ve been dating for a few months. Why do you have a problem with that?” Steve glared at him while he waited for his answer. 

“Of course not! I just wanted to check in with you. And uh, I wanted to remind you that the Munson kid has been through a lot. Just, just don’t hurt him, okay?”

Steve sighed and shook his head. “You’re the second person to tell me that today. I’m not going to hurt him, alright? I love him.”

“Yeah but things change, kid. You feel like that now but you might end up hurting him later. Just be careful, alright?”

“Yeah, fine.”

“Good. Do you want to come over to the house for dinner tonight? I know El and Will would love to see you.” Hopper smiled and nudged his arm. 

With his mood thoroughly dimmed, Steve shook his head. “Nah, I have to run some errands and then I’m just going to run home. I’ll see you around though.”

He said his goodbyes to Hopper and ran over to Melvald’s to pick up a prescription and a couple of snacks for his place. While he was there, he saw Joyce and decided to make some friendly conversation. 

“Hey Mrs. Byers, how’s Will doing? Is he glad to be back in Hawkins? I know the kids like having him here to DM their nerd game.”

Joyce gave him a tight smile as she rang up his items. “Hi Steve. Yeah he likes it, I think he missed the boys, you know? Him and El weren’t big fans of California.”

“Yeah, I get that. Max always says it’s a lot hotter so I can’t even imagine. How’re you doing?”

“I’m doing well, thanks,” she said while scanning his various chips and snacks. “What’re all of these for?”

“Eddie. He can never choose just one flavor to munch on so I just keep a bunch on hand for him to choose from,” Steve answered, smiling at the thought of his boyfriend. 

“You know, I've been meaning to talk to you about that,” she said, glancing around the empty store. 

“Have you?” Steve asked apprehensively. He and Joyce didn’t get along super well so he was a little nervous for her to judge his relationship.

“Yeah. I want you to know that I support you guys and you both always have a safe space with me. But I just wanted to make sure that you took it easy with Eddie. That boy’s been through a lot and I know you didn’t always feel… accepting of queer relationships. Eddie is sensitive and you could really hurt him. So just, be gentle with him or I’ll have to send Hopper over to get your head on straight. Are we clear?”

Honestly, Steve was kind of lost but he nodded in spite of that. “Yep, crystal. I’m not going to hurt him, Mrs. Byers. Have a good day!”

Jesus Christ, did everyone think he was going to hurt Eddie? He knew that he made some questionable choices in the past as King Steve but he’d been trying to be better. Why couldn’t anyone see that? 

When he got home, he saw various bikes laying all over his front lawn. Now, the kids could just want a pool day to get out of this disgustingly warm summer weather. However, if they were looking to give him yet another shovel talk, Steve might just lose it. 

As expected, all of the kids were situated on his couch and turned to look at him when he walked in. They looked like they were staging an intervention for him. 

“Okay look, I’m really not in the mood for this. If you want to use the pool, fine. But if this is yet another shovel talk to warn me not to hurt Eddie, you can leave.” Steve crossed his arms as he looked at them and only Max was brave enough to go against him. 

“If you hurt Eddie, we’re going to have El open another gate to the Upside Down and feed you to a demogorgon,” she said in a deadpan voice with a blank face. 

El snapped her head to look at her then back to Steve. “Steve, I will not. Max, Steve is like my brother. I will not feed him to a demogorgon.” 

“What they mean to say is that we don’t want to see Eddie get hurt. If you hurt him, we’ll have to take matters into our own hands,” Dustin continued diplomatically. Both Lucas and Mike nodded but Will just shook his head in panicked confusion. 

“Dustin, I thought we were coming here to congratulate him and tell him we supported him! Why are we threatening him? Steve won’t hurt him!”

The other kids argued that he definitely could and actions needed to be taken to prevent that. Will and El just kept trying to jump in and defend Steve. 

And Steve just stared at them. “Okay, thanks so much for the threats. Everyone besides Will and El can leave. You can come back when you stop planning different ways to murder me when I hypothetically hurt Eddie.”

Steve gave all of the kids, besides Will and El, one last glare before he walked into the kitchen to make himself a coffee. Maybe that would ward off his approaching headache. He could hear muffled arguing from the living room where Will and El, his new favorite kids, were no doubt defending him. But alas a few moments later, he heard the noise stop and saw El pop her head into the kitchen. 

“I am sorry Steve, Will and I thought that we were coming to congratulate you on dating Eddie. We did not know that they would threaten you. Friends do not threaten to kill other friends.”

“It’s alright El, it’s called a shovel talk. Usually a family member gives one to the boyfriend so they know not to hurt them. I got a lot of them today so I’m annoyed,” he explained to her gently. 

“But, you will not hurt Eddie. You love him so why do people keep telling you not to hurt him?” She asked him in confusion.

“They care more about Eddie and they think I’ll hurt him,” his words visibly angered him so he backtracked a little bit. “It’s fine El, really. I’ll get over it.”

She moved towards him and pulled him into a hug. “I love you Steve and I do not think you will hurt him. Even if you do by accident, I will not feed you to a demogorgon.”

He barked out a quick laugh in surprise, “thanks El, are you and Will going swimming?”

“No, we are going home to paint miniatures for Will’s new DnD game. Would you like to come with us?” She pulled back from the hug enough to look up at him. 

“Nah, I’m just going to relax here but thanks for the offer. Have fun, okay?”

“Okay Steve, thank you!”

Then, Steve was alone. He was emotionally exhausted and hurt. How could everyone, besides Will and El, believe he’d hurt Eddie? He’d changed so much over the years and now he felt like he was right back where he started. How could they have such little faith in him? 

~*~*~*~

Eddie was expecting to spend a nice night with his boyfriend after a few long days without seeing him. Between work, spending time with the kids, and practicing with the band, it felt like forever since he’d gotten to spend any quality time with Steve. But when he walked through the ajar door of the Harrington home, he didn’t find a boyfriend that was happy to see him. Instead, he found Steve sitting on the kitchen counter with a troubled look on his face.

“Stevie, you alright? I hope it’s okay that I came in, the door was open,” he stepped closer to Steve and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. “What’s going on?”

“Has anyone given you the shovel talk about dating me?” Steve asked him, his eyes staring into his eyes desperately. 

“Um no, why? Should they have?” Eddie asked, confused. 

“I don’t know, I guess not. Nearly everyone in the Party has given me one. Robin, Hopper, Joyce, the kids. Why haven’t any of them told you not to hurt me?”

“You want me to get threatened?” Eddie didn’t understand why Steve was so upset. Did he think that he was going to hurt him?

“No! I just- why does everyone automatically assume you’ll be the one to get hurt? Why won’t they tell you not to hurt me? That’s just as much of a possibility as me hurting you!”

“You think I’m going to hurt you? And you’re mad that no one else thinks so?” So Steve expected him to fuck this up?

“Yes!” Steve nodded at him. 

“I would never hurt you Stevie and I’m upset that you think I would. Why would I do anything to ruin this? You’re so perfect Steve that I would never do anything to mess this up.”

“Ed-”

“No! What’s the point of dating at all if you’re just waiting around for me to break your heart? That’s all I do though, right? Eddie the Freak, destroyer of all things good. Is that it?” All of the happy feelings that Eddie felt when he first walked through the door were long gone now. What, Steve was just waiting for Eddie to ruin everything like he always did? What the hell.

“Eddie, that’s not what I meant!”

“Whatever Steve, I’m sorry that you’ve seen this coming the entire time and I’m sorry you were right. I should’ve known that I would fuck this up too.” With that, Eddie marched out of Steve’s house and directly to his van. Admittedly, he shouldn’t have left. He should’ve stayed and worked this out with Steve. 

However, he didn’t want Steve to see the angry tears that streamed down his face on his drive home. He knew deep down that this was all a misunderstanding but Eddie couldn’t get over the fact that Steve was just another person that saw the worst in him. 

~*~*~*~

Wayne walked into the trailer to find it completely dark and silent, both unusual for Eddie. His nephew constantly left all of the lights on regardless of whether he was in the room or not, a quirk that took a toll on both Wayne’s annoyance and the electricity bill. And silence was not a commodity often associated with Eddie. The boy was loud in all senses of the word so for the trailer to be quiet, devoid of guitar riffs or excited rambling, was worrying. With a peek out the door, Wayne saw that Eddie’s van was out there which meant that he was home. 

When he looked into Eddie’s room, he saw a pathetic lump hidden under the covers with only an unruly mop of curls poking out. The covers twitched slightly as the lump sniffled. “Eds? Y’alright?”

“No,” he muttered, hiding his face deeper into his pillow. 

Wayne sighed and kissed all thoughts of coffee and a nap goodbye. Nonetheless, he sat at the edge of the bed and pulled at Eddie’s shoulder until he turned over. His eyes were red and irritated and his skin was flushed. “What the hell happened to you? I thought you were spending the evening with Steve? He do something?”

Eddie’s face screwed up in sadness as more tears welled up in his eyes. “Why do you automatically assume Steve did something? I’m the one who always fucks everything up, Uncle Wayne. Me! Why is everyone threatening Steve not to hurt me?”

Wayne looked at him in bemusement for a moment. “So you did something?”

Eddie made a muffled noise of outrage and pulled the covers back over his face.

“Boy, I can’t help ya if ya don’t use yer words. Tell me what happened and we’ll fix it,” Wayne tried to reassure him.

“Everybody has been giving Steve the shovel talk and telling him not to hurt me. But no one has given me the shovel talk to tell me not to hurt him. So Steve was upset and told me that I would be the one to hurt him and he was offended that no one else thought so. And then he said that I would be the one to hurt him!”

Wayne just looked at him for a long moment before lightly smacking the side of his head. 

“Hey, what the hell!” Eddie yelled in surprised anger as he yanked the covers off of himself. 

“Don’t be a dumbass then! Steve was trying to tell ya that he was hurt and ya turned it around on him! The kid’s not saying that yer gonna hurt him, he’s saying he wants people to stop assumin’ he’ll be the one to hurt you when he feels so much for ya.”

“So he’s not saying that I’m going to fuck everything up?” Eddie asked quietly.

“I think he’s sad that everyone else is taking your side and assumin’ that he’s going to be the one that ruins things. He just needed ya to listen.”

“What have I done?! How do I fix this? Uncle Wayne, help me!” Eddie jumped out of bed and started pacing in front of him. 

Wayne sighed again, he didn’t ask to be roped into these situations. “Look Eds, go to him and say that you’re sorry and you took it the wrong way. Then tell him that I gave you a shovel talk cause if you hurt that kid again, I’m gonna do more than smack ya upside the head, ya hear me? Now get goin’. Ya best stay over there so I can get some rest, alright?”

Eddie laughed and jumped off the bed, “thanks Uncle Wayne! You’re the best! I’ll go fix it and then tell you about it over carry-out later! Love you!”

Wayne shook his head as he watched Eddie run out the door, “love you too, kid.”

Both boys came back to the trailer a few hours later with takeout in tow. Eddie’s smile was beaming once again and Steve looked relieved. He gave Wayne a quick hug and a whispered thank you over the burgers and Wayne knew that they’d fixed things. There would be many miscommunications between the boys in the years to come but as long as they had Wayne to play interference, they’d be alright.

Permanent tag list: @doubleb11 @nburkhardt @zerokrox-blog @newtstabber @i-less-than-three-you @carlyv @pyrohonk @straight4joekeery @trippypancakes @conversesweetheart @estrellami-1 @suddenlyinlove @yikes-a-bee @swimmingbirdrunningrock @perseus-notjackson @anaibis @merricatty @maya-custodios-dionach @grtwdsmwhr @manda-panda-monium @lumoschild @goodolefashionedloverboi @mentallyundone @awkwardgravity1

[yourfavoritewitchbitch]

Evermore - Part 7

Summary: It’s been 7 years since the love of your life left you behind for his career. When he decides to come back, is it too late to start anew? Or will you realize what’s been in front of you this entire time?

Chapter Summary: A glimpse into Steve's past leaves him reeling with confusion on how to deal with his own feelings.

Sidenote: There is just a lot to unpack in this chapter. Buckle up!

Warnings: 18+ for future chapters. General angst. Minimal use of Y/N. Reader is given the nickname Peach. Unplanned pregnancy. Manipulation. Cursing. Tension. Heartbreak. Longing.

Word Count: 5.7K

Masterlist

Eddie laid there flitting in and out of consciousness. His mind and body weren’t ready to face whatever fresh hell the day had in store for him.

Somewhere before drifting back off, he felt a slight pressure on his cheek, as if something lightly touched him. He groaned just a bit, adjusting his position pushing his face further into the fabric.

A fabric he realized felt foreign. He breathed deeply, unfamiliar yet pleasant scents filling his lungs. It was something that reminded him of home even though he had never felt quite at home anywhere in the past seven years.  

He heard distant voices. Not overly loud but the way they seemed to speak suggested it was an argument. Hushed, but rushed out tones. He began to rouse more, his head was already beginning to pound, a harsh reminder of what he had consumed the night before.

Then he felt it again, this poke at his cheek, a little harder than before. He peeked one eye open, as his hazy vision began to clear, straining against the morning light coming in from a nearby window.

It took a few seconds to come into focus, a chubby cheeked little girl staring at him with curly brown hair and hazel eyes that sparkled as she grinned with her baby teeth on full display. She giggled at him.

That fully caught his attention, he opened both eyes and sat up in a flurry, throwing the blanket from himself, which made the toddler laugh out louder. His hair frizzy, sticking up. He knew he looked a mess; a wave of nausea momentarily seized him with the sudden movement.

“Hi!” she spoke sweetly.

It all slowly started to come back to him. The Hideout, Hopper, You.

You had come to get him. Even if you didn’t care about him that had to mean something, right?

He sat all the way up, putting his feet on the ground, head falling into his hands. He let out a low groan. Not meaning to ignore the other person in the room, but his hangover was washing over him, slowly dragging him under.  

She sat beside him, pressing her small leg into his thigh. He looked over at her still bleary eyed, she spoke again with a bright smile on display.

“Hi!”

“Ugh, hi.” He finally replied.

“Your sock is gone.” He followed where her little finger was pointing. Indeed, his right sock was missing. He turned to the end of the couch spotting it tucked into the end cushion.

“Ah ha!” he smiled, producing the lost item. She giggled again as he bent to return it to its rightful place.

“You wan play wif me?” she tilted her head as she spoke as if trying to figure him out.

“Ugh, where’s your mom and dad?  In the kitchen?” he asked her, not trying to be rude to a kid but he bet you and Steve were ready to kick his ass out as soon as you caught wind that he was awake.

She scrunched her nose slightly as her little eyebrows knit together in confusion. She was about to speak but you came into view and drew his full attention.  

“Maddie, baby, there you are.” His eyes darted to you then to Steve close behind.

“Peach! Daddy!” She squealed in his ear, earning another shot of pain in his already throbbing head.  

You walked over to where they both sat, pointedly ignoring the look Eddie was giving you.

“Come finish your breakfast, then we’re going to do whatever you want! It’s Maddie’s day!”

She immediately hopped down from her place on the couch, taking your hand and happily following you back into the kitchen. Why the hell did she just call you Peach instead of Mom? He didn’t have time to dwell as his eyes trailed after you.

He had to admit, motherhood looked good on you. Even in your pajamas and hair a mess you looked beautiful. You’d never explicitly told him you’d wanted kids but then again you two were still young and had never really brought up the subject.

Steve caught him staring, giving him an overly annoyed look but didn’t say anything, rolling his eyes and turning to join you.   

He sat back on the couch, pressing his palms against his eyes momentarily to collect himself. It was unusual at this stage in the rockstar life that he had a hangover; he knew he had overdone it.

He slowly started to take in his surroundings.

You had been doing well for yourself, your house wasn’t lavish, but it wasn’t modest either. He imagined Steve had some cushy job at some law firm, but Steve was never the type to show out, surprisingly that had been a trait he hadn’t inherited from his parents.

There were pictures of all various shapes and sizes hung on one of the living room walls. It was evident each one had been placed there with the utmost care. He skimmed each photo; most faces he recognized, a few he didn’t.

Max in a graduation gown, your arm wrapped around her shoulders hugging her tightly, faces pressed together grinning ear to ear.

Dustin and Suzie on their wedding day, smiles walking hand in hand down the aisle just after saying their “I do’s.”

Mike, El, and Will in their swimsuits at what appeared to be the beach. Each one sitting on a towel catching some rays.  

Robin and Steve packed like sardines beside each other on a small love seat fast asleep.

Lucas and Max looking away from the camera, but you had captured them holding hands. A rarity for Max to show affection in public.  

You even had a rare photo of Hopper smiling with Joyce in front of a Christmas tree.

Then he saw one that stopped and made him stare a little longer. You were holding a baby looking down at her with the most adoration he’d ever seen but it’s a look he already knew well. It was the same one he saw in you back then, looking at him. Except he knew there was no expectation of this little, tiny being you were holding. It was unconditional love.

He slowly made his way down the rest of the wall, seeing everything that took place in his absence. All the younger teens were now fully-fledged adults. Married, getting married, or even having children of their own. Life in Hawkins had moved on without him.

He was so lost in the faces of his old friends, he hadn’t noticed Steve re-enter the room, standing behind him now. He cleared his throat, momentarily startling him.

“Christ,” he spat, holding his chest for a beat as he looked over at an unamused Steve, who was leaned against the door frame, arms folded over his chest. He didn’t immediately speak, so Eddie broke the awkward silence.

“It’s ugh… it’s amazing what you miss being away. Life really does just go on without you.” Looking away from the other man to finish scanning the wall.

“What are you doing?” Steve was already irritated and wasn’t going in the mood to tip toe around.   

“Uh, I… looking at photos…,” pointing to the wall, like it was the most logical answer ever.

“No, man. I mean what are you doing here? Showing up out of nowhere, interrupting her life?” he shoved off the door frame, standing up straighter as he spoke, squaring his broad shoulders.

“I…,” he wasn’t sure how to answer. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to think of a response.

“I’m not really sure anymore,” he finally exhaled, truthfully. He dropped his gaze to the floor as his shoulders drooped.

“She doesn’t want you here.” He hissed lowly. Eddie snapped his head up at that, tilting his head slightly.

“That so Harrington? Why am I here then? Hmm?” looking the other man directly in the eyes. “Unless…” a moment from last night suddenly came back to him but Steve interjected before Eddie could finish.  

“You’re here because you’re an idiot. You do what you do best, fuck up and she doesn’t have the heart to turn you away. Even after everything you did to her.” Steve stepped closer.

Eddie’s anger was seeping through, though he knew the other man was speaking nothing but the truth. He scoffed.  

“You know I’m betting the only reason you haven’t kicked me out yet is because you don’t want to piss her off. No matter how mad it makes YOU that I’m here.” He paused, examining Steve a moment, “She said you didn’t live here, right? What’d ya do, knock her up and decide a relationship wasn’t worth it? Staying friends would be better for you? King Steve, always looking for the next thrill. Never looking out for anyone but himself?”

Steve squared up to the metalhead, at this point he was fuming. His hands fisted at his sides. He knew he had to control himself for Maddie’s sake. He took a step closer, poking his finger into Eddie’s chest.  

“Back off Munson, you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, sure Harrington.”  

Eye to eye, neither backing down until they heard you call for Steve down the hall.

He turned without another word to the metalhead retreating to the kitchen leaving Eddie alone once more with the wall of smiling, happy faces looking back at him.

In this moment, he longed to see his own smiling face staring back at him. At least then, he wouldn’t feel this regret blooming up through his chest threatening to suffocate him.

But he had lived and had a life outside of this place. He was happy. Wasn’t he? Why was it beginning to feel like he didn’t know anymore?

­­

Back in the kitchen, Steve rounded the corner. His cheeks and tips of his ears tinged pink, jaw clenched, mouth set in a thin line. The way he stalked over to you made you a little nervous. He was so mad it radiated from him.

“What happened?” you asked timidly.

“Why don’t you ask Munson?” he spat, pausing briefly before you. You were stunned momentarily. The way his eyes wouldn’t meet yours, but you could tell there was something else there behind them. He looked hurt.  

He shook his head and walked over to Maddie’s bag, hoisting it over his shoulder.

“Steve?” Asking again, a little more tremble to your voice, worry working over your features.

Choosing to ignore you, he made his way over to the young girl blissfully unaware of the newly added tension in the room.

“Maddie,” he got down to her level, she was in the chair chewing on a muffin she had settled on.

She looked up at him, soft eyes, happy from having her sugar fix first thing in the morning, happily swinging her feet.

“I know you wanted to stay with Aunt Peach today, but Aunt Robin is going to watch you instead. You can take your muffin with you.” He was trying to speak softly, but it sounded forced, as he patted her small leg.  

“But daddy…” she began to protest, her bottom lip forming a small pout as she spoke, crossing her arms in protest.

“Maddie, you’re going to Aunt Robin’s,” he shot back. Her little lip wavered with his harsh tone, eyes sparkling with tears threatening to spill.

You weren’t sure what had gone on in the next room, but there was no use in trying to reason with him right now. His mind was made up.

You leaned down to her as well, side pressed into Steve, who flinched momentarily. You tried to ignore the way small movement made you feel dejected as you focused on speaking to her.

“Hey Maddie,” you spoke softly, but firmly, gaining her attention. “Auntie Peach had something come up but you can come over this weekend and hang out. How about that? We can even go out to Benny’s if you want?”

She looked at Steve, then back over to you.

“Okay.” She still had a small pout, but she was satisfied for now.  

With that, Steve stood, picking her up and taking her muffin along without saying another word.

“Bye Peach,” she waved behind him. “I wuv you!” With an exaggerated kiss to her palm then opening it toward you, trying to blow it your way.

“Love you too sweet girl.”

You watched them leave, without protest, he didn’t spare another glance toward you. There was no tender touch or hug to bid you goodbye. No chaste kiss to your temple or forehead bidding his departure.

He only slammed the door behind him, which made you jump. The house was suddenly too quiet.

You took a deep breath and took a step toward the living room.

Steve hadn’t meant to leave you like that. He really didn’t mean to slam the door.

When Eddie started spouting bullshit he didn’t have a clue about he let it get to him. All he could see was red. It took everything in him to keep his composure and not go ballistic on either of you. He wasn’t King Steve. Hadn’t been for a long time.

Once he settled Maddie into the back seat and took his leave, he only made it a couple of blocks before pulling over.

He pulled his glasses off, pinching his nose, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

“Shit,” he hissed low, pushing his head back against the headrest. He eyed Maddie in the rearview. Luckily, she was still far too interested in the muffin she seemed to be savoring to notice the brief stop and changes in his demeanor.

When he thought he had calmed down enough, he started the drive to Robin’s.

When she opened the door, her smile immediately dropped. She knew something was off. Taking in the sight of his disheveled hair, like he had been running his hands through it. A habit she knew all too well of when he was upset.

“Aunt Bobbie!” Maddie yelled, already trying to wriggle free from his arms.

“Steve? What’s wrong?” she rushed out.

“I… I just need to talk to someone. Can we come in?” he asked sheepishly.

“Of course. Get in here.” She moved aside, ushering them both in. “As if you have to ask, Dingus.”

He sat Maddie down, who bolted into the living room where Vickie sat watching the morning news.

“Vick, can you watch her just a few?” Robin asked her girlfriend.

“Yeah, of course. Hey Steve.”

“Hey Vickie,” he shouted back as they made their way into the kitchen for some privacy.

Before Robin could ask him if he wanted something to drink, he made his way over to the phone. She looked at him with confusion for a moment before he began to speak.

“Hey, yeah, it’s Steve. Something came up, I won’t be coming in today.” A few more words were spoken into the receiver before he uttered a goodbye and hung up.

He turned back to her; she was already squinting at him with more suspicion.

“Um, ok. Spill it. You never call out of work unless it’s an emergency.” She bid him to sit down in the chair beside her.

He sighed. Melting into the cushion, letting the weight of the morning sink in. He suddenly felt exhausted.

Robin slowly rubbed circles into his back.

“Fucking Eddie…” he grumbled, almost inaudible but she caught it.

“Eddie? What… I thought… He’s still in Hawkins?” She was trying to process those two small words.

“He… He’s at Peach’s.” Keeping his eyes trained on the floor, rubbing his hand through his hair yet again.

“What?” She whisper yelled, still cognizant of the fact Maddie could pop in at any moment.

“I thought he’d be gone by now. And what the hell is he doing over there? Oh my God, Steve, did she sleep with him?” She got up and started to pace behind him, getting a little louder and more frantic with each sentence.

“Rob,” he sighed.

“Steve, what the hell is she thinking?”

“Rob,” a little more forceful.

She started to chew her bottom lip just a bit, “What…”

“Robin,” he all but yelled, pulling her back into the chair by her wrist.

“Yes, yeah. I’m here.” Focusing all her attention on her forlorn friend.

“He slept on the couch after a drunken night out.” He thought for a moment, licking his lips before choosing his words carefully. “I… I can’t watch her go through all that again when he decides to leave. I can’t sit back and watch him take all of the best parts away from her. You remember what it was like?”

Her gaze softens, she remembers how it was but Steve, ever the best friend, took the brunt of it. Watching her two best friends being idiots around each other then and even more so now.

“This isn’t really about Eddie though, is it?” she spoke softly.

He didn’t respond, still looking at the floor. He was hurting. It was written all over his face.

“Steve,” she took his hand, wanting his full attention as his soft eyes looked into hers, “you have to tell her. If you don’t do it now, I think you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. You aren’t going to lose what you have, that could never happen to you two, but what if you lose the chance to have something more?”

Even back then, she knew he was in love with you but then Eddie happened. Then once he left, it had taken your heart so long to heal that Steve was scared to lose what you had he didn’t want to mess it up.

You had leaned on him to bring you back from the brink. He’d almost confessed a time or two, but it had never felt right. You had closed off your heart and sworn off love altogether.

February 1988

Steve had just gotten back to his apartment that afternoon after a long day of classes, exhaustion hitting him like a ton of bricks. Emily would be over soon so they could cook dinner and watch a movie. Friday nights were strictly for relaxing. The rest of the weekend was used for studying. Just one more year and he would graduate and finally start this life he had planned.

What he hadn’t planned was a frantic knocking at his door, jostling him from his momentary daydream.

He stood from the couch, a little slowly. Whomever was at there must have been impatient because they knocked again.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m coming, I’m coming.” He shouted, reaching for the door. “Hold your…”

As it swung open, the words died on his tongue. He had never expected to see you standing before him. His eyes practically bulged out of his head, taking in your drastic appearance. You were wearing stained pajamas, hair in a messy bun with bags so heavy under your eyes it looked like you hadn’t slept in days.

“Peach, what the hell…” before he could finish his sentence, you practically threw yourself at him, momentarily knocking him off balance. You clung to him for dear life as you started to cry. He wrapped his arms around you pulling you further into his chest.  

He was so worried when you wouldn’t stop crying, he had no idea what was going on. He was panicking on the inside but was trying to keep his composure.

“Honey, you have to calm down. You have to tell me what’s going on.” He spoke softly, cradling your head, while his other hand rubbed soothingly up and down your back.

You had driven all the way to Indy without a phone call. He knew it was bad.

He finally coaxed you to sit down with him on the couch. You were still clinging to his side but calming down.

“Peach, it’s okay. Whatever it is, it’s going to be okay.”

“Eddie left.” You whispered into his shirt, muffled where your face was still pressed close to him.  

“What do you mean he left? I thought he was still in LA?” he asked softly, matching your tone.

You finally found enough strength to pull yourself up to face him. His eyes full of concern, searching yours for some kind of answer.

“He came to visit me last weekend.” Your lip trembled, voice threatening to give out as a fresh wave of tears began to spill but you needed to get it all out.  

“I could tell something wasn’t right. The way he had been acting. I… I should have known this was going to happen. God, I’m so dumb.”

“Hey, hey. Stop it. You’re not dumb.” He grabbed your hand as you threaded your fingers through his.

“God Steve, I was just so happy to see him. He was trying to tell me before… before I told him it could wait. I just… I wanted to have him close to me.”

Steve knew what you were saying without coming out with it. His stomach lurched at the thought. You’d had sex and he’d left you when you had been at your most vulnerable. He stayed silent, letting you continue.

“We didn’t talk, we… and then he… he was gone in the morning. He left me a stupid fucking note that just said I’m sorry. I’ve called him for a week, and he hasn’t returned any of my calls. He’s just gone.”

Steve was stunned. He’d never thought Eddie could do this to you.

“He’s an idiot.” He mumbled, “You want me to track him down and beat some sense into him? I mean what the hell is he thinking?” At least he could try humor, he was good at deflecting.

“Given your track record with fights, I’m not sure how much use you’d be.” You smiled and giggled for the first time all week.

“There she is. At least I can still make you smile. I’m useful for something.” He grinned back.

He had all but forgotten about his usual date night with Emily, until he heard the door open as she stepped in. It startled the both of you, as he jumped to his feet to greet her.

“Steve, I…” she stopped as soon as she saw you, eyes rimmed red looking an absolute wreck.

“Hey, Em,” he kissed her cheek, and took her bags, setting them down. “Uh, I am so sorry, I would have called but uh,” turning back to you as if trying to convey a point.

“Is she okay?” her gaze left you to look back at her boyfriend.

“Yeah, yeah. Well, no. Do you think we can just take a rain check for tonight? Back to it next week?” he smiled that crooked grin that most women couldn’t resist.

“Yeah, sure. Sure.” She looked back at you then and waved. You raised your own hand in a wave back.

“I’ll call you in the morning babe.” He pecked her lips quickly, as she walked back out of the apartment.

You felt like a nuisance, an intruder. Steve had his own life without you barging in unannounced dragging him down with you.

“I’m sorry. I should have just called but I…”

He immediately shut you down, no apologies needed. He ordered pizza from his favorite place, and you mostly spent the night in comfortable silence eating and watching some cheesy horror fic.

He insisted you take his bed for the night, and he would take the couch, but you wouldn’t hear of it. You laid face to face, chatting about nothing and for a few moments it all seemed right in the world.

All of a sudden, it felt like summer break and long chats at night by the pool spending all your time telling your best friend all of your secrets. You had missed him. He spent the rest of the night reassuring you that it wasn’t your fault, and it would be okay. You would get through it.

He woke the next day to find you were still facing each other. You were curled up tightly with your fist under your chin as if on guard even in your sleep. He couldn’t help but feel helpless. He knew he couldn’t make it better, but he could at least make it easier.

He let himself brush the hair out of your face. The subtle touch had you chasing the warmth of his hand. He cradled your face for a moment, his palm resting against your cheek fingers slightly tangled in your hair as your breathing evened back out.

For a moment, he let his eyes trace the features of your face. Your eyes danced slightly behind your eyelids, and he wondered what you were dreaming of. The way your cupids bow beckoned him forward as your lips parted just slightly with every exhale that produced the perfect pout.

He knew it was wrong. Eddie had just broken your heart and his thoughts were selfish. He internally scolded himself and removed his hand, instead opting to pull you close to his chest, kissing your head softly as he heard you sigh. He slowly drifted back off the sleep with you curled into him.

Once you both woke, untangling from one another, the reality of the day set in.

You couldn’t stay here. You both knew that.

He called to check on you nearly every day after; coming to visit at least every other weekend. You felt like he had you on suicide watch. Which, for the record, never once crossed your mind.

All the extra time spent with you began to put a strain on his relationship with Emily.

It’s like she could sense what he wasn’t telling her. What practically anyone from the outside looking in could tell. Steve would never admit it to anyone, let alone himself.

She had finally told him that it was either you or her. Her mistake was thinking that she was even a choice when it came to you.  

Dating was put on the back burner for a while. He instead helped you through the most difficult year of your life.

He stayed in Indy after graduation, landing a good job. You two stayed close despite the small distance.  

He encouraged you to start dating again, even though it was killing him inside. He wanted to see you happy.

“And what about you Steve? You need to get back out there. You haven’t had a proper date in over a year.” You snorted.

“Yeah, well this isn’t about me.” He chuckled back to you.

“I’ll start dating when Hell freezes over.” You shot back.

“Well, maybe I’m right there with you.”

Time passed after that conversation. He never brought it back up to you.

1991

Steve Harrington could never seem to find the right girl to settle down with. Not for his lack of trying. He had broken numerous hearts, and in turn, had his own broken a time or two.

All he really longed for was someone to call his own. Someone that would stick around after they really got to know him. Get married. Start a family. He had it all planned out in his head.

He still had the occasional hook-ups from time to time. He wasn’t celibate and he got lonely.       

And one day, he got a call from someone he had fooled around with about 3 months prior. She broke the news that she was pregnant, and it was his.

His world literally felt like it was caving in around him and his plans were crumbling before his eyes. He barely knew this woman and yet she was going to have his child.

He remembered the cheery blonde with piercing blue eyes that he knew absolutely nothing else about. They had met at a bar close to his office. They had fooled around exactly two times. He supposed it was a sick joke the universe was playing on him.

He was drunk the second time and forgotten to wear a condom. He had royally fucked up and there was only one person he trusted enough to talk to.

“Hey Stevie! Aren’t you working today?” your voice immediately calmed his rattled nerves.

“Yeah, I am but uh, I’m leaving early. I need to talk to you.” he sounded breathless near the end.

“Steve, is everything alright?”

“No. I’ve got some news and I just need my best friend right now, but I don’t really want to talk about it over the phone.”

“Well, just come over to my place. We’ll just figure everything out. Whatever it is, okay?” you tried to sound convincing, to placate him even though you were freaking out at what he wasn’t telling you.

When he made it to your house, he laid it all out on the line. Everything he knew thus far. You had listened without judgement and reassured him that you would be there the whole way. No matter what. And you had, with no hesitation.

Once his parents heard the news his dad offered to bribe her into getting rid of baby, but Steve immediately shut it down.

“It’s your grandchild, how the hell could you even say that?” But it fell on deaf ears, they didn’t care. They were trying to preserve the Harrington name from any scandal.

He tried to do the right thing. Date her, take care of her. Hell, it’d crossed his mind to marry her, but it quickly dawned on him how truly different they were. It would never have worked out. She was a waitress at the bar where they had met. She wasn’t wealthy by any means, but she knew he was or at least his family was.

He had hoped they could remain civil, but it wasn’t in the cards for him. It didn’t take her long to start asking him for money to stick around.

He didn’t know what to do so he kept her paid and content.

He drove her to every doctor’s appointment making sure the baby was good every step of the way.

They found out they were having a girl and Steve was over the moon. He immediately went to your place showing you the sonogram. The way he traced her small features in black and white still had your heart melting. He was already in love with her.  

It was a beautiful, crisp day when she arrived that October. A perfect day in his mind. You accompanied him to the hospital. Both of you were jittery and anxious. Much to his dismay, she wouldn’t let him in the delivery room. Your heart broke for him. If she wasn’t in the middle of giving birth, it had crossed your mind to punch her stupid smug face.

She arrived without any complications. A beautiful, healthy 7-pound 3-ounce perfect little angel. Madelynn Grace Harrington. Luckily, Steve had been able to name her. Oddly enough that was one thing she hadn’t fought.

You watched him gingerly pick her up for the first time from the bassinet, cradling her tiny head and pulling her tiny body into his chest. His eyes began to tear at the sight of her. It was pure joy written on his face as he looked down at the tiny bundle. He was awestruck.

“I just,” voice quavering just a bit as he spoke. “I just can’t believe that she’s mine. My daughter.”  

He looked up at you as you let out a small laugh. Your own eyes watering at the scene before you.

“Hi Maddie, I’m your dad. I’m so happy you’re here.” He spoke softly, looking down at this tiny little thing that he had a hand in creating.

“Stevie, I think you were always meant to be a dad.” You were settled beside him, your hand on his back, looking down at his twin. Thankfully she hadn’t inherited the looks from her mother with a head full of chestnut locks and hazel eyes just like Steve.  

“You want to hold her?” You quickly nodded.

 You sat down, as he brought her close and laid her gently in your awaiting arms. Swaddled head to toe in pink, with a matching pink cap.

She was the most precious thing you had ever laid eyes on. Your finger gently stroked her tiny cheek, as she yawned, with a tiny sigh.

“Hi Maddie. I’m your Auntie Peach. I already love you more than you’ll ever know.”

Steve silently watched you as you watched Maddie. His heart ached in his chest seeing you with his baby. It also broke a little.

After they were discharged from the hospital, Steve only got to see Maddie on the weekends. He had a sinking suspicion this was how it was going to be from the start.

About six months after she was born, blondie threatened to take Maddie and leave town if she didn’t get more money. Fed up, he finally asked her how much it would take for her to leave for good and not come back.

He had to take a loan out that would cost him a small fortune just so she’d sign over her rights, even though she never wanted their daughter to begin with, that much was evident. But he would gladly do it again. He was so thankful you and Robin were there to help him.

You hadn’t given it a second thought when it came to her. Doting on her as if she were your own. So, it was no surprise when Steve had told you he was moving back to Hawkins you insisted on him moving in with you until he found a place.

At some point, you both fell into a routine that felt so natural. So domestic. It felt like the right time, but his anxiety got the better of him. He was so happy with the way things were he didn’t want to lose you by confessing his feelings that would just make it awkward if you didn’t feel the same. He would keep you this way, even if his own heart was aching for so much more.

He waited, biding his time. Waiting for the perfect moment that never came.

“Rob, I can’t complicate things for her. If she wants Munson, I’m not going to stand in her way. She can make up her own mind.”

Robin audibly groaned, shaking her head throwing her hands up in defeat. “You two are even bigger idiots than I thought you were.”

He looked at her, puzzled, eyebrows knit in confusion.

“Rob, what? What does that mean?”

The only sound was Robin dropping her head in dramatic fashion to the table with a loud thump.

Want to be added? Just ask!

Taglist: @josephquinnschesthair @theawkwardbutterfly @munsonmecrazy @jadedhillon @pettydonuts @angelina16torres-blog @justheretoreadleavemealone @heyyimmisunderstood @micheledawn1975 @devilslittlebabyxx @blackstabbath6 @bebe07011 @yunnie-f1 @akiratoro420 @evansslutt @sheerfreesia007 @tlclick73 @bakugouswh0r3 @vintagehellfire @feelinglikeineedlotsofnaps @ali-r3n @sashaphantomhive @foreveranexpatsposts @ahoyyharrington

[hermit-lover]

Hey hey!! Ur hermits x raccoon reader was so good ^^ could u do a Tango x raccoon reader who brings him shiny things and little trinkets they think hed like and Tango has a full shulker box in his ender chest filled with things given by the reader

Love ur work stay hydrated <33

Trinkets!

------------------

Character: Tango x Raccoon!Reader

Type: Blurb (~1.3k)

Theme: Fluff, Romantic

Summary: Decked out's secretes are ever alluring, combined with the irresistible game master, you cant help but want to slink around.

TW: Brief panic.

A/N: Glad you liked it! I'm always down for some good ol raccoon shenanigans. Kinda strayed from the prompt, but I had fun, sorry!

Its been a small while since you've joined Hermitcraft, and despite your original apprehension as to how well you'll get along, you've fit in perfectly.

The group welcomed your absentminded chaoticness, and eagerly joined in shenanigans.

Yet, above all shone one hermit- who was quite literally a hermit this season. His shiny glowing eyes and welcoming personality, combined with apt for the strange and wonderful, made him so alluring. And that wasn't even touching on his project!

Yes, his project- the sprawling grounds of complex spaghetti redstone and brilliantly decorated caves that wove intricately through the large hole.

Decked out.

It wasn't finished yet- but that wouldn't stop you from trying to explore it! The cold breeze that emanated from the space ruffles your ears and tail, chilling them in the familiar way. You tuck your pickaxe away, sending it into your inventory with a flash of pixels. It was exhilarating breaking in- the pounding of your heart combined with the shaky excited sparks through your limbs only served to drive you further. Maybe this time you'll be able to fully explore the card sorter!

Skittering along a wool line of redstone, you dodge and weave around frankly unsafe contraptions. The glittering messes draw you in, with the promise of secrets and treasures. Whispers of grand prizes and knowledge no ones has keeps you moving. Once at the end of this line, you can see the card sorter, the splay of observers and hoppers making your tail twitch in excitement. Making redstone was fun, but exploring someone else's? especially when not allowed? that was the best.

Eyeing your route down, you begin to slink. Off of the white wool, and down onto a yellow line, then onto an observer, which leads you to a blue line- then you can just put your foot on this extended piston-

CLUNK

Your foot meets nothing but air.

With a screech you plummet- open air surrounds you- your heartbeat fills your head- Eyes screwed shut.

You prepare for respawn.

"OOF- gotcha!"

....You're not dead?

At that realization you open your eyes, ears still pinned back in fear.

A grinning face greets you. Pointed teeth gleaming in the shadowed lighting, dimly glowing blue eyes squinting from the effort. Above that- flickering blue flames leech of his head, calm, content. His presence instantly calms you. Tango.

Going boneless in his arms- he briefly struggles to maintain grip- you sigh.

"I thought I was about to litter my items all over decked out!" You laugh, adrenaline wearing off.

"pft I cant have that! All deathifications must be done inside the dungeon- When the game is actually finished." His tone isn't lost on you, while it was obvious he isn't actually upset, he's scolded you plenty of times for your premature interest in his death game. You crack a guilty smile, trying your best puppy dog eyes.

"Oh i'm sorry- I had no idea! I was just mining and then-"

"Mhm, toootttally." He interrupts, rolling his pupilless eyes. You gasp in offense.

"Hey!- At least let me finish my excuse!"

"I can do whatever I want- I caught you after all." His logic is....sound. He did keep you from losing your levels and well- your head. You sigh, crossing your arms and pouting.

"Fine."

He grins again, starting to walk back towards his storage system- and the exit. Panic fills you, you just got here! you didnt want to leave already, an excuse, you need an- AHA!

"Tannggoooo~" You drawl, leaning further into him, the strange chill that poured from his chest soothing to your warm face. Tango raises an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Yea?"

"Did I mention that I had something for you?"

He squints, debating whether or not it was a ploy.

"No...Is it something I should be concerned about?"

Now its your turn to grin.

"Maaayyybbeeee- do you want it?" You always had a gift for Tango, it was as though every shiny thing you saw reminded you of him, and called to be in his possession. You'd almost say your incessant gift giving was why he kept you around- but he clearly was fond of you too.

Tango huffed, depositing you into one of the plush chairs you pestered him to add into the storage room. It certainly did make it cozier, and he deserves somewhere nice to rest. You pop up, tilting your head. "Is that a no?-"

"I didnt say that-" Tango points an accusing finger at you, "But I still haven't forgotten!" You sigh, flopping over the back of the chair exaggeratedly.

"You give a guy someone else's robotic arm one time!-"

"Doc nearly skinned me!"

"You would make a good rug." You defend. Tango blinks at you a couple times, then sighs, smiling growing.

"Okay fine, i'll bite. What did you get me?"

You grin, wiggling your fingers to summon the blue shulker box you had shoved it into. Painstakingly, you place it down, and slooooowwwly reach for lid-

"Close your eyes~"

Tangos brows furrow in worry, but he obliges, glowing blue pools hidden behind his eyelids. You peel the top of the shulker off and grin inside- your best catch yet. Picking it up delicately, you stand, stepping towards Tango and reaching forwards.

"Open your hands."

He obeys, fingers splayed in curious confusion.

You take half a second to admire the treasure. Shining green surface so smooth and perfect, sturdy and rare. Then, you delicately place it in his hands, and skitter quickly backwards.

His eyes flutter open, brows still furrowed as he takes in the object. Then his face flashes in alarm.

"Oh no- You'll take this back to him this instant!" He thrusts it towards you, and you dodge out of the way. Plucking up the shulker.

"What you don't like it?" You pout, tilting your head and scuttling as he approaches.

"No!" Tango laughs, "Xisuma's glove isn't something you can gift!"

"But he didn't notice! and its shiny and cool!" You protest, unable to hold down the pleased grin splitting your features.

"He will notice! And he'll go looking for it!" Tango insists, trying to corner you, arms held out, flicking the green glove towards you. You weave backwards, matching his every step.

"Nuh uh!" You insist, childishly.

"Yea huh!" Tango replies, giggling. His pure laughter rings in your ears and clenches your heart. Heat rushes to your face- focus, you remind yourself.

Your back meets the wall, and you begin sliding along it, still avoiding taking back the glove. You continue the standoff for a couple seconds- then Tango lunges towards you.

His arms pin either side of you- halting you in your tracks. Pressed against the wall.

"Ha!" He gloats, grinning down at you, "gotcha."

Heat burns your face, your throat closes up, and your knees nearly buckle.

He is gorgeous.

Half lidded blue eyes focused on you, lips parted revealing his pointed fangs while he pants into your space. He seems unaffected, lucky bastard.

Then, a horrible idea.

Slowly, you lean forwards.

"Yep, you got me-" You begin, voice low.

He tenses slightly, breath hitching. For a split second you worry hes uncomfortable, but the sudden addition of deep blue on his face makes your heart soar. "But I haven't even given you the entire gift."

"You...haven't?" He's slightly breathless but manages to keep some suspicion. You nod slowly, now completely in his personal space. Your nose brushes his.

"Nope." You confirm, tilting your head slightly. "Would you like it?"

Theres a beat and you worry he's going to say no- but he nods once. You fight down your grin.

You close the gap- but miss his mouth and press a kiss to the side, just barely brushing lips.

Then, while hes recovering, you duck- weaving out of his arms and sprinting for the bubble elevator up.

"Bye Tango! Enjoy your gift!-" You call, cheeky grin ever present. He sputters.

"You!-" He rushes to the elevator, narrowly missing you as you step in. "I'll have my revenge!" He calls after you.

That's exactly what you were planning on.

[inklessletter]

No, but stay with me for four minutes, yeah? Indulge me, please. Good. Thanks.

Steve is lost. He is so lost after the whole Vecna creep thing, because everything is falling apart. Hawkins is torn into pieces, people are leaving town, and his friends? Max is in a comma, the kids are barely holding up, keeping themselves busy, Nancy doesn't speak to him, Robin is forced by her parents to leave town for college, Jonathan is back in town with his weirdo friend, and so is Hopper, coming back from the fucking dead. Eddie didn't come back from the dead, though. That might have helped with the fact that Dustin is unreachable, he's miles away. Steve knows his heart is in that other fucked up dimension and he can't reach it, he can't fix this problem with his bat, and he can do little more than just to show up, though he's not sure it's doing any good, because the kid ends up crying every time.

Steve doesn't know what his role is anymore. He goes here and there, helping with what he can, but he's fucking lost. He doesn't know how to help. He found his platonic soulmate and she's not there anymore, she left in June. He is not the babysitter because the kids don't need him. He is not the king, hasn't been for a while. He's not a serial dater. He's not a business man like his father.

He is no one, and if he's someone he doesn't know who he is.

In a desperate attempt to make Dustin smile, he takes him to Salt Lake City to see Suzie, to spend a few days with her. He pays for gas, and food and the few nights they stay there, at a nearby hotel. He refuses to take a penny from Claudia.

The worst part is that Dustin is trying to smile, forcing himself to show happy and glad, Steve can see. But those big dorky smiles that always made his eyes shrink? Those smiles don't go anywhere, and it breaks Steve's heart, because the kid is trying, for him.

He sees Suzie for the first time and she's quick, and bright, and funny and pretty much how Dustin described her. Steve likes her immediately, so he chaperones them, and takes them out so they can have a proper date. Suzie's sister is also chaperoning. Eden. He trusts her right away, for some reason. She's nice. She is snarky, witty, always with that vague cloud of annoyance around her. She's pretty, and the whole witch schtick really suits her.

She's not as mysterious or mean as she think she is, though, because he sees how Eden looks at Suzie and there is fondness there. Steve's thinking that he relates to her and that's why he can see the love behind her foul mouthed comments.

They let the kids wander around the mall, they let them being kids, and meanwhile Steve and Eden talk about nothing, and a bit of everything. It is when she mentions how much she wants to get the hell out of Salt Lake City when Steve suddenly realizes that Eden reminds him of Eddie. They look so alike, and Steve's heart skips a beat because the resemblance is uncanny, in every aspect.

God even the name is similar.

Something has switched and Eden has noticed it, and asks Steve what's wrong. And Steve tells her.

Steve tells Eden about Eddie, minus the Upside Down shit, he tells her everything.

What was Eddie like, what he meant to the kids, to Dustin specifically, he talks about his anarchy inclinations, that he was a guitarist and was part of a metal band. He tells her about how he was unfairly treated by his hometown, how he was accused of things he didn't do, and he's both sad and surprised to learn that Eden has heard about him in the news.

When Eden asks how he died, he only tells her that Eddie was protecting Dustin.

Dustin and Suzie are in a tech store comparing and about weird discussing items, Steve and Eden are outside the store, when she comments that it is a very metal way to go. He agrees with a wet whisper, because he's doing everything in his hand to not cry.

Steve is so concentrated that he feels that Eden is putting something in his hand a bit too late. It's a stone. It's pretty, warm. He doesn't know what it means when she says that it'll help him. He doesn't ask, just smiles at her.

And Eden switches the topic and they end up talking about worst times babysitting these fucking kids because they love to get in trouble. They bond. Steve and Eden, he is comfortable with her, and she seems to be, too.

Steve can't take Eddie of his thoughts now, and wonders if their could have had this kind of thing, too, where they bitch about the kids being kids and they cleaning up their messes and swearing not to do it again, but they do it again, and again, and again. He wonders if he's finding Eden pretty just because she somehow feels like Eddie, and that is so unfair to her, but he can't help it.

By the last date they chaperone before Steve and Dustin have to go back to Hawkins, Steve already knows about Eden being a wicca. She practices rituals, and can make tarot readings, and all. Steve always thought that it was nonsense that he couldn't fully understand, he was never into it. But then Eden offers to make a tarot reading for him, and Steve sees Dustin and Suzie cuddling in their picnic blanket, stargazing, and he thinks why not.

He doesn't know anything anymore. He feels open to new things, and he trusts Eden. It's a fact that he doesn't need to understand shit for it to happen, anyways.

Steve fidgets with the stone in his pocket when he agrees, and Eden asks Steve to ask the deck for an answer, and he wonders about himself, about who he is, and then Eden puts some cards in front of him and talks about his past, his present and his future, according to the cards. And the thing is, that it is pretty accurate when it talks about the past, he relates to what she says. He can see it, know what she's talking about. Things she couldn't possibly know, they are not that close.

He is intrigued, and invested, and asks her more things about the deck, how it works, how she knows what they say. She tells her what she knows, which is not really enough, but he's happy to hear her talk, so convinced. Talks about a manual she learnt everything from and she can't possibly place where it is now. She's in her element and then Steve realizes he's going to miss her, and thinks that next time he's bringing Robin because they might get along well.

They part ways that night, and they hug tight, and he hugs Suzie, too. She has the audacity to apologize for having to spend so much time with his meanest sister. Eden calls her little shit, and he sees Eddie in her again, and he laughs.

Yeah, he's definitely going to miss her.

Dustin is in a very much better mood now. He even smiles that way it reaches to his eyes.

They go back home, and they take a break in a service area. There are books and toys and souvenirs there.

He buys a tarot deck and brings it home. He sets it in his night stand, and over it, it rests Eden's stone.