#in this au the byers didn't move to california

[unfinishedslurs]

gay bar (steddie)

“Well, well, well,” says a voice from behind. “Steeeeeeve Harrington. I must be dreaming.”

Steve turns around to see a guy, dressed in black and chains. Rings decorating his fingers, studs in his ears, curly hair pulled back in a ponytail. He’s hot, yeah, but something about him has Steve squinting, trying to figure out why he looks so familiar. 

“I know you from somewhere,” he says, pointing out the obvious. The guy knows his name.

The not-a-stranger snorts. “Of course you don’t remember me. Why would the likes of King Steve stoop to—“

As soon as the nickname leaves his mouth, Steve’s brain lights up. “Munson!” He exclaims, snapping his fingers. “You used to climb on the lunch tables to give speeches.”

It was so obnoxious, too. The kind of thing that had him and Robin reminiscing late at night, celebrating some of the weirder shit about Hawkins that didn’t come from monsters, or Russians, or government conspiracy. Remember that one asshole? Yeah, he stepped on my lunch one time!

Condolences to Robin’s pb&j. She never sat at that table again.

Munson’s whole face turns pink. “Seriously? That’s what you remember?”

“It was pretty fucking memorable, dude. Like, gross, doesn’t this guy know not to put his feet where people eat? Dustin thought you were so cool for it too. I had to nip that in the bud before he started imitating you or some shit.”

“Oh,” he says, voice gone flat. “Because God forbid some poor kid try to immolate the freak.”

Steve gives him his bitchiest, most deadpan stare. “Feet,” he says slowly. “Nasty, fifteen year old boy feet. On my kitchen table. He almost slipped and cracked his skull, and I would have sent you the hospital bill.”

He had to get creative to make him stop, too. Stood there, hands on his hips, and made Dustin tell him exactly how many germs he thought were on his shoes. Then when he tried to do it barefoot, decided the only course of action was to stuff Dustin’s abandoned sock in his mouth and ask if he wanted that shit with every meal. Erica still has the photos. 

Munson has the decency to look embarrassed, face flooding an even brighter red that wouldn’t be out of place in a tomato patch. “What are you even doing here, Harrington?”

What does he think Steve’s doing here? It’s a fucking gay bar, it’s pretty self explanatory. “My friend is here somewhere,” he says, waving out at the crowd of people. “She’s going through a dry spell, so…”

“Right,” Munson says. Steve squints at him. Does he look disappointed?

Eh. Doesn’t matter. 

“You gave my kids the best freshman year of their nerdy little lives,” he tells him, because he knows Dustin would want him to. Plus, the guy was Mike’s gay awakening. He should probably get some credit. “So thanks for that.”

He lights up. “Yeah! How was Hellfire in my absence?”

“I had to hear them bitch and moan for months about how it ‘wasn’t the same,’ but it’s doing pretty all right. Erica Sinclair is running it now.”

“Erica Sinclair…” Munson mutters, snapping his fingers. “Lucas Sinclair’s little sister? Lady Applejack?” He beams when Steve nods. “She kicked ass. Best finish to a campaign my entire high school career. How’s Lucas, anyway? And the rest of the runts.”

“He’s doing great,” Steve says. “College basketball at Yale. Pretty sure he’s dying under the workload, but that’s what you get for majoring in physics. Dustin’s at MIT, and Mike’s taking a gap year.”

He whistles lowly. “Yeesh, I don’t blame him. How about Byers?”

“Which one?”

“Zombie boy.” Steve’s hackles raise, but Munson just grins. “God, that nickname was badass.”

“How do you even know about that?”

Munson taps the side of his nose. “A magician never reveals his secrets. Besides, all it took for you to remember me was calling you by your high school nickname.”

“That wasn’t my nickname.” Steve rolls his eyes. “Literally three people ever actually called me that, and you were one of them.”

He has a feeling it was Tommy who started it, bitter and vicious. Told himself Steve was self possessed, high and mighty, above it all. That’s why he left his old friends behind. Not because he was in love, or because he wanted to be better. No, King Steve just sits alone in his castle, looking down on the peasants with contempt. 

Billy must have taken his angry ramblings and run with them. After all, what better way to get a start in a new town than declaring yourself royalty? Never mind that Steve hadn’t cared about anything like that for almost a year by then. 

Munson had just been a drama-loving asshole. 

“That can’t be right.”

“I stopped being popular in junior year. Why the hell would anyone call a sophomore King?” Steve points out. 

“You were Prom King.”

“Again, in junior year. Pickings were slim. Who else would it have been? Tommy?” He has to laugh. 

Luckily, Munson takes the hint and swerves the conversation into new territory. “You know, I always figured you’d be homophobic.”

Steve snorts. “What, and get kicked out for nothing?”

Munson stares at him, and Steve furrows his brow, looking into his glass like it will have the answer to why the hell he said that to this guy he barely knows. He just decided he wasn’t going to spill all his daddy issues to a near-stranger in a dingy bar, dammit. Is he already on his fifth drink?

Actually, this might be his sixth. That tracks. 

“What?”

“My dad caught me kissing a boy,” he says. If he’s going to give Munson his life story, he might as well commit. “Can you believe that boy ruined my life in three different ways? Two of them didn’t even have anything to do with the gay thing.” 

Maybe four ways, if you accounted for the way he broke his goddamn heart, but everyone and their mother saw that coming a mile away. Even Steve. Especially Steve. 

No offense to Jonathan. None of those things were really his fault. Or actually life ruining, but it sure fucking felt like it at the time. 

He should give him a call soon, actually, see how he and Argyle are doing. He misses the guy. Maybe he and Robin should save up for a visit to Cali. Get Nancy on it. They could see San Francisco while they were there, that’d be cool. Apparently it was the queer capital of the country. 

He’s thinking about asking the bartender for a napkin and a pen to write down the plans he’s forming when Munson speaks up again. Steve honestly forgot he was here. 

“I thought you said you were here for a friend.”

What?” Steve blinks, confused, and then catches on. “Yeah, to get her laid. I’m not in the mood right now.”

Munson cocks an eyebrow. “Wearing that? Could’ve fooled me.”

Steve looks down at his Springsteen T-Shirt that Robin cropped, and picks at the frayed hem of his shorts. Okay, yeah, they’re on the skimpy side, but in his defense it’s summer and even if he’s not cruising Steve likes being looked at. “Yeah, yeah. What about you? Here for anything in particular?”

“Just to talk to some pretty boys,” Munson says, leaning on the bar to flag down the bartender. Steve smirks, reaching out a hand to tug at the hanky in his back pocket. Pinned, damn. 

Munson whirls around, a flush starting to crawl onto his ears. 

“Wearing that?” Steve echos snarkily. “Could’ve fooled me.”

He swears that for a minute Munson’s eyes darken. 

He’s almost tempted to follow through, high school reputation be damned, when someone crashes into his side and nearly sends him careening. 

“Steeeeeve,” Robin yells happily into his ear. “This is Bernie, she’s gonna take me home, see you la—oh, hi!” She says, noticing Munson. “I know you from somewhere.”

“Eddie Munson,” Munson greets. “Steve and I went to high school together.”

“Munson! That’s it, you climbed on tables and had shit music. I’m Robin. Okay, I’ll call the apartment and leave a message when we get there. Bernie’s waiting on me, it’s-nice-to-meet-you-bye!” Just like that, she’s gone. 

Munson’s mouth has dropped open. “You told her I had shit music?” He demands. “Wait, you talked about me?”

“She went to school with us, dumbass,” he says, as if he can talk. He still barely remembers her as more than a vague, glowering figure in his peripheral. “It’s not my fault you blasted your screamy music for everyone in the parking lot. Such a fucking headache, God.”

Munson turns his nose up. “Sorry for having offended your jock sensibilities.”

“Oh, I don’t play anymore,” he says, and knocks on his head. “Concussions, yanno. Apparently brain damage will fuck you up. Who knew?”

“What, like the fight you had with Byers? He did you that bad?”

“He did me just fine,” Steve blurts out, before he can stop himself. Munson chokes. “Shit, sorry, I’m kind of a horny drunk.” Weird thing to say, Steve. “Also, I cannot stress enough how much I needed to be punched in the face. It was a monumental moment for me, you know. Started me on the path for changing my entire worldview. Plus, he was my first guy crush.” He swirls his empty glass, lost in thought, before brightening up. “I should call him!”

Munson is staring at him, mouth opening and closing like a fish. 

“What?”

“You’re drunk.”

“Well, yeah. Duh.”

“I should probably stop you from booty-calling the guy who punched you in the face.”

Steve wrinkles his nose. “It wouldn’t be a booty-call,” he says. “He and Argyle are happy together, man. I’m not gonna ruin that.”

“Oh, so you’d call him because…”

“I call him all the time,” Steve says, confused as to why this is such a big deal. “We’re friends.”

“Jonathan!” He yells happily into the pay phone. Munson is standing to the side, looking on in annoyance. Whatever, it’s not like Steve asked him to do this. “Jonathan, man, how are you?”

“…Steve?”

“Yeah!”

“It’s like…” he hears something clatter in the background, like Jonathan is looking for something, “two in the morning there. You okay?”

“I’m doing great!” He exclaims. “How about you? It’s been ages, man, I miss you.”

“This is so fucking weird,” Munson whispers behind him. Steve ignores him. 

“Are you drunk?”

“No,” he says. “Well, maybe a little. Do you not miss me too?” He pouts, and Jonathan sighs loud enough he hears it over the phone. 

“I just talked to you yesterday.”

Steve frowns. “Yesterday? That can’t be right, it’s been, like, forever. Oh, hey, have you heard from Nance lately? How’s your mom? I love your mom, she’s so fucking cool. Does she know I think she’s cool? How’s Will? It’s been so long, is he taller than me yet? How’s Argyle doing with his degree? I miss you guys.”

“We miss you too, Steve.”

“Awww, Byers, getting soppy on me? Gross, man.”

“You literally just—yeah, okay. Are you alone?”

“Nah, I’ve got this guy with me, he’s walking me home. Oh! Dude, do you remember Munson?”

“Munson?”

“Yeah, Eddie Munson! From high school! The one who used to climb on tables and shit, remember him?”

“Jesus Christ,” Munson groans. “Please let that die.”

“No one is dying,” Steve informs him seriously, and turns back to the phone. Munson sighs. 

“Wasn’t he a drug dealer?”

“Yes! Yeah, drug dealer Munson! Did you ever buy from him?” He turns to where Munson is looking around furtively. “Did Jonathan ever buy from you?”

“How about we not talk about this here,” Munson says through gritted teeth. Steve sighs and turns back to the phone. 

“Never mind, he says he doesn’t want to talk about that. Not like we can judge him, but whatever. Maybe the guy’s turned into a prude—“

“Okay, give me that.” Munson wrestles the phone out of his hand, and Steve whines at him. “Hey, Byers,” Munson says. “Yeah, it’s Eddie. Or Munson. Whatever. Listen, I’m getting kind of sick of standing here watching Harrington slobber all over the receiver, can he call you tomorrow? What? No, I don’t sell anymore—yeah, total bummer, whatever. Listen, I’ll get him home safe—no, I’m not going to serial murder him. He’s gonna be fine, he’ll call you tomorrow—Nancy Wheeler? Like that girl he dated? Didn’t you—shoot me? Jesus, okay! I’m not gonna kill the guy, Christ. He’s gonna be fine, oh my God. He’ll call you tomorrow. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah, okay. Bye.” He slams the phone into its holder with more than a little contempt. 

“Hey!” Steve protests. “You didn’t let me say bye.”

“You can call him tomorrow and apologize,” Munson says. “Now c’mon, Harrington. I’ve been tasked with getting you home safe, and if I fail, apparently Nancy fucking Wheeler is going to shoot me in the balls.”

“Oh, yeah, she’s really hot when she does that,” Steve says fondly, and Munson splutters. 

“What, does Wheeler just go around shooting people? Does she even have a gun?”

“Of course Nancy has a gun.” Steve frowns. It was one of the sure things in the universe at this point. The sky is blue, Hawkins is fucked up, and Nancy Wheeler has a gun. “And she doesn’t shoot people, stupid. Well, she shot at Billy, but he deserved it.”

“Billy?” Munson mutters, starting to usher Steve in the direction of home. “Who the fuck is Billy?”

“He was trying to kill her first!” Steve defends. “I hit him with a car before he could, so she was okay.”

“Okay, yeah, sure. Why wouldn’t you hit some guy with a car? 

“It wasn’t some guy,” Steve says. “It was Billy. He was, like, possessed or some shit. Oh, and he beat me up. Total psycho.  And that was before the melted flesh monster.”

Munson stops and stares at him. “You know what, sure. Demonic possession. Yeah, okay. Some guy named Billy kicked your ass—wait, are you talking about Billy Hargrove?”

Steve lights up. “Yeah! You remember that? That’s one of the concussions I was talking about. I gotta wear glasses 'cuza that shit. Man, fuck that guy.”

“Didn’t he die?”

“Oh, yeah,” Steve frowns down at the ground. “Shit, I’m, like, speaking ill of the dead, aren’t I? Max wouldn't like that. Unfuck him, or whatever.”

“You wanna come up?” He asks. “For old times sake?”

Munson stares at him like it’s the craziest thing he’s said all evening. “‘Old times’ was your asshole friends calling me a satan worshiper and pushing me around in hallways, Harrington.”

“I know.” He grins. If he was sober he’d definitely feel worse about that, but as it is he’s pretty single minded. “Don't you kind of want to make me cry about it?”

Deer in headlights isn’t usually a good look, but Munson’s got the eyes to make it work. Or Steve is drunk. Either way, it’s kinda cute. 

“You’re drunk,” he finally says, stumbling over the words a little. If Steve pays close attention and ignores most of reality, it almost sounds like he’s trying to convince both of them. “You’re so incredibly drunk.”

“I’m not that drunk.” He totally is. 

“I just had to supervise you calling Jonathan Byers so you didn’t say something you’d regret in the morning.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Steve asks, offended. “I love Jonathan! I tell him all the time. Just because I said he ruined my life—“

“That was him?”

“Did I not say that? Huh. Whatever. Point is, I’m not that drunk.”

“You’re definitely drunk,” Munson says. “I’m not—yeah, no. I’m not coming up.”

“Damn.” Steve shrugs, not too put out about it. It’s a bummer, sure, but he handles rejection like a champ. Just ask Robin. “Worth a shot. See you ‘round, Munson.”

“Don’t kill me,” Steve says. 

“Oh, god, did you punch him?”

“No, I, uh.” Steve rubs the bridge of his nose. “I think I tried to fuck him.”

He has to hold the phone away from his face so Dustin’s screeching doesn’t break his eardrums. 

“Your exes are weirdly protective of you,” Munson says blandly. “Also, didn’t they date?”

“Yeah,” Steve shrugs, not exactly eager to start spilling his life story again now that he’s sober. Munson doesn’t need to know more about his dating history than he already does. “We’re all a little weird about each other, sorry.”

“Weird about your exes,” he hums. “No wonder you’re single.”

“Oh, fuck you. It’s not like that.”

He raises an eyebrow. “No?”

“Are you always this nosy?” Steve asks, a little waspish. 

“Absolutely,” Munson replies without hesitation. “I’d say sorry, but I’m not. When did you even date him?”

“Dude.”

Munson just cocks an expectant eyebrow, hip resting against the bar. He can’t imagine why someone would be so interested in the romantic lives of their old high school classmates. It’s not like Steve is about to ask what was going on between him and Chrissy Cunningham. 

“Well, Harrington?”

“First grade,” Steve answers, deadpan. He grins when Munson chokes. “Nah, it was actually after he and Nancy broke up. Fall of ‘86.”

Arms squeeze him from behind, and Robin slides into view, leaving one hand wrapped pointedly around Steve’s waist. She gets clingy when she thinks someone is bothering him, or when she’s just on the side of drunk that she gets possessive. She told him, embarrassed and hungover, that it’s because she registers someone he’s getting along with as infringing on “her Steve time.” Steve thinks it’s hilarious and kind of sweet, an obvious lesbian trying to pretend he’s her date. Especially because he gets the same way when he’s tipsy and feels like he doesn’t have enough of her attention, so she can't yell at him for being a cockblock. Cuntblock. Whatever the lesbians call it.

He wonders what category she thinks Eddie is. Of guy, that is. Not block-anything.

He'd actually be pretty damn happy if the guy miraculously changed his mind and decided to sit on his cock instead.

“What’s going on here?” She asks, almost cattily. He loves when Robin gets bitchy. It brings him back to their Scoops days, except he gets to see it turned on someone else. 

“I’m telling Eddie my life story,” Steve says blithely.

“Ugh. Who would want that?”

Eddie grins. “I’m curious about the adventures of a former king.” He dips his head in a bow, waving his hand in a flourish. “I don’t know if you remember me from last time, I’m Eddie—“

“Munson, I know. You stepped on my lunch in junior year.”

Eddie turns beet red in record time. 

“Aww, Robbie,” Steve almost coos. “Leave him alone. I wanted to be the one who made him blush like that.”

“It’s not my fault your boy’s easy.”

“Not my boy, clearly,” he mutters under his breath. “And if he were easy, I’d have gotten fucked by now.”

Eddie’s mouth drops open with a choked little sound. Whoops. Steve forgot volume control again. 

Robin takes one look at Eddie’s face and bursts into cackles. 

“He was asking about,” he waved a hand in the air, “the whole Nancy-Jonathan thing.”

Her eyebrows jut up. “You told him about the threesome?”

“The what?”

Steve sighs. “No, Robin. I did not tell him about the threesome.”

“…oops.”

“When?” Eddie demands. 

Robin gives him the evil eye. “Why are you being weird about this? It’s not gonna make him fuck you.”

Steve wisely keeps his mouth shut. 

Eddie does not. “Your boy here already asked,” he smirks, leaning closer. “I said no.”

Then, as an added punch to his ego, he twirls a strand of Steve’s hair around his finger and tugs slightly. Steve’s too stunned to protest. 

Robin watches the exchange. “Oh, no thank you,” she says. “Nope. I’m out. I don’t want to see whatever this is. Ugh, stop making me hear about your sex life.”

Hypocrite. “We have thin walls, Buckley,” Steve reminds her. He turns to Eddie and stage whispers, “She likes her girls loud.”

“Steve!”

“You do!”

“Oh, because you’re so quiet,” she snaps, smacking him. “How many times have I had to bang on the wall because you couldn’t keep it down? You wanna talk about loud? I know more about you than I ever wanted to.”

His mouth drops open in mortification. “You know it’s rude to be mean to the man who told you how to eat out,” he hisses. 

“I’m not dying without fucking Eddie Munson,” he declares. “I mean, his high school nickname was literally ‘The Freak.’ He’s got to be good in bed, right?”

“I think that was mostly because everyone thought he was communing with the Devil or something.”

“Maybe the Devil gave him sex magic.”

“Of course he thinks I’m cute.”

“I do?”

“Do you not?” Steve turns to him, widening his eyes in the same pout that always has Robin throwing something at his face, or the kids reluctantly agreeing to do what he wants. He’s found it’s useful for guys too, especially if he ducks his head to seem smaller and looks through his eyelashes. Makes them imagine him looking like that on his knees. 

Munson is no exception. He melts faster than Steve can say gotcha. “You’re very cute, Harrington,” he purrs, and Robin snorts into her drink. 

“You’re a weak, weak man, Eddie Munson,” she tells a blushing Eddie. Then she kicks Steve. “Stop bringing out the ‘fuck me’ eyes when I’m around, I’ll gag.”

“You could leave.”

She gasps, affronted, and kicks him harder.

“So you would fuck me if I wasn’t drunk?”

“Uh…” he looks everywhere but Steve’s face, which is just rude. He has a very nice face. He’s been called dreamy before. 

Which made Robin laugh so hard she fell off the couch when he told her, but he’ll take the lesbian’s opinion with a grain of salt. 

He makes his way onto the dance floor. He’s not a particularly good dancer, but he shakes his ass like he means it. Gets up close with a guy, stares at Eddie the whole time. Keeping eye contact as the guy puts his hands on his hips. 

Look, he means to say. This could be you. You could lose your chance if you’re not careful. 

From the burning in Eddie’s eyes, he gets the message. 

The message is a bunch of bullshit. It’s been over four months, he’s in too deep to go fuck off with someone else now. Still, he enjoys the way Eddie’s hands flex on his thighs, like he had to stop himself from reaching out. 

The thing is, Steve’s not an asshole. He can take a hint. No means no, and all that jazz. If Eddie really didn’t want him, he’d fuck right off and find someone who did. He even started to.

Except Eddie pouted up a storm when he flirted with someone else. Got even clingier when Steve tried to back off. At this point, he’s accepted that Eddie does want to fuck him, and maybe even be more (no one flirts with someone as long as they’ve been doing without wanting something like a relationship out of it. At least, he hopes there’s something more on the horizon), but has some weird hang up about Steve being even a little bit buzzed when it happens. Even though they only ever see each other at this fucking bar.

The problem is Steve has no idea when Eddie will be at the bar. He’ll stay sober one night, hoping to see him, and then go home alone only for next time to be when he sees telltale curls and a wide smile. It’s driving him up the wall. 

Robin has been similarly affected.

“It’s been six months,” she growls as Steve looks eagerly around. “Six fucking months of you two dancing around in the worlds most annoying mating ritual. I’m going to kill both of you.”

“We’re not that bad,” he says absently. 

“You don’t even have his phone number. It’s pathetic. I swear to God, if you see him again and don’t get laid I’m reviving the scoops board. I will go out and buy a whiteboard to keep track of all the times you strike out with a man who used to walk on tables. He stepped on my lunch, Steve. Do I need to keep bringing up the fact he stepped on my delicious, nutritious PB&J? I can’t believe that’s the guy you decide to be obsessed with, that’s so fucking embarrassing for you.”

“Embarrassing? You mean like your crush on my ex girlfriend?”

She screeches wordlessly, pulling her keychain off her belt loop and attacking him with it. 

Naturally, that’s how Eddie finds them. 

“I swear you guys get weirder every time I see you.”

Steve grins guilelessly at him, holding a flailing Robin in a headlock. 

“Eddie! Hey! It’s been a minute.” He hasn’t been able to come in a month, and it’s been longer since he’s seen him. It’s honestly one of the deciding factors on whether it’s a passing fancy or a full blown crush. He still went to sleep every night thinking about Eddie. It didn’t even have to be about sex. 

Although maybe not sleeping with anyone else for half a year should have tipped him off sooner. 

“Sure has, big boy. I was starting to think you were getting sick of me.” It’s a joke, but Steve catches an undercurrent of insecurity. 

“That’d make my life easier,” Robin snorts. She finally wiggles her way out of his hold. “I saw Arty somewhere around here, I’m gonna see if I can crash at her place tonight.” She levels Eddie with a look. “He hasn’t had anything to drink. If you don’t put him out of his misery, I will. And it won’t be the good kind. It will be the bad kind. With bad screams. Lots of screaming, and someone will call the pigs, and I’ll be arrested and jailed for life. Do you want me to go to jail, Munson?”

Eddie shakes his head dumbly. 

“Good! Then do something about it.” She slaps Steve’s back, a mocking echo of his jock days. “Go get ‘em, slugger!” 

With that, she’s gone, disappearing into the crowd. 

“She is,” Steve remarks with amusement, “the worst wingman on planet Earth. Mars too, probably.”

“I dunno, I think it might be working.”

“I’m not doing anything without a condom,” he says, eyes narrowed like he’s waiting for an argument. 

“Me neither,” Steve agrees. “Robin has, like, this big fear of diseases. Totally got me with it. She pulled out the library books, those pictures were fucking disgusting. Shit showed up in my dreams, man. Neither of us do anything without protection.”

“I’m going to be totally honest with you, because I haven’t been and it’s starting to eat at me,” Eddie says, hovering above Steve. 

Steve wrinkles his nose. “What is it? Are you a spy or something? Are you Russian? Do you have superpowers? Is your name not actually Eddie?” He pauses. “Oh, God, you’re not even Eddie Munson, are you? I’m just some asshole who’s been calling you by my old classmates name and you were too embarrassed to correct me. Shit, we made so much fun of you for walking on tables too—“

“What?” Eddie covers his mouth, expression hovering between amused and baffled. “What the fuck, why would I go along with that? No, Jesus, I’m Eddie Munson. Moved to Hawkins when I was eleven, took senior year three times, walked on the fucking tables, could you let that go?” He moves the hand covering Steve’s mouth to play with his hair, looking annoyed for a minute before it smoothes to trepidation. “No, I, uh, I just felt like I needed to tell you that I used to have a hate-boner for you in high school. Like, I used to jack it to the thought of kicking your ass and making a mess outta you. In more ways than one.”

Steve stares. 

“Also, that’s kind of why I approached you in the bar in the first place,” Eddie blabbers on. “And then you said you were just there for a friend, and I was disappointed but it’s whatever, yanno? And then then you told me about your dad, and threw my expectations to the fucking wolves, and then you asked me to come up to your apartment except you were drunk and you probably didn’t mean it. But then the next time I saw you, you kept flirting with me, which you were not supposed to do, and I kept pretending that wasn’t the reason I even talked to you in the first place, and, uh, yeah.” He smiles nervously. “Surprise?”

“I mean, not really.”

“You’re such an asshole, fuck off. At least pretend to be shocked.”

“It’s not my fault you stare at my legs all the time,” Steve says, affronted. “I know I didn’t do too good in school, but I’m not dumb enough to miss that. Like, hello, my eyes are up here.”

Eddie lets his arms give out, flopping on top of Steve heavily. Steve wheezes. “Am I really that obvious?” He whines into his shoulder. 

“You got sad and pouty when I even looked at another guy.”

“You could’ve fucked him,” he mumbles. “The guy you were dancing with. It wasn’t any of my business. I’m a big boy, I can deal.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t want to fuck him,” Steve says. “I wanted to fuck you. Can we go back to that please?”

“Thought I was fucking you.”

“Someone’s getting fucked or Robin will kill both of us. I’d like to live tomorrow morning. And not have to deal with any more of her teasing for having no game.”

“You have unfortunate amounts of game,” Eddie sighs, tracing the side of Steve’s neck. It tickles. “It’s kind of embarrassing for me.”

“Yeah, yeah, are we using those condoms or not, Moodkiller?”

“Oh, I’m the mood killer?”

“Yes,” Steve says matter of factly, and pulls him in for a kiss before he can protest.

[perexcri]

fic recs!!

i woke up to being on a couple of fic rec lists and really appreciated it, so i wanted to capitalize on the nice energy and make a list of some of my own favs that i've read recently that i didn't necessarily see on the other lists :D check these out because they have some of the best prose/plots/characterization that i've read in the fandom :] 💜

one soft infested summer (M, 18k+, 3/7 ongoing) by @wheelersboy - this one is perfect for all the highler fans out there! it's got stoner byler of course, a music festival, lots out camping, and some really amazing writing! i started it just for the fun stoner vibes because Why Not, but i'm staying for the beautiful writing and the really complex and delicate relationship mike and will have in this one

Light Sleepers (T, 15k+, 2/6 ongoing) by @helioleti - WillEl-centric fic set during the time gap between the end of s3 and the beginning of s4 that explores their dynamic and their respective problems with mike, all while trying to cope with moving across the country from everything they know. each chapter is meant to reflect a certain stage of grief, which fits so well with all the complicated emotions everyone is going through!

drank my poison all alone (T, 4k, one-shot) by silverluminoqity - mike gets vecna'd and has to face his past self who's ashamed of who he's grown up to be, and my dudes the writing goes SO HARD. by far one of the best mike gets vecna'd fics i've read with such a good take on his character

star eater (T, >1k, one-shot) by @lowlightt - another fic where the writing does not play. honestly if you have a few minutes, READ THIS FIC. it's mostly just a confrontation between will and vecna, but it's so so powerful and impactful. and again, i cannot state it enough: the writing is AMAZING

tell me again (you said yes) (M, 32k, 3/3 complete) by @willow-lark - hey remember when cleradin was like a Thing for a brief second a few months ago? well if you miss those vibes, or if you just like great writing and some of the best weaving of canon into a fantasy au i've ever read, please look no further than this fic (and it's first part, fireball him! (cast protection)). i love this one dearly and enjoyed the wonderful ways Lark wove canon (specifically s1) into such a different setting, plus it was nice to see many of the other characters play a role in the events. beautiful, astounding, heart-wrenching - and did i mention there's an elopement 👀

In Undertow (M, 17k+, 3/6 on-going) by @souverian-are-we - this and one soft infested summer have become my summer byler reads~ when i say i love this fic, i mean you will have to pry it from my cold, dead hands 🥰 we've got estranged byler, jancy engagement with some stoncy going on in the background, and most of the characters still reeling from the consequences of their final battle with the upside down. it's all set at a lake house, which provides some breathtaking/atmospheric writing that this author uses to their advantage. it has some of my favorite scenes i've ever read in fic too, ones that have literally taken my breath away

california show your teeth (T, 77k+, 10/19 on-going) by @fireflywitch - what if the Byers and Hopper families were from Lenora and moved to Hawkins? this fic takes this one simple premise and turns it into one of my favorite fics i've ever had the pleasure of following along with. it essentially functions as a retelling of s1 and s2, gives almost every main character that's been featured in the show thus far a lot of time and space for their own plots, all while culminating into one larger story underneath. i don't think i've read a fic quite like this one in terms of its scope, plotting, and characterization, because there are a lot of moving parts, but this author goes above and beyond. i cannot recommend it enough

all i know is pouring rain (and everything has changed) (T, 3k, one-shot) by @willelfanpage - i think i read this one at the beginning of my workday while i was running some report on my computer and had to go about the rest of my day as if everything was fine ahah :'D seriously though, it's 3k words that pack an emotional punch all while examining will's relationship to rain. the writing is just gorgeous, and it's a character study that i haven't really seen done before, which was quite enjoyable~

Chasing Heartlines by (T, 7k+, 1/2 on-going) @cherryisgone - if you liked Tip-Toeing on Lilypads then may i direct you to its sequel, which features so much pining mike that he might as well be a tree? again, if you like cleradin/fantasy aus, then Cherry my beloved has you covered 💜 it fits so neatly with Lilypads and provides some fun contrast between will and mike~

Touch Me Like You Know Me (M, 15k, 4/4 complete) by @starsarefire824 - this exists in the rare pantheon of fics that actually made me cry. imagine an estranged byler reunion with all the emotions turned up to an eleven, and lots of lingering on lost time and how life sometimes takes us places we never thought we'd go. it's absolutely beautiful and is a classic to me :]

come back to me and forgive everything (T, 78k, 18/18 complete) by @howtobecomeadragon - i saw a lot about this one when it was on-going but am only just now getting around to reading it, and all i can say is why did it take me so long to get to it :') this author does such a good job of writing will and mike's relationship with a lot of nuance and complexity while still managing to make them feel like the teenagers they are. basically, will has to spend every july at lonnie's house in indianapolis, and for this summer in particular, the event is a lot more emotionally impactful for both mike and will. there's lots of emotional depth, the complexities of coming out and/or realizing you're queer, and, at the heart of it, how two friends try to mend things between each other. it's so soft and sweet

that's all i've got for now!! i'm quickly running out of time on my lunch break :'D also haven't been writing as much, but it's been fun to read more and relax a bit. hope you guys enjoy these because they're genuinely some of the best stuff i've had the pleasure to read in a while 💜💜💜

[solwhynot]

Hello tumblr, i give you this Stranger Things x Percy Jackson Au because i love both and with the show coming out i had to finally draw it

After the thingy there will be my headcanons/how i imagine the Au plus some closeups ^^

So i separrated the seasons as years, yes i did it so every season gets its own bead (also will make it easier to navigate the timeline lol) For now just byler in this au, but if y'all like it i'll talk more about it, so, ekhem:

• In this Au both Wheelers and Byers still live in Hawkins, i wanted to highlight that these two have been friends longer than others and overall just spent more time together (Yes, this will make the California move way more painfull than if they had never lived close, yes i do love my angst)

• Both Will and Jonathan are sons of Poseidon (it just makes sense to me idk why, i will not elaborate further rn)

•Mike and Nancy are actually children of Nike (You can't look me straight in the eyes and tell me that Karen had never been with a woman) but because its the 80s and PJO plot is like semi canon in this Au, the minor gods still weren't claiming their children, and both of them will stay unclaimed until i feel like writing an arc. But it will 100% give them a feeling like they're lesser than others and the need to prove themselves. Which i feel like is pretty close to the way they act in the canon

•In the Au The Upside Down is just Tartarus, so yeah, basically hell

•The story itself is similiar (almost the same) as the show just happening in the PJO universe

•Since Mike is unclaimed and has to sleep in the Hermes Cabin (for context Steve, Carol and Tommy are all kids of Hermes, so its kind of a nightmare to stay there, especially in the first few years) he often sneaks into the Poseidon Cabin and has sleepovers with Will

• '83 is actually their second or third (i didn't think this through yet ) year at camp, cause thats when they meet El, and the Party knows each other for some time now

•Hopper is a horse ( a centaur technically but it sounds funnier), this has nothing to do with Byler but i just find that really funny

After all that reading have some nice closeups as a reward

Also prepare yourselves for absolutely horrendous low quallity horses

[silversoulstardust]

au where the byers didn't move to california and steve and eddie are close friends of jonathan and after nancy broke up with jonathan over college choices steve and eddie planned a summer trip to california with jonathan to cheer him up

argyle enters the chat when he delivered late night pizza order at a cheap beachside motel to a bunch of guys who are high off their assess. jonathan answered the door and it's love at the first sight for argyle. and with one look at his red eyes and one whiff of the air around him argyle can immediately tell what these lot are doing, to which he proposes purple palm tree delight in exchange for free pizza and just to chill with them because it is his last delivery for the night

jonathan agrees, of course, because why would he decline a chance to hang out with a cutie?

lol anyway the next three days are steddie's chaotic attempt to play match maker to get jargyle together because clearly there's a spark between those two nimwits (affectionate)

[thissortofsorcery]

Harringrove social media AU (in a season 2 setting because that is my paradise land) where Billy makes surfing TikToks as a teenager, with a really good following and a promising career as a pro surfer. Until Neil moves the entire family to a landlocked state, and Billy knows it's to punish him.

There could be several reasons for this:

-Billy is becoming too independent from Neil;

-Someone questioned a bruise Billy didn't cover up well enough and now it's all over the internet;

-Billy was caught with a guy he was seeing;

-Billy's mom saw his TikToks and tried to get in touch, Neil had been keeping him from her;

And now Billy's in a town in the middle of nowhere, Indiana, two months into the school year, and everybody expects him to, what, be chill about it? Not care that Neil can just ruin his life and his career on a whim, and there's nothing he can do about it? Billy's raging, Billy's seething, Billy's hurt, and no one wants to or can help him. Susan won't lift a finger or say anything against Neil, looks down every time his dad raises his voice or his hand to hit Billy. And Max- Max is furious with him, blames him for the move like he was the one who decided to pack everything, like he was the one who sold his board and packed the cars and bought the ugly house on Cherry Lane.

What the hell is Billy supposed to do now? He's a senior and he had no plans of going to college, hasn't even thought of applying anywhere. His account is going to die out if he doesn't post anything, and who can guarantee he can raise it from the dead in a year if he makes it back to California once he's eighteen? He needs the TikTok money to make it back to California anyway. He's screwed. He's so screwed.

On the other side of this, is Steve. Steve is a gaming streamer and youtuber, or was- is. He's trying, okay? But ever since- everything, he can't play horror games anymore. He used to stream horror games pretty much exclusively, had whole events for it, charity streams, sponsorships, and then the whole Upside Down thing happened, and he knows his role in it was minor, okay, he knows he was there just for the tail end of it, but a seven-feet tall monster with a flower for a face coming out of the ceiling of the Byers house was both his starting and breaking point, apparently.

His channel was pretty good. Pretty stable. Then he tried to stream Blair Witch about a week after everything and had a panic attack on stream. Things didn't get better after that.

Nancy got him into Animal Crossing, because it's soothing, so he streams that now. And The Sims. Needless to say, his channel took a pretty big hit, as did his reputation. Like Tommy H. says, he turned bitch.

But it's fine, everything's fine. He's got Nancy, he's got a loyal online community that stayed after everything, even if it's small and no one's anywhere near Hawkins. He's got his SAD (Steve After Dark) Streams for when he can't sleep. Halloween is coming up and he's maybe sad he's not doing Spooktober this year, but. Maybe on the last week. Maybe on Halloween Day. If Nancy doesn't want to go to Tina's party.

Billy and Steve collide pretty much the same way. Steve is on edge and Billy is on edge, then the world's ugliest dogs are let out, and Maxine sneaks out, and Billy finds her in a house full of boys and an 18 year old washed out streamer who lies to him about it. Next thing Billy knows he's waking up in a half-destroyed kitchen with an empty syringe two feet from him, car gone, and not a single person in sight.

On Monday, Harrington's face looks bad. It's been a while since Billy's felt this guilty about putting a bruise on someone's face, but he knows he lost it a little, that night. Went too far. He doesn't remember most of it, and Billy doesn't know if that's from whatever drugs Maxine shot him with or from just- anger. Remorse just clogs his throat and he can't breathe. He decides to stay the fuck away from Harrington.

And then Tommy H. just has to take pictures of them, make a damn video, post it to Instagram and TikTok and tag them both. Of course it goes viral.

Billy spends a full week in a state of panic. He fully expects Harrington to press charges now. 

(Steve, similarly, is panicking. He streams family friendly content now. He can't just get into fights. He can't stream until his face heals as it is.)

Billy feels even more like shit when his follower count goes up and his account sees more activity than it has since the move. Like it's a reward for beating up Harrington, or something. It's not right. 

(The same happens to Steve.)

So Billy has an idea. He wants to apologize to Harrington. Wants to make it up to him. Maybe he can help him get his popularity back, get his channel to how it used to be, somehow. And if it keeps his own account alive, well. 

It takes a little convincing, but Steve agrees. Dustin is trying to get him into his nerdy games, but Steve isn't sure he likes them. Steve's been having a hard time, since the second round with the Upside Down. He can't sleep, can't focus, Nancy went off with Jonathan. So maybe he wants a distraction, okay? Maybe he wants something that isn't life or death.

So Billy and Steve start a partnership of sorts. Steve films a couple of youtube videos playing co-op games with Billy. Branches out to TikTok, maybe. Starts bringing Billy to his streams, at first just to hang out and then to take over and play some stuff. Billy manages to burn down Steve's entire 9th generation legacy mansion on The Sims in 30 minutes. Billy and Steve play Dead By Daylight together, and Steve feels increasingly comfortable playing horror games with Billy around. 

It's working so well for Steve, he decides he wants to pay it back. So he teaches Billy to ice skate so they can make content for Billy's TikTok. Steve takes Billy sledding when it snows. Billy films Steve falling asleep in unlikely places during the day and not waking up when Billy piles things on him. 

Steve hunts down and finds Billy's old surfing board that Neil sold and buys it back.

At some point, Steve becomes Billy's best friend. If he could- If they could, Billy would- They could be more, Billy thinks. But they're all over the internet, and Billy doesn't think Neil watches their content, but word can get back to him really easily. People like to speculate as it is. It's a small fucking town. 

The climax would be, of course, getting Billy out of Neil's house. Getting Neil arrested. So Billy can be free.

(Feel free to explore and play with this AU as you like!!)

[panandinpain0]

eddie x male reader who's the middle child of the byers family? (like a year younger than jonathan or something. he can be the oldest too if the ages don't work). maybe an au where eddie survives so they meet when they get back from california (or just an au where they didn't move to Cali and he goes to hawkins high). will joins the hellfire club and they need a sub for a campaign so will begs his brother to go and flirting with eddie munson ensues. he's an artist which is what he mostly bonds over with will and eddie asks him to draw something for their next campaign perhaps? (reader might also have a crush on eddie and some pictures he drew of him in his sketchbook). sorry if this is too much random stuff

Old D&D Buddies

No, no, no, it's not too much random stuff! I love all of these ideas and am SO EXCITED to write them! Tysm for requesting!

Requested by: Anon

Eddie Munson x Male!Byers!Reader

The reader will be the oldest Byers brother because (after a quick google search) I've learned that Jonathan is 18 and Eddie Munson is around 21. So if the reader was a year younger than Jonathan he'd be 17 and that's just going into illegal territory. (But I loved the idea, being a middle child myself.) So the reader is 20.

This doesn't really follow s4 at all, but the Byers just moved back from Cali and Will joined Hellfire!

Warnings: Swearing

I hope you like it!!!

(Reading this back over I realize that it really isn't inclusive for the reader to be biologically related to the Byers (poc and many other situations). I realize this and I'm sorry, but I'm so tired and I don't have the energy to re-write this. If anyone specifically wants a more inclusive version of this I could definitely try writing it another day. Again, I'm sorry.)

Enjoy!

--

Will opened the door to the Byers' residence, shutting it behind him and letting his backpack drop to the floor. Taking off his jacket he hung it by the door, walking into the kitchen where his brother's were hanging out.

Jonathan was going through a pile of photos he had taken at the table, holding some over to (Y/N) for him to see. (Y/N), on the other hand, was going through some work papers. He'd started a job as a mechanic when they had moved back to Hawkins. Back in California he'd gotten the job to help support their family, but he'd grown to love the work. (Especially the amount of time off all the employee's got.) He found a place in Hawkins and started working there.

"Hey kiddo, how was school?" (Y/N) asked as Will walked in, patting his back as he walked past the table.

"It was good! We have a D&D meeting tomorrow, too!" Will informed as he opened the fridge, looking for a snack.

"That's cool. Are you excited?" Jonathan asked quietly as he pulled out his camera, adjusting the settings a bit.

"Yeah. Lucas might not be able to make it and Eddie is making us scour around to find a replacement." Will laughed a bit as he sat down with a bowl of cereal.

"Oh, have you found anyone?" Jonathan asked as he held the camera up to his eyes, checking the settings.

"...(Y/N), you used to help me with D&D, didn't you?" Will asked, spoon hovering above the bowl and dripping with milk.

"Smile" Jonathan cut in before (Y/N) could respond.

Both brothers looked over at the camera and instantly put on smiles. Jonathan did this a lot, so they'd gotten used to it. It was sweet, seeing his walls lined with random family pictures.

"Yeah, I did," (Y/N) responded, flipping through some papers in his pile.

"Would you be willing to be the sub player?" Will asked eagerly, eyes lighting up as he leaned forward a bit.

"Me?" (Y/N) laughed a bit. "I haven't played in years."

"But you have a character, don't you?" Will continued to pester. He shoved the bite of cereal in his mouth, realizing the pieces would get soggy if he left them floating in the milk for too long.

"Yes, I do. He's really old, though, I haven't played with him in years."

"The... the elf one, right?" Jonathan asked, raising his eyebrow in question.

"Yeah, Huelen," (Y/N) responded, nodding. "How did you remember?" He looked up at Jonathan, hands stilling with the paper's in them.

"You used to draw him a lot in your old sketchbook. That's where you drew Will the Wise for Will, too," he explained, shrugging while rifling through his bag.

"It's what first got me drawing," Will remembered, eating more of his food.

Joyce entered the kitchen, holding some plates in her hands as she smiled at her sons.

"Hey, boys!" she greeted, putting the plates in the sink.

"Hey Mom," the boys all said in unison, smiling at their mom.

"Jonathan, please stop leaving dirty plates in your room, you'll attract pests," Joyce requested, coming over and rubbing (Y/N)'s shoulder as she skimmed the paper's in his hand.

"Sorry, Mom. I'll clean them up next time."

"So, will you, (Y/N)?" Will reminded them all of the topic at hand.

"Tomorrow?"

"Mhm!"

"...What time?"

Will smiled, knowing he had hooked (Y/N).

"After school. Can you make it?"

"Yeah, I have an early shift tomorrow. It'll be fun!" (Y/N) wiggled his eyebrows as he stood up, taking his papers and putting it in his work bag.

"Oh, are you going with Will to the D&D club tomorrow?" Joyce asked, sitting down next to Jonathan and looking through his pictures.

"Hellfire, Mom," Will reminded, slurping up his cereal.

"Yeah, Hellfire," Joyce redeemed.

"Apparently. The little punk roped me into it," (Y/N) teased, ruffling Will's hair as he sat back down.

"You should bring your old sketchbook! You have a lot of characters in there, I'm sure the other boys would love it. Would they, Will?" Joyce suggested, looking at Will to see if they would.

"Oh yeah, Dustin used to gush over them all the time. You should bring 'em." Will nodded.

"Alright, it's a plan. I've got to go run these back to the garage, I'll be back by dinner!" (Y/N) announced as he picked up his bag, kissing his mom on the cheek and waving to his brothers.

"It's lasagna!"

(Y/N) hummed in satisfaction at his mother's reply.

...

Eddie was setting up the table, putting the pieces where they had been arranged at their last session, mind turning with ideas for plot twists he could add.

He was just relieved that Will found someone to take Sinclair's place, or else they would all be screwed. And because he was so relieved he neglected to ask who it was, not that it mattered. If they could play and had a character, he could work with it.

The boys all arrived in a large group, backpacks slung over their shoulders. A taller man followed behind Will, laughing at a joke one of the boys had made.

"Welcome to Hellfire!" Eddie dramatically exclaimed, gesturing widely to the table.

They laughed and took their usual seats, but the guest stayed standing. When Eddie made eye contact his eyes widened in shock.

"...Munson?" (Y/N) asked after a moment, surprise covering his own features.

"Wait, you two already know each other?" Will asked, glancing between his brother and Dungeon Master.

"Yeah, we used to go to school here together," (Y/N) responded, breaking eye contact to look at Will. "When you said 'Eddie', I didn't think you meant Eddie Munson."

"Well, I didn't know you knew him!" Will defended, shrugging.

"We do know each other, we used to play together back when we were beginners," Eddie finally spoke, walking forward and holding out a hand to (Y/N). "How's it going, Byers?"

(Y/N) took his hand, shaking it strongly, "Just fine. Still in highschool, I see," he teased.

"Ha-ha," Eddie deadpanned, quickly letting go and turning around theatrically. "Take your seat, peasant. I do hope you brought Huelen with you, he's the most important thing."

Rolling his eyes (Y/N) sat next to Will, "I'm surprised you remember his name."

"Well, who could forget a name like that?" Eddie asked rhetorically. He sat in his chair and made eye contact with (Y/N) over his DM's screen, his eyes sparkling with amusement. In this moment Eddie cherished his hair for hiding the tips of his ears, which were turning red. "Let's get started, shall we?"

The table broke out into a roar of excitement, making (Y/N) snicker and pull out his old folder.

...

(Y/N) was laughing so hard tears rolled down his cheeks, his hand shaking as he tried to reach out for the dice on the table.

Dustin, who was cackling across from him doubled over more as he failed to pick up the dice yet again.

Everyone was having loads of fun, something (Y/N) hadn't really had in a while.

(Y/N) finally took the dice and made his roll.

"Unfortunately, Elf Huelen, that roll wasn't high enough. The effects of it, I'm afraid, I won't be able to share until next session," Eddie announced, standing up as everyone groaned, outraged.

"But I won't be here next session," (Y/N) reminded, looking up at Eddie with a questioning look.

"Says who?" Eddie smugly shot back, starting to clean up his things.

(Y/N) scoffed and shook his head, looking to the other players who were all looking at him expectantly. "Wait- you want me back?"

"Yes!" they all shouted as if it was the dumbest question anyone had ever asked.

"It's not like we can't add another playing space," Eddie said. He and (Y/N) shared a look, knowing he wasn't the first one to speak that sentence.

About three years ago, during (Y/N)'s Junior year at Hawkins High, he sat in a room with some classmates. The D&D board was set up around them and he eagerly listened as the more experienced members explained the game to him. A knock came from the door, and Eddie (who was in his first round of Senior year) looked into the room.

"Hey, this is where the D&D club is, right?" he asked confidently, though (Y/N) noticed his hands were shaking.

"Yeah," one of the other's responded.

"Can I join?"

"There are too many players-"

"It's not like we can't add another playing space," (Y/N) had responded to them. He had learned enough that session to know that "more the merrier" was very true in this game.

Eddie had given him a thankful smile and taken a seat next to him.

"Is it the same time every week?" (Y/N) asked, knowing it was a day he had off annualy.

At the nods of conformation he shrugged.

"Fuck it, I'm in."

They cheered and stood up, collecting their players and helping Eddie put away the pieces.

"Hey, you brought your old sketchbook, didn't you?" Will reminded, catching everyone's attention.

"Oh, yeah. I have some old character drawings in here from when I used to play," (Y/N) explained as he pulled out the clearly loved book. He flipped to a good page and showed the younger kids.

"I remember you showing us these!" Dustin exclaimed, even Mike getting pumped over the drawings.

Eddie leaned over their shoulders, looking at the drawings.

"Those are fantastic, Byers. Why haven't I seen these before?" Eddie asked, looking up at (Y/N) for an explanation.

"Hey, we got to go, see you guys next time!" Gareth said as he waved and the boys left.

"I'll meet you in the car," Will said, jogging off with his friends. He knew (Y/N) wanted some time to catch up with Eddie.

"Well, you never asked," (Y/N) shrugged after nodding to Will.

Eddie sat down in his throne as (Y/N) leaned back against the table next to him.

"These are great!"

Eddie was so immersed in the drawings that he forgot to ask before flipping through the pages.

"Wait-!" (Y/N) exclaimed, but he was too late. The next few pages were filled with Eddie's face. The way his hair fell, the look on his face when he was concentrating on the current battle. His eyes were sharp in every one of them, and Eddie sucked in a breath. He'd never been depicted this way, and he loved it.

"Is this..."

"I'm sorry- I didn't-" (Y/N) started fumbling, ripping the book from his hands and stuffing it in his bag, not looking at Eddie.

"Don't be- it's... I felt it too," he mumbled back. That simple phrase communicated to (Y/N) that he wasn't the only one who looked at his favorite D&D buddy like he was his whole world.

(Y/N)'s face heated as his mouth parted slightly, eyes wide as he sucked in a breath.

Gulping down his nerves, (Y/N) smiled awkwardly. "Will's waiting for me. I should get going."

Eddie nodded and stood up, looking at (Y/N) like he wanted to say something.

"I... would you draw some of the characters from today? The party really needs more visual aid."

They both knew that wasn't really what he wanted to say, but (Y/N) nodded nonetheless.

"Yeah! Of course. Will and I can both work on it, he draws almost better than I do," he laughed a little too hard. (Y/N)'s heart was beating so fast he could barely concentrate on breathing.

"See you next session."

"See you."

(Y/N) sped out of the room, shaking his head and scolding himself. He couldn't believe that Eddie had seen the sketches of him. And his response? Ugh. (Y/N) dismissed the thoughts aggressively in his head and walked to his car, opening the door and climbing in.

"Woah, are you okay? Your face is really red," Will immediately asked, alarmed at his brother's shading.

"Yeah, I'm fine," (Y/N) quickly responded, shaking his head and starting his car. He pulled back and maneuvered out of the parking lot.

Will stared at him for a second longer before smirking. "So you know Eddie?"

(Y/N) bit his lip for a moment.

"He asked us to draw some of the characters for the campaign. You in?" he glanced over at Will before returning his eyes to the road.

"Uh, duh. But you didn't answer my question." He wasn't going to let (Y/N) off the hook, and they both knew it.

"We... uhm- used to play D&D together, with the old group. My last two years of highschool, actually," (Y/N) explained hesitantly. "I-" he cleared his throat- "had a huge crush on him. I drew him a lot and he just found the sketches."

"Had?" Will repeated.

"That's enough from you," (Y/N) scolded, glaring teasingly at Will.

End

--

Am I baiting you for a part 2? Honestly, I'm not really sure myself.

Am I too tired to continue this? That's just a fact.

Idk if I'll write a part 2, do you guys want one?

Lemme know

-Author Max <3

[rebelrobin86]

6. Superhero/Super Powers

(Robin)

Robin Buckley's Superpowers Headcanons

(AU Robin with superpowers)

(I decided to write a headcanon list of an Alternate Universe where Robin has powers and is one of the kids in Hawkins Lab. I might use these ideas to write a fic at some point.)

Backstory

- Melissa Buckley (Robin's mother), thought when Robin was little, that she might be possessed by a ghost. Melissa was unaware that super powers even existed, but knew something was strange, she took Robin to Hawkins Lab for tests.

- That's when Brenner took Robin into the lab with the other kids, he named her Nine.

- Robin's powers were telekinetic and mostly similar to the other kids, however she also has a photographic memory. This helps Robin learn new things so quickly.

Robin meets Eleven

- Robin quickly became friends with Eleven, they both didn't have a strong grasp of social cues, but understood each other.

- After Kali (Eight) left, Robin ended up being like a big sister to El.

- Peter (One) felt very protective over both Robin and El.

- Peter knew about Robin and El having sleepovers in each others rooms, he would even sneak comic books and candy for them to have during their sleepovers.

- Robin spent a lot of their spare time in the rainbow room reading, learning to play instruments and learning languages.

- El talked mostly to Robin and Peter, she still didn't talk much, but Robin was more than happy to do most of the talking.

- Robin actually taught El some ASL, so they could communicate non verbally without powers. It also helped that only those two could understand the signs.

- Robin escaped Hawkins Lab with El, however got separated from El and lost her in the woods.

Robin meets Nancy

- El came back to look for Robin, taking Robin back to the Wheelers. They explored the house when the others were out.

- El showed Robin a photo of Nancy, she responded "pretty" to the photo. Robin smiled and agreed "yeah, pretty."

- Nancy found Robin hiding in her room, but they quickly became friends.

- Nancy wanted to protect Robin, still regretting not being able to save Barb.

- Robin wore most of Nancy's clothes, before they could go shopping together, but Robin refused to wear anything girly.

- Robin helped Nancy study, when Nancy was staring at her textbook, Robin said that she read her textbook when she was out. Told her exactly what pages she needed and recited all the notes to her from memory.

- Robin loved Nancy and felt so safe around her, she loved being her best friend, but secretly wanted more.

- Robin didn't meet Steve til years later, but was hoping they would break up. When Nancy got with Jonathan instead, Robin screamed into Nancy's pillow.

- Robin and Nancy get together, but years later, after the Byers moved to California.

[fragilecapric0rnn]

Made up fic titles:

The Sunflower and the Thistle

There's a Fire In His Back Pocket

We'll Build Something New and We'll Do it Together

I don't know where these came from (besides the last one that was a lyric from a Nothing But Thieves song playing as I wrote this ask!) but I'm curious to see what you would do with them if anything sparked any interest! :D

hi hi! sorry for the delay, but these were just SO GOOD i needed to wait for the time to free up so i can give them my full and undivided attention! thank you for giving me a lot of writing ammo with these so i cannot say it enough THANK YOU THANK YOU sweet and wonderful anon <33

The Sunflower and The Thistle OKAY i am not a plant person (bc i kill everything i bring into my home unfortunatley :/) so i had to look up what a thistle is, and the first thing i noticed was that it was prickly! kinda the opposite of a sunflower based on the vibes. Sunshine Sunflower and the Prickly Thistle. Who would that be?

To me? i couldn't stop thinking of wheelingham (Nancy/Chrissy) and as soon as that popped into my head OH THE WHEELS BEGAN TURNING.

I love the idea of Chrissy Lives!AUs and would do one where she ends up surviving the vecna attack in the first episode bc in Eddie's freaking out/flailing, he accidentally turns on some music, takes her out of the trance, and someone else is vecna's first victim. She gets roped into the Upside Down World Saving Shenanigans and they defeat vecna Somehow.

This fic though, would be following Nancy's POV the summer of 1986. They all graduated, they Byers-Hopper family went back to California and Nancy and Jonathan broke up and shes lonely. She didn't really get close with Robin after everything, she kinda pushed everyone away and plans to wait out her last few months in Hawkins before she moves to Boston and plans to never come back.

Until Chrissy Cunningham shows up at her front door with a cast-free hand and demands for her to teach her how to shoot some guns.

A reluctant friends to actual friends to lovers story with a bit of Nancy character study happening at the same time.

There's A Fire in His Back Pocket Back pocket made me think of Eddie's bandana and Eddie's bandana makes me think of him playing in a show somewhere, maybe its Hawkins, maybe its Indy, but he's absolutely shredding.

Steve is at this particular gig. He's gawking.

They make out about it.

We'll Build Something New and We'll Do it Together I'm thinking a gen fic. Starts out with Stobin and their bad ways of coping with things!

The two of them come out of s4 traumatized as ever, itching to get the hell out of Hawkins. So, as soon as Robin crosses the stage at graduation, car already packed, the set off across the country to (you guessed it) California! They leave everything behind, don't really tell anyone where they went or where they're going, and just drive until they hit the coast.

I'm already thinking of a sequel bc they don't tell anyone where they're going, they just disappear, so obviously Dustin is heartbroken. He doesn't look for them, bc Eddie encourages him not to 'If they wanted to be found, they would've told you in the first place.' But its like, almost 10 years later. Dustin is in grad school in California and Eddie, who is visiting for a week, sees Steve working in town and confronts him. Even though Dustin and Steve and Robin have lived in the same town for a whole year now. So Eddie confronts him and things... spiral... and then... oh god. Now i have to write this.

send me a made-up fic title and i'll tell you what i would write to go with it

[ronance4everbrainrot]

If you haven't seen the post from @corgiplays then you should go see it, this one, and read it now!

It got everything and the time line is right (I misunderstood their comment and thought the timeline was 3 months)

So I just wanted to talk about the Ronance part and how S4 will go

So basically I also think it will go as canon.

Since Nancy just lost a friend and all, she would definitely be frustrated and just wants answers (or idk, but like how she acted in the library) and since her relationship with Robin has been strained, she acts the same with Robin as she does in the show, but more in the sense that she doesn't like how Robin makes her feel because it distracts her from the task and thinks it's a negative emotion (jealousy or dislike idk).

And I think S4 should be the same.

so I googled for the last post (to make the timing more accurate) when the day was the Byers moved and it says it was in October (but that doesn't really matter ig). And well it's a AU so we can change the timelines, but I just wanted to ask real quick if you (Corgi) meant to make S4 in April? Because it's in March actually.

But eitherway I don't care, just wanted to make sure you actually wanted to write that.

So what I actually wanted to talk about is Max.

Mostly because her and Robin got closer.

In S4 she distances herself from the party.

When would it happen?

If you want S4 to be in April she can distance herself in March, since it's Billy's birthday month. Idk how emotions work, so idk how she'd react (I'm also not good in character studies).

I have two ideas

Either she distances herself and goes to Billy's grave and just gets hit with depression and all that, so she closes herself off completely for like a period of time. (idk)

Or the wholesome version where she asked Robin if she can come with her to visit Billy and she wants to close herself off but Robin gives her support and safety (or idk), but she still feels guilt and all that (like in the show) and doesn't talk to Robin about it because she doesn't want to bother her.

Finding out Max is going to get Venca'd, makes Robin very anxious and protective, she threatens Steve to keep her safe, while Nancy and her go to Viktor, which Robin was very determined but anxious about (she acts like she does in the show but feels anxious because she doesn't want Max to die) and when it feels like they aren't gonna get to talk to Viktor she spoke that beautiful/powerful speech of hers and well ye..just like in the show..but with her bond with max now involved.

Nancy definitely let's her gay show in the library. She honestly forgot that Robin cracked a Russian code and that she's a genius, so when Robin finds the stuff about Viktor something clicked in her brain, she fell in love right then and there, but doesn't know it 😪 or represses it.

Anyway let's get to Murray and Robin.

I feel like when Robin was in the apartment Murray got her after finding out about Vecna, she tried to call him (Either to tell him about Vecna or to lie and try to keep him from coming to Hawkins so that he's safe) but well since he's going to help Joyce in California is didn't pick up the phone. And Robin kinda got worried (she called again but well he's not there) but just pushed it down when Max was a target. So when they reunite, Robin was so relieved and happy and hugs him tightly (with Murray having no idea what is going on in Hawkins, he's confused but happy nonetheless). Idk when (probably after the two day skip) idk where (I'd want it to be at Hopper's cabin with the other reunions)

Also little bonus: Murray wanted to visit Robin in Hawkins (in like 2-3 days, which is also why Robin would have said not to come to Hawkins ) so when Joyce calls he didn't want to go at first but when he heard it's about Hopper he ofc went. So he tried to call Robin but she was out looking for Eddie or smth (idk when what was) so she wasn't home and he just left with sending her a letter or smth?? (which she never noticed tho).

So um.. I forgot if I wanted to say anything else. But um. I'm too lazy to write anymore stuff so ye

Lots of love ✨♥️🤗✨

Also tiny fun fact: Billy and I share a birthday 🤓

[snowangeldotmp3]

for the disappearance of robin buckley au how would season 4 work with vecna. would robin be able to detect vecna and when he would attack due to her connection to the upside down and being located in hawkins? or would everything be different with robin moving to california with the byers?

ah see, i didn't get this far lol.

i would think that robin and will share like, a similar bond as luke and leia? if that makes sense. especially after they were both possessed by the mind flayer. so like, once chrissy dies, and then the guy that nancy was with, i think robin would know that it would be something similar to the mind flayer, but i don't think she'd immediately know that it was vecna bc from what we know even will didn't know it was vecna behind the whole thing, but he is connected to it.

i will say though the victor creel stuff is still super important to find out, (plus the scene with nancy and robin in Pennhurst is one of the greatest things ever lol) but i think it might bring them together quicker. then of course, you still have to deal with finding hopper and returning eleven's powers to her.

the group would realize that robin is definitely a target for vecna, and she would expect him to attack her, but i still think in this version he'd go after max.

[spectrum-spectre]

According to the United States government, Edward "Eddie" Munson is dead. He died in the "earthquake," ridding the town of Hawkins of yet another serial killer. His uncle Wayne moves away, never to be seen again, along with half the small town's population. There's been too much death, drama, and destruction for the PTA moms' likings.

The Wheelers, Hendersons, Sinclairs, Mayfields, Harringtons, and Buckleys all vanish as well, but unlike the other families, nobody seems to know where they went. Some say California, because the Byers' moved there last year, right? Except, most of them couldn't afford to live there, and didn't the Harringtons have a townhouse in DC?

In reality, they were all relocated to different parts of the country, given new names and backstories, and Eddie Munson is very much alive (El wasn't losing another friend, even if she hadnt met him yet). They're kept under 24-hour surveillance, to insure their safety (and so they don't spill the beans). They're not allowed to contact each other, or anyone from their old lives. But...

They're all too stubborn for that. They miss their friends, dammit! And what if another portal opens, they can't split the party again! So, Eleven does some surveillance of her own.

Her telepathic powers grow stronger over the years, to the point where she can astral project into others' dreams. Eventually, she is able to establish a psychic link through all of them, and they meet in private sessions while they sleep.

After the better part of two years, The Party reaches their breaking point. The US Marshals alert them to the fact that they could've left anytime they wanted to, they just never asked. So they pack up their things, the kids (teens now) move to Indianapolis, the Fruity Four into a nice 3-bedroom apartment. Argyle and Jonathan stay in Cali (nobody really knows what's going on between them, but don't question it), and El has been gently (but not so subtly) mentally nudging Steve and Eddie, and Nancy and Robin, to realize their feelings for each other (along with Will and Mike ofc, she wants her brother to be happy).

idk man, just. WITSEC everybody lives AU lives in my mind rent free. do with this what you will.

[thissortofsorcery]

I posted 814 times in 2022

That's 814 more posts than 2021!

32 posts created (4%)

782 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@shieldofiron

@heartbuckley

@ariesbilly

@imsodishy

@vhagar-apologist

I tagged 129 of my posts in 2022

#harringrove - 35 posts

#billy hargrove - 25 posts

#billy x steve - 9 posts

#mine - 7 posts

#billy antis dni - 5 posts

#sorcery says - 5 posts

#steve harrington - 4 posts

#personal - 4 posts

#max mayfield - 3 posts

#so cute - 3 posts

Longest Tag: 135 characters

#i’m not sure what the rules are for interacting with minors in fandom are but let it be known i’m 27 if that makes anyone uncomfortable

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Harringrove social media AU (in a season 2 setting because that is my paradise land) where Billy makes surfing TikToks as a teenager, with a really good following and a promising career as a pro surfer. Until Neil moves the entire family to a landlocked state, and Billy knows it's to punish him.

There could be several reasons for this:

-Billy is becoming too independent from Neil;

-Someone questioned a bruise Billy didn't cover up well enough and now it's all over the internet;

-Billy was caught with a guy he was seeing;

-Billy's mom saw his TikToks and tried to get in touch, Neil had been keeping him from her;

And now Billy's in a town in the middle of nowhere, Indiana, two months into the school year, and everybody expects him to, what, be chill about it? Not care that Neil can just ruin his life and his career on a whim, and there's nothing he can do about it? Billy's raging, Billy's seething, Billy's hurt, and no one wants to or can help him. Susan won't lift a finger or say anything against Neil, looks down every time his dad raises his voice or his hand to hit Billy. And Max- Max is furious with him, blames him for the move like he was the one who decided to pack everything, like he was the one who sold his board and packed the cars and bought the ugly house on Cherry Lane.

What the hell is Billy supposed to do now? He's a senior and he had no plans of going to college, hasn't even thought of applying anywhere. His account is going to die out if he doesn't post anything, and who can guarantee he can raise it from the dead in a year if he makes it back to California once he's eighteen? He needs the TikTok money to make it back to California anyway. He's screwed. He's so screwed.

On the other side of this, is Steve. Steve is a gaming streamer and youtuber, or was- is. He's trying, okay? But ever since- everything, he can't play horror games anymore. He used to stream horror games pretty much exclusively, had whole events for it, charity streams, sponsorships, and then the whole Upside Down thing happened, and he knows his role in it was minor, okay, he knows he was there just for the tail end of it, but a seven-feet tall monster with a flower for a face coming out of the ceiling of the Byers house was both his starting and breaking point, apparently.

His channel was pretty good. Pretty stable. Then he tried to stream Blair Witch about a week after everything and had a panic attack on stream. Things didn't get better after that.

Nancy got him into Animal Crossing, because it's soothing, so he streams that now. And The Sims. Needless to say, his channel took a pretty big hit, as did his reputation. Like Tommy H. says, he turned bitch.

But it's fine, everything's fine. He's got Nancy, he's got a loyal online community that stayed after everything, even if it's small and no one's anywhere near Hawkins. He's got his SAD (Steve After Dark) Streams for when he can't sleep. Halloween is coming up and he's maybe sad he's not doing Spooktober this year, but. Maybe on the last week. Maybe on Halloween Day. If Nancy doesn't want to go to Tina's party.

Billy and Steve collide pretty much the same way. Steve is on edge and Billy is on edge, then the world's ugliest dogs are let out, and Maxine sneaks out, and Billy finds her in a house full of boys and an 18 year old washed out streamer who lies to him about it. Next thing Billy knows he's waking up in a half-destroyed kitchen with an empty syringe two feet from him, car gone, and not a single person in sight.

On Monday, Harrington's face looks bad. It's been a while since Billy's felt this guilty about putting a bruise on someone's face, but he knows he lost it a little, that night. Went too far. He doesn't remember most of it, and Billy doesn't know if that's from whatever drugs Maxine shot him with or from just- anger. Remorse just clogs his throat and he can't breathe. He decides to stay the fuck away from Harrington.

And then Tommy H. just has to take pictures of them, make a damn video, post it to Instagram and TikTok and tag them both. Of course it goes viral.

Billy spends a full week in a state of panic. He fully expects Harrington to press charges now. 

(Steve, similarly, is panicking. He streams family friendly content now. He can't just get into fights. He can't stream until his face heals as it is.)

Billy feels even more like shit when his follower count goes up and his account sees more activity than it has since the move. Like it's a reward for beating up Harrington, or something. It's not right. 

(The same happens to Steve.)

So Billy has an idea. He wants to apologize to Harrington. Wants to make it up to him. Maybe he can help him get his popularity back, get his channel to how it used to be, somehow. And if it keeps his own account alive, well. 

It takes a little convincing, but Steve agrees. Dustin is trying to get him into his nerdy games, but Steve isn't sure he likes them. Steve's been having a hard time, since the second round with the Upside Down. He can't sleep, can't focus, Nancy went off with Jonathan. So maybe he wants a distraction, okay? Maybe he wants something that isn't life or death.

So Billy and Steve start a partnership of sorts. Steve films a couple of youtube videos playing co-op games with Billy. Branches out to TikTok, maybe. Starts bringing Billy to his streams, at first just to hang out and then to take over and play some stuff. Billy manages to burn down Steve's entire 9th generation legacy mansion on The Sims in 30 minutes. Billy and Steve play Dead By Daylight together, and Steve feels increasingly comfortable playing horror games with Billy around. 

It's working so well for Steve, he decides he wants to pay it back. So he teaches Billy to ice skate so they can make content for Billy's TikTok. Steve takes Billy sledding when it snows. Billy films Steve falling asleep in unlikely places during the day and not waking up when Billy piles things on him. 

Steve hunts down and finds Billy's old surfing board that Neil sold and buys it back.

At some point, Steve becomes Billy's best friend. If he could- If they could, Billy would- They could be more, Billy thinks. But they're all over the internet, and Billy doesn't think Neil watches their content, but word can get back to him really easily. People like to speculate as it is. It's a small fucking town. 

The climax would be, of course, getting Billy out of Neil's house. Getting Neil arrested. So Billy can be free.

(Feel free to explore and play with this AU as you like!!)

225 notes - Posted November 15, 2022

#4

Billy tried not to, is the thing. But it’s like his body has a mind of its own. It’s often like that when it comes to Harrington.

It was an accident at first. Harrington tripped just as Billy had been walking by, and his chest had crashed straight into Billy’s. The surprise of it had nearly sent them both to the ground, but Billy had managed to hold them both up somehow, grip tight on Harrington’s elbows.

He was so warm.

Billy had shoved him off, barked out a “Watch it, Harrington!” and walked away.

A month later, Billy can’t call it an accident anymore.

If Billy times it just right, he’s walking back from the nook where the vending machines are hidden just as Harrington’s walking towards them. More often than not, Harrington will trip on the uneven tile or be distracted with conversation. More often than not, he’ll bump into Billy.

Billy’s started to count down the minutes to this accidental touch everyday. He tries not to. But when the hands of the clock start inching closer to their lunch period he starts remembering it: the warmth of Harrington’s skin through his clothes. The hair on his arms when his sleeves are rolled up. The hardness of his bicep when Billy grips it to hold them both up. If he’s lucky, Steve might steady himself with a hand on Billy’s chest, right where his buttons are undone.

Billy shifts in his seat.

He didn’t use to be like this, during basketball season. Now that that’s over he finds himself looking for Harrington everywhere, hungry for a glimpse of his mop of brown hair, craving accidental touches.

Not so accidental, on Billy’s part.

Ms. Garret’s still talking about homework, at the front of the class. The clock hands are ticking, always closer to lunch, but never fast enough.

Billy’s leg bounces under his desk. The teacher’s going on about exercise sheets Billy’s not gonna turn in. He leans back in his chair, looks out the window. Casual. He’s not antsy. He’s not.

The bell rings.

Billy’s out of his seat like a shot. Harrington’s classroom is closer to the cafeteria. Billy takes large strides to the cafeteria, doesn’t stop by his locker on the way.

When he crosses the wide cafeteria doors, he slows. Tries to pinpoint where Harrington is. Like a sixth sense, he sees him a few feet behind him out the corner of his eye.

Harrington’s wearing the red sweater today, sleeves rolled up. His hair looks extra floppy. He’s talking to Wheeler, pointing to the vending machines.

Billy sets off.

It’s quick work. Shove coins in. Get soda. Watch out the corner of his eye for Harrington.

Here he comes.

Billy turns around.

One step. Two. Harrington’s sneaker catches on the broken tile of the cafeteria floor, and he crashes into Billy, a quiet “shit” murmured under his breath. Billy grabs onto him, one hand on a lean bicep, the other on a hairy forearm. Harrington gets his feet under him, but they’re still pressed close, hips nearly touching. Harrington’s hand is splayed on his chest, fingers wide, nudging under his open shirt.

“Watch it, Harrington,” Billy says. Not barks, not yells. Just says. His voice is rough, like he gargled glass. Their faces are close.

“Sorry,” Harrington mumbles, face going pink. He’s just an inch or two taller than Billy, but it feels like nothing. They’re so close. Harrington’s eyes flicker to Billy’s mouth, so quickly Billy might’ve missed it if he hadn’t been watching Harrington’s face so intently.

Without his permission, his thumb strokes Harrington’s forearm. Steve breathes in sharply.

Somewhere beyond them, someone drops their lunch tray, and the clatter lurches them apart. Like they’d never touched at all, Billy heads to the cafeteria doors, Steve continues to the vending machines.

At the threshold, Billy glances over his shoulder. He can’t help it.

Harrington’s heading back to Wheeler, Coke in hand. He sidesteps the broken tile expertly.

When Billy looks up at Harrington’s face, he’s looking back at him, with a little smirk on his face. It can’t be- Can it?

Billy shakes his head. Nah. No way Harrington would go out of his way just to bump into Billy.

He goes to his car to smoke it off.

272 notes - Posted December 13, 2022

#3

It takes a while for Billy to notice, but there’s something to the warm feeling that spreads across his chest whenever he sees Steve.

He knows he can’t get enough of Steve. Can’t get enough of how he looks at Billy from under his lashes when he’s flirting, of how he tosses his head back when he laughs, of the long line of his neck, of his moles.

But there’s something else to how their eyes meet across a room, a light to Steve’s eyes when they land on Billy, like-

It takes Billy a while to put his finger on it. It’s been a long time since someone’s looked happy to see him.

Every time Steve looks at him, it’s there. That glint in his eyes like, hey, there you are. It’s different than looking at Billy like he’s hot, Billy knows he’s smoking, but Steve looks at him like… Like his presence is something good. Like he wants him there.

Billy’s not used to that.

Steve’s sitting with Robin and Dustin in the corner booth at the diner when Billy comes in with Max, and he’s laughing at something they’re saying, but when his eyes land on Billy his whole face changes. His smile looks like it… grows, somehow.

He leans his whole body towards Billy and says,

“Billy, hey!” In that bright voice he gets when he’s happy, Steve’s happy.

Happy to see Billy walk in the door.

Billy’s sure his face is doing the goofiest, sappiest expression, looking back at Steve. Just grinning at each other like fools in the middle of the diner.

Just happy to be there, where the other is.

290 notes - Posted December 7, 2022

#2

Billy’s just put his jacket back on. His boots go on next. His earring dangles in his ear with the movement, and his back and ass ache when he rises back up. Sore.

It’s dark in the entryway of Harrington’s house at three in the morning, quiet and still hours before the sun rises. Billy hadn’t meant to fall asleep. But Steve had barely rolled off of him, one leg tangled between his, nose in his hair, and Billy was so warm and comfortable- He hadn’t meant to. It was a mistake.

He shouldn’t be there when Harrington wakes up, Steve would regret it for sure.

Steve wouldn’t want anything serious with a guy. With Billy.

He’s got his keys out of his jacket pocket when he hears it,

“Where are you going?” Steve’s voice comes from the stairs, hoarse with sleep, making Billy jump.

Steve’s in the middle of the steps with only his underwear on, the line of hickeys down his chest and halfway to his stomach that Billy put there fully exposed, a grumpy confused frown on his face. Arms crossed like he’s cold.

“I’m just heading out,” Billy says softly, unwilling to break the cover of the dark. It feels like they’re inside a dome, here in the entryway, close together but far apart.

Steve comes down the steps slowly, and his feet barely make any noise on the carpet. Billy doesn’t look away from his eyes. They’re not clouded with sleep, anymore, and they’re honed in on Billy like lasers.

“It’s the middle of the night, man,” He says, like Billy hasn’t left in the dead of night countless times before. Like they’re not used to hookups in their cars.

“Yeah,” Billy steps back, because Steve just keeps coming closer. “I’ll get out of your hair, princess. Go back to bed.”

He means to say it mean, but it comes out- soft. Like a whisper.

“Billy,” Steve says, and he’s smiling. Why is he smiling.

Steve’s hand touches his chest where Billy didn’t bother to button his shirt, his pinky nudges a nipple on purpose. Billy’s breath hitches.

Billy knows his eyes are wide, his mouth is open. He looks up from Steve’s hand to his face, and Steve looks so fond, so- He’s looking from Billy’s eyes to his mouth like he wants to kiss him.

He does kiss him.

Billy drops his keys. The need to get his hands on Steve’s face is sudden, urgent, like he has to hold on to him or he’ll fade away, or change his mind. He needs to hold Steve’s face to his or he’ll lose the press of Steve’s soft lips, lose the tongue pressing in to curl against his own.

Steve’s hands are clutching at his jacket tightly, pulling Billy in at the same time his body wants to press Billy into the door. It takes Billy a minute to realize Steve is trying to yank off his jacket, pulling roughly at his shoulders. He has to let go of Steve’s face to take it off, but he does it one hand at a time, and he trades it for pressing biting kisses into Steve’s mouth at the same time. He’ll hold on with his teeth if he has to.

Distantly, he hears his keys jangle against the floor, like they’ve been kicked away.

“Stay,” Steve pulls back to pant into his mouth. His eyes look right into Billy’s. There’s a look to them, half-scared, half-shy. Steve’s hands are tight on Billy’s waist. “Stay with me.”

He presses a kiss to the corner of Billy’s mouth, licks between his lips. Billy surges up, catches his bottom lip in his teeth, bruises a kiss on his mouth so intense Steve’s head moves with his nod.

“Yeah,” He says, and rests his forehead on Steve’s. Their noses brush together. “Okay.”

333 notes - Posted December 9, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Billy doesn’t know it yet, but a lot of things in his life change because of Steve Harrington.

Billy’s hiding in the library when he overhears it. He’s ditching calculus because he can’t stand Mr. Hermann’s voice on a good day, the way the old man talks like he’s shouting, and Billy’s head is still ringing from where Neil hit it on a shelf last night because he was late getting Maxine home for dinner.

Billy would normally spend his voluntary free period smoking outside, but it’s fucking snowing today- just one more thing to be grateful about December in goddamn Hawkins, Indiana.

That’s why he’s sitting at a table that’s kind of out of the way in the library, hidden behind the biology section. He yanked out a book about the ocean to look at the pictures to distract himself until next period.

That’s when he hears them talking. Harrington and Wheeler.

“Mike says Dustin’s driving him crazy,” Wheeler’s saying softly, from across the shelves hiding Billy. “He won’t shut up about you.”

“We’ve been hanging out,” Harrington says, just as quietly, and his voice sounds like it’s coming out through a smile. Billy tries not to picture it in his mind. “He’s cool, you know, for a middle schooler.”

Harrington says it like he’s annoyed, but his tone can’t be anything but fond. It’s ridiculous. Billy’s seen Harrington driving around the dweebs Maxine’s friends with, has seen them at the arcade and at the diner, so he knows Harrington’s been hanging around them like an overgrown mother hen. Billy can’t make sense of it.

“You seem better,” Wheeler says, after a moment of silence, and there’s something hesitant about it. “Lately, I mean. Lighter.”

Harrington doesn’t answer, and Billy wishes he could see what his face looks like. He’d noticed Harrington had been looking rough since November, even after the bruising had faded, with bags under his eyes and hollow cheeks. A blank stare, like he was somewhere else in his head.

“Dustin’s a great kid,” Harrington repeats, kind of distantly. Then in a rush he says, like the words will disappear if he doesn’t get them out, “He’s been calling me in the walkie some nights. He can’t sleep either.”

“Oh, Steve…”

“So we talk a lot. About, you know… Being there for him, it helps.”

They go silent. It’s clear something happened to the kid, and to Harrington, and Billy doesn’t care- except something happened to Max, too. She’s been quiet, and spooked, since That Night. Billy wonders if whatever happened to them happened then, after they left him drugged on the floor.

“I always wanted a little brother,” Harrington cuts through the silence. Wheeler makes a soft noise like she’s listening. “I hated being alone all the time. I thought it would be like having a friend for life, you know. Then I got older, and my dad… I don’t think… I think that if I had a brother, my dad would make us resent each other,” He says, like a confession, and it sits like a stone in Billy’s stomach.

“You can’t know that, Steve…” Wheeler says softly.

“No, I know. It’s just a feeling,” Billy hears Harrington shift, then the shelf wobbles, like he’s leaning on it. “You know what my dad’s like, with me. I keep thinking, if I had a brother… He’d be comparing us all the time. Pitting us against each other. Makes us tell on each other. To make sure we were alone. I don’t know,” He huffs, and mocks himself with a little laugh. “Like you said, it’s stupid.”

Billy has to swallow past a lump in his throat. His hands are clenched into fists. It sounds a little too familiar, Harrington’s feelings about his father. Neil knows how to be an asshole too, especially about Maxine, and being a good big brother. Makes a point of disciplining Billy about it. Except all it does is make him hate Max.

“Maybe it’s not,” Wheeler says, and her voice is firm this time. Maybe she’s holding Harrington’s hand, even. “He really is an asshole.”

Harrington snorts, but it’s still a little sad, “Thanks, Nance.”

Billy sinks lower in his seat, careful not to make noise. He feels suddenly exhausted. The ringing in his head feels worse than ever.

“This is better, with Dustin,” Harrington says. “He’s awesome. And the other kids too.”

And my dad can’t touch him, he doesn’t say, but Billy hears it all the same.

Eventually, Harrington and Wheeler leave and Billy’s alone again behind his bookshelves, with the marine biology book he hasn’t looked at in half an hour. Harrington’s words don’t leave him though.

Billy knows his resentment of Max mostly comes from how his dad treats her, he’s aware enough of that. He hates that she never suffers the consequences of the shit the does, that she can do no wrong in Neil’s eyes, that she and Susan make up Neil’s idea of a perfect family and Billy doesn’t.

It hadn’t occurred to Billy that Neil could be doing all of it deliberately. This whole time he thought his dad wanted him to like Max - wanted him to be a good big brother. He never thought it could be all a part of a different game, to make him hate Max and make Max hate him.

What was it that Harrington said? To make sure we were alone.

Easy to control.

That’s what Neil likes, isn’t it.

Billy ends up ditching the rest of the day. He can’t stomach the thought of sitting in a classroom listening to teachers droning on about shit while his head’s buzzing with memories trying to reorganize themselves. This can’t be right. He can’t have gotten it this wrong. Billy’s too old to be this dumb, to fall for this shit.

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418 notes - Posted December 8, 2022

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