#max mayfield pov

[l393ndjean]

what's that? You want to hear about my max-centric madwheeler stepsiblings wip?

Well, there ya go!

(More from this universe @byler-makemewanttobelieveitsokay )

[starsarefire824]

Chapter 5 of Death Lies in Wait:

With Silver Bells, And Cockle Shells, And So My Garden Grows.

Mike throws his cap on the table and pulls out one of the small, primitive wooden chairs, sitting down in a heap. He glances up to her, breathless and eyes wide. They catch the light of the oil lamp eerily, face pallid and shining with sweat and sea spray. He leans heavily on his knees with his elbows and combs his fingers through his unruly black curls, letting his gaze drop to the floor. 

“I’m sorry,” he says, low and quiet as he studies his boots, or the chip in the wood plank of the floor, or maybe the spider that skitters scared under the table. 

“I thought you were lost,” Max repeats, stepping closer to him. 

Mike screws his eyes shut, the thin bridge of his nose and hints of salt carved crows feet wrinkling as he does so, then shakes his head as if trying to dispel a memory he wished to forget. “I don’t know what happened,” he says, his fingers trailing nervously over the loose wool of his trousers that hangs in wrinkles from his bony knees. “I thought I saw something—down in the cove. It was shining—like an animal’s skin…so I went to investigate and I don’t know–it felt like something I needed to do.” He holds out his hand and his eyes widen more. “I don’t know—I must have fallen asleep on the beach? It felt like a dream.” 

Max takes one step closer and stands over Mike, setting down a cup of coffee she’s poured in front of him. In the cold damp of the room its steam billows up like a spirit on the moors from one of the Irish ballads her mother would sing to her as a child. Her whole body quivers with nervousness, but she reaches out to him, lifting his chin up to face her with her gently folded fist like her father used to do. A deep, confused crease forms on Mike’s brow and he sighs out at her touch, the expression on his face looking more like that of a scared child needing its mother than a man who’d fallen asleep too close to the edge of the water. Or maybe… like a man who’d seen a ghost. 

[steveseddie]

outside looking in

for @steddie-week day one “secret relationship”

rated: t | cw: none | wc: 4,8k | tags: max’s pov, post vol. 4, 3+1 things, secret relationship, friendship, max & steve, max & eddie

click here to read on ao3

1.

Max is sitting on the front steps of her house, adjusting the wheels of her skateboard when the screen door of the Munson’s trailer swings open.

The noise it makes as it slams against the side of the trailer makes her jump. It’s only been a few weeks since Spring Break and she’s still on high alert after everything that happened.

Looking up from her skateboard, she expects to see Eddie or his uncle. She’s used to it- catching them on their way in or out of the trailer or sitting on the old ratty couch that they keep on the front porch. She’s used to waving at them and them waving back. Sometimes, if it’s Eddie, she’ll stick her middle finger out just to make him crow with laughter so loud she can hear it from across the gravel path. 

What Max doesn’t expect is to see someone else stumbling out of the Munson’s trailer. 

She certainly doesn’t expect to see Steve. 

It can’t be Steve, Max thinks. She remembers one of the doctors at the hospital telling her that her eyesight suffered some damage from being trapped in Vecna’s mind prison for too long and now she thinks that he must’ve been right. Maybe she does need glasses. 

But even if she squints her eyes, she still sees Steve. More importantly, she sees what Steve is wearing, and even from a distance despite whatever eyesight problems she might have, she can see that the clothes Steve is wearing aren’t his. Well, the jeans probably are, but the shirt is black and the logo plastered on the front is a big skull surrounded by flames, and while she can’t make out the words that are written in big bold letters, she’s willing to bet it’s the name of one of Eddie’s metal bands. Which would make that Eddie’s shirt.  

And it looks wrinkled, slept in.

Huh.

Jogging down the front steps, Steve makes his way to his BMW, parked out front and sticking out like a shiny sore thumb. Max is surprised she didn’t notice it sooner. 

She watches as he runs a hand through his hair, his messy hair- another sign pointing to the fact that Steve spent the night in Eddie’s trailer.

And the thing is Max didn’t even know they were friends. 

She’s seen them talk- or more like bicker when the party hangs out, but she had no idea that they sometimes hang out just the two or that they spend the night at each other’s places, or that they share clothes. 

She thinks she’s not supposed to know, based on the way Steve stops in his tracks with his hand frozen mid-air as he reaches for the car door handle when he spots Max across the road. 

His eyes go wide and his jaw drops a little, the dopey smile that was plastered on his face disappearing as he stands there, staring at her for several seconds. 

Max raises her hand in an awkward wave, which seems to snap him out of his reverie. He offers a small finger wiggle in return. 

Max doesn’t know how clearly he can see her. Just like her, Steve was advised by one of the doctors to wear glasses- his own eyesight showing signs of damage after the multiple concussions that he’s suffered over the years. And just like her, Steve didn’t listen.

Still, she raises an eyebrow at him while staring pointedly at the shirt he’s wearing.

And despite his own shitty eyesight, Steve must be able to see her face clearly enough because he ducks his head, realizes what Max is staring at, and his eyes widen even more. Then, without looking at her again, he hurriedly slides into the driver’s seat and starts the car, backing it up and driving it away.

Once the car disappears, Max jumps to her feet, and tucking her skateboard under her arm, she walks over to Eddie’s trailer. 

Her knuckles rap on the door and she hears movement behind it- the couch squeaking, a loud thud, and a heartfelt “son of a bitch!” coming from Eddie as he, most likely, trips over something.

Eddie starts talking before he opens the door enough to see Max, rubbing at his eyes. “Did you forget something, Stevie-” He pauses when he finally sees Max, whose eyebrows are knit together in a frown. Stevie? She’s only ever heard Eddie call Steve by his last name or by some mocking title before. “Oh. Hey Red, I thought- I thought you were someone else,” he tacks on with an awkward laugh, a hand hanging from his neck. 

Max studies him for a moment. He’s in boxers and a shirt that could very well be the same one that Steve was wearing, equally slept in. They both must’ve woken up recently- Eddie’s hair is even more of a mess than Steve’s was. 

“Who? Steve?” She asks, and Eddie makes a noncommittal sound. “Nah, he left already.” 

Eddie bites his lip. “You- you saw him?” 

“I was fixing my skateboard outside when he came out.” She narrows her eyes at him. “Wearing your shirt.”

“Um,” Eddie says dumbly, scratching the back of his neck. “He, uh, he spilled something on his shirt last night. If you ask me, it was an act of divine intervention, no one should own that many polo shirts.” He chuckles, but it sounds a little strained. 

“So he was here last night?” Max asks and Eddie grimaces, mentally face-palming himself.

“Um, yeah.” 

“Since when do you guys hang out?” She asks, raising an eyebrow.

Eddie shrugs. “Since we found ourselves as the only two adults in a group of children, I guess.” 

Max rolls her eyes. “We’re hardly children.”

“Sorry, teenagers,” he says with a smirk. “But you know, same shit. Sometimes it’s nice to hang out with someone your age who also understands, you know- everything that happened.”

“I guess,” Max concedes. Maybe in a universe without the Upside Down, Eddie and Steve never would’ve become friends, but it makes sense that they did. After everything they went through. 

Eddie reaches over and flicks Max’s forehead, sniggering when Max bats his hand away with a huff. “So, milady, is there a reason you visited me on this fine morning?” 

There isn’t. Truth is, she was curious and wanted to ask about Steve and she did that already, so she might as well just leave. But she also has nothing to do all day and she was hoping to practice with her skateboard anyway-

“Can you give me a ride to the skate park?” She asks and when Eddie glances down at himself and raises an eyebrow, Max scrunches up her nose and adds, “After you take a shower or something?”

Eddie snorts. “Yeah, sure. Come in, you can wait here while I get ready.” He steps to the side and sweeps his arm with a flourish.

“Nerd,” Max mutters but steps in any way, leaving her skateboard on the porch. 

“You can watch something or if you want to grab some breakfast, we have Cocoa Puffs and Honeycomb.” He scrunches up his nose. “But the milk might’ve gone bad, so. Careful with that.” 

Max snorts. “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass,” She says. She had breakfast at home anyway. 

“Suit yourself,” Eddie says, throwing some finger guns her way. “Be right back.” And then he disappears down the hallway.

Max has been inside the trailer a few times, but she’s never been left alone so naturally she decides to snoop around a little while she waits. There’s not a lot that she finds interesting- worn furniture, old newspapers, Eddie’s uncle’s mug collection and-

Steve’s polo shirt that somehow ended up on top of the TV like it was tossed haphazardly by someone. 

She picks it up and inspects it.

There’s not a single stain on it.  

And well, Eddie’s excuse sounded flimsy at best, but this is confirmation that it was actually a lie. It makes Max wonder why Eddie would lie about it. Friends can share clothes and if Steve spent the night it would make sense that he would borrow one of Eddie’s shirts-

But why would his shirt end up on top of the TV if that was the case? 

Before Max can answer her own question, she hears footsteps approaching. Putting the shirt back where it was for Eddie to find later, she makes herself seem busy by staring at the mugs lining up the walls just as Eddie appears. 

“Ready to go?” He asks, oblivious to Max finding the shirt and discovering he was lying about the stain. When she nods, Eddie gestures at the door with another flourish and a, “Ladies first.” 

Sending one last glance at Steve’s shirt, Max steps outside, still wondering what it could mean. 

2. 

Max doesn’t expect it to happen again, but just one week later she sees Steve leaving Eddie’s trailer again.

This time she doesn’t need to squint to notice there’s something off with Steve’s clothes. She’s on her way to Eddie’s trailer when Steve walks out and jogs down the steps, not paying attention to where he’s going, almost knocking Max over. 

“Dude!” She says, stopping him in his tracks. 

“Christ! Where did you come from?” He hisses, stumbling a few steps back, clutching at his chest. 

It makes Max’s eyes dart down to it and she raises an eyebrow. “Why is your shirt inside out?” 

Steve’s eyes nearly bulge out his face as he looks down and notices that his baby blue polo shirt is, in fact, inside out. 

“Uh.” 

Max can see him trying to come up with an explanation, she can almost hear the gears turning in his head, but he seems to be coming up blank. She narrows her eyes further. 

“There was- uh, there was a spider! It ended up caught under my shirt and I had to take it off to- to get it off me and I must’ve put it on the wrong way,” he stammers out with a strained laugh.

“A spider?” Max asks slowly, her eyebrow arched. 

“Uh-huh.” 

Max doesn’t buy it. Just like she didn’t buy Eddie’s excuse about Steve’s shirt having a stain. But since she doesn’t know the real reason why Steve was wearing Eddie’s shirt or why his own is inside out after leaving Eddie’s trailer, she doesn’t confront him about it, just filing the information for later. 

“Okay.” 

Steve awkwardly shuffles from one foot to the other for a second, eyeing his car like he wants to duck inside it and drive away from the trailer park and Max as fast as he can.

At that moment, the trailer door opens and they both whirl around to see Eddie lighting the cigarette dangling from his lips as he walks out. He freezes when he sees them, his eyes darting between the two.

“Oh, you’re still here,” he mumbles through the cigarette. “And so is Max, hey Red.” 

Max gives him a wave.

“What are you two talking about?” He asks, taking a drag from the cigarette.

“I was telling Steve that his shirt is inside out,” Max says, her lips twitching into a smirk. 

Eddie’s eyes widen the same way Steve’s did as he clocks in the inside-out shirt. “Right, that’s- that’s because, um.”

Max waits for him to come up with an excuse of his own, wondering if he’ll come up with the same one that Steve did. But before he can say anything else, Steve intervenes. “There was a spider, right, Eds?” 

Eds? Steve calls him Eds now?

Eddie claps his hands together and points a finger at Steve. “A spider! Right! Nasty little crawler!” 

Max rolls her eyes, wondering if they think she’s stupid. Idiots.

“Whatever.” She turns to Eddie. “My mom made lasagna and she told me to invite you over for lunch,” she says. That was the reason she came over in the first place.

Eddie grins around his cigarette. “Hell yeah, your mom’s lasagna is the shit.” 

Max turns to Steve. “You can come too if you want. She made plenty.” 

The corners of his mouth twitch up for a second before he frowns. “Crap, I’d love to but I have a shift in,” he pauses and glances down at his watch, “twenty minutes. Sorry.”

“Another time.”

“Definitely,” Steve says, ruffling Max’s hair and ducking out of the way before Max can punch his arm. “But for now, I gotta go!” He starts jogging towards his car.

“Don’t forget to fix your shirt!” Max calls and Steve makes a face as he opens the door. 

“And beware of spiders!” Eddie yells right before he climbs inside. Max still catches a glimpse of the fond smile teasing at Steve’s lips. 

When the car disappears, she turns to Eddie again. “You coming or what?”

“Well, when you ask so nicely,” Eddie says with a grin, walking down the steps. 

As soon as he’s within reach, Max snatches the cigarette from his lips and drops it on the ground, snuffing it out with her foot. 

“Hey!” 

“Smoking kills, you know?” She says, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“My dear Red,” Eddie says, throwing an arm over her shoulders as he steers them towards her house. “I defied death once, and I shall do it again!” He says in a silly voice. 

Max bites her lip around a smile. “Yeah, yeah, you can defy it where I don’t have to smell it. Come on, Mom’s waiting.” 

He withdraws his arm and jogs a few steps forward, crouching down in front of Max. “Hop on, milady.” 

Max rolls her eyes, but she grabs Eddie’s shoulders for balance and jumps on his back. Eddie laughs, hoists Max up by her legs, and yells, “Onwards!” before he starts running towards her house. 

Max can’t help but laugh along with him. 

3. 

The next time Max sees Steve outside Eddie’s trailer he’s not leaving but arriving instead. 

She’s sitting down on the porch with her Walkman, waiting for her mother to pick her up. She doesn’t just listen to Kate Bush these days, but she still keeps one of her tapes with her at all times. Right now, she’s listening to a mixtape Lucas made for her. 

It comes to an end just as Steve’s car rolls into the trailer park, stopping in front of Eddie’s trailer. 

As she rewinds the tape, she expects Steve to step out of the car and head inside, but he doesn’t. Eddie doesn’t come out of the trailer either. Steve just sits in his car with his hands on the steering wheel for seemingly no reason.

After ten minutes, he still hasn’t come out and since Max has nothing better to do until her mother gets here, she decides to walk over there to find out what’s going on with Steve. 

She opens the passenger door and slides into the seat without announcing herself, making Steve jump and hit his head with the roof of the car.

“Jesus Christ! Ouch! Fuck!” He glances at Max with wide crazy eyes. “Goddammit, Max, are you trying to give me a heart attack?” 

Max ignores the question in favor of asking one herself. “You’ve been sitting here for ten minutes, dude, what gives?” 

The hand that Steve is rubbing his head with stops abruptly. “Um.” 

“Well?” Max gives him an exasperated look. Her mom is going to be home any second and she would like to get an answer before she does.

Steve bites his lip, watching Max closely. “Can- Can I ask you something?” 

He seems nervous and that’s the only reason why Max lets him ignore her question. “Okay?” 

“You and Lucas-” he starts and Max raises an eyebrow. She wasn’t expecting Steve to ask about them. “You’re together again, right?” 

“Uh-huh.” 

“Did he- when he asked you to-” He waves his hand in a vague gesture. “You know- be his girlfriend, how did he- what did he do?” 

She bites down on the why? that’s at the tip of her tongue. “He gave me this. A mixtape,” she says, holding her Walkman for Steve to see. “And he- he just asked me. He said that after Vecna he didn’t want to waste any more time. He wanted to be with me.” 

Steve smiles softly. “Smart kid.” 

“It wasn’t terribly romantic but-” Max trails off with a shrug. She hadn’t cared about that. Vecna made her realize she wanted to be with Lucas too, and that’s all that mattered. 

“He probably knew you wouldn’t want a big romantic gesture,” Steve says and Max nods.

She narrows her eyes at him- at the way Steve bites his lip while glancing at Eddie’s trailer, thinking.

That’s when it clicks. The shared clothes, the inside-out shirt, Steve asking about her and Lucas, how nervous he is to go inside-

“Is that something Eddie would want? A big romantic gesture?” She asks and Steve snaps his head in her direction so fast she thinks she hears his neck crack. 

“What- what do you- how do you-” 

Max scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest. “Dude, I saw you leaving Eddie’s trailer wearing his clothes and then with your shirt on inside out. And don’t give me that bullshit about the spider! You were obviously- you know.” She gestures vaguely but Steve gets it. His cheeks go pink which is enough confirmation. “And now you’re asking me about Lucas and how he asked me to be his girlfriend like- like you’re thinking about doing that so- is that it? Are you gonna ask Eddie?” 

Steve sighs heavily, slumping back against his seat. “Yeah, that’s- yeah. I want to ask him,” he admits, gripping the steering wheel. He glances at Max out of the corner of his eye. “Is that- is that okay?” 

Max snorts. “You know you don’t need my permission, right? But if you’re asking if I think you and Eddie being together is okay? Yeah, of course it is.” 

Steve relaxes slightly. “Thanks. I- we- this thing between us is new. We haven’t told anyone. Not that we had to tell you,” he chuckles. “Of course, you figured it out, but we haven’t, you know, made it official, but I want to. I just don’t know how.” 

“I thought you were supposed to be some kind of ladies’ man?” 

Steve lets out an undignified squawk. “I- that’s not- I mean I was, but my game kind of went downhill after high school and Eddie- he makes me nervous.”

“Is that why you’ve been freaking out here for ten minutes?”

A high-pitched laughter tumbles out of Steve’s lips. “Yeah, that’s- yeah.” 

Max rolls her eyes. “Steve, just tell Eddie how you feel! How you really feel.”

“Easier said than done, Mayfield.” 

She turns sideways in her seat to face him. “Look, Eddie likes you, that’s obvious, and you like him so just tell him that. Tell him that you want to be together. Officially.”

Steve runs a hand through his hair, blowing out a breath.

“And stop doing that!” Max chatises, slapping his hand away. “You don’t want to look like a bird built a nest in your head when you ask Eddie to be your boyfriend.”

He drops his hand to his lap. “No, I don’t,” He concedes. Then he takes a deep breath. “Yeah, okay, I’m doing this.”

Max waits for him to move and get out of the car, but he just sits there. “Dude, you’re still in the car-”

Steve throws his arms up. “I know! I know, I’m going!” 

And then finally, he gets out of the car. Max follows his lead, leaning her crossed arms on the roof to narrow her eyes at Steve. 

“Now you gotta walk over there-”

Steve groans. “Yeah, I know that. You,” he points at her with one finger while the other one settles on his hip, “you gotta scram. I’m not doing this in front of you.”

Max rolls her eyes. “Whatever. My mom will be here soon anyway.”

She starts walking back to her house but before she gets too far, Steve calls her name. She turns around with a raised eyebrow. 

Steve is smiling softly at her. “Thanks.”

Max smiles back. “Good luck!”

Her mom’s car appears then and she waves at Steve before running towards it. She gets in, and as her mom drives away, she sees Steve fix his hair one last time in the car window before finally walking towards the trailer. 

She faces forward in her seat, convinced that the next time she sees Steve leaving Eddie’s trailer, he’ll be doing it as Eddie’s boyfriend. 

+1. 

The next time he sees Steve, however, it’s not outside Eddie’s trailer, but rather inside it.

She’s sitting down at the Munson’s table, watching Eddie putter around the small kitchen as he cooks them pasta for dinner while she works on her History homework. 

Eddie has music on- loud, heavy metal music that Max rolled her eyes at when she walked in. But the truth is that she’s used to it by now and she prefers this to the silence back at her house when her mom is at work. 

Because of the loud music though they don’t hear the car that parks outside or the person that walks up the front steps. It’s only when the door flings open that both Max and Eddie jump and glance at it, both of them relaxing when Steve walks in carrying a six-pack.

“Honey, I’m home!” He announces, shrugging off his jacket. 

Max watches as Eddie’s eyes widen comically before darting between her and Steve, who still hasn’t noticed her. Steve must’ve forgotten to tell him that Max knows about them- probably too embarrassed to admit he asked a fifteen-year-old for advice on boys. 

“Uh, Stevie-” Eddie starts, but Steve, whose back is still turned towards them as he hangs his jacket on the coat rack, ignores him and keeps talking.

“It smells great in here, Eds! I’m starving. Robin ate the last of my sandwich at work and then she wouldn’t let me steal anything from the candy display. I thought we could order pizza, but thank God my boyfriend decided to surprise me with a home-cooked meal. Oh hey, Max.” He wiggles his fingers at Max, finally noticing her, and she waves back. 

Eddie’s jaw hangs open as he stares at Max. “Shit, I guess- I guess the cat’s out of the bag,” he chuckles, nervously tugging some of his hair in front of his face.

“Dude, the cat’s been out of the bag since I saw Steve leave in one of your shirts after spending the night here,” Max says with a snort. 

Eddie splutters. “What?”

She smirks. “Yeah. And that time Steve walked out with his shirt inside out? Did you really expect me to believe it was because of a spider?”

Steve’s face twists into a grimace. Eddie shrugs, hanging a hand from his neck. Yeah, they should be embarrassed about that one. 

“Also, who do you think was the one who gave Steve a pep talk before he asked you to be his boyfriend?” 

At that, Eddie’s head snaps towards Steve, whose cheeks have turned pink. “She- what?”

“Okay, it wasn’t a pep talk, come on! I was just- I was a little nervous!” 

“Aw baby,” Eddie says gleefully, leaning his elbows on the kitchen counter and resting his chin on his hands. “You were nervous?” 

Max sniggers. “He was. He sat in the car for like ten minutes.”

Steve squeaks. “Shut up!” He tells her. Then when Eddie coos, Steve points a menacing finger at him. “You shut up too!” 

Still giggling, Max watches as Eddie walks around the kitchen counter until he’s standing in front of Steve and cups both sides of his face while Steve pouts at him with his own hands resting on his hips. 

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I think it’s cute that you were nervous,” Eddie tells him before swooping in to give him a quick peck on the lips. “Even if you had no reason to be.”

Steve visibly melts, his hands falling from his hips like a puppet with his strings cut, his pout turning into a dopey smile.

Ew.

“If you guys start making out, I’ll leave. I swear,” Max announces, and both their heads snap in her direction, looking like they forgot she was there. 

Their cheeks turn pink, but while Steve does look a little embarrassed, Eddie looks pleased. 

“Apologies, my lady,” he says with a flourish. “Here, sweetheart, let me take this,” he tells Steve, grabbing the six-pack and walking around the counter to put it inside the fridge before going back to making dinner. Max finds the pet names very cheesy and gross too, but she doesn’t tease them about that. She has the feeling that this is the first time that they can act like a couple in front of someone from the party and she doesn’t want them to think they have to hold back- not unless it comes to kissing. 

Steve joins her on the table, twisting one of the chairs around and straddling it, resting his chin in his arms. “If I’d known you’d be here, I would’ve brought you something to drink too.” 

“That’s okay.” Max shrugs innocently. “I can have a beer.” 

From the kitchen, Eddie cackles, and Steve’s eyes turn into cartoon-like hearts as he glances at him for a second before turning back to Max and speaking in that bitchy tone of his. “Yeah, that’s a no. Nice try. Maybe in a couple of years.” 

Max rolls her eyes as hard as she can. 

“What are you working on?” Steve asks, glancing at her notebook. 

“History homework, I’m almost done.” Then she makes her voice a little louder so Eddie hears it when she says, “I would be done by now if Eddie didn’t listen to his music so loud it makes it hard to think!” 

“You know, Red, music is supposed to improve cognitive performance,” Eddie says in a snarky tone. 

“Yours isn’t music, it’s just noise.”

Steve sniggers and offers his hand for a fist bump that Max accepts. From the kitchen, Eddie sticks his tongue out at her. 

“Whatever, your homework is gonna have to wait anyway. Dinner’s ready.”

Max closes her book and her notebook and moves them both to the coffee table while Steve clears out some old mail and flips his chair forward again. Then he helps Eddie with one of the three pasta bowls and Max grabs a soda from the fridge and two beers for them, carrying it all to the table. 

Steve wasn’t lying when he said it smelled good. Max’s mouth waters the moment she sits down in front of her bowl, wasting no time before she digs in. 

They eat in silence for no more than two minutes which is how long it takes for Eddie to start telling them about his latest study session with Nancy through mouthfuls of pasta. Max scrunches her nose every time she catches a glimpse of Eddie’s half-chewed food, but the whole time, Steve watches him with a dopey smile. Halfway through his story, Steve reaches for one of Eddie’s hands, holding it over the table. Eddie stutters in the middle of complaining about Nancy not believing in breaks (“That woman is a machine! It doesn’t matter if she’s facing off against a dark wizard or an English final!”), his eyes darting to their joined hands and then to Max’s bored expression before relaxing and flipping his hand over so that their fingers intertwine.

They don’t let go for the rest of their dinner- not while the three of them bicker and tease each other or while Steve tells them about his shift at Family Video or while Max tells them about El coming to visit during summer. They don’t let go when Eddie lets Max have a sip of his beer and both he and Steve double over with laughter when she scrunches up her face and gags at the taste. 

They let go only when they move to the couch to watch a movie, but then they cuddle up to each other almost immediately. 

Max gags again, but it’s just for show. She doesn’t mind any of it- the pet names, the cuddling, the hand-holding. She’ll draw the line at seeing them kiss because gross but she’s happy to see them relax and act like this in front of her. Someday, they might tell the rest of the party, maybe even the rest of the world. 

For now, they seem happy to let her be the only one who knows. The only one who gets to see them like this. 

And Max, well, she’s happy too. 

[morganski-19]

Chills Right to the Marrow Part 8

part 1, prev part

The hallway is empty when Dustin leaves the room. Steve and Lucas nowhere to be seen, Mrs. Mayfield gone somewhere else. Leaving Dustin alone to wander.

He doesn’t quite know what he wants. Where he’s going. Just following the path he would normally travel each day. Bouncing between rooms, looking for something to do.  Trying to find someone who would talk to him. Give him something to take his mind off the train tracks it’s bound to.

He grips the book in his hand, feeling the familiarity of wore out pages. Each one loved as he read and reread them over and over again. That’s what he does when he needs comfort. Goes back to the same story over and over again, to a world where he knows every outcome. Where there are no more mysteries. Dustin knows the answer to every question, every possibility.

It’s why he chose it to read to Eddie. It was a book the both of them loved, brought them joy in the darkness of life. He wanted Eddie to feel safe while his body was asleep. Knowing that some coma patients can hear what’s going around them. Even if it doesn’t register, it brings comfort on a subconscious level that there are people here supporting him.

At least that’s what Dustin hoped would happen, what he was striving to do. But he can’t do that today. There’s someone outside telling him that he can’t be in Eddie’s room right now. That something’s going on inside.

He goes right to thinking of the worst. That they are preparing him for some surgery that will probably delay the day he wakes up. Take more time from Dustin. Or maybe Eddie is dead behind those walls. Body finally succumbing to his wounds. His brain activity finally faded away. Leaving Dustin with the misplaced hope that it would all be ok.

He continues to wander into the waiting area. Seeing a familiar face getting a cup of shitty hospital coffee. Dustin must look confused, as Wayne’s face immediately looks concerned when he sees him.

“You alright kid,” he asks, stirring his coffee.

Dustin blinks. “They wouldn’t let me go into Eddie’s room.”

“Yeah, they’re working on him right now. Taking out his breathing tube.”

Panic fills Dustin, the only reaction he’s capable of right now. “Is he ok. That’s a good thing right?”

Wayne sets a steady hand on Dustin’s shoulder. “Yes, that’s a good thing. Why don’t you go sit down, you seem like somethin’s upsetting you.”

Dustin lets Wayne lead him to an empty chair, taking the one beside him. Quiet, letting Dustin be the one to start talking about it. He doesn’t really know how to. Wayne’s been through enough already, he doesn’t need to go through his things too.

Now that he has things to go through.

This was so much easier when things worked out for him. When Will was found and ok. When all his friends made it out of the tunnels underground. When it wasn’t him who lost people, but he could be there to help the ones who did.

He's seen so many people go through the hospital. They always got better in the end, that was good. Why is it so hard during the wait for them to get better? Why does the hope leave him more and more each day? He was the happy one, the one with all the jokes. Helping everyone else out, making sure they smiled.

Who’s going to cheer them up now that the smile can’t seem to return to his face?

“Do you remember Max Mayfield? she lived across from you and Eddie in the trailer park.” Dustin says when the words finally form in his mouth.

Wayne nods. “I do. She a good friend of yours?”

“Yeah,” Dustin plays with the bent cover of his book. “Yeah, she is, one of my best friends. We’ve known her ever since she moved to town back in middle school. She's in a room down the hall from Eddie.”

Wayne looks at Dustin like he understands where this is going. Maybe he does. Or maybe he’s just used to the hospital life after all this time. “Figured, saw her mom here a few times. She doin’ ok?”

Ok isn’t the right word, but Dustin can’t speak for how she feels. He can only speak for himself. And he is definitely not ok. “She’s blind.”

The words feel more crushing now that they’re said out loud.

A sob escapes from Dustin’s chest. The crushing feeling he’s had for weeks finally breaking free. Everything coming out at once in this hospital waiting room. His face falls into his hands, palms pressing into his eyes. Trying to keep the tears inside.

A hand pats his back, comforting him while he breaks. Helping him through this pain. Someone he barely knows but feels so safe around. Silently telling him that everything will be ok. That he will be ok.

Someone else comes and crouches in front of Dustin, placing a hand on his arm. “Hey, what happened?”

Dustin blinks the tears away enough to see Steve looking at him. “What do you think?”

He nods. “Why don’t I take you home, it’s already been a lot today.”

“What, no, I didn’t get to visit Eddie yet today. I have to read him the next chapter.” Dustin pulls himself to sit straighter, making himself look more put together. Tears still running down his cheeks.

“I think Eddie would understand if you missed a day. He would want you to take care of yourself.”

“He’s right,” Wayne agrees. Gently glaring at Steve, but still agreeing. “He wouldn’t want you to strain yourself for his sake.”

Why does everyone keep making decision for Dustin’s benefit? Do they even know what they’re talking about?

Still, Dustin lets Steve bring him home. His mind still stuck in that waiting room with the world falling down around him. Looking through the window doing nothing but add to his feeling. The peaceful outside now rampant with destruction.

The town was broken into pieces. People moved around between the shelters and the hospitals. Some even brought outside of the town to different hospitals in the area. It finally hits Dustin how much of this actually concerns him. How much it always concerned him.

How that kid he used to be kept smiling, he doesn’t quite know anymore. How he was still able to smile a week ago, he doesn’t know. With all that’s happened, with all his friends are going through, he thought he needed to bring levity to it all. Bring the hope that things could get better.

Hope is a dangerous thing. It makes people believe in something that might not happen. Makes him believe that the scars will fade, and the injuries will heal. That his friends will be exactly the same as he knew them last week. A year ago. Two years ago. When they first met.

He’s not even the same as he was a week, a year, two years ago. Somehow, foolishly he thought that life could move on from this. That the upside down would become nothing but a pin in the greater picture of his life. That down the line, when he’s married and maybe has a kid or two of his own, he wouldn’t have to think about it anymore.

Now, it’s become more real than he’s ever thought of before. Now, he’s not sure he’ll ever be able to sleep the same again. The nightmares won’t leave with age. His friends will never become less scarred. His mind won’t be as scarred. His childhood will never be just his childhood. A part of it will always be captured by these memories. Memories that he can hope to only repress.

Dustin will have the privilege to walk away after all of these years without as little of a scar. He has what, a sprained ankle, and that’s it. Max is blind, Will’s lungs are damaged from extended time in the upside down. Lucas, Erica, and Mike are completely traumatized by what they’ve seen. By what they’ve been through.

Dustin is traumatized by what he’s seen. By what he’s been through. He’s always said that his was so much better than everyone else’s. That he was the least effected, so it was ok to diminish it.

He’s now realizing how stupid it was to think like that.

next part

Note: Back to the Wayne POV in the next part. All of Dustin's POV will also be uploaded to ao3

tag list, let me know if you want to be added or removed: @the-they-who-nerded, @insteviewetrust, @croatoan-like-its-hot, @jettestar,

@tinyplanet95, @steddie-as-they-go, @slv-333, @littlecelestialmoth, @thatonebadideapanda,

@fandomsanddeath, @marismorar, @wonderland-girl143-blog, @glass-bottle03, @gutterflower77,

@here4thetrama, @goodolefashionedloverboi, @jaytriesstuff, @cryptid-system, @manda-panda-monium,

@resident-gay-bitch, @anaibis, @xxsutherlandxx, @forevermineliv, @mugloversonly,

@gregre369, @n0-1-important, @different-tale-student, @spectrum-spectre, @tartarusknight,

@devondepresso, @swimmingbirdrunningrock, @cheertain, @anti-ozzie, @autumncrocusandladybug,

@greeniebean911, @cr0w-culture, @stillfullofshit, @connected-dots, @daisynotquake,

@morgannotlefay, @a-little-unsteddie, @dolphincliffs, @maskofmirrors, @me-and-my-sloth,

[queenie-ofthe-void]

Tiger Club (complete version)

Steddie || 6k words || Modern AU single dad Steve and teacher Eddie || rated: M (for very very light d/s undertones at the end NO EXPLICIT CONTENT they don't even kiss you honor it's ok) fluff and humor

~~~

Eddie’s not usually a teacher to bitch about his job. He loves getting his little kiddos excited about reading and story-telling, and surprisingly, teaching is just as fulfilling as he’d hoped it’d be.

This year, however, he drew the proverbial short straw for extracurricular activities. When he was asked to coach soccer he supposes he could’ve politely declined instead of gagging in the middle of the teacher’s meeting, embarrassing the new Principal and causing the history teacher to actually vomit. Empathetic vomiting– Eddie’s a teacher and he’s still learning something new every day.

Does he really seem like the kind of guy who coaches sports? No, of course not. He’ll leave that to the gorgeous and talented math teacher Ms. Cunningham, and the unbearable meathead Phys. Ed. teacher Mr. Carver, who won’t stop drooling over her like a jock peacocking for the head cheerleader. A relatively adept assessment since Chrissy coaches the Little Tumblers gymnastics team and Jason coaches Tiger Cubs basketball.

Regardless, because of Eddie’s little stunt, he’s been relegated to alternating his after school hours between Tiger Club, and detention. The two most boring extracurriculars for kiddos and teachers alike. All he does is wait for parents to pick their kids up, and they’re either too busy demanding to know why they’re child is in detention, or screaming for them to get in the car, to stop and say well hello Mr. Munson, thank you for watching little Joanie today. The small consolation to his predicament is he alternates each week with Ms. Cunningham.

When Chrissy started at Hawkins Middle last fall, Eddie knew exactly what to expect: an ex-high school jock turned girl’s sportsball coach, hoping to relive the glory days. Someone who’d be cocky, self-righteous, and bitchy.

To his surprise, she turned out to be quiet and withdrawn, separating herself from the rest of the staff. He’d thought she’d warm up soon enough, but when she still hadn’t made any friends by winter break, Eddie decided to do something about it.

He adopted her as one of his sheep– a practice of gathering misfits he’s continued into adulthood. She looked skeptical when he first invited her out for happy hour, wary after weeks of Jason’s obnoxious flirting.

Two margaritas later, he’d learned Chrissy had come out to her family who’d then promptly disowned her for her sinful ways. She moved out, got her degree, and took the first job offered to her at Hawkins Middle.

Eddie couldn’t be more grateful for her presence in his life. Chrissy is his other half and she seems to feel the same. She’s not cocky or arrogant, although she’s definitely bitchy, but in a way which perfectly matches him. Chris knows how to take him down a peg, and he knows how to lift her up. They balance each other inside and out.

The other staff, however, see them as an odd pair solely because of their severely opposing aesthetics. Where Eddie’s etched in hard edges and dark colors, donning leather jackets and a myriad of old concert t-shirts, Chrissy flows in soft lines and pastels, garnered in sundresses and cardigans with the occasional jersey for game days.

Many of the staff also love to gossip about a possible secret relationship between the pair– opposites attract and all of that nonsense– which actually works well for them. Better for everyone to think they’re sleeping together rather than the rural people of Indiana discovering queers working around their young, impressionable children.

From their first happy hour, they’d started the Friday tradition of swiping dating apps and bitching about their love lives over margaritas and nachos. It’s one of the best parts of Eddie’s week.

And it’s Friday, which means they should be huddled in their corner booth right now, one shot of tequila each under their belts. But here he is, standing outside next to the jungle gym at 4pm waiting for the twins to be picked up by their dad.

Go figure the guy’s late. Again.

According to Chrissy, this guy Steve has been late every day this week– and it’s only the first week of school. He’s probably one of those parents who thinks teachers work to serve them, like they don’t have their own lives outside of school. It’s Friday for shit’s sake, he’s hungry and he needs a smoke.

“Chris, this is ridiculous. Detention ends at 3:30, same as Tiger Club. Are we just going to keep letting this guy get away with this?” Eddie’s fingers twitch towards the vape in his back pocket. Obviously he doesn’t smoke in front of the kids, but they’re supposed to be gone by now.

“Eddie, just relax, okay? He’s a nice guy, and it sounds like he’s a single dad with a chaotic job. Try to cut him some slack.” She gives him a reassuring smile, knocking her elbow into his side. “Don’t worry we’ll get some salsa in you and you’ll be good as new,” she snarks.

He shoots her a seething glare but she just smiles at him and smoothes out her sundress against the summer breeze. As Eddie crafts the perfect retort– it was going to be a really good one too– a maroon BMW SUV pulls up to the curb.

Fucking finally, Eddie thinks. If Chris isn’t going to say anything to this guy about his chronic tardiness, then he will.

They both start towards the car when a tall woman with a dark blonde bob and a pale freckled face steps out of the driver’s seat. She’s wearing a cropped Hozier t-shirt and oversized cotton overalls covered in pins. Eddie notices a small white, pink, and orange flag next to a pin of a cartoon ghost with boobs that just says “boooooobies”. He likes her already.

Eddie turns to ask Chrissy who this mystery woman is, but it seems she’s also clocked the pins.

“You’re not Steve,” Chrissy shouts. She winces as the woman arches her brow at the abrupt outburst. “I just mean that Steve has been here every day, and that’s his car, but you’re not Steve. I mean, obviously you’re not Steve, you’re you. You know you’re not Steve, you don’t need me to tell you that.”

The following silence is solid and impenetrable. Eddie’s never seen Chrissy this flustered before. Her bambi eyes shine wide and bright, paired with a hot pink flush climbing up to her ears. She’s fiddling with the buttons on her lavender cardigan and it seems like she can’t decide if she should stare directly at the woman in front of her, or very intensely in absolutely any other direction.

Not-Steve’s growing smile and matching blush tells him maybe he’s not the only one who’s noticed Chrissy’s little crush.

Interesting.

Just as Eddie steps in to save his friend from mortal anguish, he’s interrupted by high-pitched screeches from the playground.

“Auntie Robbie,” the twins cry in unison. It’d be creepy if they weren’t so goddamned adorable.

“My munchkins!” The kids crash into her, the three of them falling to the ground in a heap of limbs. “Oof okay let’s make sure you don’t take me out before I can get you twerps home.”

He only knows of the twins from what Chrissy has told him this week, since she gets to see all of the incoming sixth graders, whereas Eddie teaches seventh and eighth grade. Working with younger kids is great, don’t get him wrong, but the available reading material for his literature units only gets better with age.

The curly-haired boy scrambles up to collect his Minecraft hat from where it’d fallen off in the scuffle. He’s small, hyperactive as all hell, and missing his front teeth, which Eddie can only tell because of the kid’s unbridled megawatt smile.

While the boy raves about his school day, the young red headed girl rolls her eyes at his antics, but it’s easy to spot the fondness underneath. Her two copper braids are adorned with small butterfly clips, matching the fake butterfly tattoos on her left wrist. In contrast to her more girlish accessories, she’s wearing a Hawkin’s Hospital softball team shirt which has to be a men’s medium, at least. It’s been tucked into her hot pink shorts, but it drowns her nonetheless.

In short, they’re both absolutely adorable.

When Eddie turns his attention from the kids, Chrissy’s finishing gently explaining the pick up times. Thank God.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Robin sheepishly replies. “His shifts have been really hectic this week and he’s on call today so–”

“Wait,” the girl interrupts. “Does that mean he won’t be home for dinner?” She moves to stand away from the mess of tangled limbs, scowling to hide the obvious hurt in her eyes.

“Max, honestly I’m not sure. I know he’s trying really hard to change his shifts, so hopefully it won’t be forever. Okay?” The reassurance seems to ease a bit of the tension in Max’s shoulders and scrunched brow. “But to make up for it, we’re going to have dinner at Aunt Nancy and Uncle Johnny’s house. I think the Sinclairs will be there too.”

“Ooooooo,” the boy teases, a shit-eating grin on his face, “Lucas will be there!”

“Shut up, Dustin!” Her fingers reach up to fidget with the small heart pendant on her necklace, while a light blush coasts across her freckles.

“Okay kiddos that’s enough, let’s get you out of here so your wonderfully patient teachers can actually start their weekend,” Robin replies, smiling while coaxing the twins towards the car. “I’m sorry again for being late, I swear it won’t happen again.”

“Totally cool, don’t worry about it,” Chrissy replies, a little too casually. The scarlet that invaded her chest and ears has receded to a dusting of pale pink on her cheeks. Robin’s smile grows wider as the two women stare at each other, cartoon hearts and flying babies in diapers wielding bow and arrows floating around their heads.

Eddie clears his throat– loudly.

“OH, right,” Robin starts. She reaches up to fiddle one of her many pins as she finally notices Eddie’s presence. “I should let you get back to your, to your uhh, him, I mean.”

“Mr. Munson! He’s just Mr. Munson.” Eddie can actually see the wheels in her brain spinning faster than they can take off. It’s cute, he’s just trying not to feel a little slighted. “He’s my coworker. My friend, actually, he’s my best friend, Eddie.”

“Oh,” Robin says again, more relaxed this time. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry if you’ve had to wait for Steve too.”

“No, I’ve been doing detention, but I’m sure I’ll get to meet him next week. I’ve heard a bit about him from Chrissy. Chaotic work schedule, single dad, twins,” Eddie says, gesturing to Max and Dustin talking amongst themselves.

“Yeah,” Robin absently draws the word out, eyes roaming over Eddie top to bottom.

Surprisingly, he feels himself blush. He’s not even into women but damn has it been awhile since he’s been checked out so blatantly. One of the many queer struggles he and Chris have bonded over is how difficult dating is in Bumfuck Nowhere, USA. So other than the occasional weekend fling in the city for Eddie, and one five-month long-distance relationship for Chrissy, neither have seen any recent action.

Sue him for getting flustered at being so obviously ogled, even if she is clearly into Chrissy. That just leaves Eddie wondering why he’s being visibly raked over by a random lesbian.

“So, Eddie, you said you’ll be here next week, yeah? When Steve’s here for pick up,” she asks, with innocent curiosity in her voice but a glint of something suspicious in her eyes.

“Umm yeah,” he says, very eloquently, “I did just say that.”

“Good! I’ll make sure Steve’s definitely here next week to grab the kids. He should meet all of his kids’ teachers.”

Before Eddie can correct her– he’s not their teacher– Robin shoots him a coy smile and a wink while turning to leave. The kids say their goodbyes, scrambling into the car, and as it pulls away from the curb Dustin rolls down his window to wave as they drive off.

Eddie stands in stunned silence next to his unusually quiet best friend, the two slowly processing the whirlwind of whatever the fuck just happened.

“Well,” Chrissy says, a shell-shocked smile on her face, “I guess we have something to talk about over margs.”

“Yeah,” he agrees, still reeling after the odd interaction, “I guess we do.”

~~~

Weeks go by, and Eddie always seems to miss Steve’s pick up days. Chrissy’s only seen him a few times, but both her and Eddie have been privileged with the presence of almost every other adult family member in the twins’ lives.

Aunt Robin picks them up most days. She always feigns exasperation at Dustin’s boundless energy and Max’s sassy jokes, but laughs every time they tackle her to the ground. Eddie was surprised to find out she actually lives with the kids and their mysterious father. He considered asking her more about the situation, but decided it wasn’t his business.

However, he did find out from Chrissy that Robin and Steve went to the same high school but ran in different crowds. The two reconnected working at Hawkins Hospital, Robin as an interpreter and Steve as a paramedic. They bonded over a particularly difficult patient who’d come in through Emergency and didn’t want someone like Robin working with him, not realizing– as Robin had joked– that Steve was someone like Robin too.

The more Eddie learns about the duo, the more it reminds him of his relationship with Chrissy. It’s at least a small comfort to know they’re not alone in this backwards town.

Aunt Nancy and Uncle Jonathan are the next most frequent visitors. He learned Nancy is a journalist at the Hawkins Post, but is looking to get hired working remotely at a bigger paper like The Chicago Times or Indianapolis Journal. Jonathan is a free-lance photographer, sometimes working for Nancy or the Post, but mostly shoots weddings and family photos. They seem nice enough, although he once caught Jonathan checking him out in the same way Robin had, glancing between Eddie and his own wife with a smirk on his face.

The nerve of these people checking him out, leaving him flushed and spluttering when they aren’t even interested.

Hell, he even got to meet Dustin and Max’s grandparents before meeting their mysterious and elusive dad.

“Munson,” Jim Hopper, Hawkins Chief of Police, the twins’ adopted grandfather, scowled at him. He looked about the same as the last time Eddie had seen him, maybe a few more greys in his mustache and lines around his eyes. Easier to see the fine details when Eddie’s not cuffed in the backseat making faces at him in the rearview mirror.

Jesus Christ, is he lucky Hopper only ever brought him back home to Wayne for dealing instead of throwing him in a jail cell for the weekend. Eddie was twenty the last time the Chief picked him up, almost a decade ago now. He practically tossed Eddie in the backseat, drove them both out to the quarry, sat him down, handed him a beer, and explained in fine detail the differences between being a juvenile delinquent and an actual felon. Needless to say Eddie quit dealing and decided his calling was more educational.

“Oh Hop, leave the poor boy alone.” The small woman next to them playfully back-hands the Chief’s beer belly to get him to back off. “I’m Joyce, the kids’ grandma. And you must be Mr. Munson! We’ve heard so much about you.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Hopper,” he says, unsure of how to navigate this extremely awkward interaction. The Chief’s stern glare hasn’t left Eddie’s face since he stepped out of the car. “I, uhh, wasn’t aware that you had family, Chief?”

The man grunts, but uncrosses his arms, shoving one hand in his front pocket and wrapping the other around his wife. “Steve’s not my son, but I’ve been looking after that boy since I picked him up for his first speeding ticket. Just a few years before the kids, back when he was dating Nancy.”

“Wait, wait, wait a second,” Eddie interrupts, shocked “Nancy, as in Auntie Nancy and Uncle Jonathan?”

“Jonathan’s my boy,” Joyce answers Eddie’s slack-jawed confusion. “Nancy and Jonathan met just after her and Steve broke up, but they’re all still good friends, obviously.”

“Yeah, obviously.” Eddie zones out a bit, trying to connect the dots in the tangled web of Max and Dustin Harrington’s family life. “Wait, wouldn’t that make Steve my age? And if you raised him–” he points to Hopper accusingly– “then that means he went to school here. With me. So why don’t I know him?”

But Hopper’s already shaking his head. “Kid went to the private school two towns over. Parents have an estate on the opposite side of town from Forest Hills, just barely inside my jurisdiction. I’m not surprised you two didn’t cross paths, he was only ever here for sports, which–” he gestures at Eddie’s everything, and yeah, Eddie gets it. But an estate?

This is the most information he’s been able to dig up so far. He looks back to the playground where Chrissy is still trying to rally the twins’ spilled bags. It’s an opportunity Eddie refuses to pass on.

“And the twins?” He turns back and just catches the end of a silent conversation between the couple, eyeing each other while glancing at Eddie. They stop when they notice him watching, and Hop sighs.

“Dustin and Max came around just after his senior year. The kid was set up for a full-ride to Indy on a swim scholarship his dad paid for. The mom was a girl he met at a party, and he didn’t see her again until she dropped them off on his doorstep. Parents kicked him out, then I took them in. Same week I picked you up for the last time,” Hop adds on with a laugh, like this entire conversation is chock full of cosmic coincidence. “What a hell of a week.”

Eddie tumbles the new information in his head over and over throughout the next few days. He feels himself growing bitter that someone like Steve Harrington exists. Someone who sounds too good to be true. Fake, like the many charming princes and noble knights he’s woven into his campaigns over the years. Except it’s hard to deny when it’s not just the kids, and Auntie Robin, Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Nancy, or hell, even the grandparents.

It’s Chrissy. Every time Chrissy gets to talk to Steve, she raves about him until Eddie starts fake gagging just to get her to stop. She typically rolls her eyes, but he’s sick of hearing about how great this guy is and at this point, he’s not even sure if he wants to meet him. No one’s this great.

“Don’t you think it’s weird,” Eddie rants, like he has been for the past ten minutes, “that he can’t even be bothered to pick up his own children? And it’s like you’ve said, Chris, even when he does pick them up he’s always late! What kind of father is that, really?”

He’s halfway through his second margarita, and he’s lost track of the conversation entirely, not sure how they transitioned from Chrissy’s hinge matches to Steve fucking Harrington. Again.

Chrissy frowns at him, and yeah, he might’ve went a bit too far there. Maybe he’s a little sensitive about topics revolving around bad dads.

“Just because you’re hungry doesn’t mean you get to be a dick, Eddie,” she shoots back, pushing the basket of chips closer to him as they wait for their food. “It’s not my fault you decided to switch to detention yesterday and missed him because you were cold. I told you it was going to be chilly out and you still didn’t wear a jacket.”

“I was wearing a jacket, Chris,” he pouts.

“An actual, warm jacket. Not that threadbare, leather monstrosity you got from Goodwill for ten dollars. Just because you cover the holes with patches doesn’t mean the holes aren’t there.”

He lets out an undignified shriek, but she continues on to the actual conversation, used to ignoring his dramatics. “You know it’s not the same as with your dad, or mine. Steve really is a great guy, even if you refuse to admit it. I think you’re just jealous you haven’t met him yet.”

“Of course I want to meet him,” he snaps back, but Chrissy just grins in response. “I have to listen to everyone talk about how great he is, and I’m just supposed to believe it all on face-value? Honestly, I’m sick of hearing about him, and if we keep talking about this it’s gonna ruin my buzz.”

Eddie refuses to believe a former trust-fund kid who hosted parties at his estate just to act like a fuck-boy actually leveled up to become a loving single father who’s adored by his family and friends, saves literal lives every day, and is one of the only queer people in this god forsaken town.

Not that he spends his free time thinking about a random guy he’s gathered enough general information on to build a well-rounded NPC. A disowned nobleman cast out from his kingdom into squalor. With the help of the lonely prince’s new found family, he redeems himself by serving as Hawkins’ most beloved Paladin.

Again, not that he’s actually building this character for next year’s campaign or anything, it just goes to show how much people won’t stop bragging about this guy, and Eddie’s over it.

“You’d really like him,” Chrissy says, putting an end to his stewing. She’s smiling like maybe she knows something he doesn’t, and it reminds him of the same smiles he’s gotten from Robin and Nanna Joyce.

“Yeah, well I’d actually have to meet him to like him.”

~~~

It’s Eddie’s week for Tiger Club and by Thursday he still hasn’t seen Steve once. It’s been Robin every day so far, but she promised yesterday that he’d be doing pick ups today and tomorrow. Eddie hadn’t really believed her after so many previous missed connections, but when the kids ran out to the playground screaming about Dad bringing them for ice cream after school, he thinks maybe he should’ve taken her seriously.

Because now here he is, fiddling with the sleeves of his leather jacket and smoothing a hand over his flyaways like he’s about to meet the goddamned Pope. He’s not nervous– he’s not. It’s just some guy– nay, an ex-trust fund kid. Sure he sounds amazing on paper, but Eddie’ll decide that for himself.

“So is he here yet?” Jumping out of his skin, he turns to find Chrissy smirking at him. He checks his watch and sure enough, it’s 3:45, and Max and Dustin are the last kids on the playground. God, he really should’ve noticed all of the other kids leaving. “Eddie, you seem nervous,” she says, giggling as he scoffs at her implication.

He is not nervous.

“What would I have to be nervous about?” He almost shouts it, gesturing wildly with his hands. “I don’t even know the guy. I just know he’s late. Again!”

Chris nods toward him, eyeing something over his shoulder and he turns in time to see a familiar maroon SUV pull up to the curb. But the man stepping out onto the sidewalk definitely isn’t Robin.

No, he’s just the prettiest man Eddie’s ever been lucky enough to set his gaze on.

He’s wearing tight, acid washed jeans and a navy henley that’s holding on for dear life across his broad chest. The aviator sunglasses should really make him look like a stereotypical douchebag, but of course it just makes him look hot, accentuating his full, pouty, pink lips. His thick, chestnut hair is feathered to appear casual. Even from across the playground it looks soft, and Eddie’s desperate to touch, to hold and pull tight.

The fucking guy is effortlessly cool, and Eddie hates that cool ex-jock is a look that’s apparently his type.

The man scans the playground, a wide grin brightens his face when he catches sight of the twins. Eddie watches as the literal fallen angel pushes his fingers into his mouth– sending Eddie’s thoughts careening dangerously off course– and whistles loud enough that Dustin and Max pop up like adorable groundhogs.

“Daddy!” Max yells, jumping up and running full speed towards him with Dustin hot on her heels.

Daddy? Eddie’s never heard either of the twins call him that– it’s always been Dad. Although Eddie’s also pretty sure he’s never seen Max this excited before.

Steve drops to his knees– Eddie’s jaw hits the ground at the same time– to catch his kids as they send him toppling over. The three are a pile of limbs and smiles, and it’s melting Eddie’s cold, grinch heart.

Chrissy nudges him. He can tell she’s already reading him like an open book, the same way he had when she’d first laid eyes on Robin. Instead of teasing, her smile is full of comfort and encouragement. She lightly tugs his arm, pulling his frozen legs behind her towards the chaos. As the kids disentangle themselves, he can hear them excitedly talking over one another.

“No, Daddy listen, Lucas told the funniest joke at recess–”

“Max, oh my god, no one cares! I literally made a volcano in science–”

“Shut up, Dustin, no one cares about your stupid science volcano!”

“Hey!” Steve’s up on his feet clapping loudly to get the kids’ attention. “Language, Max. How many times do I have to tell you that Dustin’s science stuff isn’t stupid? And Dustin, don’t interrupt your sister when she’s talking. Just because you’re louder doesn’t mean you get to talk over her. Both of you apologize. Now.”

The kids look equally cowed, and mutter their apologies before turning back to their dad with their proverbial tails between their legs.

“And?” he prompts.

“Sorry for arguing, Dad,” they answer in unison.

“Good. Now, let’s go find Miss Chr–”

The end of Steve’s sentence is lost to the autumn wind as he catches Eddie’s eye. He watches as Steve slowly pushes his sunglasses up onto his head and jesus christ those are the warmest honey hazel eyes Eddie’s ever seen. Steve’s mouth has dropped open, drawing Eddie’s gaze to his plush lips.

Up close, Eddie can pick out the golden shine to his hair and the moles scattered across his skin. Two on the man’s neck hold his attention, filling Eddie with the strong urge to bite. Steve pushes up his sleeves to reveal toned forearms. His hands are large with long fingers and Eddie needs them wrapped around him.

“Daddy, what are you looking at?”

Both men jolt at the sound of Max’s voice. A heavy blush coats Steve’s face, and Eddie wants to explore where else the man turns red and wanting. Mouth suddenly dry, he darts his tongue out to wet his lips, only for Steve’s gaze to immediately track the movement.

“Daddy, oh my god why are you being so weird!”

Steve tears his eyes from Eddie’s mouth, briefly turning to face Max again.

“I’m not being weird. You just haven’t introduced me to your teacher yet.”

“Oh, right I’m so sorry,” Chrissy steps forward, not sounding sorry at all. “This is–”

“Mr. Munson, right?” Steve says. “And I’m–”

“Daddy,” Eddie finishes.

It’s quiet. Too quiet, and Eddie realizes everyone is staring at him. Steve’s eyes are wide, mouth open in shock. He’s flushing red down his neck and up to the tips of his ears, but his eyes never leave Eddie’s.

“Did you just call our Dad, Daddy?” Max asks, pointing and laughing.

And oh.

Oh god no.

He called him Daddy to his face in front of his children, and the universe, and everyone. A beautiful, gorgeous, perfect specimen of a man he’s never met before, and he called him Daddy like Eddie was cursed in a past life to make a total ass of himself. He’s on the verge of melting into the ground when Dustin’s shrill voice cuts through the fog to come to his aid.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Munson. Last week I accidentally called Mrs. Click, Mom, but it was an accident,” the boy reasons. “It happens to everyone, it’s okay.”

Except it’s very much not okay, and Eddie thinks nothing will be okay ever again.

He chances a look and sees Steve’s finally closed his mouth, though he’s chewing on his bottom lip and still blushed up to his ears. Eddie can only imagine how red his own face is.

“Well,” Chrissy clears her throat– loudly. “Eddie, this is Steve. And Steve, this is Mr. Munson, but you can call him Eddie.” She looks a little too pleased with herself, but Eddie doesn’t know whether to thank her or remember this for next time Robin comes around.

“Hi,” Steve says, dazed, absently reaching out for a handshake because of course Steve’s the kind of man to shake a guy’s hand who’s just accidentally called him Daddy. The nerve of some people.

“Umm, hi,” Eddie responds while he grabs Steve’s hand. It’s not a firm handshake between two people meeting for the first time. It’s gentle, Steve practically cradling Eddie’s hand in his and he was right. Steve’s hand is bigger, softer than his own, but Eddie’s fingers are thicker.

Over far too soon– but maybe too long if Chrissy’s scrunched expression is anything to go by– Steve lets go. Eddie’s forced to stand and watch Steve flex his fingers, stretching until they’re white, before balling them into a fist and shoving his hand into his back pocket. His other hand rakes through his auburn hair, and– for absolutely no reason whatsoever– Eddie considers including a Jane Austin unit next semester for his eighth graders.

“I’ve heard a lot about you from the kids. And Robin. Oh and Jonathan and Joyce,” Steve rambles. If Eddie didn’t know better, he’d say the man sounds flustered. It helps him relax a bit.

“All good things?” Eddie teases, twirling a strand of hair between his fingers before pulling it in front of his face.

“Yeah, they just failed to mention,” Steve gestures vaguely to all of Eddie, much the same way as Hopper had but also very, very different. He looks down at himself to make sure he didn’t wear anything especially heinous today, but all he finds are his typical combat boots, black jeans, and his gray t-shirt underneath his leather jacket.

He steps a little closer to Eddie, putting them within middle school slow-dancing distance from each other. Eddie can’t look away from his eyes, warm and golden, just like everything else about him.

“Kids,” Chrissy cuts in, “why don’t we go get your stuff together while your Daddy talks with Mr. Munson a bit?” Eddie could kiss her for being such a saint, and the three of them wander off while Eddie remains a captive to the intensity crawling around in Steve’s stare.

“So,” Steve sighs, voice low and smooth. Chills spread down Eddie’s spine, and he knows he’s done for. “Daddy, huh?”

Heat scorches Eddie’s face as white hot embarrassment spreads to his core. Steve smiles like he’s successfully cornered his prey, and Eddie can’t figure out what to do with his hands. He stands frozen as Steve takes another step forward, now toe to toe.

“Yeah,” Eddie drags the word out, not quite sure of what he’s agreeing to. He’s only sure of Steve’s breath mixing with his and Steve’s eyes roaming his face and Steve’s everything.

He clears his throat, smoothes his clammy hands over his jeans, and tries again.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that.” He chuckles, hoping to play it off as casual. “It really was just an accident like Dustin was saying, you know? An awkward slip of the tongue. See, the thing is that Max was calling you Daddy, right? Which is totally weird because she always calls you Dad. So I was just kind of surprised and confused and I couldn’t stop thinking about you– I mean Daddy! The word Daddy, not you as a Daddy.” Eddie groans scrubbing his hands over his face, hiding behind his fingers. “Fuck, god, I’m so sorry, this is so unprof–”

“I don’t think you’re sorry,” Steve interrupts. “In fact, I think you liked it. And if I had to guess, I think you want to do it again.”

This isn’t happening. This is not real life.

Things like this don’t just happen to people like him, to the Eddie Munson’s of the world, and certainly not with men like the golden god leaning into his space. Except here he finds himself, trapped in a real-life porn intro with a man he’s never met yet has been crushing on for over a month. The tightness of Eddie’s black skinny jeans is becoming an increasing problem and he reminds himself this is a school and there are children here.

Before he can recover enough to save himself, Steve’s cooing at him, pulling at the edge of his leather sleeves and asking “would you like to do it again?”

Eddie nods, dumbstruck and inappropriately turned on.

“Good,” Steve praises, saccharine, “all you have to do is ask for my number and I’ll give it to you.”

Eddie looks around the playground and sees Chrissy with the kids well on the opposite side. They’re playing on the swingset, thoroughly distracted.

“I know they’re there. It’s okay, they can’t hear us,” Steve says and grabs Eddie’s hand. He tangles their fingers together, goosebumps shiver up Eddie’s arm. “Now, ask me.”

“Umm, can I have your number?” he mumbles.

Steve shakes his head and gives Eddie's hand a firm squeeze. “No Eddie, you need to ask nicely. Go on now, I won’t say it again.”

Eddie swallows against the dryness in his mouth and Steve’s darkened eyes flit down to catch his neck flex around his empty throat.

“Please, Daddy, may I have your number?” Delicious shame coils through his chest while heat curls lower in his core. He’s not used to such brazen affection, nor so immediately trusting to reciprocate. And fuck, normally Eddie’s the Daddy. But from everything he’s heard– all of the kind and caring people who talk about how amazing Steve is– he thinks this might be okay. Hopes and wants and craves it all to be okay.

Steve’s answering smile is surprisingly gentle. He rubs his thumb against the back of Eddie’s knuckles before taking a step back, not far enough to leave him self-conscious, but Eddie feels like he can breathe for the first time since Steve stepped out of the car.

“Of course you can have my number, Baby, thank you for asking so nicely.”

Eddie unlocks his phone and hands it over just as Chris makes her way back with the kids. They all say their goodbyes, and much to Eddie’s delight, Steve texts him before the SUV even pulls away from the curb. To top it off, Steve waves as they drive by, a dorky spirit-finger wave that sends Eddie into a fit of giggles, like he’s a school boy with his first crush.

Chris elbows him in the side, a smirk on her face and her eyebrow arched.

Eddie sighs in faux-defeat. “He’s alright, I guess,” he answers her unasked question with a giant, smitten, shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

He loves the twins, has met basically Steve’s entire family, and is almost positive Chris and Robin have hit it off. Eddie’s hopes are already too high up to pull back down to earth, excited to see where this journey will take him. He’s loath to admit it after weeks of petulant moping and pining, but Steve Harrington does, in fact, live up to the hype.

[kitchen-spoon]

Steve needs glasses

1989: Steve, Eddie, Robin, Nancy, and Max all live in Chicago together. Steddie and Ronance are in Established relationships and live together in apartments near each other. Max just moved to the city for university and Lives on Campus.

Before they all lived together Max figures out they are dating first and see’s Steve in glasses first because she cut herself pretty bad and was home alone. She goes to Eddie’s for help. He takes her to the kitchen and is cleaning her up when Steve walks out in his underwear covered in hickies with his glasses on asking what is going on.

Eddie is a mechanic. His style has changed a lot because of his job, he needs to dress more practical now. The few things he doesn’t give up are his septum and bridge piercings and his rings. He routinely takes them off and on everyday before and after work. Mostly he wears homemade muscle tank tops he cut himself that show his ribs made from band t-shirts. He wears work boots often now too. His hair is usually tied back into a ponytail and he uses his bandana to keep his bangs away from his face. His usual uniform also involves navy Carhartt overalls.

Steve works at a diner. On Wednesday nights he closes so Eddie, Robin, Nancy and max all come in after close and eat the leftover food that was going to be tossed. Nancy doesn't come often because she usually has work the next day and can't stay up late so, Eddie and Robin deffer to Max for Stories about Steve when he first started dealing with the upside down.

Eddie’s suspicion about Steve needing glasses starts right before they get togther. At first it was because of how much Robin brought it up but he just chalked it up to their weird wonder twins friendship. when He really notices though is when they go to a college party thanks to Nancy and Steve spills his drink trying to pour it in the cup while sober.

Eddie gets his suspissions confirmed when he gets Steve to admit he has trouble seeing one night. They are in the garage together, Steve is ‘helping’ by passing Eddie tools. He asks Steve to pass him a specific sized ratchet and Steve passes him the wrong size Twice. Eddie just straight up asks if Steve has trouble seeing but, Steve gets defensive and is like ‘alright asshole I get it I’m not handy jesus.” But Eddie calms him down, apologizes and asks again letting Steve know he is serious. He mentions the party and other things (squinting at the remote when he puts on movies, always clips the corner in the hallway going into the washroom.) And Steve finally relents and admits "maybe I’ve been having problems for the last year." Eddie freaks out, "like year?! Jesus Steve you need to go to an eye doctor. Seriously." and convinces him somehow.

They go. Steve’s head injuries / concussions have weakened his right eye. He has Amblyopia or a lazy eye. His brain has a disconnect and can’t recognize sight from his right eye as well. He’ll have to get glasses and wear an eyepatch. (which he only wears around Eddie) They make another appointment so he can get tests done and they can get his prescription.

Once they leave the eye office Steve makes Eddie swear not to tell anyone about anything. They talk about how needing glasses makes Steve feel weak and less useful, how he won't be able to protect the kids as well anymore and they won't trust him to keep them safe. He also worries about how they'll make him look because he knows he is stupid so all he has left going for him is his looks which will be ruined by the glasses. Eddie sits and listens and then talks Steve through all his worries, especially the ones abut his looks. Its how they have their first kiss and subsequently start dating.

After that Eddie takes Steve to all his appointments and they have little dates after to feel better. For one appointment Steve has to have his eyes dilated so Eddie really does have to come. It's on a Monday so Eddie has to come in his workboots, coveralls, and bandana right after work. Steve gets his eyes dilated and Eddie helps guide him around. They go to the cafeteria while they wait and have milk and cookies because that is all that is left. Eddie soaks the cookie bits for Steve and feeds him. Eddie laughs and says it’s what Steve looks like when he is stoned

When Steve gets his glasses and hangs out with Robin, Nancy and Max for the first time Eddie goes in first and is like don’t say anything or he’ll never wear them again and be blind by the time he’s 40.

[elekinetic]

max finds a guitar in a thrift store for $15 the summer before her senior year of high school and teaches herself how to play. puts some old lame poetry to music, doesn’t tell anyone. takes her til her junior year of college to drag herself to an open mic. it’s fine, decent writing. but it’s honest, and maybe that’s why she doesn’t share it. maybe when she’s older. she’ll see.

[dragonflylady77]

a royal wedding

Rating: G | 613 words | fluff

C3 - blazing sun for @harringrovesummerbingo

Summary:

Max takes her daughter and her daughter's best friend to the beach and overhears them talking about a royal wedding between a prince and a king with very familiar names...

The fic on Ao3

The Vanity of Devils is a real book, written by Mikayla Rand and you can find it here on the zon if you feel like looking it up. It's a paranormal romance with demons and other creatures. The author is one of my besties and I love that book so very much.

Max leaned back on her elbows, her eyes never leaving the two little girls playing in the sand a few feet away. She was glad she’d remembered the sun umbrella this time and taken the time to slather everyone with sunscreen. She had gotten sunburned one too many times growing up and didn’t take any chances with anyone’s skin anymore. 

She’d picked up the girls from school with the beach bags already in the trunk, and waved at Steve who had to sit through a few hours of parent-teacher conferences before he joined them for dinner. It was nearly four o’clock yet the sun was still blazing and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The girls hadn’t come to ask for a snack yet, but Max knew it was only a matter of time.

She grabbed her Kindle from the bag and turned onto her belly, determined to at least finish the chapter she was on. Mikayla Rand’s The Vanity of Devils had been on her TBR for a while and it was really good, but working from home with a six-year-old and an older brother who kept showing up to ask for advice on his love life did not leave a lot of time for reading.

“...then Prince William arrives on his black horse…”

The girls’ chatter made Max pause her reading to listen. She glanced at her daughter and her daughter’s best friend who had made a sand castle and decorated it with shells and ribbons of seaweed. They were each holding a stick they had wrapped with seaweed and tiny shells.

“Yes, and Princess Rosalinda is so happy to see him.”

“And he gives her a letter from his favorite niece, saying she will be there for the royal wedding. She’s coming soon with Queen Maxine and King Lucas, and they’re bringing presents.”

“Yay, I love presents!”

“Then Prince William gives her a great big hug then lets her ride on his horse with his helper person so he can go find the king.”

“Oh, the king missed him a lot while he was gone. And Princess Rosalinda is glad she’s not in the room when they start kissing because, ew, kissing is gross.”

“So gross. You know, I saw my mom and dad kissing the other morning when Dad was leaving for his work. Yuk.”

Max bit her lip to stop herself from snickering and checked the time on her phone. “Girls, would you like a snack?”

Roscoe and Rosie dropped their embellished sticks and ran to Max, happily drinking the water she offered them before digging into the food she’d packed for them.

A hand landed on Max’s shoulder, causing her to choke on her sip of iced tea.

“Uncle Billy!!!” Roscoe shrieked, jumping into his arms like she hadn’t seen him a few days ago.

“How are my favorite girls?” Billy asked, putting Roscoe down after a twirling hug and sitting next to Max. He pushed his sunglasses off his nose and listened to the two little girls giving him a run down of their day. 

Max noticed they didn’t mention the castle they’d built or the story they’d made up.

“Uncle Billy, can we go for a swim?” Roscoe asked, trying her luck with him since Max had told her she wasn’t getting in the water.

“Yeah, just give me a minute to catch up with your mom, okay? You girls go back to your sandcastle, I’ll be right there.”

The girls happily went back to their game, and Max turned to her brother, waiting for him to take a sip of his water to ask, “So, you and Steve are getting married, I hear?”

[l393ndjean]

Here! Have a snippet of my madwheeler stepsiblings wip!

This fic is set within the MMWtBiO universe, a modern version of Hawkins. MMWtBiO is a fic and Comic, which can be found on my other blog: @byler-makemewanttobelieveitsokay

[urdreamgirls-dreamgirl]

Hawkins, Indiana

January 1987

Max has been home from rehab for about a week and all she’s really been able to do is amble around her trailer watching movies and listening to music. The second semester of the school year doesn’t start for another week, so she’s got a lot of time on her hands.

Sometimes, when she’s really bored, she’ll make her way, slowly, over to Eddie’s trailer and bother him for an afternoon. Sometimes Wayne is there and awake to bother too and it makes her remember what it felt like to have a family that cared about her. It doesn’t make her bitter, just hopeful, because she thinks now she’s found people that could be that for her.

She’s knocking on the trailer now and she can hear Eddie scrambling for the door on the other side. He swings it open, his guitar in his other hand. “Max!” He exclaims, a bright smile lighting up his entire face when he sees her. “Come in. I was just learning a special song.”

Max makes her way up the steps into the trailer and follows Eddie into the living room. Eddie drops into the sole armchair in the room, leaving Max to the plaid couch. It was old and the fabric was a little scratchy, but it was soft in all the right places. She sits with her back against one of the arms, lifting her legs to stretch in front of her. Her ankles were a bit swollen today because of the weather and they were irritated. She was supposed to keep them elevated when that happened.

“So what’s the song?” She asks. Eddie smiles and starts playing. He’d already played her “Running Up That Hill” in the hospital so many times, she was almost getting sick of it, but this time it’s “Hounds of Love.” Max can’t help but smile as she listens.

When the song is over, Eddie says, “I’m making my way through the entire album.” He doesn’t say ‘just in case’ but Max hears it anyway and something inside her swells as she looks at him. It’s been hard for them all to believe that the Upside Down is gone and Vecna with it.

There’s another knock on the trailer door then and Eddie smiles at her, placing his guitar in her hands before he goes to answer the door. She strums the strings absently as she waits for him to come back.

Eddie is trying to keep his voice soft, maybe so she doesn’t hear, but she hears anyway. “Hey Stevie, Max is here.”

She can’t hear Steve’s response but then Eddie’s stepping back, making space for Steve to come through the door. Then Steve is there, smiling, grocery bags in hand.

“Hey, Max,” Steve calls over to her. “Any dinner plans tonight?"

Max just shakes her head, smiling back.

“Good, because I’m cooking the best pasta you’ll ever taste in your life.” Steve’s grinning now as he pulls off his jacket and starts unpacking his bags, arranging his ingredients on the counter in the kitchen. Max’s eyes dart over to Eddie and she can see the way he’s looking at Steve. It’s the same way that she’s seen Will look at Mike or the way that Lucas looks at her when he thinks she’s not paying attention. Eddie’s looking at Steve like he's hung the moon.

“Oh,” she says, almost involuntarily. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“You could never,” Steve says, pulling several pots from a cabinet near the stove. Max doesn’t miss the way he seems to know his way around the trailer. “Right, Munson?”

Eddie seems to shake himself from a daze. “Absolutely, Mayfield. You gotta stay. Steve’s, like, a professional chef. Wayne’ll be here too.” Eddie leaves Steve to start preparing their meal in the tiny kitchen and comes back over. “Wanna learn some chords while we wait?”

Max nods and Eddie starts to show her where she’s supposed to put her fingers, how to strum using his guitar pick. At some point, Wayne emerges from his room down the hall, making his way to the refrigerator and grabbing a beer. He makes conversation with Steve in the kitchen while Max and Eddie keep playing. Before long, Steve’s calling them over to the kitchen table while Wayne arranges the place settings.

Max can’t remember the last time she’s had a dinner like this. Her mom wasn’t really the cooking type anymore and she was at work more often than not these days anyway. Max smiles at the way Wayne and Eddie tease each other, how it’s so clear they love each other. She laughs at Wayne’s stories of the guys at the plant, at the dumb shit they do when they’ve been drinking on the nights they have off. She laughs at the way Eddie makes fun of Steve for being popular and playing basketball and how Steve makes fun of Eddie for being a nerd.

She can’t remember the last time she’s felt like this, like there’s something fuzzy flowing through her veins. She looks around the table at the three men and she can’t help but think that this is what a family is supposed to feel like.

The pasta’s pretty good too.

you can read the full (complete) fic “sorry about the blood in your mouth (i wish it was mine)” on ao3 here

[jaegerisim]

Screaming And Crying (and kissing in the rain).

*enters your dashboard visibly disheveled* heeeeyyyy y'all, it's me ya girl w a new AU!!! haha dw all of my fics will be finished, um, eventually. Someday.... Anyways this is for my moodboard that got waaaayy too much attention than anticipated. Enjoy! 💕🌈

TW: smoking

Tagging the lovelies interested: @foodiewithdahoodie @mikeslawyer @will--byers @aidyaiden @big-sad-for-byler @booksandpaperss @over-rated-cheese @embarrassing-nerd @maru-chu @callmetheidiot @moviebyers @chic-ultimate @conanssummerchild @rotessaboggs @willthecleric @sageyshideaway @melaniesmpo if anyone wants to be tagged too just tell me in the comments!

Link to AO3

One of these days Will was going to fire his manager. The manager in question being his beloved stepsister, El Hopper.

"So I'm supposed to believe you forgot Mike fucking Wheeler is gonna play my love interest? You just conveniently forgot, right? Fucking great!" Will paced his living room back and forth. He was on the verge of hysteria. It didn't help his mood that Dan, his boyfriend, had cheated on him. That fucking asshole.

"Just calm down, Will. I know you and Mike have a complicated history between the two but you need to do this" reasoned El, calmly sipping from her mug of coffee.

"Do what? A gay rom-com with Mike Wheeler playing my boyfriend? How is that gonna help? How is that gonna change the fact that him and I detest each other. How?" demanded Will, throwing himself on top of his couch, like the dramatic person he is.

"Oh, the tragedy! You and Mike have to make-out! Oh, the horrors!" interrupted Max Mayfield, Will's best friend, eating a baguette.

Will plucked the baguette from her hand and took a bite from it.

"Oh, shut up. Besides I doubt you guys want to see Lucas anymore than I want to see Mike!" snapped Will, knowing he'd hit a sore subject for both girls.

Max pressed her lips in a fine line. "Lucas will probably ignore me, which is what you should do with Mike! Ignore his antiques and live your life."

"Besides why do I need to do this?" spoke Will while chewing.

"Ew, gross. Swallow before talking, for fucks sake!" Max gagged.

"Will, I need you to get this through your thick skull, m'kay? You are an actor, right? Well your job is acting then. Not living off the press and media like a leech." scolded El, and she did have a point. Will had been living off the press for the last 2 years with romantic scandals and modelling jobs.

"Fine, I'll do it. Whatever. I don't care, but if this movie flops it's your fault!" Will wags his finger between Max and El, for emphasis.

"If you'd even bothered to read the script you would know this movie isn't going to flop." The red haired huffed

"I don't need to read to know it's gonna flop 'cause Mike and I are gonna play boyfriends and we are rivals! He is my nemesis, even! I can't stand his smug, freckled face!" Will let out a frustrated groan. "I need a smoke. Max, you coming?"

Max gave El a small kiss on the lips and followed Will to the garden.

"How can I play Mike's boyfriend without gagging. We have 0 chemistry! Who the fuck casted this shit?" said Will lighting his cigarette and passing the lighter over to Max

"First of all, the casting was done by Robin Buckley and the director is Murray Batman, so you keep your mouth shut." snapped Max, she was Mr. Bauman's greatest admirer. "Second of all, you guys used to have loads of chemistry. Remember when the 6 of us used to interviews together?"

Will turned over to look at Max, whose eyes glinted with nostalgia in the moonlight.

He took a long drag and exhaled slowly, Max mimicked him.

"That was when we were 15, Max. Nine fucking years ago. We haven't talked since then. How are we supposed to show chemistry? Anyways, it's not like I have much of a choice, do I?" Will sighed, softly. He remembered his teenage years with Mike. The both of them were wild and free. Not worrying about scandals and reputations.

"Do you want to be my friend?"

"Yes."

"Nope." she answered.

"Ok. Well, I'm guessing the both of you are characters too, right?"

Will threw his cigarette on the floor and stepped on it. The red-haired woman did the same.

"Yeah, El plays your childhood best friend and I play the antagonist. I'm Mike's stepsister and in love with you." Max rolled her eyes.

"Ew."

"I know, thankfully you only kiss Mike. Lucas plays your coworker and El's love interest. Dustin is your kind neighbour who happens to be Mike's best friend." explained Max, entering their house.

"These are gonna some complicated years of filming, it better be worth it" Will thought.

[morganski-19]

Chills Right to the Marrow Part 13

part 1, prev part

There’s this feeling at the top of a roller coaster that is meant to excite, to look forward to. Where the exhilaration and adrenaline kicks in and everyone feels like the top of the world. Only for the calm to set in when the ride is over, and the line keeps growing to feel it all again.

If life were a rollercoaster, Dustin’s would be a fucked up one. Where just as the drop finishes, and everything seems to calm down, the machine starts to clink and bring you back up to the top again. Over. And Over. And Over again.

Dustin’s scared that this calm won’t be so calm tomorrow. Or in a year when life gets back to normal again, and the people in hospital are out and better, like it does. Just for it all to go to a burning pile of shitty hell. For Dustin to end up sitting in the hospital chairs again.

Never the bed.

It’s not that he’s upset that he’s healthy. It’s not that he’s upset that he’s never had to stay in the hospital for a night. It’s just the fact that while everyone else seems to get hurt, he stays perfectly fine. And he doesn’t know why.

He’s put himself in dangerous situations. Fights, tunnels, right in front of a fucking demogorgon. In all the scenarios, he should have gotten hurt. There wasn’t a book that he read where everyone walked away perfectly fine.

Frodo walked to Mordor and wasn’t fine. Neither was Samwise. Dustin’s not a Frodo or a Samwise, maybe he’s a Mary or Pippin. They didn’t walk away without a scratch either. His DnD character can’t even get out of a battle without dying.

Why is he so okay? Why have his dice always rolled so high?

And why does he seem to be more bothered that this than the people in the hospital beds?

Max is smiling and laughing right now. She’s almost like she was last summer. Making fun of them in a way that kinda stung sometimes but mostly was out of love. Not thinking about the fact that she might never ride a skateboard again. Not thinking about the fact that she won’t see the way their faces change as they grow. The way her own face will change as she grows.

Her life has changed in a way that can’t be changed back. How is she not having a bigger reaction to this?

“Hey,” Max calls out in Dustin’s direction. “Come here, I want to feel your face.”

“Huh?”

Mike groans from across the room. “She’s been doing it with everyone. It’s just an excuse to mess with you.”

Max rolls her clouded eyes. “The blind girl wants to make sure he friends are ok. There are no other ulterior motive here.”

“You’re just going to poke him in the eye or some shit.”

“My hands are my eyes now, Michael.”

Mike rolls his eyes, giving Dustin a look like “I warned you.”

Lucas gets up from the chair closest to Max to let Dustin get closer. He leans closer to the bed as Max reaches out her hands to find his face. She pokes around, finding the brim of his hat and pulls it down to his nose.

“Idiot,” Max snorts.

“Told you,” Mike says. Will smacks him in the arm.

Dustin makes a face while fixing his hat, switching seats with Lucas. And then again when El comes in. The room sounding anything like a hospital. Like Mike’s basement while they are watching movies or hanging out. Like the worst didn’t happen and just a week ago, where Max wasn’t just told she would be blind forever.

He walks out of the room and heads to Eddie’s. Eddie who’s awake, but not really. Who opens his eyes and it makes Dustin so happy. Just to see something that resembles him, but isn’t just quite it.

Happiness comes and goes so fast that Dustin almost misses it. Overshadowed by this feeling of knowing that nothing is going back to the way it was. He’ll never be the person he was before. None of them will.

That’s the worst part of this all. He’s seen the way that Will became quieter. Different in a way that none of them will really understand. Saw the way that Max shut down after Billy died. Overcome by her grief. How Steve pushes himself so hard he breaks, and Robin tries to forget it all even happened. Saw how pain can cause a person to die.

The doctors still don’t know what’s going to happen when Eddie finishes waking up. They won’t know how long he’ll still be here, or what damage is in his body. To his brain. His nerves. If he’ll be able to play guitar again. Dustin never even got to see him play a real concert. He wanted to see that.

Time keeps passing and Eddie’s missing it. Classes have restarted and he won’t catch up. Not when he’ll still be in recovery for months. He won’t be walking across that stage to get his diploma. He might not even get it at all.

Dustin takes his seat next to Wayne and just looks at Eddie. Can’t bring himself to take the book out of his bag and read. Wanting to find any sign that this was all worth it. That the painful hope that Dustin is clinging to isn’t dragging him to the bottom. That Eddie will continue to wake up tomorrow.

“You ok, Dustin?”

“Every day I come in here and wish he would say something. Anything.”

Wayne nods, as solemn as he always is. “Me too.”

“You’re back in school now, right? How’s that going?”

School is a completely different battle. The Hellfire shirt that he wore with pride is now an endless target. The insults that would already be slung his way amplified. Walking through the halls feels like shooting range. Another reminder that he knows a truth that none of them will.

“As good as you’d expect it to.”

Another nod. It’s nice to have someone listen to him without trying to fix it. Just let him talk at his own pace without trying to make it better. Make him feel any differently than he does. It brings a comfort to Dustin that he never really knew, or understands.

“Where’s that book of yours, I was starting to get invested.”

“I’m not sure I’m up for reading it today.”

Wayne shrugs. “Why don’t I then? I can’t do the voices like you or Ed do, but I can read.”

It’s like Wayne knows the real reason why Dustin’s reading the book. Makes him feel weirdly seen. Like for a moment, someone understood him more than he wanted them too.

Still, he takes the book out of his bag and hands it to Wayne. Watches as he turns to the page and messes up the character names. Take a breath each time one of the weirder ones comes up and sounds it out. Trying his best to get it all right, even though he’s still doing it a little wrong.

Next part

tag list, let me know if you want to be added or removed: @the-they-who-nerded, @insteviewetrust, @croatoan-like-its-hot, @jettestar,

@tinyplanet95, @steddie-as-they-go, @slv-333, @littlecelestialmoth, @thatonebadideapanda,

@fandomsanddeath, @marismorar, @wonderland-girl143-blog, @glass-bottle03, @gutterflower77,

@here4thetrama, @goodolefashionedloverboi, @jaytriesstuff, @cryptid-system, @manda-panda-monium,

@resident-gay-bitch, @anaibis, @xxsutherlandxx, @forevermineliv, @mugloversonly,

@gregre369, @n0-1-important, @different-tale-student, @spectrum-spectre, @tartarusknight,

@devondespresso, @swimmingbirdrunningrock, @cheertain, @anti-ozzie, @autumncrocusandladybug,

@greeniebean911, @cr0w-culture, @stillfullofshit, @connected-dots, @daisynotquake,

@morgannotlefay, @a-little-unsteddie, @dolphincliffs, @maskofmirrors, @me-and-my-sloth,

[greatunironic]

title: zen, and the art of three point throws summary: "Steve was never someone they used to pay much attention to before. Mike bitched about him endlessly when he was dating Nancy (though he’d been the one to breathlessly relate the tale of Steve and the Nail Bat and the Demogorgon to them, so). They’d viewed him with the benign disinterest Lucas thinks most kids would view their friend’s big sister’s jock boyfriend, mostly, but then Lucas had been in that junkyard with him and Dustin and Max and the demodogs and then he’d been with them at the Byers, with Billy, and Steve had put himself between Lucas and Billy without a second’s hesitation. Then he’d protected them again in the tunnels, and Lucas had maybe thought, Wow." Lucas, at the basketball court on two Saturday afternoons, four months apart. (another fic set in the eating in the underworld universe)

excerpt: “Really?” Steve is asking. He leans forward on the counter. “Hell, man, really? Oh my God, I never thought one of you little shits would ever be interested in sports! Dude! Oh my God!”

“So, is that like a yes, or — ”

“Fuck yeah, Sinclair! Are you free Saturday?”

Lucas nods. Steve’s smile grows impossibly large, and he starts talking all fast at Lucas about what to wear and to bring and does he have Chucks? Or is he an Adidas guy? Because he has extras, and what size is he, he’ll bring a few pairs, and Lucas just nods more, agrees where he thinks he should, and lets Steve bound around the ice cream shop until his mean coworker finally gets sick of them and says she’s taking her break so Lucas has to leave so Steve can actually do his job.

[shares-a-vest]

Prompt: Lucas (Discord Drabble) tw: hospital setting (description of Max being in a coma)

"Lucas!"

He jolts awake, scrambling in the hard hospital chair he guesses he should be used to now. The thin blanket he'd been given by Will (who snatched it from god knows where) falls to his feet as he looks up to find the source of the screaming straight into his ear.

Erica is standing side-by-side with Dustin, feigning a scowl.

But Lucas can tell by her tired eyes his sister barely means it as she slowly reaches forward to hand over his backpack, a far cry from her typical shoving technique.

"We need to get home like, yesterday," she says, checking her watch with a dramatic flick of the wrist.

"I'm not leaving," he argues.

Yeah, sure, he'd promised his mother that, yes, he would leave Max's side by the time it got dark out but... Well, he just doesn't intend on keeping that promise now that the time has come.

Maybe if he called home and argued that the time he'd spent sleeping did not count towards his time visiting Max in the hospital.

He frowns.

Actually... there's no way in hell his mom would negotiate with that.

"Fine," he relents, standing.

He takes one last look at Max for the evening. He likes to think she looks different than she did before his nap. A little better. Rosier in the cheeks, machines beeping with a stronger heartbeat than this morning...

Lucas squeezes her hand tight before tearing himself away.

"Hi!" Robin chimes, rounding the corner into the room with Steve, the pair stepping in unison like it's all one perfectly planned ambush.

"Robin and I are staying," Dustin informs, tapping his fingers on his worn copy of The Similarillian.

"That's your reading material?" Lucas can't help but gawk, knowing Max would laugh at the thought.

Robin shrugs, "I wanna learn Elvish. Now get out of here, kiddos. Scram!"

She makes a very non-threatening shooing motion that's more like a flail of her gangly arms, stepping past him to take his seat while Dustin moves to the other side of the room.

Erica grabs his hand, yanking Lucas to the door where Steve is lingering and jangling his keys on his index finger. Even he looks tired and worried.

"I gotta get you home, buddy," he sighs, patting him on the back.

Lucas feels Erica grasp his hand tighter as he is led out into the hall, off home to face another long night as he waits to come straight back.

[idyllicwillowtree]

A Good Pair (of Skates) - Part 3

Genre: Steve Harrington x fem!reader, afab!reader, skater!reader

Summary: Steve’s in love with his childhood best friend and he does everything he can to keep his feelings a secret from you. A rollerskating injury might change that.

Word count: 4.4K

Warnings: swearing, friends to lovers, slow burn, injury, broken bones, mutual pining, mentions of drunk driving, surgery, anesthesia, medication, mentions of selling drugs, steve’s feeling very insecure

Author’s note: Please read part 1 and part 2 before reading this one or else it probably wouldn’t make much sense! 

Thank you so much for reading my first story! I had so much fun writing it and I can’t wait to share more. Feel free to let me know if you have any feedback or comments, I love hearing from you!

Part 1 | Part 2 | main masterlist

Part 3

It had been eight whole months since you had broken your arm and Steve still hadn’t made a move on you yet. You two have had some close calls, but nobody was brave enough to cross that romantic threshold yet.

It was driving Robin and Eddie insane.

Steve assured them that he would ask you out eventually but in reality, he probably never will. He’s convinced that his whole self-worth would come crumbling down if you said no, it just didn’t seem worth it.

He even thought about distancing himself from you for a while. Steve figured he could get over you, he just needed time. But that plan crashed and burned the second you saw him and smiled. You hadn’t seen him for a week so you jumped into his arms and told him how much you had missed him. After that, he was too weak to leave you for that long ever again.

“You’ve fought actual monsters before, but you’re too scared to ask out a girl?” Dustin said with a teasing smile.

“Hey! I seem to recall a nervous little middle schooler who had similar problems,” Steve glanced away from the road to look at the curly haired boy.

“I wasn’t…okay, maybe I was a little nervous. But this is Y/N we're talking about, the sweetest person ever!” 

“Exactly! That’s what makes the stakes so high. I don’t want to ruin the friendship and lose her forever.”

“Even if she did say no, you’d at least have the closure to move on.” Steve’s eyes widened, “but she’s not going to say no, so you don’t have to worry about it,” Dustin added.

“You don’t know that.”

“Sure I do! And the longer you wait the more likely it is that she’ll find someone else.”

Steve was actually counting on that. He’s hoping that if he could see you happy with someone, even though he knows it would break him, it would at least give him a good excuse to move on. Since the “avoiding you at all costs” plan didn’t work, he thought this one might.

Dustin eyed him suspiciously, “you don’t actually want that to happen, do you?”

Steve stayed silent, the car turning into the school parking lot. Once he stopped his BMW at the drop off area, Dustin turned to him. 

“Steve, you’re a great guy. She’d be lucky to have you. Stop being stupid and go get her, she doesn’t deserve to just wait around for you.”

Before Steve could ask him what he meant by that, Dustin was already out of the car and heading towards Hawkins High. 

-

“Yes ma’am, I understand. Unfortunately, we don’t get movies that are currently in theaters.”

“Oh, but my husband loves sports films. And I just think that Rob Lowe is so handsome,” the elderly woman reiterated for the third time.

“It would be nice if we had Youngblood, but like I said before-” Steve stopped as he heard the gentle purr of your Volkswagen Kleinbus outside. Robin rolled her eyes, already on her way to assist the woman once Steve inevitably abandons her to greet you.

He opened the glass doors and stood in the doorway. Steve watched as you ushered the younger kids out of your car and into the arcade next door. You gave Max a handful of quarters before turning towards Family Video, locking eyes with Steve.

You took a deep breath and approached him with a small smile. Steve noticed something was off, your smile not quite reaching your eyes. You were anxiously squeezing your left wrist and chewing on your bottom lip.

“Hey, Stevie.”

“Hey, doll. You okay?”

“I-I need to tell you guys something.”

-

“So, you guys know how I fell outside in the parking lot back in the summer?”

You were pacing slightly in front of Steve and Robin as they sat in the Family Video  breakroom. 

“When that drunk asshole almost ran you over? Yeah, I think I remember,” Steve said sarcastically.

Unfazed by his sarcastic tone, you continued to pace, “well, I went to the doctor–”

Steve stood, his chair legs squeaking against the floor, “is everything okay?”

“Y-yeah, yeah totally,” you stuttered, trying to calm Steve’s worry. You know he’s about to get even more worked up with what you were about to tell him, “well, sort of…”

“Okay…” Robin said expectantly.

You chewed your lip, “It turns out my left wrist wasn’t sprained… It’s been broken this whole time.”

Robin and Steve’s jaws dropped to the ground. The silence was tense as your eyes shifted from one friend to the other.

“It’s- you…broken?” Steve stammered.

“How are you even functioning?” Robin translated for him.

“Honestly, I have no idea. I mean it hurts a bit when I’m at work but I just figured a sprain takes a while to heal and I’d be fine after a bit. But then eight months went by and it still hurts.”

You work at a 50’s themed drive-in restaurant that makes the wait staff use roller skates when serving the customers. Those four weeks you worked while your right elbow was healing  were stressful enough for Steve, but now he knows you’ve been doing it all with an untreated broken wrist too. 

Steve looked at your left wrist, you were still anxiously rubbing at it so he gripped it gently to release it from your hold. It looked the same as it usually does, no obvious swelling or bruising. 

“Why don’t you have a cast?” Steve asked.

“Umm…I will after.” You said, trying to avoid eye contact.

Steve glanced over at Robin, checking to see if she was as confused as he was. “After what?”

“...surgery.”

“WHAT???” screeched Steve, causing Robin to jump slightly.

“Y-yeah, I need surgery,” you laughed awkwardly.

Steve was not amused, “it’s been broken for eight months and now you need surgery?! It was that goddamn doctor at the emergency room, wasn’t it? Let me call my dad, I’m sure he knows a good lawyer-”

“Steve,” you gripped his wrist with the hand he wasn’t already holding, “it wasn’t his fault.” You were surprised by his willingness to call his father and wanted to shut that idea down immediately. He never called him.

“What do you mean? Of course it was! He probably didn’t even look at your x-rays.”

“Well, that’s the thing. Apparently, fractures in the bone I broke don’t even show up on an x-ray until, like, 10 days later. So he was technically right, I guess.”

Your shoulders were slumped and you were avoiding eye contact. Steve realized his first reaction probably didn’t help you that much. He was quick to assign blame when he should’ve been comforting you.

You let out a quiet “oof” as Steve wrapped his arms around your waist and squeezed. You slithered your arms around his broad shoulders and let him hold you, breathing in his floral scented hair products. 

“I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with this for so long, I had no idea,” Steve said, voice muffled by your hair.

That wasn’t completely true, he had some sort of idea that your wrist was still troubling you. You started doing everything with your right hand once your elbow healed up. Putting your seatbelt on, opening doors, and carrying shopping bags all became right-handed tasks. After a while, Steve thought he was reading into things a little too much. He felt a bit obsessive so he chose to ignore it, now he was hating himself even more for letting you go on like this. The guilt was already starting to eat away at his gut.

“It’s alright, Stevie. It’s not your fault,” you pressed your nose further into his neck. Steve could’ve sworn you read his mind.

“Dude, that sucks!”

Steve almost forgot Robin was here. He reluctantly let you go so you could receive a hug from her too.

“The good news is we can have a bunch of movie nights while I’m recovering, if you guys are down.”

“You’re not even going to be able to get Steve out of your house this time,” Robin said with a smirk. She remembered how insistent Steve was to take care of you when you were in a cast the first time. All the doting would’ve driven her insane but you were so patient with him and had even made sure he was taking care of himself at the same time. 

“Shut it, Robin,” he hissed.

-

The day of the surgery approached faster than you would’ve wanted it to. It felt unnatural to willingly let a bunch of strangers force you to sleep while they cut you open and screw a piece of metal into your bone. The worst part was that Steve had to work today, you were hoping he’d be the one to take you to and from the hospital. You knew he’d make you feel relaxed and safe but you had to settle for Eddie instead.

“M’lady, your chariot awaits.” Eddie bowed dramatically at the waist and gestured towards his van. Despite it being 4 AM on a Saturday, he was still as hyper as usual. You would’ve laughed at his theatrics if your nerves weren’t overwhelming you so much.

The chill hit you immediately when you opened your front door, reminding you to get your coat. The phone in your house started ringing as you turned back inside, but you ignored it. It was probably just a telemarketer.

“Hang on, Eddie. I just need to grab my coat.”

Eddie followed you inside and looked around, “your folks home?”

“Nope, why do you think I need you to drive?”

He shrugged, “I dunno. Maybe you just wanted to hang out with your favorite person.” He smiled at you innocently.

“I already asked Steve, but he’s working this morning,” you deadpan.

“Ouch, sweetheart,” Eddie grabbed his chest, “I didn’t have to wake up at the ass crack of dawn to take care of your sorry ass.”

“I know, but you did, because you love me,” you said smugly. Finally, you found your coat right when the ringing of your phone had stopped. You walked up to Eddie and kissed him on the cheek, “thanks for your help today, Eds. I really do appreciate it.”

“Of course. C’mon, let's go.” Eddie wrapped a comforting arm around your shoulder and started steering you towards the door. He stopped when the phone rang through your home again, “you need to get that?”

“Nah, I’m sure it’s just someone selling something. Let’s go before I lose my nerve.”

As you approach Eddie’s van, you hear the distant slaps of shoes running across the sidewalk. Not paying it any mind, you assumed it was just an early morning jogger. That was until you heard your name.

Looking down the street, you spot Steve sprinting towards you and waving his arms frantically. He was wearing his flannel pajama bottoms, and a sweatshirt he must’ve thrown on last minute. His hair was sticking up at odd angles and as he got closer you could see the wrinkles from his pillow imprinted on his face. He was stunning.

“Hang on…give me…a minute,” Steve said through gasps of air.

Eddie’s eyebrow quirked up behind his bangs, “jeez, Harrington. Has it been that long since you’ve done cardio? You only live a few doors down.”

“Shutupmunson,” Steve managed to breathe out. His hands were on his hips, head tilted towards the sky. You couldn’t help but stare, Steve looked so beautiful, all flustered and tired. “I just needed to make sure I saw you before you left.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, I tried calling but you weren’t picking up so…I ran and, uh, now I’m here.” Steve said as he scratched the back of his neck.

Eddie’s eyes widened. Was this it? Was Steve finally going to confess? He wished there was a phone handy so he could call Robin, but in the meantime he’ll just wait in the van.

“Steve, you didn’t have to wake up so early. You need your beauty rest,” you said teasingly.

Steve had been going around in circles in his mind thinking about your upcoming surgery. It isn’t a risky procedure but you never know, things go wrong all the time. He just wouldn’t be able to live with himself if something happened to you and you didn’t know how much you were loved. Loved by him. 

 A last minute confession before you went under the knife seemed like the perfect romantic gesture. At least that’s what Robin told him.

“There’s- I should- I should say…” 

“What is it, Stevie?”

But alas, his nerves got the better of him.

“Uhh… good luck! I know you’re feeling nervous, but you’ve got this!” Steve’s voice raised a couple octaves higher.

“Thanks. I guess I am a little nervous,” you said with a shy smile.

“Come here,” Steve pulled you closer, holding your head to his chest and rubbing a comforting hand up and down your back. He felt as you squeezed him back, refusing to let go.

Eddie rolled his eyes. He had been watching from the rearview mirror, ready for the declaration of love, but of course, Steve chickened out. Again.

-

Robin dropped the stack of tapes on the counter that Steve was resting his head on. He jumped up at the sound and tried rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“What the hell, Robin?” Steve mumbled.

“Eddie told me what you did. Or rather, what you didn’t do.”

Steve blinked at her. Robin was glaring at him with her arms crossed against her chest.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he deadpanned.

Robin huffed and walked off to return the tapes back to the shelf. Steve watched her go with a raised eyebrow.

“What? Now I’m getting the silent treatment?”

“Yup.”

Steve rolled his eyes at her lack of commitment, “the silent treatment? From Robin Buckley?”

Robin spun around to face him, “yes, Steve! Maybe I’m just annoyed that my friend is hopelessly devoted to someone who…” doesn’t have the nerve to ask her out. Robin trailed off, realizing half way through her point that she was about to tell Steve your secret.

“I’m not hopelessly devoted to her, okay? That seems a bit dramatic, even for you.”

Robin and Steve jumped as the glass door swung open, causing the bell on the door to rattle violently. Eddie came busting in, eyes wide and scanning the store for his friends.

“ROBIN, I can’t fucking take it anymore!”

“Eddie, don’t,” Robin warned, like he was a dog about to do something he knows he’s not supposed to do.

“What the hell, Eddie? Did you just ditch Y/N at the hospital?!” Steve interrupted.

“Seriously, Robin. It is causing me actual physical pain,” Eddie said, blatantly disregarding Steve’s question.

“I’m in the same boat, Eddie, but we promised.”

“I know, but-”

“EDDIE! Did you leave Y/N alone at the hospital?” Steve yelled, getting tired of being ignored.

“Yes,” Eddie said simply, “what are you gonna do about it, Steve?”

“I can’t- you were-...what??” Steve was deeply confused but mostly he was just pissed off. You were all alone at the hospital, probably in surgery now. If something were to go wrong, there wouldn’t be anyone there for you.

“Go do something about it, Harrington! If you leave now you should be able to get there before she wakes up.”

“B-but what about the store?”

“Why are you questioning it? Just go, Steve!” Robin yelled.

“Don’t worry, I’ll cover for you. Putting away tapes can’t be that difficult, can it?” Eddie said, directing the last part to Robin because Steve had already vaulted over the counter and was out the door.

-

“Surgery went very well. She should be waking up in the next few minutes,” a nurse said, leading him through the post-anesthesia recovery room. Steve was anxious to get to you, he felt bad that you were here alone, even though you weren’t conscious for most of it. He needs to see you with his own eyes before he can allow himself to relax even a little. 

Steve took a deep breath as the nurse slid the privacy curtain to the side, revealing your sleeping form.

The only new thing about you was the thick plaster cast on your left hand that was tucked in a sling and elevated by a couple pillows. Steve smiled down at you, relieved to see your face again. You were sleeping so peacefully, deep and slow breaths expanding and contracting your chest. He didn’t hesitate to grab your uninjured hand to bring to his chest as he sat on the edge of your bed. The nurse left him alone so he leaned down to place a delicate kiss on your knuckles. His thick fingers brushed a wayward strand of hair away from your face before delicately grazing the back of his hand against your cheek.

Steve thought back to Robin and her insistence on getting him to admit his feelings to you. She seemed to think you liked him back but Steve never allowed her to get his hopes up. That never stopped him from dreaming about what he’d say to you, if the moment were to ever present itself.

I guess I could try it out to see how it sounds… 

Steve glanced around the room to make sure no one was listening in on him. “Hey sugar… glad surgery went well,”  Steve looked at the ceiling before puffing out a breath, feeling a bit silly all of a sudden, “look, I’ve been having difficulty telling you this because I didn’t want to ruin our friendship but…I don’t know, you’re just so amazing, and sweet, and caring and it’s just gotten harder and harder to pretend that I’m not completely in love with you anymore. You’re the greatest person in my life and you make me feel so secure and loved. I always find myself thinking about you and smiling from ear to ear and I just…I love you so much.”

Before Steve could think, you moved your hand out of his grip and face palmed him, pushing his head back.

“Get the fuck outta here,” you slurred. “Woah, is that your real hair?”

“O-oh, hey Y/N. How’re you feeling?” Steve said nervously. He’s hoping you’re too drugged up to have heard his little confession.

“Y’know, I rather you didn’t,” you said lazily, your hooded eyes not focusing on anything in particular. 

Steve’s brows furrowed, “didn’t do what?”

“Love me.”

Steve paled. Any sliver of self-esteem Steve had was ripped from his grasp. He knew you could find someone better but a small part of him thought you liked him back. Those lingering gazes, soft touches, and the teasing from his friends were all just some sort of facade. Some sick joke at his expense. Of course this is how it ends.

“S-sorry,” Steve mumbled, trying to blink away the tears gathering in his eyes.

“I don't love you, ya idiot! Cause I love Steeeevie,” you sang. “I love Steve with all my heart, and more.”

Steve’s eyes widened and his cheeks flushed. What is happening?? “uh, I-I think you’re a bit confused, doll.”

“I thought you knew? You’re always teasing me ‘bout it,” you said, swatting at him lazily. “Y/N’s feeling real good right now, Eds. Like, reeeeal good. You should totally sell whatever they got me on, you’d make a fortune!”

-

Eddie looked so silly with his new Steve haircut. You made sure to tell him that a few more times.

“Ser’sly, Eddie you even smell like him. Did he tell you his Farrah Fawcett secret?” You tried leaning into him to get a better whiff of his hair but he was easily able to pin you back down to the bed.

Kinky, you thought. 

You probably just exposed Steve’s deepest secret but for some reason you didn’t care. All you could do now was laugh hysterically at Eddie’s attempt to look more like Steve.

Eddie seemed uncomfortable. Maybe embarrassed was the right word. You were probably being really loud, but you were on cloud nine with whatever drugs they’ve got you on so you weren’t worried about anything at the moment. Plus, Eddie dressed like Steve to make you feel better, and it worked. Your friends were so thoughtful. 

“One time I braided Steve’s hair. It was soooooo soft, and it smelled like flowers. Pretty, pretty, flower boy.” Eddie was just staring at you owlishly, so you kept going, “I just always feel the need to smush his face onto my face, y’know? I love him so much! He makes me feel like– holy shit, what happened to my arm?”

-

Steve was a bit stumped.

On one hand he desperately wants to believe in your drug influenced love confession but he couldn’t help but feel a bit skeptical at the same time. He didn’t want to put you in an uncomfortable position if you didn’t actually mean it. He didn’t want to get his hopes up just for it to come crashing down. Again.

Steve drove you home and put you to bed where you immediately fell asleep. He sat by your bedside, contemplating his next steps. Overthinking everything, as usual.

Once his restlessness started to set in Steve made himself busy. He spent the next couple hours cooking meals you could save in the freezer and tidying up your house. It helped keep his mind busy so he wouldn’t go crazy thinking about what you had said in the hospital. 

Eddie, Robin, and Max stopped by in the evening with your favorite takeout but you were still sleeping. Steve wasn’t hiding his huffy attitude towards Eddie, still mad he left you at the hospital. Eddie just ignored him and did his best to hide his smug smile.

“So, did you tell her?” Robin said.

“Robin,” hissed Steve, “not in front of the kid.”

“Oh, Steven. It’s so sad that you think I don’t already know,” Max said condescendingly. 

Steve rubbed his face in embarrassment, “am I really that obvious?”

“Yes,” Robin, Eddie, and Max all said at the same time.

“Great, that’s just great” Steve grumbled as he leaned back in the armchair he was sitting on.

“I’m just surprised Y/N doesn’t see it,” Eddie added.

“What don’t I see?”

Everyone’s heads whipped towards the doorway of the living room where you were now standing. You still looked tired but you were standing on your own and not slurring your words anymore. You adjusted the arm resting in the sling with a slight wince, the strap digging into your neck. It had been a few hours since the surgery and you haven’t had any pain killers since.

You were trying to hide how uncomfortable you were but Steve saw right through it.

Steve stood to greet you, “hey doll, how’re you feeling? Let’s get some food and medicine in you,” he said, trying to change the subject.

“Okay, thanks Stevie,” you smiled but furrowed your brows at him, like you were trying to remember something. The adorable tilt of your head was making his knees weak as he escaped to the kitchen. 

Steve brought you a pill, a glass of water, and some food to nibble on as you sat in his previously occupied chair. He kneeled next to you, offering the pill and then the water to wash it down.

“How’re you feeling, Y/N?” Robin said from her spot on the couch she was sharing with Max.

“Fine, I guess. I’ll be better once this medicine kicks in.”

“Well, you look like shit,” Max said bluntly. 

“Thanks, Maxine,” you said sarcastically, “Geez Eddie, you letting just anyone in my house while I’m passed out, huh?” You chuckled before noticing everyone’s confused looks, “what? I’m just kidding.”

“Y/N, I didn’t take you home from the hospital. You don’t remember that?”

Over your shoulder, Steve’s eyes widened as he started waving his hands around, trying to get Eddie to shut up. Steve didn’t want to jog your memory, hoping you two could just live in blissful ignorance in hopes of saving you both from embarrassment.

“What? Yes you did. I woke up and you were…” 

Steve watched in horror as your face dropped and your cheeks reddened in realization. Steve could practically see the memories coming back to you as your breathing started speeding up and your jaw kept opening and closing. It was all coming back to you and you were absolutely mortified.

“Wait, what’s happening?” Robin asked, observing the matching blushes on yours and Steve’s faces.

“NOTHING,” you and Steve said at the same time.

You finally looked at him, taking in his wide eyes and pink ears. You groaned in embarrassment before standing up quickly and slapping your hand to your forehead. 

“Sorry, I’m gonna…I just need to, ugh sorry,” you were scrambling to come up with a good enough excuse to leave but it was just making you more flustered. “Steve, I’m sorry I didn’t– I didn’t mean to say, fuck, I mean maybe I did. I just…shit, shit, shit,” you started smacking yourself in the temple in an attempt to get your brain to work properly.

Steve observed you for a moment. This wasn’t the reaction of someone who regretted what they said because it wasn’t true. Your reaction showed Steve that you regretted it because you thought he didn’t feel the same way. Steve didn’t wait any longer, he couldn’t.

“Fuck it.”

Steve took one big step towards you and took your face in his hands. Before he could chicken out, he pressed a soft kiss to your lips. He felt your body stiffened on impact, but it felt too good to stop. He slotted his lips perfectly into yours as he took it all in. Reluctantly, Steve slowly pulled away as it hit him. He just kissed you.

Holding his breath, he hesitantly opened his eyes to apologize but he sees you unable to move. You keep your eyes closed for a few moments, letting your mind process what just happened. The moment it all clicked was when you finally looked back at him and grabbed his shirt collar to bring him back for a desperate kiss. Steve furrowed his brows as he kissed you more passionately, trying to savor the taste of you. It felt like you were having an out of body experience, although that could have been the drugs kicking in.

You both forgot about your friends that were still in the room until Max said “I’m gonna call Mike, he owes me ten bucks.”

“It’s a little weird watching our friends make out, isn’t it?” Robin turned to Eddie, expecting to exchange a long-suffering look with him.

Eddie sniffed hard before aggressively wiping at his eyes, “you kidding? It's beautiful.”

-

main masterlist