#robin buckley one-shot

[ddejavvu]

Play wrestling with your gf Robin Buckley, but Steve walks in and practically shrieks because he thinks you two are doing something wildly different

In Steve's defense, you are biting Robin's thigh. But you're biting her thigh to overpower her, which- doesn't sound much better. But you're wrestling - really wrestling, not wrestling.

You've got her pinned to the wall, and you'd dropped to your knees to gnaw at the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. The pinch from your teeth is meant to make her knees give out, and once she's on the floor you'll grab her wrists and pin them to her back. Then you'll declare yourself the winner before she can escape. It's meant to be a foolproof plan, but- well, Steve Harrington has been called a fool before. Perhaps no plan is foolproof enough for him.

He's accustomed to walking into Robin's room like it's his own, but this time you're sure he wishes he'd knocked. He finds you kneeling between Robin's legs, face buried in her thigh a little too close to what's between them for Steve's comfort.

He screams. He screams, and slaps a hand over his eyes, and stumbles backwards all at once, which means he goes tumbling back down Robin's staircase. Her bedroom is right at the top of it, and the hallway is evidently not wide enough for Steve to stop in before he falls right back down the way that he came.

You both dart to the staircase and watch as he lands at the base with a sickening thud, and a groan that you've come to associate with visits to the emergency room.

"Steve?" Robin calls, feet pounding against the stairs as she races to his side. She prods at his temple, and when he grumbles something incoherent in response, she lifts his head off of the floor. She cradles it in her hands, checking for his pulse, "Steve, can you hear me?"

"Yes, dipshit, stop poking me," He swats her hand away when he regains the wind that was knocked out of him, and he sits up while glaring at you where you stand at the top of the staircase.

"That was fucking disgusting." He accuses. You're fairly certain you have the right to do whatever you want with your girlfriend in her own home, but you'd just caused Steve possible brain damage, so you don't point that out.

"We were play-fighting," Robin huffs, rubbing the back of her hand where Steve had smacked her, "You're the one who didn't knock."

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I've been your best friend for two years," Steve gripes, struggling to his feet and rubbing at the back of his head where you presume it hit a step, "I didn't know I had to alert the presses to my arrival. Listen- you two," He turns his glare back to you, "I'm- happy for you, okay? But don't- don't ever do that shit again. Close the door, put a sock on it, put up a sign, I don't care, just- never again."

Steve chooses to ignore your rather snippy 'Yes, sir,' in favor of exaggerating a wince as he prods at a sensitive spot near the base of his neck. "Un-fucking-believable," He scoffs, "Another concussion, and this one didn't even come from an interdimensional monster.

[lily-fics-11]

The Cynic and The Sweetheart

You are cynical about love but Robin, the hopeless romantic with a secret crush, tries to convince you that love is real. 

Warnings: not beta read, cynicism, a little bit of angst, a little bit of fluff, kissing/making out, revelations about sexuality

You enter Family Video, and your sort-of-friend Robin is behind the counter. 

“Hey Y/N!” She seems happy to see you. You two run in different social circles but frequent the same parties and have classes together.

“Hey, how’s it going?” You ask with a smile.

“Good, I’m good. Are you looking for anything specific?”

“Not really, I’ve got nothing to do tonight so I figured I would watch a movie.” You sigh. Your best friend had said that she would hang out with you tonight but she bailed on you at the last minute to go on a date. 

“Why don’t I help you pick something out,” Robin offers.

“That sounds great, thank you.” Even though it’s her job, you appreciate her taking the time to help you out after being blow off by your friend. 

Robin heads down one of the rows of videos. You follow her until she stops scanning the shelves and pulls something out.

“Sixteen Candles” she says, holding the video out to you. “We just got it in, I saw it when it was in theatre, it was great.” You can tell she is a fan of the movie by the way she talks about it so you feel bad not accepting the video and rolling your eyes by accident. 

“Robin, I appreciate your help, but I don’t think you know me well enough for this. In all honestly, I wouldn’t be caught dead watching a rom com.” Any of your close friends would know better than to recommend a rom com to you. You don’t blame Robin though, even though you were more than acquaintances you were not quite friends.

Robin looks shocked to say the least. “You don’t like rom coms? Who doesn’t like rom coms? Everyone loves rom coms!” She almost sounds offended. 

“Me I guess. I’m just, not a fan, you know?”

“No, I don’t know. Like at all! I don’t get it, what’s not to love about romance and happy endings?” She is defending rom coms like her life depends on it. 

“Because love is just a concept, Robin, it’s intangible!” You are just as defensive as she is.

“Love is absolutely real!” She seems very protective of this concept.

“Alright then, prove it to me,” you laugh knowing that making reality out of fiction is an impossible task.

“How am I supposed to prove it? I can’t just prove that love is real. Love and romance means something different for everybody. I wouldn’t know what the definition of love and romance would be for you, especially if you don’t even know it yourself. Haven’t you ever had a crush that makes your heart beat fast? Haven’t you ever felt the magic of falling for someone? Haven’t you ever had a perfect kiss? Haven’t you ever had someone look at you like you put the sun in the sky?” Robin is absolutely flabbergasted. 

“No,” you just laugh more. “I’m still in high school. Isn’t it kind of intense? All of that at such a young age?”

“Well, I haven’t exactly experienced most of that myself. But I’ve read so many romance novels and watched so many movies and listened to so many love songs. Love just seems like something to strive for. It seems like falling in love would make the sun shine brighter,” Robin explains slightly in distress. 

“Other people might have a definition of love, but I don’t. Because no one would ever feel that way about me, so I would never let myself feel that way about someone else. I understand that love is real for some people, but it’s just not real for me.” You try to clarify, stubbornly attempting to prove your point. 

“I’m sorry.” Is all she has to say about that, looking like you just crushed her dreams.

“Why are you sorry?” You question.

“For starters, a life without the prospect of love is like a puzzle you can’t finish because there is a piece missing. But also because I can’t imagine what it’s like feeling as if no one could ever love you. I wouldn’t wish that upon anyone. Not even my worst enemy, and you’re a good person.” She looks genuinely concerned about you. 

“Don’t worry about me, Robin.” You laugh again, trying to make light of what has become a deep conversation “I’m just being realistic.”

“What if you’re not?” She suggests. 

“What do you mean?” You are not exactly sure what she is trying to get at.

“Y/N, what if you’re not being realistic? What if there was someone out there who felt drawn to you? That would kiss you if they got the chance? What if there was someone who saw you for who you are, not even caring that you don’t believe in love, because they could see themselves falling for you?” She offers that all to you, reserved but hopeful.

“I don’t know, Robin. I’ve never really thought about it. I guess I just have faith in my assumptions.” You shake your head, trying not to let her into it. You never intended to have a philosophical conversation. You just wanted to watch a movie. 

Robin puts the video back on the shelf and then takes a step towards you. You are not sure why, but you also don’t question it. 

“Just play devil’s advocate for a minute. What if you found out that your assumptions were wrong? Would that be enough to sway your opinion?” Robin seems well intentioned but you really aren’t sure why she is bothering. What does she get out of this? She is, however, starting to make you think no matter how hard you are trying to resist.

You ponder over what could persuade you to view love and romance differently. You eventually come to the conclusion that “I guess I would need some proof, like an experience that made it tangible for me. I guess it would take someone genuinely liking me, or kissing me and actually meaning it. Not just any person could convince me. It would have to be real and special.”

“So what you are telling me is that if someone genuinely wanted to kiss you, they should do it?” She’s got an air of curiosity.

“I wouldn’t want someone to kiss me that I couldn’t see myself with. But I guess if I let someone close enough to kiss me, why not? Neither of us would have anything to lose.” You tell her all this hoping to have satisfied her curiosity. You expect this to be the end of the conversation. There is no one else to turn to and it’s not like she is going to romance you. And she is definitely not going to kiss you. 

That imaginary prospect sparks something in you though. You had never really thought that much about kissing anyone because kissing boys seemed like the only option. But the new found option of kissing a girl, that is intriguing. Your head begins to spin.

Robin takes another step towards you, leaving less than a foot of space between you. She reaches out her hand to brush a piece of hair off of your face. 

“Is this close enough?” She asks with a smirk. Robin seems to be testing the waters, as if she were following the steps you have given her. But that’s ridiculous. Right? You are just letting yourself get carried away. She’s only gotten inside your head to prove her point. Right?

There is something about the way that Robin looks at you that causes a fluttery feeling in your stomach that you’ve never felt before. It reminds you of the way people describe their first crush or first kiss.

But now you are met with Robin’s pretty face, beautiful smile, and, now that you are looking deeply into them, alluring blue eyes. Something about Robin and this conversation has practically changed the chemistry of your brain and triggered a part of your imagination that you didn’t know existed. You can hardly believe it. But god is she endearing. You’ve quickly come to the conclusion that if it were with a girl, kissing was something you were interested in. Especially if that girl was Robin, who has taken the time to challenge your cynicism in a way that no one else ever cared enough to. 

“I… I… um. Yes. I would say that’s, um, close enough.” You squeak out nervously. Your heart is racing from the attention that no one has ever given you before. You feel drawn to her like a magnet. 

“So you are sure, you wouldn’t mind if I…” Robin begins but you cut her off, taking another step so you two have mere inches between you. “Just shut up and kiss me.” 

Robin leans down towards you and you can feel her smile against your lips as she kisses you, as if she’s been waiting for this moment for a long time. At first you are both standing there a little awkwardly. But you just can’t seem to get enough of Robin. So you get as close to her as you can, your bodies pressed together, and you wrap your arms around her neck. She follows your lead and grabs your hips, clumsily at first but once her hands are settled in their position she tightens her grip. Robin was pulling you in as if she were trying to get closer despite the absence of space between you. Does she feel the same gravitational pull you feel towards her? The way that Robin holds you in place against her and insatiably kisses you starts a fire deep within you. You can tell that she really means it. She kisses you with an intention you didn’t know she had. You never imagined that another girl could make you feel this way.

You have no idea how much time had passed when you hear the door open. You and Robin quickly separate yourselves from one another and try to act casual. But you are unable to take your eyes off eachother or stop smiling. 

“You know what Robin, I think I’ll take that movie,” you tell her nervously. Now that you have had this revelation about her she is making you nervous. Is this a crush? Is this more?

“Really?” She asks, sounding surprised and looking excited. 

“I think you’ve started to convince me that romance is all that it’s cracked up to be.” She looks a little disappointed when you tell her that, “only started?”

You lean towards her and whisper in her ear with a smirk: “I think you should come over after work and watch this movie with me. You can finish proving your point.”

Robin’s jaw drops and her eyes go wide. She takes a moment to recollect herself. 

“You will be a firm believer by the time I’m done with you.”

Thanks for reading, lmk what you think:)

[spideyswebhead]

Stargazing | Robin Buckley

Pairing | Robin Buckley x F!Reader

Summery | Robin got an unexpected visitor at her window at 2 AM, asking her to go stargazing.

Content Warning | Robin being a complete simp for y/n, love confession, first kiss

Word Count | 1.6k

AN | while I was writing this I found this playlist that's perfect for this, so you can listen to it while reading! <3 and this was inspired by this prompt list

[ gif belongs to - @songs4themoon ]

Tap, tap… tap, tap

Robin breathed as she cracked an eye open, turning in her bed and looking out the window, seeing a finger tapping gently with some eyes poking underneath. For a second Robin tensed as she stared as her brain processed what was happening, who was at her window? And was it a murderer just starting to freak her out? She tugged her blankets closer to her chin.

Then the head popped up and Robin recognized the girl and she felt like she could breathe. It was just Y/N.

Then the second thought came to her, why was Y/N here?

Robin’s eyes flicked up to her alarm clock - 1:45 am - she should be asleep, they had work tomorrow. She pulled her covers off and walked over to the window, sliding it open to look at the girl standing outside her window. “It’s almost 2 am, what are you doing here?”

“Want to stargaze?”

Robin blinked at her owlishly, not expecting that coming out of the girl's mouth. Robin and Y/N have gotten quite close since she started working at the video store, she seemed to be on the more impulsive side as she always tells stories of some wild adventure she went on, constantly talking about just going out on drives without a plan of what she would do. Robin loved hearing her tell those stories when it was a slow day and Steve was busy doing inventory or putting tapes away.

When Robin didn’t seem to have an answer, she continued. “I can’t sleep and the stars look really pretty today - or tonight really - and I don’t want to go alone, so you’re the first person who came to mind.”

“We have work in the morning.”

“So?” She shrugs with a grin, “c’mon, it’ll be nice!”

Robin debated it in her head if she should sneak out her window tonight and stargaze with her co-worker at 2 in the morning, knowing she would be exhausted since she had school in 3 hours and her entire shift, she hoped it would be another slow day so she wouldn’t need to use her brain too much cause it was tempting to say yes.

So Robin decided to follow Y/N’s many storys and be impulsive. Just say yes. “Okay,”

The smile on Y/N's face warmed her insides, the excitement seeming to build in the girl as she stepped back from Robin’s window. “Let’s go, Buckley!”

“Alright, alright, let me put on some shoes.”

Robin slipped on some socks and her sneakers, grabbing a large hoodie to keep warm, despite the hot weather of the last bit of summer the night could sometimes still be cold, but she tied it around her waist and climbed out of her window.

Y/N guides Robin through the darkness to her car where she slides into the driver’s seat, Robin settling in the passenger side. Y/N drove them into the night. The soft sound of music drifting out of the radio on low volume. Neither moved to turn it up or down.

Some part of Robin worried the car of Y/N’s car would wake up her parents, but none of the lights came on as she backed up so they had to be in the clear. Robin wouldn’t be in trouble.

Another part of Robin wondered where the girl would be taking her to stargaze? When Robin thought she would stop she continued. She didn’t say a word either as she stared straight ahead at the road.

Robin turns her head to watch Y/N side view, her eyes running over the outline of her profile, the dip from her forehead to the bridge of her nose, all the way to her lips.

Every once in a while she would bite or lick her lips to rehydrate them, a reddish hue developing on them the more she did it.

Robin snapped out of looking at the girl's profile, looking ahead at the road and wringing her hands together for a moment. “Why can’t you sleep?” Robin speaks first.

Y/N glanced over before returning her gaze forward again, shrugging her shoulders. “Brain won't shut up. So I decided to instead stare at my ceiling, stare at the stars instead.”

Some parts of Robin related to the feeling. When her thoughts wouldn’t stop and sleep wouldn’t overcome her. Usually she would do something else in her room, like study some piece of music or work on homework she had left over. Why did she think of her?

“I can relate.” Robin says, a smile tugging at her face.

The conversation stopped there.

Y/N turned off road onto some dirt road, the road became darker and their only source of light came from the headlights pointing ahead and some of the lights glowing inside the car, not providing much light. The car shook from the rocky unstable road compared to the paved road.

Eventually she would stop the car at a clearing, pulling the gear into park and turning the car off. Robin barely saw the excitement on Y/N’s face but she could feel the energy coming off of the girl in waves. “C’mon,” She would tell her before jumping out.

Robin slid out of the car as Y/N grabbed a blanket from her trunk, taking Robin’s hand and guiding her more into the clearing. A part of Robin’s blanks at the feeling of the girl's hand in hers. It was soft but also rough in some areas, maybe calloused was the better word? All Robin knew was Y/N’s hand was in hers.

But it didn’t last long as her hand dropped from Robins as they stopped. “Perfect,” Y/N mutters as she holds the ends of the blanket, flicking it out to help lay flat, and gently rests it on the grass. Laying down and looking at the stars above.

Robin takes a second to remember the sight before her, the look of relaxation on her face, something Robin wants to commit to memory before she joins her. Y/N doesn’t even look at the girl standing at her feet, her eyes purely on the twinkling balls of gas above them.

Robin decides she doesn’t want to come off as creepy so she joins her on the blanket, she could feel how cold the hard ground beneath her has become, but her hand brushed over Y/N as she got settled and Robin couldn’t feel any of the night’s cold breeze nip at her. Robin glances over to the girl next to her to see if she noticed the small touch, but her gaze was purely on the stars.

Robin followed her gaze.

It was quiet between them and Robin would usually fear if this was awkward when it got quiet between them, but this time it wasn’t. A calm comfortable energy washed over both girls as the minutes went by. Neither really needing to say a word.

Robin tried to find some constellations as the minutes went by but her attention was taken away when Y/N broke the silence. “Thanks, for coming with.”

Robin broke her eyes from the stars to look at the girl next to her, a blush rising to her cheeks, glad Y/N was keeping her gaze up above. “Oh- yeah, no problem.” Robin cleared her throat, the words getting stuck in her throat as she tried to speak again. “W-why me?”

Y/N gave a shrug. “I dunno. I like spending time with you and you need to go on more adventures, Buckley.”

Robin decided this was not the moment to tell Y/N about the starcourt mall situation. That she did once and she was good.

This time Y/N tore her gaze from the stars to look into Robin’s eyes, Robin felt her breath hitch. “And now we don’t need to worry about people interrupting or seeing.”

“Yeah,” Robin breathed softly.

Robin and Y/N were basically having a staring contest, neither able to tear their eyes away from each other. Robin committed every speck of color of Y/N’s iriuses to her memory. She swore she saw her eyes dart down to her lips, but Robin wasn’t sure and she didn’t want to fool herself. She could hear Steve scolding her as he told her Y/N was interested in her, she was the girl.

“You are pretty cool though, Buckley.”

“Thanks,” Robin seemed to only be able to say one word currently. “You too.”

A smile grew on Y/N's face as a chuckle left her lips. A beautiful sound too, Robin wanted to hear it more.

It became quiet again but neither looked away still. Robin blinked and realized how close the two of them were, did Y/N scoot closer? Her eyes were purely focused on Robin’s and she couldn’t tell if her mind was tricking her.

But then her eyes definitely darted down to her lips.

Her mind wasn’t tricking her. Was Steve right?

Don’t think about Steve right now! Robin scolded herself.

But any thought dissipated from Robin’s mind as Y/N’s lips brushed against her own, only her scent invading her space completely and the thought of just how soft her lips were, a rush going through the girl - courage? - as she pushed forward and pressed her lips against the other girl's lips fully. A burst of fuzzy emotion exploded in Robin as her heart hammered in her chest excitedly. Robin was able to feel how truly soft her lips were, the faint taste of her lip balm, the taste of her toothpaste as Y/N deepened the kiss slightly. Her hand came to rest on Robin’s cheek, brushing her thumb over her skin. Robin’s hand finding home on Y/N’s soft stomach and sliding around her waist.

This feeling Robin definitely committed to memory.

[hellfire--cult]

Alpha!Eddie Munson x Omega!Reader

+18 hurt/comfort, angst, depression, omega dropping, mean!eddie, rejection, abo dynamic

Not proofread, just needed to put my hurt into words. i was sad this morning and this came out.

Dropping is a self defense mechanism for Omegas when their needs aren't met. That could be rejection from their alpha, having no pack, having no pups, not being able to scent, etc. They induce themselves in a non responsive state, sometimes comatose until they feel safe once again.

wc: 4k+

Plot: Eddie is the reason you drop.

SCENT

Eddie Munson wanted to be your mate back in Hawkins when he had presented a courting gift. It wasn’t out of nowhere, he was very much sure you were his mate because well, you had spent your heat with him, as well as he spent his rut with you. You also met with him every so often to mess around and just stare at the stars above his trailer. He was sure you were going to be his mate, because you two had confessed to each other even.

But you rejected him.

You never gave him a reason, never gave him the motive for your rejection and why you led him on the way you did, but that’s what made Eddie greatly despise you. Now, you had a reason for the rejection. Your father had realized the relationship you had with the Male Alpha, and he had dimmed Eddie a worthless suitor. You would have eloped of course, you were ready to do so, but your father wasn’t an ordinary man at all. 

Your father threatened to kill Eddie if you were to run away with him.

He promised you he would find you both and you would become a lonely Omega with a bitten mating gland and that would probably make you spiral into absolute madness. You didn’t care about what happened to you, but you did care about Eddie. You were so happy when he had presented a courting gift to you. You were so absolutely happy…

But your father’s words came back into your mind and even if your heart broke, even if your omega self was trying to claw out of your skin to go towards Eddie, your alpha, your other half of your protective and motherly omega wanted to protect him at all costs. So you stepped away without any reason, without telling him what had truly happened behind your house’s doors. His scent became bitter, so bitter that you had to scrunch up your nose at the unfamiliar smell he sent your way. He hated you.

Eddie then left Hawkins.

And everything you did to protect him was in vain, because your father started presenting possible suitors for you, Alphas that would give you everything, riches, family… But you rejected every single one of them, and your father got fed up with your nonsense after a year of trying. Your mother just stood there as your father prepared your bags and put them at the front door. He kicked you out of the house and out of his pack. 

Your friends had left for Indianapolis so you headed over there as well, trying to find comfort in them, wanting to be scented if they were still a pack. You moved, you actually found a decent job as an assistant, and you could afford rent in a nice apartment that had a living room, kitchen and a bedroom. But when you finally crossed paths with Robin Buckley after calling her on her cell phone, her scent was very familiar. Your Beta friend had a pack that was for sure, but the scent she was emanating meant that they had a particular Alpha as a protector, as a leader.

So when you finally met up with everyone once more at Robin’s home, the scent that hit your nostrils was too potent, as if there was a wildfire spreading all over the room, only to become bitter and sour in the matter of seconds because there in the middle of the room stood Eddie Munson, in his new Alpha glory. He was bigger, beard covering his features, hair tied back as he stared at you with hatred in his eyes.

Everyone noticed how your scent transformed into a humid kind of smell, meaning that sadness was present in yourself as well as fear. You weren’t welcome in the pack, and he made it clear as he forbade everyone to scent you. He didn’t want you near him, he didn’t want you to mess him up again, and now that he found his pack and he actually recovered from the pain you caused, he wasn’t going to let you ruin it with your smell.

He believes you don’t deserve it, even though he could smell you as a packless Omega, he tried to not take pity on you, but it was impossible, yet his resolve stayed the same. Steve was an Alpha as well, but since he had mated with Jonathan, his protection only served for his mate, so Eddie became the leader of the pack instantly. 

You had tried to talk to him, to explain what had happened a year ago, but he wouldn’t listen. He had screamed at you to leave him alone in his Alpha voice, which only made you close your mouth, and step away from him. His heart broke as he smelled the fear in you, and how you left a lingering sour scent as you walked away from him. 

The first heat you suffered in Indianapolis was brutal.

You had nothing to nest with. You had no possessions of your pack, scents of the people you cared about, so you had to fake a nest with your sheets, putting them all around you to create a placebo effect– But your heat was painful, trying to pleasure yourself as your slick covered your entire bed, memories of Eddie helping you through it rushing in your mind which only made the pain even worse. 

You contemplated calling Robin, asking her to tell Eddie to come to your house, to help you– But you remembered how he had ordered you to stay away, and the omega inside you, the one that still held onto him as a mate, listened. 

When you met Billy Hargrove, a very powerful Alpha in the city, you really did believe you finally found a pack. You were talking non stop, getting to know each other, going on dates together, and Robin was very happy for you. She had been trying to make Eddie come to his senses about you joining the pack, afraid of what might happen to you, but Eddie refused once again telling Robin that you could manage alone because that was your decision a year ago.

Your heat was coming up and Billy had yet to scent you, so when you finally became intimate with him you were hoping he would. But he had remained away from you as he penetrated you, holding you down on the bed as he took what he wanted from you. Once it was over, you tried to nuzzle his neck, scent him and probably rub some of his on you. He pushed you away instantly and told you that he didn’t feel the connection he thought he would, and after three months of knowing him, he left you.

The second heat you suffered in Indianapolis was torture.

There were traces of Billy’s scent in some sheets, but it wasn’t enough for your nest, and you remembered the fact that he had decided you were not going to be his mate, only making the situation worse thanks to the rejection. You weren't good enough, he didn't want you, just like Eddie doesn't want you now.

Once again, you found yourself looking at your phone in order to call Robin, to bring you some of her clothes, maybe even get help from Steve who also, with his mate’s approval, wanted to scent you. 

Eddie’s fear settled in when Robin told him you had spent another heat alone, and he had been even angrier at you the past few months for dating another Alpha. Now knowing that your Alpha had left you alone in your worst time made him feel like dying and he wanted to murder the other man.

He cared for you and he cursed at himself for the pull you had on him still. It wasn’t fair. He had suffered triggered ruts due to your rejection, painful stabs in his gut and brain for the lack of you, the lack of your touches, your smell, your voice… 

You looked lifeless after your heat. Robin noticed and was going to go against Eddie’s orders as she prepared a bag with her clothes to give to you. You declined it. You were going to make Robin lose her pack, possibly, if she did this. If Eddie smelled himself on you without him actually scenting you, he would know that it was Robin. 

So now, it was your third heat in Indianapolis.

And it was murdering you.

Your fingers this time did find your phone, tears running down your face, as every single muscle in your body started tensing, slowly and painfully. It was Eddie’s birthday, and of course you were not invited. You wouldn’t have been able to attend anyways because you knew your calendar, and you knew it was close, but you weren’t prepared for how torturous it would be. 

Your bed had slicked sheets all over it, not even caring of making a make pretend nest with them any longer. Your closet was a mess as you tried to find something that didn’t have your smell on it because you could feel your heart about to explode and your whines could probably be heard all over your omega complex. You couldn't make a nest. You didn't have a nest.

You didn't have a pack. You didn't have a mate. No one wants you. You were never going to be able to have pups. You are a worthless and useless Omega.

So why keep trying?

Your body was on fire even if you had stripped to nothing, splashed yourself in cold water, until you had finally landed on your bed, unable to move. You couldn’t even touch yourself, you didn’t have any power left in you, but your fingers and hand could still move.

“Hello?” You heard Robin call your name as music blasted behind her. You opened your mouth only for your voice to get caught in your throat, choked small sobs escaped you and that’s when Robin lost it. “TURN THE FUCKING MUSIC DOWN!” 

“I-I–” You couldn’t speak, it was painful, it hurt, it hurt, it hurt.

“Baby, please, what’s wrong?” Robin panicked, pacing around the room as everyone stared at her, including Eddie whose gut was slowly falling to the ground. 

“S–Shirt– Please– I need it–” Your cracked voice, your sobs, and the whines. Everyone in the room could hear the whines. Steve immediately took his jacket off. Jonathan took his sweater off. Nancy didn’t know you, but her inner alpha became full alert at the sound and she understood in a single second what was going on, taking her cardigan off herself as well. Dustin stared at Eddie in disbelief as the Alpha male had wide eyes, head spinning around uncontrollably as he stared at Robin.

“I’m going, I’m going, I’m getting you stuff okay?! Just remember I’m going!” The phone clicked and Robin looked down at it with shaky hands and her head finally snapped towards Eddie and for the first time, something that almost never happened could be heard in the room. 

A Beta was actually defying an Alpha. 

A small growl was shot at Eddie’s way as she started gathering everyone’s belongings. Eddie at this point, did not care for his scent to be passed over, he didn’t care any longer. You were in danger and it was his fault. It was his fault. It was all his fault. He grabbed onto his car keys, despite Robin telling him that he shouldn’t come, that he is going to make everything worse, but he didn’t listen, he didn’t want to listen. 

So when they got to your complex, Robin used her spare keys to actually get inside as Eddie snuck in. He could smell the alarmed omegas at the scent of an Alpha in the building, but he had to get to you. He had to reach you in time. You were three floors up, and in the second one he could already smell you and it wasn’t sweet like the heats you spent with him. It wasn’t something that was triggering his arousal, or his need to mate you. It was triggering his need to save you.

And when Robin opened your door, even she couldn’t handle the smell, and Eddie almost hunched over at the pain it shot inside of him. Robin didn’t waste a second as she ran into your room, only to find you naked, sweat all over, body trembling and nonsense spouting out of your mouth. She panicked as she started placing everyone’s belongings around you and she took her shirt off, leaving her in her bra only, not caring at all about Eddie entering the room.

His eyes bulged out of his skull at the sight of you. His eyes filled with tears as his body yelled at him to go towards you, to hold you, to scent you, but he knew that would make it worse for you, because he had commanded you before to stay away from him. His heart was clenching inside his chest as Robin kneeled on the bed next to you, putting her shirt over your chest so you could smell her. She was crying as she held you, cradling you up so your face could hit her chest.

“I’m here! I– I brought everyone’s scents, I put them all around you baby, I’m here–” Robin was choking sobs as you stared at the ceiling, completely gone, mumbles coming out of your mouth that she started to be able to listen and understand, only for her heart and the Alpha’s that was still shocked in the room, break in pieces.

“I-I can’t smell them, I can’t–” You lost your sense of smell. Rejection was present in your core, your mind, your heart and Robin could smell it becoming stronger. “I–I’m useless, I have no pack– n-no one wants m-my pups– No one wants me–”

Eddie wanted to yell, tell you that he does, tell you that he is here, tell you that he was a fucking idiot, tell you that he still loves you and he still believes you are his mate, that you have always been and always will despite you rejecting him.

“Baby, baby, you’re not, you’re not, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m here–” You weren’t processing Robin’s words, the word useless repeating in your head all the time, like a mantra. You were rejected, an outcast, and the only person you thought of as your long lasting mate didn’t want anything to do with you.

And then, your body stopped trembling, and Robin saw how your features relaxed, your eyes became half-lidded as if in a sleepy state, and your body weight was heavier than before. Robin looked all over you to see signs of movement, anything at all, but even your smell was gone. 

You dropped. 

And Eddie, Eddie felt like killing himself for it. 

“This is all your fault… I shouldn’t have listened to you…”

Eddie refused to leave your side, despite Robin and even Nancy wanting him to leave the room. Steve and Jonathan didn’t even look his way, and Eddie knew he was losing his pack, but at this point he didn’t care, he deserved it, all of it. His scent was almost unbearable for everyone else in the room, musky but in a very bad way, almost rotten. 

You were in a hospital room. Your whole body was connected to IVs, to machines, your beating heart still heard on the small monitor, that only made a tiny bit on everyone’s minds have some peace. They had surrounded your body with clothes, accessories, even socks just to try to make you feel safe again.

Suddenly, a sob could be heard in the room, a low groan, almost a whine but not quite because he can’t manage to do that. His head was in his hands as he stared down at the floor and Dustin, despite his friend acting wrongly, he still decided to walk over to him and crouch to pass onto him his still pup smell. He still hasn’t presented, even at 15 years old, despite his friends already done so. 

“P-Please Dustin, h-her.” Eddie choked and Dustin understood immediately, walking over to your still body and leaning down to dip his head into the crook of your neck. He whined when he couldn’t smell you, still he rubbed his face against your skin, trying to make his scent linger. 

You didn’t wake.

Days passed, then a week, and Eddie was becoming desperate, feral even and in the bad way. He was pacing back and forth in his room, and he decided to go against his pack’s orders. He started putting on clothes, shirts, pants, and in each one, he did some push ups in order for him to sweat even more than before. He had gathered almost all of the shirts he owned, his sweatshirts, pants, hoodies, bandanas, even underwear and put it all in a duffel bag. 

He rushed to the hospital like a maniac and when he entered the room he commanded everyone to get out. Jonathan flinched at his orders and immediately rushed out, but Eddie sensed the defying Beta in the room that was covering your body protectively for him to not come any closer. 

“Robin, please– Please–” He knew it was karma. He had denied everyone else to scent you, and now, Robin was out of his pack, his scent no longer lingering over her because she wouldn’t let him come close to her, and she was the one that now didn’t want his scent over you.

But Robin was desperate too. You were a great friend to her, helped her deal with her undying love for Nancy, knowing it can’t ever happen. Betas and Alphas are a rare pair, and she didn’t think Nancy would want a Beta as her long mate. She couldn’t even bite her. They would never be able to mate.

They had tried everything, switching clothes everyday, Dustin coming over to try to scent you but his pup smell was very dim due to his age. The only one that hadn’t put any clothes around your nest, was Eddie. Your past mate. Your past Alpha. 

Robin was completely desperate.

Enough so that she actually left the room. Eddie immediately got to work, taking his clothes out of the bag to put them alongside everyone else's, all around you in order to make a nest. His tears ran down his face, his head painfully throbbing as your eyes remained closed, an oxygen mask over your mouth and nose.

How could he forgive himself for this? How could he live with the thought of you stuck in a bed because of what he did? 

“Darling, please open your eyes…” His face came close to yours after many months of dying to do so, after a year and a half of doing it for the last time while you two laid on his bed back at the trailer park. You didn’t want his scent on you so you two wouldn’t be caught, but that night he couldn’t help himself, and you didn’t either. The next day, you rejected him.

His face nuzzled your neck, his mouth traced your skin, placing soft kisses as he cried for not being able to smell you. That sweet smell he remembered every night, every day, at every hour. He wrapped his hand at the back of your neck in order to lift you up slightly so he could rub his scent gland against yours, repeating the action on the other side. 

A gasp was heard in the room as the heart rate monitor picked up slightly. 

His eyes widened as he pulled away to see your eyes staring widely at the ceiling, not understanding what’s going on, why you’re here, why is his scent all over you, why does he feel so close to you? You were choking into the mask, gasping for air, and you felt arms cradle you into a chest.

Alpha. Alpha. Your Alpha?

“Hi Sweetheart.” He choked out as he felt you breathe against him, his head right on top of yours as he held you close. Your body relaxed into him, memories vividly replaying in your head, memories you’ve always wanted to repeat, memories that made you want to go back in time and not listen to your father. 

Your nose picked up various scents now, aside from Eddie, you could smell Robin. Even as a Beta she made sure to put her smell all over her clothes. You could smell Steve, Jonathan, an alpha you don’t know of but the smell was welcome either way… And you could smell the faint scent of a pup. A pup was here. A pup scented you.

You were safe. 

Eddie pulled away from you to look at your face again, and finally locked eyes with yours. Eyes that no longer held resentfulness, but guilt. Eyes that no longer held anger, but grief. Eyes that no longer held hate, but love. Pure and unconditional love. He didn’t care what happened in the past. He didn’t care any longer, but he cannot forgive himself for what he did to you. He cannot forgive himself for being the cause of all of this. He cannot forgive himself for causing you this much pain that you had to shut your brain off in order to go to a safer place. 

You smelled his bitterness, painful, making your stomach turn uncomfortably. You reached up to take the mask off your face and you couldn’t be away from him again. This time you will fight for your alpha. You will show him how much you want him, how much you’ve wanted him for the past year, how much you needed him the few months you’ve been in the city. 

So you let out calming pheromones from your body. He was hit with them immediately, making his shoulders relax as you held onto him. Clarity filled your head the more you looked at him, the more you stared at his features. His face contorted again, a frown appearing in his eyebrows as tears started spilling out of his eyes uncontrollably.

“I’m sorry– I’m– I’m so sorry–” He sobbed against you, wrapping his arms around you so he could dip his face into the crook of your neck again and his cries were louder as your scent filled his nostrils again. It was just like he remembered, but he didn’t understand why it was sweet and not sour. He didn’t understand why you didn’t pull away. He didn’t understand why you didn’t hate him.

And that’s when you told him everything as his face stayed still on your neck.

“I wanted to protect you…” You finished saying as tears rolled down your cheeks, uncontrollably so, and he pulled away to reveal his stained cheeks, a wild look on his face. He gulped as he rushed to take off his pick necklace, looking down at it only for then to show it to you in his hands, presenting it. 

You smiled at it through your tears because it was the same courting gift he had tried to give you back in Hawkins– and this time, you took it. 

Three months later, you were laughing while drinking a beer with Robin on your side while her hand was being held by Nancy on her other side. Steve had his arm around the new Alpha in the room who claimed he was going to be the next leader of the pack because the last one had already retired. Jonathan rolled his eyes at Dustin every time he said that, with a hand resting on his belly.

Eddie walked into the room with a beer in hand and sat next to you, on your other side in his couch, your couch, and dropped an arm around your shoulders, pulling you close. Robin rolled her eyes knowing the conversation was over now as she put her attention on Nancy while your eyes found Eddie’s. He smiled as he leaned towards you to press a deep kiss on your lips. 

You smiled in between the kiss, reciprocating it as you pressed a hand on his knee. You heard a growl rumbling in his chest and you couldn’t help but giggle at his reaction, making you pull away from his lips. 

“If I pop a knot right here, it’s entirely your fault.”

“You’re the horndog.” He rolled his eyes at you and leaned down to press a soft kiss in between your neck and shoulder, making you shiver as a smile spread all over your lips.

He kissed right over his bite mark.

I did say it was hurt/comfort.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed, sorry if I didn't get it right, this is my first time writing about an Omega actually dropping.

Also if you're new in the omegaverse thing, yes, males get pregnant because they have the secondary gender, meaning they have vajayjays and uterus as well as their shafts.

Alpha females have dicks but cannot get pregnant.

That's all.

[kitchen-spoon]

90’s au where Eddie is a porn star who hires Steve to be his child’s nanny to watch them while he works or has to fly away for a few days for work.

Eddie is popular because of his dark aesthetic, people are really into all the black clothes, the rings, crazy long hair, tattoos and piercings. He is also popular because he works with women and men and is know for it.

Steve and Robin had just moved to New York for Robin’s college and because Steve goes wherever she goes. They apply for jobs and are desperate so they even go to the library and reply to ads on Craigs list. That is when Steve sees a posting for someone looking for a nanny for their 2 year old daughter. It was basically a 9-5 almost everyday with extra pay for overnight weekend stays too. It seemed to good to be true but Steve applied anyway, what could the harm be?

That ad is how Steve met Eddie, the sexiest most confident man he’d ever met. He was so smooth and flirty and open about his job away from the small ears of his daughter who just knew daddy was a model. He’d toy with Steve, batting his big brown eyes, biting his lip and smirking at him during the small moments where their schedules would cross over and they’d see each other.

Eddie couldn’t help himself, he got bolder with time moving to leaning into Steve’s space to catch a whiff of his Cologne, fleeting touches just so he could feel the firmness of Steve’s muscles under his fingertips. Steve was exactly Eddie’s type, shorter than him and built with the sass and attitude of someone twice his size. He was a tan hairy Italian dream, and Eddie would do anything to taste that cross Steve wore around his neck. He couldn’t help but imagine the brunette oiled up, laying in the sun in the tinest little speedo, his perfect brown hair glowing.

The tension grows between them with each passing month, not helped by how much Eddie’s daughter loves Steve and how much it melts Eddie’s heart to see how gentle and sweet Steve is with her. It all comes to a head one night 5 months after Steve is hired. Steve does his usual stalling so he can stick around and flirt with Eddie before he leaves, relishing in the touches Eddie will give him. He gives in that night and agrees to stay for a glass of wine. They sit on Eddie’s couch, closer than anything that could pass as casual. Their knees were touching and Steve was leaned right in Eddie’s space, arm resting against the back of the couch as he looked up through his lashes while Eddie spoke. He was so distracted that he didn’t notice his wineglass slowly tipping over in his hand until it spilled all over his and Eddie’s laps.

They cleaned up in the kitchen, Steve blushing as Eddie called him sweetheart and hoisted him up on to the counter like he weighed nothing. Eddie dabbed at Steve’s pants, slowly moving up until he was pressing directly over the growing bulge in Steve’s pants. And then Steve couldn’t take it anymore. He shoved Eddie’s hands away and slid his own into Eddie’s hair, yanking him forward so he could finally know what that tongue piercing felt like. Eddie didn’t let Steve have control for long, and they ended the night with Steve bent over the marble counter tops Eddie’s fingers shoved in his mouth to shut him up.

[hairmetal666]

au where Steve is a famous Disney kid and Eddie is a teenaged singer-songwriter. They get pushed together at events because they're close in age, but they just quietly dislike each other.

Steve's got a new show starting, a spinoff of the one that made him a household name. They hire a newcomer, Robin Buckley, to play his best friend and the two quickly become BFF in real life.

The show runs for two seasons but when it comes time to renegotiate contracts, neither star is interested. They're older now, ready to live life on their terms and not the company's, or in Steve's case, his parents.

As soon as the finale airs, Robin and Steve celebrate by going to a gay club. A few weeks later, an interview is released where Steve comes out as bi and talks about how his parents mistreated him; how they worked with the network to pressure him to be a perfect "all-American" kid even off screen.

Meanwhile, Eddie's an impossible level of famous. He's had number-one hits, won a Grammy, headlined an arena tour, achieved every dream he had for himself as a kid growing up in a trailer park in Indiana. He's not shocked by the news that Steve is leaving Hollywood, but he's flabbergasted that the guy isn't straight. When Eddie reads the interview, he gets this weird pang in his chest, almost like regret. But he never even liked Steve.

Steve isn't in the news again and Eddie doesn't think of him for a long time.

Steve goes to college. He loves it. Not because he's great in his classes, or anything, but because he's free to be himself for the first time. He makes friends and goes to parties and relaxes. He and Robin share an apartment.

After a few semesters, Steve decides to take a couple of theater classes, and is quickly cast in campus productions. In the vague anonymity of college theater he rediscovers his love of acting. No one has expectations of him, no one forces him to perform. He graduates and slowly starts appearing in small roles in Indie films, gathering critical acclaim. He feels good. Happy. Hopeful.

Eddie is blissfully unaware of Steve's career resurgence, experiencing his own musical highpoints, until the day where he's scrolling Twitter, sees a Variety headline that's getting a bunch of attention, "Steve Harrington in talks to star in Max Mayfield's first film." Eddie's livid.

"Maxine, what the fuck?" He growls when she answers his call.

They grew up together in the same Indiana trailer park. When she moved to Hollywood to start a career as a screenwriter, Eddie was by her side. And when her first script wound up on the Black List, his involvement on the soundtrack and original songs sealed her production deal.

She gives a long suffering sigh. "Munson," she grumbles. "I know you have a weird history with this guy, but I swear he's the right choice."

"He's a stuck up rich boy who's never been in trouble in his life."

"He's changed."

"Doubtful," Eddie sneers.

"Look. I'll set-up a meeting. Come hang out and you'll see what I mean." Before she hangs up she adds, "Call me Maxine again and I'll end you."

They invite Harrington to Eddie's recording studio. His hopes are not high for this meeting, so he's already a little thrown when Steve Harrington walks in, all grown up. He's in a crimson sweater, tight jeans, hair grown long so that it flops around his face in tousled waves that actually look genuine, windswept and golden. Eddie's eyes instinctively trace the scatter of moles on Harrington's face and neck, a pang of something hitting deep in his gut. Fuck, this dude is beautiful.

"Harrington," he greets, sticks out his hand. Eddie barely hears the answering, "Munson," because instead of a handshake, Harrington pulls Eddie in for a hug. Muscles bunch under the sleeves of the sweater, against Eddie's chest, and he's assaulted by the scent of cedar and sunshine and Steve. Eddie's not prepared for any of this.

They make small talk, Harrington sharing about going to college, falling in love with theater, Robin Buckley who he calls his soulmate. Eddie's head rings with how wrong he was about this guy; the pretty kid he grew up alongside who seemed to have the world in his hands. Max was right, he's perfect. Except.

"Let's get down to it, Harrington," Eddie says. Can't bring himself to call him Steve yet, feels that will somehow change everything and he's not ready. "I'll admit that Mayfield had the right idea about you, but can you sing? Play guitar? You have to perform my music, dude. That's not a small ask."

Harrington smirks, asks for a guitar. He gets it settled across his lap before he speaks. "I started taking piano lessons when I was 4. Voice and guitar at 7."

Eddie belatedly recalls that Harrington's parents were the worst kind of stage-parents, pushing their cute kid to perform even as he sobbed about wanting to play soccer with his friends instead of going to auditions. He has a moment of shame that he forgets as the other man begins to play. It's one of Eddie's biggest hits, a ballad about a teenaged broken heart from a kid whose name he can't even remember.

Harrington's hair flops in a swoop over his forehead, his fingers move across the strings with ease, skill. His voice is a rasp, close mimic to Eddie's own, but not quite deep enough. Goosebumps spread across Eddie's arms, his neck, and warmth pools low in his gut.

Steve finishes the song, looks up, cheeks glowing pink, honey eyes bright. Eddie's fucking gone for this guy. He wants so badly he might choke on it.

"Good?" Steve asks.

Eddie's embarrassed suddenly. Unsure. He tugs at his hair. "Yeah," he laughs. "Good."

He reaches out to take the guitar, the one Steve's already handing to him, and their hands brush. Eddie flushes. Their eyes meet and Steve smiles. Eddie's thoughts are consumed with the desire to kiss his plush pink mouth.

"You wanna get dinner? Just you and me?" Steve asks.

"Yeah, Steve," he laughs. "I'd love to."

🎬🎸🎬🎸

Fifteen Months Later

"Former Teen Heartthrobs Make Love Connection?"

Fans of musician Eddie Munson and former child star, Steve Harrington, were in for the surprise of their lives last night as the men arrived together for the premier of Harrington's new movie, Small Town Sins, written by up-and-coming screenwriter Max Mayfield, featuring original music by Munson. While Harrington's performance and the movie itself are garnering quite a bit of positive buzz, it's being overshadowed by gossip about Harrington and Munson's budding romance. They walked the red carpet together, pausing for photos as a duo, holding hands and flirting. When asked for confirmation of their relationship, Munson answered, 'we're bros,' before winking and pulling Harrington close.

There's a TikTok video embedded below the article, showing the men being interviewed on the red carpet. Their arms are loosely around each others' waists, and when their eyes meet they catch and hang for a beat.

"So, longtime fans of both of yours are going feral online right now because of the rumors that you two used to hate each other. Is there any truth to that?" An off-camera voice asks.

The men laugh. "We've always been great friends," Eddie answers.

"Eddie thought I was stuck up," Steve giggles.

"I did not." Eddie slaps at Steve, who gives him an affectionate smile.

"Liar," Steve answers.

Eddie leans into the camera like he's telling a secret. "Harrington here was afraid of me."

"Fuck off, I was not." They wrestle around for a couple of seconds.

Steve shrugs Eddie off, straightening his suit jacket. "Okay, maybe I was a little intimidated back then, but then this morning you found a pretty rock and cried about it."

Eddie shrieks, swatting at Steve until someone in a black suit and name tag shoos them down the red carpet.

Eddie walks off first, so he misses Steve withdrawing a hand from his pocket and saying, "Still have the rock, though." He flashes the red, grey, blue striped stone at the camera.

His gaze drifts away, landing somewhere in the distance, hazel eyes soft and heart-wrenchingly fond.

[bigboysteveharrington]

Steve lowkey earning himself a reputation for liking guys and girls before he even realizes he does because he keeps interjecting and giving his own answer every time someone tries to ask Robin about guys

At first no one thinks anything of Steve’s interruption and answer when Nancy asks “what even is your type?” quite clearly to Robin and Steve immediately answers “I like girls that are way smarter than me” and everyone just assumes he’s interrupting to hit on Nancy and not to deflect

Then later someone insists some guy was flirting with Robin and she should go for it and Steve immediately goes “Are you kidding me? Robin’s way out of his league. Besides, I had a class with him and he mentioned his stamp collection in it like eight times. Do you really think she wants to sit around and pretend to be impressed by hundreds of stamps?” Still no one thinks much of it yet and if anything they think Steve might be jealous or might just have standards for who they should set her up with

It’s not until it becomes a habit of him answering questions meant for Robin that people start to think there’s a reason, but it’s not Robin they’re onto

Like when they’re having a movie night and Max is going on and on about a shirtless character while Lucas is totally unfazed but Dustin complains and El says which character she liked more and then Max turns to Nancy to break the tie and say which guy is dreamier and Nancy casts her vote, then turns to look over at Robin and ask which guy she’d go for and Steve knows who the question is for but hey he’s sitting right next to Robin so Nancy’s looking in his direction and too and she didn’t say Robin’s name, so Steve doesn’t even hesitate before dropping the name of a character and making sure he keeps the focus off of Robin and keeps everyone distracted from dragging her into that debate by immediately backing it up by saying that Max is right and giving even more reasons to choose him

But even after that, that’s mostly forgotten by the time the older group is drinking and Eddie suggests they play a drinking game and normally Steve would be all over any suggestions, but he turns down truth or dare because he knows how uncomfortable Robin would be and doesn’t want her having to choose between awkwardly lying and deflecting or doing dares she’s not comfortable with or potentially outing herself so he at least manages to change it to never have I ever because that’s a safer bet when he knows Robin hasn’t done anything with any girls

But then Steve ends up drinking significantly more than anyone else while Robin and Eddie are hardly drinking so they end up switching games and somehow they end up playing fuck, marry, kill except Nancy has no interest in getting married or discussing it and she says there’s been enough death in Hawkins and it would be more fun to play with the options as sleep with, kiss, slap. And the game is already started before anyone can ask why marry got changed to kiss and before drunk Steve can figure out how to discretely convince everyone not to. The game goes fine at first with Argyle asking Jonathan about three girls from California. It goes alright when Jonathan asks Eddie about three girls. Steve gets a little concerned when Eddie turns his attention on Nancy that he’ll put Jonathan and him in the list right in front of Jonathan, but Eddie is sober enough still that he at least has enough tact not stir the pot and blow things up on her first turn by throwing them both in in front of them

But then Nancy goes to give Robin a turn and she’s looking right at her and lists the three guys there other than Steve (possibly because she believes Robin on the platonic with a capital P thing and possibly because she doesn’t want to find out if that would waver) so of course Nancy thinks it’s clear that she must be talking to the only other girl there. And before Robin can even try to think of what lie would be the most convincing and least likely to start any awkwardness or drama, Steve’s already jumping in with “Well, I already hit Jonathan and that didn’t go well for me, so I’ll give him a break. And this situation” (gesturing between himself and Nancy and Jonathan) “is finally starting to feel normal so I don’t need to make that awkward all over again by sleeping with your boyfriend. So kiss Jonathan.” And Nancy and Jonathan are looking at him so confused and Robin is grateful for the interruption and relieved but also kind of amused by the level of thought he’s putting into it instead of just throwing out names however. Argyle’s not fazed at all and just waiting to see what he’ll get. Eddie goes from deer in the headlights startled to leaning forward with his elbow on his knee and his chin resting in his hand waiting to see where this will go to abruptly sitting up again and trying to look less interested while his leg nervous bounces and he tries to figure out if Steve is giving a detailed answer to this as a joke or because he’s putting genuine thought into the idea of being with a guy

Steve looks between Eddie and Argyle for a moment, then focuses on Argyle and is like “Sorry, I hardly know you and getting dragged into hitting Eddie or standing around and watching Tommy do it without making any move to stop him is exactly the kind of douchebag bullshit I would have pulled in high school. So I guess slap you and have sex with Eddie.” Eddie’s drink goes down the wrong way when Steve adds “Plus, guitar players are supposed to be good with their hands, right?” and he tries to play it off and not react to the fact that Steve Harrington just said he’d have sex with him and that he thinks Eddie would be good in bed even if it was just in the context of some stupid game. Meanwhile Argyle’s just like “Nah, that’s cool dude. I get it. I would have slapped you too if the roles were reversed.”

After that, a few people start wondering a little more seriously if Steve is into guys too and had his guard down while drinking. But Eddie isn’t going to press his luck without clear evidence and everyone else isn’t going to push it so they just silently wonder a little more every time Steve interjects in the girl talk with his own opinion once again

[oceanmusings]

July Fluff, Day 01 | Photograph

Pairing | Daisy Hopper x Robin Buckley

FLASH

“Jesus!” Robin gasps, whipping her head up to see her girlfriend's face obscured by a polaroid camera. “You scared me!”

“Sorry,” Daisy laughs, lowering the camera as the picture slowly slides out. She plucks it with her hand and starts to shake it. “You looked really cute, I had to.”

Daisy looks at the polaroid picture as it slowly develops, watching the picture fade into her view, the side view of her girlfriend's face as she works on stacking some tapes at their counter. Robin saw the smile grow on Daisy’s face, a look in her eyes the girl couldn’t place. “Oh, this is a keeper!”

“Unfair, I don’t have one of you.” Robin whines, a slight pout on her lips.

Daisy pockets the picture carefully and seems to consider if she wants to tease her girlfriend or kiss the pout off her lips. Robin beats her to making a decision, snatching the polaroid from Daisy’s hand.

Daisy gasps, a surprise look washing over her face.

FLASH

Daisy blinks the black spots as it blooms over her vision. “Oh, God.” She rubs at her eyes.

Robin takes the picture into her hands and shakes the image until it surfaces. The surprise looked forever documented in this picture, the flash highlighting parts of Daisy’s face, the background darkening around her so she was the only thing in focus. Robin knew she was going to cherish this picture forever, already an idea forming in her head where to keep it safe.

“We need to use this more.”

[bookshelf-dust]

all the time

steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: 7,206

warnings: swearing, brief mentions of alcohol, family drama, best friends to lovers type beat (lemme know if i missed anything, as always)

a/n: this got pretty long, and i’m sorry about that. i put a steve option in my 1k celebration poll, and i haven’t been able to get over it, so that’s what this is. i thought i could try it out. i haven’t really had this much fun with a fic in a long time. i know my steve audience isn’t as big, but i guess there’s a chance someone might like it.

————

The crumbs from your crackers drop into your lap, the crease of your book catching them. You set your spoon back down, flipping the hardback over to ensure no crumb will be left lingering in between the pages. 

You’re curled into the end chair at the table, just as always, legs crossed and book nestled against your bare legs. Your parents sit across from each other, talking about whatever, but you aren’t listening. 

You dunk a cracker in your soup, holding it there for a moment to let it soak up the broth, before tossing it into your mouth. You continue on this way—alternating between scooping up noodles or chicken and drowning saltines—until you have nothing left but the dregs in your bowl. 

You mark the page in your book, tuck it under your thigh. You’re tipping the bowl backwards, drinking the rest of the soup, when your mother says your name loudly enough to tear you from your stupor. 

You swallow and wipe your mouth haphazardly with a napkin. “What?”

“Your father and I were just talking about your sister’s wedding.”

You raise your eyebrows, wondering if she’s actually being serious. 

“No shit.”

Your father sets his cup down, glaring at you. “Language.”

“Sorry,” you say, though there’s no real meaning in the word. 

Your sister has told practically every goddamn person in Hawkins that she’s getting married at the end of the month. Everyone is talking about her wedding. A wedding that you don’t give one singular fuck about. 

She’s marrying her high school sweetheart, they’re moving into a sweet new house in the suburbs, blah blah blah. She’s doing the same shit every other peaked-in-high-school woman her age is doing. And you can’t be bothered to care. 

Not only that, but you have to be a bridesmaid. You’re not very close with your sister, so her choosing another friend as her maid of honor really didn’t hurt you. Frankly, you would’ve been fine if she’d left you out of the bridal party completely. 

None of this is really as spectacular as everyone’s made it out to be. 

“Anyhow,” your mother begins, “you know she’s allowing her guests to bring a plus one.” She pauses, and you raise your eyebrows again, not understanding the need for dramatics here. 

“Well, she asked if you were going to bring someone, and I told her that you were.”

You push back from the table, entirely too confused. “What?”

“Honey, don’t get so frantic. I didn’t think you would want to be alone, especially considering your attitude towards the entire function.”

You take a deep breath, pressing your fingers into your eyelids. 

“I thought you could bring that boyfriend of yours. Actually, that’s what I told her. She’s already put in the name for a place card.”

“Mom, are you out of your mind?” 

She gasps, taking a sip of her wine to gather herself. Your father chooses this moment to begin clearing up the table. 

“I don’t have a boyfriend!” you exclaim. 

Her eyes widen. “What do you mean? I told her you’d bring that boy, Steve. You spend an awful lot of time with him for him to not be your boyfriend.” 

You feel like you’re choking on air. Like your dinner is going to come up if she doesn’t cut this out. “That’s because he’s my friend!” 

“You’re always with him, sweetie. Much more than I ever was with any of my male friends.” She clearly doesn’t believe that he’s not your boyfriend. Like it’s impossible that he isn’t.  

You shove past her and into the kitchen, utterly exasperated. Why are people making decisions for you? Why is your mother suddenly proclaiming to everyone that you’re in a relationship you didn’t even know you were in?

When you turn around from facing the sink, both of your parents are staring at you. “What now? Something else you’ve told the whole damn town about me?” 

Your mother reaches out to you, but you brush her off. You’re a little too pissed for any sort of cooing right now. 

“I’m sorry I assumed he was your boyfriend, honey. But you have to bring him, or else the family will ask questions and there will be an empty space next to you. Personally, I’d find that embarrassing.”

You push your way out of the kitchen, more than done with this situation. “You’ll be lucky if I even go to the damn wedding. And, personally, I wouldn’t go blabbing about things I’ve just assumed about my own daughter rather than just talking about them with her.”

When you turn down the hall, your father is rubbing his forehead, and your mother is looking at you like you should be grateful for her having assured you have company for the big event. 

“This could be good for you!” she shouts, and your only response is the slam of your bedroom door. 

In hindsight, of course the slam was childish, but you really can’t believe your mother. 

You’ve never been so frustrated with her in your life. And yeah, you’ll go to the wedding, but what gave her the right to do that? This is your life. Not hers. 

Normally, you would call Steve about something like this, but shit, you can’t. 

Steve. As your boyfriend? 

That’s too much for your brain to handle right now. You throw yourself on the bed and call it a night. 

————

“So, let me get this straight,” Robin begins, holding up her hands so as to count off your main points. “Your mother just told everyone that you have a boyfriend, that this boyfriend is Steve, of all people, and that he’s your plus one to your bitchy sister’s wedding?” 

The countertop is cold when you press your forehead against it. “Yes,” you whine. 

You’d gotten up first thing this morning and head to Family Video, needing to spill your guts to the one and only person who would surely match your energy and try to help you handle the situation. 

Your arms are laid out in front of you, hands dangling over the edge of the counter and reaching for Robin on the other side. She grabs hold of them and squeezes. “That’s one hell of a pickle you’re in. But! Lucky for you, I’m gonna help you figure it out.”

You squeeze her hands back, only to jerk your head up at an alarmingly fast rate. Robin cringes like you’re going to give yourself whiplash. You’ve just had an absolutely terrifying thought.

“Steve’s not working today, is he?”

Robin tries to think off the top of her head, but there are too many thoughts rambling around in there, so she’s quick to consult the schedule pinned to the wall behind her. She probably could’ve told you the times of each of his shifts if only you hadn’t asked. 

“He won’t come in until this afternoon. Three-thirty, to be exact.”

You let out a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding. “Thank fuck. I’m not ready to see him yet. He’s going to notice something’s wrong and then he’ll want to talk about it and then it’ll just be a big fat shit show.”

Robin props her chin up with her hand, elbow resting against the green countertop. “You know, maybe that’s a good thing. He already knows you so well that he’ll probably make a great boyfriend.”

“Robin, what?” 

She’s plotting and you’ve never felt more afraid. 

“Well, you can’t just not take him to the wedding after all of this, right? It would be ten times messier now that your mom has told all of Hawkins that Steve Harrington is your boyfriend. And you know he’ll agree to go, being ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ and whatnot. Besides, you’ve gotta admit that there’s chemistry between the two of you.”

You go to speak, but she holds a hand up to stop you. 

“So you tell him about your little predicament, and maybe he can just act as your boyfriend for the night?” She smiles nervously, shoulders rising in slight fear of your reaction. “You two are best friends, no one’s bound to be the wiser.”

“Robin, are you suggesting that I just fake-date the man?”

She raises her hands in a don’t-shoot-the-messenger gesture. “What’s the harm in it? It’s just a one time thing. You go, you get it over with, and Steve will be there the whole time. It’ll be totally fine.” 

You drag your hands down your face, peeking at her through your fingers. This is insane. This is fucking delusional. But it could work, couldn’t it?

A customer comes in, and you step to the side while Robin helps them at the counter. Chemistry? Maybe Robin’s right. Not that you’d ever tell her that. 

Last Valentine’s, Steve showed up at your place after dark, flowers in hand, knowing full well that you hate the holiday. “I just wanted you to feel special,” he’d said. “And I love you and everything.” You’ve been saying that to each other for forever it seems. And you mean it. He’s your best friend. But now you’re wondering if maybe he means it in a different way. Or if that’s just what you want to think. 

Steve doesn’t know that you pressed a few of the flowers to keep, or that you’ve saved the stubs from the movies you’ve seen together. You think about how he holds your hand on the way up the theater stairs, keeping you from tripping and spilling popcorn everywhere. How he offers to go out with you when you need to be away from home, not wanting to leave you alone. That he takes your bag from you the second he notices you adjusting it, straps digging into your shoulder. 

Your hands start to sweat, and you feel like this could either go just as Robin’s told you, or it could go really fucking badly. 

“Hello? Anyone home?” Robin’s voice breaks you out of your stupor. She’s waving her hand in front of your face. 

“Listen honey, I can see your brain working from here. I know you’re coming up with every possible way that this could go wrong. Just talk to him! It might go really well. You never know.”

Robin boops you on the nose and starts to walk towards the staff room. It’s her way of signaling that you need to get your shit together. 

“Good luck! I love you!”

You grab your keys and make for the door, flipping her off as you go. She only blows a kiss in response.

————

You’d been pacing your room when Steve called and offered to take you to the bookstore. Really he just wanted to spend time with you, and you needed to spill your guts. You spent an hour contemplating calling him, going over to see him, maybe even just cutting yourself off from him as a whole. In fact, cutting yourself off from the world had crossed your mind, but he’d since prevented that. 

Now Steve hovers behind you while you wander down an aisle filled with mystery novels. None of them are catching your eye.

There’s a warmth behind you, and you look up to see Steve. He reaches above your head, one hand on your waist, and pulls something down. He flips it around in his hands before holding it out to you. “What about this one?”

Surprisingly enough it does sound vaguely interesting. “You have to read it after I do.”

He grins. “Yes ma'am.” 

And we will read it. You know that he will because he’s done it before. He’s sat on your couch and blabbed about books to you, whining about this character, asking you a question about that plotline. Robin’s voice chirps in your head. Chemistry. Shit. 

Steve takes the book back from you. He never lets you carry anything. 

You walk further into the store, your feet carrying you to the same places they always do. You end up in a quiet corner, and your heart rate picks up. Not telling him is only hurting you more. You take a deep breath.

“Steve, I gotta tell you something.”

He crosses his arms and leans against the end cap. “Shoot.”

“You know how my sister is getting married?”

He snorts. “Yeah, I’d say I’m familiar with the event.”

You’d smile if it weren’t for the fact that you feel like you might puke at any moment. “Well she decided that guests could have a plus one.” Steve hates the way he warms up at that. At the fact that he wants you to take him. He nods, encouraging you to continue. 

“Well my mother decided to tell everyone that I’d bring you. As my boyfriend.”

Steve coughs, and your head jerks in his direction. “Your boyfriend?”

You press your hands together. “Yeah. She said she assumed that we were dating because we’re always together, and when my sister asked if I’d be bringing someone, she just told her that it would be you.”

You make eye contact with Steve. His cheeks have gone red. “So naturally, she’s already had your nameplate printed. And now, what I’m saying is that I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend and go to my sister’s wedding with me.” The last part spills out of your mouth faster than you’d intended. 

He doesn’t say anything for a moment, and you start to panic. It’s as if you’ve been sent into overdrive, like every sense in your body is on high alert. If this goes wrong, Robin’s ass is grass. 

You back into the corner of the aisle, book spines pressing into your back. “I realize I said I need you to do this, but I should have prefaced it by saying that of course you don’t have to, and I don’t expect you to–”

“I’ll do it.”

Steve pushes his hair back from his forehead. 

“What?”

“I said I’ll do it. I don’t mind.”

“Steve, are you sure?”

He’s moving into your personal space bubble, hands grasping for your arms where you’ve tucked them behind your back. He pulls them out, hands sliding down your forearms until he’s got your hands in his. His palms are warm, and you can’t help but notice how big his hands are. There’s a ring on his pinky finger too, and it takes you by surprise, considering he’s not usually one for jewelry. You’ll have to ask him about it later, assuming you survive this. 

“I’m sure. I’m not just going to let you show up after your mom did all that shit. She’s more trouble than she’s worth, if you ask me. But I promise, I don’t mind. I’ll go and be your boyfriend. I don’t know how good I’ll be, but hey…we’ll see.”

You pull your hand away to smack him on the arm. He winces like you’ve brutally wounded him. 

“Don’t you dare say that, Steven. You’d make an excellent fake boyfriend. And a kickass real one. Don’t let me hear that shit again.”

You let go of him and start to walk away. 

Steve chuckles. “Or what?”

“Or I’ll beat your ass, Harrington. And you’d definitely lose that one.”

He catches up to you and his hands find your waist again, though he struggles to hold on when you’re continually moving.

“Hey,” he pouts, his bottom lip jutting out at you. “Not fair.”

You look back up at him and reach up to pat his cheek. It’s warmer than you’d expected, and still all rosy. “Sorry, sorry.”

“That’s not very nice of a fake girlfriend.” 

You snort. “Ha! I guess my fake girlfriend skills aren’t up to the great Steve Harrington’s standards.”

“You’re being so mean to me today.” He rests his chin on your shoulder while you pick through a sale pile. 

“Only yanking your chain, dearest.” 

He chuckles, and you can feel his breath against your neck. 

You start to wonder if maybe everyone has a point. You do spend the majority of your time with Steve, and you are touchy, but that’s just the kind of person Steve is. You hadn’t realized how much you enjoyed physical touch from another person, even when it’s the most mundane action, until him. Robin is the same way, always holding your hands or leaning on you. They’re spoiling you. 

But the more you think about it, the more you realize that you’ve started to crave Steve’s touch when he’s not around. At night when you feel lonely, when you’re staring at the ceiling and letting your thoughts engulf you, you wish he was there to give you a hug. You wish he was there when you’re eating lunch alone and his leg isn’t pressed against yours under the table. You miss the warmth and the weight of him beside you on the couch. It’s like there’s a part of your brain that’s reserved for him, and suddenly you’re worried that this fake dating Steve thing might be the worst decision you’ve ever made. 

————

“Is this really necessary?”

“Yes, and I’m going to leave this with you until the masquerade is complete so that both of you morons have a reminder of your agreement.”

Robin sits on Steve’s couch, white board in hand. She’s brought way too many markers with her. She decided it would be best if you and Steve had a list of things that are acceptable for your temporary fake romance. She also insisted she be moderator. 

“Masquerade? Is that really what we’re calling this?” Steve looks at you.

“No. It’s not.”

“Both of you! Focus!” Robin uncaps a marker and throws the lid at Steve. He catches it. “Now, what kinds of things are okay to do during this little performance? I’m talking, hugging, handholding, kissing, the lot of it. Now shoot.”

Steve looks at you again. “What do you think? This is your family that we’ll be around.”

Your knee starts to bounce.

The majority of your little charade will be during the reception, and having to stand during the ceremony is saving you much more trouble than you’d realized. You never thought you’d be grateful to be a bridesmaid. But now there’s the added pressure of knowing Steve will be watching you then, that your family will be watching the both of you afterwards. 

Steve catches your shaking leg and is quick to put a hand out to steady you. He knows you’re nervous. 

“See? That’s good. Believable.” Robin is staring at the two of you, or more specifically, at where Steve’s hand rests on your knee.  

Steve pulls his hand back. “Okay, so we can hold hands?” you say, questioning yourself already. “You can touch me, like that or like you usually do.”

“I can do that. Hands, arms, back. That alright?”

You start to warm up. “Yeah, that works. What about you? I don’t want to be too handsy or anything but it might be weird if I don’t touch you at all.” 

Steve sits back in his chair while Robin scribbles away, her bulletpoints little stars. There are two sides, one for each of you. 

“All of that is fine with me too. I really don’t mind, and I think you know I like physical affection. But you know when you like, hang on my arm sometimes? I really like that.”

Robin smiles brilliantly. “That’s good! Makes you look super lovey-dovey.” She jots it down under Steve’s name. 

You try not to let it show, but Steve’s words are running rampant in your head. I really like that. He does? You hadn’t realized it before. 

“What else?” Robin asks. “Kissing? How do we feel about that?”

“Uh—I hadn’t really thought about it,” you tell her. And you hadn’t. The thought of Steve kissing you at all, other than the top of your head like he’s done before, makes you feel like your heart has just dropped out of your ass. “But I suppose it’d be weird if we didn’t at all, you know?” 

You’re looking at Steve, hoping he’ll feel the same way, searching for some sort of consolation. 

“No, yeah, that’s a good point.” He’s quiet for a moment before continuing, “What about your cheeks and forehead and stuff? Maybe the face is fair game? And you can do the same for me.”

You wipe your palms across your thighs. Kissing Steve. Steve kissing you. You’re losing your shit. 

“Yeah, that’s totally fine. That works.” You’re amazed that you’ve even managed to get the words out. 

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, you know?” Steve’s expression is soft. You know he’s being serious with you. 

“I know. And I don’t want to make you feel that way either. I want this to be a perfectly comfortable evening.”

“And I’m sure it will be!” Robin claps her hands together, setting her board down against the couch cushions beside her. 

She stands abruptly. “Basically you’re just behaving like you normally do, but with a little more hands-on action, you know?”

Steve quirks a brow, taking a furtive glance at you. “What do you mean, like we normally do?”

Robin moves towards her best friend and crouches, taking his hands in hers. “Uh…what are you doing?”

“Listen, little Stevie, you’re a touchy-feely kind of guy, and you’re always all over the lovely lady to our left. You can’t deny that.”

“I mean—yeah.”

Robin nods her head. Steve struggles to keep eye contact with her, knowing you’re watching the interaction.

“And you’ve rubbed off on her! She wasn’t really like this before you, Harrington.”

This time he jerks his head towards you. “Really?”

He’s thinking about your hugs, how you wrap your arms around his waist and squeeze. About how you always take his hand when he offers it, or how you'll toss a leg over his on the couch. Any other sort of behavior would feel strange.

You feel yourself go all warm. Feel your chest squeeze. You’re forgetting how to breathe. She’s completely right. Steve has brought out a side of you that you swore you didn’t have. The side that longs for affection. Maybe more. 

You nod your head at him.

“Yeah,” Robin says, “Most I’d get out of her was some hand holding before you came around.” 

She releases Steve from her grasp and rises once again. 

“But my point is, you two are going to make a fantastic fake couple. And maybe even an excellent real one.”

Steve face palms. “Robin.”

“Sorry, sorry! Make sure to take pictures for me, alright? I’ll be so sad to miss this happening in person.”

Steve stands, grabbing Robin’s bag for her. “Yep. Alright. See you later, Rob.”

He looks at you with what you’re quite positive is fear in his eyes. He leads her to the door, and you can’t help but chuckle, even if you’re nervous as shit, as he reassures her that there will be pictures, and that you’ll tell her all about it. 

————

“Just hang it up on the doorframe, and then you can hold stuff up to it.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

You sit cross legged in the center of Steve’s bed, watching him rummage through his closet. He’s going to knock your dress on the floor if he doesn’t quit his frenzy. 

You’d told him it wasn’t necessary that he coordinate his outfit with yours, but he insisted, so you brought your dress over for him to see. Steve has a feeling that when he sees you in it he’s going to lose his shit, not that he can tell you that. 

“You know, I never thought these would be useful. But I guess your asshole dad dragging you to business events pays off sometimes.”

Steve lifts a bunch of hangers from the rack and pulls them out of his closet, setting them on the bed beside you.

“Fancy,” you say, smirking.

He rubs his hand over his chin, the other braced against his hip. “Yeah.”

You can tell he’s a little frazzled at this. The reminder of dressing himself up to be paraded around by his father—a father who doesn’t spare Steve a second when not in the public eye. 

You hate that you’ve made him dig up all these memories. 

“They all fit okay?” you question. 

He nods, that one insistent lock of hair slipping free. He pushes it back before you have the chance to. 

You slide off the side of the bed and stand. You gesture for him to sit and that gets a smile out of him. 

After he’s settled, you lift each suit up one by one, seeing which matches the blue of your dress best. You’re only glad that your sister picked a nice shade: a dark, rich midnight blue. The kind you’d be able to spot from far off in a department store and need to take a look. 

You get to a sort of soft gray one, and Steve stops you. You hook it up on the doorframe beside your dress. 

“I think that looks nice, yeah?”

You walk backwards until your spine meets Steve’s knees. You brace yourself, hands on his calves. His chin meets the top of your head because of how high up the bed is. 

“I like it a lot, Harrington.”

He snorts, and you can feel the puff of air against your scalp. He’s warm, his presence all around you. His cologne, maybe his shampoo if you let yourself fall in between his legs. But you don’t. You stand. 

“Looks pretty solid to me,” you tell him, though your grin falters just slightly enough for him to catch it.

He puts a gentle hand on your cheek, making sure you keep your eyes locked on his. 

“Hey. It’s gonna be great, okay? You’re going to kill it in that dress. Probably kill me, actually,” he laughs. “We’ll handle it together, alright?”

“Alright, Steven.” You’re trying not to over-analyze that comment. This is not the time to get sweaty. 

He stands up, hand sliding down from your cheek to cover your collarbones. You wrap your arms around his back on instinct, and you swear you see him blush as he moves to encircle you in his own. 

“Does being your fake boyfriend mean your incessant picking has only gotten worse?” 

You rest your forehead against his chest. You can hear the steady thump of his heartbeat. You think about how nice it might be to do this all the time. What it might be like if he weren’t your fake boyfriend, but your real one. 

“Mhm,” you mumble. “I plan on continuing it, too.”

Steve’s hands run up and down your back. 

“I look forward to it,” he whispers. There’s a part of you that knows he means it.

————

Steve hasn’t stopped looking at you since you met him at the door to the wedding venue. 

You’d run down, more than happy to have company that wasn’t your sister's bitchy bridal party. 

He stands with you now, waiting until he’s allowed to take his seat, and you can feel his eyes burning into you. 

Not that you’re any better than he is. 

His suit fits him just right, and every time he pushes his hair around, you watch his shoulders move under his jacket. It’s driving you insane. And he’s wearing that fucking ring again. Except this time, there’s also one on the middle finger of his opposite hand. 

The sun is hitting him just right, turning his eyes this amber color. It’s mesmerizing. You notice then that his tie is the same blue as your dress. 

“Steve?”

“Hm?” 

“Did you have that? Just lying around?” 

He follows your gaze to his chest. No, he absolutely didn’t. He ran out and picked one up in a shade as close as he could get it to yours. Wearing something that felt like a piece of you had his mind abuzz. Abuzz with you. 

It’s the same way he feels about these rings Robin bought him. She said you were into them, always talking about Steve’s hands or something. He’s started to like them, but really it’s for you. Most things are. 

“Yeah. I found it in a drawer.”

Robin would slap him if she were here. He doesn’t know why he lies, but he does. And then you’re blushing and he’s got to sit down. He squeezes your hand one last time, an encouraging gesture, but one that has so much more buried beneath it.

The ceremony thankfully goes quickly for you, and you’re grateful, hating having to stand up there like you give a shit, like your sister is some saint. 

For Steve, it’s the slowest wedding he’s ever been to. You look so fucking gorgeous and he can’t keep it together. He barely even pays attention to the wedding, too busy looking at you. The way your indifference shows on your face, even if you know you’ll hear about it later. The way your hands wrap around the little bouquet you’ve been given. The way the setting sun sets your skin alight, and he thinks that you might truly be the death of him. 

When the ceremony has concluded, when Steve is looking for you in the reception hall, he realizes he has to tell you so. You deserve to know how gorgeous you are. He’s beating himself up for having said you looked ‘great,’ and that was all. 

You spot him first, and rush to him like you had before, anxious to be near him. 

“My mother is looking for me,” you tell him.

“You want to get some air?” His hand finds the small of your back, already leading you away from the crowd and just outside the doors. 

“You’re such a good fake boyfriend.”

You suck in a breath of cool air, shake your hands out. 

Steve smirks, hands moving up to massage at your shoulders before he even has a chance to give the action a second thought. “Just knew you’d like to get away is all.”

Knew. 

The word hits you and you feel like you’ve been slapped. Goddammit, Robin. She’s been in your head all day, and you’ve done nothing but pick up on the little things Steve does for you, the things he seems to know about you, that make him so much more than just a best friend. 

You’re fucked. 

“Thank you, Steve. For that, and for coming to this. It means a lot to me.”

“Don’t sweat it. I’d do it again.”

He’s looking at you with such fondness, and you have a feeling he wants to say more. You grab hold of one of his wrists, locking your eyes with his in hopes that it will communicate the message. Go ahead. 

He exhales. This sort of thing used to be so easy for him, but it’s never been that way with you. He knows it’s because you aren’t just some chick he wants to take out. You’re everything. And he’s fumbling for words. 

“I, uh, I wanted to tell you that…” You squeeze his wrist, and he continues, albeit with a shaky voice. “I wanted to tell you that you look beautiful.”

A smile creeps up and onto your face before you can stop it. 

“I mean, you always look beautiful, b-but tonight you’re just—stunning. Like, totally breathtaking. Don’t let anyone hear this, but I’d even say you look better than the bride.”

You let out a laugh then, the kind that comes straight from your belly, rich and sickly sweet. It makes Steve laugh, too. He can’t believe you. You’re unbelievable. 

“Sorry, Steve, I just–fuck that was so funny.” You straighten up, putting your serious face back on. “Thank you for saying that. I really appreciate it.”

“I’m serious, you know. You’re gorgeous.” He presses a kiss to your forehead, lips warm and plush against your skin. 

You go all warm and fuzzy inside. “Thank you, Stevie.”

He smacks another kiss to your cheek, just because he can. 

“You look pretty too, you know.” 

Steve blushes at your comment, and it’s at this very moment that your mother’s voice rings out, “Sweetie! Come in here, people want to see you!”

Fear flashes across your face, any trace of the sweet flirtiness there seconds before having vanished. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Steve says, watching you gesture towards your mother, telling her you’re on your way.  “Let’s do this, yeah?”

You make eye contact with him, and he grabs hold of your hand, weaving his fingers between yours. “Yeah.”

————

“So, how’d the two of you meet?”

You’re surrounded by a crowd of women, some are your family–your mother and sister–some women you’re not even sure you know. 

“School.” Steve saves you from having to speak first. “We went to high school together, but we met through a mutual friend.”

Your mother quirks a brow. “Robin,” you tell her. 

“Oh! What a lovely young lady.”

Steve snorts and you slap him on the back. Not that anyone could’ve seen it with how close he’s got you pressed to his side. “Yep,” Steve coughs, “She’s great.”

He presses a kiss to the top of your head, hoping it’ll give him a moment to suppress his smile. Your sister steps away from her friends, catching the action. 

“So, Steve, does she treat you okay? I know my sister can be a bit frantic sometimes.” You watch your mother down the rest of her wine, and you know she’s hoping nothing breaks out between the two of you like it has plenty of times before. 

Steve’s arm wraps more firmly around you, his hand coming to rest on your hip. Everyone has their eyes locked on you, waiting, hoping that Steve will spill some sort of secret that they can spread throughout Hawkins like wildfire. Nothing beats good gossip around here. 

He squeezes your hip, and for a split second you think the gesture might be possessive. Protective, even. 

“She does. Your sister is considerate and thoughtful, and she’s the best woman I know. I’ve never felt more comfortable than I do with her. And if she’s ever frantic, it only helps her deal with me when I’m the same way.”

You feel like you could pass out. Because you know he meant every damn word of that. You know he isn’t lying. 

Your sister looks between the two of you. “Well, I suppose that’s good to hear.” Her smile is nothing but insincere when she walks off to greet another wedding guest. 

One of your aunts swoops in, and Steve feels you clutch his side a little harder. He has a feeling you’re about to be ridiculed. 

“Such a lovely day, isn’t it? You two ever think about tying the knot?”

Steve pinks and your hand slips under his suit jacket, clutching at the fabric of his shirt instead. Is this really the time?

“No,” you pipe up. “I haven’t really given it much thought.”

The woman frowns at you. “Well, isn’t that silly? You better get around to it sooner than later, honey. Take after your big sister. You won’t be young forever.”

You go to speak, but Steve’s already begun. “I’m sorry, but she doesn’t have to get married on anyone else’s terms. Hell, she doesn’t have to get married at all, and I can say that in utmost confidence. Maybe back off, okay?” 

Your aunt looks absolutely scandalized, as if she cannot bear to accept what just happened to her. 

Steve starts to lead you away from the group. “Come on, baby.”

Baby. 

Steve called you ‘baby.’

You don’t have time to analyze that though with the way he’s escorting you back outside. He parks you on a bench and starts to pace in front of you. 

“I can see why you didn’t want to do this now. Jesus, are they always like that? I thought my dad’s colleagues were dicks, but my god.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Wait—can you call judgmental ladies dicks?”

You snort and bury your face in your hands. “Yes, Steve, I think so.” It comes out muffled, but he hears it all the same. 

When you look up, Steve is staring at you, and he’s much closer than he had been. He starts to say something, but both your mother and sister have shown up, looking for you. 

“Sweetie! What are you doing out here?” Your mother looks frazzled, and maybe a little tipsy. You knew your sister would be a bitch on her wedding day, but apparently your mother hadn’t yet realized.

“Escaping the mob.”

“Your aunt isn’t entirely pleased with your behavior, I’ve been told.”

You stand up then. “Honestly, mom, I don’t really give a shit. I came to this wedding, like you told me to. I brought, Steve, like you told me to. And I just don’t care anymore. I’m sick of your bullshit.”

She looks aghast, way more than your aunt had. 

You look at your sister, who’s clearly hoping to see you fuck up. 

“Congratulations on fucking yourself over. You’ll have a severely depressing marriage.” 

“C’mon, Steve.”

He takes your hand, and he can’t help but giggle as he follows you out. 

————

“Sweetheart? You comin’?”

You’ve stopped halfway up Steve’s stairs, a far off look in your eyes. He’d brought you back to his place to stay the night, and now that you’re here, it’s like every thought you’ve had about him is fit to burst. This cannot just be a tonight situation. You can’t let this end here. 

You drop your dress where you’d been holding it up to prevent yourself from tripping. 

“Maybe Robin’s right. About the chemistry.”

Steve’s hands go to his hips. He’s got no idea what you’re on about, but the way you’re looking at him is enough to have his heart rate kicking up a notch. “Chemistry?”

“Yeah. She pointed it out. And she said we’d make a fantastic couple, remember?”

He blushes. He hopes this is going where he thinks it is. Tonight has made him realize how much more you are to him than just a friend. He wants you all the time. “Yeah, I remember.”

Your heart is pounding and you feel like you can’t really breathe, but if you don’t say this now, you’re not sure you ever will. 

“Steve?”

“Yeah?” He’s never been so stressed in his life. He’s actually starting to sweat. 

You exhale and push the words out. “I don’t want you to be my fake boyfriend. I want you to be my real one.”

He coughs, chokes really, and you move up the stairs towards him to make sure he’s okay and not actually sick over the matter. 

“Are you sure?” he asks, surprising himself with the ability to speak considering how raw his throat feels. 

“Wouldn’t have said so if I felt otherwise, Harrington.”

There she is, he thinks. You really want him. Just like he does you. He can’t believe it.

“Again with the picking. You’re so mean to me.”

You smirk, your hands finding his sides again. You seem to have some attachment to them, and Steve wonders if it’s because you know there are scars underneath. If you’re telling him more than what you can bear to say. Giving him a glimpse of all you have to offer him, all the love you might hope to share. 

“I’ll show you mean, you little shit.”

You press your lips against his before you can second guess yourself, before you let that little voice win. 

Steve hums in surprise, but it’s clear he’s not upset by the gesture with the way he responds to your touch. His hands find your neck, thumbs stroking over your cheeks. 

He’s kissing you back, and fuck if he’s not trying to tell you everything he’s been feeling. 

When you pull away for air, Steve’s too greedy to let you go. He pecks your lips once, twice more, and when he really can’t breathe, he peppers your face instead. Now that you’ve given him the chance, he seriously can’t get enough of you. 

“Damn.”

You laugh, and push that strand of hair back where it goes, this time getting to it before he can. 

You take Steve’s wrist in your hand. It’s late. You hadn’t realized how worn out you were, but you are. 

“Can we go to sleep?” you ask, searching his brown eyes. His lashes are unfairly long, but you’ll have to berate him about it later. 

“Do I get another one of those before bed?” He’s already hauling you up the stairs, wanting you settled. 

“If you’re good.”

————

“So when did it happen?” Robin’s voice is almost accusatory.

“What?”

You’re standing close enough to Steve to ensure that you can hear Robin on the other side.

“When did this love confession take place?”

“That’s not what it was—”

“Just tell me when, dingus!”

“Last night, after we got home. She told me she didn’t want it to be fake anymore.”

“Shit!”

Steve rolls his eyes. You fuss with the belt loops on his jeans, trying to figure out what she’s been up to. “What did you do?” he asks. 

“I owe Dustin twenty.”

“You bet on us?” Your voice is loud enough that she hears it, and you know she’s cringing even if you can’t see it.

“Maybe? Yes. I bet that you’d give up the act later than that, that you two would be cowards about it. Figured you’d both wallow in self pity for a while before you just came out and said how you feel.” 

Steve looks at you, and mouths: Are you hearing this?

Robin keeps going. “Dustin said you’d come to your senses quicker than that. He bet on the wedding day specifically. Goddamnit!” 

You take the phone from Steve, and his forehead meets your shoulder. You can feel the way he shakes with laughter. 

“Thanks for having so much faith in us, Rob.”

She chuckles. “What? You’re both extremely good at lying to yourselves. I expected this to be much more dramatic.”

“Mhm,” you start, a plan forming in your mind. Steve can almost feel it. “Hey, Robin?”

“Yes?”

“Just for that, I’m calling in sick for Steve today. That shift is all yours.”

“No. Nononono—”

You hang up the phone. That means there won’t be the buffer that is Steve Harrington to prevent Robin having to interact with Keith. She’ll be stuck with him all evening. 

“That was just cruel,” Steve laughs. 

You cross your arms. “Oh, so you wanna go in then?”

He smiles at you and holds his arms out. You move into the circle of them. His hands find your waist and squeeze. “No, I didn’t say that. I haven’t had a day off in months.” 

“So quit whining.”

“See? I’ve only been your real boyfriend for like, a matter of hours, and you’re still being so mean to me.”

You lean forward and press a sweet kiss to his lips. It seems to appease him. 

“Was that mean?”

“Not at all.” 

You grin and kiss the corner of his mouth.

“Mean and a tease. Wow.”

You let out a breath of a laugh. “Only for you, Stevie.”

He takes your face in his hands, fingers pushing gently into your skin. 

“Damn right.”

————

please let me know if you liked this! feedback is always appreciated!! comments and reblogs mean more than you know. <33

tagging: @clovermunson

[brbsoulnomming]

Static

Steve's never certain if he hates walking through the crowds after a match or not. Sometimes, when he walks back to his flat, all bloody and bruised and exhausted, the press of so many other people feels oppressive. Sometimes he wants nothing more than to pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist, that he's in a little bubble of his own space and nothing can touch him. But sometimes, even though there's an edge of pain in every step, the bustle of people reminds him of why he does this, reminds him of everyone he's trying to protect and everything he wants to be able to keep on going exactly as it is.

Today is not a hates day.

Today the crowds feel warm and full of energy, and he basks in it, lets the feel of so much life wash over him.

Today he buys sunflowers at his favorite florist, listening to the soft hum of bees he can hear in the back of their shop. Today he asks if they have any honey, tucks a bottle of it into his pocket and sucks on a piece of the soft, sticky candy that Mrs. Anderson makes from it. The augment he keeps for show chimes softly in his ear, alerting him that funds have been withdrawn from his arena account. He doesn't know how much, but it doesn't matter. He trusts Mrs. Anderson enough not to rip him off, and anyway, he makes more than enough from his fights to get anything he wants.

It'd be enough to get out of this place ten times over, if the credits Creel gave his gladiators were good anywhere else but the citydome he runs.

Mrs. Anderson wraps up his flowers for him, and Steve gives her a warm smile when she gives him an extra one for his girl.

He can't remember if she thinks his girl is Robin, or Nancy, or Max, or Erica, or El, but it doesn't really matter.

They're all his girls, and he'd do absolutely anything at all to give them the world.

He settles the bouquet under his arms, counts the flowers - there's enough to give each of them two, but he knows he won't see them in person any time soon.

It's been quiet enough that he might have suggested a meet up, but there's… something that stops him. Steve doesn't know what it is, can't put words to what he's picked up on, but it settles heavy in the pit of his stomach. He's learned the hard way to listen to it.

They can't risk it.

Static blares in his mind as he opens his communication link, feeling out for who's listening in and smiling to himself when he senses El.

El's favorites are sunflowers, same as him. They're Max's favorites, too, but only because he knows they remind her of El.

‘Sunflowers!’ El says immediately, delighted.

‘Fresh cut,’ he tells her. ‘Want to smell?’

Her presence is suddenly much stronger in his mind, and he dutifully leans in to pull in a deep breath, holds it for a few moments, then lets the honey candy in his mouth settle right over his tongue.

There's a pleased little sigh, a soft touch of gratitude, then she withdraws.

‘When's your next match?’ Lucas asks.

‘In two days,’ Steve replies.

There's no response, not even a wordless one, but Steve knows Lucas well enough to tell that he's disappointed. Two days isn't enough time for him to sneak out, let alone have a Creel sanctioned vacation.

‘It's not the same without you here.’ Dustin's voice is colored with disappointment, too, and Steve can feel the sharpness of what he isn't saying.

‘I know, buddy. I miss you guys, too.’

He wishes he could tell them that it wouldn't be much longer. Steve's got plenty on Henry Creel, more than enough to have made this mission a success already, but they're never going to get an opportunity like this again.

He needs to stay as long as possible.

‘I'll ask for a vacation after my next couple of matches. How did your collaboration with Suzie go?’

Steve listens to the Party over the comm links for a little while longer, just to keep his own longing for home at bay, until he gets out of the busy part of the citydome and has to say goodbye.

His head goes silent as he closes his comm link, and he's alone once more - aside from the ever present trace of Robin, all wrapped up in his neural pathways that are more circuits than synapses these days, but she doesn't count. She's as much a part of him as his own thoughts are.

Tension prickles at the back of his neck when he picks up on footsteps approaching, more purposeful than anyone else passing by. Sure enough, someone falls into step with him, and his head jerks over - then relaxes.

“My liege,” Munson greets, throwing a grin at him.

Steve rolls his eyes. “What do you want?”

He didn't think it was possible, but Munson's smile widens even more.

“To celebrate!” he announces, arms spread as though gesturing to the wide expanse of celebratory pleasures to be had around them.

Which are exactly none, considering Steve'd already passed the pleasure district. He raises one eyebrow to convey just that.

Munson is undeterred.

“Come on, your Majesty,” he cajoles. “Look at you! First time in weeks that a gladiator walked away from a match with barely a scratch on them! Surely such a transcendent performance from the King is worthy of deigning to mingle with the Freak?”

Steve's going to say yes, he already knows he is, but he makes him wait a little longer, making a big show of sighing and crossing his arms and looking him up and down.

It's then that he sees it.

If Steve was everything he was pretending to be and nothing more, he never would have picked up on anything. There's nothing in Munson's demeanor that is any different from the handful of other times they've caught up with each other for a drink after a match.

It's only because his scans pick up so much more that he detects the unsteady beat of Munson's heart, how he holds himself ready the same way he does in the arena.

And the gun tucked in the inside pocket of his leather jacket.

Right.

Looks like he's out of time here, then.

If Steve's honest, he's a little surprised that it's Munson. The rivalry between the Freak and the King is all for show in the arena - not like it is between him and Billy Hargrove or between Munson and Jason “the Prophet” Carver.

If Steve's even more honest, he's disappointed, in more ways than he can spend time sorting through right now.

“Fine,” he says, letting himself sound long suffering. “Where are we going? I'll swing by home to drop these off and meet you there.”

Something tense but otherwise unreadable flickers behind Munson's eyes, and Steve wonders if he's been ordered not to allow him to leave his sight. He doesn't have a choice, though - it's a reasonable request, exactly what Steve would have said if he hadn't caught on, and his only other option is -

“Allow me to accompany you,” Munson says, bowing low in a show of gallantry.

It's a risk.

Steve's never let another gladiator come to his flat before, and there's very little chance that he'd let Munson come now, even if he didn't realize what Munson's true intentions were. He wonders what the back up plan is if he says no, wonders if Munson will do it right here in the open.

“Why?” Steve asks, unable to stop himself from pushing, even though he knows it's a bad idea.

Munson peeks up from his bow, flutters his lashes, all playful exaggeration. “And risk you backing out and abandoning the likes of little ole me?”

“Never backed out before after I've said yes,” Steve points out, digging in. Pushing harder. “Unless you have a reason for inviting yourself over? Maybe a different kind of celebration in mind?”

Munson tips his head back down, but Steve's scanner can pick up the way he swallows, harsh and rough. “Yeah.” It's flat and hollow, and it immediately sounds wrong to Steve's ears. “Yeah, maybe I had something different in mind.”

That's -

Not what Steve was expecting.

Would he, Steve wonders? Would Munson play that card, even though he clearly doesn't want to, even though he kind of sounds like he hates himself a little for it?

“Hey,” Steve says, unbidden. “I'm just messing with you, man. It's fine, you can come with me to drop them off.”

Steve might be well aware that he's going to have to kill Munson, but he doesn't want to be cruel about it.

Munson straightens, his usual smile back on his face, and he checks his shoulder into Steve's hard enough that it stings a little. “Asshole,” he says.

“You're the one who hangs out with me,” Steve replies.

The crowd thins even more as they move into the residential blocks. They're not going in the direction of Steve's flat - but they are going in a direction that he could live in, and it's not like Munson knows where he actually stays. It's not like Munson knows that Steve's already activated his comm link and told the Party his cover's been blown, and that he has to get out of the citydome tonight.

“Hey, Munson?” Steve asks, slowing to a stop.

Munson hums, looking over at him with a brow raised in question.

Steve pulls the extra sunflower that Mrs. Anderson had given him free from the bouquet, tucks it into the front pocket of Munson's jacket.

“I really am sorry about before, I shouldn't have messed with you like that,” he says.

He's sorry about a lot more than that, but this is what he's got.

Munson's lips twist down, and he sighs as he pushes Steve's hands away - though he leaves the sunflower there.

“Steve,” he says, soft and filled with something like regret.

Nothing follows it.

There's a beat where they look at each other, and Steve thinks -

And then there's the sound of harsh laughter, boots dropping onto the ground as someone swings down from one of the platforms overhead.

“King Steve,” Hargrove drawls. “Sweet on the Freak. You're really making it easy to knock you off that throne, aren't you?”

Shit.

Steve's in worse trouble than he thought.

He steps back automatically, shooting a betrayed little look over at Munson - it's one thing for Munson to be planning on killing him, it's another for him to lead Hargrove to him.

But Munson looks surprised, and then furious, and Steve realizes -

Hargrove isn't here for Steve. Or at least, not just for Steve.

“I told Creel you couldn't do it,” Hargrove tells Munson, voice conversational. “You're all bark and no bite, aren't you?”

“Get the fuck out of here, Hargrove,” Munson says tersely, teeth gritted.

“No can do, Junior,” Hargrove replies. “I have to clean up your mess.”

“You set me up,” Munson bites out. “This was never going to be a fair chance, was it?”

Hargrove shrugs, unconcerned. “You want me to drag you back to Creel to explain yourself, or should I just put you out of your misery here?”

The thing is, Steve thinks Munson would have done it before Hargrove showed up. Steve and Munson are friends, maybe, but loyalty to other gladiators only goes so far, and Creel keeps them all under a heavy thumb. It wouldn't have been anything personal - it would have been just what Munson had to do to survive in this place.

The thing is, Steve knows he would have put a bullet in Munson's brain right here. It would have destroyed a piece of him to do it, he can acknowledge that now, but he would have done it without hesitation if it meant keeping the resistance in general - and the Party in specific - safe.

The thing is, even if Hargrove does kill Steve - even if Munson kills Steve, even if he manages to kill Hargrove before he can report back to Creel - Munson is finished, now. Unfair or not, he's failed the test. There's no going back, not if Creel doesn't trust him, and Steve knows Munson's smart enough to have realized that.

The thing is, if Creel suspected Munson enough to have Hargrove follow him to make sure he got the job done, there must be a reason why, and Steve wants to know it.

‘Change of plans,’ he tells Robin, even though he can already feel her at the back of his mind like fingertips ghosting through his hair, downloading his memories until she's caught up. She already knows exactly what he's going to do.

The piece of him that would have died with Eddie Munson finally settles into place, the circuitry that makes up more of him than he usually lets on humming softly in his veins as it adjusts to account for it.

Steve swings around to stand in front of Eddie, and plants his feet.

“If you want him,” he says, and he can hear the echo of it through the static of his communication link, calm and determined.

Steve's never felt more steady than he does when he's standing between a looming threat and one of the people who've become part of the very core of him.

“You'll have to go through me.”

Hargrove sneers at him. “You can barely hold your own against me in the arena.”

“The arena’s all show.” Steve laughs, a little mean. “You think I'm sitting here with prototype Harrington augments and all they've got is what you've seen?”

He's not sure why he's keeping up the pretense that he's nothing more than what he seems. If Creel is sending people to kill him, he has to know Steve's part of the Party. But it's ingrained in him, somehow, to protect them until his last breath, whether it's artificial or not.

The question makes Hargrove scoff, and Steve swings at him.

Hargrove lets it hit, laughs at him again with blood dripping from his mouth, and then -

They've fought in the arena, before. Not often, because they're brutal with each other, and because Creel knows their matches always draw a massive crowd and likes to drag out the tension, keep the audience wanting more.

This is nothing like that.

Despite their brutality, there's an element of safety in arena matches. The punishment for killing one of Creel's gladiators is harsh and swift, and so they're almost never in any real danger.

This is - Steve can see the hatred in Hargrove's eyes, same as he always does, but now there's intent, now Hargrove's own augments have been let loose, and there's more power behind every punch than Steve's ever felt before.

Steve's starting to think the only way he can beat Hargrove is to really let himself go, and it makes his heart quicken, makes the dread in his chest coil tighter and tighter - makes Robin even more present in his mind, makes her whisper ‘you have to, it's okay, I'm here, I won't let you lose yourself,’ -

Until a shot rings out, clipping Hargrove on the shoulder.

It's not that Steve forgot Eddie.

It's just that he kind of assumed that Eddie would run off after Steve took his first swing at Hargrove. It'd been part of the reason that he pulled Hargrove's attention onto himself in the first place.

The expression on Hargrove's face says that he'd assumed the same thing, and he shoots a venomous look over at Eddie.

“Who's cleaning up messes now?” Eddie asks.

Hargrove snarls, drawing his own gun on Eddie, and -

Steve's too close for Eddie to get a clear shot at Hargrove, and by now he's starting to think that Eddie won't take the shot if it means he'll have to shoot through Steve, but he knows damn well Hargrove won't have the same reservations.

‘Robin,’ Steve says, even though she's already there, flooding his mind until she's all he can feel.

He can't lose himself when he does this if he's so much her that they can't separate each other out.

Steve lets go.

Electricity flares under his skin, crackling and humming, and when he grabs Hargrove's hand it immediately shorts out his gun. It flows out - and out and out and out and out, overloading the circuitry of Hargrove’s augment and threatening to burn it through completely if it keeps going, and he needs to -

He needs to -

‘Stop.’

Steve can't tell if it's Robin's voice or his, but it doesn't matter.

It's enough to get him to pull himself back. He lets go of Hargrove, breathing heavily as he shuts himself down. Steve's expecting to have to fight with himself, with the way the power in him wants an outlet, but it simmers back down with little more than a whisper. It's easier than it's ever been before, and he can feel Robin's pride whispering through him.

Steve looks up, just in time to see Eddie pointing his gun at Hargrove.

“Don't,” Steve says, stepping between Eddie and Hargrove.

It isn't the same as when he stood between them last time.

For one, Billy Hargrove isn't exactly conscious. For another - Steve doesn't care about Hargrove himself, not the way every part of his being screamed at him to protect Eddie. The only reason Steve's standing here at all is for Max.

“He'll tell Creel,” Eddie says. “You know if he's still alive, if he gets back to him, we're finished.”

“We're finished here either way,” Steve points out. “And Billy Hargrove isn't our decision to make. It belongs to someone else.”

Eddie looks at him searchingly, for a long moment. “If not you, then who?”

It's a fair demand.

As far as the general public knows, as far as Henry Creel knows - the rivalry between Billy Hargrove and Steve Harrington is as intimate as it is intense. Steve would be lying if he pretended like he didn't know that there was a fan favorite theory that there was something more behind their fights.

But it's never been true. Steve's only ever hated Hargrove for what he did to Lucas and Max.

“Come with me,” Steve says. “And I'll introduce you to her.”

Eddie's eyes are dark, unreadable.

Except -

Except.

Except Steve can read into them, can read hesitancy, longing, hope.

He reaches out, snags Eddie's hand, links their fingers together.

“Come with me,” Steve says again. “And I'll protect you.”

“Okay,” Eddie says, soft and almost surprised. “Okay.”

[ddejavvu]

m.list - robin buckley

blurbs:

robin is too shy to ask you out

robin wears the crafts you make her

robin and steve take turns with you | 2

robin and steve steal your clothes

you and robin scare steve

[lily-fics-11]

Robin’s Jacket

Inspired by a combination of prompts from @novelbear and @creativepromtsforwriting

*not beta read

cw: teen+

(This is my first attempt at writing something a little spicy so let me know what you think)

You turn off you car after pulling into Robin’s driveway. You were planning on sitting and waiting for her, but you see her open her window and it looks like she is saying something. You can’t hear her from inside your car so you open the door and get out.

“Come upstairs, I need your help with something. The door is open!” She calls out to you. “I’ll be right up!” You call back.

When you enter her house no one greets you like her parents normally do so she must be home alone.

A wave of nerves crashes over you. The two of you haven’t been alone since everything changed last week.

You and Robin like to hang out at the park and listen to music most Saturdays during the day before meeting up with the rest of your friends in the evening. But it was raining last week so you had to switch up your plans. The two of you had gone back and forth on what to do and you settled on going to the mall. You needed a new pair of Vans anyways.

The mall is always crowded on the weekend, making it difficult to navigate through the throngs of people. When it came time to cross through the food court it was overrun with mall goers. Robin tends to get lost and distracted in crowds so you figured you would take her hand and drag her through to keep her on course. “Follow me,” You tell her and you lace your fingers through hers. When your skin made contact with Robin’s you felt what you could only describe as a shock of electricity surge through you. You know she felt it too by the way your eyes met, searching for a way to understand the feeling that the connection gave you. You held each other’s gaze for a moment but you panicked and turned away, repeating your instruction for her to follow you.

Ever since that moment thoughts of Robin have filled your head. “What is this feeling?” You asked yourself. “What does this mean?” After thinking things over you realized that a crush on Robin had hit you like a tidal wave. Robin was your best friend, the person you felt closest to in the world. But she is also beautiful like nobody’s business. And now that you are thinking about it, she checks off every item on your list of what you want in a partner.

As you climb the stairs all of the interactions you’ve had with Robin over the last week flicker through your mind. After the mall that night Robin had accidentally hip checked Nancy trying to get a spot next to you on the couch. Where everyone sits at your lunch table never stays the same, but in the last week you have found yourself next to Robin every day. No matter what room the two of you were in your bodies are always angled towards eachother. You have made more eye contact with Robin in the past week than you ever have before. You haven’t talked about it, but the two of you have been communicating without words and you didn’t even realize it until now.

You take a deep breath and try to settle your thoughts as you pass through the doorway. You are met with Robin beaming at you. You are sure you are smiling back at her just as brightly.

Robin is sitting on her bed, legs crossed, surrounded by school stuff. “Can you check and see if I did this problem right?” She asks. “I want to make sure I know what I’m doing before the test this week.”

Robin was always asking you to check her work. Not because you were smarter than her. She was smarter than you, if anything, but she is always doubting herself.

“Of course, anything for you.” The last part just kind of slips out, you hadn’t meant to say it even though you were thinking it. You immediately focus your gaze on the notebook in Robins hand.

You join Robin on her bed, nerves blazing as you are forced to sit very close to her by the stuff all over the place. You lean over trying to get a better look at the page. Both your knee and your shoulder touch hers. You don’t fight it though, you settle in, yearning to get as close to her as you can.

You reach towards the notebook to take it from her but you are so distracted that instead of grabbing the notebook you grab Robin’s hand. You both look at each other, eyes wide, then back to the notebook. You notice that she doesn’t pull away so you decide to test your luck. You pull the notebook towards you but leave your hand on top of hers. It takes you longer to look over the problem than it should. Partially because you are distracted, partially because you are reveling in the moment of intimacy.

As you look over the problem Robin starts to ramble. “I’ve done this problem 3 times already and I got the same answer every time. But the teacher specifically said that there would be a problem like this one on the test so I have to make sure it’s perfect. I’m sure it’s fine but I just need confirmation that I’m doing this right, ya know? I wouldn’t want to risk my grade. I really appreciate you checking it over for me Y/N, you are the best.” She hesitates for a moment but Robin starts to go on about how even though she got an A on the last test and all of the homework she could still fail the next test and then she would never get into college. Robin cuts herself off when you look back at her after you finished scanning over her work.

“You,” you begin and stop dead in your tracks, “it” you correct yourself, “looks good.”

You are failing to hide how you feel behind your words and your body betrays you in the way that it is magnetically attracted to Robin’s.

You are embarrassed by the slip of your tongue. Your face is burning red as you quickly scramble off Robin’s bed, leaving her there in shock.

“Are you ready to go?” You ask, desperate to divert attention away from what just happened.

Robin stares at you for a moment before snapping out of it. She quickly puts down the notebook and gets up. She pulls a jacket off her desk chair and throws it on. She starts to walk towards you but then stops.

“What are you wearing?” Robin questions.

You look down at your outfit and assume she is referring to your ripped jeans.

You begin to defend your fashion choice, explaining “I know they aren’t nice or anything but we aren’t going anywhere fancy.”

Robin rolls her eyes. “I’m talking about your short sleeved shirt! It’s cold out, Y/N, you need to wear a jacket!”

You sigh. “I don’t have one with me and I’m not going to go all the way back to my house to get one.”

“We are going to be outside and I’m not going to let you freeze your ass off. You are going to wear one of my jackets.”

Before you can protest she is going through her closet and pulling out a denim jacket. She holds the jacket open in front of her and you realize she is going to help you put it on.

God, you are practically screaming on the inside. Not only will you be wearing Robin’s jacket, she is going to put it on you. You’ve been longing for this kind of intimacy all week, but it scares you too. You timidly approach her and the jacket and turn so that you can slip your arms into the sleeves. Robin brushes your hair to the side so that she can settle the jacket over your shoulders. Her fingers brush your neck, practically setting your skin on fire. She smooths down the collar. You let yourself have a moment to take in Robin’s scent. It’s not only carried by her jacket but she is close enough that it’s all around you.

You turn around to say “let’s go”, taking a few steps while walking backwards.

“Wait,” Robin instructs you so you stop moving and let her approach you. Robin is standing close to you when she starts to button the jacket. She starts from the bottom button and works her way up. But she never looks down, even when she fumbles over one of the buttons. She maintains eye contact with you the entire time.

Your breathes are deep and shaky.

When Robin finishes with the last button her hands linger there for a moment, still holding on to the jacket. One of her hands slides over to your shoulder and the other up to your chin. You had been looking up at her with just your eyes but now she has lifted your face up towards hers. Robin is a few inches taller than you so her face is angled down towards you.

Robin shifts closer, as close as she can, your bodies pressed up against each other.

Her focus drifts away from your eyes to your lips. Her gaze lingers on your lips for a moment before glancing back up to your eyes, asking for permission to give your lips more attention. Your hands had remained by your side but without hesitation they find themselves on Robin. One hand settled on Robin’s waist and the other on the back of her neck so that you can pull her face to yours and close the only distance remaining between you. Robin’s lips touch yours softy at first but she quickly deepens the kiss. Goosebumps race over your skin as fast as your heart is pounding in your chest. Your mouths seem to fit together like puzzle pieces, as if they were made for each other.

Your hand slides down from Robin’s neck to the small of her back. You pull back from Robin and she takes a deep shaky breath. Your lips don’t spare a moment reconnecting, you place gentle kisses along her jaw then move down to her neck. The soft kisses grow hungrier as you nip at her.

“Y/N,” Robin mumbles in your ear. You can feel her hot breath on your skin. Her voice sounds raspier than it usually does and it sends a wave of heat through your body. A tight knot forms in your stomach.

You can’t help but detach yourself so you can take a moment to look up at Robin and admire how beautiful she is. Her pupils are dilated and she looks a little dazed, but she is smiling at you.

You notice over Robin’s shoulder that her closet door is closed so you place one hand on her chest and you give her a gentle push to tell her to back up. She tangles a hand in your hair and pulls you with her. You look her right in the eye and smirk.

As she slowly steps backwards, holding your gaze, Robin tells you “I don’t think I feel like going to the park.”

Then right before you reach the closet Robin spins you around in one quick maneuver and you find your back against the door.

“Babe, we aren’t going anywhere,” you ensure her before grabbing her shirt and pulling her in for another kiss.

[spideyswebhead]

Stranger Things

Fluff - 🌷

Angst - 🖤

Personal Favorite - 🌼

ROBIN BUCKLEY

– one-shot / blurb –

Stargazing | F!Reader | 🌷🌼

– series –

coming soon

STEVE HARRINGTON

– one-shot / blurb –

coming soon

– series –

coming soon

– headcanon –

Steve Being a Loving Trophy Husband

[theapangea]

Missed You Too

Missed You Too

Steve Harrington x reader

Summary: You finally kiss Steve.

A/N: Ok this is one that I posted on AO3 after the end of the last season. Obviously I had to write something good for Steve because they do my boy so dirty!! HE IS NOT SOMEONES SECOND CHOICE!! Hope you enjoy my loves <3!!

The past week was a blur. You didn’t expect your first college spring break to end with you racing back to Hawkins to see the aftermath of what Venca…? One…? Henry…caused. You didn’t want to entirely believe that the Upside Down still existed, that the gate was still open after you all fought so hard to close it time and time again. That’s why you chose to leave Hawkins in the first place, moving across the country to get away from the horrors of that small town. 

But when Jonathan, Will, and Mike show up at your door, pleading for your help to find Eleven, you couldn’t just turn your back on them, not then, not ever.  

You didn’t even know that Joyce, Eleven, and the boys moved to California shortly after you did. No one bothering to stay in touch, mostly you didn’t bother to stay in touch. Almost like you intentionally separated yourself from the people you were closest to. You would never admit it, blaming the lack of communication on school. 

The truth was, you didn’t want to be part of Hawkins anymore. You didn’t want to fear for your life. The scar that Hawkins left on your soul made you paranoid, made it hard for you to live a normal life. Always looking over your shoulder, always ready for a fight. 

The drive back was like riding a bike, you could drive it blind folded if you had to. Everyone thought it would be best if you drove the last bit as Jonathan was barely able to stay awake at this point. The tall, full trees lined the only road in and out of Hawkins. Car after car rushing to escape the town as disaster stuck only nights before. 

Passing shelters, destroyed homes, police and media, all lining the streets trying to make sense of the situation. If only they knew the truth. 

The car swings around the curb, braking suddenly outside of the Wheeler house. You never thought you would be here again, at least not in this lifetime. Pausing, white knuckling the steering wheel as you hear the van door slide open. Mike, Eleven, Will, Argyle and Jonathan exiting the vehicle to be reunited with loved ones again. You take your time getting out of the pizza van, not sure if you wanted to see them, not sure if they wanted to see you .

Finding yourself staying by the van with Argyle. He was new, didn’t know about Hawkins and was thrown into this mess similar to how you all were. How could he continue to want to be part of this? Your gaze drifts down, your chest heaving rapidly. Your feet glued to the ground, unable to move from your spot. 

Closing your eyes, trying to regain a sense of self. It shouldn’t matter that you left then, it should only matter that you are here now . Some relief washing over as you repeat that you are here now, you are here now, you are here now. The held breath releasing as you scan the scene in front of you, the warm breeze picking up making you draw the wild strands of hair behind your ears. 

You watch as Mike hugs his mom, her eyes tender and soft, thanking the gods for him to be returned safely, stating how he is never allowed to leave home again. Her hands never leave his body, afraid that if she lets go then he will disappear without a trace again.

Jonathan approaches Nancy, both unsure of their relationship, both yearning for a solution - but still they hug, the sweet embrace almost made up for the long, angry phone calls and the absence spring break trip. 

Jonathan told you all about his Nancy problems, hoping you would be able to help. He didn’t like your answer of honesty and communication, joking how you were never honest with your true feelings for a certain Hawkins boy. Quietly commenting that you should have made a move a long time ago to get him to move on from Nancy. 

After all this time, you couldn’t believe he was still hung up on her. But maybe he was supposed to move on. Move on to someone who he spent all his time with, to the person he’d drop by at their house unannounced, to the girl who was so tired of the neverending nightmares that she did everything she could to move as far away as possible. Even if it meant breaking the heart of the person she was supposed to end up with.

And there he was…

Boy, was he a sight for sore eyes. The green-blue sweater with the rolled up sleeves to the washed out blue jeans hugging his hips in all the right places. The way his hair was so delicately placed, too messy to be considered neat, too neat to be considered messy. His eyes heartbroken, full of pain and anger. Full of every ounce of love that he is willing to give away in a heartbeat. Your soul aching for him. 

His hand placed on the back of his neck, clearly hurt from the unfolding scene between Nancy and Jonathan. Robin’s hand pressing gently on his back, guiding him away. 

You weren’t surprised that he still had feelings for her. A little annoyed, yes, but not surprised in any way. He would always talk about her, the way she laughed and talked and smiled. And it made you so angry back then. Realizing that the anger never left. 

He hasn’t noticed you yet, his eyes fixated on the ground. Probably hoping to finally disappear. You feel the same. You were two passing ships in the night too afraid to let the other one know you were there, constantly turning off your lights, constantly dropping your sails.

The situation between you both was left pretty rocky. You could never decipher the tension between you both, was it love or indifference? Steve was always there for you and even supported your decision to leave Hawkins, even if that meant never seeing you ever again.

You promised to call each other once a week, which did happen until once a week turned into once a month and once a month turned into dozens of missed calls on both ends. Leaving you both hopeless and alone. Both trying to figure out adulthood without the comfort of a childhood friend.

Before pushing your body away from the car, you look over at Argyle for some sort of friendly relief. After hearing Jonathan complain about you never making a move on Steve, Argyle has been constantly encouraging you since. To not wait for any guy to make the first move, to create your own future. You were surprised at his wisdom.

His kind smile helps ease your nerves as your feet move one in front of the other, your heart beating so loud you can hear it in your ears. The drowning noise of your blood rushing through your body almost makes you want to turn around. Run away like the first time - but you were tired of running. Tired of the ‘what if situation’ that danced between you and Steve. This was your moment and there was no way you were going to turn back. Not this time.

Walking down the driveway, Mrs.Wheeler silently thanks you for helping bring Mike back home safely. Her hand lightly squeezes yours as you pass. Your lips curl, barely a smile forming as your mind is elsewhere.

Nancy watches as you walk by, her body still wrapped in Jonathan’s arms. Her mouth barely parted, maybe she wanted to say something but immediately regretted his decision to make any comment. The strong bond between you both broke when she started to date Steve…then Jonathan. You were civil with one another but you’ve barely spoken a sentence in the past three years. Neither of you wanting to resolve your years-long battle.

Robin’s and Steve’s gaze are on you. Stopping right in front of the pair, realizing you didn’t have a plan once you got to this point. Robin instantly beaming that bright smile that you missed so much. Her hug was intentional, like she was trying to squeeze all the events of this past week out of you. Cleansing you of all the horrors. Your arms wrap around his waist, pulling her deeper, knowing you needed her in that moment. Her comfort washing over you, giving you the strength you so desperately needed. She releases you, arm's length away, her smile inviting and safe. 

Your eyes shifting to Steve. Swearing in that moment that he was smiling but immediately covering it with a cough and a snatch on the nose. 

She squeezes your shoulders before walking away, giving you and Steve a little alone time. Even if that alone time was in front of half your friends.  

“Hey.” You exhale, the tension growing between the two of you. The air suddenly still as his eyes studying your face, his fingers twitching every so slightly. 

In one swift movement, grabbing your wrist, pulling you in for a hug. The instant smell of his cologne filling your head, making you dizzy with the smell of home. No words needed to be spoken between the two of you. He was just glad you were safe, finally in his arms.

You missed him. 

Not just this past week, but for the past 8 months. He pulls you in closer, his body finally relaxing against yours. The breath of fresh air was everything you both needed, everything you have ever wanted, and everything you will ever need. 

In this moment, you were his and he was yours. Everything was right with the world. All the trouble of this past week washes away, your minds clearing, seeing a future with only the two of you. 

You both pull back, speaking in a silent conversation. Neither of you know how to respond in this situation. Both of you felt the buzz, the electricity, the love. 

After all this time, it felt like you never left. The feelings for Steve came crumbling back down. You thought this was your chance, your only chance . Your body makes the decision for you, as your hand wraps around the back of his neck, pulling him down to meet your lips.

Your breath instantly intertwines with his, every inhale pulling him closer and closer. Your other hand balling up into the soft fabric of his sweater as he deepens into you. His hand catching your cheek, his lips soft and warm, gentle yet demanding. The craving of his touch on your skin sends heat waves throughout your body. 

He takes his time, wanting to remember this moment. All the uncertain feelings, all the unfinished conversations, crashing down all around you both. Kissing him was the only way you could tell him everything you had kept in for all these years. 

He pulls back, resting his forehead on yours, pure eyes as he whispers, “I missed you too.” 

~~~

I hope you enjoyed!! thank you for reading and supporting me

[daisysliv]

i got you | steve harrington

word count: 3952

pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader

summary: instead of max being cursed by vecna, it's you

warnings: light swearing, angst, mentions of suicide, fluff if you squint

notes: recently got into stranger things and steve harrington is quickly taking over my very being, plus i finished s4 a few days ago and needed to write this!! hope you like! not edited so all errors are my own

📼 cant take my eyes off you 📼

library

stranger things bookshelf

You’re just too good to be true

Can't take my eyes off of you

“This is for you,” I handed a brown envelope to my best friend, his name scribbled on the front in my normal chicken scratch. He looked at me, confusion written into his features but I ignored it and looked away. Pulling my bottom lip between my teeth, I passed another envelope to Max, Dustin, and then Lucas, each of them taking it from my hand hesitantly, the same confusion written in their features as Steve. “Oh, and these are for Robin, Will, El, and Mike so if you could… give it to them if you can ever contact them again.” 

I handed four more envelopes off to Steve, who pulled them from my hand slowly. “What is this?” His eyes softened as he stared at me. 

“It's um…” I hesitated to tell them but knew that I needed to. They would find out anyway soon so there was no harm in me telling them. “a fail-safe. For after. Just in case they… things don't work out.” 

As much as I trusted Nancy and Robin, this plan of theirs was faulty. There was a higher chance of it not working than it actually working so I held no high hopes. If they found a way to save me from Vecna then great! But if not then I had letters full of all the things I needed to say but wouldn't be able to. I wanted to believe it would go off without a hitch but when has anything worked out in my favor? Almost never. 

There was a small part of me that held high hopes but I didn't let it show. I couldn't let it show. 

Steve stood from the couch and rounded the coffee table, never taking his eyes off of me. “It's gonna work.” He says so softly that I could feel my heart crack in my chest and I have to force back my tears. “It will work.” He sounded like he was convincing himself more than me. 

I only nodded, knowing that if I spoke I wouldn't be able to hold in my sobs anymore and I refused to let him or the kids see me cry. Mainly the kids. I didn't need to alert them of how terrified I actually was of dying. They didn't need to know that every bone and cell in my body trembled with fear with every passing second. 

“I wanna visit my mom and I need you to drive.” I turn to grab my bag, shoving the letter for my mom into it and sling it over my shoulder. Steve looks like he wants to protest but decides against it and pulls his keys out of his jacket pocket. 

Without waiting, I rush outside and feverishly wipe at my face to get rid of the tears that forced their way out. I was leaning against Steve’s car, waiting patiently for them to come out when I heard the sounds of a clock chiming in the distance. 

No.

Slowly turning my head, I could see the grandfather clock near the fence, its hands getting closer and closer to the twelve. I was running out of time and it was becoming increasingly more obvious. 

God, I hope Robin and Nancy were making headway and knew how to save me. Dying at nineteen is not what I had planned. I had so many things I wanted to do and places I wanted to see but if I died tonight, I wouldn't get that chance. I wasn't okay with that and I was not okay with Vecna taking that away from me. 

Turning my attention away from the clock, I met eyes with a frowning Steve. He didn't want to do this, I could tell, he just wanted to keep me inside and safe but that was the thing… nowhere was safe. Not outside or inside. 

“Where are the kids?” I asked when I noticed that they weren't climbing into the backseat, fighting over who had to sit in the middle. 

“Far from you.” He sneered, his words cutting through me like ice. “You honestly believe I’d let them near you after everything? Being near you would kill them.” 

I stumbled back, staring at him in shock, his eyes dark and cold. This wasn't happening. He wouldn't say that to me ever. Especially today. 

“What are you–? Steve, what are you talking about?” 

“Don't you get it yet? Everything that had happened– everyone that has died or left, was all because of you. You make everyone around you miserable.” I shook my head, not believing anything that was being said. “Why do you think your mom killed herself and your dad left? It’s because they couldn't stand you.” 

My heart dropped. This wasn't Steve… no, he would never say that. He wouldn't…

Steve has never done anything to hurt me on purpose and he wouldn't start now. “This isn't Steve.” I mumbled, squeezing my eyes shut and willing myself to wake up from this vision. 

I felt hands squeeze my shoulders and pushed back causing me to lose balance and fall against Steve’s car. “Your time is out, Y/N.”

“No! No!” I shouted and pulled my legs up to my chest, my hands covering my ears. 

“Y/N!” I snapped my eyes open to find Steve– my Steve staring back at me, his eyes wide with panic. “You're okay, you're okay,” He repeated when he noticed my frazzled state, helping me up from where I was sitting on the ground and pulling me into his chest. 

You’d be like Heaven to touch

I wanna hold you so much

At long last love has arrived 

And I thank God I'm alive

We arrived at the cemetery where my mother was buried just on the outskirts of town and I was quick to exit the car. I made it a few feet from the car when I heard Steve calling my name. 

“Steve, please, just wait in the car.” 

“Just wait. Y/N, please.” He pleads with me and takes a couple steps until he is standing right in front of me. “Just listen to me, please.” I don't say anything and he takes it as a sign to speak. “I know something happened back at the Wheeler's before we left. Was it Vecna?” 

“No, I'm… I'm fine, Steve. I mean, as fine as someone who's about to die can be, at least.” I fiddled with the strap of my bag, looking down at the ground for a moment. 

I couldn't handle him staring at me with those big eyes full of terror and confusion and hurt. I could handle a lot of things but seeing the way he looked at me wasn't something I could do today. If I somehow didn't die then maybe I could look him in the eyes again. 

“You know you can talk to me. Right?” He asks softly. 

“I know.” 

“Then why… Why are you pushing me away? Especially today when all I want is to be near you and make sure you're safe.” He pulls his letter out from his back pocket. “Look, I don't need a letter. I don't want a letter. I just want my best friend to talk to me. I'm right here so please, just talk to me.” 

I bite my bottom lip, not knowing what to say to him. What could I possibly say to make everything seem like it's okay? There was nothing because nothing was okay. Everything was a mess and my best friend was begging me to talk to him but I couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to. I couldn't tell him everything if I was just gonna die in the next few hours, it wouldn't be fair to him. To me.

“If Robin and Nance find a way to save me then I’ll tell you everything I wrote in that letter and more, okay? Just, for now, wait in the car. I won't be long.” 

You're just too good to be true

Can't take my eyes off you

Pardon the way I stare

There's nothing else to compare 

I sat cross legged in front of the headstone that read my mother’s name and pulled the letter I wrote her out of my pocket. I slowly opened the envelope and pulled out the single sheet of paper that said everything I needed to say. Gently unfolding the paper, I spoke, “Hey, mom. I'm sorry it's been a while, things here… they've been crazy. But uh, I don't know, I guess I wanted to stop by and tell you how much I miss you. Because I do, like, a lot. Every day I think of you and wonder what my life would look like if you didn't die so soon.” I smiled sadly and adjusted my position so I sat on my knees. It wasn't the most comfortable but my feet were beginning to fall asleep. 

Taking a deep breath, I looked down at the paper and began reciting my words. “I often wonder how my life would've turned out if you had stayed with me a little longer. I imagine that we would've left Hawkins and you would've gotten that job you always wanted and met someone who could make you happy– happier than what you were. I liked to think that everything would be better but the truth is… I'm right where I'm supposed to be. I miss you like crazy and life hasn't been easy without you but I have the best friends I could ask for, even if most of them are children.” I pause to wipe away my tears. “I have Steve, Dustin, Max, Lucas, Will, Mike, Robin, Nancy, and El by my side, though El and Will live in California now, they're still two of my favorite people. I think you’d like El, she's a lot like you, Mom. Always finding a way to make the people around her happy like you did. She's just… she's the little sister I never got. Anyways… Granny is still as crazy as ever but misses you so much. She comes whenever she can but it's getting harder for her to move around. I think… I think she'll be joining you wherever you are soon, which hurts to think about but she's ready. I know she is. Pop is… gone. He left a while ago and we haven't heard from him. Granny was heartbroken but she's doing better. Uh… I finished high school and I'm taking the year to figure out what I want to do like you always told me I could. Granny isn't happy about it but she understands. And…” I look around, taking another deep breath to steady myself. 

It was always hard to visit my mom's grave knowing that I could've done something to save her. If I had just stayed home that night like she wanted me to instead of going to Steve’s, she would probably still be here. 

“Some things are happening now and I'm really scared… like, really scared. I don't want to die, Mom. I don't want to leave these people but if I do, I hope I get to see you again. I love you, Mom, and I should’ve said it more and I'm sorry I didn't. And I'm sorry I didn't stay home that night like you wanted. I should've and I'm so fucking sorry. Love your daughter, Y/N.” I wiped under my eyes and sucked in a breath of air while I folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope. I moved to place it on the ground when the sky above me turned gray. 

I looked around in terror and heard the familiar sound of a clock chiming and a terrifying laugh followed by the sound of my name. I turned towards the source and saw my mom walking towards me, her wrists dripping with blood. I stood from the ground and gulped in fear. 

“You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear those words. But that's not true, is it, my sweet girl? You had a bad feeling all day and yet… you still left. Maybe you knew what I was going to do and didn't care enough. Maybe you wanted me gone.” She took a step closer and I backed away. 

“Mom, that's not… that's not true.” I sobbed. 

My blood was cold and my bones were trembling. She wasn't here. This is Vecna. This isn't… it isn't real. 

“That's why you left the house that night. It's okay, you can admit it. There's no more need to hide the truth.” She continued, taking big strides forward while I continued to walk backwards trying to tell her it wasn't true. 

I didn't want her to die. She was my favorite person on the planet but Steve and I had been planning a night out for so long that I left despite her begging me to stay. God, I should've stayed. I never should have left.

Why couldn't I be a good daughter and stay home? It was a simple request and I fought her on staying home. I left for the entire night and when I got home…she was lying in her bed with her wrists slit and a note on her bedside table. It wouldn't have happened if I just stayed. 

Maybe it was my fault.

Maybe a part of me knew and wanted her gone but that wasn't…. That couldn't be it. There was no way I could have known, there were no warning signs but I was barely home that year so I couldn't have seen them even if I tried. 

“You can tell me, sweet girl. You can tell me how much you wanted me gone…” 

“No, it's not true, I swear.” I backed up in a tree and screwed my eyes shut. This wasn't real. 

Wake up, Y/N… come on, wake up. 

I felt my mom’s breath hit my cheek and let out a sob opening my eyes but instead of my mom being in front of me, it was blue eyes staring at me and a large charred hand reaching out to grab me. I ducked and ran. 

There had to be a way out. 

I saw a flicker of red and slowed to a walk. It was like a storm but there wasn't any rain, instead there were floating pieces of a house and I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. 

“What are you doing here?” A demonic voice asked, sending a shiver down my spine. I ignored it and kept walking but sped up my pace until I reached what looked like a burnt down forest with a few trees left standing and looked around. 

I walked closer to the tree in front of me and let out a gut wrenching scream when I saw Chrissy Cunningham’s body trapped in a tree, her bones clearly broken and her mouth wide open in a scream. I fell back as I stumbled and found myself leaning back against another tree, looking up I saw a body in a similar position to Chrissy’s but this was a man. It was Fred Benson, a senior with Nancy who died yesterday. 

“Do you like my collection? You'll be joining them very soon.” 

Vecna. 

I scrambled up onto my feet and took off in the other direction but a vine wrapped itself around my ankle pulling me back to the ground and dragging me until it threw me into a tree. A vine wrapped around my throat, choking me while I struggled to break free from the ones wrapped around my wrists. 

A soft melody began to ring in my ears but I was too focused on Vecna’s approaching figure but the sound of Steve yelling my name made me tear my eyes away from the demon in front of me. I watched as hole opened up in the red sky and saw my friends crouching next to my body, yelling at me to wake up. 

“We’re right here! Y/N, come on!” I heard Steve shout, the melody that was ringing in my ears became increasingly louder and I recognized it to be my favorite song. 

The sight of you leaves me weak

There are no words left to speak

“They can't help you, Y/N.” Vecna turned his head away from the opening and sneered, “there's a reason you hide from them.” 

But if you feel what I feel

Please let me know that it's real

The vine tightened around my neck and I gasped for the air I desperately needed. “You belong here. With me.” 

“You aren't here.” I rasped, tearing my eyes away from the opening I wanted to run to so badly. I didn't want to be here anymore. I wanted to be out there with my friends and tell Steve all the things I needed to say. 

I needed to tell him that I have been desperately in love with him for as long as I could remember and I couldn't die before I got that chance. I wrote it all in the letter but I really didn't want him to find out when I'm dead. 

“Oh, but, I am.” The vines tightened. “I am.” He reached his claw-like hands out to my face and I tried to lean back. 

You're just too good to be true

Can't take my eyes off you

I could faintly hear my friends shouting my name, begging me to wake up and I felt more tears slip from my eyes. Vecna’s hand got closer to my face and I could see the opening between the space in his fingers, my body was floating and the others were trying to drag me back down but I was too far up. 

The time to wake up was now. 

I thought of the conversation I had with Steve before I went to my mom's grave. I thought of the way my heart broke when I saw his eyes lined with unshed tears and the terror he was hiding. I thought of the first day I met him when I was six and how big he smiled when I asked if he wanted to be my friend and share my snacks since he was sitting alone at recess with nothing. I thought of the middle school dance when I was all alone during a slow dance and he left his date to dance with me. It was the moment I knew I loved him and that I would for a lifetime. 

I love you, baby

And if it's quite alright 

I thought of when I first met the kids. They had been running from some people from Hawkin’s lab and came pounding on my front door begging me to let them in and I did. They were so grateful and kept coming around. It was annoying at first but then I realized I didn't mind it as much as I once did. 

I need you, baby

To warm a lonely night

I thought of when I took Max and El out shopping when they were pissed at Mike and Lucas. She wasn't supposed to be out in public like that for her protection but I knew she would be safe and that she needed to get out of that cabin for a couple hours. She had her first sleepover that night and she was so happy. 

I love you, baby

Trust me when I say

I thought of when I first met Robin. We got acquainted quickly considering we were trapped in a secret russian base trying to find out what they were planning. She quickly became one of my best friends. 

Steve and I kept trying to help her find a girlfriend but it was proving to be hard but it was fun to annoy her with. 

Oh, pretty baby

Don't bring me down I pray

I could feel the life slipping out of me but I needed to keep going. I had to keep going. 

Steve crossed my thoughts again. This time it was a memory of when we had our first fight. It was something so stupid but I couldn't help but pick a fight over it because I was jealous. I was jealous of how much time he was spending with Nancy despite them dating. 

Like I said, it was stupid. 

We didn't talk for days after and it hurt. It hurt like hell not having him to talk to everyday even if it was for a little bit. A little bit I could handle but never? That was something I couldn't handle. 

I closed my eyes tightly and let all my favorite memories of my friends flash through my head. 

Hearing them shout my name through the opening again laced with more desperation than before gave me the strength I needed to rip at Vecna’s neck causing him to let me go as he stumbled back in pain with a shout. I fell to the ground and forced myself into my feet, running as quickly as I could. I didn't want to spend another second here. 

The melody ringing in my ears picked up as I ran and dodged the falling bricks that were aimed at me. I nearly got hit a couple of times but I forced myself to continue running. 

My knees started to burn but I couldn't stop. I was too close. I was almost out. 

Oh, pretty baby, now that I found you, stay

Oh, pretty baby, trust in me when I say… 

The closer I got, I could see Steve frantically reaching for me with tears streaming down his cheeks as he screamed my name, begging me to come back to him. My heart clenched and I ran faster than I ever had in my life. 

Suddenly I felt myself falling and my ass hit the ground as arms wrapped themselves tightly around me. I breathe in the familiar scent of Steve’s cologne followed by the soothing sound of voice. “I got you. I got you, love.” 

I let out a sob and held onto his forearm with my hands, gripping tightly like he was my lifeline. I felt the others put their hands on my legs, they were either laughing or crying or both but I didn't want to open my eyes, scared that I would be back in that place with Vecna. 

“I got you,” Steve murmured once more and I felt his lips press against my head and I squeezed his arm tighter. 

“We should get going. Robin and Nancy are meeting us back at the house.” Dustin spoke up, breaking the silence that fell upon our group. The hands that were on my legs left and I reluctantly opened my eyes just in time for Steve to slowly remove his arms from around me and start standing.

I stood slowly, brushing off the dirt from my pants and took a moment to collect myself. 

“Let’s get outta here.” Steve grabbed my hand and let me lean against him as we walked back to the car with Can't Take My Eyes Off You still playing through my walkman and my eyes heavy with exhaustion. My muscles ached beyond belief but it was proof that I survived.

I may have survived Vecna today but I knew it was far from over. 

part two

notes: if you would like to request something from the prompt list, you can find it here, just be sure to add the numbers, and if it’s angst or fluff! if you want to request something that is not on the list, go right ahead and send in the ask!

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[hairmetal666]

It starts in Eddie's second senior year, close to the beginning of the semester. Eddie's in trig (again). He's good at math, but Mundy fucking sucks, always giving Eddie shit for breathing, or his shoes squeaking on the linoleum, or whatever, and he ends up with detention most days. So, he hardly ever shows and can't be bothered to do the homework, even though he knows the answers more often than not.

On this particular day, Mundy is in a bad mood, on Eddie's case way more than normal. In the heat of frustration, Eddie scrawls, "I fucking hate this class" on a scrap of notebook paper, and for reasons he can't begin to explain, leaves it folded on the window ledge. He doesn't think anyone will answer; fully expects the paper to be gone come morning with maybe another detention slip under his belt to show for it. He's a little flabbergasted, the next day, when the note is still there, and loses his mind a little when he sees the words "tell me about it" underneath his first message. He doesn't recognize the handwriting, sloping and a little looped, and for most of the class period, he's too bemused to respond. Right before the final bell rings he scrawls, "trig. You?" He leaves the paper on the ledge again. "Algebra 2 :(" is the response.

They keep it up, just a few words at first, before Eddie accidentally doodles on the page, and the other guy scribbles a hasty formula, the math spectacularly wrong. There's a little arrow leading to the words, "this shit sucks." Eddie re-writes the formula with the correct math, leaving careful notations of how and why. The next day he sees, "Shit, dude, I totally get this now. Mundy should retire and let you take over." Which pleases Eddie down to his core.

The messages get longer, nothing super personal, but complaints about life, math help, Eddie's silly little doodles, bad jokes, the slightly lewd drawings typical of teen boys. Eddie's never had a better attendance record in his life, but there are some days where his notes are left unopened. Most remarkably a couple week period before Thanksgiving, where he goes unanswered for so long he figures whatever thing they had going is done. But after the holiday, the notes start up again, with no acknowledgement they ever stopped. Eddie doesn't bother questioning it.

They keep it up almost all year, and they're definitely friends, even though they're totally anonymous. And that wouldn't have changed, except it's the day before spring break and Eddie's vibrating out of his skin with anticipation of the time off, so he forgets his dnd notebook in Mundy's class. He makes it all the way to Click's before he realizes, then sprints back across the school. He crashes through Mundy's door, tripping a little over his own feet.

"Sorry," he pants. "I just left--" he looks over to his desk, far corner right by the window, and then forgets every word he's ever known because Steve Harrington Steve Harrington King Steve, stares right back at him. And he just. He stops and fucking laughs, because all this time--this whole goddamn year--it's been Harrington he exchanged notes with. And sure, the jock's star has fallen in the last few months, with the breakup with Nancy and all that shit with Hargrove, but it's still Steve Harrington. With his big house and his fancy car and his girls. It's pretty Steve Harrington, the focus of Eddie's most hopeless daydreams.

He has a few seconds to see Harrington's hazel eyes go wide, before Eddie spins on his heel and makes a hasty exit. He absolutely doesn't spend the break thinking about the notes, matching what Harrington wrote with the gossip Eddie heard on him from the past few months.

Once break ends, he doesn't bother going to Mundy's class at all.

The Friday of the first week back, Eddie walks out to his van, only to find King Steve leaning up against it. He's doing that obnoxious thing where he has one leg bent, foot resting against the side panel, arms crossed over his chest, stupid hair falling in glorious cascades around his face. It's ridiculously, unfairly attractive.

"What do you want?" Eddie asks. He opens his front door without fully looking at Steve.

"Can we talk?"

Eddie snorts, "what could you and I possibly have to talk about."

Steve narrows his eyes. It's so bitchy and so fucking cute it makes Eddie queasy. "You know what."

"Enlighten me, Harrington."

"C'mon, man, the notes!"

"What about them?

"Don't be stupid, Munson, you know what. Why'd you stop?"

Eddie pulls a pack of camels and his lighter out of his jacket pocket. "Lost its appeal once I knew who was on the other side. Surprised you even want to keep it up now that you know you've been writing to the freak."

He pointedly ignores the little jolt Harrington gives at that, like the words hurt. Which is pretty rich from Steve Harrington, former #1 bully of Hawkins High.

"I've always known it was you," he says.

"You don't--wait what?"

I've known since, like, the first week, Munson."

"How??"

"What do you mean 'how,' dude, you're always drawing little pentagrams and d20's. Writing the word "Slayer" over and over. Who else would it be?"

And he can't even deal with the fact that Harrington knows what a d20 is (what the fuck) with everything else the other boy just said.

"I gotta go," is his only response. He ducks into his van, slamming the door basically in Harrington's face, before peeling out of the parking lot.

✏️✏️✏️✏️

It's the last day of school. Eddie's failed again. His grades, which weren't great to begin with, took a sharp nosedive after spring break, and he just can't wait to be done with this place for a few months. Harrington hasn't spoken to him again, and Eddie tries his hardest to ignore the other boy (aside from seeing him hanging out with Robin Buckley, a junior and a band geek, besides, and he forcibly has to remind himself that he doesn't care what Harrington does).

He slouches into his last math class of the year, slumping over in his seat. He rests his head on his desk, eyes blankly staring out the window as Mundy talks about what a joy most of them were to have in class. His eyes are unfocused, he contemplates a nap, and then he sees it. The tightly folded piece of paper resting on the window ledge.

Eddie almost doesn't take it. He almost ignores it, but he physically can't stop himself for reaching for it, unfolding it, staring at Harrington's now familiar handwriting.

Hey man, I'm pretty sure I fucked things up with us, and I owe you an apology. I've always known who you were, but you had no idea I was me. Buckley helped me see how that maybe freaked you out a little. I know I used to be a piece of shit. But I'm better--or I'm trying to be. And I'm so fucking sorry for the shit I did to you before and the things I didn't bother to stop. You don't owe me forgiveness, but you should know that I regret all of it. I liked passing notes with you. You made me laugh, and I don't know. It was nice to think someone liked me for reasons other than that I'm Steve Harrington, or whatever. I'd really like it if we could be friends. I get if you can't do that or don't want to.

Whatever the note actually ended with is scribbled out in pen so thick Eddie can't make it out.

All day he thinks about the note, the apology, all of it. Eddie thinks, if he's smart, he won't forgive Harrington. That he knows better than to trust him. But Eddie's never actually been that smart in this way, so he's not totally surprised to find himself walking to Steve's car after the last bell rings.

This time, Eddie's the one with his foot resting on the side panel of Steve's BMW, arms crossed over his chest. He doesn't have to wait long before Harrington makes his way to the car, chestnut hair dancing in the breeze, biceps on display in a short-sleeve polo. A little smile dances across his lips when he spots Eddie.

"So, you gonna tell me how you know what a d20 is, Harrington, or do I have to guess?" Eddie offers the other boy a cigarette.

"Babysitting?

"Babys--Are you serious??" Eddie splutters. Steve Harrington babysits. Steve Harrington babysits little dnd playing nerds. Steve Harrington wants to be his friend.

A full grin spreads across Steve's perfect face and Eddie is absolutely, 100%, fucked.

(Part 2)

(Steddie Notes is now posted in full on ao3!)