#steve harringtons shitty parents

[sp0o0kylights]

Someone on Twitter proposed Steve and Gareth as cousins whose family had a major falling out, and then someone else brought it up recently and long story short no idea who to credit the idea too bc you can’t search for SHIT on Twitter but it's theirs not mine. 

Anyway I wrote a lil thing as a warmup 

PART TWO

"Why don't you come sit with Hellfire?" Gareth asked, angrily leaned against the bathroom wall while Steve fixed his hair.

He'd tried not to cling since he entered high school. Tried to keep things on the downlow, least any gossipy mouths started running. 

It was so stupidly, needlessly, hard. 

 His cousin was only two years ahead of him but they'd spent the last year in different schools because of it. 

 That year, and the lack of Steve's presence in it, had grated. Now that he finally had Steve back, Gareth was loathe to play by the rules. 

"Sit with you and Eddie, "the freak" Munson? I'll pass." Steve said, but there was no bite in it. 

That, Gareth knew, was because Steve was  using Eddie as an excuse. 

"You'd like Eddie if you spent five minutes with him, King Steve." Gareth fired back on automatic. His fingers dug into his arms, as he resisted the urge to pace around the bathroom floor. 

Unspoken was all the shit that had taken place.

Steve and Nancy's breakup. The rumor mill in overdrive, first about how Jonathan Byers had taken creep shot photos of them, then about how he'd taken his shot with Nancy herself. 

The supposed cheating, the public fights, the crazy background of Jonathan's little brother being missing. 

Billy Hargrove beating Steve to a pulp. 

Now friendless, Steve had thoroughly fallen from his place at the tippy top of the social hierarchy and between his utter lack of friends and his shit tier parents, Gareth was concerned. 

"You do not want me to sit with you, Gary. I'd tell all your little friends that you're apart of the royal family." Steve turned, making an exaggerated face. "How's Munson feel about cozying up to a Prince?" 

"I'd technically be an Earl, Steve, not a prince." Gareth grumbled. 

He got an eye roll in response. "Somehow I don't think he'll care." 

"I do though." Gareth blurted out, absolutely thoughtless. 

Steve blinked at him. 

"What?" He said. 

In for a penny right?

 "I care." Gareth said, looking down and scuffing a shoe, making it squeak against the grimy tiles. "About you. You dick." 

"Wow Gary you almost sounded loving there."

For once, he ignored the jab. "I'm worried about you, man." He said it quietly, the painful truth pulled out of him almost by force. 

He knew better than anyone how few people Steve had. Knew how his dad was likely taking all the crap Steve had been involved in lately. 

Richard Harrington hadn't been the wedge that had separated his and Steve's mother, but the man hadn't done them any favors, either. 

His intolerance towards the working and lower classes, his demand for perfection, the way he looked down his nose not just on Gareth's parents but on his own wife and son…

Gareth's mom didn't tolerate it. 

Likewise, Stella Harrington didn't tolerate her sister ruining her shot at being a rich trophy wife. 

Both their sets of parents were dramatic and neither of them weren't anywhere near the concept of "good" but at least Gareth's weren't neglectful and abusive. 

Shitty absolutely, but he never worried about getting thrown out, or that his mom wouldn't acknowledge his birthday because he'd "complimented her outfit the wrong way." 

(”It's fine dude she just thought I called her ugly. It was a miscommunication. Dad said it's a good lesson about how women work."

"Casual reminder that your dad's an asshole and also how is telling your mom that she looked lovely in the sunlight telling her she's ugly?”

“It implied she wasn't lovely the rest of the time or some shit, I dunno man.”) 

The BMW was a shitty prize when compared what Steve had dealt with to receive it. 

"I'm okay." Steve said seriously. "It's almost the end of the year anyways. I can tough out having some extra alone time." 

"If you're sure…"

"Yeah man, I'm sure. Thanks though."

Then Steve pulled him into a hug and fuck their parents, who demanded they continued some stupid grudge. Gareth clung to him just as hard as he had at ten. Unsure if he'd ever be allowed to see Steve again.

[sky-neverending]

Steve Harringtons parents can not so kindly piss the fuck off. I’ll adopt him. Idc that he’s a grown man; he’s mine now. I will give him love and affection and cradle him in my hands and let him gush about Eddie to me. And if either of his blood parents lay a fucking hand on him? shits gonna get real messy real quick.

he’s my child now. he told me he was.

[nymime]

Mike: your parents dropped you on your head as a child?

Steve: bold of you to assume they wanted to hold me or I was even held.

Mike:

Eddie:

Robin:

The Party:

Steve: What?

Joyce: come here, i gonna hold you my big baby boy.

[munsonfamilyband]

I’m obsessing over Steve and Chrissy being cousins lately. Imagine the potential Shenanigans it presents. For example (most of this is not canon compliant):

Eddie and Chrissy are friends and Steve has a crush on Eddie (this would be post fall from grace for Steve). Eddie complains about Steve all the time because he doesn’t actually know him and Chrissy was sworn to secrecy by Steve so she can’t tell him anything about him, let alone that he’s her cousin.

Eddie finds out that they’re cousins when he and Chrissy are at her house (her parents are like Steve’s and are out of town a lot). They’re hanging out in her living room and he leaves to go to the bathroom but when he comes back, Steve is laying on the couch with his head in Chrissy’s lap talking about a fight he got in with his dad.

Eddie freaks out because “why tf is king Steve here?” and Steve freaks out because “oh god Eddie is here and now he’s seen me all vulnerable” so now Chrissy has to explain that Steve is her cousin and his dad is a POS like hers so they have an open door policy for each other

After that Eddie starts seeing Steve more and slowly learning that he’s not an asshole anymore. It helps that it seems like they aren’t trying to avoid him seeing them together anymore (Chrissy had been telling Steve whenever Eddie would be over so that he wouldn’t run into him).

Some memorable moments for Eddie are: seeing Steve baking with Chrissy with flour in his hair and then hearing Steve quietly explain that the cookies are low carb so that she won’t feel as bad about eating them (both of their mom’s are obsessed with physical appearance so Steve learned a lot of recipes that make them feel less like shit when they eat them), Steve braiding Chrissy’s hair while she complains about how Jason won’t leave her alone despite having broken up with him months ago and Steve offering casual as can be to key his car

As they get more comfortable around each other Eddie gets more and more hints that Steve may not be straight, but he refuses to acknowledge it for a while because then he would have to think about how he feels when Steve is around. He sees Steve let Chrissy practice make up and nail painting on him, most memorably he sees Steve squeeze his hips into Chrissy’s teeny cheer skirt that barely covers his ass, he hears him comment on men in movies, he sees how he reacts when Chrissy talks about the cute girl from marching band who talks a lot and Chrissy wants to kiss.

It goes on like this for a long time, Eddie getting closer to Steve to the point that they hang out without Chrissy, but neither of them do anything about their mutual attraction. Steve ends up getting a job at the mall and his new coworker is the band girl that Chrissy has a crush on, so Robin starts hanging around them as well.

It all comes to an end when the four of them get drunk at Steve’s house that summer and decide to play truth or dare. Steve gets asked by Robin if he likes anyone and he says yes but refuses to elaborate but when Chrissy gets asked who Steve likes, because she’s been drinking and had at least one joint, just tells the truth and says that Steve has had a crush on Eddie since he was 16. It’s silent for a bit before Chrissy turns to Eddie and asks him truth or dare, he says dare because no way is he admitting to anything, but then Chrissy dares him to kiss the boy he’s been crushing on for months and now Steve is staring at Eddie in shock. Eddie doesn’t even remember moving but suddenly Steve is in his lap and they’re making out in the grass of his backyard.

Chrissy decides to go for it and kisses Robin who freaks out before Chrissy kisses her again to stop her rambling

The four of them become a mysterious pack of friends who are clearly dating in some way but no one can actually tell who is dating who, especially with how few people actually know that Steve and Chrissy are related.

[hippielittlemetalhead]

So season 3. Let's do this!

This took so so so long and is not quite where/what I wanted it to be soooo... I am so sorry 😅🥲 this will most likely be 2 parts cause... Yeah, just life man.

Actually some dialogue in this one? Sure, a line or two, as a treat.

(Part1) (part2)

Steve had been working at Scoops Ahoy for a few weeks now and he feels like he's built a decent rapport with his coworker Robin. She's witty and snarky and opinionated and when Steve wears a more tinted lipgloss than he intended resulting in a customer clocking it and saying something rude that he can't help but smile his dead-eyed customer service smile at, she clocks out for her lunch early (and takes an extra 15 minutes) and comes back with a full face of makeup and shoos him into the back with the mascara she bought from the shop a couple stores over. They both start coming to work with at least mascara, eyeliner and lipstick and Steve loves it. He compliments the hand-drawn designs on her shoes and she asks where he got his rainbow heart pin. They mostly disagree on music they listen to -she still lets him drag her to a couple live music nights at The Hideout with him and Billy every now and then anyway- but their politics and basic life philosophies line up pretty well.

He could do without the 'You Rule / You Suck' board, especially when Billy gets in on it and adds tallies from a little notebook he starts keeping when he and Steve hang out outside of kids and work. And the jokes about his kids (and occasionally Billy) when they come through for free passage to the movies. And the jabs about his parents' money like he still has access to that or their house.

He doesn't tell her that he was cut off and disowned and kicked out. He doesn't tell her that he had to get a job to help pay for his community college courses because he was a disappointment that couldn't get into a pre-approved 4-year university and that meant no college fund and he was still a few years away from being 21 and having access to the trust fund his grandparents set up for him when he was still just a lump of forming cells. And even then anything in that will probably be blown on buying himself his own permanent place instead of just a hand-me-down trailer in the middle of the woods so he needs to save for things like bills and a mortgage.

He doesn't tell her that the reason he lets the kids get away with so much is because they're *his* and they've already seen more fucked up shit than the cops in this town (save Hop) and he'll be damned if they don't get to just be kids. He'll be damned if they decide he's someone they need to hide from and sneak around like they hide and sneak from Joyce and Hop cause that's how they didn't know about half the shit the kids got up to while the adults were doing their best to take care of things themselves. He doesn't tell her that he's paying "rent" to the chief of police (it's way less than he should be but it's all Hop would take).

He doesn't tell Robin a lot of things.

Then sometime after Robin finally warmed up to him but before Dustin comes back from camp, Eddie Munson walks into Scoops Ahoy, his metalhead nerdy entourage in tow. He orders a plain scoop of vanilla with sprinkles in a cup and one of the others also orders something small and simple (while longingly eyeing their diabetes-inducing, horribly artificial tasting, bubblegum flavor when Munson turns away) before all of them are squeezing into one of the largest booths, emptying out messenger bags and backpacks of overstuffed binders and scuffed up versions of very familiar looking textbooks. It's like looking at an older -slightly grungier- version of his kids.

"Gentlemen, now that 🎶school's out for summer🎶-" There's a musical lilt as he says it that sounds vaguely familiar to Steve, "-and it has been confirmed that I will in fact be held captive for yet another stint in the hell they call Hawkins High School it is time we confer and conspire for the next year of Hellfire and the little sheep that will be joining our flock." He kinda loses track of it after that because then his kids are rushing in demanding tasters of everything and edging towards the lifting part of the counter with a look in their eyes that speaks of mischief. He puts up the initial fuss about them only visiting him for his backrooms access and that they promised to only come over when there were no customers around. He lets them through anyway.

He notices Munson eyeing him as he puts the partition back in place shaking his head and Robin laughing at him as she washed their ice cream scoops. The one that's vaguely more familiar looking than the rest and reminds him of a taller, angrier, Dustin with a better hair regimen isn't quite glaring at him but is definitely paying more attention than the rest of Munson's posse and seems more suspicious than Eddie's curious.

The metalheads are still there when Billy shows up stinking of chlorine in clothes that are damp where they cling to his frame. The group loosens up a little when he shoots Steve his signature smug smirk as he shrugs on his denim jacket that -like Steve's own jacket hanging out of sight in the staffroom- had begun accumulating patches and pins since Neil's incarceration. Unlike Steve's, Billy's has homages to bands like Mötley Crue, Deff Leppard, Twisted Sister and Guns N' Roses with little trails of shakily embroidered flowers and constellations on the collar and hems and filling the spaces between the patches and pins. Billy also has a small pink triangle on the lapel where Steve has a rainbow. Steve pretends not to notice the way the group goes a little quiet as Billy starts his usual routine of sunnily demanding tasters of all the available flavors and then again with sprinkles to "-really get an idea of their ✨nuance✨, prettyboy" before deciding on a scoop of double chocolate with a scoop of raspberry vanilla in a cup with sprinkles and one of their fresh waffle cones on top. Like always.

"Really branching out there aren't ya, tough guy?" Steve keeps his face as stoney as possible but he can't help the humored edge to his voice.

Billy just winks at him running his tongue over his teeth as he gives Steve an exaggerated leer, "Gotta keep you on your toes, handsome." Robin fake gags and Steve laughs and Eddie Munson turns red as he stares at the two joking jocks. Billy goes quiet as he stares at his ice cream and Steve recognizes the look on his face, tells the blonde to go sit down in their usual booth and he'd be taking his break soon and they can talk about whatever's bothering him.

What's bothering him is Neill getting parole for 'good behavior', Jim only telling the Mayfield-Hargroves almost a week after he was let out because that was actually the same day he himself found out. Billy found out just before a summer basketball practice session and thinks he snapped at an underclassmen he's been trying to get to open up about what Billy is 90% certain is going on in the kid's home, but he knows that cops can't do much if the victim(s) refuse to trust in those trying to help them. He's worried about the kid he snapped at. Worried about Susan and Max. Worried that even with the restraining order Neill will try something. Billy tells Steve he had thought he saw Neill around the outskirts of town during errands or during his turn to haul the kids around a couple of times before Hop told them and now he's sure it wasn't just paranoia. Steve tells him they'll figure it out, reminds him he's not alone in this

That makes Billy smile, small and tired but real and grateful. His shoulders are still tense and there's still a wariness in the smallest crease between his eyebrows that makes Steve ask if there's anything else. They talk about some of the weird dreams Billy's been having that makes Steve encourage him to talk to El. Just to make sure Billy isn't going through what happened to Will the last alternate-dimension-go-around.

They make plans to head out to see the two Hoppers after Steve's shift. Come up with a basic timeline of when and where Billy thinks he saw Neil so they have something to start with for Hop. Put together an idea of how involved Billy wants to be in whatever plan Hop comes up with. They're interrupted by a group of girls swanning into the shop and Steve being yelled at by Robin to get himself back to work. As he gets up from the table Steve levels Billy with a look that makes the blond think about the way Max and the kids described Steve when they talked about how he fought off the pack of demodogs in the junkyard, planting himself between them and snarling snapping danger like Galahad himself.

Steve looks him in the eyes and says "I swear Billy, we're going to get through this, we'll take care of it and keep you and the girls safe. Hop knows what's going on and even Callahan can't get away with letting that piece of shit fall through the cracks after what he pulled." He leans in close and bites out probably louder than he should for the amount of people in the shop, "And if that fucker gets near any of you I've got Darling in Baby's trunk and I am not afraid to use her on a human shaped monster instead."

Author's (rambler's) Notes:

So, that's all I have for season 3 rn I am so sorry. 😭 I'm working on the next bit but I am so burnt out recently and now I'm unemployed cause of the ceiling at my job caving in which does not help the stress. So I unfortunately do not have a timeframe for you. 🥲 A couple of folks asked to be tagged so... Here you are? To be fair I'm not making any promises in regards to the taglist in the future, I will do my damnedest and y'all will have to bear with me.

I'm glad people are liking this and tbh this has gotten more attention than I expected so thanks? I appreciate the appreciation of my ramblings. Feel free to scream at/with me about this au in my asks box and I'll respond when/as I can. I'm just glad people are enjoying this. 🙃

@heartsong18

@knightofthieves

[caiusmarciuscoriolanus]

Listen to me right now. Picture this. Steve’s parents are as uptight and shitty as they are always depicted in fics. But in a small duration with which they are home, Steve decides to have the gang over. His mom has been badgering him about meeting his friends. They meet and unsurprisingly are not too over the moon about steves choice in friends. But they’re the type of people to talk about others when they’ve left the room. So they say their quiet introductions to the group. Steve’s mom shakes everyone’s hands in a really fake cordial manner. Steve’s dad does the same. But he stops when he gets to Eddie. They all suck in a breath, half expecting some sort of insult or outburst. But neither come. Instead, Steve’s dad jerks his hand back, and his face gets a little flushed, and he can’t find it in himself to actually look at Eddie. It’s only for a split second before he straightens back up, says his goodbyes, and holes himself up in the garage. They all sense the weird nature of it but don’t talk about it, and spend the rest of the night hanging out. Steve seems to be the only one who knows just how weird and out of character the interaction was for his dad.

The next day he catches his dad working on the family car in their driveway. He decides to address it. He expects his dad to tell him to shut up, or that it was nothing, that Steve was being stupid. But he doesn’t. He sighs or closes his eyes like he wishes he could wish Steve away for a minute. Steve notices the color coming back to his cheeks, and his jaw working like he’s trying to keep himself from crying. He looks Steve dead in the eyes.

“You just had to be friends with the munson boy”

And he stalks off. And Steve’s perplexed. He hadn’t remembered mentioning Eddie’s last name. His parents weren’t in hawkin’s enough and didn’t care to know about the whole drama surrounding Eddie. So how did he know?

It’s only later, months or maybe years later, when Steve’s going through his dad’s things that he finds pictures. Tons of them. Pictures of his dad looking younger and happier. And along side him, in almost all of them, is a young man with long dark hair , dark eyes and a shit eating grin. There are pictures of lake trips. Some of them of the dark haired stranger is under the hood of a car. Some they even have their arms locked around each other, or their hands interlocking. The man looks almost identical to Eddie Munson. On the back of the pictures are dates spanning months(maybe even years) and names. One name belonging to Steve’s dad and the other belonging to none other than Eddie’s own father.

[stevespookington]

(featuring steve’s parents being neglectful so heads up for that)

All of Steve's friends are always busy during his birthday, he's used to it. It is Christmas after all. A time for families to spend together... well it, it should be.

Steve comes home from preschool one day and he babbles at his mom about Santa and can they leave out cookies, please? Steve doesn’t know how to make cookies but his teacher talked about hot chocolate chip cookies and milk and does this mean that Santa shares his birthday—his mom snaps at him and rubs her head asking for quiet. There will be presents sure, but Santa doesn’t need cookies. He doesn’t learn that year, but isn’t surprised the year after. In the letter his teacher helped him write he asked for a doctor’s kit with the headphone things just like they have in the dress up box at school. He gets a bike that is too big for him.

He learns that he is just for show when he is 9. Dressed up in stiff pants and a scratchy shirt, paraded around while his parents grip his shoulders, steering him towards the new important customer or boss or whoever. There are never any other kids at the parties. There is never any cake either.

They stop hosting the parties at home when Steve turns 13. They say that it is due to the new hotel and its extraordinary ballroom. Steve knows it’s because he isn’t an asset anymore. 12 is pushing it, but he hadn’t hit his growth spurt yet and he was still… cute. Something to show off. Teenagers are just annoying. The pizza place delivers dessert at least…

He celebrates Christmas, if not his birthday, with Nancy after the demogorgon. He didn’t mention his birthday and well, it didn’t come up either. He got a Christmas present at least, a car model that matched the picture on his wall. It goes on his desk next the bowling pin, more decor that doesn’t really match who he is. It was still one of Steve's best Christmases ever. It... it didn't last though. It was bullshit

Robin shows up with a smile, a birthday gift, and a ride to her house (her mom refuses to leave without him, not that he would say no). Steve doesn't even know how she got his address. How she knew about his birthday, but her mom is in the car waving and Robin has a present wrapped in birthday paper in her hands. A birthday present here and evidently a Christmas present under the tree too. It’s chaotic and loud and messy, but he eats Christmas dinner with Robin and her family. And she comes out of the kitchen carrying a cake later and it’s his best birthday ever.

He celebrates with Robin the year after too. But the others look at him sort of pityingly when his birthday comes up, he tries to wave it off. At least Eddie just looks, there’s no pity, just consideration.

The next year Steve and Robin get permission from her mom to be late to the festivities. Robin has a surprise party to get Steve to somehow after all. (It took a lot of planning to figure out Steve’s favorite things for a party and where to host it, they couldn’t be late!)

All of Steve's friends are usually busy during his birthday, he had been used to it. It is Christmas after all. A time for families to spend together...

Well, this year? Steve? Steve spent his birthday and Christmas with his friends. His friends and his family.

[ickypuppi3]

there’s something so freeing to me about the idea of billy, steve, heather and robin just fucking off out of hawkins and living in a shitty little apartment together in a city somewhere

[hazardworld]

Monster Town AU. Vibes.

------

He was being obvious, right?

It’s not like Steve ever needed to hide it in a hidden away town full of monsters.

It was well-known the Harringtons were a family from old old money, so why else would they live somewhere so random in the middle of the midwest?

And while yeah, Steve knew that was could be a more nuanced thing to realize, he thought he’d made it glaringly obvious during his whole reign as "King Steve." How else did anyone think he got so many girls, or convince the Hawkins High halls he was top dog, or pull Nancy Wheeler to even notice him in the first place?

His teeth and nails were pretty obvious of inhumanity, if anything else failed!

All this to say, Dustin was staring at him wide-eyed, slack jawed, ears alert, and his bushy, curly tail, usually happily wagging now slack, when all Steve had done was grab a snack from the freezer and bitten into it.

"Steve…?" Steve swallowed his cold bite.

"Yeah, Dust? …everything good?" He raised his eyebrows expectingly, but nothing changed about Dustin’s expression.

"Why—you—Steve, you just bit into the head of a raw fish. A raw live fish." Steve blinked and looked back down at the fish. Wasn’t alive anymore, was it? He shrugged and looked back at the rising sophomore in front of him.

"Yeah, so?" Dustin sputtered, hands moving wildly in front of him.

"So? SO? Steve, Steve, you bit the head off a live raw fish and all you say is so?!" Steve took another bite of the fish as he watched Dustin’s flabbergasted expression grow into disgust, savoring the fresh, vibrant taste and the crunch of the bones under his teeth.

"Dude, don’t hate on my eating habits!" He said, food in his mouth, and swallowed, "You eat raw meat man, it’s literally the same thing." He finished off the tail with a satisfying crunch and moved to wash his hands as he waited for Dustin’s response.

"Steve, that’s…different! You know it is!" Steve snorted and turned, trying his hands on his mother’s dish towel.

"How the fuck is that different, Henderson?" Dustin rolled his eyes.

"I eat raw meat because I’m a werewolf! It’s in my nature! Last time I checked though, humans don’t eat raw live fish, man!" Steve recoiled. Human? Human? Dustin, his pseudo little brother of three years, who he coached on form shifting, taught how to shave, tried to teach to be confident in himself (though that eventually fell to Eddie), thought he was human??

“What the fuck? Dustin? You can’t seriously be that dumb man!” Dustin blinked, stepping back slowly, looking him up and down, studying him.

“I thought…you haven’t been human all this time and you didn’t tell me??? STEVE!” Dustin launched into him, squeezing him tight with what could only be attributed as a combination of love and werewolf induced strength. It was a little suffocating, but breathing through his mouth gave Steve enough air to get by. He ruffled Dustin’s hair and laughed.

“It’s not like I was hiding it!” Dustin leaned back, releasing his grip but still touching Steve (he had to admit made it a little easier to breathe). He gave Steve a puzzled look, as if what Steve had said was false, but it hadn’t been!

“Yeah, you kinda were, Steve. I don’t even know what you are, man.” Steve frowned.

“Wasn’t King Steve glaringly obvious? Like why else do you think I pulled babes in high school, and the minute I have respect for other people I don’t?” Dustin blinked, thinking, and shook his head.

“I dunno. Stupid high school politics? Upside Down residue smell?” Steve groaned.

“Dude, you’re the little shit genius kid, and you’re being super dumb right now.” He paused and Dustin shook his head again, lost, “fine, fine. Just…go grab me a towel, and meet me poolside.” Dustin frowned, but left anyway over to the public linen closet, where all the personally monogrammed Harrington towels laid.

Steve himself made his way outside, and yanked off his shirt, gills fluttering open in the outdoor, clean air. It  then dawned on Steve that the last time they’d been this exposed to the outside, they’d taken in ashes and shitty gunk from the Upside Down.

He dove into the water, and felt his gills and ears and hands expanded like they usually did in the shower to their full form. His gums throbbed as his second and third set of fangs extended, happy to exist in their natural places again.

Steve concentrated: it had been awhile since his last full shift. He usually let his form run where it felt most comfortable, and luckily, it agreed with his parents’ sentiments of human forms always being better.

He breathed into the sore sensation of his legs stretching and shifting, accompanied by the incessant itching across his cheekbones, upper arms, and chest. Soon, Steve felt the (relieving? He felt really calm, like almost too calm) heavy swish of his long, muscular, scaled tail, and opened his eyes. The sight of it made him giddy: he’d been swimming with two legs for so long he’d forgotten what it was like to see it attached to him.

Its color was gorgeous, a bright medium blue, with flecks of purple, navy, and yellow scales scattered here and there for extra depth, and each scale reflected the sunlight that fell into the pool like a tiny disco ball: bright and holographic. The scales trailed up the center of his chest and his arms, and along his cheekbones to his ears, where his hair had once been, and where the itching sensation from before had subsided.

He looked up above him, to the ripples of the surface, to see Dustin peering over the edge, gaping again, and Steve ginned, rising his head above the surface. Dustin backed up with him, tail wagging wildly, as Steve hung his hands (or, claws now, really) and head over the pool’s edge.

"Dude—dude, you’re a merman!" Steve laughed.

"Siren, actually. Mermaids—that’s gender neutral, like witches, by the way—are way more eye-pleasing, and have to stay near coastlines." Dustin tilted his head in what Steve liked to call his 'puppy confusion' face.

"Eye-pleasing?"

"Less gruesome looking. More pleasing to a human’s eye. Obviously, we all grew up in Hawkins, and with all the Upside Down shit, your opinions of eye-pleasing are pretty skewed, but like, they don’t have claws, or as many fangs, shorter tails, stuff like that." Dustin nodded, understanding.

"I read somewhere mermaids are from freshwater and sirens are from saltwater, is that true?" Steve shook his head.

"No man, absolutely not. As long as the body of water is big and deep enough, you can find either. Mermaids are usually closer to shorelines, whereas sirens prefer deeper, colder waters," Dustin nodded, as if he was taking it all down in a little notebook in his head, which was a look he made often. He moved closer to the edge now, sitting criss-crossed in front of Steve with his face in his hands.

"So...how often to you have to shift like this? Cause you know about me and stuff, I wanna know about you." Steve smiled at this. Obviously, Dustin felt some sort of embarrassment asking him, otherwise he wouldn’t have said the last part so sheepishly.

"Well, as long as I shower often enough, I’m good. I kinda just let my form rest where it wants. My parents always said human forms were the best forms, so I guess it sorta settled there." He shrugged as Dustin’s face turned into something absolutely horrified. What? Was something behind him? He checked, and nothing bad was there. Had something bad happened? Could he smell something Steve couldn’t?

"Steve, that’s not ok!" He blinked. What? Did he do something bad?

"What’s not ok?" He swished his tail a bit to ensure he hadn’t caught it on something, but it was free, so that couldn’t be it.

"Steve, Steve—" Dustin leaned across and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him. "That’s not fucking healthy, man!"

"I’m still very confused, Henderson."

"You’re completely binding your form without any breaks! That’s not healthy!" Steve frowned. No, no he wasn’t! His parents said that’s what he had to do, let his form go human, it was natural, as it should be…

Oh, he was binding his form, wasn’t he?

"Oh, shit." He stared at the edge of the pool, eyes wide, as Dustin reacted above him.

"You’re just now realizing this? Jesus, Steve!" He tutted angrily before grasping Steve’s jaw and forcing him to look Dustin straight in the eyes. "We’re going inside, and I’m calling Robin. We’re getting you a proper everyday siren form." Before Steve could protest, Dustin was up and storming back inside, leaving Steve to get out and go after him.

Part 1/Part 2/Part 3

[suzieloveships]

One of the best things about Stranger things is the the breaking the circle of abuse motive and I really need to talk about it. Like, this show really said; here are five 17-20 years olds, all 5 of them had a shitty life (Steve - child neglet, Robin - gay in the 80s + implied bad relactionship with a parent, Jonathan - abusive father, Eddie - father in prison (I think), Nancy - child of a loveless marriege), it was hard for all of them, and yet all 5 of them said "No, I'm going to do better, I'm going to take care of those kids, whose lifes also sucks, I'm going to make sure they are safe and sound and happy, and that they have better life than me." And I don't know, I just think that really sweet

[sp0o0kylights]

 Part Five Part Two / Part Six YOU ARE HERE. / Part Seven

A03

"No come back here and hug me dammit!"

"I told you it'd be funny." Gareth stage whispered to Steve the following Monday, as Eddie proceeded to cause his usual amount of chaos in the lunchroom.

Tiff just shook her head.

"Come on, just do it and then tell everyone I'm better!" Eddie shrieked again, loud enough to be heard across the school. Possibly into the parking lot, given the winces and glares their peers tossed Eddie's way.

Jeff had his own head in his hands having been Eddie's prior cuddle victim and still suffering the consequences from it.

"I hate you." He groaned, and every single person knew he was talking to Gareth. "I cannot believe you told him his stupid hugs didn't even compare to Steve's. He almost broke my back this morning!"

Which wasn't an understatement--Gareth himself had dodged his best friend's aggressive hugs only by bolting to his first class, then acting like a ninja as he snuck about all day.

He'd even dropped to the floor and army-crawled at one point.

Now he stayed close to Steve, blatantly using the jock as a meat shield.

"Anyone have any ideas on how we can get him to chill out?" Stewart asked, from where he'd taken refuge under the lunch table.

Their second eldest member put up with many things, but drew the line at bodily injury by overly affectionate metalhead.

"Same as always." Jeff grumbled, making sure Gareth saw his glare. "We wait him out."

"Tiff!" Eddie whined, whirling around, hands reaching out for her.

"You touch me Munson and I'll burn the trigonometry notes I promised you." Tiffany threatened without looking up from her book.

"Fine." Eddie wheeled right back around. "Graaaaant-!"

"This could take days!" Stewart complained, acting like a man caged. "I can't wait much longer!"

'Dramatic, the whole lot of them.' Gareth thought fondly, knowing he was just as bad.

"Okay. Seriously, how are we fixing this?" Jeff said sourly, as Grant once again picked Eddie up by his jacket and bodily threw him as far away as he could.

Like an eldritch being from a B horror movie, Eddie simply bounced back up and came for him again.

"His issue is that he thinks I'm the better cuddler, right? Nothing else?" Steve said thoughtfully.

"Yes." Groaned the other four in unison, as Grant laid a hand on Eddie's forehead, the latter pinwheeling his arms like a cartoon character.

Steve nodded once, before his face morphed into something devastatingly smug. "Yeah we're screwed."

Jeff switched targets from Gareth to glare at Steve instead. "Really Harrington?"

"I'm back to Harrington now? Jeff, man, you wound me." Steve faked a gasp, putting a hand over his heart.

It made Gareth grin, if only because Steve wouldn't have done that a month ago. "God I love when you're a bitch."

Steve looked over at him and winked.

"Just for that, we should make you cuddle with him." Stewart grumbled. "Tell him he can decide for himself who's better!"

Which of course killed the playful look on Steve's face.

Two pairs of shoes proceeded to kick at Stewart (who dodged Jeff's only to be nailed by Tiffany's far more tactical aim.)

Except when Gareth though about it, it actually wasn't a half-bad idea.

If one pitched it right.

"You know," Gareth said slowly, a plan forming. It was half-baked, but it'd work. "--you could end this pretty easily if you did. You  have the power."

"Are we being serious right now?" Jeff grumped. "This does not feel like we're being serious."

Gareth ignore him.

"You up for one last cuddle, Sir Carrington?"  He asked, playfully.

He got a flat look in return. "You've got to be kidding me. You're seriously suggesting the solution here is for me and Eddie to cuddle."

"I am indeed." Gareth said with a grin. "So long as it's an absolutely terrible cuddle."

That got an interesting reaction.

"Good luck, I'm an amazing cuddler." Steve huffed, offended--and it looked like he actually believed it.

A curiosity, considering even with everyone announcing themselves before touching him he still got jumpy.

"Then pretend." Gareth wheedled. "You don't even have to do it for that long. Sneeze in his ear and he'll be done for."

He got a few grossed out looks for that, but it was worth it all to see Steve growing more comfortable with the idea.

"If I were to do anything of the sort I wouldn't sneeze in his ear." The jock retorted, but he looked contemplative.

"I'm sure you could come up with something else. " Gareth suggested, and gave his best, award winning smile as he said it. "You're creative when cornered."

No ulterior motives here, no sir!

"I know what you're doing, Gareth." Steve said, calling him out immediately. "But I might be convinced to take a hit for the team--for a price. My reputation would be on the line."

"What do you want?" Stewart asked immediately, more than a little desperate as Eddie carried on in the background.

"Well..." Steve trailed off, slowly meeting each and every one of them in the eye. "what are you offering?"

"You know what?" Jeff said, putting his head back in his hands. " Just for that, you and Gareth both are on my shit list."

"I'll bake you those marble brownies you wanted and get right back off it." Steve said, the smug air only growing as Jeff sighed loudly.

"Name your price, Harrington." Stewart said, talking over Jeff's second, overly dramatic sigh. "You want some D&D treasure, or an item for your character? You got it. You want a fucking," He paused, eyes scrunching up in thought. "--new basketball? Or whatever sport ball you're into right now?"

"Not even close." Steve told him.

Jeff sighed a third time, loud and obnoxious.

"Why does this always fall down to me?" Tiff asked the ceiling, as though God himself might respond back with the answer. She tilted her head back down, aiming to make eye contact with Steve. "You're in Rucker's class right? I'll write your poly-sci paper. Highest grade I will guarantee is a B, and that is because it would be suspicious if you looked like you suddenly had strong, A-grade opinions on current, geopolitical policies."

Steve snapped and pointed towards her. "Sold!" He called, mimicking an auctioneer.

Smooth as butter, he turned towards Hurricane Eddie. "Hey Munson!"

In two seconds the jock had summoned that cocky persona of his, wearing a smarmy smile like a cloak. It was getting easier and easier to tell which "bitchy Steve" was the real one and which one was a total front.

(Tiffany had decided the man was a mean girl at his core and honestly, the label stuck.

But Mean Girl Steve was a hell of a lot different than King Steve--or any of the other overly confident swaggering personas Steve adopted like a second skin.)

For for all the preparation he'd had, was still rigid most of the time Gareth had occupied his lap, only relaxing when the younger boy had gotten Eddie so wound up their eldest friend couldn't form coherent sentences.

Now, as Steve strode over and issued the challenge of a cuddle off during the next Hellfire game, he was already less stiff.

Eddie had that effect on people. Particularly ones who had crushes on him.

"This is the stupidest thing I've ever been involved in." Tiffany complained.

"Is it Tiff? Is it really?" Jeff challenged as he finally sat up.

"She's definitely forgetting the purple griffin incident." Grant said, completely ignoring what was going down on the other end of the table as he took advantage of Eddie being distracted to make his escape.

"Fine." Tiff conceded before anyone could list anything else off, "But it's at least in the top five."

"This Friday, Harrington." Eddie announced loudly then, fire in his eyes and a finger in Steve's face. "Me and you. It is on."

"Hope you're ready to lose." Steve taunted.

It was hilarious as it was ridiculous.

Which meant of course, that dumb shit had to get in the way of it.

xXx

Steve backslid the next morning.

Worse, he kept backsliding, growing worse throughout the week until the person left looked a whole lot like the guy they’d dragged to their table all those months ago.

He sat silently next to Eddie during lunch, only speaking if asked a direct question, all banter and playful bitchiness gone.

He avoided Hellfire’s members in the hallway, Stewart reporting he had been uncharacteristically silent during their one shared class.

Most damning?

He’d flinched when Eddie had done their dumb little “shoulder bumping” routine.

Which officially meant that ghost Steve was back.

(“I didn’t realize how Steve was our little ray of sunshine and positivity until he stopped being it.” Tiff complained, idly spinning a pencil in the library. “Worse, I didn’t think I’d miss it.”

Gareth, who definitely wasn’t skipping again, agreed wholeheartedly.)

Not even Eddie's antics got a smile out of Steve. He really tried too, to the point where Gareth was starting to worry his best friend was going to do something dramatic just to get a little chuckle.

Steve at least, picked up on the fact he was freaking out all of Hellfire when Grant started to get blunt with his questions.

A part of Gareth (the part that appreciated Grant’s bluntness, instead of the rest of him, that wanted to duck and cover in case it made things worse) was curious if this would finally get Steve to open up; but instead it just made things worse.

Within two direct “No really dude, what's wrong?” ’s, Steve retired the haunted act and instead brought the downright freaky return of one Hawkins' jock's doing a real good job at pretending he was okay.

Pity for him this wasn't Tommy H or the rest of the public Steve was trying to fool.

This was a group of people who tended to be hyper aware of things, ranging from their surroundings to their people. (And then went on to play, as Steve regularly teased them, “one giant math game about it.”)

Not a single one of them was fooled by the act, or the evasive answers Steve pulled out of his ass when the rest of them all, individually, in their own way, tried to figure out if their newest member was okay or just having a few bad days.

"He told me he wasn't feeling good." Jeff said, worrying his lip with his teeth when they all finally convened together after school to discuss it.

"Are we choosing to buy that?" Tiffany asked, one eyebrow raised in a challenge. "He's been off since Tuesday. It's Thursday."

Grant huffed an agreement, arms crossed over his chest.

"Devils advocate, people are typically sick for more than one day." Stewart pointed out. "Dudes probably got allergies or something, it is the end of May."

"It's not allergies." Gareth said flatly.

Allergies usually came with symptoms like coughing and sneezing.

They did not come with vacant stares and falling over one's feet when their friends said hello in the hallway.

"Well clearly he doesn't want to talk about it so maybe he'll just…work himself out of whatever it is." Jeff reasoned. "I don't know if we should really push him about it."

"And miss out on another week's worth of baking?" Stewart bemoaned, as if Steve's lack of treats was the sole reason they were concerned.

Tiff swiped at him with her paperback.

Interestingly, Eddie had yet to say much on the matter. Everyone knew he was just as worried. The guy was a secret teddy bear, and they all still knew to warn him if a dog so much as got hurt in a movie. Worse, Steve was one of his "sheepies" as he so lovingly called them all, and was notoriously defensive of Hellfire as a whole.

Gareth had been eyeing him throughout their little gathering, watching as his best friend tapped his foot anxiously.

The guy seemed lost in his own head and while it wasn't completely unusual, it too, was odd behavior.

Gareth squinted at him, making eye contact and asking if he was alright with the kind of subtle facial expressions only best friends could pull.

Eddie didn't respond, but instead, looked away.

'That's a no.' Gareth thought, as the conversation around them wound down, without anyone coming up with any solid plans on what they were going to do about the Steve situation.

This is exactly how he ended up following Eddie home.

"Inviting ourselves over I see." The elder teen muttered out of the corner of his mouth as Gareth chased him to his van, hopping into the passenger seat instead of heading for his bicycle.

"It's a good night for a smoke sess." Gareth responded casually.

"You hate smoking weed." Eddie returned with a snort. "You prefer edibles."

"Just think of what we could do with Harrington's baking skills." Gareth replied wistfully--but made sure to watch his friend.

There it was. The slightest of weird expressions, flitting over Eddie's face like a shadow before he hid it back into whatever cage it escaped from.

"You're worried." Gareth guessed. Not like that was a hard one.

"Aren't we all, Gare-Bear?" Eddie returned, eyes never leaving the road.

He pretended like he couldn't feel Gareth scanning him, taking in the too tense shoulders and the shuttered, guarded look on his face.

"You know something." Gareth guessed after a moment.

The declaration made his best friend flinch, hands squeezing tight on the wheel.

'Got you.'

"Are you going to spill or do I have to blackmail it out of you?"

"Please Gary you have nothing you could blackmail me with." Eddie challenged with a snort. "I am shameless."

A challenge that could not be ignored, if only because Gareth wanted to remind him who had had the upper hand since Steve had crashed into Hellfire.

"Really? So you wouldn't mind if I show Steve those photos of the time we dressed up as a Barbie “ken doll” band for Jeff’s sister’s birthday? You know, the one were you were wearing that pink boa and the star glasses--”

A hand shot out, clapping Gareth over the mouth.

"Thank you, I got it!" Eddie said, voice an octave higher than normal. "Why do you still even have that!?"

"My mom." Gareth managed to get out, even if it was horribly muffled between Eddie's bony fingers.

"Curse that woman's thirst for nostalgia and scrapbooks." Eddie hissed, as if his mom was some grand villain.

"You love her crafts, you ass." Gareth rolled his eyes, wiping his mouth when Eddie finally removed his hand. "Now spill."

"I'm not sure this is what's causing it." The elder cautioned after a pause just long enough to be dramatic. "But rumor has it his parents are home."

"You think they're why he's acting all…" Gareth trailed off, unsure of what to compare Steve to and not wanting to say a kicked dog.

Eddie hummed in agreement. "Every time I walk into Steve's house, the place starts off feeling like a living tomb. There’s got to be a reason for that, and the only one I can think of is that his parents want that. The tomby-ness."

Gareth leaned back in his seat, contemplating. Turned the idea of Steve's mysterious parents over in his head, comparing it to how the guy's house did have a sort of museum quietness to it.

It wasn't that the place was huge, or even that Steve was typically its solo occupant beyond the occasional weekends one or both of his parents "popped in."

It was the perfectness of it.

How on any given day a photographer could show up to take pictures and the place would be camera ready.

A sort of--trophy house.

He went on to tell his best friend this.

"It’s like a shrine to their success." Eddie added an hour later, when they'd resettled onto his couch, trying to break down just what exactly about Steve's house made it so weird.

They'd shared a beer each--some gross kind that a cat couldn't have gotten buzzed off of, and Gareth had just finished helping Eddie select their chosen flower to roll when an awkward sound erupted throughout the trailer.

If Gareth knew any better, he'd say it almost sounded like someone was knocking on the shitty aluminum door.

Couldn't be though, because he'd never in his life heard someone knock--Eddie's uncle Wayne had a key, and every member of Hellfire was aware that the window in Eddie's room had a broken lock.

To get it open you just had to push at it from a specific angle, and with a few tugs it'd come right up for you.

The noise came again, this time a little louder.

Gareth looked to Eddie, and found his friend holding all the weed.

Understanding flashed between them, and Gareth stood up to answer the door as Eddie magically made the drugs disappear.

Thankfully, it wasn't the cops.

"Hey." Steve said, standing awkwardly on Eddie's porch, looking like he desperately wanted inside but wasn't sure he'd be allowed in. "Eddie said I could just come over if I needed to…?"

He trailed off, awkwardly miming smoking with his fingers.

Gareth couldn't hold in the snort.

"You're in luck man, because I just finished rolling a few." He said, stepping back to let their wayward jock in.

"Hey Stevie." Eddie drawled, now in the process of making the weed reappear. "Come in, have a seat, take a puff."

Rather than sit on the admittedly small couch, Steve chose instead to drop his ass to the floor, leaving the open spot above him to Gareth. He waited until the younger was seated before he leaned back, broad shoulders brushing both his friends legs as he relaxed.

Eddie’s hand twitched, as though he wanted to run it through Steve’s hair and thought better of it.

(Knowing him as Gareth did, that was very likely exactly what the weird little movement of his was.)

“You wanna tell us what’s goin’ on?” Eddie said softly, long after all three of them had an inhale of the joint Eddie had lit, sitting in relaxed silence. "Cause you've been pretty down, Stevie."

"Yeah." Steve agreed hollowly. "Sorry."

Eddie nudged his leg with a foot, then offered him the blunt again. "Don't apologize man, we can't all be sunshine and rainbows."

“You’d be surprised at how many people expect an apology for just that.” Steve muttered.

Gareth traded careful looks over Steve’s head, Eddie turning back and resolutely plowing on.

“You don’t have to, but talking tends to make people feel better.”

“Does it?” Steve asked, before taking a slow, measured inhale of the joint.

Idly he added; "Gareth you can't roll for shit."

"Fuck you dude!" The younger teen exclaimed, instantly offended, but knew a redirect when he saw one. "You try rolling them then!" He snatched the joint out of Steve's hands, huffing audibly.

It was an offer. If Steve didn't want to take the opening Eddie had given him, he could instead take the out Gareth had given.

The option reminded him of Alice in Wonderland (Gareth’s actual favorite movie, even if he tells everyone else it's The Empire Strikes Back)

Specifically when Alice was lost, standing before a split path and asking advice from the Cheshire Cat.

Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" Alice asks.

The Cheshire Cat spins its head, smiling its smile as it answers;“ That depends a good deal on where you want to get to."

Steve proved himself to be a stronger man that Gareth had given him credit for, and took the harder path.

"My parents are home." He said, eyes glued to the TV in front of him, as if that would make the conversation easier.

Perhaps it did.

Eddie to his credit, didn't treat the declaration as anything important. "Yeah? They bring you something nice back from New York?"

"Florida this time and no."

Steve fussed with a thread on his sweater for a moment, a single yellow thread unspooling from the end. It looked like he’d been tugging at it a lot, a small imperfection on an otherwise expensive looking piece of clothing.

"Apparently I've been such a disappointment they're demanding I get a job." He began again. "They want me to learn the realities of hard work."

Gareth traded puzzled glances with Eddie.

Steve had never shied from hard work.

Everyone had heard the story of how he’d won over every coach in Hawkins' High’s favor. It was practically school legend, since he was the first freshmen to take up and finish some bullshit exercise challenge they hosted every year.

The guy even had a herd of some of the most obnoxious children he looked after, without pay.

There was no way the source of whatever was eating at him was a summer job.

Or perhaps, not just a summer job.

"Summer jobs fucking suck, but I hear that new mall’s finally finished.” Gareth said hesitantly. “You could probably get in somewhere there before you head off to college.”

"I'm not going to college. Didn't get into any." Steve said flatly.

Ah-ha.

"I only applied to the one Nancy made me." He added, still refusing to look at either of them. "Couldn't bring myself to apply to any of the others."

Which--odd, but it wasn't the oddest thing ever. Some people just didn't like school, or traditional learning methods.

No matter how much Gareth's counselor insisted otherwise.

"My dad found that out too." Steve said after a moment.

"College isn't the fucking answer to life." Gareth continued. "There's plenty of other things you can do."

Eddie’s head cocked, like a dog who’d been presented with a puzzle.

Steve shrugged. "That's not my issue with it, but the old man thinks it is. He keeps insisting that the free rides are over now." His voice kicked into a deep mockery of his fathers at the end, the condescending tone coming through loud and clear. “Thinks I'm here to screw my girlfriend and party my life away. Wouldn't hear me about not wanting to go to college, at all. Definitely didn't care that I broke up with Nancy." The last part was muttered, almost said more to himself and for himself than it was for them.

Eddie’s head tilted the other way.

"Did you have an idea of what you wanted to do?" Gareth asked. He figured it they knew, they might be at least able to help.

He got a shrug in response.

Gareth was about to open his mouth--probably to put his foot in it, but hell if Steve wanted help brainstorming what he did want to do with his life, or at least get positive support from someone who wasn't a rich asshole, it might as well start here.

Eddie beat him to the punch though, because as usual, Eddie was able to track the weird unspoken thing that no one else could pick up on.

"It's the kids, isn't it?" Eddie asked softly. Reverently. "You don't want to leave Hawkins, because of the kids."

Steve took another sip of beer, waving off the joint Gareth offered him. For someone who'd come to smoke he'd barely touched it or the beer, but then no one here would push.

It was pretty obvious, (to Gareth anyway) that the weed had been a flimsy excuse to begin with.

"When those damn kids started trying to trap the--dogs." Steve started, correcting his slip so smoothly Gareth almost didn't pick up that he'd intended to say something else. “I was the only damn adult they could find.”

Steve gave up fiddling with his sweater to tug angrily at his beer tab, twisting and pulling at it.

"They had figured out where the dogs would be. Had an entire meat bucket they wanted to use as bait and but I was the only damn person to try and at least wrangle the little shits. You wanna know how they found me?" He picked up steam now, and Eddie couldn't even be satisfied that he'd managed to hit the nail on the head because clearly whatever was happening here was the actual thing Steve needed to get off his chest.

"Football practice?" Gareth asked mostly to fill in the tension-filled pause, and then ducked from the swat Eddie aimed his way.

Steve blew out a harsh, mocking breath.

"Dustin found me on the way to Nancy's house, where I was planning on apologizing. Had flowers and everything."

Oh.

Steve's tone said a hell of a lot more than that, the raw emotion making Gareth's own stomach roll.

A careful glance showed an equally punched-out expression on Eddie's face, the metalhead having physically reared back like Steve's words had struck him.

"What were you apologizing for?" He asked, recovering faster than Gareth could.

"Honestly man? I don't know." Steve laughed then, a harsh little disbelieving noise. "I just knew Nancy had said--well she said some shit while drunk, and wasn't able to say some shit sober, and I realized after that maybe I--I rushed her or something you know?"

He ran a hand through his hair, a self soothing behavior. "Or that I did, fuck I don't know. She's Nancy Wheeler, she's smarter than me by a longshot, so if she was mad, than I figured I must be at fault." Steve shrugged, like that was a fact of life.

Eddie interrupted immediately. "She's not smarter than you."

"I--what?"

"Nancy isn't smarter than you.' Eddie repeated firmly. "She's booksmart, Stevie. School smart. Nancy Wheeler absolutely owns tests and papers and things you need to study for, and she’s a hell of a researcher--but she's not people smart."

"What?" Steve repeated incredulously and there Gareth caught a flash of bitchy Steve.

The real one, who'd been shoved aside by the apathetic version.

"Have you ever seen that girl get fixated on something? She's tenacious, gets her teeth in and won't let go.” Eddie snapped his teeth, shaking his head while growling like a dog.

Gareth rolled his eyes, but a ghost of a smile graced Steve’s face.

“But she hasn't figured out how that hurts people yet. She's caught up in getting the results. She's not intentionally unkind, she's just--a little out of touch." Eddie flopped back against the couch, making a grabby gesture for the joint Gareth now held. “People like you--”

Here, he poked Steve in the chest, before reaching past him to wave his hand obnoxiously in Gareth’s face for the joint (and get smacked at for the effort) “are people smart.”

"That's not--no." Steve protested head jerking from Eddie's fingers to Eddie's face, but it was weak, his eyes wide as saucers.

"Yes.” Eddie mocked, but it was in jest, proven by the easy, soft smile he gave Steve. “You said it yourself. The kids go to you, man. They go to you even now, when Nancy or Jonathan could be driving them all over town. You get people; how they work, how they tick, what makes them happy or sad, and people are drawn to you because of that.”

“Jonathan drives.” Steve muttered in disagreement.

“And yet we all witnessed the clown car act when all those kids came out of your backseat two weekends ago.” Eddie refuted. “You’re just as smart as Nancy is, Steve. Just in a different way.”

Steve frowned.

“My parents don’t see it like that.”

“Your parents can get fucked, Sweetheart.”

That was pushing it, but Steve didn't comment on the nickname. Never commented on any nicknames Eddie came up with, beyond the occasional eye roll.

Which is right about when the phone rang.

They all glanced towards it, then down at their respective watches.

It was well past midnight.

"Think that's Wayne?" Gareth asked, eyebrows raising as Eddie stood to answer the phone.

His friend just shrugged, before picking up.

"Munson Mortuary, you stab em we slab em." He chirped as he pressed the phone to his ear.

"Tiffy-Taffy isn't it kinda late for--whoa." Eddies easy smile flipped, back going ramrod straight. "Slow down, what happened?" And oh, shit, that was Eddie's "somethings wrong and I'm going to fix it" voice.

Gareth sat up, making sure the joint Eddie had put down was out as he stared worriedly at Eddie.

"Okay. Gareth and Steve are with me, we're all coming." Eddie finished, prompting Steve to also sit up. "Stay there and for the love of God, tell Stewart not to touch anything else."

"What happened." Steve and Gareth demanded as one.

It'd be funny if the look on Eddie's face wasn't so serious.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to break my promise about not going to the lab, Steve." He said, a hand going to tug anxiously at his hair.

"What?" Steve said, immediately on the defensive.

Then; "Why?"

"Because all our darling friends went to the Hawkin's lab without us. Apparently they ran into some kids on the way and now Stewart's stuck in a hole."

“All of them?” Gareth questioned, because sure, yeah he could see Stewart doing it. Could see Grant and even Jeff really, but Tiffany? Out exploring an abandoned lab that had killed people?

On a school night?

"She's gonna give us the full story when we get there, she called from the nearest payphone. Had some kid who kept interrupting her so she just gave me the basics, but apparently Stewart is really stuck, and for some reason the damn kids won't let anyone try to get him from some other door. They keep saying it's not safe or some shit." Eddie's anxious tugging grew as he moved to snatch up his wallet and keys, walking and talking as it were.

Gareth had expected a reaction out of Steve then, but  what he hadn't expected was Steve to surge to his feet in a near panic.

"Kids!?" He shouted, eyes wide and frantic.

Eddie flinched, but Gareth knew immediately what the jock was thinking.

"You don't think they're your feral pack of kids--do you?" He asked.

"It's always them so yes, yes I do." Steve snarled and for the first time that week, the guy looked alive.

Gareth just wished it was under better circumstances.

[sky-neverending]

heres a little bit from an old draft I wrote! should I continue it?

(tw for brief mentions of domestic violence)

The first time Steve Harrington ran away from home was the night before his thirteenth birthday. It was about an hour to midnight, and he couldn’t sleep. But it wasn’t the normal, excited for the day kind of restlessness like it was for most kids before big celebrations. It was because just down the hall, his parents were engaged in another screaming match. 

He couldn’t tell what they were saying, only that his dad was yelling and his mom was crying and it was so loud that even the pillow he had shoved over his head didn’t drown out the noise. And then there was a slap. And everything was silent. 

Steve pulled himself out of bed, letting his feet call onto the cold hardwood floors as he made his way toward his bedroom door. He wrapped his fingers around the handle and paused, fear rushing through his body as he pulled it open with a small creak that seemed to echo around the whole house. 

His father was in the hall, hand on his belt buckle as he whipped his head around toward the noise. He glared down at Steve, grip tightening around the belt like he was daring him to make the next move. But Steve was frozen, stuck in place as his legs seemed to turn into jello and his ears started pounding and suddenly he was running, sprinting down the stairs and out the front door into the cool air of the night. It was dark, so dark that Steve almost nearly tripped into a car as he made his way down the driveway and onto the smooth road.

And he just started walking. 

He didn’t have a clue where he was going. He just followed his feet, listening for the noise of traffic and praying that he didn’t lead himself into the midst of danger. Not that anyone would care if he died, or got lost, or disappeared into the woods never to be seen again. 

So, he walked. He walked and he walked and he walked, bare feet aching as they made contact with the pavement time and time again. He was wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants to keep him warm, and his skin began to cool as the wind plundered into him, pushing and pulling him across the road he walked on unsteadily. He walked past houses, illuminated only by streetlights and the moon. He walked until he met a crossroads, and then he turned left. Or maybe right. It didn’t matter, and he didn’t care, he just kept walking. Walking and walking and walking down the bumpy paved roads, every piece of gravel lodging its way into his skin. He walked down a long, straight road that he probably would’ve recognized in the light of day, if he wasn’t completely and totally out of it. 

And then there was a light. A dim yellow glow coming from a window. Steve looked around, letting himself come back to reality from the state of pure nothing he had fallen into. He was standing in a trailer park, about a mile from his house. Probably not even. It was eerily quiet, except for the faint sound of voices coming from the lit window, voices that seemed to get louder and closer with each second.

The door of the trailer clattered open, and a boy ran out, his shadow projecting itself across the grass. Steve watched as he ran, speeding across the dirt and toward the woods behind the park until he was out of sight.

Before Steve could even think, he was following him. Trekking quietly across the ground toward the looming trees, squinting through the darkness for any sign of movement. There was nothing he could see, only still shadows that taunted him and sounds that echoed across the pitch black sky. 

“Hello?” He whispered, taking a chance. “Is there someone out here?” 

The stillness of the air seemed to get heavier when he spoke, the faint sound of leaves crunching coming to a halt. 

Steve spoke again, taking a step closer to the edge of the woods. “I can leave, if you want. I just saw you run in here.” 

No one responded. It was quiet, nothing but the whirring of the wind in Steve’s ear. He sighed. Whoever it was that ran into those woods didn’t want to be found. 

But then there was a voice, drifting softly from the thick lines of trees. It was high and broken, like the person behind it was choking back tears as they forced the words out. 

“Don’t leave.” 

So Steve didn’t. He stayed in place, freezing as a patch of shadows started to move. A figure approached him, trudging slowly across the sticks and leaves that littered the floor. 

As the boy got closer, Steve started to make out some features. He didn’t seem to have any hair, and if he did it was buzzed to the scalp. He looked taller than Steve, but just by a little bit, and a large t-shirt hung off his shoulders and down to his mid thigh. 

“Hey.” He muttered, taking another step closer. Steve let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. 

“Hi.” He responded back, nerves slipping through him. “Are you okay?” 

The boy scoffed, raising a hand to wipe tears from his eyes. “I’m fine. Just out for a walk.”

“Why are you walking in the middle of the night?” Steve questioned. The boy crossed his arms, shifting his weight to one leg.

“I could ask you the same thing.” He retorted. 

Steve laughed, for a moment, but the boy just stared at him, as if waiting for an answer. He sighed and hung his head as he spoke. “I ran away. From my house. Don’t know how I ended up here.” He explained, shrugging lamely. A hand fell on his shoulder, warm on his bare skin. 

“You got a name, kid?” He asked. Steve nodded. 

“Steve. My name is Steve.”

Even through the darkness, Steve could see the boy's smile, his eyes softening as they gleamed in the moonlight. “Alright, Stevie boy. Let’s get you inside, yeah?”

[nymime]

I just can’t stop the thought of Steve as Kevin of Home Alone man.

A little Steve who was blond in his childhood but with the years he got brunette. (like his mom, she was also blonde in her childhood and on her 14 got brunette.)

A menace who is smart in his own way, creating home made traps for the assholes that tried to get in his house, afraid but putting a big boy faceted to beat those thieves of stealing his house, be sassy when those criminals got catch by the police (the old police chief loves him despise his family name, always go to watch him time to time even after he retired). Big dysfunctional family who treats him like trash, big brothers and sisters that he don’t talk with, cousins of his same age who he barely bear them sometimes, a mom who forgets him for stress with the rest of her husband family side, an incompetent dad who is focused in be cool and respected by his brother who is a major asshole. Scared of the homeless man who clean the streets and have a really scary expression according to him, befriend the crazy pigeon lady of the park, who ‘adopts him’ like a pigeon, giving him candies, hugs and funny stories to make him laugh.

And just the party + plus the young adults + older adults finding out cause the old crazy pigeon lady randomly hugged Steve and he hug her back, smiling like a child again when the lady gives him candies and a pat in his cheek, calling him her “sweet pigeon baby” and then just ignored the rest while walking away. The old retired chief who didn’t notice hopper (who in its moment was the one who replace him back them) but he approached Steve with a smile of a grandpa, patting his shoulder while asking him if he captured any other thieves those days, an amused look in his old eyes as he walk away without greeting Hopper cause he didn’t recognize him, to focus in the kid who considered family.

And then just Hopper ask the new chief, Powell, what the fuck is all this about, and the man just give him a huge archive with all the case. Eleven decide to do spooky telepathic magic to see those memories by seeing the archive, and everyone just looks like “:O”.

[anarcoqueer1994]

Mike and Lucas were the first to find out. It was just dumb luck. With people like Robin, Eddie, or even Dustin, Steve works to keep up his guard, hide his secret. Those are the ones he thought would find out if he wasn’t careful. But never did he think, Sinclair or Wheeler would be the ones to figure it out.

Lucas had convinced Mike to break down and ask Steve for a ride. Dustin and Will were going to be busy that night, and Dustin usually asked Steve. Mike tried to think of someone else to ask to no avail. Jonathan was with his brother. Eddie had to do something for Wayne beforehand so he couldn't grab them, or they would all be late. Nancy and Robin had a date. And neither of them really knew Argyle. So, Steve it was.

Steve pulled up at the Wheeler house and honked. Lucas and Mike came bounding out of the house, Mike with some big prop in his hand, probably for whatever campaign they were doing tonight. Before Steve had a chance to think better of it, he instinctively popped the trunk for Mike to throw it inside. The boys head to the open trunk, lifting it open.

They stood confused, staring down below them. Yea, his nail bat was in there, but there was more. Inside Steve's trunk seemed like his entire wardrobe, folded neatly, sticking out from a duffle bag. Next to it was a brown box with shampoo, conditioner, body wash, various styling products, toothpaste, toothbrush, a washcloth and a towel. If he wasn't so confused, Mike would crack a joke about Steve's excessive amounts of hair products.

There was one more box, filled with various papers and pictures, notebooks, a goofy foam finger from some sports game, and a couple of miscellaneous medals from his time on the swim team. At the top of the box was a couple of well-worn pictures; one of he and Robin, a group picture with the kids from earlier that summer, and one of he and Eddie. It looks like Eddie was holding the camera, angling it up to catch them cuddling, Eddie placing a kiss to his cheek. That one had been torn apart, the pieces gently taped back together. Squeezed between the boxes and the duffle bag was a pillow and some small fleece throw.

Mike looks over at Lucas who looks as confused as he does. They only realize they have been staring so long when Steve honks, yelling "You guys are going to be late, and I am not about to have Eddie blame that on me!"

It's only when they finally get in the car, Mike still holding the large prop in his hand that Steve realizes what he had done. He hopes they don't ask about it, as suddenly an anxious ball of energy settles in his stomach. These kids are smart, like incredibly smart. It won't take them long to piece it together. But they don't say anything for the first few minutes, Steve assumes he is in the clear when they get close to the school without them mentioning it. But he's wrong. Mike speaks first.

"Hey..." He says from the back seat. "Not that it's my business or anything, but are you living in your car?"

Steve's hands instinctively grip the steering wheel tighter. He tries to shake his head, noticing the concerned look from Lucas in his peripheral.

"Steve?" Lucas pushed, obviously unconvinced.

Steve lets a breath out of his nose before pulling into a parking space of the school. He pushes his hands against his face, before turning to face Mike, Lucas to his side. "Yea, I am. But it's really not that big of a deal."

Despite himself, Mike says "It kind of seems like a big deal. Why aren't you living at home?" Mike doesn't know why he cares; will never admit he actually likes the guy.

“Did something happen with your parents?" Lucas adds.

"Look, guys, I'm fine. Nothing to worry about." He takes a deep breath before adding. "And nothing to get the other's worried about, okay? Please keep this to yourself."

Neither boy believes him. "Does my sister know?" Mike asks.

"No."

"Robin?" Steve shakes his head. "Dustin?" He shakes his head again. "Eddie?" Steve's cool demeanor waivers momentarily at the mention of his boyfriend, before regaining control. "No, he doesn’t. And I would like to keep it that way, you got it?"

"But Stev..." Lucas starts. Steve cuts him off. "Don't "but Steve" me. Keep this to yourselves. I am totally fine." The truth is Steve doesn't want anyone to worry about him. It was his job to protect all of them, be there for them. And Eddie had so much of his own going on, still processing almost dying in the upside down, he did not want to add more weight to his boyfriend's burden.

Before either can argue, they are all startled by a knock on the class. It's Eddie, he just showed up too. Steve rolls down the window. "Hey Eds..." He flashes a smile. Eddie leans in and gives Steve a quick kiss whispering, "Hey princess." Chuckling when Steve's ears turn red.

Lucas and Mike would usually laugh at the embarrassing nickname, but too confused and anxious to do so. Eddie waves at them, nodding. "Wheeler, Sinclair."

He turns his attention back to Steve. "You coming over after the meeting?"

"I can." He smiles. "You invite me to a sleepover, Munson?"

Eddie feigning dramatics answers back. "If King Steve can leave his castle for my humble abode, then I am."

Steve hesitates momentarily, something you would miss if you didn't know to look. But he recovered before Eddie notices saying, "I think 'King' Steve can get away."

Eddie smiles, giving him one more kiss before turning to go in, saying "See you later, baby!" As Mike and Lucas go to get out of the car, uncomfortable with the knowledge they acquired, Steve repeats. "Don't tell anybody. Especially Eddie. Please." The last word was desperate.

They hesitantly nod their heads, haphazardly waving goodbye as Steve drove off. Both were left torn, confused on what to do. No one talked about it when Steve picked them up later and took them home.

~~

The other kids found out next. They were all supposed to hang out at the Wheeler’s after school. Lucas had gotten there first, he and Mike sitting in the basement, waiting for the rest of the party.

It’s Mike that brings it up.

“Why do you think Steve is living in his car?” Mike says suddenly.

Lucas looks at him, he had obviously been thinking about it too. “I don’t know. It had to be bad though, right? Like everyone knows that his parents are never there anyways, so whatever happened must had been big to get their attention.”

“Plus, Steve is being weird about it. He doesn’t want anyone finding out.” Mike replies, stating the obvious.

Just then, they hear footsteps coming from the stairs, then they hear Max’s voice. “Finding out what?” Max may have lost her vision, but her hearing was still great. Behind her are Will, Dustin, and El. All of them heard what Mike said.

Lucas quickly tries to cover it up. “Nothing.”

“That’s bullshit.” Dustin shoots back, as they take their seat around the Wheeler basement. “You said Steve doesn’t want people finding out. Finding out what?”

“It’s really nothing, guys. Can we just drop it?” Mike says back, lying through his teeth.

All the kids give Lucas and Mike a worried look. Dustin look like he is about to jump out of his skin. He can tell something is obviously wrong and wants to know. “If you don’t tell me right now, I will go ask Steve myself.”

“Don’t do that, man. Steve doesn’t want that.” Mike basically pleads, hating being in this situation.

“Mike…” Will says softly.

“What?” His voice is defeated.

“Friends don’t lie.” El finishes for him.

Lucas looks at Mike, they silently agree to relent. They don’t really have a choice. Lucas says, “Steve is living in his car.”

“What? Why?” Max asks as the kids share confused looks.

“We don’t know. He wouldn’t tell us.” Mike answers truthfully.

Max lets out a little sigh, a memory she locked away coming to her mind. “Okay, take this with a grain of salt.”

They all look at her confused. “Before Billy…you know…” She trails off for a second, before regaining her composure. “Before Billy died, I think they were together. I wasn’t supposed to know, but I would see Steve sneaking out of Billy’s bedroom window some nights.” She takes a deep breath. “And there was this one night. My mom and Neil weren’t home. But Mr. and Mrs. Harrington showed up. I watched from my window, everyone thought I was asleep. They went into the house, and I heard Billy shout at them, but like right after that, I seen Steve leaving the house. His dad looked pissed. His mom was crying. Steve stopped coming around after that.”

“Why didn’t you say something before?!” Dustin retorts.

“Hey, man. Calm down.” Lucas instinctively defends.

“I’m sorry. But neither of them seemed like they wanted anyone to know. And then the mind flayer thing happened like a week later. I tried to ask Steve about it at the funeral, but he brushed it off.” She says sadly.

“But do you think, the same thing happened this time?” Will asks, putting together the puzzle pieces. “Do you think they found out about Eddie?”

“Maybe…” Mike replies thinking it over. “But they are still talking, and for god sakes we all have to witness them being disgustingly romantic all the time. So, I don’t think Steve stopped seeing Eddie. But maybe that’s why he is living in his car?”

A light goes off in Lucas’ head. “Mike, the picture.”

“What picture?” Mike tries to recall.

“That picture from his trunk, the one of he and Eddie that was all torn up and taped back together.”

“You’re right!” It clicks in Mike’s head. “His parents had to have found out about Eddie and kicked him out.”

They all start talking over each other, trying to put together exactly what happened. Suddenly El speaks over them “Do you think Eddie knows…that they know?”

Mike and Lucas look at each other, not saying anything.

“Well?” Dustin pushes, concern for his best friend/brother clear in his voice.

“No.” Lucas replies simply. “He made us promise last week not to tell him, or Robin, or Nancy, or you guys. So, I don’t think Eddie knows.”

“Well, he should!” Dustin declares, annoyed it took them a week to say something. 

“We promised…” Mike tries.

“I don’t care. He needs help.” Dustin shoots back.

“He said he was fine.” Lucas says, not believing it himself.

“Well, Steve is an idiot and doesn’t know how to ask for help.” Dustin is clearly upset, wanting Steve to be okay. The other kids did as well.

Mike finally relents. “Let’s tell Nancy. She’ll know what to do.”

 

~~

That’s how Robin and Nancy found out. The entire group of sophomores huddling outside her bedroom door, frantically knocking. She and Robin had been “studying”, both choosing to go to a college nearby, so they could stay near Hawkins. Nancy answers the door, hair a little disheveled.  She sees the looks of concern on the kid’s faces. “Hey, what’s going on?” She always gets nervous that it could be Vecna again.

They all try to speak at once, trying to explain what is going on. This causes Nancy to quiet them down. “Okay, just come in and speak one at a time.”

When they enter her room, Robin is sitting on her bed. The silently look at each other, deciding whether they should tell Robin too. They quietly agree to, she is Steve’s best friend after all. Nancy closes the door. “Okay, start over. What is going on?”

Dustin blurts out “Steve is living in his car, and he doesn’t want anyone to know.”

“What?” Robin asks, not believing that Steve wouldn’t tell her something like that. Nancy shoots her a concerned look. “How do you know?”

Mike chimes in “He gave Lucas and I a ride last week and we figured it out. He made us promise not to tell.”

“But you told?” Nancy points out.

“Yea, but…” Mike starts making excuses.

Nancy interrupts him, “It’s okay. I’m glad you said something. Do we know why he is living in his car?” Its November, the thought of Steve living in there through the winter is terrible.

“Not really…” El starts. “But we think his parents found out about Eddie. Max said he got in trouble when he was with Billy.”

The other kids look at her, not sure if she should have included that but its out there. But before they could address the shocked look on Nancy’s face that Steve may have dated Billy, Robin says. “Oh. That makes sense.”

“You knew?” Nancy turns around to face her.

“Yeah, I pried it out of him last year. They dated for about six months. I only talked to him towards the end of their relationship, when we started working together, but it was pretty obvious when Billy would come in all the time. But then there was this night his parents found.” The same night Max was talking about. “They forced him to cut it off, or he couldn’t live there anymore. He hated it, but he did it. They never got to fix anything before the Mind Flayer. He felt really fucked up about it for a while. Still does, I think.”

“Steve…” Nancy says sadly.

“So, what if that happened again with Eddie, this time?” Dustin asked.

“Yea, and maybe this time, Steve didn’t give in. And they kicked him out.” Will adds, secretly thanking whoever was listening that his mom would never do that.

All of their faces look solemn. “Does Eddie know?” Nancy asks, breaking the silence.

“No…” Lucas admits. “He was especially adamant about that.”

“Well, he should know!” Robin points out. “Eddie would want to know.” They all know how protective Eddie is of Steve. A few of the kids being at the end of a death glare when they would crack a joke at Steve’s expense.

“Rob,” Nancy starts. “You know how Steve is. He doesn’t want anyone to worry about him every. I think that includes Eddie.”

“Well sometimes, Steve is wrong. And you know as good as I do, Eddie is our best chance at getting him help.” Robin knows that Eddie is probably the most likely to get Steve to listen. “Nance, you know that dingus will sleep in his car all winter, if we let him”

Nancy frowns, torn between invading Steve’s privacy and wanting to help. After a moment she says, “So who’s going to tell Eddie?”

 

~~

Steve parks his car off some back road, a place where no one will bother him at night. Its late, and he wants to get some sleep. He has a shift at the Family Video tomorrow. He knows he needs to find a better job; he needs to save up for an apartment. He can’t afford that on his own right now. But he is tired of this. His parents kicked him out in early September. He had been sneaking into the high school to shower, or on nights that Eddie invited him over, he showered there.

But he didn’t tell Eddie that his parents kicked him out. He didn’t intend on telling anybody. It was a mistake Mike and Lucas found out. He doesn’t want anybody to worry about him. He will be fine. He shifts uncomfortably in the back seat. He pulls the little throw blanket over himself; its cold tonight but can’t afford to kill his battery by leaving his car on.

At night, when he is alone, he often finds himself stuck in his head. He replays the night he had to leave. Most of it was in flashes, tidbits he tries to lock away. But one part of the night stands clear in his head. He had gone on a date with Eddie that night. Eddie had surprised him by taking him to some college football game nearby. Steve was sure Eddie did not care about it at all, he was not a fan of sports. But Eddie knew he would like it. That thought always makes Steve smile to himself. Eddie had gone all out, even getting Steve one of the stupid foam fingers, and all the snacks he could carry. That was the first night Eddie told him he loved him, pulling them close in those stadium seats, interrupting him as he was having a screaming match with some asshole from the other team.  It had been one of the best nights of Steve’s life, even if the Hoosiers lost.

Eddie dropped him off, making him promise to come to Hellfire the next night. Steve “reluctantly” agreed, smiling as his boyfriend drove off. What happened next was a blur.

He came into his usually empty house but found his parents waiting for him in the kitchen. Tommy’s father, a close friend of Steve’s parents had called them. Apparently, Steve and Eddie weren’t as careful as they should have been. Tommy and Carol had seen them making out in the alleyway behind the theater. Tommy was the one who had outed him and Billy too. Knowing it was Tommy hurt more, considering he was his first crush.

His parents, like with Billy, demanded that be break up with Eddie, and never talk to him again. He tried to deny it, say they had the wrong idea. That’s when his dad brought out the picture of him and Eddie cuddling together, Eddie kissing him. Steve loved that picture; Eddie has “asked” Jonathan to borrow his camera, then insisted (read; begged) the other man to develop it. He hid it in his desk drawer, looking at it on nights that were particularly tough. They must have snooped.

They demanded again he stop seeing him. But Steve refused. Not this time; he wasn’t about to lose another person because he was too scared to stick up for himself, too scared to stick up for those he loved.

Then there was screaming, the picture ended up torn up on the ground. He remembers laughing when his dad pushed him into the wall, choking him. He wasn’t some kid scare of his dad anymore. After Billy’s funeral he promised himself, he would never let his parents destroy his relationships ever again.

After that his dad gave him 15 minutes to get his stuff and go. He did that and they changed the locks. He made sure to scoop up the picture pieces off the floor, meticulous taping it back together in his car with light from the moon. And the next night, with make up covering his bruises, he made it to Hellfire. Kept his promise to Eddie. He never let on that anything was wrong. Eddie looked so happy that he was there, and that’s all he needed.

So, he wasn’t going to tell anyone he is living in the car because his parents kicked him out. He is fine with just making others happy, helping them. The bruises had healed. He is fine as long as he can keep seeing the goofy smile Eddie shoots him any time he sees him. This would take that away. He wasn’t worth being upset over.

He hates, then, when he finds himself silently crying on nights like tonight. He always kind of knew that his parents did not care about him, only their name. But being kicked out was concrete confirmation of that. He hates feeling like he is only good when he can do something for others, because he knows it’s true. Be a good son, be a good friend, be good boyfriend. Truth is he isn’t really any of those. He will never be what his parents want him to be. He will always be the dumb one with his friends, holding them back, pretending like they need him for anything other than a babysitter, taxi, sidekick. And he couldn’t even be a good boyfriend. The week leading up to Billy’s death, after his parents told him to that he would be homeless if he stayed with him, Steve barely saw Billy. He avoided him; it was too hard. And maybe if he wouldn’t have, he would have been with him instead of wherever he was going when Vecna took control. Maybe Billy would be alive. Billy would have loved Eddie, they could have been happy, all of them. But he failed at saving Billy. And he is terrified that one day, Eddie will wake up and see him for what he is; a pathetic idiot who doesn’t deserve to be with him. He turns on his stomach, tears soaking the pillow under his face.

About an hour later, he is startled by a pound on his window, his eyes still glossy, drifting between being awake and asleep. It’s close to 1am at this point. He doesn’t look up at first, assuming it’s a cop giving him a hard time for where he was parked. He takes a deep breathe, lifting his head. He is not ready though for what he sees outside his window. There looking in was his boyfriend, big brown eyes full of concern, behind him stood, Max, Nancy, Robin, El, Dustin, Mike, Will, and Lucas, all looking just as worried.

“Shit.” Steve says to himself. Mike and Lucas must have opened their mouths. He feels terrible to have caused so much worry over him. He breaks eye contact with Eddie, sitting up and taking a deep breath, before opening his door. He doesn’t look at them, only stares forward, shame bubbling up inside of him.

“Steve…” Eddie says softly. In the light from opening the car, Eddie notices the tear streaks down his boyfriend’s cheeks.

“Why are the kids out?” It’s the first thing out of his mouth.  It’s way past their curfews, they are going to get in trouble. If he can focus on that, he does not have to focus on himself.

“Steve…” Eddie tries again.

“What?!” he doesn’t mean to snap, but hopes it will make Eddie back off, not worry about him.  But Eddie doesn’t seem phased, he can still feel those big brown eyes staring at him.

“What?!” a voice from the back says, its Dustin. He was never much for subtlety. “You hid the fact that you were living in a car from all of us?” Nancy shoots a glare at Dustin that says he should shut up.

But Steve answers him. He tries to steady his breathing, come off nonchalant. He steps out of the car, still refusing to meet Eddie’s eyes, as the bore into him. “Like I told Mike and Lucas, its no big deal. It’s been months now, and as you can see; I am totally fine.” Steve’s voice cracks, he prays nobody catches that.

“Months?” Robin spits, guilt taking over that she didn’t even realize this was happening. Steve nods.

“If it was ‘no big deal’” Eddie uses air quotes, “Why didn’t you tell me, sweetheart?” This time, its Eddies voice that sound too small, that cracks. The look on everyone’s faces and the way Eddie sounded so broken is too much for Steve. This is why he didn’t tell them. He didn’t want their pity. He didn’t deserve their empathy. He can feel his face getting red, tears fighting not to be shed, not in front of the kids, or Nance, or Robin, and especially not Eddie.

He turns away from them, pushing past, and walking away from his car. He can’t do this right now. He starts to run, knowing he could outrun all of them. He doesn’t have the strength; he needs to get away. He hears voices call after him, as he runs into the woods. He needs to clear his head. The voices get more distant after a while.

He ends up at Lover’s Lake. He finds himself crumpling to the ground, pulling his knees to his chest, and just sobbing. It isn’t long though, until he feels someone sit down beside him.

“Stevie…” Eddie’s voice is gentle, like he was trying not spook him.

“Please…don’t.” Steve whimpers, looking ahead at the lake, instead of the big brown eyes he can feel on him.

“Don’t what, baby?”

“Talk to me like I’m pathetic. I already know I am, but you weren’t supposed to find out…” His voice is hoarse because of the cry.

“Absolutely not.” Eddie’s voice is stern. “My boyfriend is anything but pathetic. I will not stand for such lies, even from King Steve himself.” He reaches over, resting his hand on Steve’s knee.

“I…appreciate that. But you’re wrong, Eds.” He sounds so defeated.

“Steve…” Eddie starts before being cut off.

“No, Eddie, is true. You know why I didn’t tell anyone? You guys all have so much shit going on. Those kids, Robin, Nancy…you are the best people I know, and you guys are so fucking strong. The last thing I wanted was to throw my rich boy daddy issues at you. Boohoo, my dad doesn’t want a queer as a son. So what? That shit happens to people way worse off than me, and they handle it. Besides…it’s kind of what I deserve after what I did to Billy.”

Steve doesn’t have to elaborate; the others had filled Eddie in on what they figured out. “Look at me, Steve.” Eddie says firmly, but still conveying how much he loves Steve.

Steve doesn’t want to, but he finds it hard to deny Eddie. So, he turns his head, looking at Eddie, waiting for him to say anything. His face looks so defeated, he couldn’t even hide this.

It kills Eddie that Steve thinks he has to do all this on his own. He gently rests his hand on Steve’s cheek, Steve leaning into it, putting his hand over Eddie’s. “Oh sweetheart…” Its like an apology and prayer all wrapped up into a few words. The way Eddie talks about Steve, to Steve is so full of reverence. He leans in and places a gentle kiss against Steve’s lips. Steve doesn’t want Eddie to be so loving and caring right now. He doesn’t want Eddie to feel like he has to take care of him, but he can’t find it in him to fight.

So, when Eddie pulls his hand away, only to wrap it around Steve’s shoulder, pulling him close, Steve lets it happen. He leans his head against Eddie’s shoulder. “Stevie, I love you so much, you know that?”

“Yea…” he says quietly. “I just…never mind.” He shakes his head gently against Eddie’s shoulder.

“No baby…You can talk to me, okay? About anything. What were you going to say?” Eddie pushes.

Steve takes a stifled breath, trying to make himself not cry again, still feeling so raw. “I was just going to say, I don’t get why you love me. I’m really not worth it. I couldn’t save Billy. I couldn’t even protect you. You almost died in the upside down.  You shouldn’t care. You don’t have to worry. That’s why I didn’t tell you about…you know.” His voice cracks, he hates that he can’t hold it together.

Eddie lets a breath out of his nose, shaking his head slightly. “You can be so…oblivious sometimes, baby.” Eddie can feel Steve about to say something, argue. “Let me finish talking, okay?”

Steve nods softly.

“I love you… I love you so much, its crazy for me to think about sometimes. You mean the world to me. There is nothing I would not do to help you, because you deserve it. You are kind. You are sweet. You are brave. You are smart.” He says each sentence slowly, wanting Steve to soak them in, to believe him. “You always do so much for me, and the kids, and for Nancy and Robin. And we love you for that, we all do. But that isn’t like some condition for our love, for my love. You can need some help sometimes, and that’s okay. And I know its hard for you to believe, but what happened to Billy…what happened to me, is not your fault. I will remind you of that everyday if that’s what it takes.”

Steve doesn’t quite believe Eddie, that is going to take more time to heal. So he shifts to his other concern. “I just…” Steve starts, trying to get the words right. “I just want you guys to be happy, and not worry about me.” He says truthfully.

“Princess, you make me happy. Seeing you happy, makes me happy. Supporting you, like you do for me makes me happy. And stuff is hard, but part of having people that love you, is being willing to let them take some of that weight off your shoulders. Did you know, we tried to make the kids go home hours ago?”

“Really?” Steve asks, still processing what Eddie said to him. Tears that he didn’t even know he shed liter his face.

“Yea, but they refused. Not until we could find you. And Henderson, he was so worried. He wanted to find you, then kill you for keeping this from him.” Eddie laughs.  “So, you should talk to him. You know that kid still worships you. You are still King Steve, doesn’t matter if you have your castle. And you should have seen Robin. She said I was driving too slow, can you believe that? She demanded I let Nancy drive the van. And Wheeler really floored it. I thought we were going to wreck. What I’m say is those kids, those ladies,…me, need you to be okay, and you won’t be okay sleeping in a cold car all winter.  So, will come home with me? Wayne has no problem, he said you should have gotten your ass over there months ago. So please come home.

“Home.” Steve repeats, soaking in everything his boyfriend just said. “Yeah…I’ll go home with you. I love you, Eds.”

Eddie lets out a little laugh from his nose. “Good. Now, never ever scare me like this again. I do not like it, you got that, Harrington?”

“Yea, I got it.” His voice is happier, more at peace. After a few minutes, Eddie stands up, offering his hand to Steve. “We gotta go big boy. They said 30 minutes, or they are sending a search party, and do you really put it past them?”

“No” Steve laughs, taking Eddie’s hand. “One more thing though.” He says after he stands.

“Yeah?” Eddie looks at him, smile on his face erasing the worry from earlier.

Steve wraps his arms around Eddie’s waist, pulling him close. Eddie get the idea, putting his hands on the small of Steve’s neck pulling him into a kiss. Afterwards they head back to where the van and car are parked. They head back to Eddie’s trailer, managing all to squeeze in there, deciding tonight will be a slumber party whether Steve or Eddie want it or not. After many more lectures from everyone, and even more hugs, Steve falls asleep in his new home.

[y0urnewstepp4r3nt]

I feel like Steve is a December baby and his birthday is within a week before Christmas and since his parents are shitty (cause we all collectively agreed) his parents don't come home from the business trips for Christmas or new years let alone Steve's birthday. So Steve never mentions when his birthday is because he's so used to being alone, his parents wouldn't come home, his friends would celebrate with their family's or go on holidays. When someone asks him when his birthday is he always says "Oh it's already passed don't worry about it" or "don't worry it's so far away" something like that. Carol and Tommy would always pester him to throw a HUGE party for his birthday so he did one year but he had it in like June and everyone loved it apart from Steve.

When Steve befriends the kids they don't ask they just assume he does something without them and don't make a fuss. No one in the party makes any comments about Steve's birthday because it's Steve he probably throw partys. Then Eddie comes along and they go the whole year celebrating everyone's birthdays apart from Steve's, and the dude is so confused why No one mentions Steve's birthday so he asks Steve when his birthday is and gets a different answer every time. Eddie eventually gets frustrated and tells Steve he just wants to spoil him on his birthday and treat him like the princess he is. I feel like Steve would tell Eddie randomly a couple days later and Eddie would memorize it and spoil Steve on his birthday when everyone else had dismissed it for his entire life.

Honestly didn't expect that to be so long sorry dudes.

[annachronisme]

Stobin twin idea

Steve and Robin introduced one another as each other twin to people outside of Hawkins once to mess around and nobody saw through it

people just assume they're like fraternal twin when they see them being all in sinc and worse when they say thing together at the same time

They started to do it constantly to the point even The Party is having doubt and the Adult (with capital A) stopped thinking of them as Steve and Robin but Steve and Robin

"Where's your freaky twin" "Surprised you other half ain't here" "Where the fuck is Robin" "Is Steve not with you ? You're attached to the hips usually" is what they hear each time they're not in each other presence

Even their own parents started to wonder if they had not had twins the whole time and just lost the other

Steve's Parents didn't blink an eye when they came home once they had forgotten to tell Steve and they found Robin at the kitchen counter past three AM eating a sandwich looking at them all round eye, mouth full, in one of Steve t-shirt, her pj short and mismatched socks she stole from different member of the Party.

Steve appeared behind his parents in one of Eddie's t-shirt and a short that was probably his but big chance that it was actually Jon or Argyle shorts.

Steve's Parents thought that Robin was Steve's girlfriend at first but that thought quickly went out the window when they understood they acted more like siblings

(confirmed later by both of them when Mrs. Harrington asked them how long they had been together and they audibly gaged.)

" I always wanted a daughter, anyways." "I don't remember us expecting twin Solange, where did you hide that one."

They're respectively adopted by each other parents as honorary Buckley/Harrington, family dinner is something else

even more when it's a family dinner organized by both of them at Steve house and they invited the Bucley, the Harringtons and everyone else related to The Party which means the Byers, Hoppers, Sinclairs, Wheeler, Henderson, Munson and the Mayfield.

its CHAOS and they live for it.