#steve is lucas and dustin's older brother

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Dustin was once again snooping through Steve’s things.

Dustin: Why do you have adoption papers?

Steve: Oh, yeah, funny story. . . I got mad at my parents when I was younger for leaving all the time, so I tried to put myself up for adoption.

Dustin:

Steve:

Dustin: You have to stop saying funny story when the story is actually very sad, Steven! *grabs his walkie* Lucas! Operation adopt sad jock is a go! Inform our parental units! Over.

Lucas: Copy that. Over and out.

Steve: How long have you been planning this?

Dustin: Too long.

Steve: . . .can you adopt someone who's legally an adult?

Dustin: We looked it up. It's possible.

Steve beamed.

[tsaheylutales]

You weren't supposed to know | Chapter 1

Hello! This is my first Steve Harrington fic EVER so please be kind. There will be a part 2, i just got impatient and wanted to post something. She's an angsty girl, hope you like it! It’s basically a rewrite of season 4 episode 2.

Pairing: Steve Harrrington X Henderson!Reader

Warnings: ANGST, stranger things level threats, mentions of blood and knives, reader is a softer girl so if you don't like that, scroll, Steve and Dustin are very ooc so...keep that in mind. Let me know if there's any more!

Summary: Steve wasn’t always like this, he used to be kind, and caring, and he used to call you every night. But now? He barely calls at all. Most of the time it’s you calling him. Or you visiting him…Or you planning dates…He’s just really busy at the moment…That’s it. That’s gotta be it…Right?

Series masterlist

about 2k words

You weren’t supposed to know about the Upside Down. Or the Mind Flayer. Or Eleven. Or interdimensional monsters made of blood and flesh. You were just supposed to drop Dustin off at the mall. That was it. Easy. In and out. But Steve’s your boyfriend. And you hadn’t seen or heard from him in days. So…why not surprise him?

Worst case, he’s dodging you. Best case, you kiss in the backroom of Scoops Ahoy and steal an ice cream on the way out. That’s what you told yourself, anyway.

Instead, you and Robin ended up decoding a secret Russian message, discovered a secret Russian base underneath Starcourt Mall, got captured, maybe drugged, tortured a little, and were eventually saved by two kids with an electrified stick.

And then, just when you thought your night couldn’t possibly get any worse, a walking nightmare made out of flesh and bones clawed its way through the mall like it had personal vengeance. Turns out it did but that's besides the point.

Your entire life flipped upside down. 

And Steve, your boyfriend…He had known the whole time. And so did your little brother, Dustin.

And afterwards, everyone else went back to normal, back to school, back to work. They made no mention of the horrors that happened that night. They just moved on. Like you didn’t fight The Mind Flayer. Like Hopper didn’t die in that Russian base. Like Billy didn’t die in front of you all.

You haven’t gone a single night without nightmares since. And it doesn’t help you have no one to talk to. Not anymore. 

You’re not really part of the group. You’re just there.

You’re Dustin’s older sister. You’re Steve’s girlfriend, well, sort of. On a good day, when he remembers to call. 

You joined the fight the same day Robin did. Same nightmare. Same blood-soaked floors. Same mindless terror crawling out of a gate you didn’t even know existed until it nearly swallowed you whole. But somehow…She became one of them. Fast. Seamless. Like she was always supposed to be there. And you…didn’t.

You're the one who drives them sometimes, the one who gets asked, “Hey, can you grab snacks?” before a movie night, ones you weren’t even invited to.

You hear about things after they’ve happened. “Oh, sorry, it was last minute.”  “Did we not tell you?”  “Thought you were busy.”

You’re always busy, apparently. Even when you’re not. Even when you’re waiting by the phone, waiting for someone to call. Waiting for someone to invite you to anything.

You’re not welcome. You’re unwanted.

You try not to let it show. You plaster on your smile. You nod along. You say “cool” and “no worries” and “maybe next time.” 

But it gnaws at you. That hollow, twisting feeling.

“Have you talked to anyone else?” Dustin’s voice is tight, panicked, as he and Max hurry down the hallway. They need to find Eddie, and ask him about what happened last night. What happened to Chrissy. They suspect it's something more evil, covered in slimy tentacles and sharp teeth, or a dark shadow, or maybe a towering monster made of the citizens of Hawkins.

“No. I can’t find Lucas or Nancy, and Mike’s in-”

“California. Shit, shit, shit.” He cuts her off without thinking. His brain is moving too fast, thoughts crashing into each other. Too many questions, half the party missing, half the party on the other side of the country. 

“What about your sister?” She blurts, scrunching up her face.

He sighs, a defeated, frustrated sigh. He treats you like a last resort, you are the last resort but…You know about the upside down so…guess you’ll have to do.

“[Y/n]! Can you take us to Family Video!?” he yells, sharp and impatient.

You peek your head out from your room, wide-eyed. “Right now?...”

“Yes, come on!” He rolls his eyes, tapping his watch.

“Uh, okay. Let me get my shoes-”

“Now! Come on!!”

“Okay-okay.” You whisper, shrinking back slightly.

Max glances at him. “That was harsh.” She mutters under her breath. Dustin ignores it.

Your mom calls out, “Dusty, where are you going?” 

“To see a friend.” His voice comes out stressed. Too panicked to just be ‘seeing a friend’. He’s already heading for the door.

“You heard the news. It’s not safe.” Your mom’s voice waves and it makes you feel guilt. She’s already been through enough. 

“We’ll be careful. Thanks, Mom. Love you. Bye.”

“Bye, Mom. Love you.” You murmur behind him, brushing a kiss to her forehead. 

Max and Dustin take off ahead of you, their sneakers smacking against the pavement as they storm towards the video store. Dustin throws the door open and they both rush inside.

They’re already at the front desk, knocking over stacks of tapes, looking through the computer. They set up a “base of operations,” whatever that means. You just stand there, eyes drifting across the rows of movie tapes, pretending to read the titles you’ve seen a hundred times. You feel invisible. 

You still don’t know what’s going on but, the urgency in their voices, the frantic energy? It’s terrifying. It feels like last year again. Whatever it is, it’s scary…. Fourth of July scary.

Your eyes find Steve.

He’s crouched near a toppled display, restacking the mess Dustin left behind. He doesn’t notice you at first. He doesn’t look up.

You walk over, swallowing the nerves in your throat. Your smile feels fragile, like if you hold it too long it might crack and fall.

“Hey.”

Steve looks up. His face shifts. Not into a smile, into something smaller. Tighter. “Oh. Hey…”

Your heart sinks, just slightly.

“Um…” You try to sound casual but your voice wavers. “You didn’t call. Last night…”

He blinks. Hesitates. “Right. Yeah. Sorry. Had to cover for Robin.”

A lie. You know it’s a lie. Robin was here yesterday. You came in to drop off a tape after school, about an hour before he was supposed to call. “You couldn’t have called from here?” you ask, softer this time.

“Super busy.” He mumbles. “Yeah, it was just…really busy.”

He’s not even looking at you anymore. The bell over the door rings again. A girl walks in, she’s pretty, confident, like she belongs. Steve glances at her, not you.

You bite your lip and clear your throat softly. “I was thinking…” You start, trying to sound upbeat, like this isn’t breaking your heart. “Maybe we could go out this weekend? Dinner, or a movie? Whatever you want.”

Steve exhales. Not a sigh. Something heavier. Tired. Dismissive.

“Yeah, maybe.”

You latch onto the word like it’s a life boat. “Cool! I’m free all weekend, so we could do whatever, whenever, I mean-”

“Look,” He cuts in, voice clipped and distant. “I’ve got a lot going on this weekend. Maybe another time.”

Oh.

Your smile falls before you can stop it, not dramatically, just…falls. Ever so slightly. A tiny fracture. Barely a second of vulnerability before your instincts kick in. You catch it. Forcing a grin even though your lip wobbles.

The smile that returns doesn’t fit right. It strains too much. It doesn't reach your eyes. You nod. Once. Twice.  “Yeah. Sure. Another time.”

Steve gives you a tight lipped smile and turns to your brother, who is still trying to find Eddie. You awkwardly wait by the front desk, picking at it nervously. Steve wasn’t always like this, he used to be kind, and caring, and he used to call you every night. But now? He barely calls at all. Most of the time it’s you calling him. Or you visiting him…Or you planning dates…He’s just really busy at the moment…That’s it. That’s gotta be it…Right?

“Hey,” Max says, her voice breaking your from your thoughts. You blink, startled. “We found something. Are you coming?”

You nod automatically, though the words don’t register. Your body moves before your mind catches up. 

Eddie slams Steve against the wooden wall of the cabin. It’s damp and a little rotten, that’s what happens to things left unchecked. You gasp, moving towards your boyfriend before realising he has a knife. You swallow softly and look towards Dustin, eyes begging him to do something.

“Woah, woah! Eddie, stop! Eddie, it’s me, it’s Dustin! This is Steve. He’s not gonna hurt you. Right, Steve?”

“Right. Yeah.” Your boyfriend breathes out. He gulps, eyes squeezed shut.

“Steve…” Dustin says gently. “Why don’t you drop the oar? He’s cool. He’s cool.”

“I’m cool, man. I’m cool.” Steve echoes, voice shaky and wavering.

“What are you doing here?” Eddie growls, pressing the knife closer to Steve’s neck.

“We’re looking for you!” Robin jumps in. “We’re here to help.”

“Eddie, these are my friends. You know Robin, from band? This is Max, my friend who never wants to play D&D.”

Dustin raises his hands. “We’re on your side. I swear on my mother. Right, guys?”

A chorus of, “Yes. Yes, we swear on Dustin’s mother,” echoes around the small cabin.

“Yeah. Dustin-Dustin’s mother,” Steve stammers.

Eddie pauses, and then lets him go. Steve's knees almost buckle as he falls away, and you immediately rush towards him, reaching for his face “Hey, you’re okay. You’re safe-“ You coo.

“I know-I know, god stop touching me!” He shoves you away, leaning towards Robin, who’s sat on the other side of him.

Your eyes widen, and you feel that familiar pit in your stomach. “Sorry. Sorry, I-“ You start, confused, voice wobbling.

Steve gives you a look, one that he’s been giving you a lot recently. One that says ‘You’re really getting on my nerves, please stop talking.’ 

It makes you swallow your apology, and you look down to your scuffed shoes. 

They’re a beat-up pair of converse that you bought back in sophomore year. They’ve been everywhere with you, including some very lovely dates with Steve. Like when you went to the movies, where he kissed you for the first time.  Or like the picnic, where he fed you strawberries and whispered he loved you while watching the stars.

Dates like that feel like a dream. They don’t happen anymore, haven’t in months. Not like they used to. 

For the rest of the conversation, you’re not there. Not really.

[stealthysteveharrington]

"I need you to take a walk with me," Dustin demands as soon as Steve opens his front door.

"Well hello to you, too."

Dustin rolls his eyes. "Steve. Please come take a walk with me."

And Steve would have protested. He would have dragged it out a little more. Would have told him that he can't right now, he's getting ready for a date tonight (he would not have mentioned that said date is with Eddie. The kid doesn't need to know about that until they themselves figure out what this is). But the thing is- the thing is that Steve can tell there's an undercurrent of desperation there. He can see the barely constrained stress around Dustin's eyes. And Steve has never been able to leave Dustin like that. Will never be able to.

So he toes on his sneakers and hopes that wherever they end up won't get too much dirt on his light wash jeans or mess up his hair too much.

"You've got two hours," he says, glancing at his watch and shutting the door behind him.

***

Dustin silently leads them into the woods. Steve tries to ask him where they're going and why he needed to take a walk right then but Dustin stays quiet, giving only short replies when he bothers to talk at all.

It's freaking Steve out.

It freaks him out so much that he doesn’t even realize where they’re heading until they’re already walking on the old railroad tracks. This feels familiar.

Dustin is walking just slightly ahead of him, staring resolutely ahead. He only lasts maybe another 30 seconds before he sighs. “So.”

Steve’s head pops up. He’s finally going to know why Dustin dragged him out here.

“I think I’m ready to make love to Suzie now and I need some help,” he says, determined. He’s still staring straight ahead, not even looking at Steve.

“Ew, gross dude. Why’d you have to say it like that?”

That gets Dustin to turn around. “Steve! I need some help,” he says shrilly.

It takes everything he has in him but Steve manages not to laugh when he says, “I don’t know. I think it should kind of be a solo activity the first time, bud.” No, wait. That doesn’t sound right. “…or well. A party of two, I mean. Three’s a crowd and all.”

“Steeeeeeve.”

Steve does laugh then. “Okay. Okay! Fine. But why didn’t you just ask Lucas? Or Mike? They’ve both been with their girlfriends for years now I’m sure they’d have some useful information for you.”

“Ew, no. That would’ve been weird. Plus you have way more experience.” Um, rude. Was he calling Steve a slut?

“And it’s not weird asking me?”

Dustin scoffs. “No. That’s what older brothers are for. To teach you things that you can’t ask your mom.” Steve melts a little. He knows he and Dustin see each other as brothers, have for years, but it still gets him every time Dustin calls him that. “Plus,” Dustin continues, unaware of Steve internally liquifying. “I don’t want to know any details of Mike and El’s relationship. I want complete plausible deniability with Hopper.”

“That’s actually probably not a bad idea,” Steve concedes.

“I know,” Dustin says, arrogance shining through again. The kid really does need to humble himself.

They’re silent for another minute as they continue to walk on. “So?”

“So what?”

“Steve! Are you gonna help me or what?”

Steve stops and groans, running a hand down his face. “I can’t believe I’m actually going to do this, but yes. Fine. What do you want to know?”

Dustin beams up at him. “Yes! Okay. Okay,” he takes a breath. “Okay so, like, how does it work?”

Steve looks at him, horrified. “Dustin, what do you mean how does it work?”

“No! No, I know, like, the mechanics of it all,” he starts to make a gesture with his fingers but Steve slaps his hands down before he can get too far. “But how do I make it good? Like for Suzie. And safe! How do I know which condoms to get? Do I need to buy dental dams?”

“Whoaaaa slow your roll, dude. One question at a time!” He takes a deep breath. “Okay. So. You’re ready to have sex with Suzie. Is she ready to have sex with you too?”

“Um, yeah.” Dustin says yeah like he means duh. But then he pauses. “I mean, I think so.”

“You gotta know so. None of this ‘maybe, I think so’ shit. She’s gotta be into it and ready too. So you need to have an actual conversation about that first. And if you’re not ready to do that, then you’re not ready to have sex.”

“Okay. Yeah, I can do that,” Dustin says nodding.

“Okay. Good. What else?”

Steve spends the next hour and a half talking Dustin through it, giving him tips on eating a girl out (“dude I don’t know anyone who has ever used a dental dam” and “why are you flicking your tongue like that at me. No. No one wants that. Stop that, it’s gross”), on buying condoms (“just grab the regular size. No one expects you to have a magnum and honestly it’d be way more embarrassing and a much bigger problem if it slips off inside of her because you’re not actually big enough to fit in it”), on how to touch her (“do you know where the clit is?” and “you’ve got to curl your fingers, like this”), and on how to not blow your load the second you get it in (“jerk off before you go to see her. No, Dustin, don’t look at me like that. I’m serious. You are not going to last more than three seconds if you’re all keyed up and haven’t gotten off already at least once that day”).

By the time they make it back to Steve’s, Dustin feels a lot more confident, and Steve feels like he’s actually helped him to at least not completely humiliate himself his first time.

Dustin is strapping his helmet on when Steve stops him. “Oh, Dustin! One last thing.”

“Yeah?”

“Stop calling it making love.”

“But it is.”

“What?” Steve deadpans.

“It is making love. And it’s romantic.”

“Whatever you say dude. I’m just telling you, it’s not a very sexy thing to call it.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Steve. What should I call it instead? Fucking? Boning?”

“Ugh. You know what? Call it whatever you want.”

“You know what Steve? I’m surprised you even get dates with that attitude.”

Dates.

Date.

Oh shit. His date with Eddie.

“Oh shit. It’s been way more than two hours, dickhead. Okay, I have plans and you need to go now,” Steve calls out before running inside to grab his keys and rushing by Dustin on his bike to pull out of his driveway and down the road. He will not be late to his first date with Eddie.

(He was a little late to his first date with Eddie. But Eddie said it was worth it after Steve told him about how he spent his afternoon. And yeah. He thinks this is something he’ll get to tell Dustin about sometime in the near future.)

[tartarusknight]

Steve had this habit, a habit which most of the party were annoyed by. They understood it, God did they understand. But after everything was over and the Upside Down was gone for good, it kept happening. Months and months of daily calls. Just Steve checking in and asking them about their day.

Mike hadn't understood why he was on the list of names Steve would call, but if he didn't pick up the phone, there would be a knock on the door within the hour. And Steve, sometimes followed by Robin, would stop by like he was that important to them. Once, it had been on their way to work, and Steve had only locked eyes with him and raised an eyebrow. Mike just flipped him off and continued reading his comic.

Dustin had told him it was Steve's way of coping, and Lucas had turned the calls into workouts with the older teen. Will had just gone a little red and nodded along. El smiled and told Mike about the tips for hair care she got. Max just rolled her eyes and said that Steve had taken to stopping by with food most days.

Steve would be there. He was always there. It was annoying, but it was a constant. Maybe that's why Mike laid awake as the clock ticked closer and closer to midnight. Normally, he could fall asleep within minutes, a habit he had inherited from his dad. But he could bring himself to sleep as his phone didn't ring. As the walkie stayed silent. As the door remained untouched, no knock to be heard.

And it was stupid. Because Mike didn't want Steve to call him every day just to ask him if he was okay. It made him feel like a kid. It reminded Mike of his mom, but even his mom wasn't that bad. No, no one really did that for Mike. No one checked in day after day even as he remained uncaring towards them. No one but Steve.

Until now...

Mike watched the clock as it passed midnight, and his stomach twisted into knots. Fear bubbled up, and he pictured Steve getting into a fight he couldn't walk away from. He pictured a car crash so great that Steve was unable to reach for the walkie he carried with him everywhere. He pictured the worst- the Upside Down still around. The demogorgon coming up and dragging Steve into that hellpit.

Mike was up and pulling on a warm sweatshirt before those images were fully formed. He crawled out his window and down the roof, not too unlike the way Steve had done to visit Nancy. It left him already out of breath by the time he climbed on his bike. But that didn't stop him. He pushed off the ground, biking as fast as he could towards Loch Nora.

The cold air hot his face, and the road seemed to go on forever, but Mike didn't stop. He couldn't stop. Not until Steve's place was in view.

Mike tossed his bike uncarringly onto the pavement before slamming his fist into the Harrington's nice door. He didn't let up. He couldn't as an image of Steve dead in his own pool floated in his mind.

However, then the door was opening. Steve stood there, looking like he hadn't been asleep either. A smear of white powder on his cheek and a hollowness in his eyes. But still, something eased in Mike the same time Steve lost some of that weight in his shoulders as well. "You- you didn't-" Mike started, still out of breath. "Call. Why didn't you- call?" He gasped and Steve looked at him with a weird expression.

"You- What?" Steve questioned, sounding lost.

Mike crossed his arms, "I- you can't just stop!" He gasped out, and Steve's brow furrowed.

"But you don't like it when I do? I annoy you," he tries to point out, and Mike huffs.

"God, of course you annoy me! You track our days more intensly than my mom, and you always make dumb jokes, and I hate that I find them funny! You always call when I'm in the middle of something, and you make it easy to stay on the phone! You are always there like some weird older brother that I never asked for!" Mike shouts and Steve's eyes are wide.

"You don't have to stay around or call, but you do! You do, and you actually care. Like when you call and ask me if I'm okay, it feels like you care, and I don't understand why! I don't get you! I didn't ask you to care about me, but even when you were dating Nancy, you cared! You took Holly and me to get ice cream even though Nancy had to study! You give me and my friends rides everywhere! You care!" Mike throws his hands up in the air.

He glares at the older teen, "You care so much that I stupidly care about you! I care enough to come and check on you because when you didn't call, all I could think was that you were like dead or something," Mike snaps and takes a step back. "But you're obviously fine so-" and he wants to run suddenly. To run from the way Steve's eyes are filled with tears or the stupid words he just told the older teen.

Steve runs a hand through his hair, tugging slightly. "Mike, I stopped because I didn't think you wanted me to. You always acted like I was your least favorite person in the world and I guess I just- I didn't feel like it was fair to force you to put up with me just because I can't handle not knowing if you were okay." Steve said, and it didn't sound like the normal Steve. He sounded tired and nervous. He sounded like someone had finally beaten him

Mike bites his lip and tastes salt like he had been crying. Or maybe he still was. He crosses his arms like he can shield himself from this conversation. "But now you don't care enough to keep calling?"

Steve rubbed his face, a sigh shaking his whole body as he did. "I still care, kid."

Mike scoffs, "You didn't call."

Steve drops his hands to his sides. "Just come inside. It's too late for you to bike home. I'll call your place and leave a message." Steve says, his voice sounding close to tears. Mike is stiff when he lets Steve pull him inside.

They are quiet as Steve guides him towards the kitchen. The kitchen that has music playing softly and smelling like a bake sale. He blinks as he steps into the room and spots cookies cooling on a rack and a pie stilling uncooked on the counter. The top crust is sitting on the counter next to it. There's a smell of something in the oven, and Mike states at all of it in confusion.

"I bake when I can't relax," Steve admits, and Mike glances over at him. "I still care, and I was trying to give you space. I was trying not to crowd you, so I just," and he waves his hand around the mess everywhere. The smear of white on his cheek now makes sense.

Mike hugged himself, "I don't- I don't mind the calls." He whispered, and it got a snort from Steve.

He looked over at Mike, "I kinda got that from your speech."

They stood there in silence for another moment before Steve moved to finish putting his pie together. "I know that we aren't close or anything. But I care, it's not just the Upside Down making me anxious, it's just that-" and Steve went quiet. "I went overboard, I get it. But now I just- I can't stop." He admits, and Mike hates how upset Steve sounds. How guilty he sounds.

"I fall asleep easier knowing that if someone wasn't okay, we'd know because of you. It's like you take all the stress from me just by being around." He says, and Steve's eyes are wide. "Maybe we just do a sound off every night so you don't have to play phone tag all day." He shrugs, and Steve wrinkles his nose.

"I don't really get how to use the walkie. Like Dustin tried to show me, but he got distracted and started talking about radio waves and well..." Steve mimed it going over his head.

Mike snorted to hide how much that terrified him. The thought of something bad happening and Steve not being able to respond. But he pushed it away as Steve looked at him as if waiting for Mike to tease him. "That's fair. We did modify them, so they worked better. It's not as simple as your average walkie. I can show you," he offered, and Steve's face split into a grin.

"Cool, want to help me finish this so I can put it in the fridge until tomorrow? Then you can teach me the ways," Steve says, going all dramatic, proving to Mike he'd been spending too much time with Eddie. Mike groaned but came over only for Steve to shove him to the sink to wash his hands.

Steve showed him what to do, and Mike was glad to have Steve around. Because sure Steve's habit was annoying, and sometimes it interfered with Mike's plans, but it was nice too. Steve was nice. And that was something Mike ever believed would happen. But as Steve joked that Mike should not become a baker, he was nice. Like the way Mike was nice to Holly or how Nancy was nice to him. He was part of the family, annoyingly nice habits and all.

[catherinnn]

I thought of this at work today and I couldn't stop laughing: Imagine Dustin having an older sister who's back from college. So when they need a sub for Hellfire, he asks her because she's the one that taught him how to play in the first place. As soon as she walks in Eddie's brain short-circuits because "Jesus H. Christ Henderson, why didn't you tell me your sister was my dream girl?!?!? I would've at least brushed my hair!"

Que Dustin not sure whether he should be disgusted because his sister keeps flirting with his DM all night or excited because there is now a very strong possibility Eddie could become his brother-in-law now.

Roll for Initiative eddie munson x henderson!reader warnings: nothing much really, just fluff overall. eddie self-doubts for just a second, no use of y/n, cursing. a/n: thank you so much for requesting! I really hope you like it. reblogs and comments are very very appreciated. 2.2k words masterlist

“So,” Mike starts talking, Dustin takes notice of his sarcastic tone. “Who the fuck do we know that secretly plays D&D and would want to sub for Lucas”

“Um, well…” but before Dustin can get a word out Mike interrupts him.

“I mean, we’re fucked! Eddie’s gonna hate us and kick us out of Hellfire!”

“Dude-“

“No Dustin, I’m serious! I’m gonna kill Lucas and all his stupid new friends”

“Mike! Do you remember what I told you earlier? About my sister?”

“Uh… no?” he confesses.

“Honestly! Do you ever listen to me?!” Dustin claims angrily. “What I told you is that she’s coming back home. And she used to play, dude!”

“Are you serious?” Mike exclaims, unable to believe their luck. He asks “When does she get here?”

--

Dustin's heart pounds with anticipation as he waits at the doorstep. It had been months since he last saw you, and he couldn't wait to catch up.

And as your mom’s car pulls into the driveway, Dustin cannot contain his excitement. He rushes to greet you, nearly stumbling over his own feet in his haste. You step out of the car, a weary smile on your face as you spot your little brother.

"Dustin!" you exclaim, opening your arms for a hug. "You've gotten even taller since I last saw you."

“You think so?” he asks with hope.

“Oh right? He’s turning into a whole handsome tall man already!” your mom butted into the conversation and you both cringe at her choice of words.

“Ugh, I missed you!” you hug him again and he laughs.

Once you’re inside the house, Dustin wastes no time in bombarding you with stories of his D&D campaigns. He told you about the epic battles and the incredible DM the club has. You make a mental note to tease Steve as soon as you see him since he’s no longer Dustin’s coolest older friend.

“That club sounds so fun!”

"Do you think... would you want to join our club as a sub?" he asks eagerly. "We're short one person since Lucas joined the dark side”

You frown in confusion and he explains. “He’s in the football team”

“Really?” you ask surprised.

“Yeah…” he sounds disappointed. “Anyway, would you help us? Please”

“You’re sure they won’t mind?”

“They would be so thankful if you help us beat Eddie’s ass”

“Okay, sure then” you agree laughing.

--

“Come on! We’re gonna be late!” Dustin shouts from the living room waiting impatiently for you.

“I’ve been ready for like ten minutes, you’re the one who’s taking so long” you answer calmly, not knowing what all the fuss is about.

Meanwhile in the drama room in Hawking’s High…

“Alright gentlemen, are we ready to start?” Eddie says as he walks in.

“Umm no, Dustin’s not here yet” Mike stops him.

“Well, where is he?”

“He’s probably arriving any time now”

“Wheeler, we don’t have all day-“ Eddie starts complaining but the door opening abruptly interrupts him. An agitated Dustin walks in and starts apologizing, but Eddie’s not listening to him.

The club leader still frozen mid-sentence, his brain seemingly short-circuiting as he laid eyes on you, standing by the door. He stumbled over his words, his thoughts are silent but screaming at the same time. Suddenly, the room seemed smaller, the air thicker, as if a spell had been cast upon him.

However, you’re still oblivious to the effect you had over him.

“Soo, who’s this?” Gareth finally asks after waiting for Eddie to ask that question, but he was not even moving.

“Oh, this is my sister” Dustin starts introducing you. Eddie’s trance is broken when he hears your name, the prettiest name he’s ever heard. “She’ll sub for Lucas”

“She will?” Eddie asks with a hint of hope in his voice. All of the sudden hoping Lucas won’t be able to join Hellfire ever again.

The rest of the boys are waiting expectantly for Eddie to ask you all types of question until he finds an unsatisfying enough answer and he’ll decide you can’t sub. But he never does. So Gareth starts asking if you even know how to play D&D.

“Sure she does, she was the one who taught me how to play in the first place” your brother steps in.

You tell the boys your level in the game and for some reason they all seem surprised. They start murmuring among each other. But you notice how the boy on the big throne leans over to your brother to whisper something. You play dumb and walk closer to them.

"Jesus H. Christ Henderson, why didn't you tell me your sister was my dream girl? I would've at least brushed my hair!" He whispers-shouts and a smile starts forming on your face.

You’d be lying if you said he hadn’t called your attention. His big puppy eyes, all the rings on his hand. You don’t know why he says that about his hair, you thought it looked really good like that.

At any rate, you take a seat next to your brother, which just so happens to also be next to Eddie. Happy coincidence. And you start playing, Eddie sets the scene. He makes you imagine every single little detail so you feel like you’re actually there. He makes different voices for each character which makes you giggle. He even stands up, or leans over on the table, he talks to every single one of you, not forgetting about anyone. It’s mesmerizing to see him like this.

“I love how passionate you get” you comment and it makes him smile so hard.

He noticed before, every time he would change the tone in his voice to imitate a character, you’d laugh, and now he keeps changing voices just to hear it again.

“Give me the gold! He says. Or I’ll set my hungry wolves free, right this second!” Eddie acts and without failing he’s able to hear your snorts. It distracts him in the best way possible. “You have an adorable laugh” he tells you with a smirk.

This obviously makes you giggle once more, this time with a pink blush decorating your cheeks. “Thanks, it’s just- you’re cute making all the voices”

Now it’s Eddie’s turn to blush and smile once more.

Dustin notices this exchange —all of the other boys did— but he can’t decipher how he feels about it. On the one hand, he feels a little jealous and uncomfortable that you two keep flirting. But on the other hand, it would be really cool to have Eddie as his brother in law.

However, the game continues and so does the places Eddie takes you all to in your minds. So much so that at one point you start getting dizzy.

“Wait, where are we again?” you ask.

“In the mountains near the lake” Gareth answers.

“Are we close to the palace?”

“No no, the palace is behind the woods” Mike explains now. They have more of an advantage than you do, they've been playing this campaign for weeks now.

“Wh- Do you have a map?” You finally ask Eddie and he nods passing it to you.

“Here’s the palace” he comes closer and signals on the map, “and here is where you are”

“Oh, okay”

“You know, if you’re still lost I can stick around to guide you” he whispers giving the closeness.

“Well, you’re the bad guy here,” you argue imagining you’re still inside the game. “How do I know you won’t try to kill me?”

“Me?” he gasps acting offended. “I would never!”

“You already killed Jeff!” you accuse him.

“Yeah, but he’s not half as pretty as you are. I’d miss you too much” he makes sure he’s whispering very close to you now, just because if Jeff heard him he’d start acting offended. Just because of that… no other reason.

“Can we keep playing now? My mom will be here in like ten minutes to pick me up” Mike complains.

Those ten minutes fly by. Before you even realize it, Mike’s mom is honking in her car to hurry him up. And so you finish for the day, starting to gather all your things.

“You know, you owe me a pencil” you tell Eddie.

“Oh really? Why’s that?” he asks playfully.

“I only borrowed it to you! I did not gift it!”

“So you’re calling me a thief? First a killer and now a thief? Glad to know you think so badly of little old me”

“I didn't just called you that!” you say in you defence and he makes confused face, signalling you to continue talking. “I also said you’re cute. You’re a really cute thief and killer”

He starts laughing. “Are you always this charming, or is it just when I'm around?"

“I could ask you the same thing”

“Oh only with you, sweetheart” he promises.

“Me too” you admit a little shyly.

“Yeah?-” he tries to keep flirting but Dustin cuts him off.

“Are you ready? Let’s go”

“Wow, since when are you so eager to leave hellfire?” Eddie notices.

“No reason” he lies, he’s still not sure if all this flirting between you two would be something good or not.

“I think he’s a little jealous his sister is taking all of Eddie’s attention” Gareth teases him.

“No, I’m not!”

“Aw Dusty bun!” Eddie joins in the teasing.

“I’m not jealous! Ask her out for all I care!” he says but regrets it as soon as it left his mouth.

“Really?” Eddie checks in but Dustin is a very proud person, he’s not one to bend. So he nods encouraging his friend.

Good thing you know him like the palm of your hand.

“Let’s go dingus, mom’s probably waiting for us”

Eddie feels this as punch right on his chest. Did he read too much into this? Were you not actually interested? Was it just some playful flirting?

As you walk out the school and into the parking lot. You open the car so your brother can get in but tell him to wait a second, and you walk over to Eddie who was about to get in his van.

“Wait! Thief!” you call him and he turns around. “I think you should, you know… ask me out”

He feels the happiness creeping back into his body. “Yeah? I should?” his playful tone back in his voice. “Would you want to go out with a thief and a murderer?”

“If he’s as cute as you are, then I’d think about it” you make him laugh again.

“How about tomorrow night? I’ll pick you up at eight” he proposes.

“I’ll be ready”

“Good”

“Yeah, good” you walk closer to him. “See you tomorrow then” and before leaving, you give him a kiss on his cheek. Hiding your need to kiss him more after seeing his flushed face. You’ll have plenty of time for that tomorrow.

Dustin sees you getting in the car with the biggest smile on your face. “Did you ask him out?”

“Um, yeah… listen-“

“It’s fine, really”

“No, listen. I know that maybe it’s a little uncomfortable to think of one of your best friends going out with me. But I promise I would never do anything to hurt him and make it weird between you two-“

“I know that, and I know he wouldn’t do that either” he interrupts you. “I’m just- I’m worried that I won’t be a priority to you or to him anymore”

“Dustin, are you kidding? You could not be more wrong about that!” you argue. “Imagine this date goes well, we’ll start hanging out at home and watch movies with you, we could go out to eat all together, go to the cinema, anything! You name it!”

And the more he thinks about it that way, the more he loves that idea.

So the next day, he helps you choose your outfit, he tells you which hairstyle will look better and then hurries you up when it’s 7:50 pm and you’re still putting mascara on.

“You look fine already! Amazing even! Grab your jacket cause he’ll be here any minute now!” and as soon as he says that, he recognizes that car outside with the loud metal music, seconds later he hears the door knocking.

“I’ll get it, mom!” he yells so his mother won’t embarrass you.

“No, you won’t. I will” you stop him before he can open the door. “Go back to your comic-book. I’ll be back in a few hours”

And he waits until you get back. 

When you finally do, he’s on the couch watching TV but mutes it as soon as he hears you.

“Hey” he notices the big smile on your face is on again. He also notices your lips are a little puffy and he cringes at that thought.  

“You can go to sleep happily now, the date went amazing” you explain. “God, I think I’m love with him!” you comment as you go up to your room.

“Already?” he judges a little.

But as you promised, the three of you hang out together most of the time. And as long as he looks away when you two kiss or ignores the fact that Eddie’s spending the night in your room after you all catch a movie and order some pizza. He’s really happy that you two found each other.

[shadowwfoxx]

Close Call 18+

(Henderson reader x Steve Harrington)

Sneaking around with Steve was a lot more challenging than the movies make it look. It wasn’t like you and Steve planned to keep your relationship a secret. It was only cause one day someone said you and Steve would look cute together and let’s just say that didn’t sit right with your little brother Dustin.

He absolutely despised the idea of Steve (his best friend) and you (his older sister) being a thing. That’s why what was going on in your room while Dustin and his friends were downstairs was risking it all.

Steve had snuck in through your window long after Dustin’s friends arrived. You gave your little lecture on how you guys would get caught and how he shouldn’t be here right now and blah blah blah. Steve was too busy admiring how your boobs looked in the pink lace bra you were wearing to listen.

“Are you really staring at my boobs right now?” You say while putting your hands on your hips. Steve didn’t respond, now possibly drooling.

“Steven”

“Hm?” He says, taking a long pause before looking at you. You squint your eyes and furrow your eyebrows. He looks back at your boobs and then back at you. “Babe you’re wearing my favorite bra how am I not supposed to look.”

You groan softly, still being mindful of your noise level. You walk towards your door to lock it. “Dustin, Mike, Will, and Lucas are all downstairs right now watching a movie.”

“So that buys us like what an hour? Two hours?” Steve says, totally disregarding what you just said. He starts to walk towards you, cornering you against the door. “I’ve got plenty of time then,” Steve smirks before he leans in to kiss you. You moan against his lips. Steve hands wander down from your waist, to your hips, then to your ass. He squeezes it harshly before pushing you against the growing tent in his jeans, grinding you against it.

That’s how you guys ended up naked on your bed, clothes forgotten all over the floor. Steve is gripping your hips hard as he thrusts into you. You’re gripping his forearms, nail marks appearing on his skin. It was the only way to distract yourself from making any loud noises.

You and Steve have officially been together for almost 4 months. During that time Steve has gotten to know your body and how to please you very well. Which is why he finds it very amusing when you try and stay quiet while he’s hitting all of the right spots. However, it feels like you can’t even control yourself anymore, now moaning a little too loud. Steve lets out a breathy chuckle.

“Thought you wanted to be quiet baby, hm? What happened?” Steve says teasing you even more. Your boobs bounce harshly as Steve continues to pound into you. He immediately leans down to wrap his mouth around your nipple sucking hard as his spit coats your boob. He reaches over and kneads the other, pinching at your nipple. This sends shocks all over your body. You whine softly. Your hands go straight to the back of his head, pulling on his soft locks. He groans against you.

“I ca-can’t you-fuck- feel too good.” You say a little loud but still breathless. Steve kisses up from your boobs until he reaches your lips. The kisses are filthy, tongues fighting for dominance, spit covering your lips, and heavy breathing into each other’s mouths. His pace never lets up, fucking you so hard into the bed.

“Shhh. Be quiet baby we’re gonna get-“ knocks at the door followed by the door knob jiggling interrupted Steve. He immediately stops his thrusts. You both go wide-eyed, staring at each other.

“Hey, why is your door locked let me in,” Dustin says as the jiggling becomes more intense. There was a long pause, you thinking of some excuse to say.

“I’m not-fuck,” Steve starts thrusting slow but deep into you, “feeling well right now.” You clench around his cock as you shoot him a glare. That asshole just looks down and smirks at you.

“What’s wrong?” Dustin asks, the jiggling of the door knob stops. Just as you were gonna answer, Steve hits that spot inside of you that makes you go crazy. Your hand immediately goes over your mouth, muffling your moan.

“C’mon answer him.” Steve whispers to you. His breath is hot in your ear, sending shivers throughout your body. His slow thrusts allow you to feel every vein and detail of his cock, making your head spin.

“I’m-shit-I’m having some woman issues right now can you please just go away.” Your voice had an annoyed tone. You squeezed your eyes shut as you throw your head against the pillows trying so hard to not make a sound. Steve can’t get enough of it.

“Ok fine…gross.” You hear him mutter before he turns away down the hall. You wait to hear his footsteps pad down the stairs before you let out a sigh of relief.

“Woman issues huh?” Steve says grinning as he lightly pinches your outer thigh.

“Just shut up and fuck me Harrington.” As If the smile on his face wasn’t any bigger. He wastes no time and picks up his pace again.

“Look who’s so desperate now.”

[corroded-hellfire]

Hii!! I love your As You Wish series sm, and I was wondering if you could write about Eddie and reader's wedding because I feel like that would be so insanely cute (not that everything you write isn't insanely cute). Anyways, that's all I have to ask, have a great day!

omg hey!! I love your AYW series SO MUCH and all my friends and family can vouch for the fact that I am sat and ready every AYW Wednesday because I love your writing so much! Anyways, I was wondering if you could write about eddie and reader's wedding? we have the bachelor party and the honeymoon but i'm so curious about how you imagine the actual wedding would be? That’s all I have to say here, byeee<3

+

What about a sweet little callback to reader watching The Princess Bride and Eddie saying as you wish? Like in wedding vows or something 👀

+

thinking about AYW!Older!Eddie and reader’s first dance at their wedding being to Uptown Girl but it’s a slow dance version that Eddie sang and recorded just for the wedding 😿

I have been thinking about this story for so long! Thank you to everyone who requested and wanted to see this day too. I apologize if there are any errors in this because I I basically purged this onto paper lol. I hope you all enjoy ❤️

There are two covers of songs mentioned in this and here are links to hear how they sound! I’ve actually started making an AYW playlist! We’ll see how that goes lol

Nothing Else Matters / Uptown Girl

Words: 15.7k

[As You Wish masterlist]

“Dude, your face is going to start hurting.”

Dustin watches Eddie from where he’s leaning next to the cracked window. The five men are in the small room that’s reserved for the groom and his groomsmen. The February breeze cools down the otherwise warm and small area. There’s one chair in the corner and Steve is currently perched on it, leaving the others to become wallflowers against the periwinkle paint. Lucas stands near the door, head cocked to the side as she watches Eddie excitedly pace on the opposite end of the space. Gareth is crouching near the mirror that the groom keeps checking his hair in from time to time. 

“I’ve never seen him smile so much,” the former Corroded Coffin drummer says.

Eddie ignores his friends, even as all four pairs of eyes burn through his tux; their words mean nothing to him. All he can think about is you. How you’re somewhere in the same building as him, in your wedding dress, just minutes away from marrying him. He wonders if you’re as excited as he is–though he doesn’t think that’s physically possible. What kind of dress did you pick? It doesn’t matter, he knows you look perfect. He keeps picturing you walking down the aisle toward him and it’s impossible to keep the goofy smile off his face. At least there aren’t any cameras trained on him to capture this particular look. 

“You two aren’t married, you don’t get it,” Steve says.

“Um.” Gareth looks at Steve and narrows his eyes. “I’ve been married for years.”

Both Lucas and Dustin snicker.

“Oh,” Steve says. “Well, I wasn’t at your wedding.”

The doorknob turns and Ryan and Luke stroll in. Ryan’s eyes are a little red, but his little brother has full-on tear tracks running down his cheeks.

“Hey.” Eddie’s at their sides in a heartbeat. “What is it?”

Luke shakes his head, a smile almost as big as his father’s on his face. Ryan also looks happy despite the evidence of past crying.

“She looks so pretty,” Luke says.

Eddie’s shoulders sag in relief and his heart thuds against his ribcage. 

“So pretty that you cried?” Eddie asks, using his thumb to wipe off the nine-year-old’s cheek.

“Oh yeah,” Luke answers. “You’re going to cry, too.”

“We all knew that,” Dustin says, making the rest of the guys chuckle.

“Okay, you’re definitely not married,” Steve says, raising his eyebrows at his younger friend. 

Ryan tilts his head as he inspects his father, and Eddie catches the look out of the corner of his eye.

“What?” he asks his oldest.

“You’re like…lighter.” Ryan shakes his head, not happy with the words he’s chosen. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

“He’s so happy!” Luke provides. 

“Yeah.” Ryan nods his head. “So happy you look different. But in a good way.”

“I look okay?” Eddie asks, reaching up to smooth out his hair for the hundredth time in the last hour. 

“You look really good,” Luke says. Though no new tears form in his eyes, the little boy’s voice is thick with emotion. He had no idea this day would be so much–he was just expecting the fun from the party later. 

Ryan tugs on the lapels of his dad’s coat before giving the man a thumbs up. Instinctively, Eddie goes to ruffle the eleven-year-old’s hair but at the last moment remembers it’s gelled down nicely already. 

“You guys all ready to go?” Eddie asks.

“Just need our stuff,” Luke says, gesturing to the cardboard box in the corner. 

Gareth is the closest one, so he slides it towards the boys. Luke opens it and pulls out Ryan’s prop first. It’s a small wooden box, hand-painted by both boys, you, and Eddie. You’d had a family craft night about a week ago where each of you got to paint one side of the box any way that you’d like. Luke painted a big sun and a blue sky on his side, and Ryan had painted stick figures of the four of you, each slightly altered to look more like yourselves. You had painted two large red hearts with one singular black arrow going through both of them, and Eddie painted two large golden rings intertwined with both of your initials in them. 

Ryan takes the box from his brother and opens it. Two silver rings gleam up at him from the inside, as well as two pink carnations. Next, Luke pulls out a large Ziploc bag and shakes it enthusiastically. 

“I’m ready to load up!” he says.

Eddie chuckles and kisses Luke’s head before there’s a knock on the door. The venue coordinator pops her head in and gives all the men a smile. She’s a small elderly lady that reminds Eddie of Queen Elizabeth for some reason. He has to keep reminding himself that her name is Janet and not to accidentally refer to her with the monarch’s name instead. 

“Are we ready?” she asks.

“Very,” Eddie answers. 

“Alright.” She smiles at the boys and smooths down the rosy skirt she’s wearing. “Time to come with me, boys.”

Luke throws his arms around his dad, which is almost enough to get Eddie choked up. 

“See you in a few minutes!” Luke says, giving his father an extra tight squeeze.

“I can’t wait to see your little performance, pal.” Eddie grins and presses a kiss to the side of the nine-year-old’s head. 

“Eh, I know I’m just the warmup act.” Luke steps back from Eddie and sketches an overdramatic bow. “I cannot compare to the beautiful princess!”

“Nah, you’re the troll under the bridge,” Ryan teases good-naturedly as he tugs his brother towards the door. “Bye, Dad.”

“I love you guys,” Eddie calls after them.

“Love you too!” Come twin replies as the door closes behind them. 

The moment the boys left your dressing area to go find their dad, honest to goodness butterflies started spiraling around in your stomach. It’s impossible not to smile to yourself in the full-length mirror. The A-line gown conforms to your body perfectly; accentuating every curve and stretch of your body. The sweetheart neckline and short lace sleeves show off just enough decolletage for the silver necklace hanging around your neck to shine. The two intwined hearts with an emerald in the middle that Eddie had given you seemed the obvious choice to wear today. As a surprise, Nancy bought you emerald stud earrings to match it. They gleam in the light when you inspect them in the mirror. 

“Max, can you hand me the veil?” Gin asks.

“Yeah, here you go. Alright, I’m going to head out to the holding space to meet the boys when they’re done with Eddie. Not that I don’t trust them not to get into mischief back there on their own, but…well, I don’t.”

You giggle and nod to Max as she opens the dressing room door and slips out. She crosses paths with your mom as she steps into the room. In the mirror you can see tears flooding her eyes as Gin situates your veil just right in your pristine hair. 

“Aw, Mom,” you say with a chuckle.

“Are we surprised she’s crying?” Gin asks you with a snort. 

“Not at all,” you reply.

“You look so beautiful, sweetheart,” your mom says.

“Thanks,” Gin replies before you can open your mouth. 

Your mother tuts and you playfully swat at your older sister.

“Thank you, Mom.”

“Are we just about ready?” your mom asks. “I’m not trying to rush you, I promise, it’s just that I saw the two most adorable little boys out there and I’m ready to have them officially be my grandsons.”

Hearing those words from your mother adds another layer of emotion to your already giddy state. Your family is joining Eddie’s family. You and Eddie are joining. You are going to be a Munson now and for the rest of your life. 

Giving yourself one more look over in the mirror, you nod to yourself, then turn to look at your bridesmaids. The deep purple gowns look stunning on them, despite the across the board differences in coloring and body shape. They flatter your friends and sister so well that it starts another round of tears pressing behind your eyes. Determined to push these ones away, you shake your head and take a step towards your mom.

“I think we’re ready.”

Your mother nods and reaches for the doorknob. As she pulls it open, it reveals you in all your bridal glory to your dad, who is standing on the other side. A softness grows on his face that you’ve never seen before. 

“My baby girl,” he says, his right hand coming to smack down over his heart. “All grown up.”

“Daaad,” you whine, but beam at the praise, nonetheless.

“You look perfect, honey.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

You loop your arm through his and your mom walks on your other side. The three bridesmaids trail along behind you, the sound of several pairs of heels clicking along the hardwood floors with the absence of a rhythm. 

“She’s here!”

Luke’s voice carries across the sparsely furnished holding space. You grin and wave at the boys once they’re in your line of sight. 

“Ready to rock and roll, little Munsons?” you ask.

Ryan gestures to the box in his hand and nods, while Luke pats his bulging pants pockets with an almost maniacal smile on his face. 

“Everything is all set in there.” Janet slips in from the main room and gently closes the large double doors behind her. “We’re ready to go whenever you are.”

Max scoops up the large brown wicker basket that is carrying the bouquets for you and each bridesmaid. She hands Nancy, Jess, and Gin their bouquets of white roses and violets. When she gets to you, Max hands you the red roses and baby’s breath, her face full of pure joy and pride. 

“Ryan?” Janet smiles kindly at the older boy. “Are you ready to escort the mother of the bride to her seat?”

Your soon-to-be-son nods and adjusts his posture so he’s standing up taller. He hands the wooden box to Luke for the moment and walks over to your mother. Though he is much shorter than the older woman, he offers him her arm all the same.

Before she loops her arm through his, your mom pulls you in for a hug.

“Congratulations, my beautiful daughter. I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” These goddamn emotions are driving you wild and you haven’t even laid eyes on Eddie yet. You know you’re screwed and it’s inevitable that you will cry—it’d just be nice to push it off for as long as possible because there’s a good chance it won’t stop once it starts. 

Janet holds the door open, and you watch Ryan and your mom walk through. That’s my mom with my son. It’s not the first time the boys have seen your parents, but watching Ryan and your mom walk towards the aisle, arm in arm with one another? It’s an utterly serene feeling, all the puzzle pieces in your life slotting together perfectly. And so far, they’re creating a beautiful picture. 

“Alright,” Janet says, coming back over towards you. “I believe that Max will be the first bridesmaid out, yes?”

“Yes,” you affirm just as the aforementioned woman steps up to take her spot at the front of the line. “Then Nancy.” 

Nancy gives your shoulder a playful nudge as she passes by you to take her place behind Max. You smile and fight the urge to tug on one of her immaculately styled curls. 

Next up is Gin, then Jess, the maid of honor, capping off the bridesmaids. Ryan pops through the door just in time to join his brother at the end of the line. Ryan will go first, then Luke. And after that? Every eye will be on you as your father walks you down the aisle. The thought is nerve wracking honestly, but you’ve been assured by many people that once you see Eddie, it’ll be like no one else is in the room. It’s not hard for you to believe either since that is something that happens on a daily basis when you see him anyway. 

As you and your father move into position, you notice both Luke and Ryan watching you. 

“What’s up, bubs?” you ask, looking up to meet their eyes as you settle into your place. 

“Nothing,” Luke says with a smile and a shake of his head. “Just excited.”

“Me too.” You lower your bouquet and gently boop it against the tip of Luke’s nose. 

Ryan doesn’t speak, but the look on his face says it all. He’s happy. He’s not afraid to be happy, either. Joy can run rampant now that this little family is becoming official. 

Music begins playing, and though it’s soft through the solid oak double doors, you can still make out the instrumental cover of Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters that you and Eddie chose to begin the ceremony with. Eddie is very lucky he was able to find this particular rendition of the song because when he first mentioned having Nothing Else Matters played before the ceremony, you were ready to shove the spoon cradling milk and Cheerios in your hand down his throat. But this version is beautiful and now, hearing it play out there, you know it was absolutely the right call. It just adds another personal touch to your wedding. Neither you nor Eddie wanted some stiff, formal affair. This wedding is meant to reflect the two of you; both as individuals and as a couple. A simple, sweet, loving ceremony with friends and family. 

“Ready, ladies?” Janet asks, not waiting for a response. “Max, you’re up.”

This is it. The wedding is officially starting. The groaning of the large double doors opening makes your stomach feel as if it’s about to make an escape from your body. Max steps forward and the sound of her heels as she walks down the aisle sets your body on fire. This is happening. It’s finally here. 

“All good, pumpkin?” your dad asks softly.

“Yeah,” you breathe out with a rush of air. “I’m so excited.”

Luke turns around and gives you a mischievous smile.

“Don’t worry,” he says quietly, “if you get nervous just imagine everyone in their underwear!”

You giggle and gently bop the top of his head with your bouquet. 

Next, you see Nancy disappear as she takes her turn down the aisle. Did she really wait the twenty seconds Janet instructed for between bridesmaids? Of course she did, you tell yourself. It just seems like time is trying to skip ahead, wanting to jump to the part where it’s your turn to walk down the aisle, your elegant shoes walking over the white runner. At the same time though, it feels like it will be an eternity until your turn finally arrives. How is time contradicting itself right before your very eyes?

It’s Gin’s turn now. Hold twenty seconds, now Jess. But the doors close before the boys can make their grand entrance. In true Munson fashion, they have to wait for the right musical cue. 

Nothing Really Matters fades out, leaving silence for a few beats before Slash’s iconic opening guitar riff of Sweet Child O’ Mine plays overhead. 

Your eyes fall on the boys and their excitement and eagerness to get going warms your heart. There is no way anyone could possibly ever have the coolest, funniest, most loving stepsons like you do. 

“Ready?” you ask them.

“Yeah!” Luke cheers.

“Go ahead, my little Lord of the Rings.” You blow a kiss to the first boy up.

Ryan nods before giving a smile to Janet to let her know it’s okay to open the doors again. 

A different vibe permeates the air now that the music has switched from instrumental to pure rock. It’s lighter, calmer, and more relaxed. All the things that those three Munson men make you feel on a daily basis. 

Ryan takes a deep breath and takes his first step forward right as Axl Rose comes in with the lyrics. But to you, everything fades into the background except your boys. The back of Ryan’s head bobs down the aisle and you’re already looking forward to watching the video recording of the wedding so you can see how this looks from the front. Your oldest smiles at some people seated on either side of the aisle but mostly keeps a steady pace as he makes his way towards the altar. The eleven-year-old has never been much for the spotlight, so he’s probably relieved when he and the wooden box make it to the front of the room.

Now, on the flip side of that coin, Luke thrives as the center of attention. 

“Have fun, Lord of the Petals!” You give him a wink.

He looks over his shoulder and throws a wink at you in return before he starts to walk—no, strut—down the aisle. Luke makes it about a quarter down the aisle before he stops and jumps up and down in time with the drum, his hands making little rock and roll signs as he does. When he lands, his legs are spread shoulder length apart. He whips his head to the right—where the groom’s side is seated—and his eyes find Mia Harrington in the crowd. Since both of her parents are part of the wedding party, Mia is seated with her siblings and her Aunt Holly and Uncle Mike. When the almost five-year-old sees that Luke’s attention is on her, her cheeks turn as pink as the tulle dress she’s wearing. 

Luke smiles and points to her and juts his hip out in the same direction his arm is raised. The heel of his black Oxford taps along with the beat of the song as he slowly lets his arm fall back down to his side. A few people in the audience chuckle at Luke’s adorable performance. But you know they haven’t seen anything yet. 

As the song winds up towards his cue, Luke slips his hands inside his pockets and takes one small step forward. 

Sweet love of mine

Luke’s hands come flying out of his pockets, red rose petals flying into the air just as the guitar solo fills the room. They rain down like confetti on those guests closest to the aisle, the white runner beneath his feet, and on Luke himself. 

The laughter grows as Luke steps forward, making his way up the aisle as he gathers more supplies from his pockets, and spins around on one foot, letting more petals ricochet into the air in a spiral. Luke looks up at Eddie standing at the altar and gives him a big grin. The grin grows even larger when he sees the happiness and laughter on his father’s face as well. 

Where do we go?

Where do we go now?

Where do we go?

As the outro of the song rolls in, Luke fills up on petals once more and tosses them in indiscriminate directions at every “where do we go?” that Guns N’ Roses sing. 

It turns out he proportioned the petals well, because when he comes to the end of the aisle, Luke has just enough left to sprinkle them up to the altar. 

Before the song ends, Ryan opens the lid of the wooden box in his hands and Luke plucks out two whole pink carnations. With a smile, he smells each of them. Then, he proceeds a few steps back to the aisle to present one of the flowers to your mother. She kisses his cheek in thanks, then Luke skips across the aisle and hands the other flower to Wayne. His grandpa chuckles and happily accepts it from Luke before tucking it into the front pocket of his suit jacket. It gives the black material a pop of color. 

As the final notes of the song play, Ryan and Luke stand together just in front of the altar and bow. The crowd gives them an enthusiastic round of applause, and there are even a few whistles and cheers. The two share a laugh before heading over to stand in their designated spots next to Lucas. 

The doors at the back remain open this time but there is another music change. The opening notes of Here Comes the Bride begin to play and suddenly your skin feels like it’s vibrating. The time has come to play your part in this show. But what better of an opening act could you have asked for with those adorable boys? 

“Ready?” your dad asks softly.

It’s one of the easiest questions you’ve ever answered.

“Yes.”

Together, you walk towards the main room and pause in the open doorway. Both sides of the guests rise from their seats and it’s surreal to think they’re all standing because you walked into the room. Every eye is on you as you begin walking again, and you take a quick chance to look around at the family and friends gathered here, because you know they’ll all become invisible to you the moment you see Eddie waiting up there for you. 

You take a deep breath before you allow yourself to look up at the altar. And there he stands. Beautiful as ever but seeing him in a tux really takes your breath away. Thank God you took that deep one just a moment ago or you fear you’d be flat out on the runner. His hair is tucked into a bun at the base of his neck and shorter pieces frame his face in the way that you simply adore. And there are tears in his eyes.

Until you saw the water welling up in those dark brown eyes, you were overstimulated enough by the excitement of the moment to not think about crying yourself. But now the two of you match, tears building as you watch one another, then both chuckling softly as you realize you’re both crying. 

As you and your father approach the altar, Eddie steps forward to receive you from him. Your dad kisses your cheek, then transfers your hand from his own into Eddie’s. 

The moment your skin touches his everything feels right. The madness, the excitement, the hubbub of the whole day has led to this serene moment. Your hand is where it belongs forevermore: in Eddie’s. 

“You look beautiful,” Eddie whispers loud enough for only you to hear as you take your spots at the altar, in front of the officiate. Jess takes your bouquet from you so you can properly hold your betrothed’s hands. 

“Thank you.” You feel your face heat up regardless of how many times Eddie has told you that over the years. It’s different now that you’re in your wedding gown. Every item you put together for this look, every moment of time spent on it, was in the hopes that Eddie would think it looks good on you. Of course, deep down you know that you could have worn a garbage bag, and he would’ve thought you looked nice, but you happen to agree with him when it comes to your wedding look. You do look beautiful. 

The officiant steps towards the two of you, and you mostly look at him and offer a smile out of politeness. All of your attention yearns to be on Eddie. How heart-stoppingly handsome he looks in his tuxedo. The bow tie around his collar somehow looks both out of place on your metalhead fiancé, and also utterly swoon worthy. Your already rapid heart rate speeds up when you take in the details of his hair up close. It’s tied back at the nape of his neck, not in a ponytail, but in a bun, the way he knows drives you crazy. It must be written plain as day on your face that you’re checking him out because Eddie gives you a wink and tries to keep his smile from contorting into a satisfied smirk. Who can blame you though? You know you’re the luckiest woman in the world to be standing up here with him.

“Welcome,” the officiant begins, “and welcome to the family, friends, and loved ones of our beautiful couple. We are here to witness and celebrate this joyous union. Marriage is a bond built on love, trust, and mutual respect, and today, these two stand before us to declare their commitment to one another. As they exchange their vows, they invite us to share in their joy and to support them in the journey ahead.”

You hear what the man is saying, but your brain is doing its damndest to train your focus on Eddie. He holds your hands in his and lets his thumbs gently brush over your knuckles. When his right thumb passes over where your engagement ring usually sits, both of you notice the lack thereof. It feels wrong not to be wearing it, but you know it’s only until Eddie slips another ring on your finger. Then the two will live together on your hand for the rest of time.

“If anyone here has just cause why these two should not be joined in marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

Silence follows the officiant’s words. You knew it would, but something about watching any wedding movie ever has planted the dreaded “what if” in the back of your mind. But there’s no one in attendance who thinks you and Eddie are less than perfect for each other. 

Just as he opens his mouth to continue, a small but audible whisper is heard from one small voice behind Eddie.

“Wow, they really do say that.”

A handful of adults close enough to hear Luke’s words—including both you and Eddie—chuckle softly. From what you can see past Eddie, it looks like Ryan tugs his little brother backwards a step or two to be closer to him. Big brother has no trouble keeping Luke in line right now. 

“Let’s move on to the vows,” the officiant continues. “I believe these two have written their own that they’d like to share. Ladies first?”

You nod and glance over at the officiant who nods encouragingly at you. Talking in front of a lot of people who are all focused on you is a bit overwhelming if you’re not used to it. But Eddie gently squeezes your hands and when you look back at him, his eyes say everything. These vows aren’t for the people watching. They’re not for anyone else but each other. 

A large inhale fills your lungs, and you let it out slowly. You give Eddie a nod in thanks. All that matters in this moment is Eddie and the words you promise to uphold in your marriage. 

“Eddie, the first time I ever saw you is still so clear in my mind. You opened the front door, and I quite literally forgot how to breathe for a moment. I’ve never been someone who has believed in love at first sight. But when I saw you, I knew you held the future of my heart in your hands; you could break it or fill it with more joy than it’s ever known. And as time went on, there were ups and downs, bumps, and hurdles, but there was never a second when you didn’t still hold my heart. Every milestone, big or small, is etched not only in my brain, but in my soul. Little things that you may not have even noticed at the time, like the first time I made you laugh? I remember it so vividly because I felt euphoric. Our moments and memories together are part of who I am. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner to spend the rest of my life with. And I will spend every single day of that life being there for you in whatever way you need me. For you and the boys. My family—my whole world. My heart is still in your hands. You’ve filled it with so much love and happiness that I don’t know how any more is going to fit inside. I know it will, though. Because we still have a lifetime ahead of us to add to it.”

Eddie’s chocolate eyes are swimming in unshed tears. A watery smile plays on his lips, and he swallows thickly. His hands squeeze yours just as a tear spills from his right eye. You have to sniffle yourself just to keep your tears at bay. 

The warmth and love that Eddie gazes at you with on any given day will never cease to amaze you. But the absolute adoration in his eyes right now makes you feel more cherished than you thought possible.

“That was beautiful.” The officiant commends you. “Edward? Your vows?”

Your fiancé nods and clears his throat. So much emotion has washed over him in just the past few minutes that he feels the need to shake it off or there’s no way in hell he’ll be able to get through his own vows. 

“My princess,” Eddie starts, the nickname causing you to beam, “you are very literally a dream come true. I could live to be older than all the elves in Middle-Earth and still not be able to figure out what I’ve done to deserve you. You’ve seen me at my worst, but you never balked or made me feel less than. If anything, you held my hand tighter in those moments. I promise to never let go of your hand either. I promise to spend every day trying to make you feel as loved and safe as you make me feel. Do you remember the first day we met? Well, you mentioned it in your vows, but I already had that line written in so we’re just gonna go with it.” You giggle as a few laughs ring out from the seats as well. “You played the board game Trouble with me and the boys. Luke started to get upset because he couldn’t move, and you calmed him down with a natural ease I’ve never seen in anyone else. And Ryan talked about school, and you hung on his every word, truly enthralled in what he had to say. Ryan won the game that day. He got all four of his little pieces into the home spots. Today, I won, because you are the fourth piece officially taking your spot in our home. You make all of us better. You make it your mission to show me and the boys how much you love us each and every day.” Eddie pauses, collecting himself for a moment before continuing. “There were so many things I lost hope for in my life. But you have proved me wrong at every turn. You are my proof that there is hope because you are my hope. Getting to call you my wife is the greatest honor. You deserve the world, and I promise to spend the rest of my life loving you exactly as you wish.”

When he finishes speaking, you go to remove your left hand from his to wipe away a tear falling down your cheek, but Eddie beats you to it. Gently, he brushes the tear away with his thumb and retakes your hand in his own. 

“It’s time for the rings,” the officiant says. He looks down towards the boys and smiles. “I believe we have a ring bearer—oh no, excuse me, we have a Lord of the Rings.”

A small murmur of laughter comes from the crowd.

Ryan walks around Lucas to stand before you and Eddie. He lifts the lid of the wooden box and gently lifts the rings from their small cushion inside. He first hands you Eddie’s wedding ring, then hands his father yours. You blow the eleven-year-old a kiss and Eddie throws him a wink before he goes back to take his spot next to his little brother. 

“The wedding ring is a symbol of love, unity, and the promises you make today. As you place these rings on each other’s hands, may they remind you always of the commitment you share. Edward, let’s start with you. Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love, honor, and stand beside her for all your days?”

“I do.” 

Eddie’s enthusiasm with the two words was the opposite of hesitation. He was chomping at the bit for the officiant to finish so he could proclaim his declaration of love. 

“Now repeat after me,” the officiant says. “With this ring, I thee wed. I give you my love and my promise, now and forever.”

“With this ring,” Eddie repeats, slipping the white gold band past the manicured nail on your ring finger, “I thee wed. I give you my love and my promise, now and forever.” He settles the ring securely at the base of your finger.

Tears trickle from your eyes as you watch him slip the ring onto your hand. You’re so mesmerized by the tiny diamonds that litter the band and how they catch the light that you almost don’t realize it’s your turn to present Eddie with his own ring.

The officiant gives you a kind, understanding smile before continuing.

“Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love, honor, and stand beside him for all your days?”

“I do.” 

Right next to saying “yes” to Eddie’s proposal, this was the easiest question you’ve ever answered. 

“Repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed. I give you my love and my promise, now and forever.”

Your hand gently tremors with excitement as you lift Eddie’s matching band to his left ring finger. 

“With this ring, I thee wed.” You look up at Eddie’s face and find him watching you with the most lovestruck expression on his face. It makes your pulse flutter. “I give you my love and my promise, now and forever.”

“By the power vested in me by the state of Indiana, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!”

The words have barely finished coming out of the officiant’s mouth when Eddie gently cups the sides of your face and presses his lips against yours. Your hands go forward and land on Eddie’s waist as you kiss him back with fervor. In your periphery you’re aware of the giddy applause surrounding you, but nothing is as important as your husband’s mouth on yours right now. Your husband’s. It has such a lovely ring to it.

It seems like seconds or hours later that the two of you finally pull apart. Time has stopped and you are the only two who exist. The bubble only pops when the officiant speaks again.

“It is my honor to present Mr. and Mrs. Edward Munson.”

“Mrs. Munson,” Eddie repeats, low enough for only you to hear. 

“My husband,” you reply in kind. 

The cheering around you only grows in ferocity and volume. Eddie laces the fingers of his left hand with the fingers of your right and together you turn to face the crowd. The first thing you notice as your eyes scan the people is that Wayne is crying. Thick tears roll down his cheeks, but he looks the happiest you have ever seen him. Your mother is also crying, though you expected that one. Little Tiffany Sinclair sits next to the four Harrington children, and they all clap their small hands together, Mia bouncing up and down in excitement. Friends, family, co-workers, all gathered here to share in this momentous occasion. It’s a bit overwhelming to look out and see all this support. All this love. 

The Wedding March begins to play and that’s your and Eddie’s cue to head back down the aisle. Your feet feel like they’re gliding through clouds as you take your first steps off the altar. Eddie’s hand is snugly in yours and Jess hands you back your bouquet before you get too far down the aisle without it. You shoot her a grateful glance, then turn back to the filled seats, grinning at people as you pass them. 

You don’t look behind you, but you remember from the rehearsal yesterday how the rest of the bridal party will exit behind you. First, Steve and Jess will walk out together, as the best man and maid of honor. Then, Ryan and Luke will make their way back up the aisle. After them, Gin and Dustin. Nancy and Gareth will follow them, and then Max and Lucas will bring up the rear. 

Once you and Eddie reach the atrium and have a moment to yourselves, you turn to face each other and find you have matching expressions of giddiness and excitement radiating from you in waves. 

“Oh my God,” you say.

“We’re married,” Eddie says.

The two of you share a euphoric laugh as you lean in to kiss each other again.

Steve and Jess walk in as your lips are still attached, but that doesn’t stop the respective best friends from whooping and hollering their congratulations at you. The moment your lips are no longer touching Eddie’s, you’re being pulled in for hugs by both of them.

“You did it!” Jess cheers.

“It was beautiful, guys,” Steve adds.

“Incoming, incoming!”

You’d know that little voice anywhere. As soon as they’re past the threshold into the atrium, both boys come running at you at full speed. Their dress shoes squeak against the floor as they hurry towards you with faces full of glee. 

Luke makes it to you first and practically leaps into Eddie’s arms. Ryan’s there a heartbeat later, immediately throwing his arms around your middle and squeezing you tighter than any corset ever could. 

“You’re married!” Ryan cheers. 

“We’re married!” Eddie echoes.

Luke wriggles out of his father’s grip and jumps up and down in front of both of you, excitement more intense than any amount of sugar could cause. Ryan goes to hug his dad next, who gently cups the back of the boy’s head and leans down to press a few kisses against his gelled hair.

“You’re our stepmom!” Luke pumps his fists into the air as he starts to jump around in a circle. 

“You’re my sons!” Saying those words aloud brings a fresh wave of tears. Unable to express your love and happiness any other way, you bend down and gather both boys into your arms. They cling to you as you wrap them up in the warmest of embraces.  

“I love you,” Ryan says softly.

“Me too,” Luke adds. “I love you too.”

“I love you both so unbelievably much,” you tell them. “I promise I’m going to be the best stepmom I can.”

“You already have been,” Ryan says. 

The rest of the bridal party crowds into the atrium and you and Eddie are pulled into countless more hugs. It’s a flash of violet dresses and black tuxes as everyone mingles to embrace one another. 

Gin pulls you into a hug so tight that it makes you ponder if she’s ever hugged you like this before.

“I am so proud of you,” your sister says. “And so, so happy for you.”

“Thank you.” You pull back and look at one another. Laughter bubbles up in the space between you and she pulls you in for another hug. Gin’s wedding to her husband Owen was much more low-key, only at a local courthouse. So, this is the first time you two sisters get to have this experience with each other. 

Wayne bustles into the atrium, a grin splitting his face in half like you’ve never seen before. The older man goes to give you a hug first, which Eddie acts like is a capital offense. 

“I’m so happy for you, kiddo,” Wayne says, gently resting his hands on your shoulder. “Both of you.”

Eddie steps in to hug his uncle and it’s enough to spill any remaining tears down your face. 

“I’m so proud of you, boy,” Wayne says, smacking Eddie on the shoulder with one hand and wiping his face with the other. “You got yourself a good one. Ed. More than a good one. A great one.”

Heat rises to your cheeks. Eddie’s only response Is a smile that says he already knows that. 

“Grandpa!” The two boys get their hands on Wayne, and he is brought into the fray of people, leaving you and your sister with one another.

“My baby!”

You turn to see your parents coming towards you and your mom immediately envelops both you and Gin into a hug. It’s almost impossible to breathe with the way your mom practically pressed your face against her shoulder. 

“Darling, don’t kill the girls on such a special day,” your father says, coming up behind your mother. 

“I think she’s trying to put us back in the womb,” Gin mumbles from wherever face is squished against the side of your mom’s neck. 

“Are we ready for pictures?” The photographer slowly approaches the group, not wanting to interrupt or intrude. 

“Yes,” you say, taking the excuse to pull out of your mother’s arms. “We were thinking of taking some back inside.”

It takes a little over an hour to get all the desired pictures taken. Some up by the altar, some in the middle of the aisle, and even some down by the pond tucked into the back corner of the property. There are so many combinations of friends and family members that it feels like you had a smile plastered on your face for ages. Luke decided he was a little model and kept coming up with poses for everyone to do. The most heartwarming, though, is that each boy wants a picture with you individually. Yeah, one with Ryan and you and Eddie, and then the same for Luke. But they both want a one-on-one photo with you. It’s almost enough to make you cry, but then Luke stubs his toe and says, “dang flabbit,” causing you to laugh instead. You’re also pretty sure the photographer got a shot of him just as he squeezed his eyes shut in pain. It’s going to be an interesting wedding album, that’s for sure.

Your favorite pictures to take are the ones of just you and Eddie, though. Pictures where you’re gazing into one another’s eyes, while holding hands, while you’re wrapped up in Eddie’s arms, while he kisses you so deeply that the world spins around you. A particular shot of his hands on your hips from behind and you turning your head to look at him, booming smiles on both your faces is one you already know you want blown up to hang in the living room. 

Once all the photos are finished and most of the guests have cleared out to head to the reception, it’s time for you, your families, and wedding party to follow in kind. 

Two long black stretch limos wait at the curb, a uniformed driver standing ready to open the back door for its passengers. Both your parents and Wayne insisted on driving over to the reception themselves, so these limos are just for you and the wedding party. 

“Come on, you two.” You hold your bouquet in one hand and reach for Luke’s with the other. Eddie rests his hands on Ryan’s shoulders and gently ushers him along to the first limo.

“We’re riding with you guys?” Ryan asks.

“Of course,” Eddie says. 

“We’re one big happy family now,” you add. 

The driver opens the back door as your bridal party is ushered into the limo behind yours. Luke pops his head inside first and looks back at the rest of you with a slack jaw.

“There are lights on the ceiling in here!”

“What?” Ryan shoos his brother fully inside so he can take a look for himself. “Whoa!”

After the boys are exploring the interior, Eddie offers you his hand so he can assist you into the limo. Truth be told, it would probably have been easier to do it on your own but you’re not about to turn down your husband’s lovely gesture. Eddie makes sure that all of your dress comes in behind you before he slides in as well. The driver closes the door behind him, and you watch the boys look around in awe. 

Luke reaches up and runs his fingers along the lights bordering the interior ceiling. Ryan looks over at the bar that Eddie is sitting across from. Small hands run down the bar as Ryan’s eyes take in every glass that sits in wait. When it gets to the end of the bar, he sees two bottles.

“What’s this?” he asks.

“Ah,” Eddie hums as he leans forward to pick up both bottles. “These are for our celebration.”

Ryan sits down next to his father as the limo begins to drive down the street. He carefully takes one of the bottles and inspects its label.

“Sparkling grape juice?”

“For you and your brother,” you say.

“And champagne for us adults,” Eddie adds. 

“C’mere, Luke.” You pat the seat next to you and Luke crawls along the floor until he comes to the back bench that’s facing forward. He pulls himself up into the seat and Ryan takes the seat catty cornered from him on the bench that’s facing the bar. 

Eddie grabs four glasses from the bar and hands them out to everyone. He then takes a seat next to Ryan and pops open the bottle of sparkling grape juice.

“Now don’t drink it until we have a toast,” Eddie tells the boys as he fills their glasses. He grabs the champagne bottle next and unwraps the foil around the top. “Alright, let’s see if I can get this cork out.”

The three of you watch Eddie as he takes the cage off of the cork and angles the bottle away from everyone. He gives the cork a little twist and it jumps out with a satisfying pop. 

“Yay!” you cheer as you and the boys applaud. 

Eddie grins as he pours the first glass and hands it to you. He pours his own before setting the champagne bottle down in an ice bucket on the bar across from him. He lifts his glass in the air and the rest of you follow.

“To the newly official Munson family!” Eddie toasts. “I love the three of you more than anything in the entire world. I can’t wait to see what kind of adventures and trouble we all get into together.”

“Hear, hear!” You echo as everyone clinks their glasses together. 

The bubbles tickle Luke’s nose as he takes a sip, and he laughs into the glass. 

“This is good,” Ryan says before taking a second sip. 

“So is this.” Eddie raises his eyebrows in pleasant surprise as he looks down into his glass. 

“Only the best for us Munsons, right?” you ask.

“Yeah!” Luke cheers.

He holds his glass up again and everyone clinks together for a second time.

The limo approaches the reception hall and both boys flock to the window, hands leaving behind smudged fingerprints as the two stare in awe at the large building. Your reception is being held at an old barn that’s been renovated into a banquet hall on the far edge of Hawkins. It’s a tall, sturdy building, the outside painted white with beautiful strings of light hung up all around the perimeter. The parking lot is decently full, with familiar cars like the Wheeler’s already there. 

“Whoa,” Luke says, eyes taking in every inch of the rustic location.

“It’s huge,” Ryan says.

“Wait until you see the chandelier inside,” Eddie tells them. “It’s gigantic because it has to light up such a big space.”

Instead of pulling up to the front of the building, the limo goes around to the side, the second one following behind, to allow you all to walk into a side entrance.

The boys hop out and Eddie helps you out of the limo, helping to straighten the skirts of your dress out. You can’t help but press a quick kiss to his lips before you head inside.

There’s a spacious room set into the side of the building that you four and the whole bridal party fall into. Your parents and Wayne join you there. Though you had your own champagne (and grape juice) toast in the limo, the staff at the banquet hall has provided another bottle of champagne for you to have a toast with the whole wedding party.

“To the Munsons!” Steve cheers.

There are hoots and hollers of agreement before everyone, sans the children, drains their glasses. 

You all get to relax there for a little over twenty minutes while the rest of the guests filter inside and find their seats. The staff are on top of everything as well. They make sure you are all comfortable in your holding room while also getting any last-minute details finished out in the hall.

“How long are we gonna be here?” Luke whines. He stretches across the laps of Max and Lucas where they sit on a couch. Max tickles the little boy on the side of his ribs and he curls in on himself with a laugh.

“Not too much more, bud,” Eddie tells him. “Then they’re going to announce us all when we walk into the party area.”

“What do you mean?” Ryan asks.

Eddie crouches down next to his oldest son and straightens his adorable bow tie. 

“The DJ out there has a microphone and he’s going to call two names at a time. Like, he’ll call Aunt Max and Uncle Lucas’s names and then they’ll walk in together.”

“Because we’re all special!” Luke declares. “We’re in the party!”

Dustin looks over at Lucas and one side of his mouth quirks up in a smile.

“Weren’t we, like, their age when we started our party?” he asks. 

“Shi—uh, shoot. We’re old.” Lucas sighs and wipes his hand down his face.

“I know what you were gonna say,” Luke tells his uncle, giving him a devious smirk.

“Nuh uh,” Lucas playfully whines, taking his turn to tickle Luke. The boy squeals and unsuccessfully tries to roll off the adults’ laps. 

The door opens and the event coordinator pops his head inside.

“We’re ready whenever you all are,” he says.

“I think we’re ready,” Eddie says, looking to you for confirmation. 

You nod and step forward to take his hand.

“Let’s get this show on the road.”

Those who were sitting stand up and Ryan gently tugs on Eddie’s hand.

“Do we line up again?” he asks.

“Yep,” his dad tells him. “You and Luke are going to be right before the beautiful bride again. And me.”

“The gorgeous groom,” you gush, slipping your arms around his waist. Eddie grins and leans in to press his mouth against yours.

“Ugh,” Luke groans, already over all the public displays of affection today. “Come on, come on.”

The speakers crackle to life in the banquet hall, catching the attention of the guests mingling with one another at their respective tables. The DJ taps the microphone, testing it before he speaks.

“Hello, everyone!” he says. “My name is Jake, and I will be your emcee for the evening. We are all here to celebrate a very happy day. How about we get the stars of the show in here, huh?”

The applause from the guests can be heard on the other side of the door leading into the hall, where you and the entire wedding party stand. There are loose lines leading up to the door, nothing strict like before the ceremony, since this is a much more relaxed atmosphere. Plus, everyone knows their name will be called when their turn is up. 

The first announced into the reception are your parents, followed by Wayne. You and Eddie stand at the back of the group, hand in hand as you watch some of your favorite people be announced into the room.

“Now, please welcome Max Mayfield-Sinclair and Lucas Sinclair!”

Luke pretends to usher the couple through the door when their names are called. Lucas smiles and tugs on a curl that’s gone rogue on the nine-year-old’s head before he heads through the door with his wife. 

“Nancy Harrington and Dustin Henderson!”

The boys become rambunctious, waiting their turns as Gin and Gareth are announced next.

“Us now?” Luke asks.

“After us, you little goblin,” Steve teases, gesturing to Jess, who loops her arm through Steve’s.

“Next we have the maid of honor, Jess Oldford, and the best man, Steve Harrington!”

Ryan and Luke take their spots right in front of the door, Ryan bouncing on the balls of his feet and Luke rubbing his hands together in anticipation. You and Eddie share a look of amusement as the four of you await hearing their names. 

“I’ve been told these next two don’t want their names announced,” the DJ teases, as Eddie had secretly instructed him to.

“No! Yes, we do!” Luke shouts from behind the door. 

You bury your face into Eddie’s neck to muffle your giggles while the laughter from the guests outside rings out loud and clear.

“Oh, okay, I must’ve had that mixed up,” Jake says, amusement leaking into his tone. “These are very special guests; that must be it!”

The two Munson brothers look at one another and nod their agreement.

“Please welcome the Lord of the Rings, Ryan Munson, and Lord of the Petals, Luke Munson!”

Ryan pushes the door open, and you lean forward to watch the boys bound into the banquet hall to loud applause. Luke is clearly basking in it while his older brother shyly takes it all in. The bridesmaids are lined up on the right side and the groomsmen across from them on the left. The boys make their way down the middle and Steve shows them where they should stand at the end of the line, one next to him and one next to Jess. There’s a small squabble about who gets to stand on the side with the men and who with the women, but eventually Ryan stands next to his Uncle Steve while Luke stands next to your best friend. 

“And now…” Jake plays audio of a drum roll. “Please welcome, for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Munson!”

The grin on your face could not possibly be bigger as you walk out into your wedding reception on Eddie’s arm. The guests cheer as you walk down the aisle of your wedding party. You make sure to take in every moment of this, not wanting to forget a single detail once this day is over. 

Once you and Eddie are in the middle of the floor, you take the time to admire the gorgeous space you find yourself in. A number of round tables with white satin tablecloths surround the area that is considered the dance floor, and there is a long head table straight ahead, where the entire wedding party will sit. The large crystal chandelier illuminates the open space in gentle but sufficient light. Beautiful bouquets of white, pink, and purple flowers linger by the walls, enhancing the already romantic setting. The cherry on top is the crowd full of elegantly dressed loved ones, all gathered to celebrate your and Eddie’s love. 

“If we could please have the beautiful couple on the dance floor for their first dance,” Jake says.

The wedding party all step to the edges of the roomy area, surrendering the spotlight to solely you and your new husband. 

Eddie’s right hand takes your left and brings it to his lips to press a soft kiss to your knuckles. You almost melt in front of everyone, a breath away from becoming a puddle of white chiffon and lace. Eddie keeps your hand securely in his and rests his other hand on the small of your back. Your free hand rests on Eddie’s shoulder as he delicately uses his hand on your back to bring your body closer to his. There’s hardly enough room for a piece of paper between the two of you when he stops—not that you’re complaining one bit. 

The gentle strum of an acoustic guitar floods from the speakers, a few notes playing before the slowed down lyrics begin.

Uptown girl

She’s been living in her uptown world

I bet she’s never had a backstreet guy

I bet her momma never told her way

There was never a doubt that this song would be what your first dance is to. This acoustic cover brought you to tears the first time you discovered it, immediately telling Eddie that this is the one. There are also tears in your eyes now as you and Eddie slowly sway from side to side. 

“I love you,” Eddie whispers.

“I love you more,” you say before sniffling in an attempt to keep the tears from falling.

“Oh, you want to start this now, huh?” Eddie teases, grinning at you as he leans forward to rest his forehead against yours. 

“I’m your wife now,” you remind him. “You have to let me win.”

His laugh makes you feel light-headed, the immense joy that surrounds the two of you intoxicating.

“I’m pretty sure I’m the winner,” he replies. “You know, because you’re my wife now.”

“Your wife,” you repeat.

“My wife.”

Eddie steps back, removing his hand from your back so he can spin you around. He watches you twirl, admiring every little detail of you. Not just the dress and jewelry that you have on for the wedding, but the natural details of you that he adores every single day. The sight of your smaller, delicate hand in his. How the light makes your hair shine brighter than any star in the night sky. The way your smile makes him desperate to keep you happy for the rest of your life. 

When he takes you back into his arms, he leans in towards your left hand and presses his lips gently against your wedding band. You tilt your head as you gaze at his handsome face. It feels like he becomes more beautiful every single day.

“Will the wedding party please join?” the DJ asks.

You don’t even notice at first, everyone dancing around you. Your everything is consumed by the man in front of you and the thought that you are legally and officially joined for eternity. A cooing “aww” from some guests is what gets your attention and you look at the couples dancing around you. 

Max and Lucas are the closest couple to you, but when you look just beyond them you see what everyone finds so adorable.

Ryan has his hands on Natalie Harrington’s waist, his face beet red. Natalie’s hands are on Ryan’s shoulders as they sway from side to side. Right next to them Luke dances with Mia Harrington. Well, you’re not sure if it can really be considered dancing. The five-year-old girl has her arms wrapped tightly against Luke’s middle and her head rests against his chest. Her eyes are closed there’s a beaming smile on her face. Luke looks slightly less enthused, but more uncomfortable with the dancing portion than Mia. The nine-year-old arguably has the best coordination out of the Munson men but his awkward steps from side to side surely aren’t proof of that. 

“They’re so cute,” you say to Eddie.

“Here I thought Ryan was over his crush on Natalie,” he responds with a chuckle.

“I think he’d be red no matter who he was dancing with,” you say. “But he might have a little bit of that crush left. But look at Mia! She’s in heaven.”

The small redhead looks as happy as if this was her wedding.

“Oh, what is it with these Munson boys and Harrington girls?” Eddie jokes.

“Steve might have a red face for a different reason,” you say with a giggle.

“All the more reason to encourage it!”

You laugh and lean up to kiss your husband. 

The song fades out and the guests clap as the couples finish their dancing.

“That was beautiful,” Jake says. “And we’re going to keep that love going. We have two more special dances in store. If Ryan Munson could join his new step-mom on the dance floor?”

The wedding party, Eddie included, make their way over to the head table as Ryan walks towards where you stand on the middle of the dance floor. He has a bashful grin on his face, and you open your arms to him. The tears that had previously been kept at bay spring back to your eyes as Ryan grips you around the waist and squeezes tightly.

You’d known right off the bat that you wanted to have a poignant dance with each of the boys after you and Eddie had your first dance. Both of them happily agreed to it and you’re so proud to share these dances with them. 

Ryan’s hand holds yours and he rests his other hand on your waist, while yours sits on his shoulder. He looks up at you and you give into the urge to press a kiss to his forehead as the music starts. 

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder

You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger

May you never take one single breath for granted

God forbid love ever leave you empty-handed

Together, you sway back and forth, simply smiling at one another. 

“I’m so happy,” Ryan says. 

“Me too, sweetie. I love you so much.”

Ryan glances to his left and lets out a small giggle.

“I think Daddy’s crying.”

You look over, and sure enough, Eddie’s wiping at his eyes. He’s doing his best to hide it, but you know his every little tell by now. 

“So mushy,” you tease to the little boy. 

He leans in and rests his head against your body which fills your heart with warmth that could rival the sun. Neither of you talks for the rest of the song but it’s perfect. Just dancing with your oldest boy now that you can officially claim him as yours. Even if you’ve been doing it long before now, something about sharing the last name makes it seem so much more real. 

After the song ends, Ryan stands up on his tippy toes and you lean down enough so he can press a kiss to your cheek. You give him a big hug before he heads over to the table Eddie is at.

“That was great, guys,” Jake says. “Last but not least, can Luke Munson come to the dance floor?”

Typical for his usual energetic self, Luke skips onto the dance floor and over to you. He puts one hand on his stomach and bows at the waist. You curtsy in return, enjoying the royal feel he’s adding. 

“May I have this dance?” Luke asks, holding out his hand.

“Of course you may.” 

You place your hand in his smaller one and he gives yours a squeeze. He steps in closer to you, back straight, and wraps his other arm around you as much as his short child limbs will let him. The music begins and instead of swaying from side to side like his brother did, Luke takes actual steps from right to left. You’re not sure if it’s supposed to be an approximation of the steps in a waltz, but it’s adorable regardless.

If you're lost you can look and you will find me

Time after time

If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting

Time after time

If you're lost, you can look and you will find me

Time after time

If you fall, I will catch you, I will be waiting

Time after time

Luke starts to hum along and his curls bob along in time with his steps. 

“You look so handsome.”

He smiles so wide you can see the missing molar that fell out a few weeks ago. 

“Not so much as you are pretty!”

The sentence might make his English teacher cringe, but the compliment warms your face.

“Do you know how much I love you?” you ask.

“Mhmm,” he hums in response. “Yes. Because you never forget to tell me. And that’s one of my favorite things about you. You wanna make sure I never forget it.”

Luke is the one to finally make a rogue tear fall down your cheek while you dance. 

“You’re right. I need you to know it.”

“I love how much you love us. Me and Ryan and Daddy.”

“And I love how much you all love me.”

The song ends and Luke bows to you again, which you answer with another curtsy. 

Now that your solo dances are finished you assume you’ll get the chance to get off the dance floor. No one warned you beforehand though that almost everyone will want to dance with the bride. Eddie is also brought back onto the floor, your sister the first one who insists on dancing with him. 

Flashes go off as the photographer snaps shot after shot of everyone enjoying themselves. You’re so glad you’ll get to relive this day over and over again with the photos and video. 

Wayne catches you for a dance and you’re not sure you’ve ever seen the older man so emotional. For another song, you dance with Steve while Eddie dances with Nancy. The thought that the three of them have a decades old friendship and now you’re included in that inner circle? It adds another layer of emotion to the heart of everything on this day.

More upbeat songs play one after the other and you watch on in amusement as the kids gather together to make their own form of a mosh pit. Eddie comes up behind you and wraps his arms around you.

“Think they’ll do this if I put Master of Puppets on?”

You chuckle and lean back against his sturdy frame.

Finally, it’s time for dinner to be served. The kids are having so much fun on the floor that it takes some convincing to get them all to sit for the meal. Unsurprisingly, most of them inhale their food—especially Luke. 

As the waiter takes away your plate and you wipe your mouth off with a napkin, a knife tings against a glass from the other side of your husband. Steve sets his champagne down and clears his throat. 

“I’m so excited to hear his toast,” you lean over to whisper to Eddie.

“I’m not sure if I should be scared or not,” he whispers back. 

“Probably,” you reply with a shrug.

“Uh, good evening, everyone,” Steve begins. “My name is Steve and I’m the best man. I know a lot of times in these types of speeches there are mentions of cute or sweet things that the couple have done together that show that they’re made for one another. I started to think about some of those stories but then I realized there are just way too many instances of these two being all cute together. I mean, I thought I was a hopeless romantic deep down, but I think I was put to shame by Eddie here. I went to high school with Eddie, so we’ve known each other about twenty years now. And other than the four years my wife and I moved to Boston for her undergrad, we’ve lived within five miles of one another. Eddie and I have seen each other in our best moments and our worst moments. But throughout all of that, all of those years, I never saw the look in Eddie’s eye that he has when it comes to his beautiful new bride. It’s such a uniquely expressive look that I struggled to put a word to it. So, I started to think about words that can describe Eddie in general. Now, as he can tell you, I do often come up with some choice words to call him, but I was looking to be nice this time. I thought back to high school, and I was brought back to the days when he was in Hellfire club, which all the other groomsmen here were in as well. I could never understand the fascination of these fantasy creatures and the battles that are won with dice. There were many a conversation when things were dumbed down for me to grasp what these so called ‘campaigns’ were about. Eventually, I understood how much magic played a part of it. And then that word hit me. Magic. Enchanting. Bewitching. That’s the look in Eddie’s eye whenever it comes to his girl. It doesn’t matter if he’s talking about her, talking to her, or even just thinking about her. There’s this unmistakable glint of magic that lights up his whole face. All you have to do is look at him when she’s around. There is no story I could tell you that would convince you these two are meant to be more than the look in Eddie’s eyes will. It’s plain as day right there. And when she looks back at him? Well, if you didn’t believe in soulmates before, it’s enough to make a believer out of you.” Steve lifts his glass of champagne and turns towards you and Eddie. “I am so happy that you two found each other in this upside-down world. But there’s not a doubt in my mind that it was supposed to be this way. We were always meant to be here in this moment, at your beautiful wedding. I love you both. I look forward to seeing what the future has in store. Because with you guys? I know it’s going to be magical. Cheers.”

The guests clink their champagne flutes against one another’s, the twinkling sound echoing around the open space. As soon as you take a sip and set down your own glass, you push your seat back and stand up. You maneuver around Eddie's chair as he goes to stand as well and pull Steve into a hug.

“That was lovely, Steve,” you tell him. “Thank you.”

He smiles and presses a kiss to your cheek.

“And every word was true,” he tells you. 

You gently cup his face in your hands, much like you sometimes do to the boys, and give him one last grateful smile before stepping out of the way. 

“That was a great speech, man.” Eddie pulls his best man in for a hug. “Thank you. I know you’ll be back to calling me those choice words tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I took the day off,” Steve says, waving a dismissive hand as if it’s nothing. “I figured I could give you one day. Since it’s your wedding and all.”

“How generous.” Eddie rolls his eyes and retakes his seat. You take yours as well and Jess takes a deep breath from the other side of you.

“Guess I’m up then,” she says softly.

With a smile, you grab her hand that’s closest to you and give it a small squeeze. 

“You’ve got this.”

The smile she gives you in return isn’t as confident as you would’ve liked it to be, but you’ll take what you can get right now. She inhales one large breath through her mouth and slowly releases it through her nose. Her tight brown curls bobble as she nods to herself. She rises to her feet and grabs her champagne flute. Using the side of her fork, she gently taps the glass, just as Steve did to get everyone’s attention. 

Once everyone is looking in her direction, she sets the items down and anxiously rubs her hands down the side of her purple gown. Her gaze is on the table in front of her but you hear her take one more deep breath, then she looks up and smiles back at the crowd.

“Um, hi. I’m Jess and I have the privilege of being this lovely bride’s maid of honor. I have also had the privilege of having a first row seat to see this love story play out. It’s been quite an amazing saga in many ways, but by far the best, is that not only did this lucky young lady find the man of her dreams, but she also found the family that was, let’s face it, tailor made for her. I heard story after story about the Munsons in the beginning and I always thought…she had to be exaggerating. I have a gaggle of nieces and nephews and there was no way I could reconcile that there were two little boys who were as well-behaved and as fun as they were made out to be. Oh, was I proven wrong when I met them! Not only are Ryan and Luke as well-mannered and amusing as I was told, but they are also so intelligent, so kind and caring, and love with their entire hearts. And it’s easy to understand why once you get to know Eddie. He carries all the same qualities that he’s imparted in his sons, and he treats my best friend like the queen that she is.” Jess pauses and lets out a small chuckle. “I actually remember the first time I met Eddie. It didn’t start off under the best of circumstances, but it only took me a matter of minutes to see what was so obvious between these two. In fact, after Eddie left, I said, ‘I don’t normally tell you what to do, but if you don’t marry this man, I will.’” Jess turns and gives you a wink. “You made the right choice, my friend. I hope that the future holds only the best for you two. Well, you four, actually. May your lives be filled with the happiness and joy that you so willingly give to others. Have fun today and don’t forget to stop and breathe. This is such a beautiful wedding, and I am so honored to be a part of it. I love you guys. To the Munsons.”

Jess raises her glass and the rest of the guests echo, “To the Munsons!”

Before you even swallow your sip of champagne, you stand up and pull your best friend into a crushing hug. 

“I love you too,” you tell her. “Thank you. That was so sweet.”

“Anything for you,” Jess says as she hugs you back.

Eddie is next to pull her into a hug.

“Did you really say that the day we met?” he asks her, looking between the two of you.

“She did,” you tell him with a laugh.

“Well, then thank you,” Eddie says to her. 

“You’re very welcome.”

Now that both the best man and the maid of honor have given their toasts, you expect that the speeches are done for the evening. But Jake, the DJ, grabs the microphone and makes an announcement that surprises you.

“Both great speeches, weren’t they?” he says. “We’ve got one more. Well…two? No, one speech, two speakers. Ryan? Luke? You guys wants a microphone?”

Your eyes widen as you whip your head around to look at the boys at the end of the table. Ryan nods in response to Jake’s question and walks over to the DJ booth to collect a mic. When you turn to look at Eddie, he looks just as shocked as you are.

“Did you know?” you ask him anyway.

“No idea.” He shakes his head, a grin blooming on his face. 

Instead of coming back over to the table with the microphone, Ryan stands in front of the large sound system and nods for Luke to come over and join him. Your youngest runs over and skids to a halt at his brother’s side.

“Uh, hi,” Ryan starts. His cheeks are already cherry red, and he’s only said two words. He doesn’t even need to express any sweet sentiments—the fact that he’s willing to talk in front of people says it all already. “I’m Ryan.”

“And I’m Luke!” Luke leans over and speaks into the mic. Even the kid who is the life of the party looks nervous. You can hardly blame them; they know a lot of people who are here, but not all of them. This is scary territory for such young boys. 

“We wanted to say something for our Daddy and new stepmom,” Ryan says.

Luke gently tugs Ryan’s hands so the microphone is closer to his mouth. “She only got the last name Munson today, but she has loved us like we’re hers since, like…ever.” The crowd lets out a small chuckle as Ryan moves the mic again.

“We weren’t really sure what people say at weddings cause the only ones we’ve been too we were too little to pay attention,” Ryan explains. “But our grandpa said that sometimes people tell stories and Luke and I thought of a story we could tell.” This time, he properly hands the microphone to his little brother.

“So, um,” Luke begins, “a long time ago, me and Ryan came up with an idea to try and make them fall in love. Them.” Luke points to the two of you sitting at the center of the head table. You already have tears leaking from your eyes and Eddie isn’t far behind. “They took us to Chuck E. Cheese, which is the best! It’s got games and prizes.”

Ryan takes the mic back, sensing his brother is about to go off topic.

“And so, we thought of a way to get them to hold hands. Luke is littler so he still had to hold hands in the parking lot then. Maybe I did too, I don’t remember. But we said Luke was gonna do this plan. He asked–”

“I asked both of them to hold my hands!” Luke says, hijacking the story. “And we got closer to the doors and Ryan went to open them. When he did that, I tugged on both their hands and put hers in his. Then I ran ahead so they were behind me holding hands!”

“They walked in that way while I held the door open for everyone,” Ryan says, taking back to mic. Luke leans in to speak again.

“I don’t know if that’s when they fell in love, but I do know they love each other now! Because of me and Ryan? Maybe!”

“So, yeah, that’s the story,” Ryan says, taking a deep breath. “And we’re so happy to have a stepmom. ‘Specially one that loves us so much and is so good at helping me with my homework.” “She’s so smart!” Luke adds, making you laugh through your tears.

“And our daddy is so happy with her. We never seen him this happy before. It makes us even happier.”

That’s when Eddie’s tears officially start. He sniffles and quickly wipes them away before wrapping his arm around your shoulders. 

“So, yeah,” Ryan says, clearly not knowing how to end this. Luke takes the microphone from him, having one more thing to add.

“Yeah! We love you two so much. And we’re really happy you got married today.”

Luke holds the mic down by his side and nods his head once, signaling he’s done. The guests and everyone at the head table start to cheer. You even see some of the banquet hall staff applauding their speech. Luke bends down in a bow and tugs Ryan down with him to do the same. You carefully wipe your face, being cautious not to smear any makeup, while Luke hands the microphone back to Jake. 

“Thank you, Ryan and Luke!” Jake says.

Eddie takes your hand in his and rises from his seat and you follow his lead. You both walk around the table and open your arms as the boys come bounding back in your direction. Luke runs into Eddie’s arms and Ryan runs into yours. 

“That was perfect, guys,” Eddie says as he squeezes Luke.

“Thank you so much. We love you so, so, so much.” You kiss Ryan’s head before you and Eddie swap boys to embrace. 

“Can we dance again?” Luke asks.

“Sure,” Eddie tells him with a chuckle.

There’s a tap on Luke’s shoulder and he spins around to see Nancy smiling down at him.

“May I have this dance?” she asks, extending her hand.

“Yes!” Luke slaps his hand into hers and tugs her onto the dance floor.

Jake starts up with the music again and it brings a rush of kids back to the dance floor. In your peripheral vision you see Steve approaching Max and you turn to watch the interaction. He offers her his hand, and though she rolls her eyes and pretends to be annoyed, there’s a smile on her face as she puts her hand in his and they head to the floor. 

“Oh my God, Max is dancing with Steve,” Eddie says, having seen it as well. “I gotta get her to dance with me now.”

“Will you two ever not be competing with one another?” you ask.

“Nope.” Eddie grins and presses a kiss to your cheek. “You married into this competition, babe.”

“Well, I see another redhead who doesn’t have a dance partner,” you say, gesturing to Mia in the middle of the dance floor, more spinning in a circle rather than dancing. 

“Oh, no,” Eddie playfully gasps. “I can’t have my favorite five-year-old dancing by herself!”

Your husband quickly walks onto the floor and scoops Mia up from behind. She squeals in surprise and Eddie laughs as he spins her around in his arms. Once she realizes who has her, Mia’s face splits into a grin and she squeezes Eddie around the neck. You chuckle as you watch the two of them, your hands gently going to rest on your stomach as you tilt your head. Everyone on the dance floor is full of smiles and laughter and it warms your heart. 

“M’lady,” you hear from behind you. You turn and see Dustin with one arm tucked behind his back and the other reaching towards you. “May I have the honor of dancing with you.”

“Absolutely, Lord Henderson,” you reply. The nickname makes him smile as the two of you join everyone else on the dance floor. 

After Dustin, Lucas pulls you in for a dance, and then you’re hounded by the Corroded Coffin guys until Eddie shoos them away and tells them to kick rocks. You laugh as your husband pulls you into his arms. The song ends and out of the corner of your eye you see Max sitting down. 

“Looks like someone is free,” you tell Eddie, nodding in her direction. 

Eddie cradles your face in his hands and presses a slow, steamy kiss to your lips. 

“You really are the best wife ever.”

The combination of the kiss and his words warms your cheeks. 

“For setting you up to dance with someone else?” you joke, trying to dispel the heat from your face. “Don’t get used to it.”

“I would never,” he vows, putting a hand over his heart. He gives you a wink before darting off to even the score with his best friend. 

After Eddie finishes his dance with Max, Dustin grabs her for one as well. You’ve never seen Max look so exasperated and content at the same time. But you decide enough is enough once the current song ends. You walk up to Max and slip your hand in hers.

“I’m tired of these men hogging you,” you tell her. “Dance with me?”

“Finally,” Max says, her free hand thrown out to the side with exaggeration. “A desirable dance partner!”

Jess, Nancy, El, and Robin join you and Max for the next song and it’s a thrill to be surrounded by girlfriends and get to act as wild and free as the children are. 

After a few more songs, the music fades out and Jake’s voice reverberates out of the speakers.

“Alright! Looks like everyone is having a great time out there. How about we play a little game? How does that sound?”

There are cheers as you watch two of the staff members each grab a chair and situate them in the middle of the dance floor. They’re set back-to-back and you meet Eddie’s eye a few feet away as you realize what time it is. 

“We’re going to play The Shoe Game!” Jake announces. “For those of you who don’t know, The Shoe Game is where the bride and groom sit back-to-back, having one of their own shoes in one hand, and their partner’s shoe in the other. Then I’ll ask a series of questions like, ‘who is more dramatic when they’re sick?’ and they’ll each raise the shoe of whoever it is. And since they’re back-to-back, they aren’t able to see one another’s answers. Although, it’s usually pretty easy to tell by how the crowd responds. Are we ready?”

Eddie comes to take your hand and lead you over to the chairs in the middle. He kneels down in front of you and unbuckles your white strappy heels. You breathe a sigh of relief as he pulls each piece of confining footwear off. He hands one of your shoes to you and keeps one in his own hand before he stands up and kicks his own black dress shoes off. He then hands you one of those while keeping the other for himself. 

“Daddy is the more dramatic one when he’s sick,” you hear Luke say to Wayne as Eddie takes the seat at your back.

“I heard that,” Eddie quips. 

“He’s right,” you say with a giggle. Eddie reaches back and playfully swats at you.

“Okay, let’s get started,” Jake says. “First one: who is the better cook?”

Instantly, both you and Eddie raise up the white strappy shoes.

“Oh, that’s so easy!” you hear Ryan say.

“Ah, seemed to be no hesitation there,” Jake says. “Next, who is more likely to grow old and continue playing pranks?”

Almost as quickly as you’d both lifted your shoe last time, you both lift Eddie’s. The guests chuckle as well as Jake.

“Yeah, kind of saw that one coming,” the DJ says.

“He’s already old!” Luke says from Wayne’s lap. You burst into laughter, bending in half in your seat. Wayne claps his hand over Luke’s mouth, but there’s no use now. The rest of the guests laugh as well, but Eddie just shakes his head while looking at his youngest son. 

“Hush up,” he calls out. “No one asked you.”

Luke’s boisterous laugh echoes out as he pulls his grandfather’s hand off his face.

“Oh, okay, this one might be a little more controversial,” Jake says. “Who has the better taste in music?”

It’s the third time that neither you nor Eddie have any hesitation, except this time you both proudly raise your own shoes in the air.

“Put your shoe down,” Eddie says without looking behind him. 

“No way,” you counter. 

“Interesting!” Jake calls. “Huh, alright. Maybe we should get the boys to be the tie breakers here. Who might the bride and groom’s favorite artists be?”

“Metallica for me,” Eddie says. He wrinkles up his nose as he speaks your preference. “Billy Joel for her.”

“Okay, boys,” Jake says, looking over towards your sons. “Metallica or Billy Joel?”

“Metallica!” Luke shouts the same time that Ryan yells, “Billy Joel!”

“Ah,” Jake hums. “I guess we’re just going to have to call this one a tie. Moving on. Who is the most stubborn when arguing?”

Again, you and Eddie lift each other’s shoes in the air. 

The crowd laughs and Jake shakes his head.

“You know,” he says, “I’m not even going to try to settle this one. The speed with which they put their hands up says it all. Alright, next one. Who said, ‘I love you’ first?”

Both of you raise Eddie’s shoe, matching dopey grins on your faces.

“Who made the first move?”

You lift each other’s shoes in the air, but Eddie looks behind him and scoffs.

“It was you!” he says.

“It was not,” you argue.

Eddie clears his throat and tilts his head to the side in impatience. 

“Babe. You climbed into my lap.”

“Oh,” you say, remembering that moment with crystal clarity. “I did.” You shrug and switch from Eddie’s shoe to your own.

“Thank you.”

“Who is most likely to stay up too late either playing guitar or reading a book?”

Two of your shoes go up.

“Who is more likely to randomly start a deep conversation at midnight?”

Two of Eddie’s shoes go up. 

“Who is most likely to cave when the kids ask for a pet?”

Eddie holds your shoe up straight away while you shyly lift yours into the air.

“Don’t get any ideas,” Eddie says, raising his eyebrows at the boys.

“Okay, final question,” Jake says and clears his throat. “Who is more excited about having more kids?”

You both lift black dress shoes high into the air. That’s absolutely no secret between the two of you with Mr. Breeding Kink sitting behind you. 

The guests clap, talking amongst themselves as the game ends. Eddie helps put your shoes back on and pulls you to your feet. Somewhere a glass clinks at a table and Eddie takes the cue, tugging your body against his and lowering his mouth to yours. 

You’re unsure how long you’re lost in Eddie’s lips before you hear someone mention cake. Next thing you know, you and Eddie are standing in front of your three-tiered wedding cake, and he picks up the large knife. He settles the blade over the bottom level of dessert and waits for you to put your hand on top of his. Together, you slice the first piece of cake and serve it onto a plate.

“Smoosh it in his face!” Luke yells. 

Eddie narrows his eyes at you, but you subtly shake your head to tell him that you’re not going to. Your husband goes first, pinching a piece of cake between his thumb and forefinger and feeds it to you. The decision to let your tongue flick against the tip of his fingers proves successful as a low groan rumbles out of him. 

“Evil,” Eddie whispers as you pick up a small chunk of cake.

You shrug innocently before holding your fingers up to his lips. He opens them and you feed him the piece. Luke huffs somewhere behind you, disappointed this all went so calmly. 

Cake is cut for the rest of the guests and Luke tries to pull his own face smooshing prank. He grabs a small bit of his cake in his hands and tip toes (what he thinks is) quietly up behind his dad. Your husband looks over at you and you share an amused glance before Eddie strikes, snatching Luke up by his waist and wrangling the cake out of his messy hands. Luke laughs as he lays like a ragdoll over Eddie’s lap and the older man happily pops the piece of Luke’s cake into his mouth. 

“Darn it!” Luke says through his laughter.

“Better luck next time, sticky fingers,” Eddie says, shoving his son back up to his feet. 

After the cake is thoroughly enjoyed, it’s time for you to throw the bouquet. You approach the middle of the dance floor, eyes scanning the single women who are coming to try and catch it. There’s a handful of them but Jess looks especially motivated. You turn your back to them and listen to Jake count backwards from three. Shouting erupts behind you as soon as the flowers soar above your head. There’s cheering as you turn around to see who caught it. Holly Wheeler stands in the middle of the group of ladies, a bright smile on her face as she lifts the white and red arrangement in the air. You catch the smile on Jess’s face and get the sneaking suspicion that your best friend let the pretty blonde win on purpose. 

The only thing left for the rest of the time is more dancing. Even without a clock visible, it’s obvious that the night is coming to a close as the kids get more tired, and you even see Steve sitting at a table with a sleeping Mia’s head resting on his shoulder.

“Always the babysitter,” you hear him say.

“Excuse me?” You arch an eyebrow at him.

Steve laughs and shrugs his free shoulder. “Fair.”

As the reception comes to an end, you say goodbye to all your guests who have stayed this late into the evening. Finally, Wayne approaches the two of you with exhausted little Munsons in front of him. Their grandfather is taking them back to the house and staying with them tonight while you and Eddie have a nice bridal suite awaiting you at a local hotel. You’ll meet up with the three guys tomorrow for breakfast before you and Eddie catch your plane to begin your honeymoon.

“Alright,” Eddie says, pulling Ryan in for a hug. “Be good for Grandpa, okay?”

“Always am,” Ryan answers through a yawn. 

“Maybe I should be telling you that, then.” Eddie hugs Luke next and the little boy doesn’t even have the energy to argue. He just grunts as he hugs his dad and then you. You press kisses to both of their heads before giving Wayne a hug.

“It was beautiful, guys,” he says. “I’m so happy for y’all.”

“Thank you.” You kiss his cheek. “We love you.”

“Love you, too. See ya in the morning.”

Now all that’s left to do is join your husband for a quick limo ride to your hotel where you’ll both summon a whole new surge of energy. Eddie loops your arm through his as the two of you walk out of the banquet hall. You’re contently quiet, taking in the cold night air before slipping inside the warm vehicle. As soon as the door is closed behind you, Eddie pulls you into his lap and cups your cheeks in his large hands. He presses kiss after kiss to your lips.

“Did you have fun, wife?” he asks once he’s satisfied.

“I had an amazing time, husband,” you reply. 

He gazes adoringly at you and gently runs his thumb along your cheekbone. The limo starts to pull away from the renovated barn, two words painted onto the back window of the limo for anyone behind you to see.

Just Married.

[ladykailitha]

Forever Young Part 5

Welcome back to the fluffy fic that is angsty as hell, because apparently I can't write Steve without delving into trauma. Especially this chapter. I think I made myself tear up just now, re-reading this chapter to post it.

Like it has Steve trauma, the poorer kids clashing against the rich kids, and Mike and Max having a minor bonding moment.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

~

Will slipped out of the door to talk to his mom and Hopper before they left. He needed to know a could of things about Steve. It might not make them all adults again, but he felt like he needed it to understand Steve better.

“Mom!” he called out, jogging up to her. “Just a couple of questions really quick, and then you guys can leave.”

Joyce turned to him, and cocked her head. “What’s up, baby?”

“They don’t remember anything from after their current age,” Will said slowly. “So Steve’s kinda freaking out about this house. I was wondering if either one of you might remember when the Harrington’s moved in, so we have better idea of how to handle that.”

Hopper and Joyce looked at each other for a moment.

“God,” Hopper said rubbing his chin. “I think it was before I came back to town. Steve was in middle school then.”

Joyce nodded. “The Harringtons aren’t from Hawkins originally. To be honest, no one was sure why they moved into town in the first place. But I think it was in Jonathan’s first or second grade.”

“So Steve was about eight or nine you think?” Will pressed, leaning forward interest.

“That sounds about right,” Joyce confirmed. “No one was expecting anyone to move into this large house. It’s larger than most of the houses in Loch Nora. But they did.”

Will licked his lips as he thought about that. “I know it’s not talked about in polite society or whatever, but Steve is giving us the impression that his dad didn’t always cheat and his mom wasn’t always distant, so...”

“So you’re wondering if it was an immediate change when they got to town or if it happened later down the line?” Hopper asked, putting one hand on his hip as he continued to rub his chin.

“You’re brother was never one for sports, sweetie,” Joyce said, pained. “So I don’t know if they came to Steve’s games or anything.”

“I’d say about the time Steve started high school was when the troubles started,” Hopper said, putting his other hand on his hip and shifting his weight. “Because that’s when Steve started acting out. Clint called it youthful transgressions and always bailed Steve out, but I’d say that’s about when the Harringtons starting leaving on longer and longer trips out of town.”

“Is that everything you needed, Will?” she asked gently. “Because we really need to get going.”

Will nodded and both Joyce and Hopper got into his truck, pulling away from Will.

~

Lucas spotted Will coming back and mouthed, ‘Are you okay?’

Will nodded, sliding next to him at the counter.

“Will,” Wayne said without turning around from the stove where he was making dinner, “would you happen to know where Steve keeps his pots and pans, these yahoos didn’t.”

Will snorted. Because of course they didn’t. They never really helped Steve in the kitchen, it was always the older teens while they would hang out in the front room, letting them do all the work.

“Second pantry next to the hall.”

Wayne looked over his shoulder and Will pointed at the correct door. He whirled around and opened the door.

He blinked at the large space he found behind it in utter shock. It had pots and pans of every stripe no doubt. But it also had a blender, a hand mixer, a stand mixer, a food processor, a Crockpot, another microwave, mixing bowls, and Tupperware of every size and shape imaginable.

All the teenagers besides Will piled up around Wayne to see what he was staring at. Dustin turned to Little Steve who was sitting on the floor playing with Little Eddie with some string they found, and then back to the literal walk-in closet filled with kitchen stuff.

“Then what’s in the cupboards?” Mike whispered a little bit in awe. His parents were probably the richest of his friends, but not even they had a whole extra closet filled with stuff like this.

Hell, his mom was complaining that she didn’t have enough room in the kitchen.

Max went over to the cupboard by the sink and opened it slowly, unsure of what she would find. Inside were large containers of protein powder. El opened another one and there were cans of soup of nearly every kind she could think of.

They opened a couple more, but they were all filled with food.

“Well,” Wayne said, blinking for a moment. “At least we won’t have to go shopping for groceries.”

“He also has two chest freezers out in the garage,” Lucas said, “Max and I saw them when we were looking for toys for them to play with. They were filled to the brim of meat and frozen vegetables and shit.”

Dustin frowned and looked over at the kid who would grow up to be his best friend. Little Steve who was still playing Cat’s Cradle with Little Eddie. He let out a pained huff, that was a little on the nose. Like the song, Steve had grown up waiting for his dad to pay attention to him, but now, Mr. Harrington barely crossed his friend’s mind.

“They’re all food that doesn’t go bad easily,” he murmured and looked up at Wayne. “How long has the Harringtons relied on him to take care of himself?”

The older kids fell silent as the de-aged adults continued to laugh and play.

“I don’t know, son,” Wayne grumbled, “but it’s too long. Far, far too long.”

“Robin!” Lucas yelled, suddenly scrambling across the kitchen.

While everyone was focused on Little Eddie and Little Steve, Little Robin had decided that everyone was taking too long to feed her and took matters into her own tiny fists. She had managed to pull out a couple of drawers to crawl onto the counter where she was trying to reach the boxed mac and cheese.

Lucas caught her by the waist and hauled her away from the cupboard. “How did you know the mac was up there anyway?”

Little Robin stopped struggling for a moment to blink up at him. “Like where else is it gonna go?” Like Lucas was too dumb to know that everyone puts their mac and cheese above the stove for ease of grabbing.

“I don’t want mac and cheese!” Little Jonathan huffed, putting his hands on his hips. “It tastes funny!”

“Yeah!” Eddie whined, looking up at Wayne. “The powder stuff is gross!”

Mike and Dustin looked at each other in confusion. “The cheese?” Dustin asked, sneering.

Will winced and ducked his head to hide his blush. They absolutely did not mean the cheese. They meant the powdered milk. “It won’t be the powdered stuff,” he promised. “They have liquid milk.”

Little Jonathan frowned for a moment before he nodded. “Make sense, my friend Freddy gets to have liquid milk in his cereal when I sleepover.”

Will did not know that name, as far as he knew Jonathan didn’t have a friend named Freddie or even Fred.

“That’s not what we’re having for dinner,” Wayne growled. “Mac and cheese is a side and not a meal. Not unless you through in hot dogs or ground beef.”

“Ooh!” Little Robin said with a smile. “I always love it when Mom splurges for the hot dogs. She even puts ketchup in it!”

Little Steve made a face. “Ketchup is gross!”

Little Eddie looked over at his new friend in shock. “Ketchup is the only thing that makes hot dogs taste good!”

“Ketchup is too tangy,” Little Steve huffed, folding his arms over his chest with a pout. “Tomato sauce is better. But I like cheese on my hot dogs. That’s good.”

“Well it’s a good thing we aren’t doing either,” Wayne said, wading between them before things got heated. “I’ve got some chicken nuggets and french fries.”

Suddenly all the kids were clamoring for the prizes Wayne had brought. The teens started pulling out baking sheets and emptied the bags of chicken nuggets and fries onto them. They had long since learned how to work together from many a party there since the spring break from Hell.

Once the food was in the ovens, Wayne took the kids out front to let them play on the sprawling lawn while dinner cooked.

Will pulled out his notebook. “I’m adding Robin knowing where the mac and cheese was to the things they’re remembering.”

Dustin nodded and snapped his fingers. “Yeah. Let’s go everything they’ve remembered.”

Will started listing things with the others adding to the list from just the minor things they’ve heard one or the other of the newly minted kids said or did.

“But then they get confused,” El said cocking her head to the side, “and the memory vanishes.”

“Yeah,” Dustin said, putting his hands on his hips. “I thought Steve was going to legit start crying over the bats on Eddie’s arm.”

They all looked around at each other and frowned. The mystery only seemed to deepen rather than get closer to being solved. It certainly didn’t seem to be like it would be over come tomorrow, that was for sure.

“I think it’s kinda cute,” Max said with a small smile. “Like they’re always taking care of us, making sure we’re okay. It’s nice to be able to return the favor without making them feel like adults burdening kids, you know?”

Lucas’s jaw worked up and down but no sound came out.

“It is nice,” Will said wistfully, propping his chin on fist and gazing off into the distance. “But like I do miss Jonathan being older than me, too. Like I can’t talk to him about things when he’s like this.”

“Why couldn’t they have waited until one of us had a driver’s license?” Dustin huffed. “Then we wouldn’t have had to involve adults at all.”

Mike rolled his eyes. “It’s not like they asked for this!” He waved his arm out the window where they could hear the sounds of the kids playing. “They didn’t ask to be cursed for fuck’s sake and yeah it’s cute now, but I want my badass sister back.”

He stood there breathing heavily for a moment then threw his arms in the air, storming out to the back.

The resulting silence was deafening.

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” Max whispered, her lip quivering. “I just think they’re cute. I wasn’t saying that we shouldn’t get them back. Of course I want them back as adults.”

“I think Mike is just having a hard time suddenly being the oldest,” Lucas said taking her hand. “When you’re the middle child for so long and are suddenly made in charge of everything, that’s a lot of pressure.”

Then the green timer went off and Dustin went to go call them in. Will and El went into the kitchen to get the food out of the ovens. Lucas got down the plates and started putting the fries and nuggets on them.

Max watched for a moment before she walked to the back door where Mike was sitting in the sun room.

She knocked on the door frame. “Food’s ready.”

Mike was sitting on the sofa facing the pool, he had his hands clasped together under his chin, propped up on his knees. He just nodded.

Max sat down next to him, her hands sliding down her thighs to grab her knees. “You do know you’re not the only one in there who’s older sibling got zapped into being a child right? There’s Will and El for a start with Jonathan. Yes, El isn’t biologically related, but that’s still her foster brother. And even Dustin and I looked up to Eddie and Steve respectively as our older brothers. Again, not related by blood, but still important to us. Even Lucas really looks up to Steve. But you’re out here acting like you’re the only one who’s sibling got wrecked.”

He stared at her in wide eyed shock.

“It’s just we rely on them for so much,” she continued, “I just think they deserve a day or two just being kids. Eddie might have join the Party as an adult, but the rest of them didn’t. Sixteen felt old when we started this, but we’re all nearly that ourselves now. I really don’t feel old. Do you?”

“That’s just it,” Mike growled, “Nancy’s never been the responsible one, it’s always been me. And now she’s getting this grand baby’s day out and the responsibility again falls on my shoulders.”

Max frowned. “But she helped us out with Vecna. She was there, we couldn’t have done it without her.”

Mike scoffed and rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “Only because she didn’t want to miss the ‘big game’. She should have been with me seeing her boyfriend. But instead she thought writing an article about some stupid basketball game was more important than seeing her boyfriend whom she was supposed to be in love with. And she’s always like that. She would rather do what she wants then for the greater good or even for the love of her boyfriend or even brother both of which she says she loves very much. Doesn’t feel like it!”

Max blinked at him for a moment. Thinking back at all the times it was Steve and not Nancy or Jonathan standing between danger and the rest of them. Robin later when she became friends with Steve, but neither of them had any skin in the game. Not really.

“Oh.”

“Whatever,” he huffed and moved to stand up.

“Wait.” She pulled him by his sleeve and forced him to sit back down. “Look, I’m sorry. You’re right, you deserve to be a kid too. For fuck’s sake you got shot at. A lot. It’s not being cursed by a fucking psychopath, but it’s still scary as hell. I know you wanted your big sister in that moment and you’re right, she should have been there.” She gripped his arm tightly. “I’m alive and so is Eddie, because she was with us. I know that’s not a consolation and it isn’t meant to be.”

“Yeah, then what is it?”

“Proof that you never needed her to kick ass for you,” Max said gently. “We needed her, but you don’t. You never did, Mike. You’re pretty badass on your own.”

She stood up and walked back into the kitchen, leaving him there to think about that for a moment.

He scoffed, a small smile spreading over his face. No matter how hard he tried, the smile kept returning bigger every time. He snorted and then started laughing.

Mike got up and followed her back to the kitchen. Yeah. He really was pretty badass, wasn’t he?

~

Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

Tag List: CLOSED

1- @itsall-taken @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @sadisticaltarts @dolphincliffs

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @irregular-child @cryptid-system @kultiras

3- @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

4- @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji @dreamercec @blondie1006

5- @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @oopsallgender @fearieshadow @thesecondfate

6- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman

7- @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @ravenfrog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lingeringmirth

8- @gutterflower77 @a-lovely-craziness @just-a-tiny-void @w1ll0wtr33 @beelze-the-bubkiss

9- @steddieislife @stripey82 @tony-2012 @stedestielfrattficlover @micheledawn1975

10- @moonshadows-13 @bridget-malfoy-stilinski-hale @morallyundefined @best-thing-at-this-party @ollieolive

[blue-blue-blooms]

A Little Crush   

Eddie Munson x Henderson!Reader

Part 1

Summary: In which Eddie develops a crush on the Henderson sister.

You weren't sure exactly when your life had gone to absolute shit. Was it when you found a strange, superpowered adolescent girl living in Mike Wheeler's basement? Was it when you walked in on a baby demogorgan eating your cat? Or was it when you were drugged by evil Russians operating under Starcourt Mall? You couldn't even remember a time when life was normal. If someone had told you that you would become best friends with Steve 'The Hair' Harrington and fight literal monsters from an alternate universe alongside Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan 'The Creep' Byers a few years ago, you would've laughed in their face. Now? You'd survived the most traumatising events of your life alongside these people. You were bonded for life.

The last few years had also made you closer with Dustin. You loved your baby brother and his weird friends, especially since you'd spent so much time babysitting them. But no amount of love could make you say yes to what they were asking of you.

"Please?" Dustin begged, following you down the hallway as you made your way to Ms. O'Connell's class.

"No! I have, like, three essays due this week, Dustin. I don't have the time to sub." You respond.

"It's only for tonight! Lucas can't make it and we really need a sub. We're nearly done with the campaign and Eddie will kill us if we make him reschedule!" Dustin pleads.

You were really happy that Dustin and Mike had found a safe space in high school. Lord knows those two idiots needed it. Freshmen year is probably the toughest of them all. You're new, scared, and lonely. You were really glad that they'd found friends, a place where they could be their nerdy selves and feel accepted. Hell, even you'd dabbled in their interests when you'd babysat them. DnD wasn't half bad, and not nearly as hard to undertand as you once thought. You'd spent many nights in Mike's basement playing with them. The first few times, you'd get your character killed in the first fifteen minutes. But after a while, you started making progress (even though you're convinced that the party was exceptionally lenient with you after you once burst into tears over getting killed off).

"I'll do your half of the chores for a week!" Dustin exclaims.

That makes you stop.

"A week?" You turn around to look at him, "Make it two weeks and I'll sub."

"Two? Are you insane!?" Dustin yells, making a few people lingering in the hallway turn and look at you both.

"Two or no deal, Dusty Buns," You tease, "And be quick, I'm late for my class."

"Fine!" Dustin says, "And stop calling me 'Dusty Buns'"

"Why? Is that nickname just for Suzy Poo?" You tease.

Dustin glowers at you as you walk off.

♡♡♡

"So, who's the DM?" You ask as you walk alongside Dustin and Mike.

"It's Eddie, Eddie Munson. He's a senior. Long hair, wears a hellfire T-Shirt, I talk about him constantly. God, do you ever listen to me?" Dustin claims exasperatedly.

"Oh! Eddie as in your new favorite older male best friend who Steve's weirdly jealous of?" You ask, "I've seen him around. Is he the one who jumps on lunch tables and yells a lot?"

"Yup." Mike responded, "He's a bit scary when he's revved up. Just warning you beforehand in case he comes off...a bit intimidating."

You nod.

"Hasn't he been held back, like, three times?" You ask.

Before either of the boys could answer, you reach the room. The first thing you see is the table where the game is set. There are three boys sat around, all with Hellfire T-Shirts on. Your eyes fleet from one to the other until finally landing on Eddie. You recognise him immediately from the amount of times you've seen him yelling in the cafeteria.

Dustin and Mike failed to mention how cute he was, you think.

His hair was long and wavy. He was wearing multiple rings. And he was covered in tattoos. You're pretty sure you saw a few bats peeking from under his sleeve.

"Who's this?" One of the guys asks, making all three turn around and look at you.

"This is Y/N! She's subbing for Lucas!" Mike says, the words spilling out fast and nervously.

Why the hell are they so jittery?

"Yeah, she's my sister! The one I mentioned a couple days ago." Dustin adds.

"Does she even know how to play DnD?" The other boy asks.

"Okay, excuse me, I wouldn't have come if I didn't know how to play," You finally speak, waving your hand a little to get their attention.

"So, this is your infamous sister?" Eddie finally speaks, his eyes landing on you, "You know, I thought he made you up. What's your class and level? Level One Elf?"

Elf? Is he mocking me?

"Are you mocking me?" You ask incredously.

"Is he mocking me?" you turn towards Dustin and Mike who immediately start gesticulating, probably asking you to shut up.

"My name is Aeren Sirenfall and I'm a level 14 chaotic good half-elf rogue. I will sneak behind any monster you throw my way and stab them in the back with my poison-soaked kukri. And I'll smile as I watch them die a slow...agonising...death." You say, your voice slow and hard as you glare at Eddie, "So, are we gonna play this stupid game or not?"

You're pretty sure you hear one of the boys mutter a 'she's terrifying' to Dustin.

You watch as Eddie's eyes slowly soften and a grin emerges on his face, "Welcome to Hellfire Club."

[michaelwheelerdefiodental]

A topic that nobody asked for (or asked, i don't know), the main gang nemesis on Season 5:

Eleven🖕Linda Hamilton Character:

Yeah i know what you're thinking, "what about Vecna", but just follow me. Linda Hamilton character is apparently a female Brenner, but with actual military experience, so she will be a manipulative scientist like Brenner, this already makes Eleven having a hatred towards her probable. The hand to hand experience that she has can be dangerous for the rest of the gang aswell. Some people probably think it doesn't make sense for her to be throwing hands, but it's Linda Hamilton we are talking about, the OG Sarah Connor, the Duffer Brothers will make her a beast in a fight, both with guns or with her bare hands.

Will🖕Mind Flayer and Vecna (and Lonnie too):

This is why i think Eleven wouldn't have Vecna as her ultimate nemesis. Henry has a lot of similarities with Will as we can see on his flashback, but they ended up as total opposites. And we don't need to talk about Mind Flayer beef with Will, it's kinda embarrasing to be a interdimensional entity and still having the need of tormeting a teenager gay loser.

And there is that bitch ass Loonie too, i don't have anything too say about him.

Mike🖕Unnamed Creature (and Chance):

To start, Mike beef with Chance won't be because of this weird and boring theory that Chance has a crush on Will, but because Chance is the total opposite of Mike, he just follow orders and stay quiet, Mike is someone who wouldn't let anybody dictate what he is supposed to do (there's a post comparing all of the four core with the basketball gang, but i couldn't find it, sorry).

This unnamed creature is probably what was roaring during that scene of Robin, Nancy, Steve and Eddie on the Upside Down. It is probably that monster that Nancy saw on her visions. My bet is that Hopper will probably give that sword for Mike, giving the title of hero to him.

Hopper🖕Sullivan:

What is better than give a tramautized ex-soldier a Colonel as his enemy? It would be pretty much a cycle ending, after he got scarred for life and lost his first daughter because of higher ups that made him help them with war crimes against their enemies, he will end the life of one them that is actually trying to kill his second daughter too.

Dustin🖕Andy:

Some people are kinda of underestimating Andy, if you watch season 4 again you'll see how unhinged he is (i will make a post talking about how much of a threat he can be in this season), besides the fact that he will seek revenge for Jason by attacking the hellfire club ex-members, and Dustin is pretty much using their shirt in most of the paparazzi pics.

Lucas🖕All of the Basketball Team:

He probably is angry at them because of Max situation and they're angry at him because of Jason death. I hope to see some kind of revenge by Lucas part.

Jonathan and Steve🖕This Soldier:

On one way or another we will have a scene of Jonathan and Steve beating some asses together, and this guy seems to be around the age of 25 or a little bit older, so they can pretty much have a showdown against him. This could be that epic scene Jonathan and Steve will share together that the hawkinsfamilyphoto (Chris, a paparazzi) said he would release if he reaches a certain amount of payed members on Twitter/X.

Robin and Vickie🖕Town Folks:

I have this theory that some type of religious cult group will be manipulated by Henry, and they will have something against the whole group and mainly with Will, Mike, Robin and Vickie because of their little secret.

Here's a link for the post talking about this theory:

What about the others?

The rest of the group would have the same enemies as the others, just with less hatred or rivalry against them.

[mikethebrave]

guys, i have good news for once. i've found proof of intelligent life out here in these wastelands:

my favorite excerpts:

Will, Jonathan, and Joyce Formed a Special Trio

If Eleven is the main character in Stranger Things, the Byers family is the conduit through which she flickers. Will’s disappearance in the first season spurred the Hawkins community to rush to his aid. The tight-knit camaraderie between Will, Jonathan, and Joyce juxtaposes the stereotypical family composed of kids and teenagers. Parents and children are supposed to fight and bicker in television and other media, often to build the main conflict of the story, but the Byers family already underwent that trauma offscreen.  Lonnie Byers (Ross Partridge) makes a brief cameo in the first season, flexing his standoffish demeanor and abusive nature. It’s clear that the Byers patriarch doesn’t possess much empathy for his ex-wife or his sons. Jonathan valiantly steps into the father, husband, and big brother role, amalgamating into a combination of responsibilities that no other character on the show could dream of emulating. 

Jonathan Binds the Byers Family Together

Jonathan’s multifaceted arc in the first two seasons made him one of the series’ most easily dissectable characters. Stranger Things often differentiates itself from other shows by keeping the antagonists separate from the main characters. There are no Walter White or Tony Soprano-style antiheroes in which fans must compromise one part of their moral compass to appreciate the character. One might think this makes the series boring, but it’s the opposite. Jonathan was proof that a nearly perfect brother and son can still be fascinating to watch. After Will was found in season 1’s climax, he was taken over by the Mind Flayer in season 2. Jonathan again stood by Will’s side as his little brother felt outcasted by friends and society at large. Schnapp and Heaton’s chemistry often leads to tender, humorous exchanges like this one in which the boys remind the audience that being weird can be a human superpower in its own right.  These moments became few and far between in seasons 3 and 4. Will and Jonathan were relegated to minor supporting characters as the aforementioned new additions took center stage. Will at least gets to tag along with Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and the other younger friends. Jonathan often only appears in a few small scenes with his girlfriend Nancy (Natalia Dyer), and the writers even flirted with pushing Nancy back into Steve’s arms in the most recent season. Jonathan spent the majority of season 4 high on marijuana and frolicking around in a faux buddy-comedy routine with the one-off character Argyle (Eduardo Franco).  The decision to waste Heaton’s work from the first two seasons with a 180-degree personality change made no sense. Jonathan suddenly seemed careless, distant, and uninspired, but not in a dense way that could be unlocked by further character development. Little-to-no time was spent on him. While some fans might concur it is a necessary evil to take screen time away from older characters when expanding the world of Hawkins, it certainly transforms Stranger Things from a show about family into a show just about monsters and romances. 

Jonathan’s Enhanced Role in Season 5?

Many theories point to Will being one of the critical pieces to defeating Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) in the fifth and final season. His connection to the Upside Down and the evils underneath the surface should open up opportunities for Jonathan to lend his ears and counseling once again. Jonathan grows on an individual level when he aids others. When locked out of his family’s life, it stunts his ability to shine as a listener and an empathizer.  Jonathan’s best scene from season 4 again features a tear-jerking moment with Will. On the cusp of coming out of the closet, Will needs Jonathan more than ever before, and his brother responds supremely to the task at hand. The poignant conversation validates that the Duffers haven’t completely forgotten how to flesh out the Byers family. When the world gets too enormous for the characters and the audience, Jonathan serves as a connector to the most human elements of the series’ thematic thesis. He may not be as funny as Steve or as neurotic as Robin, but Jonathan symbolizes the good in all of us. In a show shrouded in darkness, Jonathan’s presence will be instrumental to forming a satisfying, optimistic conclusion in Hawkins, Indiana.

[pythoness94]

Y'all don't know how important Mike calling Will every day while he was in California and never getting past the dial tone is to me. Like, I have this scene in mind where Mike just had a shit day. Max has completely pulled away from them, Lucas in spending all his time with his basketball people, Dustin is spending all his time with Steve or Eddie, Nancy is at the newspaper, Karen is with Holly, even if Ted was in the house it wouldn't matter because Ted wouldn't pay much attention to Mike anyways. He is completely alone, he has nobody and he just needs his best friend, his older brother figure, his girlfriend, his other mom, anybody. So he is sitting by the ponywall, shifting anxious as he dials the number, Nothing. He dials again, nothing, Again, nothing. Again, nothing, Again, nothing. His eyes get watery as he slips down the wall, head pressed against the cool paint. Again, nothing, again, nothing, again, nothing, again, nothing. He starts to sob, hand trembling but never missing a number from muscle memory.

He is surrounded by ideas, false prentices that his family is perfect, his life is perfect, but what made his life worth living his leaving him, some has already left. Again, nothing, and it's fault, or atleast he thinks it is. Again, nothing, again, nothing. It's really such a pretty house, the Wheeler home, objectively it's what everybody wants and needs, but it's not what Mike needs. The house is cold and dark, the only place that ever felt lived in, the basement, goes unused by everybody but him. The large room that was once full of life and friends is now empty, only used by the leader. He's a king with no kingdom, a paladin with nobody to lead. Again, nothing. Again, nothing. His DnD books gain dust, he just uses Eddie's, the ones he has are to full of painful memories. Again, nothing. He looks up to Eddie, really he does, he's exactly what he wants to be, confident, handsome, loud, proud, so unabashedly himself and people love him for it. If Mike was himself he'd be even more alone than he already is. again, nothing. He wishes he was closer to Eddie, however he seems fonder of Dustin. Which is fair, everybody he ever looked up to is fonder of Dustin. Nancy, Steve, Eddie, it's practically expected at this point. Hell, if he looked after himself, he'd be fonder of Dustin too....Again, nothing, it doesn't make it hurt any less.

Mike's stomach rolls as hot tears fall down his cheeks, Again, nothing. Time ticks past, the clock chimes louder in his ears has the cold press of the dial digs into his finger tips. Just once, just once, just once, he begs and please but nothing, it's always nothing. Heat boils in his veins. Best friend of thirteen years and can't even pick up the fucking phone? He's known the guys Brother for years and he can't pick up the phone? He practically lived in her house and kept her son safe she can't pick up the phone? He's her boyfriend and she can't even answer the fucking PHONE! He slams it against the receiver, dock shaking on the wall as his shoulder shake and chest heaves with heavy breathes. He curls into a ball, shivering and sniffling as his face gets irritated by his scratchy jeans. The sound of the dial tone mocking and grating. He's alone, his cries heard by nobody in a dark house, the savior never to be saved. Distantly, a clock chimed and blood is mistaken for snot that he wipes away without checking.

[bylercertainty]

st5 finale mortality predictions

nancy wheeler

nancy is a SURVIVOR!! she is not being taken out by vecna

mike wheeler

killing off mike would just be so disappointing. although i could see the duffers sacrificing himself for his friends and family, he is truly the heart of the party. in a way, if mike dies, the party dies. therefore i am mostly confident that mike will survive season 5 with a few injuries

steve harrington

bro is cooked this next season. i think he could die to save his children, although this would be so so sad for dustin. i could see steve almost dying and dustin saving him then surviving with injuries. however i think this death would be just heartbreaking and a real driver for the group to push on. i don’t wanna see him go, but the duffers could just go for a devastating finale

jonathon

honestly i know he’s is GONE next season. in season 4, we’ve seen the “older brother acceptance scene” which could be there to set up jonathon death. if both jonathon and steve die, nancy won’t have to choose lol

joyce

no i think she would definitely risk her life to safe either of her sons, but i can’t see her leaving

hopper

if they killed him off i’m gonna be mad bc why fake out his death in season 3, they need to commit to his life

dustin

i’m really unsure about him and i think it could go either way, but i think they will leave the core four alive this season (too many pic sorry dustin)

lucas

i would sue if lucas died, but i don’t think his death is likely

max

no i bet she will go back alive for the movie date with lucas. max will be left with a sever blindness and then lucas will be whispering in her ear what is happening on the screen of the movie. that would just be so cute. also she basically had a fake out death which almost gives her immunity

will byers

honestly i think having will die would be soooo boring. everyone and their mom expects will to die in the fifth season. i understand “it starts with will and ends with will” but wills character is strung along by misery and hatred. i’m rooting for will and i hope that he can have his happy ending with the boy he loves. additionally, he will be the main protagonist in season 5 which makes me think his character will be safe. i could see him having a reallyyy near death experience with vecna but mike saving him

eleven “el”

first of all, i LOVE el. i want to see el live by herself and experience the world on hush money from the government. however, i think she will die in the next season. she opened the gate and she is going to have to close it. el has made family and friends, she needs to protect them by closing it. the death of el would move every single character and just make the finale devastating. when a main character dies, they need to be loved by the audience so making will die would just be soooo boring and useless. mbb has stated that the ending for els character made her go “oh” and walk away slowly. i don’t think fully agreed with her ending which leads me to believe either she is dying or byler gets together or possibly both. also i hope they make byler canon wayyyy before el dies bc i cannottt imagine the hate for the ship after the finale. anyway i love her so this would just crush me

overall!!!

dead: steve, jonathon, el, karen wheeler, murray

alive: max, lucas, will, mike, nancy, hopper, joyce

i think that the death of steve, jonathon, and el will really affect the part allowing for victory, yet being able to look back and see all of the people that were lost

the suffer brothers have a light hand on deaths so i doubt there will be too many main character causalities this season

i hope that will byers will have his happy ending and be able to love freely and not be tied down to what confined him

joyce and hopper need to go to enzo’s before either of them pass because otherwise i will sue. i could see a post apocalyptic scene with them eating canned spaghetti there together and then one of them dying, but i think a hopper death would be boring and a joyce death too cruel

as i stated earlier i need max and lucas to go on a movie date where lucas explains what’s happening on screen

[lady-ashfade]

👾 “Just a favor”

Prompt: Platonic. -Drabble challenge

The party x Platonic!Male!reader[Henderson reader! Dustin’s older brother][goth/punk reader?][not cannon events]

“What the hell?” You spit before your mouth is covered, by non other then your annoying brother. There he stood, his annoying friends and the weird girl you meet a year ago.

“Please keep it down, mom’s sleeping and we’d like to keep it that way.” You are stunned as they push you aside and walk into your room. You shut the door and turn back, the glare on your face making Dustin thrown his hands up.

“We need someone to drive us to the arcade-” you groan before he can finish and put your hands on your hips.

“No,- No. It’s dark out, and I have plans. I’m not wasting my gas on you, and your nerdy friends.” Lucas flips you off while Mike makes a disgusted face.

“I wouldn’t ask for anything ever again-”

“You said that about the last few favors, get me food, don’t tell mom about the cat-”

“I’ll tell Steve you said his hair is fancy.” You stood and have a stare off with Dustin. You want to tackle him and kill him.

“A hour- not two, not three. One hour.”

[thisapplepielife]

Written for a @astrangersummer.

Just The Facts

Week #14 Prompt: "Can you hear me?" | Word Count: 813 | Rating: T | POV: Erica | Characters: Erica, Steve | CW: Language, Minor Allusions to Period-Typical Microaggressions | Tags: S4 "The Piggyback" Missing Scene, Scoops Troop Forever

Erica runs.

She hurries, just like Lucas asked. 

Her knee hurts, her back, her ankle. 

She feels sprung, in a way she never has before. Not crawling through the ductwork of the mall. Not in the elevator, surging down, down, down. That had been an adventure. 

Scoops Troop, solving the mystery. Taking down the big bad. 

It had been fun.

This isn't fun.

Not anymore. 

She barrels down the staircase, and out the front door, and straight across the street to the run-down park. She picks up her abandoned walkie, and presses the button down, holding it tight.

"Can you hear me? Code red. Code red! Over," she says, letting up on the button. And there's no response, just static. "Dustin?"

"Robin?"

"Steve?"

"Anyone?"

There's no one, "Code red. I need an ambulance. Hang on. I'm going for help."

And she runs down the street. Runs to the nearest house on the block that has any lights on, and bangs on the door. When it opens, she holds up her hands. Just the facts. That's all she needs to give.

"I'm Erica Sinclair. I live on Maple. My brother's hurt, and we need an ambulance."

Erica is running up the sidewalk when she sees it, the house ripping apart and she stutters, stopping, waiting to see where she'll be able to go from here. 

She's not even sure she can get back in the house. Not sure if there's anything left to get back to, not in there. Not now.

Lucas. Max.

She called for help. 

Lucas told her to, and she did.

Sirens are wailing in the distance, but she can't be sure if they're headed her way or not. Not now. There's a jagged line ripped through the earth, and the damage must be bad. Really, bad. All over.

Erica wants to go home. She wants her mom. She wants her dad. She wants Lucas.

Right now, she has none of those things.

So, she sits on the grass, and holds her leg. It hurts in several places, and she's scared. She won't cry, though. She won't.

And she doesn't cry, and she's proud of herself as she finally hears a car coming up the street, moving fast, and she hopes it's the ambulance.

It's not. 

But it might be better.

"What happened?" Steve screams as soon as his head pops up out of the car, then he's barreling towards her from down the road, where'd he'd parked as close as he could get to the falling apart house.

"I got tackled!" she screams, and she doesn't know why. That's not important. Max is hurt. Lucas too, probably.

Her stupid knee doesn't matter.

"By who?!" Steve screams back, falling to his knees, face twisted into a grimace as he hits the ground, sitting back on his haunches. "How hurt are you?" he asks, his hands touching her arms, her face, looking over her.

She thinks maybe she should ask him the same thing.

"I don't know. Some basketball goon. I'm okay. Max. Max is upstairs. With Lucas. It happened," she says, and Steve looks up. 

"Shit," he says.

"My thoughts exactly," she echoes.

The ambulance finally pulls up behind Steve's car, and Steve takes over, making her sit there, demanding that she not move. 

For once, she listens.

The ambulance takes Max, and Lucas crawls in with her after a small argument, but Steve vouches for him, and they seem to take his word when they wouldn't believe Lucas saying the same, exact thing.

She wants to think it's because Steve's older, because he's a Harrington, but she knows that's not all of the whole story, and she pushes it out of her mind. She got help. She did what Lucas asked her to do, and Steve's here now.

She doesn't have Lucas, or her mom or dad. But she has Steve.

And Steve's moving as if he's gonna pick her up, holding out his hands, like he expects her to be lifted onto his hip. Like she's a baby.

"What do you think you're doing, nerd?" she asks, but there's no heat, not tonight, "I'm eleven, not five."

Steve laughs, "Of course you are. Piggyback?"

Well, her body does hurt from being tackled by an overgrown horse's ass of a basketball player.

She nods, and Steve squats, letting her climb up. He moves stiffly, and winces as she wraps her legs around his sides, and she thinks maybe she should have declined his offer, just to keep from hurting him worse than he clearly already is.

"I'm eleven," she says softly, more to herself than him.

"I know you are, and none of this was cool," he says, hoisting her higher onto his back.

And that's what does it. It's embarrassing, and she couldn't explain it if she tried, but she buries her face in Steve's back, and finally cries.

If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @astrangersummer and follow along with the fun!

[stevie-petey]

oh my god oh my god I love your writing so much - especially the way you write bug + protective!dustin (the party worrying about bug and jonathan and being bug’s number one fans is everything to me - especially lucas being so obvious with his crush)

is it alright if i ask you if you could write more about dustin being protective over his older sister - like maybe he goes to school and realises that there are a ton of people who have crushes on hawkins’ sweetheart or maybe he’s spying on a date she has with steve or maybe she gets hurt and he comforts her/swears revenge for her?

i just love younger brothers being protective over their older sisters - it’s such a sweet dynamic

thank you darlin !!!! i made this a bit sad (what else is new) but i just loved the idea of doing dustins pov when he finds out bug is cursed and how his protective nature came out </3

"fred and chrissy, they both came to ms. kelly for help." max's words almost echo in the silent office. dustin hates it. "they were both having headaches, bad headaches that just wouldnt go away. and then..."

"the nightmares." dustin hates even more that youre avoiding his gaze. how emotionless you sound. how void you are. "trouble falling, staying asleep."

next to dustin he can feel steves entire body tense. he looks at the older boy, knows that it was him you called every night you couldnt sleep. he heard every conversation through the thin walls.

then max explains how fred and chrissy hallucinated all their traumas. things from their past that they couldnt forget.

dustin doesnt think theres anything from your past that youd want to remember. it was only the other night that he woke up to your screams. last week youd mumbled your fathers name in your sleep.

"these visions, they just kept getting worse and worse, until eventually..." the shake in maxs voice sends every cell in dustins body into a spiral. her fear. the palpable dread.

and you wont fucking look at him.

"max," you whisper her name like a mournful ghost.

"until eventually... everything ended." max finishes.

ended. torn apart. left to rot in the dirt.

what a bitter fucking way to end, dustin thinks.

and its robin who provides a name to the dread that claws so heavily in his throat. an explanation for why he feels that he has to mourn you as you stand before him. a reason behind why you cant meet his eye. why you look as if youve already become a ghost that will haunt his bedroom walls just as his father does.

"vecnas curse."

"chrissys hedaches started a week ago. freds six days ago." max swallows heavily. dustin cant move. he cant breathe. somewhere lightning has struck. "ive been having them for five days."

you taught dustin the word dread when he was nine and waiting for your father to return. you taught him hope when he was twelve and thought hed lost a childhood friend. you taught him love when he was only a day old, coming home to a house filled with your three year old warmth and curiosity over being a sister.

"my headaches started two days ago."

but you never taught dustin loss. he never thought hed have to learn that word when it came to you.

"the night of lucas' game."

and now you expect me to abandon lucas, someone who has spent time with me this year, someone who has made this entire year less lonely for me.

dustin shouldve been there. he shouldve fucking been there.

something takes over his body. he thinks he falls towards you in a blind, desperate attempt to get closer. all hes ever wanted to do is get closer to you. youre his sister. hes your brother.

"no, something isnt right." steves stumbling over his words. hes next to dustin, grappling with the loss just as heavily as he is.

this isnt real. none of this is real. dustin knows science and math and how to calculate complex equations and build elaborate radio systems and how to make you laugh and when to hold your hand and none of this can possibly be real because it doesnt make any sense.

"you could be dehydrated, or-or tired." his hands find your face. his mind wracks with scientific facts and biological processes. when was the last time he saw you eat? when was the last time you slept? "headaches are caused by a lot of things. youre pale, youre probably sick and this is all just conspiracy bullshit and-"

"dustin," your hands come up to meet his. your gentle grip chokes dustin. you look into his eyes and the quiet resolve breaks him. "you know it isnt conspiracy bullshit."

but it has to be. dustin cant let it be anything else. yet youre looking at him with tender eyes and your voice speaks so softly to him, coaxing him into a lullaby that he remembers from all the nights in his childhood where you held him just like this, spoke to him so softly to soothe the ache of growing up.

"i-im fine, alright? we need to focus on max right now, shes the one who had the vision."

dustin has always been able to find the answer. he figures out the equation eventually. he finds all the pieces and places them together and protects the ones he loves through nearly impossible solutions.

but hes never been able to answer your savior complex.

he stands there, numb, as steve begs you to care about your own life. he watches what little reaction it sparks. youre just as numb to it as dustin is.

youve already accepted your death.

but dustin refuses to accept that for an answer. it doesnt matter what youve decided. he'll find another way. he'll protect you just as youve protected him.

he has to.

“COME HOME” BLURB MASTERLIST

if you’d like to buy me a coffee ☕︎