#Dustin is trying to plan a camping trip with no phones

[morganbritton132]

Dustin set up a continuous live-stream to his aquarium a while back because he likes to play it on his computer when he’s stressed out at work and doesn’t want an aquarium screensaver because he’ll catch where it loops. Once he does that, it’s all he’ll notice and it will drive him crazy.

Plus, he likes his fish. They’re curated.

For the most part, his aquarium is in his office and the microphone on it isn’t great so you don’t pick up a lot of sound. It’s a big hit with people. It’s a bigger hit if any of his fans know that he has quasi-famous friends over but very rarely do you end up seeing or hearing anything on the fish stream.

Unless you’re as close as Eddie currently is to the fish tank.

You can’t actually see Eddie, just his reflection in part of the glass from where he’s leaned in close to watch the fish. You can definitely hear him though.

Dustin must’ve said something that prompts him to reply with, “It’s actually kinda important that I have my phone so, I’m not doing that.”

There’s a short pause where Dustin must be talking because Eddie scoffs next, “I’m not always filming things for Tiktok.”

Another pause and then Eddie says more seriously, “Let’s be real, Henderson. Realistically, there very likely is going to be a day when Steve is not going to be able to remember anything and I know for a fact that the bad memories stick with you the longest. I don’t want all of his memories to be demogorgans, and bats, and Nancy Wheeler dumping him on Halloween. I want him to be able to see that we were happy and that he makes people happy.”

There’s a longer pause and then you hear a loud snort and Eddie says, “Dude, I’m not Fifty First Date-ing him!”

[steddieas-shegoes]

oh love, i'm terrified

for @steddielovemonth prompt 'love is terrifying'

rated t | 1,585 words | cw: negative self views | tags: falling in love, getting together, love confessions, sappy and fluffy

💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

He thought he was being obvious.

He doesn't do this stuff for everyone else. He doesn't show up after work to hang out for no reason other than just wanting to be around the other person. He doesn't talk on the phone for three hours in the middle of the night to comfort the other person after nightmares. He doesn't fucking stargaze with anyone.

But with Eddie he does. Steve always goes out of his way for Eddie.

He knows why, and he feels like everyone can see it too: he loves him.

But somehow, Eddie doesn't see it, or chooses not to.

Even Dustin, oblivious to human emotion as anyone else Steve's ever met, pulled him aside after Hellfire one night --yes, he even attends Hellfire now-- to ask if he knew he was flirting with Eddie so much.

Robin and Nancy had called him out on two different occasions for touching him too much in public, but he hadn't even realized his hand had gone to his waist!

And Eddie still seemed clueless.

Or at least, most of the time he seemed clueless.

Sometimes, though, Steve could swear he looked at him in a specific way, a way that Steve would think is understanding and maybe even returned feelings. But he never said anything, never did anything out of the ordinary for Eddie.

Months of wondering what the hell he could do differently, months of being less and less subtle every day, months of showing how much he loved him without actually saying it.

All for Eddie to still be oblivious.

But not tonight,

Tonight, he was going to Eddie's to have dinner and watch a movie. Wayne was on a fishing trip with his buddies from work, and all the kids were at the same summer camp, probably torturing underpaid teenage counselors.

No interruptions were possible.

He could bring out all his moves, and if Eddie still didn't get it by the end of the night, maybe he could even use his words.

"Dinner's almost ready!" Eddie yelled from the kitchen as Steve let himself in. "I didn't burn anything!"

Steve rolled his eyes fondly. "Sounds like something someone who burnt dinner would say."

"I didn't! I mean one edge is a little crispy on the lasagna, but I think that's because our oven is older than Wayne. You think the government could've given us a better oven for my troubles, but apparently not," Eddie turned to Steve standing in the doorway. "You look...nice."

Steve always liked to look nice, but he'd decided to dress up a little bit tonight, try to make his intentions clear right from the start. His hair was done as usual, but he was wearing his khaki slacks instead of jeans and his nicest navy polo instead of the t-shirts he'd mostly been wearing outside of work. He even sprung for his watch that his dad gave him as a graduation gift. He hated to know how much money was wasted on it, but it did look nice.

"Thanks. You do too," Steve replied.

Eddie looked down at his own clothes and back up at Steve. "Dude, I'm wearing sweats and a t-shirt that has more holes than cloth. You don't have to lie."

"I'm not lying. You always look best when you're comfy," Steve shrugged. "Need help with anything?"

Eddie shook his head. "Not unless you wanna grab beers from the fridge. I forgot to get some this afternoon so they're just Wayne's PBRs, but a cold beer's a good beer, right?"

"Right," Steve agreed, walking to the fridge to grab the beers.

Dinner went as dinner usually does, except they actually sat at the table this time instead of the couch. Eddie seemed surprised when Steve set his things down in front of the chair he only sat in to keep Eddie company while he planned for campaigns, but just silently joined him.

They talked and joked, they made themselves laugh so hard beer almost came out of Eddie's nose. It was perfect.

After, Steve started working on the dishes, Eddie standing by the counter watching.

He was quiet, which was unusual, especially when no one else was around to fill the silence.

"Everything okay, Eds?" Steve asked as he scrubbed a particularly difficult area on a fork.

"What? Oh. Yeah."

Steve turned to look at him, suddenly worried when he saw Eddie's face turned down to the floor. This wasn't them. They'd just had a nice dinner, and now Eddie was being...shy?

Now was his chance. He could say it. Robin would be proud of him for finally just doing it.

Hell, he'd be proud of himself for doing it.

But something seemed wrong, and the last thing Steve wanted was to turn a good night bad because he couldn't reign in his feelings for a bit.

He wiped his hands on the towel by the sink and turned fully towards Eddie.

"What's wrong?"

Eddie shook his head once, then sighed. "I kind of feel like I've been wined and dined tonight. And that's ridiculous because you're just one of my best friends, and you're straight, and it's all been in my head for months, but-"

"Woah. Wait." Steve interrupted. "You've been noticing that for months? And you didn't say anything?"

"Well, no. I didn't wanna ruin our friendship because I can't handle my own hopes getting up." Eddie leaned away from Steve further. "I know you don't mean it that way. I don't want you to change anything."

"Eds-"

"And if you do want to, that's fine! Whatever would make you comfortable. I just have to say it's feeling very 'I have romantic feelings' for you territory and I know you don't so."

"Eddie."

"I'm also not good at that though. No one's ever shown interest in me other than one girl in high school who ended up moving away a week later so I didn't even have to break her heart."

Steve crashed his lips to Eddie's, half hoping it would shut him up, and half hoping he would somehow keep rambling. He kind of loved watching him ramble.

It did shut him up. Even when Steve pulled away, Eddie's silence was deafening.

"Sorry. I should've asked if I could first, but I don't think you would have even heard me. Was that okay?" Steve asked.

"Why did you do that?" Eddie sounded heartbroken.

That's not what Steve wanted at all.

"I wanted to. I have wanted to."

"No you don't."

This was not going the way Steve had hoped for. "How would you know I don't?"

"Because I'm me! I'm just the dude who gets the good weed, and says funny shit, and cooks dinner sometimes. I'm not a girl Steve Harrington falls in love with, or even takes on a date. I'm not the type you build a relationship and future with. I'm just the guy who gets to watch everyone else do that. I'm not good for that."

"What the hell do you mean?" Steve was angry now. Who had convinced Eddie he couldn't have good things, couldn't be loved or love someone, couldn't be important? "You're Eddie Munson. You saved us all from an evil wizard dude and nearly died doing it. You're the guy who makes me a sandwich when I come over for Hellfire even though there's strict no eating during the campaign rules because you know I've been working all day and need to eat. You turn all my bad days good, and make my life better just because you're you."

"Steve-"

"My turn." Steve crowded him against the counter, hands cupping his cheeks and eyes boring into Eddie's. "I need you to understand something. I've been trying to show how much I care about you, how much I love you, for months, and I've been thinking I've just been terrible at it. I thought I truly did lose all my charm. I've been pulling all my moves out for you. I was starting to think maybe you just were trying to ignore it all to let me down easy, but it isn't that. It's because you don't see how fucking amazing you are, isn't it?"

Eddie's eyes were shining with unshed tears.

"Because you are. You're incredible. Maybe the best person I've ever known other than Robin. I find excuses to be near you. I find reasons to talk to you. I didn't even have a nightmare the other night, I just wanted to hear your voice. I'm in love with you. Like, the real stupid, do anything for you even if it hurts me kind. And if you don't feel anything for me besides friendship, I'll leave right now and I'll do my best to get over it so we can be friends."

"And if I do?"

"If you do love me, then you should kiss me."

"I've never kissed anyone."

"That's not true. We kissed two minutes ago," Steve smirked, his heart racing in his chest.

"I'm scared," Eddie's whispered admittance nearly broke Steve's heart.

"Oh love, I'm terrified. Love is like that. But we've faced scarier things, haven't we?"

Eddie's soft lips against his own was the only answer he needed.

Love was terrifying, even for Steve, maybe especially for Steve, who was used to giving a lot more love than he received back. But as they kissed in Eddie's kitchen for seconds that turned to minutes, minutes that turned to hours, they got just a bit less scared.

[stevethehairington]

i watched a movie last night about this couple that goes on a hiking/camping trip and on their way to the site they stop at this little roadside restaurant called "bigfoot's burger shack" and my brain immediately went omg but what if wayne and eddie owned a little diner off the side of the road on the way to a forest famous for "bigfoot sightings" and their restaurant was like totally cryptid themed. and then my brain spiralled...

it's dustin's birthday and he's in his cryptid era right now, so of course he is desperate to visit the forest best known for having the most bigfoot sightings.

robin is just as interested in cryptids as dutsin is (she's not a full blown conspiracy theorist or anything but she DOES get wildly entertained by them, and she loves to read up on them even if she doesn't necessarily believe/agree with some of them).

and because robin and dustin are so into it, steve gets roped along. although, is it getting roped along if you're the one that offers to drive and also plan the whole camping trip while you're at it? (plus, hey, steve's curious too.)

so steve robin and dustin head out to "bigfoot forest" or whatever fun name the locals and tourists alike have given it.

on the drive there they pass this little diner on the outskirts of the nearby town and decide to stop for a bite to eat before they finish the last stretch of the drive to the campsite. this place is one of those like cozy diner style places that's full of like locally handcarved furnishings and every square inch of the walls is covered in framed photographs and various signage and knick knacks of all kinds. except this place has fully capitalized on the nearby forest, because it's basically like a cryptid cafe - those photos on the wall are various "bigfoot sightings" and newspaper articles and clippings about bigfoot and other various cryptids. it's fun and it's very clearly a good business model lol.

this place, of course, is owned and operated by none other than wayne and eddie munson.

(i'm thinking the place is maybe called "benny's bigfoot buffet" and they took it over for benny hammond after he either died or mysteriously disappeared or just moved on.)

but anyways, steve robin and dustin stop there for lunch and they meet eddie and wayne and they all get to chatting and blah blah. eddie and wayne tell them plenty of stories of sightings - both ones they've heard from other people as well as their own (because of course they're believers).

eventually, steve robin and dustin have to leave because it's getting later and they want to make it to the campsite before it gets dark so they can set up.

blah blah blah. the first night is relatively normal, they hear some sounds and steve teases robin about it being bigfoot, and dustin gets excited about that. but they make it through the night. the next day they explore a bit. then when night falls, weird things happen. more sounds, only closer, louder, and they sound... like something. like an animal, like a creature. dustin and robin obviously go bigfoot but steve isn't so convinced. but then dustin runs out of the tent because he wants to try to get a photo or something and steve and robin chase after him and. and. annnnnnd.

he goes missing.

steve and robin comb the forest that night calling for dustin, searching for him. they don't find him though. but steve sees something. he sees bigfoot. (or what he is absolutely convinced is bigfoot now.)

they head to the munson's diner so they can use their phone to call the local police, and hopper callahan and powell roll up onto the scene and ask what happened and steve and robin tell them, and at first steve doesn't want to tell them about what he thinks he saw because he knows how that's going to play out. they're going to think he's crazy. but robin convinces him to maybe? or maybe she just tells them herself. but, as expected, they laugh at that. they tell them that bigfoot isn't real. blah blah.

of course, during all of this eddie and wayne were listening, they heard it all. and after hopper and co talk to them, eddie corners steve and is like tell me what you saw and there's something about him that makes steve feel like safe almost? like he can tell eddie and he won't laugh like the cops, he won't judge steve, he won't call him crazy. so he tells eddie and eddie looks spooked, but also excited and he tells steve yeah. that sounds like bigfoot.

and blah blah they end up taking things into their own hands and doing the investigating themselves, steve robin and eddie. (maybe they call in some reinforcements in the form of eddie's friends from town? local journalist nancy wheeler, photographer jonathan byers, max mayfield, fellow cryptid enthusiast)

and i literally have not thought of anything past this or what actually happened to dustin or how they find him or if bigfoot is actually real in this or if they end up unconvering some huge government conspiracy instead or something lmaoo. but yeahhhhhhh. oh and also ofc steddie happens along the way lol.

just. cryptids. bigfoot. spoooooooky. pacific northwest forest vibes. appalachian munsons. yeahhhhhh.

[sh1tbird-shantytown]

Steve accidentally summons his guardian demon who is determined to get Billy, Tommy, and him together. Except that every plan goes haywire.

i’m ready to weep. this is going to be fun.

===

Now. In his defense, he never thought it would actually work this time. Last time he hadn’t even gotten a peep from the answering service. Maybe it was just how desperate he was in the moment. Maybe whoever ran the demon summoning answering service took pity on him. But here it was, just as the little paper his mother had left him described.

It was eating his leftover pizza, “They sent me to deal with you because your last guardian is helping some lawyer stuck in an arson case. They haven’t given me a case in decades. Not since Lincoln at least, how long ago was that?” the thing laughed to itself and shoved another slice of olive and pepperoni in it’s gaping hole of a mouth. It was luminescent and dark emerald and it’s eyes were maroon orbs. Overall, less horrifying than he thought initially.

“Uh,” Steve stayed crouched behind the kitchen island and cleared his throat, “A long time. Wha— What’s your name again?”

The thing closed the fridge door too hard and it shook, “I didn’t say,” it traveled through the island with it’s hands behind its back, “I’m Eric.”

Steve blinked and stood up, “...Eric?”

It grinned and it’s crooked teeth showed, “Don’t act so perplexed, I’m trying to fit in on this realm.”

“Just seems very,” Steve watched as it drifted over to the phone in the wall, “Boring?” If Steve had to describe it’s reaction he’d say it was pouting.

“I thought it was classy,” Eric whined.

Steve blinked a few times and when the demon didn’t make another move he laughed nervously, “I mean, it’s nice. I guess I’m just really bad at meeting people, uh, ones of your...kind.”

Eric smiled wider than Steve thought was possible by any imagine, “Good. Now it’s time we figure out how to fix your problem.” There was suddenly a notepad in Eric’s pointy fingers, “When did your uneasiness begin?”

“What?”

The orbs circulated, “When did you start feeling down? Why’d you call? You know our customer service sucks down there.”

Steve pinched his brows together as he considered, “I guess when Nancy and I broke up and then Dustin went off to camp. I’ve been lonely.”

Eric’s shadow of a head nodded sympathetically, “Nothing will dust a man’s character away more than loneliness. Well, who are we looking for here. I’ll need to follow you around for a day to see who we can work with.” Before Steve could respond the thing started moving towards him, “I’ll just attach to your shadow for now and then later we’ll reconvene.” Before Steve could agree, Eric was gone into the shadows of the evening.

“Well okay,” he threw his hands up and went upstairs to prepare for work.

===

Tommy came into Scoops Ahoy that day and Steve immediately felt a tingle to his toes and fingertips. Eric appeared behind his old friend as he surveyed the display.

“This one is cute,” he said and floated around Tommy. Who scratched his cheek unbeknownst.

“What are you doing?” Steve hissed through clenched teeth.

Tommy startled and Eric looked on amused, “Uh, looking at the options?” He stared as Steve flushed in embarrassment.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Steve explained quietly, “Robin, you’re on!” he turned and fleed quickly.

“Wa—“ Tommy’s voice was cut off by the door and Robin looked up from her novel.

“Dingus, I still have ten minutes,” she kept her place with a finger as she slowly shut the book. Steve rushed forward and sat in a chair, Eric right by Robin’s side, taking her in.

“I know,” he linked his hands together, “And I’ll give you another fifteen if you just take this one. Please?” he begged.

Eric’s eyes rolled again, “Way to stand tall, Steve.” Steve glared at him and Robin raised her brows.

“Okay,” she said longly, “Don’t give yourself a migraine now, Steve,” she laid her book down and headed out. “Welcome to Scoop Aho—” her voice closed out as the door shut.

Eric took her seat, “Now how are you supposed to land the boy if you won’t even face the boy?”

Steve reminded himself to keep his voice down, “Because it won’t work. So leave him out of this.”

Eric groaned obnoxiously, “But he’s our answer. He’s your answer and I have a cat to feed back in my realm so we have to hurry this up!”

Steve glared, “And how do you suppose we do that?”

Eric did that grin again, “We tune into that boy you were in high school, Harrington. And we knock ‘em off their feet.”

Just then Robin stormed back in with her hair practically on end, “Harrington, I’m not dealing with both those assholes at the same time. Take your fifteen minutes, shove it, and get your butt out there now.” One look at Robin and one glance at Eric’s smug drift towards the door and Steve was out of the break room regrettably.

“Ahoy!” he faked his best customer service smile. Billy Hargrove’s smirk reminded him too clearly of Eric, who was of course floating around the two males on the other side of the counter.

“Handsome, love that he’s blond, haven’t seen such a monstrosity in a while—” Steve bit his tongue to keep from laughing out loud.

“Cute, Harrington, nice shorts,” he leaned forward a little and looked at Steve’s lower half.

“Fruity too,” Eric sat on the counter.

Steve’s eyes widened and he cleared his throat, “Right, well, what can you I get for you two?”

Tommy settled an elbow against the counter and grinned cutely, “Hargrove here got a job at the pool so we’d like something,” he licked his lips, “Sweet.”

Billy nodded slowly and shifted the sunglasses on top of his head, “I’ll take pistachio.”

“Sweet cream and cookies for me, Stevie,” Tommy added.

Eric looked between the three of them, “All three of you? Kittymuffins can wait!” Steve ignored him and went over to the ice box, taking a scooper and a cone and bending inside uncomfortably to scoop from the green bucket.

Eric spoke from behind him, “They’re checking your ass out.” Steve sputtered and moved to get up. But he ended up smacking his head against the upper part of the glass.

“Shit!” he yelped in pain and stumbled back and then fell onto the ground after tripping on the fallen scoop. He hit his nose against the floor and felt a shock of pain. “Ow, shit, holy—”

“Steve?” he heard three voices shout.

“Oh my God!” Robin exclaimed and all of a sudden six arms where assisting him up from where he was on his knees gripping the counter desperately.

“He’s got a bloody nose,” Billy took over and picked Steve up and onto the counter. Steve blinked slowly and tried to catch up. Billy picked him up. “Pretty Boy, that was the most tragic thing I’ve even witnessed,” he said teasingly and bunched up napkins to Steve’s nose. “Keep your head level,” he ordered when Steve moved to tilt it back. “Good,” he commented.

Robin sighed, “I’m going to have to shut the shop down to clean this up. There’s blood on the glass, Steve. How?”

“Sorry,” Steve said weakly.

Tommy’s face made it’s way to Steve’s sight suddenly, “We can take him home.”

“Yes,” Eric agreed.

“No!” Steve refused and then felt guilty when Billy and Tommy looked embarrassed. “I mean, I’ve got it, I’ll go home and ice my head and nose. I’ll take some aspirin. And then I’ll come back for the rest of the night shift,” he told Robin. He stood up and ignored Eric shaking it’s head, “Thank you, guys. I’m fine. Really,” he addressed them each, “Thank you.”

“Uh,” Robin looked at Billy and Tommy uncertainly, “That’s fine I guess.”

“Thanks,” he said and rushed into the back room.

“You’re an idiot,” Eric crossed it’s arms.

“I know.”

===

Steve was at the store. He ran out of bread and he really wanted cookie dough ice cream. And just to his luck Tommy Hagan happened to stock shelves.

Eric spotted him first, “Oh!” he cheered and pointed with his emerald fingers, “It’s that freckle boy!”

“Hey, Steve!” Tommy walked over after setting down a crate of wheat loafs. “How’s your nose,” he examined Steve’s face as he walked closer. He laughed nervously and Eric snapped his fingers warningly.

“Much better,” Steve smiled.

“Billy’s pretty useful with all that training,” Tommy’s eyes softened.

“He sure is,” Steve nodded, “Could’ve used it the night he beat me up,” he chuckled unsurely. Eric face palmed.

“Oh, yeah,” Tommy looked down at his feet ashamed. “He’s sorry about that you know,” Tommy lifted up hurriedly. “He kicks himself for it all the time.”

Steve smiled and swung the bread gripped in his hand back and forth, “Really? How come he’s never said anything to me then?”

Tommy stubbed his toe into the floor, “He just didn’t want to overcrowd you too soon. And then he lost all the confidence to go through with it.”

“Steve,” Eric waved in front of his face, “Make a move. He obviously likes you, make your damn move and then we’ll land the other one!”

Steve panicked, “O-Oh, yeah, that’s nice. Hey, would you like to go to Bob’s for dinner sometimes this week?” Eric clapped and nodded approvingly.

Tommy grew excited, “I’m actually going there with Billy on Sunday—”

“Oh,” Steve sighed and smiled disappointedly, “Well, see you around then,” he waved and turned the corner as Tommy stayed stranded with his mouth open.

“Steven!” Eric scolded as Steve speeded to the frozen section, “What was that?” he screeched.

“I don’t want to intrude on them,” Steve muttered. A lady watched him worriedly as he grabbed a gallon of ice cream from the freezer and ran.

“You’re hopeless, Harrington,” Eric floated on his back and then disappeared.

“I know.”

===

Eric convinced him to go to the pool during the heatwave. It started out fine. Until Billy strutted out and climb up to the lifeguard seat.

Steve actually groaned, “Why does he have to look like that?” His head hit the back of the chair as he draped himself helplessly.

Eric sipped from his self produced margarita glass, “You love it though.”

Steve rolled his eyes, “I’m going to get a drink,” he eyed the soda machine on the other side of the pool and walked over. He felt kind of bare in just his blue swim trucks. It’d been a while.

“Hey, Steve!” Billy called down and waved with a flashy smile. Steve halted quickly to smile and wave back. Some kid also decided to run into the pool right as Steve stopped, pushing him in the pool. And Steve may have been a swimmer for a few years in middle school. But he hated pools after the whole Barb disappearance. All his experience left him in that moment.

He was underwater and everything was so quiet. Quiet and dark and soft. Sure there was a sting from the surface of the water but he kind of just forgot that the surface was a thing and when he looked down he saw monsters. Dark shadows against the pale floor. Then arms were wrapped around him and air was gasped into his lungs. He was lifted up onto the spiky concrete and he laid on his stomach as he caught his breath.

“Hey, hey!” Billy yelled, “Get back, and you! You’re banned, get out now! Before I knock you one.” he sounded livid. Steve blinked and then he saw Billy overtop of him, speaking much kinder. “Hey, man, sit up. Yeah,” he encouraged as Steve coughed more and sat upright, “Perfect. You alright?” Steve nodded and gave a shaky thumbs up.

Billy helped him up and Eric appeared over his shoulder, “You should’ve faked drowning so you’d get his lips on ya.” Steve groaned again and leaned his forehead against his knees. “Do you want me to bring through some wind to fix your hair?”

Steve sighed, “No,” he mumbled.

“You’re not?” Billy asked concernedly and put a hand on his back. “I can take you out back and have Heather take over.”

Steve looked up quick, “What? Oh, no, she deserves her break,” he chuckled, nervous and sore. “I’m fine. She had to deal with some kid dropping his popsicle in the pool. Who knew kids took cooties so nervously.” He smiled and started to get up, “I should probably go anyway.”

Billy kept his hand against Steve’s back and placed another on his shoulder soothingly, “You sure? I can drive you home if you want.”

Steve patted Billy’s arm, “I’m fine. Thank you, Hargrove, I appreciate it.”

Billy smiled softly, suddenly distracted as he stared at Steve, “Just doing my job.” Steve said goodbye and slowly made his way back to his car shivering. He was at the gate when a towel was suddenly strewn over his shoulders. Steve twirled around in a stagger to find Billy gleaming with a light sheen of sweat.

“Sorry, just thought you’d be better without a cold later,” he closed the gap of towel on Steve’s chest.

Steve laughed a little hysterically and hugged him, “Thanks, Billy.” He stepped away and went through the gate. Eric reappeared, smirking and Steve sighed as he finally gave in. “He still looking?”

“Yep. The water is making your suit stick to your ass.”

“Perfect.”

===

Eric sat with him on a bench in the mall, “Maybe you still have hope.” A kid ran by and Steve moved his feet in from their sprawled position.

“I don’t know,” he sighed, “They both have probably gotten together and given up on my dumb ass.” Eric nodded and when Steve stared at it unimpressed it smiled apologetically. Steve shook his head and sunk his shoulders more. “Whatever. What if I just relieve you of your duty and you go home to Fluffymittens or whatever.”

Eric coughed offendedly, “Her name is Kittymuffins. And who’s to say? Maybe today will even be the day, ‘cause they’re over by Scoops now.” It pointed over and Steve followed just to see Tommy and Billy arguing just outside the doorway of his very own workplace.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Steve whispered.

“You,” Eric answered, “Tommy doesn’t want to push you but Billy thinks it’s time they tell you their plan.”

Steve asked perplexed, “Plan?”

Eric nodded, “They want to make you dinner and then get in your pants.”

He stood up and shook his head, “You’re so crude.”

Eric followed, “It’s basically the rundown.” Steve shook his head and grinned openly when the two men noticed him and turned to greet with big smiles in return.

“Hey, guys,” Steve brushed his hair back with a clawed hand, “What can I do you for?” Billy giggled and Tommy smiled before rolling his eyes and smacking Billy’s arm.

“Hey, Steve, we were just talking about you,” Tommy said.

“I know,” he smiled as both of them looked panicked. “How about you two come to my place tonight and we’ll talk about it then?”

Eric laughed beside him, “That’s my boy!”

The two of them looked a little shocked, “Uh, sure,” Tommy nodded slowly and smiled widely.

Billy’s smile was curved and his eyes glimmered proudly, “Told you so, Toms.”

Steve bit the tip of his tongue between his teeth sultrily as he admired their pink cheeks with a grin of his own, “See you later boys,” he wiggled his fingers at them.

Eric floated with him as he made his way back to the break room, “Do you need my help with dinner?”

“Nah, you can get back to Kittymittens.” He closed the door just as Eric gave one final applaud.

[dtjoyce]

PROMISED LAND STATE PARK 25 JULY–1 AUGUST 2017

The Hibdons got together for a week of camping and adventure in the Poconos.

The group Left to right: Ellen, Susan, Bob, Michael, Karen, Fiona, and Papa/David

Fiona & a feather

Colin

Karen & Susan make tie-dyed shirts

Colin & Papa

One of the rustic cabins at Promised Land State Park

Treehouse Nay Aug Park, Scranton

Fiona & Grammy

Mama & Fiona

The sign on our cabin

To the Poconos!

This year, the Hibdon clan decided to get together again, but instead of going to Donner Lake, we decided to try a new place: Promised Land State Park in Pennsylvania, which I discovered by searching for lakes with camping in the Poconos. I’m glad we found it, and I hope we go back again.

On Friday, 25 July, after a few days of family emails discussing supplies and arrival times, Dustin and Fiona went to pick up our car from New Jersey. While they were gone, I read a blog post titled “Why I Took My Kids’ Toys Away (& Why They Won’t Get Them Back)” and I was inspired to go through Fiona and Colin’s toys and pack up a lot of them. I decided that I’m okay with building toys (blocks, for example), art supplies, and musical instruments, but other than that, I tried to get rid of as much as possible. Most of them weren’t trash, of course, so I stashed them away until we could take them to Goodwill. It was convenient that Fiona had decided to go with Dustin, since I couldn’t have culled the herd with her present. It was also convenient that we were about to leave town for a week, so that she wouldn’t notice that some of her toys were gone.

When they got back around 14.00, we were already far behind schedule. I had estimated that we would leave around noon and get to the cabin around 15.00. We packed up and I adjusted our estimate to 17.00. We drove and drove, but we hadn’t had any lunch, so we decided to stop at about the only place there is near the highway in Troy, New Jersey: Dunkin’ Donuts. We finally got into the vicinity of the state park as the sun was setting. It was then that we discovered that Dustin’s phone, which we had been using to navigate, had no service — and we didn’t know how to get to the park.

We drove down one road, state highway 447, that looked promising (no pun intended), but the bridge at the end was closed, so we had to turn around. At the end of 447, where it branches off from Pennsylvania highway 191 in East Stroudsburg, there is a retro-looking roadside ice-cream stand called Mary Anne’s Dairy Bar. I suggested we stop there for directions. I hopped out of the car and asked the teenage girls working there if they knew how to get to Promised Land. One of them did, and she gave me very good instructions. (Apparently people stop there all the time seeking directions, so she had some practice.)

We finally got to the cabins a few minutes before 22.00 — very late and very dark (as forests are). Grammy and Papa had a brand-new flashlight for Fiona. She was thrilled to use it to find our cabin, which was a cozy two-room affair built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. It had an electric cooking stove, a wood-burning stove for heat, a refrigerator, and a table and chairs in one room, and four bunks in the other. It had a front porch with a picnic table, and in an outbuilding just behind the cabin was a bathroom with hot running water and a shower. Even in the summer it’s pretty chilly in the Poconos, especially at night, when the temperature usually dips into the 50s (10°–15°C). We curled up on our bunks — which, honestly, were not that comfortable — and went to sleep.

A week of fun, adventure, and family

Grammy and Papa discovered that a church just up the road from our cabins was having a rummage sale. The entire family ambled up to the sale right first thing after breakfast on Saturday, 26 July, but of course we didn’t really need or want anything there, especially after getting rid of so many toys a few days earlier. Michael found an electric frying pan that would be great for his crew trips. Dustin found two tennis rackets for $1 each, which seemed like a great idea since we can take them across the street and play on the handball courts. Fiona found a wooden bear that she bought for, I think, $1.50 — her first purchase ever. She was very pleased.

The next day, Sunday, 27 July, I woke up sick. We hadn’t really planned to go to church, because it would have been really far anyway. Dustin took Fiona and Colin with the rest of the family over to the lake, where they found some wild blueberry bushes! I’m sad I missed that part. They picked a lot, I think. Meanwhile, I was throwing up on the path to the bathroom. Fortunately, though, I felt better right after that. I never did figure out what was wrong, since I had eaten the same things as everyone else.

That afternoon, Karen threw a birthday party for Fiona. We had an egg-and-spoon race in the road, and Fiona dropped her egg pretty much instantaneously. We also played pin the tail on the donkey, although I’m not sure it was a donkey — it may have been some other animal — and also I think we used tape instead of pins. There were two Sarah Lee cakes, one vanilla and one chocolate, as well as streamers and flower banners and cupcake papers full of candies.

Near the church where the rummage sale took place was a little dam, and above that was a beach where we went to play on Monday, 28 July. Karen and Bob had brought some beach toys, including a mask and snorkel and a purple inner tube. Fiona loved it. Her judgment was not always great, but she was very enthusiastic about hanging around right next to Karen and Bob, who fished her out when necessary. Colin liked splashing around.

Later that day, we all drove to a town north of the park called Hawley. It was one of those really cute litte towns with a nice Main Street (and, impressively, even some things off of Main Street), a nice library, and a creek running through it. We walked around a bit and explored some shops. There is also an old silk mill outside of town which has been converted into a hotel and some shops, with a trendy-looking but non-franchised coffee house named Cocoon in a building out front. We also stopped there, of course.

On Tuesday, 29 July, we started the day working on tie-dyeing shirts that Karen brought. Michael made one, and Karen made one for Colin and one for Fiona. I made one, too, and sadly it ended up looking more like the pox rather than the cheerful sunbursts I was going for. Fiona’s tie dye shirt is still one of her favorite shirts to wear, and it’s still very bright, unlike the tie-dye shirts I remember making when I was little.

Later, we drove to Scranton, which is Pennsylvania’s sixth largest city and the nearest large city to Promised Land State Park. Scranton is also the setting of the TV show The Office and is nicknamed, as we learned while we were there, “The Electric City”. As it turns out, it has kind of a nice downtown. I suppose that’s not a surprise, since older small cities generally did have nice downtowns. It’s just not what I think of when I think of Scranton, probably because The Office is set in a grungy suburban office park.

We explored the lovely old Lackawanna train station, which is on a hill on the edge of downtown. Unfortunately, no passenger trains stop there anymore, though the platforms are still there. But at least it has not been abandoned or demolished, like so many other lovely train stations across the United States: it has been converted into a hotel, and we think would be a pretty cool place to stay sometime.

We also visited Nay Aug Park, which is the largest park in Scranton. The Nay Aug Gorge right in the middle of the park, with a covered bridge over it, was really lovely. We also went to a huge tree house. One of the trees supporting the tree house we were in had a little door on it, which I had forgotten until Fiona reminded me. Actually, I still have no recollection of it, but there are pictures, so I guess it happened.

On Wednesday, 30 July, we went on a hike on the Little Falls Trail on the other side of the lake. There were some people out, but not a lot, and I was a little nervous about bears — especially when, partway around the loop, we found a giant pawprint in the mud. It was not a dog paw. We made sure to make plenty of noise as we finished our hike.

Throughout the week, when we weren’t out on hikes and exploring, Grammy and Papa’s cabin was the hang-out zone. Colin spent a lot of time hanging out on a blanket in front of their cabin. He wasn’t that stable yet, so sometimes he toppled over backwards, but it usually wasn’t a big problem for him.

Fiona found a big rock she could sit on. Someone had scaled a fish there, so she collected a lot of fish scales. There were plenty of opportunities for exploring, so that she did not feel any need for toys. She even told us that she wanted to live there, in the cabin, because there was so much to do and she liked being able to walk over to Grammy and Papa’s house every day. I also showed her that she could eat some of the plants nearby, though sorrel was the only one I was sure about.

There was plenty wildlife, too. We heard woodpeckers pretty often and sometimes managed to spot them in the trees. On Thursday, 31 July, Dustin repeated the Little Falls Trail hike with Grammy and Papa. At the beginning of the trail, near the top of the creek, several people were gathered looking at something in the water. Grammy, Papa, and Dustin looked and saw a snake taking a swim.

Some people, including Papa, reported bear sightings near the cabins. Dustin made a habit later in the week of waking up before everyone else and sitting in our rental car. The seats were much more ergonomic than the hard beds in the cabin, which gave his back a chance to recover from the previous night’s sleep, and he could listen to NPR. He also hoped to have his own bear sighting but, unfortunately, it never came.

On Friday, 1 August, our week of fun, adventure, and family came to an end. When it was time to go, we packed up all of our stuff, including a lot of stuff that had been purchased at Goodwill or at the rummage sale so we could drop it off at another donation site. (It’s always nice to get rid of stuff.) And, sure enough, when we got home, Fiona didn’t even notice that some of her toys were gone.

Read the entry Susan and Fiona left in our cabin’s guestbook.

Looking back on a week-long adventure with family in the woods of Pennsylvania. PROMISED LAND STATE PARK 25 JULY–1 AUGUST 2017 The Hibdons got together for a week of camping and adventure in the Poconos.