#I need steve nancy and robin to be involved in this

[augustweary]

Bonus hugs that I missed the first time.

The triple hug appreciation post!

A hug between two characters is amazing, but a hug between three is spectacular.

[chelseeebe]

just a taste

18+. mdni. smut. kinda perv!eddie x fem!reader. he is a lil freaky in this i'll admit.

a/n: i just love the idea of the citrus six all living together lol idk i think it’s so nice also i have never watched cheers i just googled 1991 american tv shows and picked one at random LMAO ++ for the movie, i thought it’d be a nice lil easter egg for them to watch something with winona in:,)

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:

eddie doesn’t know who you are or why you’re coming to visit or why exactly it was him that was being made to vacate his room for the two weeks that you were here. 

“c’mon eddie,” robin pleads, nay, demands, “you sleep on the couch most nights anyway, what’s the difference?” 

“uh, maybe because it’s my room? i don’t want some random girl in there touching my stuff,” almost flabbergasted that she’s even asking. 

“she’s not a random girl,” robin frowns, “she’s my friend and she needs somewhere to stay.” 

“tell her there’s a great hotel in town,” rolling his eyes, trying to leave the conversation before she breaks out the puppy dog eyes. "i'll even give her a ride if you ask nicely," no longer interested in entertaining this conversation.

“i’ll give you fifty bucks,” robin deadpans, using her last resort.

this was bribery of the highest order but eddie's not stupid. fifty bucks is fifty bucks.

“now?” 

she sighs, sliding her wallet from her pocket to reluctantly hand over the bill. she stops just before it touches his palm, “promise you’ll clean your room.” 

eddie goes to grab the paper but robin’s faster, jolting her hand into the air, “and change your sheets.” 

“okay,” he huffs, holding his palm outstretched. 

she graciously places the note down, smiling wickedly as she does so before skipping off back to her own room. 

he can only roll his eyes, turning around to the shit hole that was his room, wondering if fifty dollars was worth having to tackle it. 

-

eddie’s sat on the couch when you arrive, barely looking back as robin begins to fuss, talking loudly about your journey. he doesn’t really care enough to involve himself, besides, elvis presley had just given sam a very important message. 

“eddie,” robin hisses, standing in front of the screen, “don’t be rude, say hello,” her hands firmly on her hips like she was his mother or something. 

he looks up at the looming figure by the couch, hoping his eyes hadn’t given his immediate shock away too much. 

you flash him a sheepish smile back, waggling your fingers in a short wave. 

two weeks on the couch didn’t seem so bad now. 

not if you were sleeping in his bed. 

it’s just a shame that he wouldn’t be in there sharing it. 

“hey,” he stands, hoping to indiscreetly catch his breath, “i’m- uh, i’m eddie,” offering his hand out, though he regrets it as soon as it’s done. 

who shakes hands now? christ. he needed to get a grip, and badly. 

“hey,” you reply, your name dripping from your tongue. though you do shake his hand, not bothering to hide your confusion in the process. 

“eddie very kindly said you could have his room,” a bright, big sarcastic smile on her lips. 

“yeah.. no biggie..” christ, he’s almost panting. “do whatever you want in there.. or you know, just- just make yourself at home.” 

his desperate pleas for the earth to split open and swallow him whole go unanswered. instead, robin shoots him a concerned glare before ushering you away from his weird, longing gaze. 

'pull it together loser' she mouths before disappearing, leaving him to reflect upon how utterly hard he had just fumbled that entire situation. 

-

when everyone’s home from work and you’ve exchanged niceties and greetings with the rest of the house, robin brightly suggests a movie. 

eddie usually hated movie nights in the house. 

jonathan would want to watch some indie cult classic that no one else had ever heard of, steve wanted to watch some dumb comedy that only he’d find funny and then nancy and robin typically opted for the romance genre. 

leaving eddie and argyle with absolutely no choice but to sit in silence as they bickered. 

tonight it’s different, you get to pick. 

and now he’s not saying that whatever you choose will forever change the way he views you but.. well, that’s actually exactly it. 

you land on edward scissorhands. 

not the worst choice you could’ve made, and hey, his mom used to call him edward when he was in real bad trouble. 

in the end, it doesn’t really matter what you had picked because eddie can’t muster up enough energy to actually care about the film. not while your thighs are peeking out from underneath your oversized shirt. he can’t help but wonder what they’d feel like wrapped around his ears. what previous sounds would fall out of your mouth in response.

at some point during the movie, you stand up and walk out of the room to the kitchen but that doesn’t stop him. staring through the open door, marvelling at the way the hem of your shirt lifts, exposing the tiny shorts you had on underneath. 

he’s practically hanging over the back of the couch to get a look, craning his neck at a ninety degree angle just to get a glimpse of your soft, pillowy skin. pinching himself as he tries to resist the urge to just sink his teeth into your inner thigh.

robin jabs her elbow into his ribcage, drawing his eyes back to the room with a grunt and a harsh glare thrown her way. 

“you’ve been staring at her all night,” she whispers angrily into his ear, “stop it, or next time it’s your balls,” a harsh warning he didn’t find entirely necessary. 

you sidle back into the room, drink in hand and eddie can’t help but let his eyes wander over again, short glances that robin hopefully wouldn’t pick up on. 

he can’t help it, some magnetic force swaying his gaze in your direction. he wishes so badly that he could just crawl out of his head and tell you how much he wanted you. 

unfortunately for eddie, he’d instead spend the night dreaming of your ass and all the ways he could have you if he’d only grow a backbone. 

-

living alongside you is an entirely new feat eddie’s not sure he’ll survive. 

it’s torturous. 

testing the limits of how ridiculously horny one man can get without self-imploding. 

so close and yet so far. each night you’d tuck yourself into his bed, doing god knows what in between his sheets all without eddie getting a look in.

of course he’d made up a hundred different scenarios to fall asleep to each night. 

his favourite being the one where he walks into his bedroom to find you mouth open, legs apart, too encapsulated in your pleasure to notice him. only until you do, inviting him closer, between those supple thighs of yours, a forbidden nirvana he’ll never get to know. 

though more often than not he’s cruelly forced back into reality by robin ripping the curtains open at the ass crack of dawn, blaring sunlight on his face as you slip away from the grapples of his dream land. 

now is his opportunity, the house quiet, bar the muffled giggles of you and robin upstairs. he’s safe for now, he thinks, rather foolishly. it’s late, the rest of them asleep or too busy in their own rooms to catch him in the act. 

eddie’s never done anything like this before. it’s disgusting, perverted to the core. 

good grief, this is prosecutable behaviour. 

tiptoeing down the hall to his room, the door open just a crack, enticing him in further. he can still hear you on the floor above, giving him enough confidence to push it open a little more, edging inside with a quick glance back down the hall, just in case. 

gratefully it seemed that you were just as messy as he was, your clothes strewn across the floor. his eyes immediately turning to the peeking of lace from under the pile. glancing one last time at the cracked door, ensuring that absolutely nobody would see him. 

reaching down to gather the fabric in one quick swoop, bunching them in his palm as he lets out a quick sigh of relief. 

oh fuck. they were so soft, fingers spreading to really get a feel. he wasn't even going to take them, he'd just wanted a little look, something to help his overactive imagination get all the important details right.

“what are you doing?” startling him in this precarious position, the lace of your underwear entangled around his fingertips. 

eddie freezes, he can feel the heat rising through his chest, all the way up to the tips of his ears. scarlet red. 

“uh.. i..i-i don’t know..” he hasn’t done anything like this before, he swears. 

your mouth is open in a sort of half-smirk, half-perplexed gawp, closing the door before he could bolt. 

you move around the mess, creeping closer until he can feel you brushing against his side, peering over into his hand. 

“oh wow..” you remark, breath hot and sweet against his cheek, “what were you gonna do with those?” 

eddie feels sick, trying not to projectile vomit across his room. there’s no way you wouldn’t tell robin. fuck. he could hear you now, voice full of disgust, robin laughing at how pathetic he was. 

“n-nothing i swear..” stumbling through his sentence, “i was just..” excuses fail to come to mind, “i was uhm.. looking for something,” the absolute best his flustered mind to muster up. 

“oh really?” reaching around to untangle them from his hand, “you sure about that?” 

there’s no anger to your voice, but he doesn’t dare turn around to look at your face. afraid of what he’ll find. your eyes pitying, sad that he has to root around your dirty laundry to get off. 

“i’m- i’m sure,” though the crack in his voice gives him away. 

you hum, coming around to stand in front of his gormless face, “so you don’t wanna keep these?” holding the evidence up to his face, the hem just barely grazing his cheek. 

eddie’s knees almost buckle, his breath shuddering as any semblance of composure he had left, floats right out the window. 

“here,” reaching forward to tuck the baby blue fabric into the waistband of his sweatpants, your eyes never once leaving his as you do so. “you keep those.. but next time just ask, okay?” 

he nods like an obedient dog, lapping up the scraps you were throwing him. he could stand here all night long, keeping up the weird little power game you’d started. 

“goodnight eddie,” you smile, giving him a gentle nudge, a sign for him to get the fuck out. 

you were the master, he was just the lap dog, eager to please. 

-

at breakfast the next morning, he struggles to even keep his eyes open. having spent an embarrassingly long amount of time on the couch last night shamelessly sniffing the lace you’d gifted him. 

you don’t even acknowledge it, or him for that matter. happily chatting along with nancy about some news article. 

“oh and eddie,” robin begins, flashing him a stern look, “i don’t appreciate finding your fucking panties in between the couch cushions,” 

he chokes on his mouthful, his knife clattering against the table in shock. a multitude of eyes turn to stare at the spectacle he was making. 

“they’re- they’re not mine,” clearing his throat as he clears his name, though he doesn’t dare look in your direction, terrified that he’d absolutely lose his mind if he did. 

“well whoever’s they are, i don’t care, stop leaving them on the couch.. i’m sure our guest doesn’t want to sit amongst dirty underwear,” she bites, calming down now she had gotten her point across. 

if only she knew. 

eddie must’ve fallen asleep with them still attached to his hand, thanking his lucky stars that no one had walked in on him with them pressed to his nose.  

he keeps his head low, focusing on the plate in front of him. nothing had ever been as mortifying as this. not even the time he had slipped off the dinner table in the middle of the cafeteria. 

cutlery scrapes and clinks against the china, uncomfortable silence until argyle clears his throat, “gnarly meal robin, thanks dude,” seemingly settling the tense atmosphere, for now. 

everybody hums in agreement, getting back to their food without another word. but your eyes peek up, meeting his with an indescribable glint. and really, the worst part is that eddie would sit through this horrific situation a hundred more times, just for one more measly sniff at your panties. 

-

eddie can’t take it anymore. 

he’s never been so pent up in his entire life. and he’s tried to hold on until he could move back into his room but he couldn’t last any longer. 

but he’s careful, waiting for everyone to trundle on off to bed, listening carefully for the muted click of the light switch and even then, waiting another hour to be sure. 

the clock glares an alarming 1:04 by the time his belt clinks and his jeans come down, the first of them would be awake in just a few hours, ready to take you on to the airport. 

he wishes it would’ve played out differently, that he wouldn’t be sat here on the last night of your stay alone. but alas, eddie’s never been particularly brave and especially not in regards to hot women. 

your panties wrapped around his right hand as he spits on his left, wrapping around his stiff cock while his fingertips play with the lace in his other hand. 

“ohh fuck,” he hisses, wanting nothing more than to start hollering the house down. 

robin wouldn’t be too pleased if she ever found out what he’d done. and he can’t really afford to get the entire couch dry-cleaned so he really must be careful. 

thinking quick, he shoves his t-shirt into his mouth, muffling the chorus of grunts and groans threatening to spill over into the dark room. the muted light from the tv illuminates his face, breathing loudly through his nose 

he hadn’t heard the door open or the soft sound of your feet padding down the hall, only made aware of your presence when he reopens his eyes, near enough jumping out of his bones. 

how long had you been there watching him shudder and whine?

“fuck,” he exclaims, fist still wrapped tight around his throbbing cock, too aroused to care about it too much. 

“you want some help with that?” 

eddie looks at his dick, then back at you, mouth hung open in a mixture of awe and confusion. 

it’s not very clear but you move closer anyway, sinking to your knees and nestling in between his spread legs. 

“okay?” maintaining eye contact despite how difficult it was, eyes bright and eager. 

he nods, unable to comprehend what was happening. knowing he’d wake up from this twisted dream to some soggy boxers and a whole lotta shame. 

your palm wraps around the base of his cock, shooing his hands away to make room, smiling as your lips wrap around the already leaking tip. were you a psychopath? were you placed on this earth to goad and tease him?

this isn’t real. this isn’t real. the voice repeats around his head though it’s quickly silenced by your tongue swirling circles around the tip of his cock, readjusting his t-shirt to bite down harshly on the fabric. 

eddie’s hands lay useless on his thighs, twitching to intertwine with your hair, still doubting the reality of the situation. this could all be a dream and the second he touches your hair, you’d disappear from in front of his eyes.

the t-shirt falls from his lips, “fuuck,” grunting into the tense air, gritting his teeth so as to not expose your precarious position to the rest of the house. 

the wet sounds of your lips wrapped tight around his cock make his toes curl, his hands find your hair, not without prompting from you. tugging gently at the tendrils as his head starts to spin. 

when your eyes look up to meet his, eddie thinks he might just cum right down your throat then and there. he can see that troublesome glint in your eye, a roaring fire that he so desperately wants to keep stoking. 

your fingers slide up his thigh, finding his neglected balls and with a slight smirk, you grab ahold, gently fondling them as his brain melts out of his ears. 

no one had ever, ever made him feel so good. collectively losing brain cells when you hum on his cock, getting just as much out of this as he was. 

“oh yeah, fuck- shit fuck, i’mcummingi’mcummingi’mcumming,” eddie’s mouth rushes, louder than he ever should’ve been. bright flashes of light fill his peripheral, using your scalp as leverage to keep himself on the couch. 

his hips stutter, thrusting into your mouth with his fingers tight in your hair, yanking harshly in an effort to get your lips off of him before he came everywhere. 

you don’t budge, nails digging into his thigh as his release seeps down your throat, his eyes squeezing shut as his fist instinctively comes up to muffle his mouth, moaning into his clammy palm instead of alerting the entire house. 

eddie’s other hand lets go of his strong hold on your hair, allowing you to get off of his dick, panting happily as you sit up between his knees and with lips glistening with his release, you kiss him. all soft and gentle while his brain fails to compute. 

it should be gross. but eddie just can’t find it in himself to care, because in reality, this was the hottest thing that had ever happened in his measly little life. 

“please let me taste you,” he begs between kisses, grasping desperately at your waist, the fabric of your shirt slipping between his desperate fingers.

you giggle, pulling back to look at him through the dimmed light, “not now,” you hover just above, constantly teasing and unobtainable

“well when?" jutting his bottom lip out in hopes it'd convince you to change your mind.

"when i'm back," letting him down gently. eddie'd count the seconds till you came back if that was what it took to get even a tiny glimpse of your pussy.

“what time do you leave?” he pants, chasing your lips. eddie was nothing if not a chancer, though if it hadn't happened already, there's a miniscule chance of it happening now.

“seven,” whispering back, a hint of annoyance that this build up had only crescendoed now, just as you were about to leave. he'll blame robin for that, poking her nose in and trying to turn him off. it shouldn't have worked. he should've been braver.

“but it’s your turn,” an awful sadness and regret overcoming him. someone better, someone like steve, would've had you pinned to that couch by now, his head between your thighs and your slick dripping down his chin.  

“next time,” only repeating yourself, smiling coyly before you plant one last kiss to his longing lips before standing fully upright and disappearing back off to his room, leaving him reeling with a story nobody else would ever believe.

[eddiesxangel]

Never Have I Ever… | E.M x Virgin!Reader

TJ’s 2K Request celebration!

@nailbatanddungeon : “I have a request for youuu. Okay, this is Eddie x Virgin!reader, reader is still new to everything, but there is one thing that the reader needs but is scared to push because the reader is TOUCH STARVED (So am I)”

Cw: reader and Eddie are in their mid to late 20’s, touch starved virgin!reader, angst, fluff, alcohol, throwing up(too much alcohol consumption), hangovers, fingering, oral (f receiving), p in v, protected sex. Friends to lovers

WC: 3.1k

I hope you enjoy!! 💗

“You’ll get there; you’re just a late bloomer, is all”

A late bloomer, you’ve heard it your whole life- and you’re sick of it. Sick of feeling behind in life? You’re in your twenties now and getting absolutely shit-faced because you’ve never done anything in this game of never have I ever.

You, Nancy, Steve, Eddie, Robin, Jonathan, and a few others were at the block party, and you somehow ended up involved in the juvenile game.

“Never have I ever kissed the same gender,” you drank.

“Never have I ever dumped anyone,” you drank.

“Never have I ever smoked weed,” you drank.

“Never have I ever said the wrong name in bed.” That’s rich because you’ve never been in a bed with anyone to begin with.

You hadn’t relized how much you’ve had to drink until you stood up.

“Woah, you okay?” You hear Nancy speak as you wobble.

You had wanted to get up and get more to drink because, unlike the others, your cup was empty.

“Yeah.” You tried to get out, but it sounded more like a grunt to the others.

Ignoring their protests, you stumbled your way back to the kitchen, feeling sorry for yourself.

You fumble with the lid of the hard liquor bottle until a strong ring-clad hand clasps over yours. You freeze, pissed off and embarrassed, knowing who the hand belongs to.

Even in your inebriated state, you get that same feeling whenever he is around you. You feel the heat in your cheeks instantly as the butterflies in your stomach irrupts.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Sweetheart.”

You look down, not wanting to see the look on his face.

“I don’t care” you slur. God, you will hate yourself in the morning.

Of all people, it had to be Eddie to come and check on you?

That’s how he was—always worried, always babying you because you “weren’t experienced in life,” according to his words, and it made you mad! It made you seem like a child, and you were sick of people treating you as such. You were a grown woman, you had a 9:00-5:00, an apartment, and a degree, but none of that mattered—not when it came to dating and love.

“Sweetheart, please, you need to slow down.”

“Why?” You rolled your eyes. “I’m a big girl I can handle my alcohol.” You huffed.

“I just think— "

"IM TIRED OF WHAT YOU THINK!" you've had enough. No one took you seriously, and you couldn't help that Eddie happened to be the only one to feel your wrath.

"Woah, okay-okay, I’m sorry."

“I’m sick of everyone treating me like a child!" the dam broke, and streams of mascara fell down your cheeks.

"I don't think you're a child." Eddie timidly reached out his comforting hand.

"Yes, you do."

"When have— "

"ANY TIME WE ARE OUT, EDDIE! Like last week at the bar, I was so close to getting that guy's number and you swooped in acting like my father!"

"Sweetheart I—"

"Don't sweetheart me!" You cut him off once again. "It's demeaning."

"y/n. Let me take you home. We can talk about this tomorrow."

"I don’t want to."

"Too bad we are going." Eddie no longer gave you a choice. He took your hand and started to pull you along with him.

You stumbled, tripping over your feet because your balance was gone completely.

“Woah, see my point exactly.”

“Shut up.” You mumble, and Eddie can’t help but stifle a laugh. You were so cute.

Eddie didn’t mean to make you think you were juvenile…. He admired you and wanted to protect you; you were a woman to him, all women. He liked you; he really liked you. The only reason he swoops in is because he doesn’t want you with anyone who isn’t him, not because he doesn’t think you’re not capable… He dreams about how capable you can be. He just didn’t have the balls to say it to your face.

The thought of you not having any experience never even crossed his mind. He still had no clue you’d never been intimate with someone; he didn’t even know how inexperienced you were until the game. He watched and raised an unknowing brow each time you took a gulp.

Eddie took your keys from your hands and unlocked your front door for you. The whole car ride had been eerily silent. You didn’t dare speak a word without the threat of vomit coming up with it.

You silently stumbled into your home. Eddie followed closely behind. He helped you take off your sneakers. He led you to the bathroom and found some makeup wipes to help you take off your makeup, but halfway through, you turned to the toilet as the tequila made its way back up.

That’s when you broke; you were so embarrassed. “What’s wrong with me?” You cried.

“Nothing is wrong with you, swee-.” But he cut himself off, remembering that you scolded him earlier in the evening.

“Yes, there is something wrong with me! Nobody wants me.”

“That’s not true.” Eddie stroked the back of your head as you emptied out the contenders of your stomach into the porcelain bowl.

“Then why am I still a virgin?!” You sobbed.

Eddie was stunned, speechless. He had no idea. He just thought you didn’t like sharing your sex life, not that you didn’t have one.

So he let you cry into his chest. Your tears stained his shirt, but he didn’t care; he was here to take care of you.

“Come on, let’s get you to bed,” he guided you after he helped you ride your mouth out.

You crashed as soon as your head hit the pillow. Eddie thought of leaving but was worried you would need him if you woke up, so he took the couch.

You awoke with a throbbing pain pounding in your head. You were never drinking again. The night was murky; you started remembering bits and pieces but not everything. You get up and notice the bottle of painkillers and a glass of water you definitely didn’t put there.

Then you remembered Eddie bringing you home and let out an aggravated groan. How could you have been so messy? And in front of Eddie, out of all people? Why couldn’t Robin and Nancy bring you home? What did you say to him? Were you mean? Did you yell at him? You remember crying, but the reasoning was foggy.

You begrudgingly take the water and pills and almost gag, trying to get them down, but you manage. You also smell like a minibar, so you strip and walk to your bathroom.

After a long hot shower, you get dressed and must put some food into your empty stomach.

You walked past a sleeping Eddie, not seeing him curled up in the living room, and started noisily making yourself some breakfast.

“Is that the way you wake up all your guests?”

You screamed as you threw the fork you had in fright.

“Eddie, what the fuck?!” You clench your chest as you take big breaths to calm your racing heart.

“Sorry, Angel”

Angel… that’s new? It’s always been sweetheart.

“I didn’t know you stayed?”

“Yeah… you um. Were in pretty rough shape last night, I didn’t want you to be alone... so I slept in the couch. I hope that’s okay”

“Thank you, Eddie, I’m sorry I ruined your night.” You looked down, ashamed.

“You didn’t ruin it.” He shook his head.

“Well, I owe you one,” you giggle awkwardly. Eddie and you hardly ever hang out one-on-one.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like absolute shit.” You hand Eddie a black coffee.

“Yeah, well, you really went hard in that game of never have I ever.”

You met out a moan of embarrassment. Your memory came flooding back.

Mortification consumed you as you didn’t want to look Eddie in the eyes. You cried in his arms last night after you puked your guys out.

“Oh god”

“It’s okay, Angel. Nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“What happened to sweetheart?” You tried to change the subject.

“You said it was demeaning…”

“Oh god, I did?” You peek up and see Eddie silently nod his head yes.

“I’m sorry, it’s not… I like the nickname. I just…. I was feeling so emotional last night, and the alcohol.” You tried not to gag at the thought.

“S’all good.” He shrugged. But he was replaced to hear you liked being called sweetheart. It suited you; he didn’t call anyone else that, either. It was reserved just for you.

“Um, so about last night, you mentioned nobody wanting you….” Oh god, was he really doing this now? “I don’t think that’s true.” Yes, he was.

“Huh?” You sit up, taking a sip of your coffee.

“You cried about how you didn’t think anyone wanted you, but it’s not true… I want you.”

Did you hear that right? Did you get water in your ears from the shower?

“You do?” Your eyes widen.

“Yeah,” he looks at you sheepishly.

“Oh?” You were in shock.

“Shit-I-I’m sorry, I ruined everything.” Eddie stood up, but you stood up with him, not wanting him to leave.

“No, Eddie, wait!” You grab his shoulder and turn him to face you. You couldn’t let him leave, not now.

“Sweeetheart, please let me be mortified in peace.”

“Kiss me.”

Eddie stares at you before you tell him one more time.

“Kiss me, Eddie.”

Then you feel his hands grip the back of your head and pull you in.

You didn’t think anything could cure your hangover but this comes pretty damn close.

You melt into his touch, his hands cup your head, your hands find his waist. It feels right, so right you think you’re floating.

No one had kissed you in what felt like years, and maybe it had been, but it was worth the wait.

Hands danced around one another’s bodies, and tongues and teeth clashed. It was messy; it was needy.

“Woah woah woah, sweetheart, hold on.” Eddie pulled back breathlessly.

“What’s wrong?” You look up at him, concerned…. Had he changed his mind?

“I think we should slow down.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Sweetheart, it’s okay. We have time.”

“No.” You shook your head. “I’ve waited long enough.”

“Sweetheart, I don’t think—"

"No! I need this, I want this." You look him dead in the eyes.

"You tell me if you want to stop, okay? Promise me."

"Okay, Eddie."

Eddie waists, not another second to take you in a feverish kiss. His hands roam your body, landing on your ass. It excites you so much you can feel the familiar tingling ruminating lower and lower.

You moan his name and press your whole body into his; you need to feel him, all of him… and you can. His hard cock is digging into your hip bone, and you connect your bodies.

Stumbling back without breaking the kiss, Eddie leads you to your bedroom. You fall backwards onto your bed with a gasp.

hovering above you is Eddie. You can see the lust behind his eyes as he scans your body.

"If im doing anything you don't like, tell me. This is about you, okay?"

“Okay,” you breathe as he lowers down to his knees. You watch his hands run up the tops of your thighs before spreading them wider so he can have access to where he wants you the most.

Running his fingers down your centre, you can’t help but moan at the feeling. You are greedy; you want to feel everything all at once.

Wasting no more time, you pull down the stretchy waistband of your pants and yank your underwear down with it. No time to be self-conscious- the need to feel Eddie fueled your desire.

“Beautiful,” Eddie whispered as he left a trail of kisses up your thigh, hovering just above your mound.

“Can I taste you?”

“Yes, please. Take care of me, I want it so bad,” You whine desperately. If you weren’t so horny, you’d be embarrassed by your words, but with Eddie, everything felt right.

Eddie’s lips latched into your soaked pussy, and you watched as his eyes rolled back in enjoyment. He didn’t hold back; he wanted this to be the best head of your life, even if it’s the only head of your life. You grip his hair in your fist, not expecting the pleasure to ripple through you so quickly.

“Taste so good, sweetheart; I wanna live in this pussy.”

“Oh god!” You cry as a single digit breaches your wanton hole.

Slowly, with his tongue and his finger pumping into you, you’re nearly there. Considering how long you’ve waited for this moment, it doesn't take much more. You’re cumming within minutes.

“Good girl, you okay?” he slaps the inside of your thigh and your body jerks.

“More,” you beg. It wasn’t enough; nothing would be able to satiate you until his cock was deep inside you.

“You sure? We can stop if you’re not ready”

“Need you now.” You grab him by the shirt collar and pull him towards you for a searing kiss.

“Okay,” he mumbles into your mouth, crawling up your body.

You loved the feel of his weight on top of you, consuming you with every kiss.

“Want you, Eddie” you moan as your hands toy with the hem of his shirt.

“You have me.” He dips his head lower to caress your throat with his lips.

Your breath hitches when you feel his teeth scrape across your soft, delicate skin.

Eddie didn’t lift his head until he was satisfied with the dark mark left on your neck.

When he unlatched from your throat, you demanded he take his clothes off.

Eddie loved your eagerness; he saw a spunk in you that he could only have dreamed of.

You also removed the rest of your clothing as he stripped.

When Eddie removed his last layer over his head, he couldn’t help but ogle your body, the way your head sunk into the pillows, your breasts, your soaked pussy on display for him. He was devouring you with his eyes.

You motion him to you with a single finger, breaking him out of the trace you put him under.

“God, you’re so beautiful.” Eddie was like a feline the way he crawled up on the bed to you.

The heat rushed to your cheeks; somehow, this felt more intimate than what he was doing between your legs a moment ago.

“I want you,” you repeat yourself.

Eddie cups your face, and you cup his in return. His eyes bore into your soul, leaving not a trace unturned as he searched your entire being before kissing you one more.

You moan into his mouth, and Eddie’s cock grazes your mound collecting your slick as his hips ground into you.

“Ready?” He asked desperately; he needed to be inside of you.

“Yes.”

He quickly got up and you moaned,

“What are you?- oh,” you blush

You see him reach for his pants pocket for his wallet as he pulls out a condom.

Quickly he rips it open, and your mouth waters as he rolls it over his cock. This is the first time you’re seeing what he looks like down there, and you’re getting nervous because how is that supposed to fit?

“Sweetheart? You'll be okay.” He smirks.

Cocky, shit.

“If I have to ask you again, I’m going to do this myself.” You huffed.

“Oh really? How do you suppose that?” He pounced back on top of you.

“I have my toys.”

Eddie’s head drops back. “We will get back to that later. Now I’m going to fuck you.”

“Finally”

Eddie doesn’t respond. He just slowly slides his cock through your slick folds collecting your natural lube before inching his way inside of you.

“I need you to relax, sweetheart.” You naturally clench around him. He was so tickled and long. Never had you felt so full, but little did you know Eddie was only a quarter-way in.

“Fuck you’re big,” you gasp.

“No need to stroke my ego, baby girl”

That made your pussy clench down again.

“Oh, you like that?”

You nod your head, yes, unable to speak.

“Noted”

You could kill him if he wasn’t making you feel so good.

“Eddie!” You scream as he finally reaches the hilt, gripping him like a koala you don’t want to let go.

“Fuck, this pussy is so tight” Eddie slowly works his hips in and out of you; with each thrust, you can feel his bush brush against your clit, and it sends a tingle down your spine.

You moan in response; everything feels like it is on fire; never had you expected this level of sex. No wonder everyone is obsessed with it.

“Harder”

“You sure”

“Yes, god yes!”

Eddie's hips snap into you with such force your head almost hits the headboard. The bed is rocking; you have never experienced something so wanted, so needed, so absolutely taken over by someone else.

“Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!” You chant his name, which only makes him go harder. His fingers dug into your hips, gripping you so hard, not ever wanting to let you go.

“Fuck me, this pussy s'good.” He spits through his teeth. His primal side is showing, and you can't get enough.

Nothing can again amount to this amount of pleasure; you're ruined for life.

"You close, baby girl?" Edie smirks when he feels you clamp don't on his cock when he spits out the words.

A guttural moan is unleashed from your throat in response because, god, you're so close.

The pressure building inside of you is about to burst as Eddie's calloused fingers find your sensitive clit.

"Come on baby, I know you gotta another one for me. I know you do."

Eddies words tipped you over the edge. Your body seized as his thick cock continued to pump into your greedy pussy. Your orgasm took over, and Eddie watched you silently scream for him.

Before you became overstimulated, Eddie also came shortly after, only a few more pumps, and he spilled himself into the condom.

With Eddie beside you huffing and puffing, you couldn't wipe the stupid grin off your face.

"That good, huh?"

"I don't want to stroke your ego, but yeah... fuck me" You hid your face.

"I just did." Eddie rolled over to kiss all over your face and you can't help but giggle.

"I hope we can do that again," you shy away.

"Oh, we are one thousand percent doing that again. "

Tagging some mooties: @littlexdeaths @xxbimbobunnyxx @voyeurmunson @rowanswriting @lofaewrites

@starkeysprincess @strangerstilinski @taintedcigs @mmunson86 @paybacksawitch @stardancerluv

[uss-butterscotch]

Yet another between seasons 3 and 4 fic

Eddie tries to unravel the mystery his newest sheep are caught up in that somehow involves Steve Harrington

Part one

- - -

Eddie wasn’t sure what he was expecting from the group of freshman he had taken into his group, but it certainly wasn’t them claiming to be buddies with the disgraced king Steve Harrington. It had started when Henderson had asked how long Hellfire meetings would go.

The little twerp rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well I need a timeframe. Steve said he’d give me a ride home after, but he’s not just gonna wait in the parking lot forever.”

“Yes he would, and you know it.” Wheeler retorted before Eddie could respond.

“Well yeah, but he already spends like no time with people his own age outside of work, it’s getting a little sad.” Henderson said, and Eddie was starting to wonder who this Steve guy was. ”I don’t want to add another reason for him to not have friends.”

“What are you talking about?” Sinclair joined in. “He’s like constantly hanging out with Robin.”

“Yeah! And he refuses to make a move on her! I think he’s lost all his game. And sitting in a parking lot for hours waiting for a group of nerdy freshman isn’t gonna help.” Henderson replied dramatically.

When Dustin had first brought him up, Eddie had figured Steve was like, his stepdad or something. But the more it went on the more lost he got.

“Okay, okay,” he interjected, stopping their weird conversation before it could get any weirder. “Whoever this Steve guy is, you can tell him to pick you up at eight.”

“Oh, you probably know him.” Dustin said, which Eddie highly doubted, since the only Steves he knew were his uncle’s poker buddy, and the former jock/bully/general asshole that was Steve Harrington.

“He graduated last year.” He continued, and that narrowed down the list of Steves in a unpleasant way.

“You’re not talking about Steve Harrington.” Gareth said, looking up from his lunch for the first time during the conversation.

“Yeah, we are.” Henderson replied, and Eddie shared a look with his friends.

“No way Harrington spends his free time driving you twerps around.” Eddie said, thinking if he was a character in one of his campaigns he’d be insight checking them all so hard right now.

“Unfortunately he does.” Wheeler said lazily as he pushed his meatloaf around his tray.

“Nobody’s forcing you to get in the car when he picks us up.” Dustin snapped.

“What, and ask Nancy for a ride? That’s worse.” Mike responded.

“All of you shut up,” Eddie called, once again derailing their strange conversation spiral. “Let me get this straight: King Steve has no friends besides some band geek that he can’t even manage to date, and spends his free time driving a bunch of freshman around?”

When none of them answered him he threw his head back, cackling. “Oh this is too good.”

He kissed his hands and threw them up, as if beckoning to the heavens. “Oh it’s all true! What goes around truly does come around.”

He was too busy reveling in the downfall of the personification of everything he hated to notice Henderson’s simmering rage across the table from him until he slammed his fists on the table. “Steve’s a good guy!” He shouted.

Eddie gave him a dangerous look. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” Dustin asserted. The kid had guts, he had to give him that.

“Tell that to Jeff in freshman year, with his head in a toilet while Harrington egged his buddies on.” Eddie pushed.

Dustin looked between him and Jeff briefly, but his defensive aura didn’t waver. “He’s not like that anymore.”

Eddie scoffed and leaned away from the table. “Yeah, and I live on the moon with my fairy godmother and a million dollars.”

Dustin had apparently heard enough, because he picked up his bag and stormed away. Wheeler and Sinclair watched him go for a second, before sharing some kind of psychic communication. Eventually Sinclair got up and followed after him.

“Oook what’s his damage?” Eddie asked.

Wheeler sighed. “He and Steve got really close last year. Dustin was in some trouble and Steve helped him out. And then the thing with Billy, and the-“ he stops abruptly before continuing “the mall, and now I guess Dustin sees him as like, a big brother or something.”

“Ok that explains like, nothing.” Gareth says, “The thing with Billy? You mean when Hargrove smashed Harrington’s face in last year?”

Mike nodded. Unhelpfully not explaining further. Giving them a look like they were the crazy ones.

“And what does that have to do with Henderson?” Eddie prodded.

Mike huffed and crossed his arms. “He was there. We all were. Billy was looking for his sister and she was hanging out with us, and he said some shit about her not associating with ‘people like Lucas’, and then he attacked him, and Steve stopped him, but Billy fought dirty.”

Mike shook his head and looked away. “We thought Billy was gonna kill Steve before Max was able to stop him.”

Eddie shared a look with Gareth and Jeff, trying to judge if they were buying it. It was no secret that Billy was an asshole, and a violent one at that. Wouldn’t be too far of a stretch to believe he was a racist too.

“Ok, so Harrington got is face beat in to stop a racist asshole. That doesn’t cancel out all the shitty stuff he did before.” Eddie stated.

“Yeah, also, you mentioned the mall?” Jeff cut in.

“Yeah.” Mike said like it was obvious.

“The one that burned down?”

“Yeah,” Mike was picking at his fingernails now. “We were there for that too, with Steve.”

He looked like he was thinking hard for a second before continuing. “We got separated in the fire, so I don’t actually know exactly what happened, and they don’t like to talk about it, but when shit was going down Dustin, Steve, Robin, and Lucas’ little sister got in a pretty bad situation. The way Dustin tells it, Steve got them out, but he got pretty hurt in the process.”

“Jesus Christ, is there any disaster in Hawkins you guy’s weren’t there for?” Eddie said.

Mike gave a humorless laugh. “I wish.”

They all let Mike’s story sit for a second before they all started firing off more questions.

“What was Steve even doing hanging out with you guys when Billy showed up?” Jeff asked.

“So you’re trying to tell us he’s some kind of hero for saving Dustin from the mall fire?” Gareth added.

“Come on, Wheeler, he dated your sister, you can’t really think that highly of him.” Eddie finished.

Mike squinted at them for a moment before scoffing, “Honestly, none of it is any of your business,” he turned his gaze to Eddie, “and yeah, he did date my sister, and he was kind of douchebag like two years ago. And for the record, I don’t even really like him that much, but he did save mine and my friends’ lives more than once, so I think I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and not automatically assume he’s a complete asshole.”

At that he also grabbed his bag and his lunch tray. “I’m gonna talk to Dustin, try to get him to see your side of it, but maybe you guys should try to see ours.”

Eddie watched him follow his friends out of the cafeteria. Shaking his head. “Man I never pegged them as the type to hero worship some jock.”

Gareth shrugged. “Sinclair maybe, I overheard him talking about joining the basketball team last week, but Henderson? No way Harrington puts up with him.”

“Maybe if Henderson cools off by Friday we’ll see if Harrington really is there to pick him up.” Jeff mused.

When Friday came around, find out they did.

The session ended up going until about 8:30. When Eddie called it a night and Henderson looked at the clock, he started packing up in a hurry.

“Shit, Steve’s probably pissed we kept him waiting.” He practically shrieked.

“Dude, chill out, he’s probably just out there failing to chat up Robin. Again.” Lucas said, collecting his things at a more relaxed pace.

Dustin barely had time to hear him though, as he raced out of the room with a hasty goodbye to the rest of the group.

Lucas rolled his eyes. “Steve talks a lot of shit, but if it really pissed him off that much, he wouldn’t do it.”

Eddie paused his organizing of his dice to shake his head. “There you go again talking like you’re friends with Harrington.”

“Whatever, thanks for the great session, Eddie. See you on Monday.” Lucas said as he left.

Wheeler was still there, taking his sweet time packing up his things. “What, King Steve’s not taking you with him?“ Eddie asked.

“Oh, he is. I just like making him wait as long as possible. Plus, his and Dustin’s dumb secret handshake takes so long they’ll probably still be doing it by the time we get out there.” Mike replied, rolling his eyes.

“They do not have a secret handshake.” Gareth said, incredulous.

Mike shrugged. “Believe whatever you want man, all I know is that it makes us about 5 minutes late to whatever we’re doing.”

Eddie shared a look with the rest of his friends, simultaneously deciding that if this secret handshake existed, they had to see it for themselves. They left their stuff behind and made their way out to the parking lot to see what must have been the end of the handshake, which consisted of what looked like a brief light saber fight and Dustin spilling Harrington’s imaginary guts on the pavement.

“What the hell,” he whispered as he watched Harrington animatedly ask Dustin how it went.

As Henderson talked, he watched Harrington wave to Lucas across the parking lot and notice Eddie and his friends in the doorway. His smile faltered slightly, becoming a little awkward, as he waved to them too.

Eddie’s brain was too busy trying to process everything he was seeing to have the wherewithal to do anything back. Looking back on it, he wished he would have stuck his tongue out in his signature devil move, but alas, he’d have to save that for another day.

As he watched, Henderson got in a fight with a girl in the front seat of Harrington’s beemer. At first he thought it was a little odd that Harrington would bring a date to pick up a bunch of high schoolers from D&D, but then he recognized her. Robin Buckley, the band geek the freshmen had mentioned was Steve’s only friend.

Eventually, Harrington broke up the fight. “Henderson you can sit in the front when you’re the one who just got off a 5 hour shift on a Friday night.”

He watched Buckley stick her tongue out at him through the window as he joined Lucas in the back. Then Harrington checked his watch almost anxiously. He opened the driver’s door and said something to the kids in the back. When he reemerged from the car he did something Eddie never would have expected. He started walking towards them.

Not only was he walking towards them, but he was looking at them almost like he was about to-

“He guys, is uh, is Wheeler still in there?” He asked, looking between the four of them. He sounded almost nervous. Good Eddie thought, let him squirm.

“No actually, we had to sacrifice him for our satanic ritual.” Eddie replied, his brain finally catching up to the situation. His friends snickered behind him.

Harrington had the audacity to look worried, like he almost believed him, until he looked behind them and apparently saw what he was looking for.

“What the hell is taking so long, dipshit?” He asked.

“If I’m not allowed to say dipshit in front of you why are you allowed to do it?” Mike fired back without missing a beat.

Harrington just rolled his eyes, somehow resembling a tired parent. “Just get in the car, I was almost worried you fell into the-“

He stopped abruptly, not unlike the way Mike had the other day, Eddie noted in the back of his mind, and glanced at the Jeff, who also seemed to notice.

“…Toilet.” Harrington finished lamely, and was met by a classic Mike Wheeler judgemental grimace. He cleared his throat and added, with a hint of annoyance, “Just get in the car, Wheeler. Your sister will kill me if you’re not back by 9.”

The evening’s surprises kept coming when Wheeler, for maybe the first time in the month that Eddie had known him, dropped his pinched expression and sounded almost sincere when he mumbled “Sorry, didn’t mean to like, actually scare you.”

Steve just nodded in reply. As Mike made his way to the car, Harrington lingered for a moment looking like he was trying to convince himself to do something.

“Hey, uh,” he started eventually, “thanks for lookin’ out for them.”

And with that he gave another awkward wave and walked a little too briskly back to his car. Eddie had a brief thought that he should probably stop watching them, that he should head back inside and stop thinking about it, but found himself unable to look away as Harrington got into the car, yelled something to the back seat, and pulled out of the parking lot.

They were gone for a long moment before Gareth spoke up. “Ok so Harrington’s definitely been replaced by some sort of alien robot or something, right?”

“Yeah I’d say that’s the most likely explanation.” Eddie said, still staring at the spot the car had disappeared from.

Part 2

[imsogonesposts]

Starcourt Aftermath

|| ao3 || steve masterlist || requests are open!! ||

summary: Steve doesn't think anyone will come pick him up after the Starcourt mall fire, but you're there to take care of him and take him home. (wc: 1111)

warnings: mentions of steve's bad parents + everything he went through in s3

Steve hadn’t really expected anyone to come pick him up. He figured he’d either have to walk home, or ask Joyce, Nancy, or Robin for a ride home, after all, his parents couldn’t even bother to pick up the phone after the ambulance had tried them four times to tell them Steve had been involved in a fire at the mall. It was too late for him to ask the paramedics to call you without him feeling guilty that he would be waking you and your family up at this hour. So when the paramedics asked if there was anyone else they could reach, he shook his head no and said he’d get a ride home with one of his friends. He could only hope someone found his damn car keys before he started asking around for a ride home. Maybe the walk wouldn’t be so bad, though Steve didn’t know if he could handle that cold walk home, alone after everything he and Robin had endured. The needles, the drugs, the beating, he felt like he was going to be sick. 

“There you are!” He heard you exclaim from his side. Steve could only blink repeatedly, half expecting you to be a figment of his imagination, proof that the drugs never fully left his body yet. But no, you were there, standing in front of him before pulling him into a tight hug, one he easily reciprocated– he hadn’t realized just how badly he needed the hug, needed someone who made him feel safe and loved to hold him in their arms. 

“It’s the middle of the night, what are you doing here?” He quietly asked, words mumbled as he pressed a kiss to the top of your head. He doesn’t think he’s ever been so happy to see you, to be in your arms, to feel your skin against his. 

You pulled away from the hug just enough to look at him, your eyes trailing over his face taking note of every cut and bruise that was there. “My mom was watching the news and they said the mall caught on fire. She told me, so I came here to check on you cause I knew you were working today. Are you okay?”

Steve felt like he could melt on the spot from your words. It shouldn’t be completely mind-boggling that his girlfriend would care about him enough to drive to the mall and ensure he was okay from the fire, but he regularly found himself falling in love with you all over again anytime you did the smallest things for him. Anytime you so much as hugged him, kissed him, even held his hand, Steve felt like his heart would burst out of his chest. 

“Yeah, honey,” he said softly, cupping your face with one hand as he moved to kiss your forehead. “Yeah, I’m okay,” he pauses, “okay-ish.”

“What happened to you?” You ask, gesturing to his black eye as you lean into his touch. 

“I’ll tell you about it later,” he promised, “I’d rather not think about that right now.”

You nodded your head yes before glancing around your surroundings, taking note of everyone that was affected by the mall fire. “Are your parents in town?” You asked, noticing their absence in the crowd. Despite dating Steve for almost a year now, you could count on one hand the number of times you’ve seen his parents due to their frequent business trips. 

He shook his head no, “business trip,” he muttered. Of course.

“Do you want to spend the night at my place then?” You ask, taking Steve’s free hand in yours as you begin to lead him to your car. 

He shook his head no again, something he probably shouldn’t be doing so much as it was only adding to the growing headache that was beginning to form between his temples. “No, no, I wouldn’t want to impose, sweetheart,” he replied as he seated himself in the car. 

“You wouldn’t be imposing,” you tell him, starting the car and pulling out of the mall parking lot, already on the route to your home, “I want to be with you right now, anyways.”

“Yeah?” He asks with a smile. 

“Yeah,” you quietly reply. “I was worried I was gonna get here and you wouldn’t be okay… I kinda need to be with you right now,” you tell him, eyes never leaving the road.

Steve feels his heart warm at that as he places a hand on your thigh, “I’m okay, baby,” he softly tells you. 

You nod noncommittally, continuing the drive to your house in silence, with the exception of the radio softly buzzing in the background. 

A five-minute drive later, you’re helping Steve up the stairs of your house and into your bedroom, setting aside a pair of clothes for him to change into. 

“You sure the paramedics cleaned your face up?” You ask as Steve begins to change into the sweatpants and hoodie you set out for him, the very same hoodie and sweatpants he had thought he somehow lost. 

“Yeah, I know what the paramedics did to me, babe,” he says, voice slightly muffled by the hoodie as he puts it on. 

You nod, already under your bed’s sheets, waiting for him to join you. “Just making sure.”

Steve smiles, moving to give you a quick, soft kiss as he tells you, “and I appreciate it, baby. Really. But you don’t need to worry so much, okay?”

You want to tell him how you have every right to worry, how you hadn’t heard from Steve since the day prior, and that when you heard about the mall fire you swore you felt your heart stop for the briefest of seconds, how when you saw him sitting alone with his face battered and bruised, you didn’t know whether to cry tears of joy or sadness. Joy for him being alive, or sadness for him looking as if he had barely escaped with his life. 

Instead, you nod your head yes, telling him a soft “okay,” as he kisses your forehead, getting under the covers next to you, arm already draped over your waist as he pulls you closer to him. Almost as if he knew how badly you needed to be in his arms after the scare. Or maybe he needed to feel you in his arms just as badly as you did. 

“Is it fine if I leave the lights on?” Steve softly asks. 

You nod your head yes, “course it is, baby.”

He smiles at your response, whispering a small “thank you,” as he somehow pulls your body even closer to his. 

[stevie-petey]

episode six: the dive

“You do realize Skull Rock is a super popular make out spot? It wasn’t popular until I made it popular, alright? I practically invented it.” The words slip from Steve’s mouth before he can really understand the consequences behind them. He stops dead in his tracks and stares at you, eyes wide in fear. “Nice one, Steve.” You pat his chest sarcastically, sharing a disgusted look with Dustin.

Summary: dustin rejects the pity pringles you offer, eddie is straight up not having a good time, nancy does some investigative journalism about you and steve (gossips with robin), and steve suddenly decides he wants to take up scuba diving. for some reason. but hey ! title drop time !

Rating: general, some swearing

Warnings: fem!reader, use of y/n, cursing, mentions of death and violence

Words: 7.4k

Before you swing in: HI !!!! HAPPY ONE YEAR OF COME HOME !!! weve reached the scene everyone has so patiently waited for ;) can yall believe it took a full year before we finally reached the fated title drop ??? i can ! anyways, pls enjoy. i love this chapter and you guys so so so much :')))

–

“Want some?” 

Dustin smacks the pringle that Steve dangles away from his face. “Get that away from me.”

“But you love Pringles,” your hand waves in front of his face, holding yet another chip. You’re sitting in Nancy’s trunk with Steve, eating leftover pringles from the supply run from this morning for Eddie. Dustin sits in the middle, squished between Max and Lucas. “Here, take one as a peace offering.”

“I’d rather be stuck between Lucas and Max than you and Steve, Y/N.” Dustin huffs, though he does eventually take the chip that you offer him.

Steve chews another chip. “Totally harsh, dude.”

The car turns and you’re suddenly pressed against your boyfriend, knee bending at an uncomfortable angle. “Cozy car, Nance.” You quip, repositioning yourself so your ribcage is no longer in your lungs. 

“Sorry, guys.” She glances back at you. “I know this isn’t ideal, but Eddie is almost definitely low on food and he’ll want to hear what we found.”

“Not to be a wimp, but can I sit in the car for this visit?” Robin asks from the passenger seat. “‘Cause this is gonna totally and royally suck.”

You toss a chip into your mouth. “I agree. Especially after his weird broadcast yesterday.”

Dustin whips his head to look at you. “Eddie contacted Cerebro?”

“Did I not tell you?” 

“No!” 

“Shit, sorry.” Yesterday was a blur. After the lights exploded in Victor Creel’s attic, you’d all driven silently back to Nancy’s. Hardly anyone spoke afterwards. You all had gone to bed quiet, reeling from the implications of what you’d found. “It was weird. I couldn’t really understand him, the signal was weak.”

Dustin gestures wildly at you. “Okay, but what did he say?”

“Something about Jason? And holes in a boat?” You’d been recovering from your panic attack when Eddie’s voice came through the radio. The details were fuzzy. 

“A boat? Why the hell would Eddie need a boat?”

You shrug. “No clue, but I feel bad for the guy.”

The entire situation is grim. Eddie has been accused of murdering at least two Hawkins students, he apparently runs a cult, and now the only way of clearing his name involves El and the Upside Down. Both of which are currently out of reach. 

While you can barely tolerate the guy, it’s a shame that he doesn’t stand a chance.

“It’ll be fine.” Nancy insists, but Robin shakes her head. 

“I can’t stand to see those doe eyes of Eddie’s break again. I really, really can’t.”

“‘Doe eyes’ is a little much.” You scrunch your nose in displeasure. Steve snorts and Dustin glares at you. “Just saying.”

“At least he can drink himself into feeling better.” Steve offers, picking up the six-pack of beer and waving it around.

Max looks out the window. “That’s what my mom does.”

Lucas catches your eye. No one catches what Max has said besides you two. He looks upset, but you shake your head at him. Now isn’t the time. If he says anything to her, Max will close back in on herself. 

Robin and Nancy return to their conversation while you sit quietly in the back. Steve notices your change in demeanor and frowns. Unsure what’s caused it, he holds up a pringle and winks at you. “Bet you can’t catch this with your mouth.”

It’s a welcomed distraction. You sit up, eyes alight. “You’re on, Harrington.”

And the game is on. Steve tosses a chip into the air and you duck your head, angling your mouth so that you catch it just before it lands. Eyes wide, you throw your arms in the air and cheer. “I did it!”

Steve claps, whooping. “That’s my girl!”

Reaching for the bag of pringles, you grab one and don’t even give Steve a warning before you’re throwing it at him. He yelps, surprised, but with ease he catches it. He cheers again and chews triumphantly. “And you tried to cheat!” 

You roll your eyes. “Technically it wasn’t cheating, I just didn’t warn you.”

Steve pokes you side, eliciting a giggle from you. “I’ll get you for that, Henderson.”

“I’d like to see you try–” The sight of a police car stops you. 

Nancy sees it, too. “Oh, shit.”

You’re just outside of the boathouse Eddie is hiding out in. There are cars everywhere, cops walking along the perimeter, controlling a crowd that has formed. A news station van blocks your vision, but you get a sickening sense of deja-vu anyways. 

This is exactly how it’d been when Fred’s body was found.

Nancy ushers everyone to the side of the van, ducking down so you aren’t seen. Officer Powell is giving a speech to the press. He stands before the frightened audience, voice stern, but also tired. You can’t imagine what it must be like, being chief of police without having any idea of the horrors that Hawkins hides. 

“The Roane County line received a call a little after midnight, reporting a homicide here on the lake.”

Everyone freezes. Another body has been found. 

“That’s three deaths in three days.” You can’t breathe. This is all happening too fast. Faster than anything you’ve ever had to deal with before.

Chief Powell continues. “It was here that we found the body of the victim, an eighteen year old senior from Hawkins High, Patrick McKinney.”

Lucas stiffens next to you. Patrick had been his teammate. His friend. Numb, you rub his back, offering whatever ounce of comfort you can give him. 

“We have also identified a person of interest.” The chief holds up a photo of Eddie, showing it to the broadcasters before him. “Eddie Munson.”

You suck in a breath. The only thing Eddie had going for him was that no one knew he was the main person of interest. His identity had still been concealed, buying him a little more time while you tried to find answers for him. 

But now it’s too late. 

“This is not good,” Steve mumbles as officer Powell encourages the town to come forward with any information they may have about Eddie. “This is really not good.”

“He’s fucked.” You whisper. The crowd standing before Powell is large. Nearly half the town leans into his every word. They’re angry. All of them. Another one of their own has been taken. Another child. 

And they’d do anything to save Hawkins’ children.

The manhunt has begun. 

“Dustin, can you hear me? Hendersons?” Eddie’s voice cackles through the walkie.

Everyone scurries around your brother while he fumbles with his bag, anxious to respond. When he finally finds his walkie, he breathes out a sigh of relief. “Eddie. Holy shit. Are you okay?”

“Nah, man.” He sounds exhausted, seconds away from completely breaking down. Something within your chest tightens. No one deserves this. “I’m pretty goddamn far from okay.”

Robin prods Dustin to ask where Eddie is. No one wants him to be alone right now. Not when he’s become Hawkins’ most wanted.

“I’m at Skull Rock. Do you know it?”

Dustin nods eagerly. “Uh, yeah. That’s near Cornwallis and–”

“Garrett, yeah.” Steve is already running towards Nancy’s car. “I know where that is.”

You grab Dustin’s shirt. “Tell Eddie we’ll be there soon, alright?”

“Yeah-yeah I will.” The urgence in your voice scares him a little. He knows you’d do whatever to protect someone, but he never thought you’d extend this protectiveness to Eddie. Bringing the walkie to his lips, Dustin delivers your message. “Hold tight. We’re coming.”

The walkie clicks off. 

All you can do is hope that you make it to Skull Rock in time. 

– 

The last time you trekked through Hawkins woods, you had to endure Steve and Dustin constantly arguing as you all threw down chunks of meat onto the train tracks.

Now, over a year later, they’re still arguing.

At least this time there isn’t the stench of raw meat.

“I’m telling you, we’re going the wrong way.” Dustin nags Steve, holding his compass in one hand and a map of Hawkins in the other. “Skull Rock is in the other direction. You’re totally wrong.”

Steve shoves him, causing the teen to trip over a tree root. “What’s up with you always thinking I’m wrong these days?”

“Because you’re always wrong.”

You flick the brim of Dustin’s hat. “Steve has had a few good ideas from time to time. He’s taking us the right way.”

“No, he’s not. It’s north.” Dustin points behind him. Steve rolls his eyes in disbelief. “I’m positive. I checked the map.”

“You do realize Skull Rock is a super popular make out spot? It wasn’t popular until I made it popular, alright? I practically invented it.” The words slip from Steve’s mouth before he can really understand the consequences behind them. He stops dead in his tracks and stares at you, eyes wide in fear.

“Nice one, Steve.” You pat his chest sarcastically, sharing a disgusted look with Dustin.

“Okay, I didn’t mean it like that.” Steve trips over his words, nearly falling flat on his face as he struggles to keep up with you. “I mean, I did kiss a lot of girls there, but-but that was before I enjoyed kissing you!”

Your brother gags. “Real catch there, Y/N.”

“I’m ignoring you both,” you tell the boys, continuing down the path Steve pointed out earlier. The gaps in the trees start to become familiar. The rugged terrain smooths over from excessive use, creating an unmarked trail that you’ve walked before. “More importantly, I think we’re getting close to Skull Rock.”

“See? I told you, little Henderson–” Steve starts to cheer, happy to be right. Then the joy on his face quickly dissipates. He’s realized something. “Wait, how… how do you know where Skull Rock is, Y/N?”

A twig snaps beneath your shoe. “Used to go there all the time with Jonathan.”

“What?” Steve and Dustin balk at you, nearly toppling over the other in shock.

Quickly you realize the horrific implications of your words. “Jesus, not like that! We would only go there to read together and listen to music!”

It was your way of escaping life together. Just the two of you, early mornings before the rest of Hawkins woke up. The dew would still be on the grass. Everything was easier, then.

You miss those days more than anything. 

Dustin’s suspicious eyes linger on you, though he seems content enough with your explanation. Steve, however, still looks uncertain and utterly mortified. His distrust makes you sigh in annoyance. 

“I have never once kissed Jonathan.”

“Right!” Steve snaps back to himself, coughing and wiping his hands on his pants. “Yeah. Totally already knew that. For sure.”

Dustin hits his shoulder. “Dude. Learn when to shut up.”

“Working on it.” Steve mumbles bitterly, trying to catch your eye, but you ignore him. 

Behind you, Nancy and Robin walk silently together. They’d been the odd ones out in the group. You had paired off with Dustin and Steve to try and quell their arguing while Max and Lucas wandered off alone.

Neither girl speaks. There’s not a lot to say between them. When you come across a fallen log, they watch silently as Steve extends his arm to you, helping you jump over it. His grip is delicate on your arm, though firm enough to guide you. After you’ve jumped, his eyes instinctively go to your ankle, the same one you sprained years ago, to make sure you aren’t limping.

It’s a subtle, easy to overlook action. But Nancy and Robin see it, and they both understand how painstakingly sincere it is. Your ankle never quite healed right. Some days it bothers you, particularly after walking long distances or jumping too much on it. 

And Steve knows your body well enough to understand this. 

“Ugh,” Robin’s scoff breaks the silence, happy to voice what she knows Nancy is thinking. “They’re so adorable. I just wanna squeeze ‘em, ya know?”

Nancy smiles at her, although it’s strained. “Steve is very… sweet. With Y/N.”

“‘Sweet’? More like tooth-rotting, Nance.”

And Robin’s right. The way Steve is around you, there almost isn’t a word for it. Nancy has never really seen the two of you together. By the time Steve finally asked you out, it’d been only a week before Joyce told Jonathan they were moving.

Steve had stepped back after that. He allowed you and Nancy to spend as much time as physically possible with Jonathan before he moved. He recognized the strained history between him and Jonathan; he hadn’t wanted to spoil the little time you had left together. 

When summer ended and senior year began, Steve had already graduated and Nancy had thrown herself into the school paper by then.

Now, after spending the last few days around you and Steve nonstop, Nancy can’t help but notice all the nuanced ways the two of you are together. She’s picked up the small cues between you, the quirks in your relationship. And she feels a strange sense of curiosity about it.

“Steve and Y/N,” Nancy pauses, unsure how to phrase her question. She doesn’t want to sound intrusive or rude. “How, um. Serious are they?”

Robin is slightly surprised by her question, but the flush of Nancy’s cheeks tells her that it’d been hard for her to even ask it. “Oh, they’re very serious. Like starting a life together serious.”

“A life together?” Nancy doesn’t believe it. She doesn’t understand how the two of you could already be at the point in your relationship. You’ve been together less than a year. 

A lot less longer than Nancy has been with Jonathan. 

“Yeah, Steve has this crazy idea of following Y/N to NYU.” Robin almost doesn’t think she should be telling her this, but Nancy seems to be hurting and she feels bad for her. Nancy wouldn’t be asking about this if there wasn’t a reason to. “His heart is like, totally set on it. It’s crazy and all, but it’s sweet in his own Steve-ish way.”

“It is sweet.” Nancy affirms, a far off look in her eyes. The same far off look in her eyes from the other day in the library. Robin had asked about Jonathan and suddenly Nancy’s entire demeanor shifted. 

Robin clears her throat. “I’m guessing you and Jonathan haven’t figured out the whole life thing yet?”

“That isn’t any of your business.” Nancy responds coldly.

“Well, you did start this entire conversation asking about Steve and Y/N’s relationship.” Robin points out, though not unkindly. “All I’m saying is that someone in a happy relationship wouldn’t ask about another person’s relationship and look totally depressed while doing so.”

Nancy shakes her head incredulously. “Jonathan and I are fine.” 

“Okay.” Robin says, but it’s obvious to them both that she doesn’t believe her. 

“We’re good.” Nancy tries again, but not even she believes her own words. Defeated, she turns away from Robin and sighs heavily. “It’s just, he was supposed to be here for the break and then he backed out at the last minute for some vague, mumbly Jonathan reason.”

She doesn’t know why she’s confiding in Robin about this. They’re barely friends, Nancy has never spoken to her outside of party related stuff. But Robin remains quiet, listening, Her attention is all it takes before the dam in Nancy’s chest collapses. 

“And, to be honest, I’m not that surprised because I’ve been feeling him pulling away lately.” All the hurt and anxiety and insecurity Nancy has pent away finally unravels as she speaks. She can’t stop. “And I don’t know if it’s because we’re 2,000 miles away or if he met someone new or-or if Y/N–”

Nancy stops herself, aware that Robin is your friend. Not hers. Looking away, she hopes Robin didn’t hear her slip. “And now I can’t find out why because apparently he’s blown up his family’s house phone or something, so yeah. If the mention of his name caused a slight muscle spasm or curiosity over another person’s relationship, that’s probably why.”

She swallows down tears. Her chest feels lighter, emptier. The frustration is gone, though the bitterness remains. 

Robin is quiet for a moment. The resentment Nancy has been exhibiting makes sense now. While Steve would follow you anywhere, Jonathan doesn’t seem to want to follow Nancy. “Feels like a perfectly reasonable reason to flinch or be nosey.” 

Nancy smiles at her, eternally grateful. “Does you accepting my nosiness officially make us friends?”

Robin immediately agrees, albeit in her own shy way, and Nancy laughs alongside her. It’s a nice moment, one Nancy hadn’t known that she needed. Your friendship with the girl doesn’t seem so strange now. 

Steve’s distant cheer alerts the others that he’s found Skull Rock.

“Oh, boom!” He crouches beneath a shrub and swats away a spider web. He’s too excited to gloat that he doesn’t even care that there could be spiders in his hair yet again. “In your face, little Henderson. In your stupid, cocky little face!”

“Who’s the fifteen year old here?” You ask your boyfriend, looking at him pointedly. 

Dustin looks down at his compass and frowns. “Doesn’t make sense.”

“You hearing him, Y/N?” Steve waves his hands in front of the giant boulder. “Even with it staring him right in the face, the kid can’t even admit that he’s wrong! And you’re saying I’m the immature one? He’s such a little butthead.”

“Sure, because every nineteen year old says butthead as an insult-fuck!” A body lands next to you with petrifying force. You fall back in panic, heart pounding in your chest.

“I concur,” Eddie smiles at you wickedly. “Your brother, Dustin Henderson, is a total butthead.”

Dustin is hugging Eddie before you’ve even caught your breath. The relief on his face is evident. “Jesus, we thought you were a goner.”

“Yeah, me too.” Eddie clutches your brother tightly, the weight of the last few days bearing their toll on him. Still, the glint in his eyes hasn’t left yet. Winking at you, Eddie’s mischievous smile is back. “Never thought I’d see precious Hawkins’ sweetheart at Skull Rock. Sorry for the fright, by the way.”

You glare at him. “I hate you.” 

Eddie pulls away from Dustin and nudges you with his shoulder. “To be fair, you were kinda useless when I needed you yesterday. Isn’t your whole shtick helping people?” 

Sheepish, you duck your head. “In my defense, the signal was shitty. You kept breaking up, I couldn’t really do anything about holes in boats.”

“It’s okay, you’ll just donate your liver to me the next time I need one.” Eddie nudges your shoulder again, eliciting a begrudging laugh, breaking any remaining tension between you two.

Steve stands next to you, his arm wrapped around your waist in a protective manner. His eyes never leave Eddie, distrustful. “You’re not taking Y/N’s liver.”

“No one’s taking my liver,” you roll your eyes at him fondly before turning to Eddie. “But I can bake you something as compensation.” 

Eddie clicks his teeth. “Even better.”

Nancy hands the bag of food over to him and he takes it eagerly. He rifts through its contents while everyone else gathers around him. You all allow him time to adjust, to breathe for a moment. 

But eventually the overwhelming need to know outweighs the guilt. Nancy, always the one to get straight to the point, finally breaks the silence. “What happened yesterday?”

Eddie’s face darkens. “Jason and his goddamn goons. They were at the lake house and I was cornered. Didn’t know what to do. The fuckers were angry.”

Your eyes wander his face, noting the lack of bruises and cuts on it. A fight hadn’t broken out, which means Eddie escaped somehow. “And when they found you?”

Eddie takes a swig from his flask. He winces at the taste, but it seems to settle his nerves. “Turns out, the boat didn’t have holes.”

“So Patrick’s body, was it…?” Nancy can’t bring herself to finish the question. 

“Found in the lake? Sure was.” Eddie smiles venomously. “He tried swimming after me, so did Jason. Only one of them made it back to shore.”

Lucas looks away, grief clouding his expression. You mumble an apology to him. You hate that there isn’t anything else you can do to help him. He’s lost so much already.

“It was the exact same thing that happened to Chrissy. Patrick’s body shot out of the water like a fucking rocketlauncher.” Eddie says bitterly. His teeth are clenched, the memories from last night are gruesome to recount. “Then his bones started snapping and Jason lost his mind. He thought I was the one doing it.”

Dustin paces next to you. He’s mumbling to himself, every detail Eddie reveals only worries him more. Vecna has made his third kill. You and Max are next. There’s something that he’s missing. He just doesn’t know what.

“I ended up falling into the water and swimming to shore. I tried calling, but my walkie was busted, man. Drenched.” Eddie drinks again. He shakes his head curtly, scoffs to himself. “So I, uh. Did the thing that I now, apparently. I ran.”

The condescension in his voice, the cold laugh, upsets you. He’s disappointed in himself, he hates what he’s done, but no one blames him. There was no saving Patrick. Anyone who witnessed such a cruel death also would’ve run away. “You had no choice, Eddie.”

He ignores your comfort and instead answers Nancy’s question of what time the attack took place. “Yeah, I know exactly what time it was.” Eddie unclasps his watch and holds it up. “My walkie wasn’t the only thing that got soaked.”

Nancy catches the watch he throws her at and quickly reads the time on it. “9:27.”

You and Robin look at each other in surprise. She raises her eyebrows, thinking what you are. “That’s the same time our flashlights went kablooey.”

“That’s one hell of a coincidence.” You mutter to yourself, but Steve hears you anyways and squeezes your side. 

“That surge of energy had to be Vecna attacking Patrick.” Nancy pieces together, tossing Eddie his watch back. 

It isn’t a comforting realization, but at least it’s information you can use. You now know where, how, and when he Vecna attacks. The only piece missing is what to do with the information you have.

Dustin continues to pace back and forth. He’s hunched over, and when you look closer, you realize he’s scowling at his compass as if it personally offended him.

“So now we just need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart.” Max says, as if it’s the most casual sentence in the world.

You look at her like she’s crazy. “We’re not going to the Upside Down!”

But no one is listening to you. Instead Steve, Robin, and Max begin a philosophical debate about whether or not Vecna has a heart or if he’s a vampire. 

“It was a metaphor.” Max informs Steve, slight disappointment in her voice.

“A bullet should work on him, right?” Eddie asks the group.

You shake your head at him. “Bullets never work.”

He stares at you, somewhat terrified. “How… how do you already know that?”

“We’ve had a lot of practice.”

“That’s actually even more upsetting to hear.” 

Lucas and the others start spewing creative ways to kill Vecna. They’re graphic and violent, but you already know that none of it will work. You’ve fought creatures from the Upside Down before; they’re notoriously difficult to kill, oftentimes requiring fire, bullets, knives, and bear traps. 

None of which you currently have.

Nancy knows this, too. “We can’t do any of that until we find a way into the Upside Down.”

“Why are we all suddenly okay with going there?” You ask incredulously. They’re all suggesting the Upside Down as if it’s fucking Disneyland. “I mean, haven’t we been trying to cut any connection to that goddamn place for the last four years?”

“What other option do we have, Y/N?” Nancy pushes. “You know there’s no other way to stop this.”

Max sighs in exasperation. “What we need is for El to get her powers back.”

“I miss her.” You sigh as well. You’re worried that there’s something wrong. You’ve called the Byers’ home a million times now, but no one is answering. Despite the weirdness between you and Jonathan, you still want him to be okay. He’s never gone this long without talking to you. 

And with Jonathan’s silence comes silence from El and Will, too. You hope they’re okay as well, especially knowing that Mike is supposed to be with them this week. You figured by now that Will would’ve called you to complain about Mike’s obsession with El. 

Instead all there’s been is silence, and their silence unnerves you.

Steve voices that he also misses El, turning to Eddie to explain how she has powers, but Eddie isn’t paying attention to him. 

“Hey, Henderson’s not cursed, is he?” His eyes follow Dustin’s pacing figure, nervous. 

“No, but I am.”

Eddie chokes on his spit and Steve snaps his finger at you. “That’s so not funny, Y/N. You’re in danger.”

“My point exactly. I feel that I’ve earned the right to joke about my demise.” You say, though you do grab his hand and squeeze it softly to voice your unsaid apology. As much as his concern warms you, you wish he didn’t have any at all for you. Worry has never been kind to Steve. Trying to brighten the mood, you turn to Eddie. “Don’t you agree?”

Eddie raises his hands. “I’m not a part of this.”

“Boom!” Dustin’s loud screech causes everyone to jump. He points his finger at you, a manic glint in his eyes. “Bada… bada… boom!” 

You shove his finger out of your face. “Are you done yet?” 

“I was right.” Dustin is smug, the mania in his eyes has yet to settle. “Skull Rock was north.”

You want to strangle your brother. You love him, you really do, but he can be very egotistical sometimes. He’s spent the entire conversation obsessively searching for a way to be right, rather than figure out what to do next about Vecna. 

He’s insane. 

Steve throws his head back in annoyance, equally as fed up with Dustin as you are. “You’re serious? This is Skull Rock!” He points at the giant boulder behind him. “You’re totally, absolutely, 100% wrong. Right now!”

“There’s literally nowhere else Skull Rock could be, Dustin.” You back Steve up. 

Dustin smiles. “Yes… and no.”

Steve has to step away, and you can’t blame him. You’re also seconds away from bashing your head against a tree. You’re in a forest. There are plenty to choose from. 

“This worked correctly when we left the Wheelers’.” Dustin holds up his compass. “It was correct when we got in the car on Kerley, but it started to slip the further east we went. Now it’s way off. When I was leading us here, I wasn’t wrong. The compass was.”

Steve insists that the compass is merely faulty equipment and that it still makes Dustin wrong, but you start to remember another time a compass started acting up. How it almost caused the party to split apart.

El had been the one controlling the compass, leading them in circles because she hadn’t wanted them near Hawkins Lab. 

Which would mean…

“It isn’t a faulty compass.” You look up at Dustin, now understanding. 

His face splits into a proud grin. “Correct. Lucas, do you remember what can affect a compass?”

The teen is startled by the question. Lucas’ face is masked with confusion, but suddenly everything clicks. “An electromagnetic field.”

Robin questions what any of this means, prompting Dustin to explain what Mr. Clark told you at Will’s funeral. He explains the electromagnetic theory and how the presence of a stronger field can make a compass stop working. “So either there’s a super big magnet around here, or…”

“There’s a gate.” You finish, ice washing over you. The idea terrifies you, but somehow it makes perfect sense. “Maybe even multiple gates.”

Everyone looks uncomfortable with this new information, but Dustin cuts through the tension. “It’d have to be smaller, way less powerful.”

“A snack-sized gate.” Robin adds, and you appreciate that she’s trying to make you laugh.

Steve asks how multiple gates can even be possible, and all Dustin can do is shrug. He doesn’t know, but it’s the furthest you’ve gotten to any semblance of an explanation. “The last time we’ve seen anything like it, it was a gate. And I hope it is, because then we’d have a way to Vecna. And a shot at freeing Y/N and Max from this curse.”

It’s the most hopeful you’ve seen Dustin all week. He’s optimistic, endlessly proud of himself for figuring out the missing piece of the equation. 

“Okay, but there’s still the Eddie problem. What do we do about him?” You remind your brother.

Steve nods. “Yeah, he’s still a wanted man. We can’t just go hike the woods.”

Dustin is already several feet away, eager to start following the compass. He’s so close to finally lifting the curse. He’s going to save you. He will. “This little capsule might be the key to saving all three of them! Max, Y/N, and Eddie.”

You don’t have the heart to tell him that even if you do find a way to kill Vecna, it’d be almost impossible to clear Eddie’s name. No one else knows about the Upside Down. Legally speaking, you aren’t even allowed to know about the Upside Down. 

But Dustin bows to Eddie and pretends to tip his hat. “What say you, Eddie the Banished?”

Everyone turns to the older teen. It’s a lot to ask of him. This entire time he’s been hiding, fearful of shadows and people. You wouldn’t think any less of him if he declined. And yet, Eddie surprises you. “I say you’re asking me to follow you into Mordor, which if I’m totally straight with you, I think is a really bad idea, but the Shire… the Shire is burning.”

Dustin bounces up and down in anticipation. You cross your arms, rolling your eyes at him, but his childish glee makes you smile anyways. It’s cute, as much as it pains you to admit. 

Eddie stands up. “So Mordor it is.”

He marches towards Dustin, no ounce of hesitation within his movements. He has complete and total trust in your brother. He’s following him into what could very well be Hell, and yet Eddie does so with a brave face. They really are close.

And Eddie has chosen to join, not run away. 

“No more running?” You catch his arm.

Eddie smiles at you. “No more running.”

“What the hell is Mordor?” Steve cuts in, lost.

You giggle at him and grab his hand. “C’mon, Harrington. To Mordor we go.”

– 

Dustin’s compass leads you back to Lover’s Lake. 

You and Steve walk quietly behind the others. Your fondest memories together are at the lake. It’s where Steve finally asked you to be his. That night, underneath the stars, you kissed for hours and felt as if you were the only two people in the world. 

As if reading your mind, Steve brings your hand to his lips and kisses it softly. 

The small moment between you is ruined when Dustin suddenly starts to speed up, practically running away from the group. Eddie shouts at him to slow down and the thought of your brother alone in the woods frightens you. Pulling away from Steve, you run after him. 

“I think we’re getting close!” Dustin calls over his shoulder, not seeing the water in front of him.

Eddie grabs the back of his hoodie and saves him before he can fall in. “Watch your step, big guy.”

“This is confounding,” Dustin is breathless, utterly in awe.

“There’s a gate in Lover’s Lake?” Max is skeptical.

You hum, thinking. “Unless there’s somehow another reason for Dustin’s compass going haywire, I’d say there’s a gate here.”

“Whenever the Demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening.” Nancy slowly says, her eyes scanning the water as she studies it. “Maybe Vecna’s the same way.”

Dipping the tip of your muddied mary janes into the water, you look down at it thoughtfully. “Guess there’s only one way to find out.”

You hate the Upside Down and all that it’s taken from you. Hopper, Will’s childhood, Max’s brother, El’s life. You hate all the violence and pain it brought into your life. The scars that litter your skin and the nightmares that will never leave.

But Max comes first. You have to save her. It doesn’t matter what it’ll cost you as long as she’s safe.

Eddie guides everyone to the boat he used to escape from Jason. Though its engine doesn’t work, he reassures the group that it’ll be fine. At the very least, it’ll get you deep into the water. Steve helps him push it to the shore’s edge.

Robin steps onto the boat first, using Steve and Eddie’s heads for balance as they hold the boat steady. They scoff at her, but she doesn’t care. Eddie goes next, then Nancy. When you go to step inside, Dustin pulls you back. 

“Have you lost your mind?” His hand doesn’t leave your arm. “In case you’ve somehow forgotten, you’re also marked. You’re not going anywhere near a goddamn gate.”

His voice shakes with fear for you. Your heart twists. “Dustin, I haven’t had any visions yet. Just the headaches. I even have my walkman on me. I promise I’ll be fine.”

“I’m coming with you.” Dustin juts his chin out, trying to appear brave before you.

But you see through him anyways. “You’re not. I need you to stay with Max and Lucas for me, okay?” Before he can argue with you some more, you kiss the top of his head. “I love you.”

Just as Dustin can’t stand the idea of losing you, you can’t stand the idea of losing him, either. 

Dustin snatches your walkman from your pocket. You lunge at him, but he’s fast. In a heartbeat he’s at his backpack, grabbing an old plastic bag, before he starts frantically wrapping your walkman within it. He ties the plastic tight around it, making it airtight. 

“I hate what you’re doing,” Dustin gives the walkman back to you with contempt in his voice. “But I’m not losing you to a waterlogged walkman.”

The pressure of tears builds behind your eyelids. You love your brother endlessly. Kissing his head again, you pull him into a bone crushing hug. “You’re never losing me.”

“I better not.” He mumbles, sinking into your embrace. “And I love you too, by the way.”

You laugh wetly, and Eddie takes it as his cue to finally speak. “Not to ruin this tender sibling moment, but this boat only holds like three people tops. Dustin wouldn’t be able to come anyways.”

Dustin sticks his tongue out at him and Nancy extends her arm. “Compass?”

Reluctantly, your brother hands her his compass. After he’s given it to her, Steve finally turns to Dustin. He lowers his voice, trying to give him some privacy. “Listen, I’ll keep Y/N safe, alright?”

Though he doesn’t want to, Dustin nods. Steve is the only person that he trusts your life with. If it were anyone else, Dustin would’ve thrown himself onto the boat and demanded he be next to you. But you’re with Steve and your walkman is safe. That’s all he can ask for now. 

“You better.” Dustin warns, but his heart isn’t really in it.

Steve claps his shoulder and kicks off the shore’s edge, sending the boat into the water. It’s a small boat, Steve has to wrap his arms around you to fit. You’re pressed tight against his chest while Eddie, Nancy, and Robin are squished on the other side of the boat.

“Bedtime at nine, kiddos!” Robin shouts as the boat floats away, giggling.

You hit her shoulder. “Be nice, they’re worried about us.”

She shrugs, indifferent, and starts helping Eddie steer the boat. Nancy guides them with the compass while you and Steve hold up the flashlights. It’s eerily quiet on the lake. The only sound that infiltrates the night is the soft crash of the waves against the shore. 

About halfway into the lake, Nancy orders Eddie and Robin to stop rowing. “Woah, woah, woah. Slow down.”

The boat comes to a stop. You shine your flashlight over the compass and watch as it spins wildly. It can’t seem to decide on a direction to point in. “Definitely not just faulty equipment.”

Nancy nods, her face grim. 

“Guys, what’s going on? Talk to me.” Dustin’s voice crackles through the walkie. He must’ve seen the boat stop.

“Your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital ‘aah!’” Robin tells him, eyes narrowed at the instrument. 

You take the walkie from her. “I think we found the gate.”

“Steve, what are you doing?” Nancy’s concerned voice causes you to turn.

Steve has taken his shoes off and he’s already stripping his socks by the time you process what the hell he’s doing. “Steve Harrington I will drown you before I let you close to any goddamn gate.”

“Somebody’s gotta go down and check this out, angel.” He says hastily, taking his other sock off. “Unless one of you can top being a Hawkins High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years.”

“What, did the swim team train you in dimension hunting?” You grab his arms, struggling against his strength to stop him. He fights back, overpowering you easily. You’re starting to panic now. “I-I’m not letting you down there!”

“It’s gotta be me.” He’s speaking to you in a hushed, understanding tone. Steve’s eyes find yours, and he pleads with you to listen. “Let it be me.”

Let me save you. 

“I…” You don’t want Steve to go; you’re scared you’ll lose him if you do. 

“Y/N, please.” 

Don’t make me beg for your life again.

Last summer Steve had been torn away from you by Russians. You watched as they took him from you, pried him from your grasp. The fear, the overwhelming sense of despair you’d felt back then had almost strangled you. 

You’ve already almost lost him once.

It would kill you if it happened again. You know it would. He’s your lifeline. Steve is the air you breathe and the flesh on your skin. He’s your constant, your home. 

“Come home to me, okay?”

They’re the same words you screamed to him the last time he was taken from you. It’d been the only thing you could think of, the only way to encompass all that he is to you. But Steve hadn’t been able to swear his oath to you. Time had run out. 

But not tonight.

“Always,” Steve promises. 

Then, ignoring everyone around you, Steve pulls you into a bruising kiss. His kiss, his promise, they breathe life back into you. The assurance that he’ll come back to you fills honey into your bloodstream. The taste of his lips coats your tongue in dandelion oil. 

Someone clears their throat aggressively, not so subtly reminding you and Steve that you’re still on a boat surrounded by three other people. 

Breaking apart, your cheeks burn when you see Eddie’s kissy face. “Romantic.”

“Shut up.” 

You help Steve undress. It’s intimate, tender. You would do anything for him. Pulling his sweater gently over his head, you kiss him again. “Good luck, honey. I love you.”

Steve rests his forehead against yours, breathing you in for the final time. His hands cup your face, warm and rough. “I love you too, angel.”

Eddie hands him a flashlight wrapped in a plastic bag. “Hey. What Y/N said. I mean, without the love confession. Um. Good luck.”

Taking the flashlight, Steve thanks him. Robin grabs your hand, both of you needing the other for comfort. She’s terrified, Steve is her best friend. Nancy looks at him with a look in her eyes that you can’t quite decipher.

“Be careful.” She finally tells him. 

Steve nods, looking back at you one last time, before taking a deep breath and diving into the dark water. 

The seconds drag on like hours. The moment Steve dives in, you feel every second he’s under the water like a knife cutting into your lungs. Your legs shake, Robin’s grip on you is so tight that it threatens to cut off circulation, but you don’t let go of her. 

“Where we at, Wheeler?” Robin asks after what feels like a decade. 

“Closing in on a minute.” She sees your shaking body and rests a kind hand against your shoulder. “Steve can handle it. I know he can. He’s strong.”

You bite your nails anxiously. Blood fills your mouth. You know Nancy is trying to comfort you, but her words only make you feel worse. Steve is strong, but he’s still only human. 

A horrifying thought crosses your mind: you’ve dreamt of this before, only it’d been Billy drowning you in the pool. Your body goes numb. Tonight can’t end that way. 

Almost another minute drags on before Steve’s head miraculously resurfaces. He inhales sharply, splashing water all over you, but you don’t care. You’re leaning over the boat’s edge the second his hands reach the surface. 

You can finally breathe again.

“Steve!” You kiss his soaked hair, grateful to feel his skin against your lips again. 

“I found it,” he gasps out, spitting water out of his mouth. He reaches for your hand, anxious as well to feel your touch. “I-I found it.”

Robin cheers, quickly alerting Dustin that he’d been right about the gates. You go to help Steve back into the boat, but he waves you away and goes back to holding your hand. He doesn’t want you getting wet, it’s cold out and you could get sick.

“It was wild.” Steve rubs his finger over the back of your hand. He’s smiling, adrenaline coursing through him. “It’s more a snack-sized gate than the mama gate, but still, it’s pretty damn big–”

Suddenly he’s back underneath the water, pulled so deep below that he almost drags you down with him. You scream, shrill and terrified. Nancy and Robin rush to your side, holding you back so that you don’t fall into the water as well.

Steve resurfaces again, but he must sense that this isn’t the end, because he rips your hand from his. He does it to save you, to ensure you don’t get taken with him. But you fight against it, you don’t understand why he wants you to let go of him. 

Steve pries your hand away. “Y/N–”

And then he’s gone. 

Everyone screams as Steve’s body disappears into the water. 

“Steve!” You’re dizzy with blind fear. He had protected you. He had spent his final seconds making sure that you wouldn’t get hurt, and now he’s gone.

Robin’s arms are around you, holding you back as you scream. She knows what you’re about to do. “Y/N, you can’t–”

“Let go!” You throw your shoulder back, prying your arm away. She screams at you, Nancy and Eddie do as well, but you’re already tearing your sweater off. 

You’re going in. You don’t care. Steve needs you. 

He needs you.

The water is cold. It shocks your system. Eyes burning, you struggle to make out where Steve is. Faintly, in the dark water, you see his body being dragged down. There’s something twisted around his ankle, pulling him towards a red light. You can hear his muffled screams. His arms flail, bubbles escape his mouth as he struggles against it, as he’s pulled through the red haze.

Lungs burning, you will your legs to kick as hard as they can. You’re both running out of time. 

The closer you get to the red haze, the colder the water becomes. Your ears pop at the depth. As the murky water settles, you realize that the red that illuminates is a crack in the earth’s surface. Vines encase its edges. 

Breaking through it, air hits your body as you fall to the ground. Your back scrapes against the rough ground beneath you, leaving you gasping for breath. You barely have time to gather your bearings before you hear Steve’s pained screams.

You stumble onto your feet, desperately searching for him. 

What you find is Steve’s body on the ground, vines choking him as he writhes in agony, demonic bats gorging on his stomach. 

-

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[steviewashere]

Steve's parents get a divorce, but they blame it on Steve instead of their own problems. (I got carried away with an idea, sorry)

CW: Suicide Attempt, Gun, Discussions About Divorce, Self-Deprecating Thinking

Everything turns out fine! This ends more hopeful than it sounds, I promise!

They're just like, "You're the only reason we had to stay together. If you weren't born, then we could've separated years ago." And just generally making him feel like dog shit for being their son. And they add insult to injury by counting every single one of his failures, the way he "embarrassed" them and "failed" them. They belittle him for not making it to college—siting that if they knew he wasn't going to be intelligent enough to make it, that they could've used the money they set aside for something better; like a vacation trip or to move out of Hawkins or to get a divorce attorney.

They're not calm about telling him at all. Just level 100 mad and fuming. His parents are shouting at one another, they're shouting at him, he's shouting back at them. When he starts crying, his dad tells him to stop acting like such a "hysterical woman" about everything; that he's "not even affected" by the divorce; that "not everything's about you, Steven, my god."

He doesn't know what to do once his parents finally calm down for the night, going to separate bedrooms; his mom packs her bags and states she's staying with her sister; Steve is left with his dad who refuses to talk to him—unless he's drunk out of his mind and angry. A lot of nights just ends up with tense, awkward one-sided conversations with his dad where he's told over and over again, "I could've still loved your mother if it wasn't for you."

And, sure, Steve knows the divorce isn't his fault. At least not 100%. But you can only hear something so many times before it starts to become true, right? So he begins believing that maybe he really was the pinnacle to all this. That if he had never been born, never been raised, never lived with them, that they could've lived happier, more well off lives.

And then this overwhelming self-consciousness begins to spread into other parts of his life. He begins to believe that Nancy was right in calling him bullshit—because he was shallow and he was a fuck-up and he was bad at being a boyfriend. He begins to believe that if he never threw that party, Barb wouldn't have died—that her death is, somehow, directly his fault. He begins to believe that if he'd never been so naive and stupid and a failure, that Robin wouldn't be involved in any of this mess.

He isn't sure if Hopper means it when he says "son". He isn't sure if he believes Eddie when he says, "I love you." He doesn't trust himself to fuck everything up with Dustin, because he can't stomach the idea of Dustin turning away from him and ridiculing him and brushing him off—same with Max. He isn't certain if Robin's actually his best friend, or if she's just doing it because she has to—because they fucked each other's jobs at Scoops and so she had to help him, or because they're the only two on the outside of the Upside Down/Vecna bullshit, because they know each other's secrets.

He isn't sure about his place in anything. And maybe there's a lot more that is his fault.

And when Eddie tries to tell him it isn't, Steve argues with him; screams at him that he's just saving face or pitying him or loving him out of obligation. Steve's insecurities end up being so bad that Eddie just goes, "I think...I think we need some time apart from each other. I think you need to figure yourself out before we can continue whatever this is."

And then the same thing happens with Robin. Where Robin leaves him with, "I'm your best friend because I want to be. I'm not pitying you. And you're not my obligation. If you're feeling doubts, maybe we need time to ourselves—really think things over."

And then it just continues to trickle down.

Until all that's left is him. Him and his stupid drunk dad. Him and this realization that he really does ruin everything he's involved in. And he could try to mend it all, but now he's too exhausted to try. So he just leaves it all as-is. He just continues on like this indescribable loneliness is his normal.

He goes to work at Family Video, but doesn't talk to Robin even once while he's there. And his car is always empty. And his heart is always heavy. And his bed is always cold. And the pictures he has of all the people he's ever loved are beginning to fade, but now he can't take new ones.

He's grown so insecure that he proved himself right, in a way. Yeah, he really was the hardship in all these relationships—but only because he made it harder, by ignoring the way everybody was quick to reassure him.

Now he doesn't know what to do, how to fix things. He's alone. He's miserable. He's depressed.

Steve's always tired now and he's not keeping himself tidied the way he used to. He's too quiet now. He shows up where he needs to and then he hides. He's not eating right. He's not smiling anymore. He's forgetful. He's pale and sickly and gaunt. He won't flirt with anybody, he won't laugh with anybody, he won't make new friends, he won't reach out to anybody. He just shuts down.

And then one day, he shows up to Family Video. He talks to Robin for the first time in months. He apologizes. He's smiling. He's laughing at her jokes. He hugs her. Then, he gives her his favorite album on tape—his most cherished cassette—and refuses to take it back when she turns it down.

And then he does the same to Eddie. Steve gives over his favorite t-shirt with a simple, "So you don't miss me." He kisses Eddie and they have sex and they giggle with one another and praise one another.

And then he apologizes to Dustin and Max.

To Nancy and Jonathan.

To Hopper.

Everybody's thinking that Steve's back to himself. Back to normal. That he got over what had been bothering him. Because he seems more level headed and clearer and happier. He's funny again. And he's hugging them, so hard he pops backs. He's telling them over and over and over that he loves them. That he missed them. That he hopes they didn't miss him too much. Makes them promise they won't miss him too much if he goes dark like that again, trying to play it off as some teasing, playful remark.

However, the only one who is suspicious is Hopper. Because something about Steve's behaviors feel familiar and planned and plastic. He responds the way Steve wants him to—sometimes. He forces Steve to stay longer at hang outs, even when something nervous flashes across his face—a blink and you'll miss it sort of thing, which is why Hopper believes he's the only one that catches the falter, the drop. And he hates the way Steve talks about his parents' divorce; "I kinda got in the way here and there. But it's fine, really, they're divorcing now and they'll get me to themselves one on one. Won't have to worry about both being there. Don't wanna make somebody do something they don't want to." Hopper keeps a really, really close eye on Steve.

And then he sees something new.

He and Joyce host a BBQ party with everybody invited. Steve's there. Sort of. Talking to everybody when they talk to him. But then he does this thing. This thing where he goes completely silent and sits off to the side, sort of relaxed in a lawn chair. And then he looks out everybody. With a soft reverence. With a soft sort of adoration. And acceptance. Some weird, nearly missed acceptance. Like he's allowing something inside him, something to take place while everybody's in the backseat. Or, more so, like Steve's in the backseat and he's letting everybody drive him somewhere.

Steve leaves half way through the BBQ. With a throw away excuse. He's smiling, bright and cheery. It won't meet his eyes, not really. There's color in his cheeks. He's holding himself casually. Nonchalantly. Still accepting something.

Hopper pretends to take a phone call while everybody's cleaning up outside. Pretends Callahan needs him. And then he follows Steve as closely as he can without being spotted. They end up in a forest that opens to a grassy clearing. It's quiet. Empty.

He parks far, far away from where Steve did. Goes the rest of the path on foot, stepping everywhere Steve did, right where it's oddly the quietest. And then he stops, hiding behind a tree, eyes thrown around it.

Steve's not too far away. Standing in the open. The shiny happiness has fallen off his face. Leaving him blank and bare. Vulnerable in an unsettling, nauseating way. There's a backpack in his hand. He crouches down and unzips it. Stands back up with something held tight to his front—something Hopper can't see, so he steps out from behind the tree, still standing off quietly, watching.

Steve raises his arm. Flicks out his wrist. And there, in his tight, white-knuckled grip is seemingly brand new handgun. A handgun. It's not up to his head yet, to his temple where Hopper suspects he's going to place it.

Hopper, frightened out of his skin, does the only thing he can think to do. With all his chief of police bravado, he shouts out, "Freeze!" And Steve, surprisingly, stops. "Drop your weapon."

And Steve doesn't.

"I said drop your weapon, Steve."

And then Steve holds his arm straight out from his side. Hand visibly quaking. The gun drops to the grass. Drops in a way that sets it off, just once—bang! And the noise alone startles Steve so bad that he crouches down and covers his ears and balls up into himself. Still next to the disposed gun.

Of course, Hopper hurries to him. Pulls him in tight. Shushes him when he cries and sobs. Rubs his back when Steve hunches over and expels the contents of his stomach. And then he just nods his head, muttering, "I know, I know you are," when Steve begins apologizing.

Hopper has to take him back to the house. To where everybody is still enjoying their BBQ. But he sneaks Steve in. They end up just sitting in Hopper's bedroom. Steve's gone completely silent, no more mask on his face. So Hopper begins talking about himself. About what he experienced, the guilt he carried, how he felt like so much was his fault—even if he'd been told it wasn't.

And Steve asks, "What changed?"

And Hopper, honestly, truthfully, "I don't know, Steve. I want to say El, but I think it was more than her. I wish I had an answer."

"I'm sorry," Steve says—for the millionth time. "I thought I was covering it up well." He sniffs. "How'd you know to follow me, Hop?"

"Son"—and Steve's eyes well with tears again, so Hopper squeezes him in tighter—"you were the most lucid I'd seen you in months. I knew what you were showing wasn't you."

Wobbly and wet, "Will everybody be mad? I feel like I've been lying to them."

"No," Hopper immediately answers, "they'll probably be very sad that you felt like you had to do this. But I don't think they'll be mad."

"But...but I...I—what if they think I've been trying to guilt them into...into being around me again? 'Cause I...it's my fault they all left me."

"You'll have to be honest, son. And it's gonna be scary, I know. But you've been carrying around a lot of weight the last few months, hell the last few years—you've been putting on a very convincing front. I think everybody will understand." Hopper brings Steve into a side hug when he begins to weep again. "And if they don't," Hopper adds, "then you've got me. I know it's not all the same, but I promise you that I understand, okay?" He pulls Steve back. Looks him in the eyes. "But you've got very good, very empathetic friends. These people really do love you. They love having you in their lives—we all missed you before, we were waiting for you to come back. They don't want to miss you forever. You got that?"

And Steve just breaks down again. And Hopper allows him.

Okay, this started as an angst thing where Eddie had to, like, comfort Steve after what his parents said. But uh...I spiraled?

[ladykailitha]

Heist AU

So I've been thinking about an Italian Job/Leverage-esque with hints of Ocean's 11 vibes.

So hear me out.

Steve is a conman who runs his own team of con artists doing jobs, mostly for profit, but also the occasional 'fuck the rich' type jobs.

The last job he did went bad and half the team quit because of it. So Steve swore to keep things simpler from now on. Just quick smash and grab jobs to keep the coffers from getting too low.

And the half of his team that stayed after the split are in college now, so it's just him and Robin anyway.

Then his grandmother dies. In her will she left Steve all her jewelry because she didn't want let her daughter get her hands on it. As some of the pieces are worth several million.

But all the jewelry vanished before the funeral and he knows it was his parents but he can't prove it.

Then his contact at the British Museum, Chrissy Cunningham, informs him that one of the pieces has shown up on display by an 'anonymous donor'. It's going to be part of a collection being 'loaned' to the museum.

Robin and Steve start plotting out how to get it back with just the two of them when the unthinkable happens. He gets word from his contact that they are moving the collection into storage for god knows how long at the end of the week and now they six days to pull off the biggest heist of their lives.

They bring in duo Jonathan and Nancy to replace Steve as the face (he doesn't want to be near it in case his parents are in town) and Lucas as their hitter. Lucas being part of the two that went to college.

But they need a techie and fast. Dustin is at MIT and can't risk getting caught and losing his scholarship.

"There's only one person better than Dustin," Robin says sliding up to him.

"No." Steve refuses to even engage with the idea.

"What choice have you got?" she reminds him.

"He'll say no," Steve insists.

"Not to me," she assures him. "Not about this."

Steve wants to believe her so he lets her try. All while trying to find a backup because he's sure Eddie will say no.

~

Eddie walks into his apartment and sighs. "How the fuck do you do that?" he curses. "And you better have not drank all my beer!"

Robin cocks her head to the side. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you. And of course I have touched your beer, I have taste."

Eddie chuckles pulling out a can of poor man's beer and popping it open.

"What can I say, it reminds me of home."

"We need your help on a job," she says coolly.

"Steve going to be involved?" he asks and flops on the sofa across from the chair was waiting for him in.

"Well, I wouldn't work with anyone else, soo..." she half shrugs.

"Then fuck off with whatever you have in mind," Eddie snarls. "I ain't going to be his bitch again."

"Jeff forgave him," she said, leaning on her knees. "Why can't you?"

"Jeff's a grown ass adult and can do whatever the fuck he wants," he snaps, sitting up. "But if it wasn't Steve's arrogance and sheer bullheadedness Jeff wouldn't have been anywhere near the bomb when it went off. He could have died, Robin!"

"And he hasn't done a job like it since," she bites back. "I know you're pissed. You have every right to be. But he doesn't want your help. He needs you help. This time it's personal."

Eddie sips the beer and scoffs. "How's that?"

So Robin tells him. "You're the only one capable of getting into the British Museum's security and you know it."

Eddie sighs and settles back into the cushions of the sofa. "All right, I'll do it but only because I've been itching to knock over that place for years and this as good an excuse as any."

~

But when the team gets together, Eddie is insanely jealous of Nancy as she appears to flirt with Steve and Robin starts to suspect something more going on.

She walks up to Steve while he's have a cigarette. "Tell me this job isn't about getting Eddie back as your boyfriend."

"It's not about that!"

She raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, it's not just about that," he amends. "I wasn't even sure he'd agree for starters, but yeah, if I can use this to get him back, to show him I've changed, I'd be a fool not to try. But mostly this is about my grandmother and her jewelry and how she wanted me to have them, not to be stuck in some vault never to be seen again."

~

The plan goes off, they get the jewelry and Steve gives each of them a piece as thank you.

For Eddie he picks out his grandfather's wedding band, a simple band of platinum and gold, with an engraving that says 'to my dearest love' on the inside.

"Steve..." Eddie whines. "You can't give this to me."

Steve shakes his head. "It was always going to be yours. I was going to propose after that heist."

Eddie looks up from the ring. "Oh Steve..."

"This isn't me begging for you to take me back," he pauses and cocks his head to the side, "though I absolutely would if I thought it would work. This is just me giving you something that I always intended to belong to you."

They kiss and make up.

And if they plan a heist around their wedding, with both teams in tow, well, that's just how they say 'I love you'.

[lexirosewrites]

Ok hear me out the grammys r today & I am a swiftie

(PSA not Nancy Wheeler friendly & Billy Hargrove pops in like a jump scare but he's somehow better than Nancy??)

O!Steve loves his career, he gets to make music with his favorite producer & best friend ever B!Robin Buckley, he gets to tour his music around the world, his fans made it possible for him to pivot his career, & now he is free from the overbearing thumb of his previous record label. He's on top of the world, prepping to embark on his most ambitious & physically demanding tour of his career with a partner working on her own growing career in journalism

Then, Jonathan Byers messages him. He's a beta who works w A!Nancy Wheeler at her news network job where she's rising in the ranks as an investigative reporter. He confesses to Steve with evidence tht Nancy has been cheating on Steve w Jonathan for going on 3 months. Jonathan is ending things w Nancy & he felt Steve should know what Nancy has done & Jonathan emphasizes he feels terrible. Steve doesn't blame Jonathan necessarily, Steve is more upset w Nancy. So Steve breaks things off, gets professional movers to take all of her things out of his various apartments & homes & mail them all to her New York address all at once, gets her to give back every key she has, and Nancy doesn't even have the decency to pretend at remorse for how she's shattered him, just sneers & makes a remark abt him writing a song abt her as if the 5 years they were together meant nothing

Steve rebounds HARD

His begins his tour & decides to indulge in a relationship w blue eyed bad boy British actor Billy Hargrove, he's crass & abrasive & it ends like a car crash behind the closed doors of Steve's beloved Nashville apartment, but at least Billy parts w a statement tht shows the asshole is even more understanding than Nancy abt how Steve will write a song or 2 abt this

The show must go on & it does. It's during a break btwn cities tht his little step-brother Dustin sends him the link to a clip of a podcast

It's a group of 4 friends, two of them alphas, 1 a beta & 1 an omega man. 2 of them are involved in professional hockey. The podcast involves them playing d&d but they also chat for abt an hour at the start of every episode. The alpha Eddie Munson plays as star goalie of The Detroit Red Wings (a team his grandpa Otis cheers for) & the beta Felix calls plays from the box. While A!Jeff & O!Gareth both have lucrative careers in computer science & robotics. Gareth works w NASA & the Mars Rovers, no wonder Dustin likes the podcast his twerp of a brother is coworkers w Gareth

This particular clip is from the first hour of a recent episode & is abt how Eddie has been a not at all secret fan of Steve since his debut & how he got to see the tour when it stopped in Detroit & how it was the best show Eddie's ever seen. Eddie confesses he was a little sad to learn Steve isn't meeting anyone backstage during this tour as he puts himself on vocal rest as often as possible to maintain the ability to sing for 3 hours straight, because Eddie had a friendship bracelet he made with his number on it & he happily implies it was his phone number & the alpha graciously responds to the teasing abt having a long time celebrity crush on Steve

Steve is charmed

He only needs to send 2 messages to Dustin before he's sending a text to Eddie's personal number. They hit it off, they're both goofy in the same ways, Eddie is theatrical in a different but complimentary way, soon they're meeting up privately btwn stops on his tour & Eddie's prep for hockey season & then Steve is very publicly at a Red Wings game & soon after Eddie is in the very visible VIP tent at the New York show trading his own handmade bracelets w fans

& Steve ends the night w a lyric change he only told Robin about bc she's 50% of his impulse control just like he's 50% of her impulse control & they secretly recorded a remix of the encore song because they liked it so much. The lyric tht used to reference Nancy with "karma is the girl on the screen" is changed to "karma is the guy on the wings" which makes the crowd explode with noise

When the show is done Steve knows fans r waiting to see him exit the stadium waving one last goodbye for the night & he knows they see Eddie clearly waiting for Steve & tht they're all recording so he does something he's never done for a beau: he runs ahead of his security right into Eddie's arms & is swept into a kiss tht makes him feel like they're the only ppl in the world

The multiple videos from multiple angles go viral within minutes of posting & the internet descends into madness when the remix is dropped w the lyric change just 3 hours later, but Steve & Eddie r too busy cuddling in Steves nest in his NYC penthouse the both of them laughing at the ketchup blood in a bad slasher movie to care abt tht

biting both of them from happiness🥰

[stevieschrodinger]

I do not have time to write this, but I really need to write it down.

All the events of Stranger things happen as normal - one crucial difference, Eddie gets involved, but not in the same way. He's an innocent by stander who never made friends with the kids. He's a vague background character to the action. He's an extra on set, effectively, and when he drops out of school and leaves town abruptly, someone might notice, but no one really questions it.

Years later, the only thing that feels real about the whole thing are the scars Steve still carries on his body. Sometimes, sometimes, he has to call Robin, just to check it was all real. That he hasn't lost his mind. He still flinches when a light flickers, to this day his ears ring for hours after a loud noise. He has headaches.

The only people he can talk to about it are Robin and the kids; but he feels bad. The kids aren't kids anymore, and they all seem to have just...gotten on with their lives. Seemed to have grown and evolved past it all, even though Steve regularly still wakes in the night, sweating and fighting with his bed covers. He doesn't put that on them, he sounds happy on the phone, and he is, loves hearing about their lives, their relationships, their plans and their own kids.

Robin has a girlfriend, she's happy and settled. Steve's the only one who seems...stuck. Like he cant move past it. He bums around. Stays with Nancy for a while, then Robin. Visits Argyle, makes loose acquaintances and sofa surfs. Drifts, aimlessly, through life.

It's about time in his cycle to visit Robin, but the relationship is serious this time and she nags him to find his own place to stay near by - loosing patience with him when he fails to be motivated and finding it for him herself. It's tiny, the kind of place where the bed is also the couch and the TV rests on a short run of kitchen counter because there's no where else. Feels okay though.

Steve gets a job. Spends a day on foot, door to door, walking through town; lands in a record shop of all places, even though CD's have now well and truly taken hold and vinyl isn't much of a thing. It's dark inside, the walls painted black, the bare brick red. A couple of people browse through, but Steve heads right for the counter.

There's some screamo rock stuff playing that Steve doesn't recognize, but it's quiet, so it's okay.

Behind the counter, someone Steve half recognizes from another life. Eddie Munson, Freak of Hawkins High. What are the odds.

Eddie isn't who Steve remembers. He's angry now. Bitter. Has a horrible scar that creeps up his neck and onto his face, pulling the corner of his lip down. Steve does his best to ignore it. Begs for work.

Eddie employs him, but only because he thinks it's fucking funny how far the king has fallen. Now the king works for the jester.

Steve does his best at the shop. Cleans a lot. Gets on well with the customers, charms plenty of sales.

Eddie walks with a cane and seems to hate everyone and everything; but nothing so much as a cold morning. Seems to be in more pain than usual.

Steve wants to ask, Eddie tells him it was an animal attack. In 86.

Steve's seen some of the scars by now, caught glimpses of how bad Eddie was hurt; helped Eddie even when Eddie was spitting angry about accepting any help.

What the fuck kind of animal could do that much damage in Hawkins?

You wouldn't believe me if I told you.

And Steve puts it together then, instantly and viscerally realizes in his bones what must have happened. No one ever believed Eddie. Why would they? How could anyone think that monsters coming out of the walls, out of the floors, out of glowing red portals could be the truth?

And Steve says, did it's face peel apart like a flower?

And then he tells Eddie. He tells Eddie everything. He shows Eddie his own scars. Tells him about every monster they ever come across. It was one of the demo dogs. Like Dart. Steve knew it must have been, but Eddie confirms with a description.

And then Eddie cries, because he finally has a explanation. He's not crazy. For the first time in his life, someone believes him.

[starlight299]

I am a firm believer that Steve will never, ever, admit to being sick/injured/whatever, he’d rather die than have to either ask for help or have someone look at him with enough concern to then ask him if he needs help. He did not like people caring for him because it reminded him that his parents didn’t.

He almost gets away with it, when he had shitty friends that would pester him into going to a party with them while he actively had a headache, but that stops working after he met literal monsters. He got away with pushing it all off the first time. He never went to the doctor, and nobody asked him to. The second time he wasn’t so lucky.

He gets through the kids awful setting a tunnel on fire plan and then, once back in safety panics about the kids taking care of him and how absolutely uncool and pathetic he must’ve looked. He argued with Joyce and Hopper about going to the hospital because he’s fine, it’s not his first fight, and he can handle it. He had a serious concussion. Hopper takes him to the hospital and orders him to give his teachers all the doctors not banning him from reading while it heals. Steve tried to argue but Hopper said he’d call the school if he didn’t, so Steve gives the stupid note to the teachers but then does all the reading anyway because Hopper didn’t say he had to listen to the doctor just that he had to hand his teachers the note. His teachers all looked at him weirdly.

He thought that would be the end of it but Hopper started asking him to come around the cabin and cook for El and stuff like that. Hopper knew about the migraines and Steve wanted to bury himself over it. Especially when he told El all the signs to look for and she, bless her, told the rest of the kids because she wanted to be sure Steve was taken care of. Steve did not want to be taken care of. Nobody used to care, it was all too much way too fast.

When his father forced him to get a job at the mall his headaches got even more frequent, the lights there seemed to bother him super efficiently. The first time he got a full on migraine at work Robin he was hung over and made fun of him, he rolled with it. She didn’t need to know. Then of course she got involved in all the upside-down bullshit and of course the kids blabbed to her about Steve’s previous and present head problems while the paramedics looked over them. (At least he didn’t have to go to the hospital since it was literally out of commission due to the mindflair.)

Robin did her own research on migraines plus all the information the kids gave her and she always forced him to take breaks or go home when she got them a new job at family video. At least they were less frequent there than they were at the mall. When Eddie joined the party Steve once again tried to keep him absolutely unaware of the less pretty side of Steve’s life. Robin blabbed about the migraines anyway.

Steve was never going to win. He still hated it when his friends tried to take care of him. He was used to handling himself or ignoring but for whatever reason his new friends were completely against that. The only thing he had left in hiding his pain was pretending he didn’t get nightmares at least three times a week because despite Robin’s pestering he was not allowed to stay overnight at her house. Her dad would shoot him. Unfortunately, he could stay the night at Eddie’s. At first sleeping with someone else seemed to help the nightmares, but eventually, he had to get one. Edie cuddles with him first an hour afterwards, despite Steve insisting that he was fine.

Truly the last thing he had left, was that nobody knew when his birthday was. Not even Nancy, she never bothered to ask, he knew hers though. Unfortunately for all of Steve’s friends a birthday wasn’t something they could figure out by observing or sending him to a doctor. He could keep that secret. If they threw him a birthday party he’d probably cry. He hadn’t had a birthday party since he was eight and they weren’t even for him, they were his parents party’s with family, his parents friends, and some of his dad’s coworkers. Steve wasn’t allowed to invite other children. He could not handle a birthday party. Robin and Eddie pestered him about it every now and then but Steve wasn’t breaking anytime soon.

[rogueddie]

Steve wakes up to a beeping noise- a heart monitor. He struggles to open his eyes, turning to squint around the hospital room. Something about it feels off, though he can’t tell what.

A woman stumbles in, almost spilling her coffee. She looks familiar.

“Hey,” Steve tries, only to end up coughing. His throat is painfully dry.

“Steve!” She exclaims. She hurries over, swapping the coffee for a plastic cup of water. She carefully holds it to his mouth for him to drink. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you awake! I know we can’t talk here but… fuck, man, you really had us scared for a minute. Promise me you won’t do anything like that again!”

“I promise?”

“Oh! Eddie finally woke up too! Just the other week. He keeps asking about you, I should go-”

Steve is only more confused. There’s only one Eddie he knows and that Eddie wouldn’t be caught dead worrying about someone like Steve. Not unless...

“Munson?”

“Duh. Oh! Nancy! I was supposed to- you’re ok, right? I’ll just be a minute!”

“Yeah, sure.”

She throws him a thumbs up, darting out the room, calling for Nancy.

His head throbs. He’s not sure what is going on, what happened… maybe that thing in the Byers house did get him after all? Maybe this is just a dream.

"Ah, Mr Harrington," a nurse greets with a warm smile. "It's good to see you awake. I'm just going to check your vitals and all of that stuff, then we'll need to go over some questions. Does that sound alright?"

"Questions?"

"You've been asleep for a few weeks. We need to make sure that everything up there is ok." She lightly raps her knuckles on the side of her head.

Despite how light she's trying to be, Steve feels a sinking in his stomach.

"Is that possible? What- what could be wrong?"

"Nothing too serious. You're speech is clear and legible, you're conscious and cognitive." She lifts the clipboard off the end of the hospital bed. "You remember your name?"

"Yeah," he says. After a moment, he realizes; "oh! Right, sorry. Steve Harrington."

"Date of birth?"

"April 29th, 1967."

"Do you know what todays date is?"

"Um... how long have I been out? You said a few weeks, right?"

"Almost three weeks, yes."

"Three weeks, so that would make today... December 4th?"

She doesn't respond for a moment. The way she keeps her eyes on the clipboard feels too calculated.

"The year?"

"Uh... 1983?"

She only pauses for a moment, before continuing to ask simple questions about current events, how he's feeling, where he feels any pain or discomfort.

He lies when she asks if he remembers what caused him to be hospitalized. He's not sure what the story Nancy and Byers will give. He can't imagine people... involved, would want the truth out. And he's not willing to risk whatever consequences will come with that.

"I'm going to talk with your doctor," she finally says. "I'll be one minute."

"Wait! What- am I ok?"

"Your doctor will explain everything, don't worry."

Amnesia, his doctor explains.

Three years of his life, gone. They try to reassure him, say that it's still early days and he could completely regain his memory, no problem.

But they don't know. Not really. It's all 'possibly's, and 'maybe's. No guarentee. There's still a chance that he may never remember.

The woman who ran in when he woke up, sat by his bedside and holding his hand in a death grip, doesn't look anymore reassured by their optimism than he is.

"We're... close?" He asks her.

"Yeah," she says, forcing a smile. "Platonic soulmates. It's, um... Robin, by the way. Robin Buckley."

"Do we have that... Mrs Click, you sit behind me, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I did." She looks stunned, almost dazed. "I didn't think you remembered, or even noticed me."

"How could I not? You're hilarious!"

"What? We never-"

"Oh, uh, you're muttering. Behind me. It wasn't exactly, um... quiet."

"Oh my god," she slaps a hand to her mouth, eyes wide. "You heard me talk about you!"

"Yeah, like I said; you're funny."

Luckily, someone else bursts into the room, interrupting whatever epiphany Robin is having.

"Steve!" He yells.

The guy looks like a kid, barely out of middle school. But he rushes to Steve, eyeing him up like he's Steves babysitter.

"Uh, hi?"

"Oh no," is the kids response. He turns to Robin. "How much does he remember?"

"He is right here, you know."

"I think some time in 83?" Robin replies, ignoring him.

"Before or after the whole... uh..." He glances at Steve with suspicion, then pointedly to the door.

"Jesus," Steve mutters, rubbing at the crease between his brows. "Did Nancy and Jonathan tell you, or what?"

"Tell us about... what?"

He rolls his eyes at them, pointing to the kid. "Whatever has short stack paranoid. The thing with the-" he flops one hand around, raised towards the ceiling, "the lights."

"Do you remember anything that happened after that?" The kid quickly asks. "At the hospital, and Will?"

"You mean the Byers kid? Isn't he, like... dead?"

"So you... don't remember me."

"Sorry?"

"It's fine," he lies.

Steve hates how sad the kid sounds. He glances between the two of them, both seemingly wallowing quietly about the situation.

"Which room is Munson in?" He asks, breaking the silence.

"What?" The kid frowns. "Eddie? Why?"

"Which room?"

"He's two doors down to the left," Robin answers. "Why- woah! Don't get up! You're still-"

"I'm fine," Steve gently pushes her away, ignoring both of them trying to plead for him to get back into bed.

Despite the bandages, bruises and sick look to him, Munson somehow looks better than Steve remembers him looking. The longer hair definitely suits him.

"Steve?" He frowns. He tries to sit up but, grimacing, he soon stops. "What the hell are you doing up? You're gonna freak Dustin out."

"Dustin? That the kid?" He asks, grunting as he sits on the edge of his bed.

"What do-" he pauses, expressions slowly twisting with the horror and realization. "Yeah. Yeah, man, Dustin is the kid."

"Right. So... um... we're friends now?"

Eddie winces. "We haven't exactly had time to talk about... that."

"What? It's been years!"

"It's not that simple."

"Are you saying that because it's true or because you don't-"

"Because it's true," Eddie rolls his eyes. "A lot has happened since then, Steve. You fell in love with Wheeler."

"What?" Steve can't hide his confusion. "Nancy?"

"Yes, Nancy. You made sure everyone fucking knew about that."

Steve snorts, having to grab at his side with a wince. He bites the inside of his cheek to keep himself from laughing.

"So you're still easy to rile up?" He asks, smirking.

"Wh- you-" Eddie gasps. He tries to sit up again, grunting when he flops back down. "You were trying to make me jealous?!"

He's looking at Steve with disbelief, but he's also smiling.

"Are we friends now?" Steve asks.

"Yeah, Stevie. We're friends."

"Just friends?"

"I don't... Steve, how bad is your amnesia?"

Steve quickly looks away, wincing. "Not... that bad? I remember that- the first time. This, um... monster shit. Falling out with Tommy. And the doctors are optimistic- they're pretty sure I'm going to remember."

"Alright... maybe it'd be better if we talk then, instead of rushing into it now."

"Jesus," Steve frowns. "I really have missed a lot. When did you get mature?"

"Hey-"

[queeleronwheels]

The Link Between The First I love You, The First Lie, and Season 5 Byler

I need to talk about two songs on the official Stranger Things score that I think say an awful lot, and that I think will play a part in season 5. My credentials are that I really like music and overanalyzing, but if anybody with knowledge of music theory wants to jump in on this too, I'd be so interested to hear your thoughts!

The songs in question are The First I love You and The First Lie.

Let's begin with acknowledging just how diabolically intent on misdirection the ST writers actually are lol. Look at those titles: from those alone, the first song has a positive, romantic connotation, while the second has a negative connotation. We're about to see that this isn't actually the case.

The songs are obviously linked by the words "The First—" in the titles, but they also contain the same repeating motif, which is really obvious even to the layman's ear. We are meant to see a connection between these two songs—but more on that later. First, let's take a look at how they're used in the show:

The First Lie plays in season 2 episode 6, during Jonathan and Nancy's first kiss. The song is titled this way because it's used shortly after Jancy is "Murray'd", during which Jonathan and Nancy tell Murray they're just friends, and he replies with the line: "You've told me a lot of shockers today, but that—that is the first lie." Shortly after, Jonathan and Nancy both give in to their attraction to each other, confirming that Murray was right about the lie.

As we know, Jonathan and Nancy actually are—or at least have been—in love. Whether you want to argue that they're endgame or not is irrelevant. The point is, the show developed and portrayed them in such a way that we can't deny their attraction and love for each other. Thus, the song The First Lie is accompanying a scene where two people who love each other finally stop denying it and come together romantically for the first time.

The First I love You was used twice in season 3: first during Robin's coming out scene to Steve, and then during Mike and El's kiss in the finale, when El tells Mike she loves him too (a response to Mike's "I love her and I can't lose her again" blunder earlier in the season). This is very interesting, but I'll get back to it.

First, I want to discuss how they notably went out of their way to create a variation on The First Lie to use in season 3 instead of just reusing that same song. The songs are similar enough that they could have just used The First Lie to elicit the same feelings of triumph and romance in the viewer, and we know they're not against reusing songs throughout the show. However, when they do reuse songs, they tend to stick to the theme or meaning of the song title. A few examples:

The song In Pursuit is used multiple times throughout season 1, but only when characters are actually in pursuit of something (e.g., Hopper rallying a search party for Will, the search party investigating behind Benny's Burgers, Hawkins Lab investigating burnt radio equipment—this song plays in all of these scenes).

The song This Isn't You plays during scenes where Nancy is not acting or feeling like her usual self (e.g., Nancy approaching Jonathan for the first time to offer her sympathies Will being missing, Nancy ditching Barb at Steve's house, Nancy walking through the halls later on feeling like everyone's eyes on her, etc.).

The song Lay-Z-Boy is used first in season 1 when Mike is showing El around the house (including how to use the Lay-Z-Boy chair), but also in season 3 when Dustin is showing off his inventions from camp, and when Steve is giving Dustin advice about girls. The latter two scenes don't literally involve a Lay-Z-Boy, but the song is still used because the Lay-Z-Boy symbolizes teaching or showing the characters something new.

I'm trying to make two points here: 1) that songs are not reused willy-nilly in this show, it is always—or at least usually, because I am not so far gone that I have analyzed every single song and its usage in this show—purposeful and 2) that purpose is to make sure the song only plays in scenes that are literally, thematically, or symbolically connected.

If The First Lie is used as the backdrop for two characters finally coming together after being in denial about their feelings for each other, then I think they created The First I love You to backdrop scenes that would traditionally be declarations of love, but are not. Traditionally—as in, what we would expect if the narrative were following common tropes and patterns, and this was not a show about misfits, outcasts and non-conformity—Robin would have accepted and returned Steve’s affections during their scene together. Instead, she came out as a lesbian.

Enter that final scene between Mike and El in season 3. Traditionally, this should be the two halves of the central couple saying I love you to each other for the first time, and cementing it with a kiss. That is not what this is. Given that the song they went with was also used for a queer character's coming out scene, it's not a stretch to say that Mike in this scene—judging also by his visible discomfort and confusion during and after the kiss—realized that he does not like kissing girls, but also likely that he does not love El the way he's "meant" to, just like Robin doesn't love Steve the way she's "meant" to (I'm using the word "meant" through the lens of them both having some level of internalized homophobia, being in a heteronormative society in the 80s where homosexuality is condemned and heterosexual love is the standard and the expectation).

Again, keep in mind that The First I love You is a variation on The First Lie, meaning they are purposely linked, and we (or at least the analyzers in the audience) are meant to notice the fact that latter song was not used here. Similarly, using it in both Robin's scene and this scene was almost certainly a purposeful decision given what we know about how they use songs in this show, and I can't see any other reason why those two scenes should be connected besides them both being queer-coded. (You could argue it's because Robin's talking about Tammy, but we know that she likes Vickie now and this was just an old crush, not someone she's in love with).

Something that beautifully ties all of this together is the elephant in the room: the lowercase "love" in the song title. That was absolutely intentional. The song was named after El saying she loves Mike in this scene, but we know from the lowercase L that it isn't requited. If this sounds like a stretch, consider the fact that the next time we see Mike, in season 4, his entire arc is about his inability to say I love you to his girlfriend.

What does this have to do with Byler?

Besides the fact that Michael Wheeler is almost definitely not in love with El and that he likely realized he was gay during that season 3 finale scene, here's what I think this means for Byler:

I think The First Lie will be used again in season 5, for Mike and Will, when the painting cat is out of the bag.

We know that the writers love making parallels between Jancy and Byler, and given Byler will be the same age as Jancy was in season 1 when we reach season 5, I think they're going to ramp that up. We also know that the van scene in which Will gives Mike the painting he made for him and passes it off as El's commission is the first time that Will lies to Mike. It is the first lie. For Nancy and Jonathan, the first lie was the lead up to their first kiss. I think it's going to be the same with Mike and Will—perhaps not in the same scene, but it will be the springboard for them finally coming together like Jancy had.

Anyways, like I said, if any more musically-inclined people out there see any differences in the actual composition of these songs that might be significant, I'd love to hear it!

[mrsjellymunson]

KNOCK AT THE CABIN | Prologue

Written for @bettyfrommars, @allthingsjoeq and @somnambulic-thing’s Stranger Prompts, Prompt 1. He shows up at your house covered in mud in the rain, but the problem is, he died two months ago.

Series Summary: After the events of the previous months, everyone is shocked by the unexpected return of an old friend. But is it really him?

Chapter Summary: On a stormy night, an unexpected visitor arrives.

WC: 1.14k

Series C/W: 🔞 18+, MDNI, NSFW. I mean it, if you’re under 18, git! Post-S4, Upside Down exists, dark/supernatural themes. Eventual Eddie Munson x fem!reader smut. Swearing. Not much to caution about in this part, unless you don’t like rain, or bad decor.

A/N: This series contains a lot of things I haven’t written for before, so I’d love to know what you think! Please comment and reblog, it means the world to writers, and reblogs mean work gets seen. This series has a taglist so if you’d like to be on either it, or my general list, lemme know in a comment, ask or message 🙏💗

Next: Part One Part Two

Series masterlist

My masterlist

You’re holed up in an old farmhouse on the outskirts of Hawkins. It’s not exactly remote, but the nearest building is little more than a speck on the horizon so you feel pretty isolated. Owens organised it, explaining it would be a good idea for the older members of the party to lay low for a little while. Nancy had put forward an excellent argument for remaining with her family, but you, Robin and Steve had reluctantly packed up some of your belongings and relocated here. For how long, you don’t know.

It’s no palace. The wood-built building is certainly past its best, the yellowing 50s kitchen barely functional and the faded decor not to anyone's taste. But it’s (mostly) warm, (usually) dry, and most importantly, it feels safe. Which is something you all need after the events of the past few months.

You’re all acutely aware of the obvious gap in your merry band. Owens had insisted that the three of you didn’t attend the funeral, but he’d involved you as much as he could, ferrying messages between you and the kids and Wayne, discussing what he would’ve wanted to wear (you all agreed on his spare Hellfire shirt and leather jacket, knowing he’d never want to be separated from either, plus a brand new, government-funded pair of black 501s), and sneaking mementoes to you with Wayne’s approval.

Mike and Will have taken charge of his D&D paraphernalia, Dustin got his wallet chain (and wears it with literally everything, even his Weird Al shirts and colourful shorts), and Lucas opted for a small pocket knife. You, Steve and Robin each have one of his rings. Steve and Robin keep theirs in their rooms, but you wear the silver skull every day. It’s too big for your fingers, and is even a little loose on your thumb, but that’s where you keep it, spinning it to ease your anxiety, and smoothing the pads of your fingers over its bumpy surface to remind you of the friend you’ve lost. Rueing the fact that you always wanted him to be more than that, but never had the chance to find out whether he felt the same.

The kids visit periodically, even staying over sometimes, nobody expecting anyone to be watching the comings and goings of a bunch of nerdy teens. Nancy drops them off, sometimes staying, sometimes not. On this occasion she’d dropped and run, explaining that she was going to visit Max in the hospital tomorrow, spending some quality girly time with her. Lucas, who usually spent every spare moment by her bedside, was going to spend the weekend here, after Max, still seriously ill but now well enough to communicate, insisted that he needed to spend at least a bit of time with his old friends.

Tonight, you’d had a movie marathon, Keith developing an uncharacteristically generous side since everything kicked off and periodically dropping off and collecting piles of VHS tapes. Not quite generous enough to bring you any brand new releases, but even things you’ve seen before are better than the ‘sweet FA’ you’d have available given the nonexistent TV reception around here.

Popcorn litters the floor and the saggy furniture, as do gangly boys and a long-haired girl. Jane has commandeered the sole armchair, sitting in it cross-legged, and you, Steve and Robin are squashed onto the sofa with an equally squashed Dustin, the latter insisting that there was definitely room for one more.

Mike and Will are on the floor between the sofa and the old, battered coffee table. Mike’s hunched over a bowl of chips that he’s shovelling in, and Will is leaning against your legs, you stroking his hair in a way you know he finds comforting. Lucas is lounging on the floor at the side of the table, his long body stretched out and his head supported on threadbare throw pillows.

The gentle patter of drizzly rain against the windows and roof, and the crackle of the open fire, one of your only sources of heating, gives the evening a cosy feel, though you hope the rain doesn’t get any heavier as you don’t entirely trust the roof over the rear extension to cope with much more meteorological abuse.

You’ve just finished Raiders Of the Lost Ark and Steve has got up to swap it out for The Stuff, when there’s a strong gust of wind and the rainfall picks up significantly. Great, you think, the weather gods definitely weren’t listening to your silent pleas.

None of you notice Jane stiffening in her seat and shifting uncomfortably.

Under the lashing of the wind and rain there’s a sudden noise at the front door. Not urgent, not loud, just two soft thuds. If the kids had been roughhousing or the film had been on you may even have missed them.

You all look at each other, instantly and equally on edge, and all hoping that somebody, anybody, will provide a simple explanation for this.

Steve’s the first to speak. Jaw slack and brow furrowed, he asks the room, “Uhh, did anyone order takeout?”

There’s a cacophony of ‘no’s’ and shaken heads, before another soft thud is heard, just one this time.

Steve steels himself, not for the first time realising that it’s his responsibility to investigate the possibly terrifying, and potentially life-threatening, situation. He stands from his position by the video player and moves towards the door, fingertips skimming the top of the bat that’s always to the side of it, before closing his hand softly around the handle.

He pulls back the sliding bolts before twisting the lock and pulling the door open just a crack, leaving the chain on. The noise of the weather increases in volume, but other than that there’s no indication of what’s on the other side.

Steve has his back to you so you don’t see his eyes go wide, but you do hear a soft, “Wh- What the fuck?”

Robin being Robin, and perpetually thinking about her stomach, she says,

“What is it, doofus? Pleeease tell me it’s Jonathon and Argyle dropping by from Cali with some delicious Surfer Boy pizza??”

“Uh, no, it’s, uh- You know what? Maybe you should just come and see for yourself. Wait, scratch that, just the adults.”

Knowing this will unwittingly pique the interest of the kids more than if he’d just allowed everyone to come look, you and Robin glance at each other before quickly rising and moving to the door.

Steve closes it and takes off the chain, opening it wide as the three of you arrive, the kids following close behind and trying to look between you.

There, hunched, shivering, soaking wet and covered in mud, is your friend. The one who’d died saving the town. The one they’d buried only a few days ago, after he’d been lying on a slab in a lab somewhere for weeks.

Eddie.

Next: Part One Part Two

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Thanks so much for reading! I really hope you enjoyed this. Lemme know if you’d like to be tagged in future parts.

Extra tags: @jamdoughnutmagician @joejoequinnquinn

[midniqhtt]

steve harrington

masterlist • stranger things • 07/23/24

˚‧⁺ ･ ˖ · ୨ৎ recs two

one I three

𑣲 his good luck charm I @bimbobaggins69

king!steve getting a little frisky before the basketball game because he swears you’re his good luck charm

𑣲 friends with benefits I @forever-rogue

𑣲 dirty dancing I @nexusnyx

When Steve went to the address for investigating purposes, the last thing on his mind was stumbling upon one of the most beautiful sights he's ever seen. It happens, though, and he convinces himself that meeting you was only a thing of the moment, until he encounters you outside the cinema a week later, crying. He does something about it.

𑣲 power trip I @silkscream

you and steve settle your differences when he drives you home

𑣲 fast times at family video I @thursdaygxrls

steve’s great a flirting. that is, until robin gets involved.

𑣲 crushes, chaos, confessions I @quin-ns 

dustin knows how steve feels about you and he can’t stop himself from spilling his best friend’s biggest secret to you.

𑣲 henderson!reader I @familyvideostevie

𑣲 favour for a favour I @yellowharrington

steve has a big ol' crush on the girl that trades him pastries for movies every week.

𑣲 whole I @freelancearsonist

𑣲 sincerely, yours I @superblysubpar

a movie night, a confession, an offer, your Calvin's bunched up on the floor of your best friend's BMW...and other places

𑣲 paralyzed I @murdockparker

She walked in on a Friday afternoon. Steve needed nothing more than to get to know her--if only he could find it in himself to speak to her.

𑣲 that guy I @appocalipse

After he's been to yet another failed date with yet another random pretty girl, Steve Harrington, your best friend, stops by at the diner your family owns for a late-night chat, same as he'd done a thousand times before. Steve is totally unaware of how much he's hurting you with his endless parade of dates, because after all — the two of you are only friends and nothing more, right? It's not like you have any secret feelings for him…

𑣲 romance is dead, isn't it I @megxplryxb

𑣲 pretty girl part 2 I @hellfireclubmember

Dustin can't stop talking about the sub he got to fill in for Lucas, making Steve want to smash his head into a wall. That is, of course, until he sees you.

𑣲 baby, no attachment part 2 I @calumfmu

the 5 times Steve Harrington was an asshole to you, with the 1 time, he revealed his true self.

𑣲 the kings reign I @/calumfmu

King Steve, the stupid nickname you had heard your entire life. The rumors, the huge ego to match. It was everything that made you hate him, especially when your best friend wouldn't shut up about him. Robin was forcing you to be friends with him, but it wouldn't stop the passion you had dedicated to wanting nothing to do with him.

𑣲 tell me that i'm all you want I @judeswhore

everyone in hawkins knows about steve harrington’s somewhat infamous past and with your relationship being new and a little devil on your shoulder you start to worry if you’re simply just his next play thing

𑣲 blurb I @/judeswhore

𑣲 out of your league I @/judeswhore

steve’s friends refuse to believe his secret girlfriend is the pretty girl from the bakery and are more than a little surprised when you actually show up.

𑣲 fall into pieces I @taintedcigs

steve comes in his pants from eating you out. that's the plot.

𑣲 it just takes a kiss I @strangerstilinski

based on that scene in tasm where peter spins gwen around to kiss her — with just a dash of enemies to lovers

𑣲 handle with care I @thecreelhouse

Eddie and Robin think Steve needs to get out more, but he ends up in what he believes to be the wrong place at the wrong time, until he meets you.

𑣲 jealousy, jealousy I @s-brant

Nancy and Y/N are best friends. The problem is, Y/N and Steve have been secretly hooking up for weeks, and when Nancy asks for advice about possibly getting back together with him, Y/N doesn’t know how to feel.

𑣲 bags I @goldustwomun

you'd loved steve since you were fifteen, followed him wherever he went. so when you were finally over him, stumbling home with another man clinging to your side, why was he waiting by your doorstep?

𑣲 grand gesture I @loove-persevering

reader is seeing how close Nancy and Steve are and the looks they give. When the Reader goes to Eddie Steve gets confused and a little jealous because he actually has feelings for her.

𑣲 moral of the story I @refiwrites

Steve was still in love with Nancy, it was clear as day. 

𑣲 for a good time call! I @chestharrington

In the Summer of 1985, Steve's social standing is at an all time low. In an act of sheer, pathetic desperation, he calls a phone sex hotline. Little does he know, his dream girl from the hotline is just an escalator away.

𑣲 6 times Steve was pining I @fandomtravels

𑣲 you keep me hanging on part 2 I @once-upon-an-imagine

𑣲 icarus and the sun I @justburningdaylight

Reader’s in love with her best friend. Considering she can’t tell him about this particular secret, she instead entrusts it to her diary, neglecting to remember Steve’s old habit of reading said diary.

𑣲 sober thoughts I @munsster

If drunk words are sober thoughts, Steve sure is talkative when he’s had a few.

𑣲 need your lips on mine I @lonelysatellites

Steve Harrington will hook up with you. So why won’t he kiss you?

[acowardinmordor]

Hold up a vision of the angsty admirer au just struck me. It’s a little skip ahead. Sorry.

The party still breaks into the counselors office and sees the records and puts together that it isn’t random. They put together that it’s about guilt and depression and self hatred.

They all, rationally, assume it’s because he’s repeating senior year.

Lucas, though.

Sweet, kind, supportive Lucas, who has a box of letters apologizing blindly to someone that Eddie had intentionally torn apart. Lucas, who has barely held his tongue since that day at Hellfire. Lucas, who admires the hell out of Steve, wants to be him, and who thinks he made it worse. Who thinks he’s at fault for Steve being cursed.

Somewhere in between Steve getting out of Vecnas powers, and this, Chrissy died (sorry babe) and it’s not pinned on Eddie, but that’s where suspicion is leaning.Nancy and Robin talked to him, convinced him that Steve is fine, explained a small part of the upside down, and told him to keep his head down, begged him to just stay in the trailer, and above all, not to get involved further.

Steve is shutting down on them, and after they saw the notes about Chrissy and Fred, they’re pushing him. Which is making it worse. Robin is spiraling, Max is furious. Dustin is on the edge of hysterical.

For whatever reason, they need to talk to Eddie again. Information about Victor Creel probably. Since most of them are freaked out by Steve, it’s only Nancy and Lucas that go. Yeah, Lucas should have been listening while Nancy talked through a plan of what they were and were not going to tell Eddie, but he wasn’t. He tells her that after Eddie’s, they need to go by his house, that he has something to help Steve.

Pull up at the trailer, and Lucas cracks down the center. He runs from Nancy’s car, shoves open the door, immediately steps inside, and fucking decks Eddie. Puts him on the ground in one hit and because his entire hand now hurts, Lucas is looking for something to use as a replacement for a bat. It’s easy math for him. He knows why Vecna was able to go after Steve. He knows that if it wasn’t for this asshole with his caste assumptions about high school, Steve would be safe.

Hawkins wouldn’t be, Lucas knows that, but they’d have Steve, and if they have Steve, then they — then Lucas will feel like they’re going to survive.

Nancy stops him before Lucas can actually beat Eddie with an ashtray.

“If you hadn’t said that to him! If you actually looked at people! If you listened to them and trusted us! If you could just understand that not everyone has to choose a side, he would be safe! He’s dying and it’s your fault, Eddie! He’s gonna die, and it’s going to be because you never really see anyone, just the person you think they’re supposed to be!”

Eddie hasn’t been looped in yet. He doesn’t know what Lucas is talking about, but it’s Lucas screaming at him, which is enough for the pieces to come closer. It’s not like Eddie hasn’t been thinking about the way Steve said he wanted to sleep. It’s been half his brain at any second of the day. He’d broken every promise to his secret admirer, thrown insults like blades at every soft spot Steve has, and until that Friday, he thought he was standing on the moral high ground.

Yeah. It’s enough for Eddie to realize that the curse is because of what he did to Steve. On the ground, looking up at a freshman who loves Steve more than Eddie had the chance to, Eddie can’t even find the words to start an apology.

Nancy yanks Lucas back farther. She doesn’t help Eddie up though. She’s also damn smart, and can put clues together.

“Man, you need to—“ Eddie starts, talking to the other person in the room who, Lucas entirely missed in the tunnel vision of his rage. “—you gotta come back later. Pay me later.” He scrambles to the bathroom and slams the door.

“Yeah, i guess I… Lucas, make sure you ice that hand, your form was no good.”

Finally, Lucas turns, along with Nancy, to find Patrick, fidgeting and uncomfortable, with a little baggie in his hand. He pulls some cash from his wallet, drops it on the table.

And look. Lucas would love to stop and talk to his teammate, who is looking very messed up. Who obviously needs someone. But Steve is going to die, and he can’t think beyond that fact. Honestly, Nancy is the same.

That’s why they’ve started a whispered discussion of how fast they can get answers and leave when they notice that Patrick is frozen in place, two steps from the door.

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