#Nancy and robin sigh very dramatically about it

[sp0o0kylights]

Grass is green, water is wet, and Jonathan Byers does not like Steve Harrington.

These are known facts in the universe.

Computers were going to take over the world, a “mobile” phone was being invented, and Steve Harrington had lost most of his hearing.

These were unknown facts--rumors even, if you will. Eddie had never seen even a grain of truth to support any of them. 

(Well, maybe the computer thing, but only because Grant and Dustin both had made a couple of convincing arguments.) 

So he doesn’t think about it, when his freshman gang up on him. 

Doesn’t even factor the “can’t hear well” thing in, when he was tasked (demanded, whined, bitched and moaned at) with helping them explain to Steve why going to the release party of the new D&D box set, located at a hobby store only a mere 2 hour drive away, was important.

Eddie’s not even sure how the little shits got him to agree to do it until he’s standing in the parking lot in front of the former King himself. 

“The store’s leading up to the release with a handful of one-shots.” He’s explaining, unsure whether to pull out the bored act or play up his court jester persona, and thus mixing and matching on the fly. 

He does not care if Harrington doesn’t know what a one-shot is. 

“They’re releasing the set at midnight. You have to be there to get it though, you can’t have someone else pick it up for you because they only got a certain amount in.” 

Harrington’s frowning (no surprise) but it’s not until Eddie is well into his spiel about how his van is already full with the elder members of Hellfire, and thus has no room for the freshmen, that he realizes Steve isn’t quite looking at him. 

Is in fact, looking over his shoulder.

Eddie stops. Follows Harrington’s gaze.

Parked across from Steve’s Beemer, is Jonathan Byer’s barely working clunker car. 

A handful of steps in front of it, and thus nearly right behind Eddie, is the man himself.

His hands are still moving, mouth shaping words silent as he goes, his gaze locked not on Eddie or the kids--but on Steve. 

Who turns back around as Harrington’s eyes slide right back to him. 

“And this is taking place next Friday?” He says, in that sort of annoyed but resigned way parents aim at their children. “After school?” 

“I’d like to go during  school, but the freshmen insist you wouldn’t let them ditch out.” Eddie tells him. “They had two separate arguments about it.” 

Loud ones, that had interrupted the game and given Eddie a migraine. 

Once again Steve’s eyes slide away from him, to Jonathan. 

“They’re not skipping school.” He says suddenly, a glare forming and Jonathan makes an annoyed noise. 

“They argued about skipping, they’re not going to.” He says aloud, and finally steps up so that he’s next to Eddie instead of behind him. 

“Munson slow down, I can’t sign as fast as you’re talking.” He adds, in the hang-dog grumble he’s notorious for. 

Eddie stares at him. 

“Can he seriously not hear me?” 

“No.” Steve and Jonathan answer together. 

“I can kind of still hear,” Steve adds, gaze returning to Eddie’s face. “But its more loud music or noises. I can lip read, but you’re also talking too fast for that.” 

Without pausing, he turns back to Jonathan and says; “Why can’t you take them?”

“It’s Friday.” Byers deadpans. 

Eddie’s not an expert on sign language, but his hands somehow looked deadpan too. 

He’s not sure how Jonathan did that. 

“So?” Steve snarks back. 

What follows is an argument that Eddie is not, at all involved in, mostly because he’s too busy handling the fact that Jonathan Byers has learned sign language, for Steve Harrington, apparently, and given the tone the argument is taking they still don’t even like each other.  

Eventually the argument ends, Steve throwing his hands in the air and demanding that Jonathan owes him. 

(Eventually Eddie will corner the ever so quiet Will Byers and ask why the hell his brother learned sign language for someone he clearly fucking hates.

“Oh they don’t hate each other.” Baby Byers would say, in that shy, quiet way of his. “I think they’re actually friends now?” 

“You think?”

“Well--you’ve seen them.” Will shrugs. “I think being mean to each other is kinda their thing.” 

‘What the hell.’ Eddie would think, right up until he stumbled across one of the kids sign language books. 

Byers the Elder, he decides, isn’t the only person who should learn sign language to chew out Harrington properly.

The pay off is immediate. 

Or at least, the pay off of watching Steve’s shocked face the first time Eddie signs something vulgar at him is, anyway.)

[blushweddinggowns]

“Your boyfriend,” Chirssy sighed as she picked through Nancy’s clothes, “Y’know, Steve?”

Robin blinked at her, “You think I’m dating Steve?”

That was a silly question, “Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I? You guys are all over each other.”

They were. Piggy back rides, cuddling on the couch together, constantly invading each other’s personal space. The only person worse with Steve was Eddie, but Chrissy figured that just came with being best friends for over a decade. She didn’t exactly have a frame of reference for that, considering her first real friends were barely six months old. 

Chrissy just hadn’t expected Robin to burst out laughing. Hard enough to double over.

Robin wiped at her eyes, barely managing to speak through her own cackles, “That’s-oh my god. How have we fucked up this badly?” 

Chrissy could feel a flush creep up her neck, embarrassment kicking in. She hated when she wasn’t in on the joke. It usually meant that it was actually on her,  “Don't be mean.”

“No!” Robin rushed out to say, effortlessly catching on to the look on Chrissy’s face, “No! I-I don’t mean- you’re not stupid! I am. We are. For… reasons. But we aren’t dating.”

That didn’t make any sense. Unless… was Steve leading her on? Was he the type of guy to do that?

Chrissy raised a brow at her, “So what are you doing? The two of you are attached at the hip. Unless he just drives you around everywhere for fun?”

Chrissy could tell Robin was still trying not to laugh. She was failing at it too, obvious as she hid it behind her hand. 

“Stop laughing at me,” Chrissy grumbled. 

“I’m not! I’m just laughing near you,” Robin said quickly. She turned to Steve, “Hey babe, can you come over here for a second?”

He came trotting right over, leaving Eddie to argue with Nancy in his place. He kind of reminded her of a dog, but in a cute way. Like a golden retriever boyfriend. 

Robin wrapped an arm around his shoulder the second he was within reach. She grinned at him, shaking him the slightest bit, “How would you feel about us going out some time?��

Steve stared at her, obviously confused, “Huh?”

“You, me,” Robin went on, “The whole boyfriend girlfriend shtick. What do you say?”

Chrissy didn’t expect to Steve physically cringe, like the idea completely disgusted him, “Ew, no.”

Robin scoffed but she didn’t look very surprised, “Fucking rude.”

“No!” Steve said, raising his hands to placate, “I don’t mean you’re gross! I mean it would be like banging my sister!”

It was Robin’s turn to cringe, “Dude, ew.”

“See!”

Chrissy didn’t understand what was happening. She stared at them, blurting the question out, “You guys aren’t together?”

Robin did a set of jazz hands, “Nope. Absolutely zero attraction between us. See?”

“But why?” Chrissy asked, looking between the two of them, “You both seem so perfect for each other.”

“Hey Eddie,” Steve called, a weird smile on his face, “What do you think? Are Robin and I perfect for each other?”

Suddenly Robin had that same look, “Yeah. He knows Steve better than anybody. Let's have him weigh in.”

Eddie groaned as he came over, clearly eavesdropping the entire time. He left Nancy to dig around her closet, walking up next to Steve with a sigh, “Are we really doing this? Really?”

Robin gasped, faking a faint, “Are you implying that I’m not good enough for Steve?”

Steve gasped right along with her, joining in with the dramatics while Chrissy was still lost, “I think he might be.”

“As fun as this little game is,” Eddie sighed, “I think we should just tell her. I’m tired of keeping my hands to myself anyway.”

Steve looked at him, head cocked, “You think so?”

“Why not?”

Steve shrugged, his eyes landing back onto Chrissy. His voice dipped down, more serious then before. He was talking like he was speaking to Eddie, but Eddie wasn’t the one he was staring down as he spoke, “It makes sense. I think the chances of it going badly are pretty low. The alternative wouldn’t be very wise.”

Chrissy was reminded, not for the first time, why she thought Steve was the scarier one of the best friend duo. 

But then Eddie was clamping a hand onto Steve’s shoulder, pulling him closer as he mumbled in his ear, “Put the claws away angel. I highly doubt she's like that. Plus she's been through enough for one day. Don't you think?”

It was actually pretty impressive, how easily a few words had Steve’s face transforming from scarily defensive to pleasantly neutral. It nearly looked like the words made him shiver, “I-you're right. Sorry Chris. I'm just… sensitive about it “

“I have no idea what’s going on,” Chrissy said, completely unable to accept an apology that she didn’t understand, “What is happening?”

And what did Eddie just call him? 

Eddie went on, “Well… we kind of have this thing when we’re in a near death experience. Or at least adjacent to it. Where we, well, kind of let loose? So we might as well warn you about what you’re going to see beforehand.”

Chrissy stared as Steve leaned further into him, nearly too close. No, definitely too close. He was basically nuzzling the side of Eddie’s face as he spoke, “You’re making it sound like we’re going to commit public indecency in front of her. And I’m the one who needs to calm down?”

Chrissy still didn’t get it. But her brain was still trying to work it out, fitting the weird pieces together. The way they were leaning into each other. The fact that Steve, for some bizarre reason didn’t want the best girl in the country, despite the fact that Robin was right there. How Eddie was instantly able to calm him down. 

Angel.

Oh. 

Oh. 

OH. 

“Uh, you okay there Chris?” Eddie asked, watching right at the realization hit her.

She was not okay. Not because of Eddie and Steve, but because this meant Robin was single. And she had been the entire damn time. 

Chrissy shook herself out of the stupid thought, just because she wasn’t taken didn’t mean she had a chance-

“Yeah, we’re kind of the queer trio over here,” Robin added, effortlessly grinding Chrissy’s train of thought back to a halt, “I um, probably should have told you sooner but piggybacking on their coming out seems appropriate.”

Nancy snorted, her outfit choices formalized as she walked over, “If you’re the queer trio what does that make me? The straight fourth wheel?”

They were all talking about it so casually. Like the thing that has plagued Chrissy’s mind for years, filling her with guilt and doubt, didn’t matter. It was normal, it was fine, and Robin liked girls.

She was pretty sure she was going to faint. But before she could her mouth was opening, “That’s- I - Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!”

Her voice came out more forceful than she expected. Though in her defense, she just found out that she had a real shot with her best friend the same day her life was in danger. She was feeling frazzled, but she corrected herself when she was met with silence, “I-I’m fine with it! Really! I j-just wish I had known.”

Nancy looked at her sympathetically, “Did you have a crush on one of them too? I get it, Steve got me the first time we started getting close. But I promise it’s not that hard to get over it.”

“No!” Chrissy said quickly, again with too much force, “I’m just surprised. T-That’s it. Everything’s fine.”

“Think you got the wrong category there Nance,” Steve mumbled under his breathe, yelping when Robin pinched his arm with a sharp glare. 

“Ignore him,” Robin said with a sad smile, “He doesn’t get everyone doesn’t have the gay gene.”

Chrissy nodded, her eyes trailing the flush that was going up Robin’s neck. Suddenly her mouth felt dry, the urge to correct her coming out full force. She shouldn’t tell them, right? It was wrong, it was bad, it didn't make sense. Because she knew they weren’t wrong. They weren’t bad. And Chrissy was so, so, tired of other people’s words invading her own thoughts. 

Nancy was laying the clothes out, the only one capable of getting everyone back on task, “Since it looks like neither of you were actually looking. I picked these out for you-”

“I have it,” Chrissy blurted out, her eyes still on the clothes on the bed. She refused to look up for any of their reactions, “The um, what you guys were talking about earlier. Me too. And I like the blue skirt.”

Nancy was the only one who didn’t miss a beat, “Ah, so now there’s four. Good for you. And I agree with the skirt, it will make you look a little taller with the heels and the elongation. We can get you to pass for a college student for sure. Robin, what do you think about the pink?”

from the next chapter of this fic

[loveinhawkins]

Barely ten minutes into the hike from Skull Rock to Lover’s Lake, Dustin heaves a sigh like he’s the most long suffering person in the world to ever exist. Steve rolls his eyes.

“Jesus Christ, Henderson, what?”

“I’m bored.”

“God, you’re such a whiner. No, you—you’re like a little kid on a road trip, like, are we there yet?”

Behind them, Max and Lucas snort in almost perfect unison.

Out of the corner of his eye, Steve sees Eddie’s lips twitch into the faint semblance of a smile. It’s very quick, blink and you miss it, before he turns sombre again, looking down at the forest floor. Steve can’t blame the guy; he can’t imagine that he has all that much to smile about.

“I just meant,” Dustin says, “that we could use some entertainment.” He jerks his head meaningfully at Eddie—who thankfully still has his head down so he can’t witness this tremendous lack of subtlety—and mouths, You know, a distraction.

“And I’m the entertainment guy,” Steve says flatly.

“Well, we’ve gotta keep you around for some reason,” Lucas pipes up.

Steve turns around, walks backwards so he can point warningly at him. “Thin ice, Sinclair.”

But it’s all for show, and he keeps walking backwards, pretends to trip on a tree root and narrowly avoid a pratfall. Max actually giggles at that, which is a victory in and of itself, but Eddie’s looking down at his feet.

Hmm.

“If I wanted slapstick, I would’ve called Charlie Chaplin,” Dustin says.

“He’s dead,” Max points out.

Dustin quickly draws a hand over his neck, Cut it out. Which—yeah, that’s fair. Don’t want the conversation straying into stuff that’s too close to… everything.

“So you want education instead?” Steve says. “I think I can remember how to identify, like, some trees and shit from—”

“Forget Lover’s Lake,” Dustin says, “I’m walking you straight into a retirement home.”

Steve opens his mouth, ready to play up his outrage, and then he hears a very soft chuckle from the side. Eddie.

Steve catches Dustin’s eye, winks briefly in reassurance. Nice work.

“Oh, sorry, is that not entertaining enough for you?” Steve turns so he’s front facing again, kicking a few stray twigs as he thinks. “Uh… ooh, did I tell you about the affair? At work?”

“Someone’s having an affair at Family Video?” Lucas says, sounding disgusted.

Max cackles. “The scandal! At a family establishment, no less.”

Dustin points at her. “See, this is why you should play D&D!” he says, annoyingly sing-song. “You’ve got a flair for words.”

“How about I stick my flair right up your—”

“Uh, okay,” Eddie interrupts suddenly. “I need details.”

Aha, Steve thinks, smug. Got you.

“Fire away, Munson.”

“Did someone, like, confess to you while you were ringing them up?”

Steve scoffs. “No, it was—” He cups his mouth, calls, “Hey, Rob?”

Up ahead, Robin and Nancy turn.

“What?”

“The affair shift.”

“Oh!” Robin whacks Nancy on the arm in her enthusiasm. “This is such a good one. Okay, so am I gonna be her or—?”

“No!” Steve says. “You’ve gotta be me, you can’t do her voice right.”

“Ugh, fine, fine. Wait, I need to get into character.”

Robin makes a show of ruffling her hair, and Steve doesn’t even roll his eyes, can only grin as he hears Eddie cough a much stronger laugh into his elbow.

“Nance, count us in,” Robin says.

Nancy looks a mixture of surprised and amused. It only takes a moment of hesitance before she mimes holding a slate, mouths counting down. “Action!”

And they’re off.

It’s probably so stupid, Steve thinks, to be this loud right now, but he can’t bring himself to care—not when he can hear raucous laughter from all directions: Robin captures his flustered, wide-eyed look, while he dramatically re-enacts a woman storming into the store, demanding to see her husband’s account.

And he thinks Eddie actually laughs the loudest when he gets to the reveal: that said account was full of romantic movies the married couple had never seen together.

“Not one,” Steve echoes—and not to brag, but with this delivery? Juilliard, eat your heart out. “Not. One!”

The kids dissolve into more giggles; Robin fights to stay in character as Nancy jokingly calls, “And, scene!”

And Eddie throws back his head, and laughs and laughs.

Happiness is a good look on him, Steve thinks.

They all quieten eventually, but a lightness in mood still remains, as the kids huddle off together—“Hey, shitheads, not too far!” Steve says, far from the first time—and Eddie sidles up, fleetingly knocks their shoulders together.

“Steve Harrington. Who would’ve thought it, huh?”

“Thought what?”

Steve glances over at him, suddenly struck by the fact that the sun will go down soon; and he doesn’t really need to know what Mordor is to know that he’d rather not get there. That he’d rather freeze time, so they could all just walk in the woods forever.

Eddie shrugs. “You’re a good storyteller.” His eyes are soft, like that isn’t all that he’s saying. Like he’s saying Thank you.

Steve shrugs back. “I’m a man of many talents,” he says.

Eddie chuckles, and this time his smile doesn’t fade away.

Steve allows himself a moment or two to admire the scenery, and if that means looking less at the way the sun still shines through the gaps in the branches, and more the way that it illuminates Eddie’s lingering smile, well…

Well, so what?

Right now, we’re happy, Steve finds himself thinking.

They can stay in the Shire for a little while longer.

[jadeylovesmarvelxo]

Eddie is desperate to speak to you about what you saw in the woods but with Harrington guarding you at every turn how was that possible?

Jealous Eddie, 18+, misunderstandings, protective Steve. Robin is done with all this shit.

Part one here

💌♥️

You spend your time at Family Video trying to distract yourself from ever thinking you and Eddie could be something in the first place. It's hard though because at unexpected times the kiss will creep back into your mind and you were swept back into your deep feelings for Eddie once again.

It wasn't like there was an on or off switch to turn off how you felt. If only it was that easy.

Steve has been amazing, he's comforted you since you went into Family Video, tear filled eyes and lip trembling as you explained to him and Robin what happened.

The thing about Steve is since he's changed dramatically in the last few years, grown into a better man thanks to a knock on the head from various people (Nancy, Robin, You, Dustin and all the other little shits) he's also become more protective of everyone he cares about.

So seeing you teary eyed and that little pout on your face has sent all of his protective instincts going haywire, he can never resist a pout and puppy eyes-something the kids have picked up on and used to their advantage.

He's determined to do anything to protect you from Eddie hurting you even more, and it's not like he disliked the guy, Munson was cool. Hurt his friends though and any good will he had disappeared fast.

It doesn't help his irritation when Eddie is constantly everywhere he looks, he's driving you and Robin to school and Munson is watching with a pained expression.

Serves you right dickhead. He thinks to himself and wraps his around you, comfortingly when you freeze as you see Eddie.

The anguished expression on Eddie's face darkens into something else and he zeroes in on Steve's hand that is gently rubbing your shoulder.

Steve doesn't think it's the last he's seen of Munson, if his expression is any indication then he expects Eddie won't keep his feelings quiet for very long.

...

It takes less than a day for Eddie to show up at the store. You're working with Steve and watching IT to pass the long work day away.

"You know this feels so familiar" Steve smirks at you and you can't help but laugh, kids banding together to fight an ancient evil, it rings a few bells.

Eddie looks between you and Harrington, jealousy bubbles in his stomach and he grips the video he's holding tightly. Inside jokes, the two of you had inside jokes.

He swears under his breath, curses himself that he fucked up so badly. Wishes he could explain to you and tell you that Chrissy didn't mean anything, she was nervous getting weed for the first time and he just wanted to make her feel comfortable.

The only person he wanted was you but you had gotten things totally wrong. The jealousy twists in his gut again when Steve gently nudges your side as the two of you laugh over something.

He's itching to go up and talk to you but how could he when Harrington was like a guard dog.

Robin sidles up to him, returning tapes, she narrows her eyes at Eddie as he looks at her pleadingly all puppy eyed and pouty.

"Don't you do that look Munson, I'm as pissed at you as Steve is and I swear if you're hanging around to just break a certain someone's heart again then I'm borrowing Steve's bat and...' Eddie manages to intervene before she passes out from lack of oxygen.

"No, shit, that's not why I'm here Buckley. I came to apologise, beg for forgiveness. I am not interested in Chrissy. I've been crazy about princess for months and I'm kicking myself that I've messed things up" Robin deflates and softens just a tiny bit.

"Well why haven't you apologised?" she exclaims and then she turns around to look at Steve and sighs. "Yeah, it's not ideal when Steve is in "protective mode" but suck it up Munson" Eddie swallows feeling thoroughly chastised.

Suck it up and get his princess back. He could do that.

💞

Eddie doesn't come back to Family Video after his talk with Robin. The thought sours your mood because you guess he really doesn't care that you're hurting.

Or Robin and Steve have collectively scared him off.

Maybe he really did have chemistry with Chrissy and he would rather pursue her. The least he could do is tell you so you weren't surprised one day when he walked into Family Video with her.

Robin is talking about Vickie and asking you and Steve about ideas for a movie date, you're distracted as Eddie comes in. Your heart skips a beat and his big brown eyes are full of nerves as he walks up to you.

Pissed off and despite yourself really missing Eddie you concentrate on rewinding the tapes that people had brought back. Ugh, be kind, rewind. It was right there on the video cover, there were so many tapes to do and that was annoying you as well.

♥️

It really was time for you and Eddie to talk. Steve looks reluctant as you head over but you assure him you'll be fine.

"We need to talk, I'll be okay Steve. Promise" he nods but is still glaring at Eddie, his gaze darkening even more when Eddie approaches.

"Do not fuck this up Munson or you'll have me to answer to" Eddie nods, his gaze is still on you.

Robin rolls her eyes as she looks between him and Eddie and gently pushes Steve back behind the counter. "Come on Steve, don't be a dingus and let them talk it out" Eddie throws a grateful smile Robin's way.

Once you're alone with Eddie he immediately launches into what he's been itching to say, he trips over his words a few times but he's desperate for you to understand that he's in no way interested in Chrissy, not one bit.

Eddie shakes his head. "I don't want Chrissy, I'm not interested in her, she is sweet but she's just my friend and she's not you. I was goofing around when you saw us talking because she was nervous, it was her first time getting weed and I just wanted her to relax sweetheart, the only "spark" I feel is with you"

You smile feeling the stirrings of relief build up inside you. "I've been trying to tell you all week princess but I didn't want to fuck up any more and well, Steve hasn't exactly let me anywhere near you" he looks past you to Steve and you squeeze his hand.

"He's just protective that's all" you soften as you gaze at him, can sense that he's worrying, "Eddie there's nothing between me and Steve, he's my friend that's all" Eddie nods and brightens considerably.

"As long as Harrington knows that" you roll your eyes amused as Eddie straightens and tries to look intimidating to Steve.

"Yes he does, we're friends Eddie. He's just as protective of Robin" Eddie nods and presses a kiss to your head.

"I've missed you sweetheart" you lean into him and his arms wrap around you. You've missed him like crazy, "Maybe we could try this again princess? A proper date?" You nod and press a gentle kiss to his lips leaving you both a bit dazed but smiling happily at each other that everything is going to be okay.

♥️

[steddiealltheway]

Part Two out of Six of Meddling ;). Part One. AO3 Link.

“That’s good! Now Steve, don’t look like you’re in so much pain.”  

It’s only been about five minutes, and Steve is already tired of the pictures. Robin has put them in so many awkward stock photo poses that he has started to wonder how this could ever be fun like Eddie said.  

What makes things worse is he knows that Eddie feels the same way because he’s so damn tense. Honestly, the whole thing feels fake and unnatural, and for some reason, it upsets Steve although this is exactly what he signed up for.  

Nancy winces at the most recent photo she’s taken and says, “Okay, how about we take a break?”  

“Thank god,” Steve sighs in relief and sits on the couch. Eddie ends up sprawling out next to him until he shoves him a bit.  

“Move a little so I can get comfortable.”  

Steve nudges him back. “It’s an L-shaped couch. Take the other side.”  

“I’m not moving away from that sweater. Come here, my love,” Eddie says dramatically while reaching out to the sweater.  

Steve rolls his eyes again and sprawls out next to Eddie until he’s basically spooning him. “Close enough to it?”  

Eddie pulls him in a little closer. “Maybe now.”  

Steve smiles a bit to himself and closes his eyes. He doesn’t know why the pictures have been so exhausting, but he’s glad it’s led to this moment.  

The camera shutter goes off again. Steve cracks an eye open.  

Nancy smiles at him and walks away, staring at whatever picture she just took.  

Steve feels himself begin to doze off when Robin shakes him awake. “Break time is over.”  

Eddie groans behind him and squeezes Steve - or rather his sweater - one last time before hesitantly getting up.  

“I have an idea,” Nancy announces. “I’m going to take some candid photos of you two. No more poses. Just you two hanging out.”  

“While still acting like a couple, right?” Steve asks.  

For some reason, the comment is funny to Nancy who tries and fails to hide a laugh behind her hand before she confirms, “Yeah, of course.”  

Eddie must miss it though because he just nods and replies, “Okay. So, what do we do?”  

Robin holds up two very ugly Christmas sweaters with a big smile. “It’s Christmas time, and you two are going to dance.”  

Steve shoots Eddie a look. What have they gotten into?  

-:-:-:-:-:-

Robin starts playing Christmas music over their speaker as Steve and Eddie prepare to slow dance.  

It had taken them a while to get here after Eddie insisted on saying a very tearful goodbye to his sweater. Steve had even cut it short by offering to wear it during the fake double date with Veronica as long as they stayed inside.  

Robin had agreed to have the date at their place and keep it simple – just dinner and a movie. Nancy had even thrown in the idea of having a practice run where she would pretend to be Veronica. Honestly, it all kind of eased the tension for Steve, so he agreed quickly.  

Now, he wishes he would’ve stalled as he takes his place in front of Eddie and awkwardly holds his arms out. “How are we supposed to do this?”  

“You think I know?” Eddie asks as his hands begin to move to hover over his shoulders then his waist before repeating the process, just as unsure about where to put them.  

Steve shrugs. He’s had his good share of slow dances with girls at prom and homecoming growing up, but the only experience he’s had dancing with men has been at bars when he’s been fairly intoxicated.  

It’s not that he doesn’t want to slow dance with guys. He’s a romantic. But he’s just... never had the opportunity. And here’s Eddie standing right in front of him giving him that opportunity.  

He doesn’t want to mess it up. But does he put his hands around his shoulders or his waist or??  

Eddie’s arms slowly slide around Steve’s waist as he pulls him close. Steve’s arms automatically come up to wrap around Eddie’s shoulders. It reminds him of the way they hug, but he’s still able to see Eddie’s face.  

It feels right.  

“Silent Night” comes on, and Steve smiles and sways to the very slow beat.  

Eddie smiles back and gently rests his forehead against Steve’s. “I’ve never done this before.”  

“Really?” Steve pulls back to ask.  

Eddie nods and looks down at his feet.  

“I’ve never done this with a guy,” Steve confesses.  

It seems to lessen Eddie’s tension a bit as he melts into his arms. He drops his head to Steve’s shoulder, and Steve closes his eyes and rests his head against Eddie’s, letting himself stay in the moment for a bit.  

When the song ends and transitions into “O Holy Night”, yet another slow Christmas song, Eddie’s head comes up a bit and he whispers, “I’m having a bit of an impulsive thought.”  

Steve turns to whisper back. “Care to share?”  

Eddie giggles – like actually giggles – then says, “I want to squeeze your ass.”  

Steve throws back his head and laughs loudly.  

“My hands are down there already! You can’t blame me!” Eddie protests with a laugh.  

Steve looks back at him and says, “Go ahead.”  

Eddie’s jaw drops open slightly then closes. “You’re not joking?”  

“Let me know what you think,” Steve says with a wink.  

Eddie laughs again then his hands slowly slide down to lightly cup his butt, then he squeezes.  

“Okay! Next activity!” Robin yells.  

Eddie startles as much as Steve which only results in him grabbing his ass again. Steve laughs as Eddie’s hands snap up in surrender. “Oops,” Eddie says looking equal parts guilty and proud.  

“I need to wash my eyes with bleach,” Robin comments as she walks off somewhere. “But before that, I have a very special request.”  

Steve reluctantly looks away from Eddie only to have all his senses fill with horror as Robin slowly lifts up a leafy looking plant out of a box on their coffee table that he hadn’t noticed before. “Mistletoe,” Robin says with a big smile.  

Steve freezes.  

“Come on, guys. You’ve been dating for two years. You have to have some pictures of you two kissing. We already have one of Eddie groping you,” Nancy says as if that helps.  

Steve cringes. How did he forget that there’s a camera capturing his every move? He’s terrified to see how the pictures turn out since he’s going to have love written all over his face.  

Maybe Steve can convince Robin that she’s the only one who needs them. Or he can just select a few to send to Eddie where his face is hidden. He really doesn’t want to ruin their friendship.  

Robin shakes the mistletoe again, and Steve suppresses a groan. This is definitely going to ruin things.  

“It’s just a kiss. People do it all the time. Platonically,” Eddie reasons.  

Steve swipes a hand over his face and looks at Eddie. “Can I talk to you alone please?”  

Eddie nods and follows him to his room. While Steve opens the door for Eddie, he shoots Robin an I know what you’re doing look that he will discuss with her later. Then, he closes the door behind him.  

“Steve, we really don’t have to kiss. We can fake it and make Nancy take it at an angle that makes it look believable. We can also just tell Veronica that we’re not super big on PDA, so we don’t take pictures like that.”  

All of what he’s saying makes perfect sense, and they’re the perfect excuses.  

But instead of taking any of it, Steve says, “I’m fine with kissing you. I just don’t want my first kiss with you to be in front of Nancy, Robin, and a camera. No one deserves that.”  

Eddie’s eyes soften a bit at the admission, and he smiles softly. “Okay.”  

Steve takes Eddie’s hands and slowly approaches him. Then, he pauses and backs away with a thought. “Wait.” He hurriedly strips off the ugly Christmas sweater and ignores Eddie’s, “Uh, are we kissing shirtless or something?” Then, he digs to where he carefully hung his yellow sweater and tugs it off the hanger again before putting it back on.  

“I don’t know what it is about this sweater that makes you so-”  

Steve is cut off by Eddie kissing him.  

His hands cup his jaw and slide into his hair while Steve finally snaps back into reality although he feels like he’s in a dream. His hands come up to grip Eddie’s shoulders as he deepens the kiss, tasting the candy cane Eddie had snagged earlier from Robin’s décor.  

The thought has Steve remembering why he’s even gotten here in the first place, so he begins to slow down the kiss as if to help ground himself. But he’s hopeless when Eddie’s lips move gently against his until they reluctantly pull away before moving to kiss him again. Then, again.  

Steve pulls back so he can rest his forehead against Eddie’s, and he can’t help but think how they’re almost mirroring how they appeared earlier when dancing. He lets himself drown out the rest of the world as he listens to his and Eddie’s heavy breathing start to even out and slowly go back to normal. But Steve’s heart is still pounding in his chest the same as it was when Eddie was kissing him.  

He thinks he may never be the same.  

There’s a loud knock on the door that makes Steve desperately want to say Go away!  

But then Robin is asking, “You two didn’t die in there, did you? I’m not forcing you two to kiss if you don’t want to just to be clear!”  

Steve’s hand flies up to his mouth as he muffles his laugh. Eddie whispers, “Stop it, you’re going to make me laugh, and that’ll give us away.”  

Steve hides his face in the crook of Eddie’s neck, but his shoulders start to shake.  

“We’re about to come in if you don’t answer,” Nancy warns.  

“Don’t worry! I just wanted to give Steve’s sweater another speech because I missed it! Why did you have to put us in these ugly things, Buckley?” Eddie lies quickly.  

“Because I love torturing you. Now hurry up!”  

Steve pulls away reluctantly and grabs the hideous red sweater. He leaves the yellow one out this time though – just in case.  

They both take a few more seconds to not appear so frazzled before they go back to the living room. Robin gives him a questioning look, but Steve looks away. He’s not going to spill the stuff about Eddie right now with both him and Nancy in the room. Plus, he doesn’t want to give Robin the satisfaction of knowing that she finally made him deal with his feelings for him. She can suffer a little longer not knowing.  

Eddie walks right up to the mistletoe and grabs it. “This seems like something I would do more so than you,” Eddie says.  

Steve crosses his arms. “And why’s that?”  

Eddie smiles and walks up to him. “Because you love acting irritated about stuff, especially in front of other people.” Steve can’t begin to defend himself before Eddie turns to Nancy and asks, “Camera’s ready?”  

“Ready,” she confirms.  

Eddie looks at Steve. “You’re sure this is okay?”  

Steve nods. He thinks he’ll take any excuse to kiss Eddie again.  

So, Eddie holds up the mistletoe in his right hand, and Steve wraps his arms around his shoulders. He leans forward and slowly kisses Eddie.  

He barely hears the camera go off.  

When he pulls away, he looks Eddie in the eyes and almost kisses him again. But Eddie puts the mistletoe down and digs into his pocket. “Wait, I want one that’s not so professional or whatever,” he says as he pulls up his phone and swipes to the camera. “One more?” he asks.  

Steve nods and lets Eddie kiss him this time so he doesn’t take him off guard when he takes the picture. When he pulls away, he and Eddie turn to his phone and watch as Eddie presses on the picture gallery.  

Steve’s heart starts pounding so hard, he’s sure Eddie can feel it based on how close they are.  

Eddie forgot to hold up the mistletoe this time, but... they look perfect together.  

“Okay, next up is our outdoor dates. You’ll have to take some of these from your phone instead of Nancy’s nice camera to make it more realistic. But this also means we can’t sit near you where we’re going next.”  

Robin really needs to learn how to read when the moment is over, but it seems like she has a whole day planned with a tight schedule, so he can’t blame her for pushing things.  

“Where are we going?” Eddie asks. He swings one arm around Steve’s waist to keep him close.  

“You’ll see,” Nancy says with a suspicious wink. “But pack your clothes. All casual things.”  

Steve reluctantly steps away from Eddie to find a duffle bag to put their clothes in. Although he doesn’t want to admit it, he’s actually starting to look forward to the rest of the day.  

Part three

Tag list <3:

@little-gae-shit @dreamingtheimpossibe @leethegay @lazyavenuewhispers @olibxr @thegayestpersonever

[corrodedseraphine]

easy | one shot

pairing: eddie munson x fem!reader

summary: "But Eddie has a girlfriend!" Dustin said first. "He does?" Adam asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "I do?" Eddie muttered under his breath trying to understand what was going on. "Yeah, he is dating my sister y/n!" Will continued. "They're so in love with each other it's disgusting." Dustin rolled his eyes.

Everything would be fine if it weren't for the fact that neither you nor Eddie were informed in advance of the fact that you were a couple.

It promised to be a very interesting week. angst/fluff and almost smut (making out in the bathroom), friends to lovers

In this AU Joyce didn't move to California, but Argyle is there in Hawkins because he is too cool to erase him just like that.

TW: mention of injuries, blood, murder, drugs

the one shot is also avaliable on ao3

9 591 words

When I first got the idea, I thought it would be a very short and pleasant story. As standard, it turned out quite differently!

I know I said this fanfic wouldn't be related to any song, but as I was writing I was listening to one of my favorite songs about love Safari by Piotr Zioła on loop and couldn't resist adding elements of it in there.

eddie munson masterlist | general masterlist

"Here are my favorites!" Wayne said entering Eddie's room with a big cardboard box.

"Please let me tell Dustin that you called us that, this little shit will lose his mind." Robin grinned.

"He knows it. This is my uncle and sometimes he loves you guys more than he loves me." Eddie replied with a mouth full of pizza. 

You were sitting in the Munsons' new apartment. After the huge compensation Eddie got from the government, they decided to give up on the trailer park and find a place where power failure and lack of hot water would not be on the agenda. You, of course, helped them with the moving out. Unfortunately, Eddie's condition was not the best so with the carrying furniture and cardboard boxes Steve, Jonathan, Argyle and Hopper helped Wayne. You, Robin, Nancy and Joyce took care of painting the rooms, but now it was time to eat to strengthen yourselves before continuing. You sat in a circle on the floor, since you hadn't yet had time to assemble the table. Suddenly there was the sound of a telephone in the apartment. Wayne went to answer it and returned after about 10 minutes with a worried expression on his face.

"If it weren't for the fact that the police chief is now sitting across from me I'd think I'd messed something up again." the younger Munson joked, to which Jim just rolled his eyes.

"We'll have visitors next week." sighed the old man.

"Who?"

"Remember aunt Theresa and her son Adam?"

"Jesus, no!" his reaction spoke for itself.

"They want to come for a week."

"So at the moment when we live in a trailer and can barely afford anything they don't want to know us, but when we suddenly get a lot of money and a new apartment they feel like suddenly renewing family ties?" he asked with disgust in his voice.

"It's only a week Son, you'll survive."

"Nope. I won't survive. Hopper you don't have a free cell for a week? I'll be much better off there than in their company."

"Don't be dramatic, kid." he replied.

"Joyce! Have mercy on the victim, store me for this time in your basement, you won't even notice I'm there," he whined. "I just got you out of the hospital, the doctor said that I am categorically forbidden to do any extreme activities!"

"How can a family visit be extreme?" Steve asked.

"When you meet them you'll understand."

You finished eating and everyone went back to their duties, but you went to help Eddie with changing the bandages. From the very beginning you were the only person he allowed in, because you handled him most delicately of all. You knew that Wayne was trying his best, however, Eddie always dramatically confirmed that everyone else wanted him to die in pain.

He sat on the edge of the tub as you cleaned each wound in turn. He hissed in pain from time to time, each time you heard it you sent him a slight smile whispering that it would be over soon and everything will be fine. When each wound was thoroughly cleaned you moved on to applying the ointment.

"Why do you dislike your family so much?" you asked while rubbing the ointment into his cheek.

"They have always considered themselves the best of the family, just because they have money. They love to brag about it, if they could they would wear badges that say 'we're fabulously rich, sucker,'" he said rolling his eyes.

"That doesn't sound too good." You sighed.

"I'll be hearing all week about how worthless I am. Too stupid to graduate from high school on the first try, too controversial looking to get a good job... The list goes on, if I were to list everything we'd have to sit here until night."

"Hey, look at me." you said grabbing his chin and turning him so that he was looking straight into your eyes. "You're not worthless. You saved the world, Eddie. You saved us all. The only worthless thing that exists is your hopeless aunt's words, do you understand?"

"You saved me, too. More than once." he whispered surprised with your words.

"I would have done it a second time without hesitation."

When you found yourselves in the Upside Down after passing through the gate at Lover's Lake the Demobats took you as their target. Without a second thought, Eddie rushed to your rescue when one of them wrapped its tail around your neck. Later, while Steve, Nancy, Jonathan and Robin dealt with Vecna together the two of you and Dustin were supposed to distract the monsters. Unfortunately, Eddie had no intention of listening to Steve and feeling a surge of courage he cut the line when you and Dustin returned to the trailer on the good side. That didn't stop you from jumping after him. You don't know if it was the adrenaline or the despair that overwhelmed you when you saw him that made you and the others able to get him back out the other side. The option of getting out of hell without Eddie simply didn't exist for you.

"I just... I don't want Wayne to be ashamed of me. I don't want him to listen to all the crap they say about me because I know he cares. He tries not to show it but I can see it. And that's the worst part of it all."

"Wayne loves you. And I know he would do anything for you. It's normal that when someone talks nonsense about people we love it upsets us. Remember when you had to pull me forcibly away from Craver who was bullying Will? I thought I was going to tear him apart then. I probably would have if it hadn't been for you."

"To be honest, you were terrifying, I was scared as hell," he laughed.

"If necessary I'm ready to defend you from your crazy family too. I just need to grow my nails so I can claw out their eyes better." you answered. When you saw the smile light up his face as well, you felt your heart skipped a beat. You meant it in all honesty. You would do anything for the people you love. He didn't need to know that you loved him in a little different way than the rest.

When the ultimate day arrived Eddie was sitting in his room with Dustin and Will working on the details of the next D&D campaign. This was to be Will's first time as Dungeon Master for the whole group so Eddie, as always, eagerly offered to help. They were fiercely discussing the final boss fight when the door to his room swung open gently and Wayne showed up in it.

"Hi Uncle Wayne." Dustin and Will said simultaneously.

"Hi boys. Eddie? Our guests have arrived." As soon as the last word left his mouth the door swung open wider allowing his aunt inside. There was a look of displeasure on Wayne's face at the fact that she had walked in there as if it were her own room, but he didn't comment. Immediately after her, her son Adam walked in.

"Hello, Edward!" she said in an overly high tone, looking around the room with a judgmental gaze. "Why don't you give an old aunt a hug as a greeting?"

"I'd love to, but unfortunately the doctor has forbidden me to have close contact with other people." Eddie replied in a flat tone causing the younger boys to snort quietly with laughter.

"Hm... I see you still haven't grown up. Adam threw away all his toys the moment he started high school."

"These are not some toys, they are needed for our campaign." He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Are you still playing that satanic game?" interjected Adam.

"It's not- Yeah, you know what? Yes, I play the satanic game all the time. Actually, I'm the leader of the cult now, and these are its scary members Dustin and Will. Before you say anything, yes, I am bringing the Hawkins youth to the dark side of power to worship Satan with me." Their visit had so far lasted only five minutes and they had already made Eddie think about how much more fun it was to be ripped to shreds by demobats.

"Alright." Wayne interrupted his dramatic speech before things got too far. "Why don't I show you the rest of the house and the neighborhood?" Without a word they left closing the door behind them.

"Dude, they're awful." commented Dustin.

"Are you still playing this satanic game?" Will began to mock Adam.

"This is going to be the worst week of my life." The metalhead rubbed his face with his hands.

For the next few hours, Eddie didn't leave his room for a step, knowing that the enemy was sitting right behind the wall. He tried to focus on Will's campaign but anxiety and nerves didn't help him one bit. When the doorbell rang around the apartment all three of them left the room knowing it was Hopper. However, they didn't expect it was Aunt Theresa opening the door for him.

"Good evening officer!" she said. "My name is Theresa Munson, is something wrong?" A confused Hopper sent Eddie a questioning look, to which only the latter rolled his eyes.

"Nothing happened, I-"

"Did Eddie get into trouble again? I know he's been in trouble with the law several times before," she sighed. "Edward I'm sure what you did was not intentional right?" She didn't let him get a word in edgewise.

"What the fu-" Eddie didn't have time to finish when Wayne came out of the bathroom.

"Jim! How are you?" he said shaking Hopper's hand.

"Good." he replied still somewhat surprised. "I came to pick up the boys."

"Oh, so you're not here after because of Edward? What a relief!" his aunt interjected.

"Unbelievable!" Eddie exclaimed, banging his head against the wall.

"I'm just worried that you'll follow in your father's footsteps! Look at you, tattoos? torn clothes and that satanic music you listen to? That doesn't bode well, does it, officer? If you don't change something about yourself you'll never find any girlfriend or a good job."

It was a punch below the belt. Mentioning his father was crossing the line. Seeing Eddie clench his fists and the knuckles on his hands turn white Will and Dustin sent each other a communicative look.

"But Eddie has a girlfriend!" Dustin said first.

"He does?" Adam asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"I do?" Eddie muttered under his breath trying to understand what was going on.

"Yeah, he is dating my sister y/n!" Will continued.

"They're so in love with each other it's disgusting." Dustin rolled his eyes.

"Come on boys, we have to go." Hopper said, interrupting this bizarre exchange of words. "Your mother will kill me if we don't get back before dinner."

With that, the two teenagers left them all in shock, including Eddie. After they left, he quickly locked himself in his room thinking about the situation. Apparently you are a couple now. How should he behave around you now? He didn't know what to do with all this. These two little bastards had just put him in a game of pretend relationship with the girl he wrote all his love songs about. On the one hand, it was a great opportunity for him to finally make a move on you. On the other, he was paralyzed by the fear that nothing but rejection awaited him.

"You can pick the place." Hopper said as soon as they got into the car.

"What place?" asked a puzzled Will.

"Where I can bury your bodies when y/n finds out what you've done."

"Oh come on! Everyone knows very well that she has a crush on him!" Dustin exclaimed.

"They're both only have eyes for themselves, we're just helping them finally do something about it." Will tried to defend them. "Just helping!"

"Even if it's true what you're saying, they should come to it by themselves, not by your wild ideas," he sighed. "You know what? It doesn't matter. I'm not going to get involved."

And Jim was right. As soon as you found out what they had done you were furious, yelling at them that they had no right to decide for the two of you and put you in such a strange situation. However, it was too late. Locked in your room, you nervously played with your fingers while looking at the phone standing on the bedside table, not knowing whether you should dial the number to the Munson's house and explain the situation. Apologize for the behavior of these little shits and hope that your relationship will not worsen because of it. Plunged into your thoughts, you didn't even hear the knock at your door. After a moment of unresponsiveness on your part, Jonathan and El entered the room.

"Will told us what happened." began Jonathan slowly, sitting down next to you. El wordlessly followed him. "You know very well that they didn't mean a bad thing," he said.

"You can come in too." You sighed still looking at the door. After a moment, your younger brother emerged from behind the wall and, not knowing what to expect, walked slowly into the room.

"I know that a simple apology is not enough!" he began to defend himself. "But this aunt is really awful person! She started comparing him to his father, she thought Hopper had come to arrest him, or God knows what! She said he would never find a girlfriend, so we wanted to help him a-and then this idea came to our minds! At firs it didn't seem so bad. We thought...I am really sorry y/n."

"It's okay." you said quietly and you extended your hand towards him. "I forgive you." He ignored you hand and hugged you tightly with a relief. 

"Eddie didn't protest, I think he liked the idea." he said quietly and you smiled.

Despite the fact, that thinking that Eddie liked the idea of being your pretended boyfrend for a week made you feel very warm you weren't able to stop thinking about what Will have just told you about his aunt's behaviour. She compared him to his father? Your blood boiled inside you. No one had the right to say such a thing, and you set as your goal to make sure it wouldn't happen again. At least not on your watch.

All Tuesday from the very morning you could not sit still. Lessons went on mercilessly, still thinking about the situation into which you were embroiled. When you told Robin about it at lunch she looked quite excited saying that finally something would happen between you two. She was the only one who knew how you truly felt about him and from the very beginning, she was trying to persuade you to finally do something more than rambling to her about your feelings. In her opinion, Eddie should be the person to actually listen to it. The longer you thought about it the more you had to admit that the excitement was getting to you as well. Yet you still didn't know what Eddie thought about it.

When the final bell rang, you quickly ran out of the school, got on your bike and headed toward Munson's apartment, stopping by a bakery on the way. Once there, you took three deep breaths and knocked on the door, which Wayne opened a moment later.

"And who do we have here?" He asked with a smile.

"Hi Uncle Wayne." You said answering with the same. "Is Eddie home?"

"I don't know where else he could be, come in." He let you in. "This is my sister Theresa and her son Adam. And this is y/n," he said as you walked deeper into the apartment. They were both sitting on the living room couch watching TV.

"It's very nice to meet you!" you said in an over-sweetened tone.

"We are also pleased to meet you." Replied a somewhat puzzled aunt.

"Did I hear my favorite Bayers?" Eddie leaned out of the room with a broad smile. Seeing his reaction you took it as permission to take it a step further.

"It's good to know that my little brother hasn't stolen that title yet." you laughed walking up to him. "Hi, Teddy." You kissed him on his healthy cheek. Not expecting it, he fossilized for a few seconds but after a moment he woke up.

"Hi baby." he said, smacking you on the forehead. "I see you've already met my wonderful family?" he added with a hint of sacrasm.

"Yes, Wayne introduced me." you confirmed. "Did you change the bandages today?" you asked wanting to change the topic.

"Not yet." he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"So here's the plan: First we'll change your bandages, then we'll take care of the school notes I brought you." you announced "Ah! I almost forgot! I was also at the bakery on the way, and I brought your favorite doughnuts."

"I told you she was the best." he said proudly looking his aunt straight in the eyes. Wayne watched you from afar with a smile on his lips. Pretend or not - it was nice to see you in such a position.

When you disappeared behind the bathroom door, free from the prying eyes of his guests, you breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you..." he said quietly. "For playing along."

"Will told me about what you heard from her. I thought instead of clawing her eyes out right away we'd show her how wrong she is. If you don't mind, of course."

"Of course I don't. I was afraid it would be you who would mind. Those little shitheads hadn't decided anything about it with me before."

"So since neither of us has anything against it..." you said. "You told them I was the best?"

"Of course, and it wasn't even a lie!"

It took you more than two hours to come to grips with the notes. If Eddie had dispensed with his dramatic episodes the time would have been about half as short, but you were in no hurry. Sitting behind the closed door of his room nothing changed too much, your relationship from the very beginning was very good and full of laughter that reached the eavesdropper Theresa and her son. After finishing his study, Eddie played you some new songs he had written in his spare time. Three of them were related to each other telling the adventure of fighting the worst kind of evil, which was full of throwing fireballs, manipulating thoughts and knife-sharp fangs tearing skin. The fourth had no words yet. That, at least, was the version for you. The piece of paper with its words was tucked deep in the closet along with the rest he had written thinking of you. So that it would never see the light of day.

As dinner time approached Wayne called you into the living room where you helped set the table and get a few things ready. Eddie accompanied you, watching as you casually moved around the space talking and joking with his uncle. Feeling a pleasant warmth on his heart, he thought if it could stay like this forever. The way you jokingly patted his hand when he tried to snack, or when you pretended to be a princess in distress unable to open a jar, so he as a brave knight would come to your rescue. Such behavior was not something new for you, but this time as a wonderful addition, from time to time he could steal a little kiss from you on the cheek, forehead or tip of the nose, or without hesitation hug you from behind when you were standing at the counter cutting vegetables for a salad. You then leaned gently against his frame, creating an enclosure of safety around you. You both tried desperately to remember the feeling you had then if it was about to disappear as quickly as a soap bubble.

"So how did you two meet?" Theresa asked as you all sat down at the table.

"Eddie was friends with my twin brother, Jonathan, so it was only a matter of time before we met." you replied while putting food on your plate and then doing the same only with Eddie's portion. "I must admit that from the very beginning he had something about him that caught my attention." You continued.

"Interesting." she hummed. "Edward, how's the situation at school?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you going to finally get out of high school? You know you won't be young forever." she paused briefly. "Adam is studying in New York. He's one of the best, he's getting a scholarship."

"That's great." you commented, not wanting to drag the subject further.

"And what are your plans after graduation?" Adam turned to Eddie with a contemptous look.

"I don't know, at this point I'm just trying to get better." He shrugged his shoulders without taking his eyes off the food.

"Eddie is great with cars!" you blurted out. "Before the accident he used to work for a local mechanic, he really appreciated him." You placed your hand on his, which was lying on the table. When you squeezed it gently he looked at you and sent a slight smile showing a dimple in his cheek.

"Well, yes, but without education you can't find a good job," he said.

"I believe that if someone is good at their craft they don't need any high degree at all to succeed. And Eddie is the best, and I'm sure that as soon as he finishes high school this year he will be very successful." Your voice was still kind however this time a hint of firmness could be sensed in it.

The rest of dinner passed in silence. When you had finished eating you helped to clear the table and wash the dishes. Then it was time to go home.

"My mother and Jim are hosting an engagement party this Friday. She said to tell you that you and Adam can also feel invited. It's going to be great fun, right Eddie?" you said already standing at the door.

"Of course sweetheart." he replied with a fake smile hating the idea of them being there with all his heart.

For the last time that day you placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. Although it was gentle Eddie felt as if your lips were leaving a permanent mark there, which imprinted all the way on his heart.

The rest of the week looked similar. Except for the day of Hellfire, you came to him after school bringing notes and spending the rest of the day together. You could get used to such a course of events, unfortunately, when Friday came you felt nostalgic about the fact that this could be the last of the days like this. Theresa and Adam were going home Sunday morning which meant that these were also the last days to enjoy Eddie's closeness. Feeling a weight in your chest, you got off the bike and headed toward the apartment. You didn't expect Adam to open the door for you. He was shirtless. You immediately felt extremely uncomfortable and wanted to turn back but he stopped you.

"Wayne and Eddie went to get some groceries, you can wait for them inside." he said smiling broadly.

"Thanks." you muttered and squeezed past him in the doorway.

"I just finished doing my home workout. You know, we have a gym at the university, so I go there every day, I can't stop." He winked at you coming closer. Responding nothing with a quick step you walked to the living room and began to unpack the contents of your bag. In addition to your notes after school, you entered the store and bought the new figures for D&D that Will kept talking about that they would need for the new campaign. You carried the notes to Eddie's room, then sat down on the couch in the living room and began spreading out the figures and paints on the coffee table. Adam never took his eyes off you, watching your every move making you feel increasingly nervous.

"Do you play this stupid game too?" he asked, sitting down next to you.

"I participate in campaigns from time to time." You replied shrugging your shoulders. Not wanting to lean on the couch as his arm was stretched across the backrest, you aimlessly moved things from one place to another, making you not notice how close he was to you. It reached you when you felt his hand on your cheek. Surprised, you looked in his direction and immediately jumped away standing up on your feet.

"What the hell are you doing?" you shouted.

"Oh come on, don't you wanna mess around? It will be a while before they come back from the store." he said getting up from the couch.

"Jesus, no! Have you lost your mind? What made you even think that I might want something like that?" 

Adam was wrong. Eddie and Wayne returned from shopping, but you were so preoccupied with the situation, and your voice was so loud that you didn't hear the door open. Eddie, seeing you with his half-naked cousin in the living room, felt his heart suddenly get very heavy. He was just turning to leave the apartment and not look at it when Wayne grabbed him by the arm and with a hand gesture showed him to be quiet and watch what would happen next.

"So you're saying all this talk about having a crush on him when he was just your brother's friend is true? You fell in love with a trailer trash who worships Satan? The scars are turning you on?" he smirked. "A better Munson is now standing in front of you, baby, don't waste this opportunity."

"Don't you fucking dare to say one more word!" He crossed the line. It wasn't even about how he behaved toward you. You were too concerned about what he called Eddie. "I tolerated your and your mother's snarky behavior just so I wouldn't make Wayne uncomfortable. But since he's not here now I'm happy to answer your questions. Even homeless Eddie would be much better than you. You don't measure up to him you damn asshole! I don't care about your expensive car you are so enthusiastic about, I'd rather walk everywhere my whole life than get in it. I don't give a shit about your apartment in New York. I would have had a better life homeless under a bridge. And yes, I loved Eddie when he lived in the trailer, I loved that he made me feel at home there, trailer or not I fucking love him so you have to remember that the next time you talk shit about the person I love nothing will hold me back anymore. I will make you regret it for the rest of your miserable life. I'm disgusted with you. I'm disgusted by how self-absorbed idiot you are and how your ego blows the scale. And you are right. You're damn right that these wounds are incredibly attractive. Do you know why? Because they remind me that my Eddie is a fucking hero! You don't even realize how many lives he saved back then! So yes, he and his scars are the hottest in the world and definitely much more hotter than your pathetic gym routine." The words flew out of your mouth like bullets. The shock on his face encouraged you even more but then you heard the door slam.

"Adam?" the voice of Wayne made you tighten your lips into a thin line and take a deep breath.

"Y/n! Good to see you!" he said bringing in the shopping bags.

"Hi Wayne." you said getting the nicest and the calmest tone you could afford at that moment.

"Sweetheart!" before you had time to respond Eddie with a quick step and a wide smile on his lips was already at your side. What you didn't expect, however, was what came next. He cupped your face and kissed you. Eddie was kissing you. You experienced a three-second shock and then completely surrendered to the kiss by placing your hands on his chest. His nose gently touched your cheek, you felt its tip was cold. Yet his lips were burning. Even though the kiss was brief, you felt as if your soul had left your body and had travelled to a completely different dimension. Was it a dream? If so, you didn't want to wake up.

After Eddie heard what you were saying, he felt he had to do it. Many times he saw you defending your loved ones from all kinds of attacks. You weren't afraid to cover Will with your own body when Vecna tried to get him, so verbal attacks were not a problem for you. You also handled this one very well. More than once he had the opportunity to witness this. Now you were doing it for him. This awakened completely new feelings in him. He was sincerely touched and happy. In that moment you gave him something he had not felt since Wayne took him in. He felt wanted and loved. Even if it was pretended at that moment. Nothing could take that moment away from him, so he decided to take a risk. The risk definitely paid off. He enjoyed every second of it. The satisfaction was also a bonus. He wanted to show "the better Munson" that you were his. As if what you said wasn't enough. He wanted the kiss to be a seal saying she is perfect, and she is mine. Damn, he wanted you to be his so bad.

As if nothing ever happened, you sat down on the couch with Eddie and took up painting. You didn't say a word about your exchange with Adam, and Eddie pretended he hadn't witnessed one of the best moments in his life. Painting took you a lot longer than you expected. Plus more because every now and then you glanced in his direction focusing your attention on his mouth as he told you more details of the campaign. Could you have become addicted to something you had only tasted once?

"They are being chased by a pack of wild mutant lions so they run into an old hut where the master of nightmares is waiting for them." He tells you while gesturing with his hands. You're interested in what he's saying, but damn did his lips always look this beautiful? "Earth to y/n!" he yelled clapping his hands.

"Shit, sorry, I zooned out." you woke up suddenly. "So what exactly is it about the master of nightmares?"

"He throws you into a vision that replicates your greatest fears," he said.

"And what is Eddie the Banished's greatest fear?"

Losing you. That was his first thought. "Y'know it will probably be bats." he cuckled and winked at you.

"I am so sorry Eddie, I didn't mean-"

"It's fine, clam down." he said, yawning.

"You're tired, I should go."

"No, stay." he grabbed your hand. "I mean... if you want to of course, I thought you'd wait until they're dry to take some home for Will."

"Oh, sure." a smile crept onto your lips on its own as you accepted the proposition. Lips. You had a feeling you never thought about that particular body part as often as you did today.

"We can chill a little in my room." he suggested. You knew perfectly well what he meant.

"You know very well that I won't agree to this kind of chilling." You crossed your arms over your chest. "Those strange doctors have made it very clear that until the traces of the Upside Down are out of your system for good, there is no question of smoking anything."

"But- please! Have mercy on my poor soul." fell to his knees in front of you making you giggle.

"Don't you dare use those puppy dog eyes on me Munson. It's for your own good." you said softly and tenderly stroked his cheek with your thumb.

"You heartless woman." he faltered, laying his head on your lap.

"Okay, I am able to bear the weight of those words." you chuckled. "There are many other ways to relax, you know? We can listen to music, or read."

"Will you read to me?" he asked raising his face toward you. Big chocolate button eyes glared at you. His face looked so innocent. Rarely did anyone get a chance to see it, since Eddie almost always wore his mask. The fact that he didn't have it with you made you feel very special.

"Come on, adventure awaits!" you helped him stand up and walked to his room. After a moment of deliberation and dithering about whether you should read The Hobbit for the millionth time, you decided that this time it would be some new fantasy book that Wayne had bought Eddie while he was still in the hospital.

"Wayne won't mind that I'm staying this long?"

"Of course not. Besides, we still have some time before they come back."

"We have plenty of time before a pack of wild lions reaches us?"

"And before one of your worst dreams hunts you down" He replied and patted the bed indicating for you to lie down next to him. With that, you began to read, but after a short time you both began to get sleepy. The dim light of the bedside lamp, the warmth that eminated from the two of you, the comfort and peace that you felt in each other's company succulently lulled you to sleep. When you heard a quiet snoring in mid-sentence you looked at its source with tenderness in your eyes. Feeling your own eyelids getting incredibly heavy you put the book aside. Just five minutes. You thought and, moving closer to the boy, allowed yourself a small nap.

It was not as small as you thought.

"Yes, Joyce, you have nothing to worry about." Wayne said. "They were already asleep when we got home, I don't want to wake them up. Yes, I'm sure. They will manage, they are adults. Yes, it won't be a problem for sure. Okay, bye. See you tomorrow." Eddie lazily opened his eyes and rubbed them with one hand. He listened to his uncle's words looking on in disbelief that you were still here. And much closer than before he fell asleep. He brushed your hair away from your face as gently as he could so as not to wake you up.

"Hey, kid." Wayne whispered. "I talked to Joyce, she can stay."

"Thanks, Wayne."

The man smiled and winked at him, closing the door behind him. Eddie took the blanket that lay at the other end of the bed and covered you. In your sleep you turned your back to him and he took the opportunity to embrace you becoming a big spoon. Feeling you move even closer and snuggle into him he thought his heart was about to explode. Your back touched his abdomen causing a slight pain in the areas of the still healing wounds, but this pain was bearable. Besides, it was nothing compared to the happiness he felt. 

As the first rays of sunlight broke through the cracks in his blinds and his watch indicated the unmercifully early hour Eddie sighed unhappily. He had never been one of the early birds, and there was no promise of change in that regard. When he opened his eyes he remembered why he was actually sleeping in his clothes. You must have turned in the night because now your face was facing his. You kept one hand under the pillow and the other lay on his side. He wanted to close the gap between you and wake you up with a kiss like in one of the cheap rom-coms, but he didn't know if he could let himself do that. Kissing you in front of his cousin was justified, since you were going to pretend to be a couple, you had to be convincing, but wouldn't doing it when it was just the two of you be too much? He was weighing all the pros and cons when he noticed your eyes slowly open.

"Good morning Eddie." you said stretching.

"Good morning, panda." he replied in a whisper. You looked at him questioningly, and with his thumb he lightly rubbed the black mascara marks under your eyes that must have formed there overnight.

"Oh, shit." you said while covering your face. "'m sorry." you muttered and sat down on the bed.

"Don't be, you look cute." So cute I want to kiss you again and again and... again. His brain didn't let go recalling these visions every now and then. Instead, he simply told you that if you wanted to dress up you could borrow something from his closet. Since your top was a bit sweaty after the sleep, you agreed by taking one of the Hellfire shirts and went to quickly get yourself cleaned up in the bathroom. Then you waited for Eddie to shower and get dressed and helped him with his bandages as you always do. You had seen him shirtless countless times, but now that he was sitting in front of you on the bathtub in only loose sweatpants you were overcome by a feeling that you only allowed yourself in the privacy of your room by fantasizing about your friend. You were afraid of the fact that these fantasies were now at your fingertips, and before you could stop yourself your hand actually moved toward him. Eddie, as if in a trance, equally enchanted by the moment, watched your every move. Your fingers gently traced a path on his body. Starting with a healthy cheek, continuing on his neck, shoulder and then chest.

"Do you like what you see, sweetheart?" he said, unable to catch his breath.

"Very," you whispered biting your lower lip.

"I like what I see, too." He confirmed by pushing your hair off your shoulder. He imitated your movements. Starting by gently brushing your face, neck and arm which was slightly exposed by the fact that his shirt was too big on you. Your breathing became faster and faster as you rested your forehead against his. His hands quickly found their way to your waist pulling you as close to him as he could. And then you kissed him. No matter how close you stood to each other until your lips were joined the gap was too huge. Initially shy and tentative sparks ignited a fire. The desire that had been bubbling inside you for a long time exploded. Still kissing you, he got up from the tub pushing you toward the wall so that you were trapped between it and him. Trapped? You were not going to escape even if you were to burn in this fire. As he laid wet marks on your neck you sank your hand into his curls. The temperature was hotter than hell when you felt his hands go under the shirt you were wearing. His lips returned to yours as he pressed his body against yours and you felt how hard he was. You thought you were going crazy.

"Eddie..." You didn't control the moan that spontaneously left your mouth.

"Yes, Angel?" he asked pulling away from you. His eyes were darker than usual but on his lips was the same smile as always. The same dimple-showing smile that made your knees weaken.

"Please." That was all you could get out of yourself before you put your hands on his neck pulling him close. This time he was the one who moaned right into your mouth and started to roll up your shirt to take it off. And then a fire truck arrived. A huge bucket of icy water to extinguish the big fire between you. A big downpour called Theresa.

"Hello? I think you've already finished changing the bandages! Some people need to use the restroom!" she shouted, knocking quickly and hard on the door. Of course she was eavesdropping. Of course she was doing her best to squeeze in where she wasn't needed. Eddie moved away from you and unlocked the bathroom door. Visibly angry, he passed his aunt without a word and went to his room to get dressed. He was definitely uncomfortable with the fact that they could see his wounds. When he returned, he noticed you in the hallway putting your shoes on. Seeing his sad expression you smiled slightly.

"I have to go help my mom get everything ready for tonight's party." You explained grabbing his hand. "But don't miss too much, we'll see each other in a few hours, right?"

"Yeah." one corner of his mouth lifted

"See you later." In farewell you kissed him on the cheek and left the apartment. Leaving him alone with thoughts of what the hell  just happened.

When you got home, you didn't have much of a chance or time to think about the morning's events. You and the rest of the household threw yourselves into the whirlwind of preparations. You sat with Mom and El in the kitchen while Jonathan and Will helped prepare the garden, carrying chairs and tables there. After some time, Steve and Eddie also came to help. Because of his condition, Eddie stayed close to you in the kitchen and Steve went to help set things up in the garden. There was a kind of tension between you and the metalhead, but it wasn't bad. All the time you were sending each other glances and smiles. When you handed him vegetables to cut, his fingers brushed yours. The tiny gestures created a kind of attraction between you, which was terribly hard to resist. Despite everything, you did not bring up the subject of what happened just a few hours ago in the bathroom.

The party was going on at its best, Hopper and Wayne were sipping beers while keeping an eye on the meat on the grill, and right next to them at the table sat Joyce, the Sinclairs, Mrs. Henderson, Jonathan, Will, Eddie, and Theresa with Adam, who today was being extraordinarily, suspiciously nice to Eddie. Shouts and laughter came from the other end of the garden. Together with Dustin, El, Robin, Argyle and Steve you were playing fresbee, while Lucas and Max cheered you on from the sidelines. The disc flew out of your hands almost every time though you didn't give up. Seeing your persistence Eddie couldn't hold back a smile.

"Eddie!" shouted Will. "Are you even listening to me?" he rolled his eyes.

"Of course! You were talking about the new campaign."

"Yeah! What exactly?" Silence and the Dungeon Master's reddened face was the only answer he got.

"Will give him a break, you can see that something else is on his mind." interjected Jonathan. "Or rather, someone?"

"Is that someone our sister?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." he muttered while covering his face with his hair.

"So, Theresa! How is life in New York for you, life in the city must be very interesting!" the voice of Joyce caught the attention of all three so they turned their heads towards the aunt.

"Oh, it is! It's also very hard. It's hard to maintain the role of the Munsons, who have not followed in the family footsteps." she laughed artfully. "Fortunately, we're doing great with Adam."

Eddie's leg began bouncing under the table at an incredibly fast pace.

"What does that mean?" Joyce asked a visibly confused.

"Our family doesn't have a very good reputation, as you well know. Not many of us are able to get out of a miserable life in a penny trailer or avoid owning a police cartorette." She sent Eddie a quick glance, through which he knew he was about to receive the final blow. As his aunt continued, his leg began to move even faster, which did not escape the Byers brothers' attention. They both sent each other somewhat frightened glances but did nothing, waiting for the situation to unfold. "When we found out that Eddie was wanted for murder we were immediately horrified that he had followed in his father's footsteps-" she didn't have time to finish when Eddie stood up abruptly looking at her. Father. A word that caused even more pain than the pack of demobats tearing through his body.

"Don't-" he began in a shaky voice. "Don't you dare mention him. Don't you dare call that man my father, you understand." he tried to be calm. In truth, with all his might he wanted to be self-controlled now, but it all seemed too much. All week he had bravely endured everything she said about him. But now when she did it in front of everyone he cared about, when she did it in front of your family, pulling the strongest card in the process he couldn't stand it. Wayne and Hopper became alarmed and walked closer to the table, but that didn't stop him. "This man is nobody to me. A stranger. A fucking sperm donor nothing more. He is a murderer. He killed my mother, and your sister. His last name is Davis. Not Munson." He felt something tighten in his throat. Something making it difficult for him to breathe. "My father's name is Wayne Munson. He raised me, he changed my last name, so don't you ever dare call that man my father again." Saying all this, he looked her straight in the eye. He wanted to make sure she understood every single word he said. Feeling tears come to his eyes and he quickly turned away walking into the house. He couldn't afford to cry in her presence. That's why it wasn't until he was in your room that everything he held inside gave vent. Angrily, he grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it with all his strength onto the floor then sat on it himself while leaning against the bed. He took the pillow cuddling his face into it. As the smell of your scent filled his nostrils even more tears flowed into his eyes. Like tentacles full of venom, thoughts of Aunt Theresa being right wrapped around his mind. He thought he wasn't worthy of you. Maybe she was right that he didn't have a good future ahead of him. If he couldn't provide it for himself how could he provide it for you as well? How could a freak hated by the whole city be worthy of someone as wonderful as you? He felt like screaming. At that moment he hated himself even more than his aunt.

"I thought I'd find you here." Hopper said as he entered the room and sat down next to him.

"Yeah?" Eddie earned a smile while wiping away tears.

"Actually, I think that would be everyone's first thought."

"So obvious."

"Listen... I shouldn't say this, but your aunt is really insufferable. Don't worry, okay? Everything she said was one big bullshit."

"Looking at how many times I rode with you in the police car I wouldn't agree," his words were bitter and full of sadness.

"I know you Eddie. I admit that at some point you were not on my list of favorites, but later I got to know you from a different side as well, and I have to admit that Wayne did a great job raising you."

"Wayne is a great guy," he said.

"So are you." Seeing Eddie only nodding in the negative, he sighed heavily and continued. "I know the man your aunt was talking about. And you are nothing like him. You almost died protecting my kids. You are a hero. And you make one of my daughters damn happy, so as far as I'm concerned you're one of the best people I've met in this messed up life."

"You think I make her happy?" the wall of sadness was shot through with tiny hope.

"Very happy. That's why I don't even want to dig into why she came home in your T-shirt today."

"That- it's not what you think," he began to explain.

"I said I don't want to hear about it. Besides, she came back today very smiling. I haven't seen her like that in a long time."

"Eddie what happened? Jim?" when you noticed that Eddie had disappeared from the table you asked Will where he had gone, and he only said that towards the house, without giving you any details. Moments later you found him sitting on the floor with Hopper. His eyes were a little puffy and red, and you knew he had been crying. You were afraid that Hopper might have said something that led to this, and as if reading your mind he raised his hands in a defensive gesture.

"I didn't do anything. Your boy just felt a little worse, you know yourself how wounds can sometimes give you a hard time."

Hearing this seconds later you were on your knees next to Eddie. "Do you need painkillers? Maybe you need to rest? You can stay here and sleep." With concern in your eyes, you watched his eyes become even glassier. "What can I do to help you, Eddie?" without a word he pulled you close with a hug. You were his safe heaven. He knew that with you he could be vulnerable. "Eddie, I don't want to hurt you, I don't want your wounds to hurt you even more." You said quietly scared that such closeness could inflict more pain on him.

"I don't care 'bout them," he muttered into your hair.

"Come down to us when you're feeling better, we'll be making a fire soon to toast marshmallows." Hopper said, leaving you alone.

The two of you sat cuddled together for some more time. When you returned to the rest of the party, you didn't leave his side for a moment, making sure he was feeling fine and everything was okay. The rest of the evening passed peacefully, especially when you all sat around the campfire listening to the melody of the acoustic guitar that "slays dragons."

When the day of salvation arrived and the intruders left the Munson kingdom Eddie could breathe a sigh of relief. Even Wayne admitted that their visit was too much to bear and they deserved a rest. Still, Eddie could not rest. Staring at the ceiling, he wondered what your relationship would look like now. Will you forget everything that happened? Such as how close you were to each other? He tried everything to clear his head. Playing his guitar, writing songs, planning campaigns, drawing- nothing. Completely nothing was able to pull his thoughts off track. Countless times he approached the phone and was already almost grabbing the receiver but chickened out at the last moment. At the point when he could no longer handle himself he sat down on the couch with Wayne and they watched TV in silence. But whatever was playing on it didn't help. Then he heard a knock on the door. The thought crossed his mind that maybe it was his aunt who had returned, which in itself made him feel sick. Fortunately, it was you. Although the look on your face didn't indicate that you just came here to hang out. You were nervously biting your lips and your eyebrows crinkled together as you played with your fingers.

"Eddie, we need to talk." you said when he let you in and without a word you went to his room.

"What's wrong? I know pretending to love me for a week was hard, but I didn't think it was that hard." he tried to joke.

"Shut up!" you exclaimed. Your lower lip began to shake and tears came to your eyes. You had thought about the course of this conversation many times before coming here, but you didn't expect to be so carried away by your emotions. Seeing his surprised and then somewhat hurt look made you feel terrible for having erupted like that. He deserved an explanation. He deserved the truth. He didn't deserve yelling at him, for sure.

"I'm sick of how badly you talk about yourself. I'm sick of how you think you're not worth loving, because- because loving you is easy, Eddie! The easiest." you began, feeling like you were about to die of nerves, but you came here with a purpose and you were going to fulfill it. "I want to love you the way you deserve it. And you deserve the purest, the most honest and the strongest kind of love in the whole world. And I know that if you only let me, I will be able to give it to you. But I want you to know that I will understand if you don't feel the same way about me," the last words passed through your throat with extreme difficulty. You were ready to take the risk. A broken heart was a better option than keeping your feelings for him hidden. Especially since you had the opportunity to see what life at his side might look like. It looked like a dream. And you have to fight for dreams.

"You know I'm not the best at talking about feelings." he sighed. "So I'll use a little help," he said taking a couple of D&D figures in his hand and sat down on the bed. You sat down across from him. "If this were one of the campaigns I would say that a very important part was when Eddie the Banished and Y/n Golden Heart had a battle that lasted a week with two, extremely nasty monsters," the figurines portrayed a small fight scene. " After the monsters were gone they both met, in King Harrington's palace in the lobby, just by the door. Not feeling like feasting, they sneaked out and climbed onto the roof of a small shed that was nearby. Under the cover of night, they felt like they were the only people in the world. The night was beautiful. And the fact that evil was not lurking just around the corner gave it an added charm. The wind gently rustled between the trees, the hushed sounds of the feast could be heard in the background, and they were so immersed in a conversation they had created that they forgot about everything else. They talked about comets, about the next adventure that awaited them, about anything they wanted to talk about. The stars in the sky shone brighter than usual. They heralded the beginning. A good beginning." He grabbed your hand. It was a little sweaty because he vas nervous but you didn't care about it at all.

"How do you know it's a good one?" you asked quietly sniffing and feeling that you were calming down. You've always known that Eddie is amazing at storytelling, but this was the first time it involved something so sensitive.

"As the first shades of orange appeared in the sky and the sun gently began to illuminate his companion's face, Eddie the Banished realized a very meaningful matter."

"What kind of matter?" you waited impatiently for the continuation.

"From the very beginning as soon as y/n Golden Heart appeared in his life he couldn't stop thinking about her. He couldn't remember anything because all his thoughts were directed only toward her. At first he thought she charmed him with a bunch of curses, after all she was the most powerful witch in the kingdom. Because of this, he thought, he felt a constant need and desire to always be by her side. Having once been under the influence of the fumes created by the powerful herbalist Argyle, he wondered what kind of magic it would take to reduce him to the size of a rat, so that he could hide in a pocket in her robe to be by her side for a few moments longer." He laughed, and you dreamily listened on. "His life was like a hurricane. It rushed dangerously with unimaginable speed bringing with it a lot of destruction and dangerous changes. But despite the hurricane, he waited for a warmer front. That morning when y/n the Golden Heart closed her eyes and smiled slightly feeling the warm rays of the sun surround her face, he realized that she was the warmer front. They had survived a lot, rescued each other by pulling out of fires and getting out of rivers, defeated the scariest monsters in the kingdom. And they were together. They never left each other's side. It reached him that his feelings were not caused by curses. What he felt was stronger than a curse. It was love. Simply put, he was in love with her, and to his last breath he wanted to be with her."

"Eddie..."

"Yeah?"

"How many points do I have to roll to kiss you right now?" hearing this sentence from your mouth he knew that nothing more was needed for his happiness, so without hesitation he joined your lips together.

Eddie was right that this was the beginning. A very good beginning.

taglist: @i-me-mine

[moonstruckme]

IN a week - what I’ve never seen in a Steve 80’s pop star AU!!! his hair? joes actual voice? THE FACE? He’s always giving pop star to me

Yessss thanks sm for requesting honey!

join the party

popstar!Steve x fem!reader ♡ 705 words

“Oh wow.” You swipe a magazine from the rack by the checkout. “The sexual exploits of heartthrob Steve Harringon? Inside source tells all?” You raise an eyebrow at your boyfriend. “Stevie, is there anything you’d like to tell me? Has Robin sold you out?” 

“She would,” Steve allows, not even looking at the magazine as he sets your groceries on the conveyor belt. Nancy has told him a million times to not risk being out in public like this, but he says he misses the mundanity of it. I just want to go to the mall and shit like that with my girlfriend, that shouldn’t be a big ask. So they’d compromised; Steve sacrifices the volume of his hair every time he goes out by squishing it under a baseball cap, and Nancy gets the peace of mind knowing that there’s no chance of her most big-time client being recognized while his hair (practically trademarked, at this point) is covered. “But she has even more fun with feeding them ridiculous stories. She says my real life is too boring.” He wraps his arm around you, drawing you away from the magazine rack. “Monogamy, you know?”

“Such a drag,” you agree, gratified when he presses a kiss to the top of your head. “Wanna see what she told them?”

Steve makes a noncommittal humming sound, but he leans over to watch as you leaf through to find his page. “Ooh, this is a good picture of you, babe.” Steve winks at you from the page, skin glossy and laminate. “Okay, so you slept with every single girl at Hawkins High while you were there, you…apparently had a very passionate fling with an heiress on vacation in Bora Bora, and you were found in a closet, completely naked with two girls at a party…in uptown?” You gawp at him, feigning betrayal. “Stevie, was that the party last week? When did you slip away?”

He jostles you by the shoulder. “Shut up.” 

“You’re so sweet to me. Hey, look—” you pick up another magazine, reading off the cover, “The seven-step regiment Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington doesn’t want you to know.” 

“You’re joking.” He scrambles to see over your shoulder, and you laugh, showing it to him.

“I am,” you confess, and Steve actually sighs in relief. “It says five steps.” 

“Suckers,” he scoffs. “Don’t fuck with me like that, babe, that’s my income you’re joking about.” 

You laugh again, reaching up to take his hand where it’s slung over your shoulder. “Don’t sell yourself short,” you say, intertwining your fingers. “It’s only like, ninety percent of your income. You’ve got some talent.” 

Steve looks at you, eyebrows rising nearly to the brim of his hat. “Oh yeah? Changing our tune from the car this morning, are we?”

You scoff, but he only wrestles you closer, pulling you tight against his side. “I didn’t say you were a bad singer, I said you couldn’t hit the same notes as Madonna.” 

“But I did,” he says smugly, taking out his wallet as you approach the checkout. 

“Well, you tried.” 

Steve hums disappointedly. “M’gonna have to rethink all these free, private concerts if my audience doesn’t appreciate them,” he says. 

You smother a laugh, pressing a hand to your chest in a show of dismay. “What? No, please, Mr. Harrington, you can’t do that. I’m your biggest fan!”

“Harrington?” The cashier, a man not much older than you or Steve, looks up from the groceries. “Like, Steve Harrington?”

Steve tenses, and you feel instantly guilty for your dramatics. “Yup,” you say quickly. “I’m a big fan of his.” 

The man nods. “Me too. Heard he’s back in town for a bit.” 

“You don’t say.” 

“Yeah, but I mean, we probably won’t be seeing him around much,” he says matter-of-factly, shrugging his shoulders. Steve looks down as subtly as he can, hiding his face under the brim of his cap. “When you get that famous, you can’t just be going out in public like the rest of us. Poor dude would probably get mobbed.” 

“Probably,” you agree, smiling as you squeeze Steve’s hand in your grip. He sneaks his other hand to your waist where the cashier can’t see, pinching scoldingly at your side. “Wouldn’t want that.”

[harringtonhurst]

best kept secret / steve harrington

you and steve decide to keep your relationship a secret from the rest for a bit, and though it’s hard for you two to keep your hands off each other, the secret rendezvous makes up for it.

pairing steve harrington x fem!reader

thank you so much for the love shown for best kept secret! part two here! <3

To mark, it’s been exactly eight days since you were kissed for the first time. It has been five days since he asked to be yours. It has been five days since your boyfriend was unbelievably Steve Harrington.

In your mind its still played as fictive folktale rather than it was what you yourself lived through. But it was all too real. How soft his lips were, just how incredibly nervous he was as he slipped his fingers with yours the very first time. How he went from King Steve you’d roll your eyes to as he passed the halls, to Robin’s coworker at Scoop’s Ahoy you’d occasionally share stupid quips with for chocolate chip, to fighting monsters together, and now he laying on your lap playing with your fingers as you watched Breakfast Club in your living room at one in the morning.

“Steve?”

“Hm?”

He turned away from the screen. You cleared your throat, unsure of what he’d think of what you were about to ask. “Do you think we should tell everyone about, you know, us?” His lips pursed, eyebrows raising. “Well, what do you wanna do? Cause I’d love to show you off to everybody.” You couldn’t help but laugh, still not used to those remarks from him. You heaved a sigh. “Do you think we could keep this a secret for a bit, until I’m ready? I just, I don’t wanna make a huge fuss, not yet anyway? I’m sorry.” You blurted out. He adjusted his position, sitting up. “Don’t be sorry, of course, hey, whenever you want to, we will. And if that’s never, I’ve got no problem having you be my little secret.” He spoke gently, a soft smile written on his lips, and soon a similiar one carved on yours.

“For what it’s worth, I’d love to show off how I got King Steve all to myself, sorry ladies.” He laughed, kissing your lips. His head tilted, “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that. Can’t believe I have to resist for a whole day tomorrow. It’s gonna be the worst day of my life.” He groaned, dramatically laying down. You chuckled, “Well you’ve got me all night, but fine, waste it away sleepi—“ He tackles you as you laughed, embracing you as tightly as he could before he couldn’t tomorrow, well, not publicly anyway.

/

Ever since the Byers adopted El and moved away, Dustin’s made it his mission to make it movie night every week as an attempt to keep everyone stay close, feeling too many has left already. This week, it was your turn to host. Just as you set down the giant bowl of chips on the table you were sure would be finished in seconds, you hear a knock on your door.

“I come bearing snacks, children, Nancy and one dingus.” Robin waved a bag of family sized popcorn. Everyone swarmed in your house, Steve being the last to enter. “Hey,” He whispered with a smile, “Hi,” You say, as he briefly interlocked his pinkie with yours before joining the others. You smiled, shutting the door. “Alright, what should we watch? How about some horror?” You took a seat on the floor next to Robin, Steve sitting not far beside you on the couch. “You wanna sit here?” Steve tapped your shoulder, you looked to him, before you could respond Robin interlocked her arm with yours, “No, I might need her for support if we end up watching horror.” You laughed, looking to him and mouthing ‘No, I’m fine.’

After much debating between The Shining and The Evil Dead, as well as Robin plainly not wanting to watch anything remotely scary, eventually it was five minutes in Nightmare on Elm Street and Robin was already hiding in your shoulder. Cut to much wretched screams from both the movie and everybody, much so that you’re sure one or two of your neighbors would come knocking and telling you to keep it down. “I’m so not gonna sleep tonight.” Robin whined. As you tried to get up, she stops you.

“Where you going I need you!” She pulled your arm. “You won’t be needing me if I’m peeing my pants, will you? You’ll be fine, hold onto Max.” You ruffled her hair as her grip loosened, turning to Max. You walk to the bathroom, lightly tapping on his shoulder behind the couch Steve before doing so. He fidgeted, waiting a few as to not raise suspicion, but Nancy and Dustin noticed anyway. “What’s with you Steve? Movie too scary?” Dustin lightly elbowed him. “Psh, no, I just had one too many sodas, be right back.” He leaped from the sofa and ran to the bathroom.

He reached the bathroom door half opened, not noticing where you are. “Hey, where are yo—“ You pulled him in by his arm and locked the door. “Hi.” You laugh silently, he shook his head with a smile. “Sneaky, aren’t you?” His eyes widened as you lightly pushed him against the door. “Sorry, just wanted to do this.” You placed a loose grip on his shirt collar, pressing your lips against his. Always was his kiss gentle and kind. Soon his lips seperated yours, a clear amusement and likeness on his face.

“I wouldn’t mind more of this.”

[forever-rogue]

your meddling steve fic got me thinking and what if it’s like a very similar concept where steve is trying to help you and eddie realize you like each other by being all extra touchy with you to make him jealous except he’s absolutely wrong. Eddie and you don’t like each other romantically but you do like steve!

AN | They’re fools, but they’re in love - but they don’t realize it, just yet.

Warnings | Language

Pairing | Steve x Fem!Reader

Word Count | 3.3k

Masterlist | Steve, Main

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

There was a smile on your face before you even felt him drape his arm around your shoulders. You’d felt his presence as soon as he walked into the coffee shop, always so in tune with him that it was ridiculous at times. You turned to look at Steve and he placed a chaste kiss on your temple, “I have a plan, babe.”

You turned to him with a confused expression, grabbing the coffees you had ordered for the two of you. He gratefully took the cup you offered him and took a long sip, “Steve….you and plans don’t go together. I mean, at least not well.”

“Quite frankly, my dear, I’m offended,” he let go of you and clutched at his heart, leading you over to the table you regularly occupied.

“Steve. You’ve been my best friend for almost sixteen years,” you reminded him, “when’s the last time a plan according to you has gone well? Plans are my forte.”

“Well, this is going to work!”

“Do you wanna clue me in to what this grand idea is?”

“I will not be doing that,” his grin was megawatt and you couldn’t help but sigh dramatically, “just have to know - how much do you trust me?”

“You know I trust you with my life,” you gently nudged his foot with yours under the table, the two of you grinning like fools at each other. That pretty smile still managed to make butterflies explode in your stomach, despite the years that you’d known him. In fact, you were pretty sure that you fell in love with him a little more every day still, “there’s no one I trust more.”

“Good,” he let out a relieved little breath, “me too. But for now you just have to trust me, and watch it all unfold. It’ll be like magic.”

“Alright Harrington,” you grabbed your cup and pretended to clink it against his, “you’re on. I expect to be fully dazzled.”

“Oh, you will be,” he insisted, pretty bambi eyes glittering mischievously, “don’t worry.”

Your heart felt like it was almost bursting with excitement and nerves. Was Steve finally going to tell you that he felt the same about you as you did him? Would he profess his undying love for you and finally kiss? You could only - dream - of that moment. 

You would just have to wait and see.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Bi-weekly movie and dinner night out with the grownups. You loved your younger little brood of children, but sometimes it was nice to go out with just the older lot. This found you, Steve, Eddie, Robin, Nancy, and Johnathan picking the most obscure movie to see in the theater, followed by a healthy, heaping serving of greasy dinner food. What could be better than that?

The movie had just finished, and to be honest, you’d missed about half of it. It was some gory flick that wasn’t quite up your alley and, needless to say, you’d hidden your face in your hands and Steve’s shoulder most of the time. 

As the six of you were leaving the theater, Steve reached for your hand and laced your fingers together, stepping in front of Eddie and Robin as you all walked down the street to the dinner. It wasn’t odd for Steve to hold your hand, even like this - you both were incredibly affectionate and touchy people. But still…it made electric shivers run up your spine and butterflies explode in your tummy. Something about tonight made things feel different. 

You couldn’t help but turn back to smile at Eddie and Robin, the duo smirking happily as they gave you the thumbs. They were, on top of being too smart for their own sometimes, incredibly perceptive, and it hadn’t taken either of them, the chaotic duo that they were, to clock in on the fact that you were absolutely in love with Steve. And that he was just as in love with you…even if he didn’t realize that just yet.

But this, this outward affection and display of gentle reverence had to mean something, right? And although Steve hadn’t explicitly mentioned anything, maybe he was finally coming around, finally realizing what the two of you had. You felt like a shy girl, trailing after her crush like a little puppy, nothing but stars in your eyes. Oh yes, you were a sucker for your pretty boy best friend.

But that whole evening turned out to be and feel different. Like everything was slowly falling into place. 

“You look so pretty,” he kissed your cheek before all of you shuffled into the booth and ordered your usuals. Your face flushed with warmth as you dipped your teeth and stared at the floor, “I realize I didn’t tell you earlier, sweetheart. And I just had to.”

“Thanks,” your voice was soft and small as you looked across and found Eddie beaming back at you. You put your hand on top of his, admiring how much smaller yours looked against his before giving it a gentle squeeze, “you’re really pretty too, Stevie.”

Even at the table exchanged knowing little looks that silently said finally. 

Finally the two of you had some sense and realized it was almost meant to be the two of you. You looked over at Steve and found him watching you with the gentlest of expressions on his face. Had he always looked at you like that?

He had. You’d just never noticed before, too busy looking at him just as sweetly.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Robin’s birthday came on a beautiful Saturday. Naturally, Steve had planned a huge party to surprise, along with your help. The way her face lit up when she realized it was not a party but a party for her had made it all worth it. Her face when she realized that Vickie was there was priceless….anything to help her shoot her shot was what Steve had declared. You couldn’t help but wonder when he’d finally seal the deal with you; despite his increased affections as of late, he still hadn’t officially made a move. All you could do was wait, you supposed. 

You were chatting with Eddie and the birthday girl herself when Steve decided to join you guys. He came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist, resting his chin on your shoulder.

"Hey sweetheart," he practically cooed at you, causing your heart to skip a few beats. Eddie and Robin looked at each other and took long swigs of the beer in their red plastic cups. It was almost disgusting how in love the two of you were, "missed you. You look so pretty tonight."

"Steve," you couldn't help the giggle that naturally bubbled up, reaching up to touch his cheek, "you just saw me!"

"And it's been too long," he sighed dramatically before placing a few kisses to the bare skin of your shoulder, "hate being away from you."

"Okay lovebirds," Eddie shook his head in amusement before motioning for Robin to follow him, "we'll leave you two alone to do whatever it is you're doing and we're gonna smoke."

You watched them head upstairs and once they were gone and out of sight, Steve dropped his arms from around you. The loss of his warm touch felt a little harsh. You opened and closed your mouth a few times, wishing the racing thoughts in your mind would calm down for one second, "hey - can we go outside and talk?"

"Of course," he readily agreed, "good idea."

He held the way to the backyard, you trailing behind him like a lost puppy. Once outside and away from the loud party, things felt a little calmer. You looked at him, the pretty boy that had your heart for so long, unable to stop from smiling.

"Steve-"

"Babe, it's all going according to plan," he clapped his hands together, his whole face lighting up. Your brows knitted together in confusion as you just looked at him. He gently touched your cheek, his smile never faltering.

"P-plan? What plan?"

"My brilliant plan to get you and Eddie together," he sounded confused as to what you were confused about. Your entire face fell as your mouth opened in surprise. Needless to say, this was absolutely not what you had been expecting.

"Steve?" you felt the stinging of tears in the back of your eyes as you blinked rapidly to keep them from spilling over and running down your cheeks.

"My plan," he reiterated, wondering why you were having such a reaction. He was kind of thinking that you would be…happy, "you know, being all touchy and feely with you. So he would get jealous…which he did. It seemed like it to me anyway."

"Me and Eddie," you repeated, completely stunned and heartbroken. This whole time….Steve hadn't really felt that way about you. It was all some weird plan to get you with him. You felt like such a fool; you felt so stupid and pathetic. After all, why would Steve Harrington be in love with you? None of it was real and it had all been a beautiful lie. You wiped away the tears that had rolled your cheeks before attempting to brush past him.

"Babe-" but you were already back inside, making your way through the house so you could leave and go back to your own. You really wanted to be anywhere but here. It felt like your heart had just been ripped out and crushed into a thousand tiny pieces. 

Steve was so upset to see you upset. His heart constricted in his cheek as he went back inside. Maybe the man in question, Eddie, would be able to clear the air.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It didn't take long for Steve to find the two of them in his bedroom, looking more serious than he had expected. He didn't smell any weed and quickly realized the two of them were sober.

"Hey, I need to-"

"What happened to her?" Eddie cut Steve off before he could even get his sentence out. He swallowed thickly, "she was crying and almost ran out. What the fuck did you do, Harrington?"

"I…I thought I was doing the right thing," he rubbed a hand over his tired face, groaning at himself, "the plan…"

"Care to elaborate, dingus?"

"I was trying to get her with you," he turned to Eddie, who stared at him with wide eyes, "I thought I could make you jealous and finally get you to confess your feelings to her."

"My feelings?" Eddie repeated, looking at Robin in confusion, "what feelings? My…friend feelings?"

"Friend - no, you're in love with her," he insisted and the two of them snorted in amusement, "aren't you?"

"No," Eddie shook his head, "you are. And she's in love with you."

"So…she doesn't like you?" his voice cracked as he slowly came to the conclusion that he had made a big, horrible mistake. Eddie and Robin both shook their heads as Steve groaned, “and you don’t like her?”

"I mean, I like her duh, but only as a friend. Nope, Stevie…she's in love with you," he insisted and realization hit him like a train. Oh. Oh, “it’s so disgustingly obvious. From both of you.”

"I think you have somewhere to be," Robin cooked her head towards the door, "do go and apologize and get your girl."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You were still crying, but your tears had long run out. Instead it was just dry sobs that wracked your body as you curled up in bed. You felt so fucking dumb, and honestly so shitty. This whole time you thought Steve’s affections were real, and that you were both finally on the same page…turns out it was nothing but a game to him, a game in which he pawned you off to someone else. 

You heard the frantic knocking at the front door, but decided to ignore it. It was late and you were in absolutely no mood to be dealing with anyone. You pulled the blanket over your head and continued your little pity party - which was well deserved, thank you very much. 

But just as suddenly as the knocking had come, there was tapping at your window. You groaned as you tossed the blanket off your body, ready to yell at whoever was interrupting you. It was probably Eddie or Robin - the two of them had seen you practically run out of Steve’s. 

To your surprise, it was the very same man that had just broken your heart at the window. You frowned and shook your head, “go away. You’re the last person I want to talk to right now.”

“Sweetheart-”

“Don’t call me that,” you already felt your eyes burning again, fresh tears unfortunately brought back, “please. Just go.”

“I have to talk to you,” he insisted, “it’s important. Please - let me explain.”

“Explain what!?” you threw your hands up in frustration, “how I’m an idiot? How you didn’t mean to fool me into thinking that maybe you could possibly feel the way I do? No thanks.”

“Let me explain,” you could see that he had glossy eyes as well, and that tears had already run down his cheeks. Fuck. Why did he have to do that? You hung your head and sighed, “please, I’m begging you.”

Wordlessly, you closed the little bit of distance that was between the two of you and opened the window so he could climb inside. He landed ungracefully on your floor, breathing heavily as he gathered himself.

“Talk,” you insisted as you sat back on your bed and looked at him. He inhaled deeply before nodding, trying to gather up the courage to spill out his entire heart to you.

“I fucked up,” were the first words that tumbled out of his mouth and you just raised an eyebrow at him, “and I am so, so sorry for that.”

“You…Steve…I…” you stopped yourself, shaking your head before motioning for him to go.

“My plan, this stupid, dumb plan…I thought it was perfect,” he confessed softly, “I thought I was doing the right thing.”

“The right thing for what?”

“For you,” he breathed nervously, “it was supposed to be better for you. I thought that you - you and Eddie - really liked each other. I thought if I put on the affection a little bit he’d get the hint - he’d get jealous and finally ask you out.”

“Steve,” you wanted to be angry, but the boy had such a heart of gold that you found it impossible. He really did have the best intentions even if it all backfired, “I never liked Eddie that way. And he’s not interested in me. I don’t know why you’d ever think that.”

“I guess…I just thought that it would…maybe this is selfish too but,” he was waving his hands around as he did when he got nervous, “I thought it would help me get over you.”

“Well, it really didn’t work,” the fact that he’d basically just confessed his true feelings for you went over your head in the moment, “it just really ended up hurting me, Steve. I thought that you might actually feel the same about me as I do about you. Instead, it just makes me look like a fool."

"Sweetheart-"

"That whole time I thought it was real. I thought that maybe…maybe I was special to you," a few tears of anger and sadness rolled toy cheeks, "that maybe you loved me."

"Please, just let me-"

"Instead it turned out all wrong," your voice cracked, "and I'm afraid that we're never going to be the same. 'Cause now you know I'm in love with you. And you don't feel the same."

"But I-"

"Maybe I should have told you a long time ago but-"

"I'm in love with you." 

"And I - wait," his words finally settled in your bones as you realized what he said. You turned to Steve and looked at him, eyes wide and nervous as your heart beat wildly in your chest, "what did you say?"

"I said I was in love with you," his voice almost cracked as your face softened.

"Stevie?"

"I'm in love with you, honey," he repeated as you stood up and moved closer to him, "I have been for a long time. I, ugh, I didn't know you felt the same. Otherwise I would have…said this a long time ago."

"So let me get this straight," you held up your mind as your mind tried to process everything, "I love you and didn't think you loved me…and you love me and didn't think I loved you? So you tried to get over me by getting me together with Eddie?"

“I thought that maybe seeing you with someone else would finally get to me and I’d finally get into my head that you aren’t mine…you weren’t meant to be mine,” he avoided your eyes and looked at the carpet, studying it intently, “that you loved someone else.”

“Steve Harrington,” you put a hand under his chin and turned his face towards you, “you are a good, kind hearted person that always wants the best for others. But you are so blind sometimes. Steve, I’ve been yours…I’ve always been yours.”

He wrapped his long, slender fingers around your wrist, his thumb stroking the back of your hand as he looked at you intently, “do you mean it? Truly?”

“Yes,” you nodded, offering the pretty boy a teary eyed smile, “I realized just how much I’ve loved you that day you gave me your ice cream after I dropped mine. It was your favorite flavor and I remember how much you’d been looking forward to it. But you didn’t hesitate.”

“Honey,” he let out a small laugh, one filled with years of love longing, “we were ten. I remember that afternoon. But that was so long ago.”

“I know,” you nodded gently and Steve felt like his face was about to break in half with happiness. Every dream he’d ever had was suddenly coming true. 

You slowly pulled your hand back, but Steve’s hands settled on your waist as he pulled you into his frame. Everything about him was overwhelming and all consuming; the warmth from his body, his smell, the soft sounds that escaped his lips. He was completely yours and he’d never even realized; until this moment…until he’d almost lost you. 

He looked at you for just a moment before he leaned in and crashed his lips onto yours, kissing with a soft, but fervent passion. His kiss was saccharine but contained so much pent up love and adoration. He wanted to bathe you in it, wanted to make sure you’d never question his love again. Steve would have gone through hell a million times over before anything happened to you, before the smile left your face.

You practically melted into him, letting him kiss you until you were dizzied and drying for a breath of air. You looked at him with a happy anticipation, ready for him to take you back in his arms and kiss you until the end of days, “I love you, Steve. So much.”

“I love you,” he whispered before moving to kiss you again, “forever and endlessly.”

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Steve sighed as he sat down in the club, a drink in his hand as the women went to go refresh theirs. He couldn't help but smile at Nancy and Robin. He was glad they were friends now. They were the two most important people in his life, and he was glad they were able to be a part of his life at the same time. Nancy was still figuring things out after her dramatic breakup with Jonathan, in which she found out about how he didn't apply to the same college like he had said he wanted to and that he lied about. Of course, she was halfway through yelling at him when she realized that she didn't really care and that she was relieved that they were going to the same college. They both realized that they hadn't really cared for a long time, and there was this weird sort of laughter between them that gave Steve hope. She needed time to figure things out, though, and he was willing to give it to her.

"They are very cute," a woman beside him said.

"Pardon?" Steve asked.

"Your friends. . .how long have they been together?" the woman asked.

"Um. They aren't," Steve said with a confused expression.

At least, he didn't think they were. No, Robin would have told him.

"Are you sure about that?" The woman asked.

Steve watched them. Nancy laughed, and as she did so, she touched her arm. No, Robin definitely would have told him. She tells him everything. She even calls him in the middle of the night to tell him that her period had arrived during the night. Even though she never asks, only calling to complain, he always drops everything to give her the things that she needs. And vice versa. . .well, not a period but a nightmare. She would always answer, and they would talk for hours. No, Robin would have told him. He wasn't sure though, and suddenly, the jealousy he felt whenever he looked at Nancy and Jonathan started to bubble up.

"They aren't," Steve insisted as he turned to face her fully. "The woman on the left is my ex-girlfriend and the other woman is my best friend. . ."

The woman scoffed and gave him such a stink eye that it startled him. Who was she to judge him? They were staring at each other and Steve could feel the bitch rise within him. They didn't even notice when Nancy and Robin started coming back to the table.

"So that means that they're not allowed to date? You know, it's men like you who held back women back for decades, who held lesbians back - " she started to lecture.

"Hey, if you would just let me finish. You don't even know what I was going to say!" Steve exclaimed.

"I know exactly what you were going to say. Because she's YOUR ex-girlfriend and YOUR best friend, they're not allowed to do what makes them happy. Wouldn't want to hurt that frail male ego of yours," she sneered.

"Hey! You're making snap judgments about me, and you don't even know me!" Steve exclaimed.

"All men are alike. . .always telling women what they can and can't do!" She snapped.

"Lady, I don't know who hurt you, but even if it was true, I wouldn't have a problem with them. If they wanted to be together, I would set aside my feelings. . . No matter how much it hurts because I just want to see them happy. That's all I ever wanted for both of them," Steve said, his eyes stinging with unshed tears.

"Right, it's so easy to say that. You men with your pretty words. . . Master manipulators," she scoffed. "Don't you men understand that we would be better off without you. They're better off without you."

The last part hit him like a blow to the stomach. It's something he always secretly thinks about the people in his life, and it started at home. . .wouldn't his parents be better off without him? Deep inside, he thought that way too with his new, better family.

"Hey!" Robin shrieked, and Steve jumped, backing up. "Not you, dingus. The bitch right there."

"I'm only trying to help," she scowled.

"The only person you're trying to help is yourself," Robin said. "And I'm not some helpless little princess who needs rescuing. This princess has helped herself on more than one occasion."

"Lesbians like us - " the woman started to say.

"Hmm. Pretty presumptuous of you. How do you know I'm a lesbian? I could be bisexual or pansexual, a term I recently learned about. Hell, I could be a friend supporting a friend. You got it right. I am a lesbian," Robin said and scowled. "And this lesbian doesn't agree with man hating lesbians like you."

"You don't need a man - "

"That's right. I don't need a man. I want a man. I want this man in my life. He is my best friend, my platonic soulmate, and I have enough lady balls to admit that I would be lost without him, just like he would be lost without me," Robin said. "Never in a million years would I be stupid enough to throw it all away by dating his ex-girlfriend."

"Lesbians can do whatever - "

"Within fucking reason. I mean, sure lesbians can rob a bank, but the question is, should they? Morally, I mean. It's not just the rich folk who keep it there. It's the hard-working folk who are trying to make ends meet who keeps it there, too. I mean, sure, if they were desperate enough, but just because you understand it doesn't make it any less wrong. The question is, how desperate are these lesbians? If they're not desperate and they rob the bank. . .they're greedy. . . But if they're desperate. . .well, who knows what the reason is. To sum it up, I'm not desperate, and I'm not looking to rob banks. I'm not going to date someone just because I can. I'm going to date someone because I want to, and I'm going to do it without hurting my best friend because how can I be with someone if it hurts Steve? I would never be happy in that relationship."

"That's just - " and she scowled as she tried to form words.

"Oh. I'm sorry. Did a Robin get your tongue?" She asked. "Just because a lesbian can do something doesn't mean they should. You're capable of murder too. Should you go on a killing spree just because you can? Everyone's choice has a consequence to it, including lesbians. My life is not better off without him, and how dare you come over to him to tell him that? How dare you try and make him feel guilty for existing. . .for having feelings that matter just as much as mine?! Men are a part of our lives, sweetheart. Suck it up and move on. Now, leave before I decide to start talking with my fists."

The woman huffed and stormed off. Steve and Nancy stared at her in shock.

"Wow," Steve said.

"Lesbians like her give lesbians like me a bad name and a bad taste in my mouth," Robin said as she drained her glass. "Ugh. How dare she put her nose where it doesn't belong? She doesn't even know us."

"You know, If you ever decided to - "

"I know, Steve, and that's why I love you so goddamn much. I need another drink," she said and started to sing as she walked away. "Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never going to turn around and desert you!"

Nancy plopped down in the seat next to him, her own glass still full.

"She's awesome," Nancy said. "That was amazing."

"Yeah," he said.

"I'm glad you finally have someone who will fight for you, not that you ever really needed, but I'm still glad you have it," Nancy said.

"Yeah, me too," Steve said with a grin.

"You know, I fought for you in the beginning. I really did whenever everyone was trying to tell me who I am and that sleeping with you would be a bad idea. And then Barb died, and maybe it wasn't the bad thing everyone was probably thinking about, but something bad happened, and I couldn't see past that. I tried to fight it, but all I could see was Barb dying. I don't anymore, for the record. I just think I needed some time and perspective to really see how I feel about you. It's always been you, Steve. I know I've probably waited too long, but I want to fight for you too," Nancy said.

Steve smiled, his heart pounding in his chest. He took her hand in his.

"I want to fight for you too," Steve said.

Suddenly, Robin came back to the table and squealed at the sight of their joined hands.

"Hey, didn't we come here with another couple?" Robin asked. "Where are Eddie and Chrissy?"

Suddenly, they burst through the crowd, giggling maniacally. Eddie's shirt was off, and Chrissy's face was smeared with someone else's lipstick.

"I finally kissed a girl!" Chrissy squealed.

"Uh, aren't you two still together?" Steve asked.

"We have a very open relationship, Harrington," Eddie said.

"Where's your shirt?" Nancy asked.

"Sometimes, you don't have all the answers to life figured out. When my shirt is ready to be found, it will be," Eddie said.

"You have no clue where it is, do you?" Robin asked.

"None," Eddie shrugged.

They all laughed, and the bitterness and the excitement from what just happened faded away into the distance. Accepting the fact that men and women are always going to be entwined was proof amongst their tight-knit group. Robin and Steve were more than okay with it. No one was going to split them apart, not even each other.

[italiansteebie]

Love on Screen

Welcome to my Streamer au :-) Episode One, also on ao3 (Preferred format)

Steve sighed as he opened his laptop, clicking on the ‘Youtube’ icon and pulling up his channel. He likes his job, really he does. But so many people do the same thing that he’s honestly running out of ideas. Luckily, his subscribers seem to enjoy the weird ass shit he’s been putting out lately. In the last one, he’d made a bed out of cheese for his cat, the only issue was, was that she wanted to eat it, and if you don’t know, cat’s are lactose intolerant, so what started as a stupid video turned into him vlogging how to clean cat diarrhea of a carpet.

His subscribers thought it was hilarious, paying no mind to his discomfort, moreso worrying about piggy, his cat, and how her tummy was doing. She’s fine. Just a little dramatic. So with a lack of ideas, he goes lives. “Hey. How’s it going, chat? Look, I really need some new ideas because honestly, I’m bombing here.” And like always the chat blew up with responses, ‘call robin!’ and Steve snorted, “call Robin? Fine?” He picked up his phone, tapping Robin’s contact and waiting for it to ring.

“What?”

“That’s real nice, Rob. What a way to answer your best friend.”

“You aren’t my best friend, Nancy is.”

Steve scoffs, “Whatever, say hi to chat!”

“Seriously? This is the content y’all like? God, give him good ones, like getting a life.”

“I have a life, okay? Just because I don’t-”

“Your life consists of bugging me and Nancy, now get off live and think of some real idea’s, Steve!” Her tone was accusatory and Steve didn’t have a chance to answer before she hung up on him. He sighed, looking into the webcam, “Well. You heard her. I’ll talk to you guys later. Bye chat!” He ended the live and shut his laptop with a huff. He pondered for a moment, before deciding to scroll, what better way to come up with ideas than to scan and see what’s trending, right? 

He knows it’s a lazy tactic but, hey. He’s been doing this for years, there’s only so many ideas a brain could hatch. Maybe he could play a new game? Nah, he’s played all the good ones. Maybe he could play a really bad one just for giggles, maybe that’d be fun? It’s not fair! Robin and Nancy use their lives as content! Steve’s life was boring! Maybe it was worth a try, and so, a dumb little morning vlog was in the works.  

-

And okay, so it turns out maybe his subscribers are somewhat interested in his life. How was he supposed to know? He wakes up, answers emails, makes breakfast, works out, and that’s it! It wasn’t anything special. He felt… Boring. 

And yeah, the video did well but he still felt like he fell flat. He was supposed to be funny! So in his fit of doubt, he decides to scroll a little bit. (A bit of mindless scrolling didn't hurt anyone, right?) Wrong, Steve. It hurt a lot of people. But either way, in his attempt to bury his feelings he came across a video titled “Freak Rage Quits and Then Cries,” and Steve was a little apprehensive. He doesn’t really do the bullying, mean girl content, well, at least not like he used to. (He was a different person then). But he clicked on it anyways, and holy shit. He was funny. And really hot. 

And soon enough, Steve fell down a rabbit hole. He couldn’t get enough of this guy, he was cute, and charming, and somehow chaotic in a way that made Steve weak in the knees. (And look, the liking guys thing was relatively new, but the whole ‘attracted to chaos thing’ came out of left field). Well, if he’s being honest, it really didn’t. When he thought he had a crush on Robin it was her chaotic energy that really got to him, which was surprising seeing as his ex before her was very much the opposite. But as it turns out, chaos is like this guys whole brand. Eddie. That’s his name by the way, goes by corrodededdie on twitch, which honestly, fit him perfectly, 

Steve didn’t get the guys subscribing count at first, over 1.5 million (which is almost as many as Steve), but he gets it now. He doesn’t understand how someone could make him fall in love, over video. It was a bit ridiculous, really. Luckily for him, corrodededdie struck the inspiration bucket and Steve fell asleep with some new concepts floating around in his head. And yeah, maybe they were a bit more chaotic than what he usually did but… Oh well. Blame it on his new muse.

—

Eddie grinned as he waved goodbye to the stream, he’d just finished a 12 hour long long haul that he did on a dare because some troll in the chat said he wouldn’t be able to do it. And well, Eddie runs off spite, so of course he made sure to do it, and do it right. 

So here he was, 12 hours later, absolutely exhausted. He’d started the stream at a nice time of 6pm. That meant he’d have to stay streaming and making actual content, not just farting around on his phone, for 12 hours. It seemed easy enough. 

It wasn’t.

Right around the eight hour mark he started to get pretty restless. He’d already played all the games he had within his reach like, twice, and he was honestly really sick of talking about himself, so he made the courageous decision to ask the chat for suggestions on what he should do. (That was especially dangerous since at the time he was doing it, which was 2 am, was the time his especially creepy subscribers like to join and torment him by suggesting really gross stuff. And not like eating dog food gross). But luckily someone in the chat, named ‘dustybun04’ came through for him, suggesting a channel by the title of ‘Steve goes to Hell’ and well. Needless to say, it wasn’t what Eddie was expecting with a name like that. 

It was mainly this guy doing different hair techniques and making weird shit for his cat. He has to be honest, ‘dustybun04’ really disappointed him. He was under the complete impression that this guy was going to be some metal badass that played COD and killed zombies. But… It wasn’t. “Oh come on, dustybun. This guy?” And the chat lit up.

Dustybun04: watch the one where he makes a chees bed for his cat it made me laugh so hard i threw up.

And that caught Eddie’s attention. So there he was, at 2 am, pseudo stalking this guys channel looking for a very specific video. And he makes sure he’s mic'd up so that the stream could catch his candid reaction. “Mr. Piggyyyy, look at what mommy made you,” and Eddie had to pause the video. The guy called himself ‘Mommy’? Oh god, who was this guy? He snorts, looking at the camera like he’s on ‘The Office’ before turning the video back on. And as much as he hates to admit it, he was crying with laughter by the end of the video. 

And so the 12 hour long stream turned into him doing a deepdive review on ‘Steve goes to Hell.’ And he wasn’t disappointed. He could tell that his viewers were ready to move on to something else, but Eddie couldn’t help it. He was just… Enamored with the guy. Eventually though, around the 11 hour mark, Steve ran out of content for Eddie to watch. So he reluctantly decided to bother his best, dear, friend, Nancy. She ran a channel with her girlfriend and they were so disgustingly cute that it almost made Eddie want to barf. He picked up his phone and dialed Nancy, waiting with a mischievous smile on his face. “Eddie? It’s… 5 am, why are you calling me?”

“Say hi to chat!” He cheered, far too loud and excited for the early hour.

“Ugh, Eddie. You’re the worst.”

“You love me, Wheeler.”

“Wha’s goin’ on?” Oh shit. Did he wake up Robin? “It’s just Eddie baby, go back to sleep. You woke up Robin you fucking asshole. I’m going to kill you the next time I see you.” Yep. 

She hung up on him with a huff, “Isn’t she a charmer, folks? Okay…. Let’s see.” Eddie muttered to himself, scrolling mindlessly, looking for something to get him through the last 30 minutes. “Okay… Thirty minute stretch guys. What should we do?” And then it happened. ‘Steve goes to Hell has uploaded a new video.’ “Awh, shit guys. Steve goes to Hell has another video,” He dragged out the ‘o’ far too excited for a channel he just found of a guy he knows virtually nothing about. “Wake up with me? Ew. God, he’s so cheesy. Let’s watch” And it turns out it was actually pretty cute. 

And yup. There it is. Eddie has a new crush on a guy. A guy who happens to look super hot when he wakes up and by definition out of Eddie’s league. He sits and watches silently, enraptured with the way this guy lives his life, waking up so god damned early. As the video comes to an end, so does the 12 hour stream. “Well, shit guys. We did it. Actually, I did it. You guys did nothing. Anyways. It’s been fun. wheeliemike, suck my dick, and fuck you for saying I couldn’t do this. Alright. Thanks for chilling with me!” 

And that brings us up to speed. Eddie slumped back into his gaming chair, breathing out deeply. “Shit. I am never doing that again.” He slid out of his chair and trudged over to his bed, flopping down onto it and groaning loudly. He was just about to succumb to the sweet release of sleep when his phone chimed. ‘Steve goes to hell just subscribed to your channel.’ And oh fuck. Oh fuck, was he watching? Shit. Well. His heart was beating too fast to go to sleep now, may as well instagram stalk the guy. Like all normal people do when they develop a new crush.

[ladykailitha]

All My Roads Lead Back to You Part 6

Am I going to tease you with more reconnect before WIP Wednesday? Why, yes, yes I am.

This chapter was a blast to write. We get some of the petals of the past to unfold, just a little.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4  Part 5  

***

Robin began her grovelling by making french toast with homemade whipped cream and strawberry jam.

Both Steve and Edie were drawn out of their rooms as the sweet smell of vanilla and spices filled their home. They made their way to the kitchen and sat down at the counter.

“Looks fantastic, Aunt Robbie,” Edie said.

Robin smiled timidly. “Can’t let my favorite people go hungry, now can I?”

Steve and Edie shared a glance and grinned.

“We definitely won’t say no to french toast,” Steve agreed.

She piled them them up on two plates and handed each one to Steve and Edie. “This is me saying I’m sorry about earlier. Eddie Munson, for all his problems, is not an emergency.”

“How did Viv react when you told her you were going to storm the castle?” Edie asked around a large mouthful of food.

Vivian Knightley was Robin’s most recent girlfriend. Tall, gorgeous. An actual fucking model. They had met in New York last year when Nancy had done an expose on the dangers of the fashion industry and Robin had tagged along to ogle the pretty ladies. No one was surprised when she took the prettiest one home with her.

“Uh...” Robin said, blinking slowly. “She was supportive but annoyed?”

Steve clicked his tongued. “Annoyed that the plan was for her to come out to Indy with you and suddenly you’re leaving her in New York for the next couple of days?”

Robin blushed. “I’ll pardon me, while you eat the fruits of my grovelling for you two, I’m going to go grovel to my girlfriend.”

“Send her flowers,” Steve called as she exited the room. “Spare no expense. I mean it.”

“Yeah, yeah, Romeo,” Robin said. “I’ve got this.”

Edie just shook her head. “I don’t know why people think Romeo is the height of romance. Dude couldn’t keep either of the girls he was crushing on.”

Steve laughed. “Rosaline sure dodged that bullet.”

A few minutes later Robin came back with blush high on her cheeks. “Yeah, I’m going to have to get flowers at the very least.”

Steve raised an eyebrow and then shook his head. “We’ll go out for dinner tomorrow and you can lay out your plan for making sure you don’t get dumped this weekend.”

Robin sighed dramatically. “I really screwed the pooch this, didn’t I? I got everyone made at me.”

Edie and Steve shared a glance and Steve sighed, too.

“I know you meant well,” he said tersely, “but I don’t know why you think it was Eddie’s fault. It never was. I have told the same story over and over. He confessed, I turned him down, my parents came back and said they would do better. I was at a low enough point in my life that I believed them.”

Robin sighed. “He really didn’t hurt you?”

Steve pursed his lips and shook his head. “Really. I know Addison is a bitch extraordinaire but I’m the idiot that fell for her charms, okay? Plus, I think I got the best part of that deal. I got a beautiful daughter, I’m the CEO of a tech company worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and I’m happy. You want to know what she got?”

“Nothing?” Robin asked with a grimace.

“She’s got my parents,” Steve replied, “and is living miserably in Chicago where she can’t find a man that will take her with bad dye job and sagging breasts.”

“They say the best revenge is living well,” Robin said with a smile.

Steve smiled back. “Exactly.”

Robin threw her arms in the air in defeat. “You win.”

“It’s nice to win once in a while,” Steve said with a happy sigh. “You should visit more often.”

Edie scoffed. “Like you don’t win when she’s not around.”

“Are you kidding?” Steve asked. “Between you and Dustin, I always lose.”

Edie cocked her head to the side and then nodded. “Yeah, that’s fair.”

Steve and Robin laughed.

*

Edie went to school the next day, grateful it was Friday. She wished middle schools and high schools had early out days like the elementary schools. It would make her life far more pleasant. But as it was she still looked forward to the weekend.

Mandy came up to her at their lockers. She chewed on her lip nervously. “So I talked to my dad…”

“I hope you got farther along then I did,” Edie grumped. “My Aunt Robin came to visit early and threw a bomb into getting information out of either of them.”

Mandy sighed. “Not really,” she said, slamming her locker shut and leaning against it. “All Dad would say is that was just a series of missed connections and that neither one is at fault.”

Edie slammed her own locker so hard it bounced back in her face. She slammed it again and this time the lock engaged. “That’s not what it feels like. They didn’t talk for nearly twenty years. This just doesn’t make sense.”

They walked to class together in stony silence.

*

At lunch Harri was able to shine some light on the situation.

“Dad said that Harrington had three strikes against him,” he said.

Edie raised her eyebrows. “He really called my dad by our last name?”

Harri nodded. “He only told me the first one, but I can guess the other two.”

Kenny raised an eyebrow. “What’s the first one?”

Harri picked at his food again. “My Dad confessed that he was in ‘love’ with ‘Harrington’ and that he had brushed it off. That said that all they were was friends and maybe not even that. They had both had near death experiences and hadn’t really had time to get to know each other.”

“Harsh,” Mandy said softly.

“Wait, I have a theory it might not be harsh as we think,” Edie said, chewing at her bottom lip. “Harri do you know when the witch hunt for your dad was?”

He shrugged. “Spring of ‘86 approximately.”

“And what was your dad’s band name?” Edie asked, pulling out her phone.

“Oh!” Mandy said. “I know that one. It was Corroded Coffin.”

Kenny nodded appreciatively. “Bitching band name.”

Edie and typed into the search when Corroded Coffin got their start. “Well shit. It was completely dick move on my dad’s part, but an understandable one.”

She turned the phone around to where it showed they got their record deal in July of that same year.

“Dad said him and Harri’s dad became friends after the witch hunt,” Edie explained. “Which means...”

“Holy shit,” Kenny said, “that’s a really narrow window.”

Harri was silent for a moment. “I–I think my dad was in love with yours before the witch hunt.”

The whole table fell silent.

“That would explain why Mr Munson took it so hard,” Mandy said, her shoulder hunched up around her ears. “To love somebody and then have them narrow your relationship down to trauma bonding? I’m not sure I would recover either.”

“But that doesn’t sound like my dad...” Edie whined. “He wouldn’t do that.”

Harri chewed on his thumb. “I don’t think it was like that. I think Dad’s angry. Because I’ve seen pictures of him before and after they got famous and there is this ring that Dad used to have on his right hand. He said he lost it and I believed him until band practice.”

Edie nodded. “Dad doesn’t like talking about the ring, though Aunt Robin used to argue for him getting rid of it or pawning it, but he always refused. I think we just figured out why.”

Mandy nodded. “Like my dad said, I think that they just kept missing each other. But it’s obvious that Harri’s dad has some real bad hang ups. And I don’t think we should get involved.”

Edie frowned. “I know, but what about the other two incidences that made Mr Munson so upset. Because Harri said he mentioned three.”

Harri sighed heavily. “I think he’s referring to the funerals. I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think Mr Harrington made it to either one.”

“Funerals? Plural?” Mandy asked. “I know about the one for their bandmate Brian Martin. Dad said that something came up and Mr Harrington couldn’t make it.”

Edie’s frown grew deeper. She wasn’t sure but she had an idea when that was and if she was right...she would blow Mr Munson’s fucking mind.

“Hey, Harri?” she asked. “Do you think I could come over to your place after school?”

Harri shrugged. “I don’t see how it would be problem. What’s up?”

Edie looked down at her hands. “My mother is, as my Aunt Nancy said, a grade A bitch. And I think I have a piece to the puzzle your dad didn’t have before.”

Harri looked at her for a moment. “And you want to tell him? Why not let your dad tell him?”

Edie shrank even further on herself. “Because he doesn’t know.”

Everyone shared a shocked glance.

“Then how would you know?” Kenny asked.

Edie licked her lips and pursed them. “Dad doesn’t know that sometimes she’ll call me up out of the blue and try to turn me against him. She’ll throw insults and bring up horrible shit he did. Her favorite thing to do is tell me how easy he was to manipulate.”

“Fuck.” Harri was so glad that his papa hadn’t been like that. “Yeah. We can go over to my place after school.”

“Thanks.”

***

Part 7 Part 8 Part 9  Part 10 Part 11  Part 12  Part 13 Part 14  Part 15  Part 16  Part 17  Part 18  Epilogue

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk​ @trashpocket @goodolefashionedloverboi @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @plyerice27 @mightbeasleep @thedragonsaunt @chaoticlovingdreamer @trashpocket @sapphirecobalt-1 @a-little-unsteddie @i-must-potato @danili666  @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @itsall-taken @steddie-as-they-go @lillemilly @callas-shitshow @bisexualdisastersworld @renaissan-vvitch @immortal-iratze @bookbinderbitch @thylatrek @lilacrobin @nightmareglitter

[sparks-olivarpente]

the very long list of Very Short Fics

Here's a list of byler very short fics (≥ 2500 words)

Will’s Crush: A Post-Painting Sleepy Convo by bloomaomori4540 (@tsugarubecker) Shhh. It’s 3am in the van, pitch black, and Mike and Will are asleep.

feedback loop by @aceoflanterns Other words begin to enter the feedback loop. The world is still a hazy thought, just a distant memory, but new things enter your mind—it’s not, it’s not my fault, it’s not my fault you don’t like girls! or, the destruction of castle byers.

I'll Be Waiting by SunflowersAndSarcasm (@sunflowersand-bees) The Snow Ball hadn't gone quite how Will and Mike had wished that it would. But they get a do-over. Maybe this time, it'll work out.

My Love, I Could Have Sworn I Felt Your Arms Around Me Last Night by lookinghotwiththosewings (@dinitride-art) “Dreams can be dreadful things. They are everything you have and everything you don’t. Stored memories blend with desperate pleas and reckless hopes. And how recklessly did I hope that you loved me.”

The Hospital, Nancy and My Mom's Cardigan: All That's Left of My Family by lookinghotwiththosewings (@dinitride-art) They don’t tell you what to do when someone you love might lose someone.

would i know him? (i don't know) by willow_lark (@willow-lark) It's November 6th, 1988--a long and hard two-and-a-half years since the start of the fight against Vecna. Nancy just got back from a reconnaissance mission to the Upside Down, and she pulled a stranger out with her--a boy with fearful eyes and a lot of secrets. Mike Wheeler doesn’t trust this new guy at all.

Don't Leave Me Here by BeanwithaQ (@quinnick) Will and El go on a mission to end Vecna for good but when they don't return on time, Mike waits for them. For however long it takes

Something Which Matters by nbfutureboy (@futureboy-ao3) Hopper swallows his pride, and attempts to apologize to Mike Wheeler for the Summer of ‘85. Unfortunately, the logistics of teenage relationships are every-changing and dramatic, so he gets a little more of a surprise than expected.

i could be brave by jaymelovestaffy (@ghoultaffy) Mike clumsily sneaks out to Lucas's get some things off his chest.

please say i'm young enough by @elekinetic Will is gay. Robin knows. Or, Robin and Will go on a supply run. Set in post-season 4 apocalyptic Hawkins.

a change that i can see by agustplz (@wheelerstrange) He heaves a sigh and kicks off his blanket, welcoming the slight chill of the air against his bare arms. And then, like clockwork, he rolls to his left and takes it in for the thousandth time. Will's painting. or: a sleepless night in mike's room, april 1986

yellow is your favorite color by RomeoWrites (@itsromeowrites) Will has an episode and under the kitchen counter is a better place to hide than expected.

Mouth Reader by byelervevo Will’s true sight, as Mike had called it, certainly came at a steep price. His doctors said that the temporary deafness in his right ear was a mere side effect of. He should regain hearing just in time for the Snow Ball. But he doesn’t.

the tender things by iphigenias Without her hair again she looked younger and older all at once, but the shape of her mouth was the same, the slope of her nose, the bright eyes that looked straight into Will’s when she spoke to him because she’d never learned the meaning of the word awkward. He’d missed her, more than he realised.

pink & black by queer_we_are Eddie wears a lot of pins and buttons on his vest, and Will is pretty sure he saw a pink triangle on one of them. Which would mean that Eddie is…Well, that Eddie is like him.

False Expectations by @breyito Nobody expected it. Nobody expected Will’s eyes to open and be a solid, glacial blue.

Two spoons by General_KJ Dustin is working a shift at scoops ahoy when Mike and Will suddenly show up and he learns something new about his best friends.

[lonesome-witching]

Writer's Block

After all this time I'm finally posting another ronance ficlet. This one was sort of requested by @ronance4life42 who told me to write about my own writer's block but then for ronance. And so this is the end result. It ended up being good advice so more prompts are coming very soon.

You can read my previous prompts or send me some new ones.

Nancy tapped her pen against the table. Her mind was blank. Her mind was never blank. But now the empty page was taunting her. It had been taunting her for over three hours now. It was torturous. A hell made by her own design. At least she was still dramatic. The writer’s block hadn’t broken her just yet.

But it might if this kept going. Her writing was the one thing she had. Her one talent. She had gotten lucky after college. She got to do what she loved every single day. Only right now it felt more like a curse than a blessing. And she was on the clock. Her deadline was rapidly approaching, and she had nothing.

She heard the door slam shut behind her. “I’ve asked you several times, can you please stop slamming the door? What am I? Your fucking mother?” Nancy bit out.

“Well, hello to you too.” Robin dropped her keys in the bowl next to the door. The sound bothered Nancy. She shouldn’t have lashed out. She knew that. But she felt troubled, annoyed, insecure. And she had trouble biting her tongue around Robin. Once upon a time that had been a good thing. It was the reason she got to kiss Robin in the first place. Now it just kept pushing Robin away as the workload and stress piled up. Their near break up in their senior year of college was still fresh in Nancy’s mind.

“I’m sorry.” Nancy pushed her seat back, slowly walking towards her girlfriend. Her girlfriend, not her enemy. “Hey, Robs. How are you feeling? How was your day?”

“I’m fine. My day was fine. How are you? What’s bothering your pretty, little mind?” Robin wrapped her arms around Nancy’s waist, pulling her closer.

“Little?” Nancy smiled.

“You know what I mean.”

She sighed heavily. “I’ve got writer’s block. Three hours of work and I’ve got nothing. Any tips? What do you do when— Shit, your meeting! How was your meeting with your supervisor?” She couldn’t help but slap Robin’s shoulder softly.

“It was… God, it was awful. I gotta change everything. He hated my entire approach. And I mean yeah, what does he know right? He doesn’t care about the portrayal of women in horror film. But he has a major impact on my grade and whether or not I actually get my PhD, so I gotta do what he says.” Robin’s fingers were tapping Nancy’s skin. A nervous habit Nancy had learned to pick up on.

“How do you deal with that?”

“Well, I come home to my beautiful girlfriend and I give her a kiss,” Robin said with a smile, leaning in to kiss Nancy, “and I realize my research is getting funded by the university and the government and that money really does come in handy.”

“Charmer. How about any tips for dealing with writer’s block?”

“Well, my professor always says that a good cup of tea fixes any great writer’s block. But he’s a jackass. I like walks, they help clear the mind and you can get back to it with fresh eyes. And if that doesn’t work, just write. Even if it doesn’t make sense. You can always scratch parts and re-write bits. But the essence of writing is just putting words on a page, so start there and work your way to something good.”

“How do you do that?” Nancy dropped her head against her girlfriend’s chest.

“Want to go for a walk?”

“No, I don’t have to clear my head. I feel like it’s empty already.”

“Alright, how about we work this together? What you writing about?” Robin untangled herself and walked towards Nancy’s notes.

“It’ll bore you,” Nancy complained.

“It won’t.” Robin had already sat herself down. “Tell me about it. Maybe I can help.”

“Alright, but after this I want to hear everything about the portrayal of women in horror movies and the feedback of your supervisor. It’s only fair.”

“Alright, deal.”

Nancy leaned down and kissed Robin’s forehead. “I love you, you know that?”

“You’ve told me before, you can tell me again though.”

[steddiealltheway]

Thinking about game night at the Jopper household with the party and everyone.

Dustin is playing score keeper / ref after losing a long game of rock, paper, scissors.

At first, they start with a game of charades, trying to figure out who will be on what teams for the final game.

No one is surprised when only Joyce can guess what Hopper is miming (besides two times when El gets it first). Unfortunately for everyone else, this turns into a very gross jopper flirting session. Will and El are the most disturbed out of anyone - Jonathan is too high to know what’s going on.

When Steve gets up, everyone expects Robin to guess exactly what he’s saying. Surprisingly, Eddie beats her to it every time although him and Steve have hardly ever hung out - both assuming the only thing they have in common is Dustin. The weirdest moment is when Steve cups his hands and Eddie immediately, correctly guesses, “Goldfish!”

When Max goes, Dustin really has the worst time being ref because Lucas swears that he said the answer before El did and vice versa. Dustin has to decide on a tie for most answers. No one is prepared for the look Lucas and El give Nancy when she gets one right answer before them.

Argyle goes up and no one gets what he means. He goes a full five minutes doing the most intense mime. In the final three seconds, he sighs, and holds his arms above his head spread wide. Jonathan yells, “Pineapple!” as soon as the timer rings out. Everyone takes a moment to try to process how any of his mime could mean pineapple. The closest he got was when he was rolling around on the ground?

Nancy gets up and everyone is expecting this to be an epic Jonathan versus Steve showdown. Absolutely not. Robin gets everything. Every single one. As the game goes on, Nancy’s smile gets bigger and bigger. And Robin gets more and more flustered and red.

When Mike stands up, no one really knows what’s going to happen - it’s been awkward since El and Mike decided to call it quits. When Mike first starts going, Hopper starts guessing things like, “Murder. Homicide. Agony. Torture…” and Joyce has to pull him to the kitchen for a bit. When Steve starts guessing, Mike breaks the silence and yells, “No!” in frustration. Finally, Will takes over and starts guessing correctly.

The next game they decide to play in groups is the most intense, dramatic game of Sorry ever.

Hopper and Joyce run out to get food for everyone - and fresh air specifically for Hopper. And Argyle and Jonathan sneak away to get high out of their minds.

This leads to the groups:

Steddie + Dustin, Elumax, Ronance, and Byler

It’s absolute chaos.

At one point, Lucas tries to argue that it’s mainly a game of chance, and Nancy slams her fists down saying that there is so much strategy (Robin yells, “Yeah! What she said!”).

Mike personally tries to ruin any move Steve makes. He sarcastically says, “Sorry,” moving Steve piece far away from home. Eddie yells, “Are you?! Are you really sorry?!” And Mike backs off for the rest of the game.

El gets called out for slowly moving a piece forward with her powers when she thinks no one is looking. But Robin and Dustin catch her wiping her nose.

Will begins muttering, “Why couldn’t this be D&D or Nintendo?” over and over at one point. Mike holds his hand to make him feel better - it works.

Max ends up getting her last piece home for her team, winning the game, after saying how she doesn’t really care if she wins or loses the whole time. (But she really really wanted to win)

Joyce and Hopper come back to find Will screaming, “Finally!” while dragging Mike away to probably play Nintendo. Steve is hugging Eddie, whispering soothing words about how it’s okay to lose sometimes. Robin is stuttering and rambling after Nancy winks at her and tells her that they make a pretty good team. Dustin is yelling at Elumax for cheating. Argyle and Jonathan are missing.

Despite all of it, Joyce and Hopper agree family game night needs to happen again.

[starlightshadowsworld]

Pakistani Steve Harrington

Steve likes coffee but he doesn't like regular tea. He will only drink pink tea.

His father used to make it back when his grandparents would visit semi regularly.

And it was Steve's favourite drink.

His father had actually shown him how to make it.

Not that Steve could remember the last time they'd had it together, or seen each other for that matter.

Kid Steve had thought it was like drinking happiness, and older Steve thinks little him was onto something.

And he knew some people who needed some happiness.

It was awkward standing their in the hospital with a tray of mugs, his arms were very much protesting at his decision.

Eddie looked at him, amused while Wayne sighed good naturedly and helped him put the tray down on a table.

"I thought you weren't meant to be pushing yourself?" Asked Wayne, Steve attempted to look sheepish.

It didn't work to well but Wayne just shook his head, a fondness in his eyes.

They'd gotten to know each other after Wayne thanked him for keeping his rascal of a nephew alive.

"Whats this?" Asked Eddie, nosey as ever. Trying to peer at the mugs and seeing bright pink liquid inside.

Steve wondered momentarily if the Munsons would make fun of him for a "girly" looking beverage.

But shook that thought away.

"The nurse said you should try drinking something warm, so I bought some tea." Explained Steve. "Why's it pink?" Asked Eddie, no judgement in his voice just curiosity.

And yet Steve braced himself, he was getting better at talking about his culture but it was usually just to the other teens and the kids.

His King Steve days were long behind him but he was afraid he'd be made fun off.

"When my family would get together, we'd have this tea. Its proper name is Kashmiri Chai, but we just called it pink tea. I dunno why it's pink though.

Dustin and Mike said you love sweet food and it's plenty sweet. And... It makes me happy when I drink it so I thought... Why not."

Steve wasn't looking at Eddie or Wayne at this point, looking down into the tea before him... Maybe this was a mistake.

His spiraling didn't last long before Eddie, somehow without pulling any stitches, reached over and pulled him into a hug.

"That, is the sweetest thing anyone has done for me. Pun not intended." Smiles Eddie, Steve couldn't see a trace of mockery in his eyes and relaxed.

Wayne softened "sounds good kid, looks like you made a lot."

Steve nodded "one for each of us and than one for the kids, max if she's up for it, Nancy, Jonathan, Robin, Argyle Hopper...." He trailed off seeing both Munsons giving him the look.

"Man you really don't know how to relax, do you?" Said Eddie, wide eyed. Steve shrugged, wincing slightly "it's nothing."

Wayne shook his head "you are something else kid..." He said before handing a mug to the boys and getting his own.

"Huh, I'm not usually one for sweet stuff but this is good." Said Wayne.

Steve smiled, looking over at Eddie feeling some of his anxiety leave him.

Eddie's eyes widened, he put the mug down and dramatically flopped on his bed. "Steve, I thought you made me tea. Not the nectar of the God's!"

Seeing Steve's confused face, Eddie softened "It's great, thanks Steve." Steve smiled, putting his down.

"Your welcome, I better get these to the kids before they hunt me down." He wasn't kidding, somehow they always knew when Steve had any treats on him.

Tea included.

"Alright, but than you sir are coming back here and drinking your lovely tea and taking a break." Said Eddie, Wayne nodded.

Steve chuckled "sure" he went off to the kids who as predicted all lit up at the mention of pink tea and were making grabby hands before Steve could put the tray down.

With a pointed look that they all ignored, Steve handed out the mugs.

It was in the mugs that they had all claimed at Steve's.

"Wait... Steve did you carry these all here?!" Asked Dustin, looking from the tray to Steve's still injured arms.

Quick as a flash, Steve vanished before the group could hound him for not "taking care of himself."

Whatever that meant.

Wayne chuckled as Steve burst in. Steve noticed that they'd waited for him, and began sipping his own tea with the Munsons.

Father had always said pink tea was best drank with the people you cared about.

Steve agreed.

(Did I write this purely cos I'm drinking pink tea now... Yes)