people like your domestic dabi headcanons because they're the goddamn best, and I hope you feel better about your exam :( but I don't think I've slid something horny in your inbox in a minute, idk how to make people feel better so maybe a distraction will help????💕
Dabi sees you at your desk on a phone call, and at first you think he's being sweet, coming up behind you, wrapping his arms around you, and giving you a kiss on the top of the head.
That is, until he starts leaving kisses on your neck, and his hands start moving towards your chest. kisses make way to hickeys and he's groping you under your shirt, pinching at your nipples. All the while you're just chatting away on the phone trying to pretend you don't want to gasp. Honestly, you may be doing it on purpose, you DO love when he gets riled up. ..
And it's working, he raises an eyebrow at you and circles your chair. You can see the moment he gets an idea as his eyes light up, putting a finger to his lips and saying "shh" with a smile somewhere on the border of cheeky and devilish.
Since it's just you two at home, half the time neither of you can be bothered to wear pants and that's very clearly working in his favor right now. He kneels in front of your chair, making eye contact with you and starts to run two fingers over your clothed slit, just gently tracing. He has to suppress a groan as he realizes how damp your underwear is getting just from something this simple.
He pushes your underwear to the side, practically salivating at the sight. He gives you no warning as he starts eating you out like a man starved, relentless on your clit. Eventually he adds his fingers and curls them just right to the point he knows you're seeing stars. Soon you do let out a moan..and another.. and another, and he has the most smug look on his face, he doesn't stop until you've come twice back to back and you're shaking, pushing his head away because it's too much.
He looks so proud of himself, you don't know if you have the heart to tell him.....
The phone call ended only a minute or two after he arrived.......
He was so distracted by the task at hand, staring at the beautiful expressions you make, and the delicious way your back arches off the chair, that he never realized you stopped talking.
oh he is so getting you back for this later. But you like when he gets riled up, don't you?
-🎃💖
listen...
LiStEn–
LISTEN—
all this has really no business at all being SO. DAMN. HOT.
and look... LOOK—
+18 MDNI
dabi x fem!reader
the way dabi would be super disappointed, literally pouting, when you tell him that the call had ended right after he came. boy really wanted to put on a show for whoever was on the other side of the device, not caring one bit if they realized you were getting magnificently ate up by your boyfriend, he would actually take pride on it.
but then a little lamp lights up inside his brain: you had played him with that.
how dare you play him with that and then act like it wasn’t a big deal? ohh he was going to get back at you so bad, dabi was going to make you cry.
“since you think mocking me it’s funny, i’ll show you something hilarious.”, the villain threatened with darkened face, eyes filled to the brim with such lust, hunger and dominance that it made you let out a nervous giggle as he got closer to the bed where you were sitting on.
after that warning he has been, first of all, fingering you for good until you weren’t completely drenched, almost making you reach your orgasm but ack–! that’s exactly when he stopped his ministration, leaving you a panting mess.
dabi then started to thrust hard into you, grabbing onto the headboard to push his dick deeper into your sopping pussy, husky groans leaving his mouth past his gritted teethes as your loud moans kept riling him up. when he noticed your walls clenching around his shaft, the raven haired boy stopped his thrusts and slid his cock out of your wetness.
the moment you gave him a confused look, he grinned widely “bad girls don’t get their reward so easily, princess.”, he rested an hand on your hip positioning you on your side before laying behind you, dabi then grabbed your upper leg with one hand lifting it up to stretch your pussy out and without a warning at all he thrust balls deep into you, a choked out moan leaving your throat from that sensation you yearned for coming back, he let out a restrained moan that came into the sound of an hum “god– hmpf! are you listening to yourself? letting out such cute lewd meowls for me– argh! i’m so fucking honored...”, he’s so annoying really, but damn was he doing you so good; the vigorous and lavish drags of his dick long your velvety walls were just so fantastic it made tears build up to your eyeline.
when he angled his hips lower and bucked them up against your ass, the tip of his dick hit right there a spot inside your pussy that completely knocked the air out of your lungs for a few seconds “a-ahh! dabi! ri-right there!”, oh god! yes! that was it! your orgasm has started to building up once more! it was near! so damn close! you were starting to get dizzy from the sensation that was running all over your body, but just when you were about to cream all over his cock, dabi pulled out making you whine loudly and childishly in complaint.
this was the second time he denied you an orgasm! he was seriously being too much right now!
“what is it my precious? are you perhaps feeling... wronged?”, the villain questioned acting like he didn’t know why you just whined, a lifted eyebrow and shit-eating grin on his lips that pissed you off even more. snorting he rolled on his back giving you a cocky stare “if that’s the case, then why don’t you come and get what’s yours?”, at that clear challenge you felt peeved by the tone with which he said it, resting your eyes on his erected dick though you completely melted and nearly drooled at the sight of your juices coating it so beautifully, pussy clenching around nothing as you crawled to him and threw a leg over his waist, straddling him.
“stop mocking me...”, you blurted pouting with deeply frowned eyebrows resting your hands over his abs, hips lifted, ready to lower yourself on his manhood and finally reach your precious climax. dabi smirked wolfishly as he rested his palms on your waist, holding tight onto it “serves you right... baby!”, he growled at the end before slamming his whole shaft inside of you so hard that you tumbled forward, falling onto his chest with a loud moan as he thrusted at relentless pace inside of you while his face was now buried on your neck, dabi’s hot breath fanning it before he licks it, leaves a brief kiss and then starts sucking onto the skin harshly.
you nearly choked on your spit when he added to all of it a spank that made your ass cheek burn, then suddenly— the ringtone of your phone went off from the bedside table where it was resting on.
he turned to it with a pissed expression, while you stared in its direction not actually seeing whatever your hazy eyes were looking at, too focused on the tip of your boyfriend’s dick hitting repeatedly your cervix and busy letting slurred moans run past your gaping mouth, tongue slightly lolling out from all the overwhelming pleasure.
the raven haired boy then had a brilliant idea that made a brief laugh come out of the back of his throat, a thrilled smirk curling up his lips as he grabbed your phone never stopping thrusting into you.
that made you snap out immediately from the limbo you were in, until now, and look at him alarmed “no–! wait! ahhn! dabi don’t–! it’s my b-oh-ss!”, shit, he was smirking full teethes now, that wasn’t a good sign, at all.
“if you answer him without moaning through out the whole call, i’ll let you orgasm.”, dabi instructed pressing his thumb onto the accepting call button, intensifying his gaze on you as he continued “on the contrary, if you let out even just a little tiny moan, i’ll edge you all night sweetie.”, he cackled at your horrified expression as his hips gave a particular sharp thrust that made you restrain a moan, scrunched up pained face as the pleasure was about to make you let out a sob “three, two, one– go.”, at that you widened your eyes, cursing through your teethes as he accepted the call giving the device to you.
“h-hello? yes– i’m free right now...”, at your answer dabi snorted, getting a glare and silent scowl from you that faded away immediately as he slowed his pace, dragging slowly his dick long your walls in smooth waves, making your brain all mushy “i put that document– in the main folder... i’m sure of it yeah...”, you kept answering panting silently while leaning closer to dabi’s face, heart-shaped eyes completely dazed as they looked back into his turquoise lusty ones, your hips moving to meet his thrust making his breath hitch inside his throat “yes– that one...”, the villain sticked out his tongue licking your upper lip squeezing one of your butt cheeks while his other hand slid to the small of your back, feverish gaze glued to yours “yes... i copied it in the usb too...”, you kept answering, but his slow thrusts were so not enough for your sexual appetite right now that in that moment you just couldn’t control your face anymore; you looked straight into dabi’s eyes pleading him with yours, eyebrows trembling from how needy you were, while biting down on your bottom lip.
then your walls clenching around him like a vice, made the boy’s last nerve snap and in a metter of second “wooah?!” “y/n? everything good there?”, dabi flipped you over, your back pressed against the mattress while your hand’s grip loosened around the phone, his index right away going on the red button “that’ll be all boss-san~”, beep, the call was done and your legs were now over his shoulders as he started to pound roughly into you groaning, your moans finally filling up the room once again, even louder than before.
his half-lidded eyes looked down your way, so beautifully spread under him as you whimper and moan his name, completely drunk on his cock.
god he adores that lovestruck look inside your eyes so fucking much.
“good girl, i’m gonna reward you all night.”
and so he did.
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In My Heart is a Memory (And There You'll Always Be) Part One
So! Awhile back now I received an anonymous prompt - which I can't post all of (yet) since it will spoil this new WIP which has gotten away from me in terms of length (as always). Needless to say we begin with Steddie childhood friends AU and continue from there!
Thank you to the nonny who sent me this beautiful prompt, I can't wait to take you on this journey!
Steve never thought it would end this way.
He tries desperately again to loosen the fishing line that has wrapped itself around his foot, trapping him in the frigid grey water. Steve paddles up again to take a deeper breath only to find that he's unable to fully breach the surface enough to breathe.
He gulps down a mixture of water and air, sputtering as it hits his lungs and chokes his throat. He realises, deliriously, that he might actually die here, alone in the woods at twelve years old.
This is why his mother had forbidden him from swimming in the lake, especially by himself; she had told him a million times not to go down there alone.
Steve slips under again, watching as the last few bubbles of air fly towards the surface above him, his vision begins to tunnel as he belatedly wishes he had thought to tell someone that he was going to lovers lake that afternoon.
Two strong hands suddenly appear on both sides of him, grasping Steve by the arms, hauling him out of the water.
"Shit, he's caught on something, Ed, hand me my knife, hurry," a gruff voice says as Steve is dragged into a boat, he sputters and coughs, gasping for air as his lungs burn and seize.
"Is he okay?" another younger voice says anxiously.
Steve opens his eyes just enough to find a wide pair of brown eyes staring back at him, a boy with a mop of curly hair sits beside Steve, he chews his lip nervously as the older man works on cutting away the tangle of old fishing line that had caught Steve earlier.
"This is why we always take our lines with us instead of leavin' em in the lake," the older man huffs as he severs the last knot holding Steve's leg, "he should be okay, you're lucky we were here kid".
All Steve can do is nod, his chest and throat still sore from his near drowning.
The other boy, Ed, inches closer but doesn't touch him, he looks around the boat with raised hands as though looking for some way to help.
"I think we're done fishing for today," the old man huffs, if he's anxious his voice doesn't show it, but Steve can see the worry in his dark eyes.
"Give him your coat Ed, let's bring our catch home to warm up".
The words seem to jumpstart the other boy as he hurriedly shrugs off his jean jacket and draps it clumsily over Steve's shoulders.
"You got a name kid?" the man asks gently before his expression finally shifts to one of panic, "aw hell, we gotta warm you up, you ain't even shivering".
"His lips are blue," Ed blurts out, his brow pinched with worry, "Wayne--"
"I see it, sit with him would ya, I'll get the engine going again," Wayne grunts out as he switches places with Eddie. The boat tips slightly as they move making Steve hiss as cold water tips over the side and onto his legs.
"My name's Eddie," the teen yells over the roar of the engine motor as it jumps to life; he sits down on the bench across from him, "what's your name?"
"S-Steve," he manages to get out between chattering teeth, his body finally beginning to shake in an attempt to warm itself back up.
"Don't worry," Eddie murmurs sagely, "we'll take care of you, right Uncle Wayne?"
Wayne nods with a tight smile as he begins to steer the boat back to shore.
"I don't need the hospital," Steve grumbles from the back seat of the pickup truck, eliciting an exaggerated eye roll from Wayne in the rearview mirror.
Heat blasts from the vents as soon as they pull away from the dirt side road by the docks and Steve is finally starting to warm up. Wayne had helped him step his shaking limbs into his discarded clothing they found on docks, but his damp swim shorts had soaked through his jeans, leaving a small persistent shiver running through him.
"We ain't leaving it to chance kid," Wayne grouses at him, "you inhaled a lot of lake water back there and I've spent enough time in a boat to know you need to be checked out by a professional".
Steve pouts in the back seat next to Eddie who looks between Steve and his uncle with a sharp furrow between his brow.
"Couldn't we take him to our place Wayne, we can look after him there," Eddie says with a toothy grin, he winks at Steve before catching Wayne's unimpressed glare in the rearview mirror.
"No, hospital first," he grumbles but the words are without heat and if the fond smile is anything to go by, Wayne seems more exasperated than angry.
Which is good.
Steve can't begin to picture how angry his own dad will be when he gets home.
Maybe enough for the belt again.
He shivers again and feels a bony shoulder connect lightly with his own; Steve looks up to find Eddie staring again, this time with a shy smile.
"You good," Eddie asks, a hint of nervousness in his voice, "sorry 'bout him".
He holds up one hand to block Wayne's vision of Eddie's face and points towards his uncle into the palm of his hand, "the old man’s stubborn sometimes".
The absurdity startles a wild giggle out of Steve that Eddie soon matches.
Wayne keeps driving, his eyes travelling between the road and the rearview mirror at the two boys giggling in the backseat. Wayne shakes his head and smiles slightly as they pull onto Main Street.
"Are you at Hawkins Middle? I don't know if I've seen you there before," Eddie asks abruptly, interrupting the laughter.
"I'm going to the highschool next year which is kind of cool," Eddie continues, not waiting for Steve to answer which is almost a relief given the strange exhaustion settling in Steve’s bones the longer they sit there.
"I heard from one of the other older kids at the tra--the park that there are a ton of clubs to join and even one for Dungeons and Dragons --you heard of it?"
Steve shakes his head, "is that like a board game or something?"
Eddie barks out a laugh and launches into an explanation, the words tumbling out at a mile a minute to the point that Steve isn't sure what he's even talking about anymore.
"And you use your character traits to help decide what to do, then the roll you get from your dice determines if you are successful or not!"
Steve frowns slightly, it doesn't sound like any board games he's ever heard of but it has dice, what else could it be?
"It's hard to explain without like showing you the books," Eddie admits, picking at a stray thread from the hole in his jeans, "I'll show you later at school, maybe?"
Steve can count on one hand the number of times he's actually been invited to hang out or play with another kid over the years that wasn't orchestrated by his mother.
He's not much for board games, but if that's what Eddie's inviting him to play, who is Steve to say no?
"Do you get to fight Dragons? Like a knight?" Steve asks quietly, his throat still sore from earlier. He laughs when Eddie nods so excitedly his whole body practically vibrates before jumping into a new explanation of the different characters people could play.
Steve spends the whole time listening with a wide grin on his face. He doesn't think he's ever met someone who talks so much, but Eddie has so much to say and he wants to tell Steve of all people.
He's too tired to add anything himself, the adrenalin from earlier seems to flow out of him, sinking into the back seat.
"Do you have Newson for English?" Eddie asks as they enter the hospital and Wayne takes them to the counter, he speaks with the nurse at the Emergency Room intake desk in a hushed voice, letting Steve and Eddie continue their conversation.
Steve shakes his head, feeling suddenly warm, much too warm and tired.
"Maybe we have the same lunch period, I want to show you the players handbook on Monday," Eddie practically vibrates beside him with excitement, "you can sit at my table and…Steve?"
Eddie suddenly sounds so far away, Steve struggles to stay upright and sways heavily into the other boy's side.
"Steve?!"
There's a commotion around him, people yelling and touching him suddenly, but he doesn't want that. He's so warm, it's hard to think, his vision begins to tunnel again.
The last thing he sees as a pair of gentle hands lay him down is Eddie worried brown eyes staring into his own as his world goes dark.
***
The first thing Steve realises when he wakes up, is that he's in a hospital bed.
The second is that he's alone.
The steady beat of the heart rate monitor almost lulls him back to sleep but he fights to stay awake.
Steve peers around the room, spotting his mothers coat and purse on the chair in the corner.
Shit.
This is what he was hoping to avoid, his parents finding out he deliberately disobeyed their rules and landed himself in the hospital.
Steve tries to sit up but the movement pulls at the strange tubing around his face and the IV in his arm. He hisses at the tug of the needle and flops back down against the flat pillow behind his head.
The heart rate monitor ticks up slightly at the movement, seemingly calling out to the nurses at the station outside.
As if on cue, a nurse steps into the room, followed by his mother.
Diane Harrington always looked put together. Pearls, heels, never a hair out of place.
Today however, Diane's pale wane face stares at Steve in stony silence. No makeup, her hair sits flat against her head. A fine tremor runs over her clenched hands but she smooths down the front of her shirt to hide it.
"Looks like someone's awake," the nurse says with a kind smile.
She picks up the chart at the edge of the bed as his mother walks around to the chair that has been pulled up closest to Steve's side. She doesn't sit.
The nurse is around his mom’s age, maybe a little older if the laugh lines around her mouth are any indication. Her blond hair is streaked with grey as well and pinned back to let the small white hat sit properly on top. Her light brown eyes trace over the page of his chart and a slight crease begins to form between them as she frowns slightly.
"What is it?" Diane says, the words come out smoothly; Steve tries to make eye contact with her, to see just how mad she is about this, how mad his dad will be when they get home, but she ignores his gaze.
"The doctor will be in shortly, he'll explain," she says apologetically before placing the chart back down at the edge of the bed.
"Steven," the nurse says softly as she walks towards him, on the side opposite his mother, "my name is Claudia, and myself and Doctor Sattler will be taking care of you today".
Steve nods, suddenly shy as Claudia reaches into the pocket of her white apron and shows Steve a long black tube with a shiny metal circle at one end, the other is split down the middle into two angled sections at the other end.
"Steven, this is a Stethoscope, I'm going to use it to listen to your heart and your lungs, so I'm going to need you to sit up, can you do that for me?"
He nods and begins to shift, slowly this time to avoid jostling the IV this time.
"Steven," Diane says sharply from her place beside the bed, she still isn't looking at him, "you need to answer when you're asked a question."
"Sorry," he mumbles, abashed at his mother's words.
Claudia's frown returns as her eyes dart between Steve and Diane, but she remains silent and simply places the stethoscope into her ears.
"This will be a little cold," Claudia warns as she lifts up his shirt to place the metal against his back, "okay, you're going to give me a big deep breath," she instructs softly, giving him a smile.
Steve breathes in, it's not painful, but there's an awful pressure in his chest that makes him wince, the strange whistling sound his breath makes also doesn't help.
Claudia must notice because she tuts and tells him she just needs a few more breaths from him.
She moves the metal from his back to his chest and asks him to take two more deep breaths for her, on the last one his chest spasms and his throat constricts just enough to make him begin to cough horribly.
Steve doubles over, uncaring this time of the pull on the IV, he can't seem to catch his breath this time.
Steve registers his mother and Claudia trying to speak to him and a gentle hand on his back rubbing in a soothing circle but all Steve can think is, I can't breathe, as he coughs up a glob of frothy pink liquid into the sheets covering his legs.
The steady beep of the heart rate monitor begins to increase to a constant frantic pulse, I can’t breathe, he wants to scream but his throat constricts around the words, it feels as though an elephant has sat itself in the middle of his chest as he registers something being pressed to his mouth and nose.
"Try to take a deep breath, one mississippi, two mississippi, that's it sweetheart," Claudia pats his back gently and keeps a steady hold of the mask over his face.
The pressure in his chest slowly begins to relent as he follows Claudia’s direction, one mississippi, two mississippi, in and out. The constant puff of air around his nose and mouth seems to finally be helping.
"You're going to give us even more grey hair before we discharge you huh kiddo," a new voice rumbles from the door.
Steve looks up wearily at a man in a white coat with horn rimmed glasses staring down at him. There is a kind smile on his face, much like the one Wayne had when he helped Steve exit their truck earlier that day.
Was it still Saturday? Steve looks around again for the window, he could have sworn it was still light out.
"What are you giving him?" Diane whispers above Steve, she hazards a brief glance at him before looking back at the doctor who lifts a syringe to pump something into the IV tubing, but Steve isn’t paying attention, he’s trying to find the clock he had seen earlier on the far wall.
"Just something to help him breathe a little easier, that's all," the man says gently as he takes Steve's chart from the end of the bed where Claudia had left it.
"BP is a little low," Claudia murmurs, she lets go of the mask and lays Steve back down onto the bed, smoothing his hair back lightly as she leaves his bedside.
"Steven, my name is Dr. Sattler, I heard you had an interesting morning today?"
Dr. Sattler gives Steve and his mother a warm smile as he places the chart back down on the bed, he eyes the machines at the bedside for a moment before taking Steve’s wrist gently in his hand and lifting the face of his watch up to meet his eyes.
He nods and lays Steve’s hand back down onto the bed, above the covers.
Suddenly a bright light is shining into Steve's eyes, he winces slightly as it moves quickly, “Steven, can you tell me if you hit your head at all when you were in the lake today?”
Steve tries to think back to the lake. He remembers getting his foot caught in the discarded fishing line, the feeling of water running down the back of his throat, filling his nose; the way the light began to fade as he sank down--
“Steven?” Dr. Sattler prompts again, his brow creases in the barest of frowns.
Steve swallows once and shakes his head as a shrill beeping noise fills the room, everyone flinches, whirling around to the machines before Steve's mother snatches her purse from the nearby chair and rips the buzzing pager out to turn it off.
She glares at the message, "I need to make a call, I'll be back".
Dr. Sattler frowns but steps aside to allow Diane to sweep out of the room.
"Well Steven-"
"Can you call me Steve?" He asks, the words so quiet that Dr. Sattler and Claudia both tilt towards him to hear.
The doctor reaches for the chart again, his eyes flick to Claudia once before landing back on Steve with a small patient smile.
"Of course, Steve," he says deliberately before clearing his throat, "I'll wait for your mother to come back to go over our plan for you okay?"
"Are you," he whispers, "am I going to need a shot?"
Claudia tuts this time, coming around to the side of the bed to brush his hair away from his forehead, "you were so brave for your IV," she says brightly, "if you need another I'll hold your hand, how does that sound?"
Steve blushes as his little face scrunches into a grimace. He knows he wasn't awake when they gave him the IV.
After a beat, he shakes his head, "It's okay, I'm not a baby".
Claudia purses her lips and pats his hand gently, "I don't like needles either, sometimes I need someone to hold my hand, no shame in it, okay?"
Steve chews on that thought for a moment, rolling it around in his head, why would adults be scared of anything?
His dad had made it perfectly clear over the years what real men were like, and being afraid of things never once made the list.
Steve looks up at the nurse and meets her kind eyes, a softer brown than he'd ever seen before with fine lines in the corners creased into a smile.
"I'd hold your hand, Miss Claudia," Steve agrees eventually.
She smiles at him and pats his hand again before stepping away.
"I'll go find your mother, there's only one payphone on this floor so she can't be far," she asserts to Steve before making her way to the door. She whispers something to Dr. Sattler on her way out before disappearing through the door.
"While nurse Henderson tracks down your mother, I'll see if radiology has your scans ready, sit tight kiddo”.
Steve nods as the doctor tries for a small reassuring smile but the effect is lost in the tightness around his eyes. Dr. Sattler pushes open the door which swings back and forth as he disappears into the hallway, leaving Steve to lay back against the flat pillows and scratchy hospital sheets, with only the steady sound of the monitors and the clock on the wall to keep him company.
A new wave of exhaustion sweeps over him suddenly, now that he’s alone.
He wishes Eddie had managed to convince his uncle to let them just go back to their place, he would have been okay if they had just stayed in the truck - he probably wouldn’t have passed out if they had just gone to Eddie’s house.
Steve glares at the ceiling at the unfairness of it all, a small part of him knows that it’s for the best that Dr. Sattler and Miss Claudia are looking after him now, but what will his dad say about the hospital bills, or the bed rest?
He’s not sure how much time has passed. It’s been harder to keep track of here without a proper clock in the room but the sun has moved, carving long shadows in his room in between the copper evening light. He must have drifted off at some point since his mother has suddenly returned as well as Dr, Sattler.
Miss Claudia is nowhere to be found and Steve finds himself feeling rather bereft at her absence.
Diane Harrington stands beside his bed, her hands wrapped so tightly around the strap of her purse that her manicured nails dig into the palms of her hands and her knuckles have been stained white.
Dr. Sattler stands in front of a large box affixed to the wall, it’s lit up with two translucent black and white images on it that the doctor keeps pointing to different areas of the strange lumpy white images while he talks.
“To put it simply, Mrs. Harrington, it’s not good”.
Oh.
Steve feels as though the bed beneath him has dropped away while Doctor Sattler continues speaking.
Steve had aspirated a lot of water into his lungs while in the lake and was already in the beginning stages of pneumonia because of it. So Steve would need to stay on his course of antibiotics and oxygen for at least a week to let his lungs heal and rest as much as possible.
Diane’s expression does not shift during the conversation, remaining artfully neutral the entire visit. She nods and asks questions about Steve’s medication and when he would be allowed to come home.
A flicker of something crosses her face when Dr. Sattler mentions the inhaler Steve would likely need to carry with him at all times.
“For how long?” she asks sharply as Dr. Sattler flips through Steve’s chart once more.
He hums and purses his lips, “honestly, it depends, he could need it for a few months, he could need it for the rest of his life,” he shakes his head and sets down the chart, “we need to see how his lungs look after the inflammation goes down to really be sure”.
“What does that mean?” Steve blurts out, drawing their gaze towards him.
Steve bristles slightly as Diane shoots him the barest of glares. He’s the one in the hospital bed, he can’t even ask questions about what will happen to him?
“The tissue in the lungs is very sensitive and delicate,” Dr. Sattler continues, his words come out slowly as though he is carefully sifting through to choose the best ones, “so, what that means is you may need medication to help your lungs function properly”.
“Steven’s father was hoping for him to join the varsity swim team in the next few years,” Diane says wearily, the first hint of emotion finally seeping into her voice as she sinks into the chair holding her purse.
Steve winces.
It’s no secret that his father’s goal for Steve, his…expectation, is for his son to follow his example to the letter.
Varsity swimming --perhaps even basketball if he takes after his father’s lithe frame of six foot two. Get into college on an athletics scholarship, graduate with a business degree to eventually take over the family business --not that Richard has ever once explained just exactly what he does for a living.
Steve would then marry a nice girl, one he'll meet at college since Hawkins won't have any girls good enough for the Harringtons, and eventually pump out two grandkids for Diane to fawn over.
This was the plan for Steve’s life, there was no room for error.
“Mrs. Harrington, there’s no reason to think he won’t be able to do these things--”
But the words fall flat as Steve’s mother gets up from her chair and stalks out of the room, leaving a wake of disappointment and silence behind her.
A lump begins to form in Steve’s throat and he tries to blink away the harsh sting in his eyes. He knew he shouldn’t have gone to the lake that morning, he’d been told so many times never to go by himself, not when the Harringtons had their own beautiful inground pool installed just three summers ago.
Dr. Sattler breathes out a long weighty sigh and lifts a hand to scratch at a missed patch of stubble on his chin.
He looks between the closed door and back at Steve, seeming to make a decision.
"Okay son," Doctor Sattler sighs, "you're going to hear things over the years about what you will or won't be able to do".
Steve lifts his hand up to wipe at his eyes as discreetly as he can with the doctor at the edge of his bed and nods.
"This does not need to define you, there are plenty of athletes out there with lung conditions and I would encourage you to keep active, it might actually benefit you to do so".
Steve manages to hold back a scoff just barely and nods, dropping his gaze to his feet beneath the blankets.
"I'm not saying you need to go out and run a marathon," Doctor Sattler says dryly at the incredulous expression on his face.
"But you will need to keep them strong and exercise will help with that, so if you like swimming, keep swimming, okay kid?"
He pauses again and adds, "no smoking while you're at it".
Steve's mouth drops open in protest, he's never smoked, well, not a full cigarette at least.
One of the neighbour kids, Tommy, had smuggled cigarettes out of his dad’s pants pocket and taken them to school for everyone to try. Steve had nearly thrown up at the taste and the feel of acrid smoke filling his nose and mouth.Tommy had laughed so hard about Steve spitting into the grass outside the baseball dugout and proceeded to tell everyone he could find.
Steve still associated the taste of cigarettes with Tommy's laugh, the sound turning his stomach just as easily now.
Steve shakes his head under the doctor's unimpressed gaze, "I-I dont--"
Doctor Sattler raises his eyebrow and cuts Steve off with a sweep of his hand, "sure son, just make sure you don't continue, especially because your lungs are still growing and we want to capitalize on that as much as possible".
The doctor pats Steve's shoulder awkwardly, letting his heavy hand rest briefly before he turns away towards the door once more.
"Anyway, I have a feeling you'll be getting a few more lectures in the future so that's enough out of me, you best settle in kiddo, you'll be here for at least a week".
Steve nods tiredly, he can hear his dad's voice in his head now, 'this is the stupidest thing you've ever done Steven--'
"Get some rest, no sense worrying about it now," Doctor Sattler says as he slips out into the hallway without a knowing furrowed brow.
And with that Steve is alone once more.
The light outside his window is beginning to fade into the horizon; he wonders belatedly if Eddie will look for him on Monday.
Steve rolls over, ignoring the new sting behind his eyes and the heaviness in his lungs as he wonders how he can miss someone he just met this much.
Part Two Now Up!
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I always think about how in multiple episodes it's basically canon that Blanche is bi but considers dating women to be more hassle (which is a whole rabbit hole to go down - does she struggle with societal homophobia when she's with women? Has she only been with fellow high maintenance femmes when shes really after a Dorothy type? Has she internalized the idea that her attraction to women isn't 'real'? Her reaction to Clayton adds to these questions). Not to mention how this goes together with her relationships with the girls; making to kiss Rose that one time (and Rose multiple times seeming very aware of Blanche's proclivities), begging Dorothy for 'relief' and being convinced she's attracted to women too.
Yes, anon! It’s really interesting to delve into Blanche’s psyche about all this stuff!
I started writing down my thoughts and ended up with a long ramble -- allow me to place it all under a cut, so I don't clog up anyone's dash, haha.
Personally, I think she has some strong mental blocks when it comes to her sexuality because of the way she was brought up. I mean, she grew up in Atlanta approx in the 1930s/1940s — I’m sure I don’t have to detail the kind of casual bigotry she must have seen around her during her formative years! Just look at the story she recounts in S1E13 A Little Romance:
“Now, you have to understand that in those days in the South a lot of things were still taboo. Certain people were not to mix. So Benjamin and I had to meet in secret. Oh, we knew if any of the bigots in town found out about us, there’d be a terrible scandal.”
And all of this because Benjamin was a yankee… can you imagine what ‘the bigots in town’ thought about homosexuality? Yeah, I’m pretty sure Blanche learned to suppress that part of herself very early on. We know she turns to denial when she’s faced with uncomfortable truths and emotions she can’t deal with, so I think she likely just refuses to acknowledge that part of herself most of the time, and it only comes out (pun intended!) when she’s not paying much attention to things, or when there’s something more important going on. See the two examples you point out: when she tries to kiss Rose she’s concerned with not being kissed at midnight, and when she propositions Dorothy she’s, well… she’s desperate to get some, if we can be frank.
When she’s in a more rational state, her reactions tend to be more measured… but not by much. She does advise Rose not to date women (S3E10 The Audit):
“Oh, no, honey, don’t do that! No job is worth having to date women!”
But she’s also really flattered at receiving lots and lots of phone calls from women, after her appearance as a ‘lesbian’ on TV (S7E15 Goodbye, Mr Gordon):
“By the way, Dorothy, if I were a lesbian, I sure would be a popular one. Look at this, 20 calls.”
And of course we can’t forget her reaction to finding out that Jean has a crush on Rose in S2E5 Isn’t It Romantic?:
“Jean has the hots for Rose? I don’t believe it, I do not believe it! […] To think Jean would prefer Rose over me? That’s ridiculous! […] Now you tell me the truth: if you had to pick between Rose and me, who would you pick? Who?”
All of these are (likely) intended to be jokes about her vanity and her libertine nature (in the same way as Rose’s observations are), but considering a lot of the writers of this show were queer themselves, it wouldn’t seem strange to me if they were intentionally peppered in to suggest that Blanche might be a bisexual in denial. It certainly fits her character!
I haven’t spoken about her reaction to Clayton’s coming out yet, but that’s immensely interesting too, of course. I think Blanche has the same attitude towards homosexuality that I see in a lot of (mostly older) people in my Country nowadays: it’s fine as a general concept, but when it comes to her family (or, God forbid, herself) then the problems come out. See for example what she says about Jean:
“Well, I’ll never understand what Jean doesn’t see in the opposite sex, but if that makes her happy, that’s fine by me!”
Which isn’t a homophobic attitude at all! If anything, if you take her upbringing into account, it’s pretty accepting. But then, when Clayton comes out to her (S4E9 Scared Straight) and tells her he wants to get married (S6E14 Sister Of The Bride), this is what she says:
“Oh, Clayton, please be serious. You're just saying that so I won't set you up with any more women. […] Well, then you're saying it 'cause you're trying to get back at me for something. Clay, I know you too well for this. After all, I know it can't be true. You're my brother. […] Clayton Hollingsworth. You look me in the face and tell me you really are… what you just said you are.”
“I'm having a little trouble putting this all together. Clayton, I just feel like I don't know you anymore.”
“[…] Dorothy, that's different. We're talking about going out in public. Oh, what are people gonna say?”
“Will you tell me why you want to put yourself and Doug through this? You know how people can be.”
“Oh, look, I can accept the fact that he's gay, but why does he have to slip a ring on this guy's finger so the whole world will know?”
Quite the difference from her attitude towards Jean, wouldn’t you say? I think there’s three elements at play here.
1) When Clayton comes out to Blanche, she feels disoriented because this is life-changing information Clayton has never shared with her before. While her reaction as a whole isn’t ideal, personally I think it’s understandable. Clayton is her baby brother; she’s known him as straight all his life, he’s been married to a woman for years before his divorce, and she recounts an episode from their adolescence when he was on a date with a woman and very clearly implicated having a physical encounter with her. He's done everything in his power to pass as straight until this point in time -- I don't find it strange that Blanche would be shocked at his coming out, especially given her upbringing (and the fact that this is set in the 80s! We can't expect modern sensibilities from the characters!). Once again, her reaction isn't the best (she can't even bring herself to say the word 'gay' at first...), but the shock per se isn't that surprising, imho.
2) Blanche is scared because of societal implications above all. She doesn't necessarily see being queer as something wrong, but she's been taught it's not socially acceptable and acts accordingly. Notice how she's worried about what people are going to say, and she struggles to accept that Clayton wants the whole world to know about his relationship with Doug.
Societal expectations in general are a big theme for Blanche's character, and often drive her development; another big example of this is her attitude towards Rebecca's decision to get artificially inseminated, but it's a bit of a baseline issue for her, I feel. She has this whole thing about her beauty and her (supposed) youth and her attractiveness that has some inherent elements, but it's mostly an issue of how other people perceive her, I think, and her response to her brother's coming out is easy to relate to this theme. I mean, she even says it to Rose in S7E15:
"Well, I don't mind being labeled a lesbian, honey, but since I'm not, you just ruined my social life."
So yeah. I think it's safe to say her main concern is societal disapproval of queerness: she wants to be accepted and celebrated by the people around her, and she thinks that being openly queer will destroy her place in her social circle (and she's worried about the same happening to Clayton too, of course).
3) This is sort of related to point 2, but it felt distinct enough to treat it separately. I think she might have reacted so badly to Clayton's coming out (and especially to his showing up with a partner) because he's open about his sexuality, and she's not ready to face what that means for her. My lovely mutual @\hecatesbroom recently published her latest amazing work the odd one(s) out, on the relationship between Dorothy and her brother Phil and how Phil's open queerness might have impacted Dorothy; I think a similar situation might have occurred between Blanche and Clayton after his coming out.
Blanche has a sort of advantage on Dorothy because of her bisexuality, in the sense that she has 'passing privilege' (I really dislike this concept, but allow me to use it to make a point): it's painfully clear that she loved her late husband with all her heart, and she's obviously attracted to men as well, so she can pretend not to like women without too much of a hassle (whereas, if you believe Dorothy to be a repressed lesbian, her situation is much more complicated).
The issue with this is that this 'advantage' is a double-edged sword: she might have the comfort of being socially acceptable, but she's had to suffocate a big part of herself to obtain that comfort. And so, what happens when Clayton -- her baby brother Clayton, the one who's always been just like her, who's grown up with her same environment and influences -- begins openly living as a gay man? I'm sure the situation must have had a strong impact on her, even if just on a subconscious level; I've always found it curious that she seems to have a harder time accepting Clayton in S6E14 than she does in S4E9 (she even calls his sexuality a phase), and while a part of it may be attributed to the higher social exposure Clayton's commitment to Doug brings, I think this may be a result of her inner conflict, provoked by watching her brother live openly while she's been suppressing a part of herself all her life.
Here I'm assuming she's never acted upon her attraction to women before, but there's some space to believe she has done so and has decided it's too much of a hassle, as you say -- likely because she'd for sure do it in secret, given her fear of societal condemnation. If she has been with women before, and decided to give up on it, I still think she'd be greatly impacted by Clayton's coming out: it means her baby brother is a) braver than she is, and b) going to openly face (and likely suffer because of) the same social issues she's run away from. In this lens, I find it interesting that she cautions him about how people can be, almost as if they've both experienced it.
Whew. Wow, this was a lot more than I'd originally meant to write, haha! Seems you sparked a big train of thought, anon! I think all of the Girls (with the possible exception of Sophia) are really fascinating to analyze with a queer lens, and Blanche is always interesting to me, of course. As a final note, I'd like to point out that she does come around to Clayton's sexuality and his relationship, in the end: as often happens, she just needs the Girls' help to put things back in perspective, understand she's hurting someone she loves, and correct her actions. I'd like to think living with the Girls might lead to her becoming more accepting of herself, too.
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