#and max gags mike too

[st-twitter-sillies]

working on something huge

[ataliagold]

Flowers In Your Hair

For @astrangersummer week 3 prompt 'flowers'. Title from Flowers In Your Hair by The Lumineers.

Pairing: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson

Rating: General

W/C: 1249

Tags: Post Series 4 Volume 2, Everyone Lives, Established Steddie, Fluff, Soft Steve Harrington, Steve Loves Yellow Flowers, Eddie Loves Steve, El and Max are best friends, summer, this is just softness

Summary: Eddie enlists some help to find the perfect flowers for Steve. Despite his own insecurities, Eddie is learning that his boyfriend loves soft things.

___

“Robin, what kind of flowers does Steve like?”

Eddie was draped over the Family Video counter, having stolen the barely-working desk fan air flow for himself.

Robin paused where she was rifling through the box of returned tapes to give him a confused look. “Flowers? Really?”

Eddie threw up a hand, then regretted it, because that had taken far too much effort in the stifling heat. “What? You think a man can’t buy flowers for another man? You judging me, Buckley?”

Robin scoffed. “No. Just…why flowers?”

“It’s romantic!” Eddie whined. “We have a date tonight and Steve loves that stuff. He might not say it, but he does. On Valentine’s Day I got him chocolates and roses and you should’ve seen his face, honestly if we hadn’t been in public I probably would’ve got on my knees there and then -”

Robin leaned over and slapped a hand across his mouth. “Jesus, enough.”

Eddie grinned behind her hand, and poked his tongue out to touch Robin’s palm.

She snatched it away with a shout, fake gagging behind the counter. “Munson, that was disgusting.”

Eddie shrugged. “You love me, though.”

“Steve loves you,” Robin corrected. “And so, by extension, I’m unfortunately forced to too.” She smiled a little, taking any sting out of her words. “Seriously though, the kids are over there, watch your mouth.” She dipped her head towards the sci-fi section, where Dustin and Mike were loudly arguing over which tape to rent for their next movie night. Max and El were hanging back, Max eagerly trying to explain a movie synopsis to El. Whatever it was, it sounded violent, and El looked confused.

Eddie leaned further over the counter, letting the weak breeze from the fan flick his hair around. “Help me?” he asked, batting his eyes at Robin.

She screwed up her nose a little before responding. “Honestly, I don’t know. You said you got him roses before, right? Did he like those?”

“Well, yeah, but I think he liked the gesture more than anything else.”

Robin shrugged. “Just get him anything, then. It’s from you, so he’ll love it.”

“But I want to get his favourite,” Eddie lamented. “He deserves the best.”

“Well, I agree with you there.”

“Eddie?”

A small voice sounded behind him, and Eddie summoned the energy to turn his head. El was standing behind him, looking a little shy.

“Yeah, supergirl?”

“You wanted to know Steve’s favourite flowers?”

Eddie slid off the counter a bit, straightening up. “Yeah, I do.”

El glanced between him and Robin for a moment. “Steve used to help me and Max with our hair. When mine was longer, we would make daisy chains and Steve braided them into my hair, he even let us put them in his sometimes. We tried to use other flowers sometimes but they did not stay together very well. But Steve’s favourites are yellow ones.”

And that…made sense, Eddie supposed. Yellow was Steve’s favourite colour, after all, but Eddie wasn’t sure where to find yellow flowers. He couldn’t afford much at the florist, and what flowers were yellow, anyway? Sunflowers? Where the hell would he get those?

Robin tugged his sleeve, pulled Eddie back to the counter so she could lean over and whisper, “The Klines have yellow roses growing by their fence.”

“The old Mayor?” Eddie asked with a frown.

“Yup.”

A smile slowly spread across his face.

“There are marigolds by the school field,” El added. “And yellow violas and tulips by the cabin. I can show you.”

And that was how, a short time later, Eddie was snapping off fragrant yellow roses at the stalk where they were poking out between the stark white pickets of Larry Kline’s fence. Max and El were standing further down the footpath, acting as lookouts while Eddie huddled by the fence and took his quarry as quickly as he could.

At the first surprised shout from inside the fence, he darted away, collecting the girls with a grin as he ran past them.

He threw back his head and laughed, roses clutched in his warm hand, Max beaming beside him.

“That guy’s an asshole,” she told Eddie as they jogged away from the house. “Serves him right.”

They couldn’t move too quickly – Max’s bones had healed, but she wasn’t exactly up to a sprint across town just yet. But they made it to Eddie’s van parked around the corner, and moved on to their next stop.

Just like that, Eddie spent the afternoon traipsing along with the two girls. El showed him where to find all sorts of different flowers, and Max went along because where El went, she went. It was hot, the sun baking them from above in a cloudless sky, but Eddie didn’t care – this was for Steve.

By the time they were finished, Eddie had gathered a large handful of flowers in all different shades of yellow and orange, and the girls had wrapped them in some plastic procured from Hopper’s cabin and poured some water into the bottom to keep them fresh in the summer heat.

“There,” El told him proudly, handing over the bouquet while Max tried to find some ribbon in a drawer to tie around it. “They’re pretty. Like Steve.”

Eddie spluttered a little at El’s directness. “Oh…yeah. Yeah, they are. He is.”

El nodded. “Max often says so, too.”

“Oh my god, shut up,” Max yelled from El’s room.

Eddie smirked, because the girl’s little crush on his boyfriend was no secret. “It’s ok Max, I agree with you.”

Max stomped back towards them, slapped a length of gold ribbon into Eddie’s hands, and then took El’s arm and pulled her back towards the room.

Effectively dismissed, Eddie returned to his trailer to rush through a shower and getting changed, barely with enough time left to get to Steve’s before their dinner plans.

Waiting in front of his boyfriend’s door, Eddie passed the bouquet from hand to hand, a little nervous.

This is stupid.

Steve Harrington, former jock supreme, once-captain of the basketball team, nail-bat wielding badass wasn’t going to appreciate some yellow flowers.

Eddie almost turned tail. Almost tossed the flowers into the back of his van to be dealt with later, almost gave in to the nerves in his stomach.

Almost.

Because there was a softness to Steve that Eddie was learning to know and love. It was in the way he treated the kids, the way he gently held Eddie’s hand, the way he baked cookies when his friends were coming over and apparently braided flowers into the girls’ hair.

Eddie took a deep breath, clutched his yellow flowers, and knocked on the door.

It opened after a moment.

“Eds, hey, sorry I just gotta get my shoes on -” Steve trailed off as he took in the sight of Eddie standing there, flowers gripped in shaky hands.

Eddie cleared his throat, held out the bouquet. “For you. If, um…if you want them. Sorry if it’s stupid, I wanted to get you something but I couldn’t afford much and El told me you liked yellow flowers so I spent the afternoon going around town and finding them, and the roses actually involved some petty theft but -”

Steve took the flowers with one hand, and pulled Eddie through the door with the other, lips seeking his mouth and swallowing the rest of his sentence.

When they finally pulled apart, Eddie smiled shyly. “You like them, then?”

“I love them, Eds.”

___

[sp0o0kylights]

Adopt a Jock Part One / Previous Part / Part 10.2 (you are here)

A03

Gareth had been a part of a handful of grand finales in his day, but none of them had ever been like this.

Maybe it was the fact they’d almost died in real life.

Maybe it was the kids in the room, egging and cheering them on.

Likely it was a combination of a lot of things, up to and including the way Eddie had poured his entire soul into this game--as if in doing so, it might fix the world that had been accidentally ruined for them.

(Possibly it was the cheesy effects Eddie had somehow roped Steve into pulling off with him, which included a number of lighting changes and a smoke machine that was cool for all of five seconds before it overwhelmed the room.)

They’d stayed well past when they had the room for, shouting and cheering and screaming-- and for once no one came in to chew them out for it.

Coming out triumphant, they'd defeated the great evil Eddie had cooked up in order to save the realm.

All the twists and turns and reveals…even now Gareth still felt the victory pulsing through his bones.

They really had needed this.

“Not gonna lie, I am not ready to go home.” Gareth thinks it was Stewart who said it, but it might have been Jeff. Not that it mattered--plans were sprung sprung, and they agreed to meet up at the only place still open that wasn’t the McDonalds.

“All middle schoolers get to go home first!” Steve announced with his typical mother-hen flair, which caused a very large amount of boos to be sent his way from said children.

“It is almost 10pm, you dipshits, I don't need all your moms crawling down my throat.” he tacked on, glaring as Dustin and Grant both began loudly gagging.

“Stevie’s right!” Eddie boomed from where he was still gathering his papers, haphazardly throwing them into his backpack. “You all know your moms want him.”

“Munson--”

Hop to it, hobbits, I want a burger.” Eddie interrupted, grinning cheekily.

Steve rolled his eyes at him.

“Who are you calling a hobbit!?” Mike bit out, offended.

“if hopping makes someone a hobbit, then I guess we should start calling Eddie Frodo.” Jeff added sweetly.

“I have been walking normally for days, Jeffrey--”

Several parting shots later, the children allowed themselves to be herded outside, wherein they all stood around and proceeded to try and wheedle a ride out of anyone willing to listen to them.

“I don’t have a car today.” Tiff lied, standing in front of her family’s ancient Crown Vic.

“Sorry guys, I hitched a ride with Grant.” Jeff piled on with a grin. “And I don’t think he’s got room for all of you.”

“Come on, you’re not really gonna make us bike home? In the dark?” Dustin tried valiantly, gesturing at the sky as if it was pitch black outside.

It was not, and thus, his point was moot.

Gareth once again tuned out the ensuing argument, taking the time to just enjoy the moment.

(Maybe make a secret, near-silent bet with Jeff about who was going to break down and give the kids a ride home, communicated entirely through eyebrows and eye rolls.)

“Why are we even asking you--where the hell is Steve!?” Dustin finally shrieked, hands flung in the air in a way that was too reminiscent of Eddie to not be intentional.

Apparently Harrington wasn’t the only person he impersonated.

“Pretty sure he picked ‘stay behind to help clean.’” Grant told him, as if Eddie had ever done such a thing in his life.

“Someone tell them to hurry up.” Max grumped, hands crossed over her chest, Lucas’s arm around her shoulders. “They’re taking forever.”

“Welcome to life kid. Eddie runs on no one's clock but his own.” That from Stewart, who was also doing a grand job of pretending his mom’s car wasn’t sitting in the parking lot.

“Eddie doesn’t even know what a clock is.” Tiff said flatly, before Max could murder him for the kid comment. “I gave him one once and he acted like I gifted him a bomb.”

Darkly she muttered, “I think he ran it over with the van.”

“I’ll go get them.” Gareth announced, interrupting the entire charade before Dustin and Mike both could lose their shit. “I left my jacket in there anyway.”

More than likely Eddie's leg had begun hurting, in which case Gareth would be right about the only person besides Steve who Eddie would allow help from without falling into a snit.

(He did not want to end the night with Eddie in a snit.)

He figured the sooner he went, the sooner the whining would stop. Besides, it was just a quick trip back in, grab what he needed, and come right back out. Easy enough.

Unfortunately, Gareth forgot a few key things about surviving a horrific incident.

Mainly that PTSD was a bitch and schools were really creepy when they were empty.

At the right time of night, with the shitty, fluorescent lighting and the dark corner?

It looked a lot like the lab had.

The floor was even echoey in the same way as he slowly walked down it, each step ringing out as if to sing out his very doom.

….Which is why he immediately dived into the first door to Hawkins High’s tiny ass auditorium, rather than walk all the way down the creepy ass hallway to use the door they’d all trooped out of.

It had way more lights, and a far less chance of hiding a murder monster.

(Would he always be like this now?

Worried about shit that shouldn’t be real?

The Men in Black had done a group job of insisting this whole thing was a one off but that didn’t exactly make anyone feel better given the kids had told them they said that every time this shit happened.

Which was apparently bi-yearly.)

Unfortunately for Gareth, it also meant he was popping into a door that was at the very far back of the drama room--hidden, partly, by the costume rack Hellfire had shoved over to make room for Eddie’s throne.

He wasn’t being quiet. Didn’t think he needed to be and given his thoughts didn’t want to be-- but it wasn’t until he was through the door and weaving his way through ancient, tacky clothes that he realized Steve and Eddie hadn’t heard him come in.

Given the very compromising position they were in, Gareth doubted it would have mattered if he came in blowing a trumpet.

They were making out.

Or--no.

They weren’t.

It looked an awful lot like they were, from the angle Gareth was at, but he quickly adjusted to the low lighting and realized their heads weren’t lined up right.

He was proven right a moment later, when Steve straightened up--hand going to an all too familiar guitar pick that now hung around his neck.

“I can’t take this.” Steve protested, quiet voice made loud in the emptiness of the room.

He sounded off as he said it, a little like he had been that night at Eddie’s, when he’d been so upset about his parents. The choked, strangled voice of someone trying to reign in their emotions and doing a piss poor job about it.

Something clearly had happened between them in the ten or so minutes they’d been dragging their feet back here.

“Yes you can.” Eddie replied.

“Ed’s--”

“I’m giving it to you. You think I’ve ever offered this to anyone else?”

That was said as a challenge--Gareth very much recognized it as one--but Eddie’s bravado sounded wrong too.

Like he was trying to be serious about one part of this, while hiding another entirely. A magician performing an unfinished trick, relying on the audience to look right where he wanted without much prompting.

“Exactly. You should be giving this too--I dunno, someone who is important to you.” Steve protested, voice thick. “Not to me. Not because I was joking around. Fuck Eddie, I didn’t mean it--”

“Yes you did, and that is exactly why I’m giving it to you.” Eddie interrupted, reaching out to flick the guitar pick that now sat on Steve’s chest. “You mean something to a lot of people, Steve, and now you have proof.”

They stared at each other for one far too heated moment. 

(They were both so emotionally constipated--and Gareth absolutely shouldn’t be overhearing this.

Why were they always having these damn conversations in places he was around!? 

If either of them realized he was in the room…)

“I don’t need proof--” Steve said, but his hand had come up, trapping the one Eddie still had hovering near his chest.

“Yes you do. And you deserve to know that people want to be around you. That I want to be around you.”

Slowly, carefully, Gareth began walking backwards, trying not to make a sound.

This was way too fragile for him to ruin.

Steve made a frustrated noise. “I can’t imagine why.”

“Really? You, the person who apologized to me, told me you didn't care if I was gay, and insisted that I wasn't a satan worshiping demon, can't figure out why you’re important to me?”

Eddie’s voice faded as Gareth successfully retreated back out the way he came, doing his level best to ensure the door closed as quietly as possible.

Relief made him slump his head against the wood, and he held it there for a moment in order to give his two, idiotic friends the time they clearly needed.

Maybe Eddie would have a boyfriend after this.

(Let’s be honest, they’d have a better chance resolving their feelings by talking to a brick wall, but that wasn’t Gareth’s problem to fix.

At least not yet, anyway.)

Either way, he looped back to conquer the terrifying halfway, cursing out Munson and Harrington both the entire way down.

Made his way to the front of the door as loudly as he possibly, conceivably could, smacking into it as though he’d fumbled opening it on the first try (and only partly because being so fucking loud meant the monsters couldn’t get him.

Right?)

“Are you two done yet?” He yelled, and made sure to wait for an affirmative before barging in.

Sure enough, they were still close together, Steve with a smile on his otherwise red face and Eddie equally looking guilty, but both swung to look at him when Gareth marched in.

“Are you guys partying here or cleaning? Hurry the fuck up we want food.” He challenged, gesturing at the pile of shit Eddie still hadn’t put away. “Also the children need a ride.” 

“Dammit--” Steve growled, springing to life and trotting out past Gareth, hand running through his hair--and his other hand carefully hiding the necklace under his shirt.

Now, Gareth decided, that could let on what he’d seen, since they’d been about as subtle as a fucking hippo.

“I have told you you’re screwed, right? We’ve had that conversation?” He teased, after waiting just long enough for Steve to be out of earshot.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Eddie sniffed.

Gareth grinned, slow and mocking. “Mmm. and I’m sure the necklace I just saw was totally a copy you bought for reasons. Couldn’t possibly have been your real pick…”

Eddie’s face immediately reddened. “Shut up, Gary.”

“Whatever kind of situation could have just happened to have led you to hand over that?”

With a faked gasp, Gareth suddenly clutched at his heart. “Munson, tell me you didn't just deflower the good maiden Harrington!?”

He got punched in the shoulder for his efforts.

“Shut up, Gary!”

Quiter, not wanting to take any chances at all of being overheard, he said; “Did you tell him it was your moms?”

“No.” Eddie said, just as quiet. A true feat, for him. “And I will be furious if you tell him.”

Gareth raised his hands in surrender.

“Secrets safe with me.”

They both knew he meant it.

xXx

With the first lazy days of summer came a quiet kind of healing: Eddie finally stopped limping, Steve had gotten better about hugs and high fives, and Gareth was (mostly) sleeping through the night.

It was peaceful--or had been, until the Munson phone started to ring.

(Or maybe It had been ringing for a while, Gareth thought. Time was a little fuzzy right now.)

“Ten to one that's Henderson.” Eddie said, as the phone stopped, only to immediately start back up again.

He hauled himself up, apparently deciding the ringing was not going to stop until it was answered.

Steve, sprawled out on Eddie’s couch, groaned.

“Why is he calling here?”

“Because you're always here.”

A fun little fact Gareth knew was true more than it wasn’t.

Steve spent an awful lot of time in Eddie’s trailer these days. Gareth’s garage and the drama room too, but given how Steve seemed more eager to hang out with Eddie than anyone else, those places didn’t count.

“How do you know he's calling for me, and not D&D advice?”

“Because he worships you, dude.” Eddie drawled, returning from the kitchen where the phone now sat politely on the kitchen counter, with tinny Dustin Henderson-esque noises squawking out of it. “Not me.”

“I seriously doubt that.” Steve muttered, but heaved himself up off the couch, careful to step over Gareth--who had claimed the floor the very second Eddie had magicked a joint out of his lunch box.

“What, Henderson?” Steve said into the receiver, as Eddie flopped dramatically onto the couch.

He nearly kicked Gareth in the process, who hissed at him for it.

“Yes, yes, you’re so vicious.” Eddie cooed, and if Gareth wasn’t high, that comment would have earned a solid tackle. Alas, the floor called to him, so he simply flipped his best friend off instead.

Steve’s voice floated back from the kitchen, fond and exasperated in equal measures.

“The plan you put in my hand yesterday? Yeah Dustin, I have it.”

Whatever Dustin said in response caused him to make an offended noise, followed by a higher, actually offended noise.

“Where’d the joint go?” Eddie questioned lazily, hands idly patting the couch.

“Did you put it in your pocket again?” Gareth asked, after checking that he himself did not have it.

Eddie thought that over.

“I don’t think I’m wearing pockets.” He decided after a moment.

“Okay--okay! If anything happens I will handle it, and fill you in later.” Steve said, followed by a loud; “No.”

And then;

“I said no!”

And then;

“That's stupid, Henderson. You're two hours away at camp, you wouldn't make it back in time to do anything.”

“Is it under the couch?” Eddie asked, half watching Steve slowly sink down onto his elbows on the kitchen counter, only to spring back up anytime Dustin talked.

Gareth gave him a look.

“Why would it be under the couch?”

Eddie shrugged. “Dunno man. Joints roam sometimes, you know?” He walked a few fingers in the air, as if joints had legs and used them.

“And they walk under the couch?” Gareth challenged back. “I am amazed this trailer’s never caught on fire.”

“I wouldn’t say never, Gare-Bear.”

“Can you just go enjoy camp?” Steve pleaded in the background, sounding like the world's most disgruntled parent. “For me, man, I have to work all summer, I’m literally doing my last interview tomorrow. How am I supposed to look forward to making fun of your dorky math adventures if you don't go on any?”

Finally;

“Yeah, you little shit, you too.”

“Not to worry, we have all summer to find it.” Eddie said, before he caught up to the conversation.

Head whipping towards Steve, he accused; “Did Steve just say he got a job?”

“I wasn’t listening.” Gareth said, too busy looking under the couch in case Eddie really had dropped a lit joint under there. How he didn’t know, but this was Eddie Munson, after all.

Stupider things had happened.

Steve grumbled, “I'm hanging up now!”--before slamming the phone back into the receiver with a sigh so heavy his entire chest shook with it.

“Who knew Steve Harrington was whipped?” Gareth teased rolling back onto his back and miming cracking a whip in the air. “And to a future freshman, no less!”

“I did!” Eddie raised a hand in the air.

“Oh screw you guys.” Steve scoffed, hauling himself back to the couch. “Someone hand me the joint, I need it.”

“So bad news about that…”

Gareth got to watch in delight as Eddie tried to explain the missing joint to Steve--who was a lot less casual about being potentially lit on fire.

“Where are you interviewing at, anyway?” Gareth asked, as Eddie dramatically army-crawled to his bedroom in search of a new joint, after being thoroughly chewed out about losing the last one.

“Starcourt. Place called Scoop’s Ahoy.”

Knowing damn well he was the highest person in the room right now, Gareth frowned as he tried to recall what store that was.

It took him a moment.

Then the realization hit and glee overtook him in a wave that not even weed could temper down.

“The ice cream shop?” He said, amusement overtaking his voice.

“Yeah!” Steve said, only to immediately frown when a cackle of laughter burst out of Gareth’s mouth.

“How is that funny?”

“If you don’t already know,” Gareth snickered, “I’m not telling you.”

He was saved from having to explain by Eddie inch worming back, this time with a lit joint in his mouth.

Sparks twirled from the end of it, landing threatening on the thin carpet every time he puffed.

“Dammit Eddie you’re gonna catch the trailer on fire!”

“Supposedly he already did.” Gareth tattled.

This did not earn him any favors, but did give him endless amounts of delight when Steve dived on Eddie as if wrestling would, in fact, save them all from catching the place on fire, and not help it along instead.

God, Scoop’s Ahoy.

Gareth’s summer just got a hell of a lot better.

Bonus

If he was a good person, Gareth would have given Steve a heads up about Hellfire visiting on his second week of work.

Unfortunately, Gareth was far more interested in seeing everyone else's reactions to care. Only Tiff so far had realized what “Steve’s working at that ice cream place at the mall” meant and Gareth was in dire need of watching Eddie’s reaction to The Shorts.

“Remind me to steal Grant's camera next time.” He whispered to Hellfire as a whole as they walked up to the counter, grin growing as Eddie finally clocked Steve.

Slutty little sailor outfit and all.

Eddie’s own grin froze first, and then his limbs, eyes growing so wide they practically overtook his face. He didn’t seem to know what to do with his mouth, and so it stayed slightly open, giving the wonderful impression that he’d been paused like a VHS tape.

Gareth wanted to live in this moment forever.

“Hey Harrington, you didn't clean the--whoa.”

Steve’s coworker—a girl from band whose name Gareth couldn’t recall—stared at the group, her expression shifting into something that could only be described as “overworked minimum wage employee completely fed up with life.”

“Can I help you?” She challenged, planting her hands on her hips with one eyebrow raised.

Like he’d been shocked back to life, Eddie sprung into action.

“Oh we're here to laugh at--ow, Jeff, your elbows are like blades!”

“We're here to see Steve.” Grant said over Eddie’s screeching, before turning his own cheeky smirk on their ex-jock. “Right buddy?”

A smile flit over Robin's face, something that's got too much of an edge to it to be friendly.

“Well don't let me stop you. Take your time, we offer unlimited free samples.” She waved her hand to all the open tubs in the case, the same gesture Eddie used when pretending to be a merchant unveiling fanciful wares.

Steve frowned, head whipping to her in outrage. “Not even an hour ago you were down my throat about giving out too many!”

Robin turned innocently towards him. “I don't know what you mean.”

“You literally said and I quote, ‘Harrington we don't offer unlimited free samples!’”

“You must have misheard me.”

“Well don't convince the lady otherwise, let's try some ice cream!” Eddie said, clapping his hands together.

To the average outsider it might look like he's taking Robin's side (and advantage of the situation)

What he was actually doing is what he always did--pulling the attention back on himself to get heat off everyone else in a way that allowed him to stare greedily at Hellfire’s newly acquired sailor boy.

Steve huffed, frustrated, but pulled his scooper out of his holster anyway. Twirled it as he does so and then did it again when Eddie ooed and awed at him for it.

“Can you do tricks?”

“Like what?”

“I dunno man, throw it in the air and catch it?”

“Do not throw ice cream.” Robin warned from the spot she’d retreated too, settling against the wall to watch the show.

Idly Gareth wondered how long it would take for her to catch on that they’re all friends.

(It still surprised him to learn there were people who didn’t know they were friends.

Gareth had assumed small town syndrome would mean the entire school had figured it out by now, but there’s always people who don’t eat their lunch in the cafeteria or pay much attention to gossip.

A stereotype that Buckley fit to a perfect T.)

“Yeah Munson, I'd probably just get it all over me!” Steve added, exaggerating his own frown.

A fact Robin considered, before stating:

“On second thought, tricks would bring in more customers…”

Eddie pointed a finger her way, winking. “I think I'm starting to like you, Buckley.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Well, stop.”

(He never actually started, of course, but Gareth doesn't think she's figured that out yet.)

Bonus x2

“There’s a guy drowning in the mall fountain.” Robin announced as she trooped past, backpack slung over her shoulder. Steve had opened the store by himself today, something he had privately told Gareth he was proud of.

(“Means she’s starting to trust me!” He’d declared, triumphant, and somehow missed Eddie making a gagging noise in his peripheral vision.)

“Sonovabitch!” Steve growled, flinging the dishrag down and vaulting over the counter.

“What--” Robin sputtered, flinging herself away before she got plowed over. “Dingus we have a door--!”

Gareth said nothing, instead taking a noisy slurp of his shake as he too, turned to watch as Steve paused at the fountain’s edge, assessing the splashing happening inside of it with narrowed eyes.

“Fucking show off.” Robin finished in a mutter, as Steve seemed to decide the best course of action was to lunge forward, grabbing onto the drowning guy’s waist with both arms and bodily hauling him out.

A familiar figured flailed around for a minute before going limp, causing him and Steve both to crash to the floor and--

Gareth almost choked on his shake.

“Oh shit that’s Stewart!” He gasped, slamming the shake on the counter before rushing over to help his friends.

“There’s a trash can, right there.” Robin called after him, and when it proved ineffective, threateningly yelled;

“I’m throwing this away!”

“Dude, you're a trouble magnet, you know that?” Steve was ranting, as Stewart sputtered and hacked up fountain water.

“I thought I saw something!” He whined in between coughs as Gareth trotted up.

“Well stop it.” Steve crawled back up to his feet, trying to fix his dumb little sailor suite while glaring menacingly at Stewart.

“Was the thing you saw coins perhaps?” Gareth teased, now assured that Stewart wasn’t in danger of dying from his own stupidity (again.) “Maybe a misplaced dollar bill?”

“Shut up.” He moaned, while Gareth smirked at Steve.

Who just ran his hands through his hair, like he wasn’t fond of their antics, the liar.

“Did you decide to find it with your mouth instead of a hand, like a sane person?”

“I said shut up Gareth--”

“Let me get you real water.” Steve interrupted, being hauling Stewart back to Scoop’s, like the mom figure he so totally was.

[asexual-shelly]

In honor of lesbian visibility week, I present a full list of female characters from Total Drama who have canonically shown no attraction to men! (as far as I'm aware)

Staci - Only present for one episode and only spoke for one episode, having no lines in the finale. None of these lines hint at Staci displaying any interest in men.

Dawn - The closest thing I could find was the "I didn't know you were a beetle whisperer!" scene, but even then, that could easily be read as platonic. Svetlana - Similar case to Staci in that her lines are pretty limited due to being actively suppressed by Mike or Mal. However she has not, in fact, said anything that hints at her liking men in those few lines.

Sammy & Amy - Other than that one "Topher thinks you're fat" line of dialogue (which could easily be played off as Amy trying to mess with her), neither of them have shown any on-screen interest in men.

Scarlett - The only extensive interaction she has with men are Max, whom she DESPISES, and their alliance is only romantically framed for the sake of a gag.

Sugar - Nothing in canon hints at her liking men. She admires Leonard, but this is most likely due to his perceived magical abilities rather than any sort of attraction as she displays a similar interest in Max later on.

Tammy - Similar case to Staci, she only had a very brief speaking role in episode 1 and never in these lines was it implied she was attracted to men.

Mary & Ellody - Only here for a short time (with Mary only having dialogue in the episode she was eliminated in rip), but neither of them express interest in guys.

Laurie & Miles - Same deal as Mary and Ellody, they go pretty early overall but haven't been shown to like men.

Jen - You'd expect someone of her character archetype to mention looking for 'cute guys' or something similar, but surprisingly no? The closest thing she has would be her friendship with Tom, which is treated as 100% platonic by the show even if you don't take into account the fact that Tom is gay.

Taylor - Another surprising one imo, it's never stated or implied that she likes guys in the show, not even a passing mention from what I've seen which I could've sworn happened on first watch. Mandela effect I guess 🤷

Josee - Similar deal to Jen as far as I'm aware, being that her closest relationship to a guy is with a gay man and treated as platonic throughout the race.

Sanders - Pretty clear-cut, no scenes of her expressing interest in men or romance in general.

MacArthur - "What about Brody?" The only time she's shown to return his affection is during the finale and she's actively trying to throw him off his game by using his crush against him. She only asks Brody to call her in the Surfers ending, which she doesn't do at all in the Cadets ending implying that she's most likely only in it for the money.

Scary Girl/Lauren - While she does hold an interest in Damien, nothing in canon says she's attracted to him, only to the sound of his screams.

Nichelle - Too busy having no lines to talk about boys. seethingwithrage

Millie - Zero attraction to men in canon, the most interactions she has are with and about Priya. She's sorta friendly with Damien, but it doesn't rise anywhere above platonic (probably because she shoved him into a meat grinder but who knows) and actively seems to be disgusted by or otherwise pretty averse to most of the male cast.

MK - Has never been shown to be interested in guys or even romance in general. In fact, she actively seems to dislike it as seen in the episode where Caleb and Priya kiss where she goes “Yeah, that was sweet, but it’s also how you get mono” (this is ace mk propaganda btw). There was also Nichelle's intro in season 1 when she was looking at her starry-eyed, clearly a joke but yk still noteworthy.

Julia - My favorite lesbian <3 zero attraction or hints at attraction to men in canon + listen... we all watched season 2 you know what I'm talking about don't lie. The closest things she has to romantic interactions with men in canon are at most one-sided and always with her actively disliking said man on the other side (Wayne + maybe Ripper in season 1).

[steddieasitgoes]

“Babe! It’s about to start,” Steve calls from his spot on their couch.

Their living room has been taken over by the Party, but unlike twenty years ago when they all would have fit crowded but comfortable in the space, they’re like a can of sardines now. Bodies on top of bodies. Some share dining room chairs, others sprawled out on the floor so they don’t block the TV.

It’s rare they’re all together like this now, just the original Hawkins gang, no kids, no outside significant others, just them.

It needed to be like that.

At least for this.

“Thirty years ago, a small town in Indiana was plagued with a series of misfortune tracing back to government mishandling. Or so the residents were told. While many in the town believed the government story, others became skeptical.

“For the first time ever, we’re talking with a group of citizens who claim to be intimately involved in the events that really happened in a once quiet Indiana town. Stay tuned for a special showing of The Truth Revealed: Hawkins Turned Inside Out.”

“Oh, they were so close,” Dustin chuckles.

“Dammit, Eds! Where are you?” Steve calls again, throwing his body over the open couch cushion as Max tries to claim it.

“The show is starting and he’s not here, so it’s mine now,” she says, pulling on Steve’s arms to get him to move.

“You have Lucas’s lap to sit on!”

“And Eddie has your lap to sit on. Now move!”

Steve’s about to give in when Eddie comes racing down the hallway. The sudden absence of his thunderous footsteps is the only warning sign before he throws himself over the back of the couch and crashes down on Steve’s back as if he’s still a twentysomething year old and not a fiftysomething year old.”

“Seriously, Eds?” Steve groans under the weight of Eddie.

“Aw, baby,” Eddie croons. “Thought you loved being under me.”

The room erupts into a chorus of mock gagging and outrage. It brings Steve right back to the summer of 1986, when he and Eddie’s relationship was new and shocked the kids. They couldn’t even peck each other on the cheek without one of them wanting to gouge their eyes out. In a fun way, of course.

“We still got it,” Eddie laughs, leaning forward to free Steve.

“You guys are disgusting,” Robin laughs from the chair she’s currently sharing with Robin. Bodies pressed so close together they’re practically intertwined. She’s one to talk.

“What are you wearing, babe?” Steve asks, glancing over at Eddie for the first time since he made his dramatic entrance.

Eddie beams. His cheek dimples so big and deep, Steve’s pretty sure he could bury his entire pinky nail into them.

“Thought I’d dress for the occasion,” he shrugs. “What do you think?”

Steve blinks, really taking in Eddie. He’s wearing an old Hellfire Shirt. It’s not the same one he wore during Spring Break 1986 — that one went stayed behind in the Winnebago — but it’s the same design. A leftover from the hoard of shirts Eddie made for his club all those years ago.

It’s a snug fit. The logo stretched taunt across Eddie’s well-loved belly. The bottom of the shirt barely covers his navel, rolling up at the hem. The sleeves still fit though. Nothing’s changed too much about Eddie’s arms, aside from new ink to cover some of the scars.

Eddie’s left no detail unturned. From the black jeans that aren’t as baggy as they used to be, to the chain and bandana in his back pocket. He’s even got his old rings on. The only detail out of line is the missing skull ring he used to wear on his left ring finger. A black band with a gold stripe through it sits there instead.

“You should have told us you were dressing up,” Dustin wines.

“Yeah! I would have found dug mine out of storage,” Mike adds.

“If I told you it wouldn’t have been a surprise!” Eddie smiles, tipping his head back in that satisfied way of his.

“And now it’s time to learn what really happened in Hawkins, Indiana in the 1980s,” the announcer says.

Her booming voice is met with a chorus of shushing and chants to turn it up, all of which are listened to as they settle in to watch themselves reveal what really happened all those years ago.

Of course, it doesn’t stay silent for long as they all chime in with comments, laughter, and even some tears. They may be thirty years removed from the events, but the wounds are still fresh for most of them.

On the final commercial break, Erica checks in with social media on her phone. Shaking her head and mumbling curses under her breath.

“They don’t believe us,” she fumes, typing violently on her phone. “Those idiots. It’s just the facts!”

“We knew we weren’t going to convince everyone,” Lucas says, trying to placate her.

“It was never about them,” El nods. “It was about telling our truth. So we do not have to lie anymore.”

“I know,” Erica groans. “But it’s still annoying. They’re still going to think we’re freaks.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Eddie says.  

They all nod in agreement as the final segment of the show begins. It’s quiet as they watch the final minutes of their own interviews play out on television. They all get asked the same question:

“If you could go back and relive those years without any of these events happening, would you?”

To no one surprise, they all answer no.

But it’s Steve’s answer that gets everyone choked up.

Especially Eddie.

“Absolutely not. I wouldn’t be the man I am today without the shit we went through. I never would have met my platonic soulmate. Or the love of my life. And I would probably be stuck in a miserable cookie-cutter family, instead of the found family I have because of those events. I’d take a thousand more hits to the head or bites to my chest if I had too to keep them around.

“Besides, being normal is overrated. Being a freak is so much better,” on-TV Steve says, winking directly into the camera.

Eddie leaps at Steve, smothering him with over-the-top kisses until the kids are groaning and gauging so loud it drowns out any of the trauma that the documentary might have brought back up.

“I’m changing my answer,” Dustin groans. “I’d go back and make sure you two stayed mortal enemies!”

“Too late, Henderson,” Steve sings. “You already said you wouldn’t go back. It’s immortalized on TV!”

[imfinereallyy]

#38 "i was eavesdropping and i heard something i can’t scrub from my memory" sounds like it could be very funny, especially from a kid's perspective!

you read my mind, it 100% needs be a kid POV, sorry this one is a bit shorter than my usual but it was fun to write. *it actually ended up being longer than I thought cause I have a problem with not knowing when enough is enough lol* ♡

find the request game here

Lucas was going to throw up. He liked to think he had a strong stomach, he really truly did, but this was too much even for him.

“What the hell is your problem?” Max asked him as he came back to Steve’s living room.

“Yea you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Will pipes up, head leaning on his knee.

Lucas swallowed dryly, he had to phrase this carefully. “Well I was eavesdropping…”

Max snorted from her seat on the couch. “You Lucas Sinclair was eavesdropping? Didn’t think I’d ever see the day. What about the whole ‘respect people’s boundaries’ thing you rave about?”

“And I still stand by that! It’s just I didn’t want to interrupt and…” Lucas thought back to a few minutes ago. He had gone into the kitchen to grab Max an ice pack; she was having a bad hip day. When he had reached the door, he had heard Steve and Eddie talking, and it had sounded serious. Lucas felt bad about interrupting, but he also couldn’t go back to Max without the ice pack. They had been good for months now, and he didn’t want to risk it. (He knew this was ridiculous considering they weren’t really that dysfunctional, and she loved him, a reluctant secret smile confession on her end. But there was this deep part of Lucas who was terrified of disappointing her). So he was content with waiting outside the door until they were done.

Lucas really should have turned around and left.

“What if they don’t…want to be around us Stevie?” Eddie whispered.

“Baby they are just kids. They are good kids. They are our friends. They won’t be upset.” Steve murmured back.

This was the point Lucas should have turned around, but he was confused and wanted to understand.

“You aren’t even the slightest bit worried, that maybe they won’t be accepting? I don’t think any of them have been exposed to gay culture, let alone two men dating?”

Oh. Oh no. This was really private. Lucas should have really turned around but at that point, his feet were glued to the ground.

“I mean yea a little bit…they are shitheads. Especially Mike—“ Lucas had to hold back a snort, “—but they are good. It’s why we are friends with them. As much as it pains me to admit we are friends with children.”

Lucas wished he could see their faces.

“What if…what if they are more than shitheads this time?” Lucas had never heard Eddie’s voice sound so small.

“…do you want to wait a little longer?” Steve’s voice asked gently, with no anger.

“If that’s okay. I just…want to live in our bubble a little longer. Well our bubble plus Robin.” Lucas imagined Eddie biting his hair in that moment.

“Yea baby. We take this at the pace you need. And Robin already knows, which is pretty much the only person I can’t keep a secret from. And I like our little bubble too.” Lucas heard shuffling around, like fabric reaching around itself.

“Yea?”

“Yea. I think I can go a little longer without the twerps making gagging noises every time we kiss. We can wait to tell them we’re together.”

“Hmmmm should we do a practice show right now, to prepare for when we need to freak them out?” Eddie’s voice turned suddenly flirty.

“I like the way you think.” This was the last words Lucas heard before the sounds of the two of them clearly heavily making out came through the doorway. It was at the first moan that Lucas ran away.

Lucas was brought back to reality when Max snapped her fingers in his face. “Want to share with the class loser?”

Oh god, Lucas was gonna throw up at the memory.

It wasn’t the fact that they were men and that they were dating. Lucas was, in fact, really happy for them. He had never thought about it, but in a weird way, it made sense. He wanted them to be happy. And if he was really being honest with himself, he was hoping maybe this would get Max to stop staring at Steve when he doesn’t have a shirt on (a few months later, Lucas would be horribly proven wrong of this theory).

It wasn’t this kissing that made him want to vomit either. Sure, the idea of his older brother figure making out with his dungeon master wasn’t a pleasant thought, but he had witness Mike make out with El, so he was pretty immune to grossness.

No, the problem was Lucas realized with great certainty he was going to have to keep a secret.

He gagged at the thought.

Sure, he could keep a whole other dimension and government conspiracy theory a secret from his parents (and, ya know, the world), but he caved relatively quickly when it came to Max. And Max could tell whenever he was lying. But Lucas wasn’t stupid; he knew you couldn’t just tell other people that someone you know is gay. He didn't know the word for it, maybe there wasn’t one, but Lucas knew what it was like to be different. He didn’t want to make Steve and Eddie feel bad, or cause others to be mean to them. He didn’t think the rest of the party would care about the gay? Bisexual? Queer?—wait, that’s a bad word, Lucas thought—it didn’t matter what specifically, but he didn’t think they would care about the gay stuff—more like Lucas knew his friends. El and Max would have a million, invasive questions. Mike would be a dick, but not for serious reasons. More like “I have weird insecurities” reasons. It would probably be good for Will (again, Lucas isn’t stupid). And Dustin, holy shit, he would most definitely either be pissed he didn’t know sooner, or would rub it in everyone’s face that he made it happen. Both of which Lucas knew would be horrible reactions.

God, he was going to throw up. He was going to lie to his friends. His girlfriend. He couldn’t just share this secret. It would go horrible if he told, it’s not his secret! His stupid, stupid friends (not El and Max) would blow up if it came from him first. And then Eddie and Steve would be upset, he told, and they would think that the party hated them for something out of their control, even though they love them no matter what! And oh god, he’s gonna have to lie so much—

He was spiraling, he needed to calm down.

“Lucas?” Max’s face suddenly softened, like she knew he was having a hard time getting the words together. Lucas looked at her face, and took a couple of seconds to count her freckles but lost track quickly. He didn’t mind; he would to start again later. He followed the laugh lines around her eyes that weren’t there last year, and thought about trying to make her laugh.

Max said nothing as he stared, even as the guys pressed him to answer. It was strange, he was terrified of lying to Max, but he knew deep down she would understand. That she would know he was lying but wouldn’t call him out on it.

“I was eavesdropping and I heard something I can’t erase from my memory. I almost walked in on Steve giving sex advice to Eddie, so I walked away before it got gross. I forgot your ice pack; I’m sorry.” Lucas apologized; he did genuinely feel bad he didn’t succeed on his mission.

The guys started chattering behind him, asking questions and yelling out in disgust, but Max stayed quiet for a second, then said, “It’s okay, stalker. Didn’t have high hopes for you anyway. You always get distracted.”

Lucas sent her a grateful smile, and pretended to be offended. “Are you saying I don’t finish what I’ve started? You should know better, Max.”

Max threw her head back, and full body laughed. She scooped Lucas’ hand and wove her pale fingers between his. “That’s me being nice, Lucas. Don’t go around telling people that. Or I’ll have to up the ante.”

Lucas kissed the back of her hand and whispered, “Maybe I like it when you’re a little mean.”

Max blushed and looked to check if the guys were paying attention (they weren’t; they were still arguing over sex they weren’t having), and leaned over to give him a soft kiss on the cheek. Max didn’t ask any questions even though Lucas knew she knew he was lying.

Lucas didn’t let go of her hand, and quietly hoped that Eddie made Steve feel the way Max made him feel.

He deserved something special like that.

**

I need you guys to know that I had to keep backtracking to correct boys into guys, cause I’m so used to writing from an older persons perspective. But I wanted some steddie and lumax mixed together. And Lucas! Deserves! More! Attention!!!

thank you so much for the ask I had so much fun with this one.

[givehimthemedicine]

Max's ratings of the party's skill at hand-feeding her her meals in the hospital

Dustin: makes too big of bites. takes correction well if framed scientifically. strongly suspect he steal bites of desserts. three points off for "here comes the airplane" incident (one point recovered for administering slap to own face). review board will reconsider case after one week probation or sufficient bribes. 6/10

Lucas: nice bedside manner and fork control but patient to a fault. has to be told every time I'm ready for another bite. asks what I want every single bite to be. just do it?? 5/10

El: flawless. perfect portioning. perfect speed. if he touches me again she will kill him again. good bite variety and pacing. no surprises. remembers my likes and dislikes. gentle. fork work so meticulously careful.. nay, graceful.. nay, loving, I could almost dare to hope that shut up Max. always ends on the best bite. never treats me like a baby. my knight in shining armor. I could start crying and choke to death on a broccoli floret and still rate her 11/10

Mike: what is this, a county fair pie eating contest? slow down. "gag me with a spoon" not to be taken literally. must be trying to hit every one of my teeth? unrepentant tongue-stabber. somehow makes the food taste worse. fired halfway through one meal. nice to know I'm still not the one with the worst hand-eye coordination. 1/10

Will: second best after El. intriguing bite composition with inventive combinations that leave me on the edge of my seat. one point off for always bringing Mike. 8/10

[pythoness94]

My opinion on "Chance

Okay, listen, let me ramble for a minute. I don't think Chance is real. To have "Chance" Makes no fucking sense. Sure, it gets Mike jealous, but Mike doesn't need to be jealous for Byler to get together. They can do that on their own time, but from a non-Byler shipping standpoint, it makes no sense too. Chance adds nothing to the plot. What would he do? Why would he care about Will? Why would Will give a fuck about him? Why would Will get over Mike in this season of all times? Why, why, why? and not enough time to answer it. and that's the most pressing issue, time. This is the final season, we can't have Eddie's, Argyle's, and Max's popping up now. Erica's friend (Which is who I think the younger male actor is, the one with the glasses.) can pass because he's probably a minor role. But a whole ass love interest for the main character in the FINAL season. There isn't a spot for him, the cast is to big, there is to many stories going at once, to many dots to connect, for this Chance character to fit in easily. He won't be developed right, he will take away precious time from other characters, and he won't be a satisfying end for Will.

That is the most important part, Will's character ending. From the start Will has been pushed down again, and again, and again. There is a reason that "Will Byers needs a break" is a character tag for ao3, we all want Will to be happy, and a half-baked character introduced THIS season won't be satisfying. We want Will to get what he wants after all the shit he's been put through and some bad Y/N wattpad stand in, isn't what Will wants. He wants Mike, he always wanted Mike, and to not get what he wants at the end of the series would be criminal. it starts and ends with Will. From the start, mike was there, and for the end Mike will be there. Not some rando introduced during like the third episode. Also, is it just me or does Chance not feel very duffer brothers? The way people are saying Chance is introduced doesn't feel like them, it feels like a fanfic. That Wattpad burn wasn't just for fun, it was because of this. Chance feels like the set up to a highschool Byler fanfic. It's like "Oh a new kid comes into town and Will falls in love and that Makes Mike realize what he's been missing. But GASP! What if it's to late!"

That isn't the duffers modus operandi, they don't just put people into ST for like a one-shot gag. Each and every character got developed in some way, even Argyle to an extent. Not one was just a means to an end, Max, Eddie, Argyle, they all fulfilled a purpose and developed along the way. Chance doesn't work like that. One, the time crunch i mentioned early, no time to develop him. Two, without that time, he's a fucking cardboard cut out, he's a means to an end, he's a way to make Mike jealous and get Will a disney love interest, period. So for all these reasons, i don't think Chance is real. I can talk more in the comments and add on more if you want lmao.

[roanofarcc]

PROJECT SUNSHINE CHAPTER SIXTY SIX → SPLIT BLOOD

summary: steve harrington x oc

when another product of Hawkins National Laboratory escaped a long-survived nightmare alongside her sister, she crashed into one unsuspecting teenage boy and dragged him deeper into the dark mysteries that made up their hometown.

word count. 6.2k || masterlist

warnings: cannon typical violence, child abuse, horror, gore, and depictions of mental illness. parts of this story were written pre-season 4 release. cannon divergence.

previous chapter ← → next chapter

tagged list: @leptitlu, @sattlersquarry, @laughing-drawing-aces, @adaydreamaway30

The Rink-o-Mania was a glittering gem in their new hometown. It smelled like hairspray and sweat, the carpet made you dizzy if you looked at it for too long, and the place was swarmed with pre-teens and teenagers. The roller rink was El’s top choice of a place to bring Mike to during spring break. 

Since his arrival hours prior, El and Mike had been connected at the hip in a way that annoyed Leia. She loved her sister, and she tolerated Mike, but she hated how El felt the need to pretend like she was having a blast in California. She hadn’t told Mike about Angela’s bullying, the stress over not having her powers, or anything negative at all. El acted as if her life was all rainbows and sunshine in front of the bony Wheeler boy. Why? Leia had no clue. She thought the whole point of dating someone was to share everything with them, the good and the bad. At least, that was what Sunshine always preached. El’s whole thing was not to lie to your friends, but apparently, that didn’t apply to Mike and El. 

The couple sat on one side of the booth, trying each other’s milkshakes and debating which was one the best. Leia and Will sat across from them and Luke pulled up a chair to the end of the table. Since Mike and El were lost in their own little world, Leia tried to cheer up a rather mopey Will. He’d been in a weird mood since Mike arrived, which also didn’t make much sense since he’d been excited ever since they planned Mike’s trip. 

“It’s all about focus,” said Leia. She stared intensely at the French fry she held. “Focus on the fry and don’t look away until…” She tossed the fry up in the air and caught it in her mouth before she threw her hands up in the air triumphantly.

Will cracked a smile. “Did Max teach you that?” 

Leia shook her head. “Steve, actually. He one time caught a Skittle from clear across Sunshine’s living room. It was crazy.” She picked up another fry and angled her body towards Will. “Now, it’s your turn.” 

Will glanced at Mike and El, who were engrossed in a fit of giggles and looked ready to try to catch the fry until his eyes fell past Leia. His eyes widened slightly as he muttered, “Oh no,” under his breath. Leia turned her head to see what he was looking at and found Angela rolling right toward their table with her gaggle of friends behind her. 

It was their first day of spring break, and Leia thought they’d get a well-deserved break from Angela. 

The blonde slammed her hands down on the back of Luke’s chair, causing him to jump and lean forward in fear of her touching him and being forced to see her future. Plus, passing out in front of the bully was too perfect of amo for her. 

“Where, o-where, have you been hiding this handsome thing, Jane?” Angela said, giving Mike a once over in his stupid shirt and equally stupid expression. It took everything in Leia not to gag. 

El tensed up, flickering her gaze between Mike and Angela. “This is Mike, my boyfriend.” 

Leia had never met a shark before, but she imagined they were similar to Angela. She looked hungry for blood, and El might as well sliced her palm open by introducing Mike as her boyfriend. 

She smirked and extended her hand to Mike. “Angela. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” 

Mike, as clueless as usual, shook her hand with a small smile. “I heard a lot about you. It’s really cool to meet one of El, uh, Jane’s friends.” 

As Angela laughed out the word, “Friends?” Leia wanted to sink down in the booth. Angela’s friends all snickered too, eyeing each other. “Oh, yeah. It’s super cool, huh? Come on, friend, let’s skate.” 

Before El could say anything, Angela grabbed her hand and yanked her out of the booth. Leia was just a second behind, grabbing a hold of El’s other hand. 

“Oh, Ang!” Leia said, her tone dripping in fake niceness. “My sister’s super busy here. But maybe-” 

Angela narrowed her eyes, and Leia worried lasers were about to pop out of the blonde’s icy eyes. “I’m sure she can spare one song,” Angela said, mimicking Leia’s tone. 

“Well, not without me!” 

Gritting her teeth, Angela replied, “Totally.” 

Together, the three girls skated over the carpet and toward the rink. A bad feeling swirled around Leia’s gut as she unsteadily hit the slippery rink, wobbling before she caught herself on the wall. Angela was quick to sweep El away, holding her hands as they glided around the rink with the rest of the crowd. 

Leia had learned, very quickly, that skating was not her strongest suit, no matter how many times Will tried to teach her. She was too unsteady on her feet, but she made use of the wall to pull herself toward her sister. 

Angela was much too quick on the skates for Leia. She dragged El out to the middle of the rink just as the music cut out. Over the speaker, a voice said, “All right everyone! This next one is dedicated to Jane, the local snitch!” 

Leia’s stomach dropped clear to her toes as a spotlight was shined on El, confused and alone in the middle of the rink as the disco ball glittered overhead. 

Walking back inside the school after Angela had tripped El and broken her project, El was called down to the office where she met a furious Angela. Someone else had told the office what Angela had done, and El had no choice but to confirm it. Yet, instead of the actual tattletale, El caught the flack for “snitching” on Angela and earning her detention once school resumed. 

Leia knew about bad guys; she had faced plenty of them in her time, but she had never witnessed someone as vicious as a teenage girl who sought revenge. 

A song played loudly over the speakers, fuzzy on Leia’s ears as she watched Angela and her friends surround El. They laughed and spit insults at her, all while El stood there with tears in her eyes and her hands covering her ears. 

Anger overwhelmed Leia. She screamed, “Stop!” as the lights started to spark, and the music sputtered. The bullies all slowed but didn’t stop. A gap was created in the circle they had formed around El, letting one of Angela’s friends through. He held a cup of something and threw the contents of it at El. A chocolate milkshake dripped down El’s dress, staining the fabric. She fell backward in surprise, crashing against the ground in a puddle of milkshake. 

Even louder laughter erupted from all corners of the rink. Leia pushed off the wall with all her might and let her skate carry her right to the circle where Angela stood over El with a smug look on her pale face. Leia barreled right into Angela, sending both of them to the ground beside El. 

“What the hell?!” she yelled. 

Leia scrambled to her knees. “What is wrong with you?” she yelled back at Angela. 

Angela had a look of pure rage in her eyes. “Excuse me? What-” She too had attempted to push herself off the ground but let out an obviously fake yelp of pain before cradling her arm. “Ow! You hurt my arm.” She garnered sympathy from the crowd, but Leia didn’t buy it for one second. 

Adrenaline pumped through her veins. It had been months since Leia had been in a fight and if she were being honest with herself, as much as she enjoyed having a “normal” life, a part of her missed the quick beat of her heart in her chest and the push in her brain to never back down from a fight. Survival instincts were most of what she knew, fighting bad men and monsters didn’t translate smoothly to fighting a teenage girl, but that was all Leia knew. 

She somehow managed to stand up without falling over in her skate and towered over Angela. With hands clenched in fists, the lights in the rink started to flicker in beat with Leia’s heartbeat. A couple of people noticed the lights and watched them with confusion, but most people were too engrossed in what was going to happen between Leia and Angela. 

“I’ll make it hurt a lot worse if you ever mess with my sister again!” Leia threated. Before she could do anything rash, Luke tugged harshly on the back of Leia’s shirt. 

“That’s enough,” he warned, flickering his gaze nervously between her and the lights that were on the verge of raining sparks down upon the crowd. “You have to stop,” he whispered in a rushed breath. 

She stared at her twin in disbelief. “Are you serious? We’re just gonna let her do that-” 

“She already did it!” Luke said. “Don’t make it worse. Focus on El.” 

Leia clenched her jaw so tight it ached and angry tears welled up in her eyes. It wasn’t fair that people, whether they were grown men or teenage bullies, got away with doing bad things. What was the point of having what the party called “superpowers” if Leia couldn’t use them to stop people from doing bad things, from making them pay? 

Both Will and Mike had joined them in the rink and helped El to her feet. She brushed them off before she bolted. Mike moved to chase after her but was stopped by one of Angela’s friends who blocked his path. 

“Look at this, we’ve got the whole freak squad here!” the kid said, melting the tension back into laughter that echoed from all around. 

Still cradling her arm, Angela too was helped to her feet as she glared at the group. “Get lost, freaks!” 

Leia lurched forward again, but Luke was still holding onto the back of her shirt. She gave up with a sharp exhale, glaring daggers at Angela as a chorus of laughter followed them off of the rink. If Luke hadn’t been there, she was sure she would have fried Angela to a crisp and she wouldn’t have been sorry. Leia only wished he’d drop his responsible-ness for one moment. 

“Shit,” Mike hissed, looking around. “El’s gone.” 

“She probably just needs a minute,” said Will. He crossed his arms as he faced Mike. “Do you believe me now?” 

Mike ran a hand through his outgrown hair with a sigh. “Why didn’t she tell me she was having trouble here?” 

Luke rubbed his temples in a way that was reminiscent of how Sunshine often did when she was stressed. Leia wished Sunshine was there now; she’d know exactly what to do and how to fix it. 

“Because, Mike, El didn’t want you to worry about her,” said Luke. 

“I know what this is like, though! I’ve been bullied since kindergarten. El’s seen it! She knows she can talk to me, so why didn’t she?” 

A beat passed as Luke seemed to think carefully about his next words, as he always did. “Did you ever fight back?” 

Both Mike and Will had an odd look on their face. 

“Every time we tried, it only made it worse,” Will said after a moment.

“Well, El’s been fighting back since forever. She used to it working, to winning, but she doesn’t have her abilities anymore. She doesn't know how else to fight back and she doesn’t know how to lose. She pretends like it doesn’t bother her because why should it? We’ve all faced things a lot scarier than Angela.” 

Mike scanned the area for any sign of El, wearing a frown on his lips. “It’s different,” he said quietly. “Bullies and Demogorgons and different.” 

“Not to her. She doesn’t know how to fight either now.” 

El believed she was utterly powerless, and Leia imagined she’d feel the same way if she had been the one to lose her powers. They were a part of them, intertwined in their lives. Even though it was untrue, Leia felt like she needed her powers in the same way she needed her lungs or her heart. El, even without her powers, was still alive and kicking. She had to relearn how to function; Leia knew that couldn’t be easy. 

The crowd carried on like nothing had happened, which only made Leia more upset, but she tried to focus on El. 

“We should split up and look for her. When we find her, let’s call John and get the hell out of here,” she said, and they all agreed. Will and Mike weren’t done with their conversation and split up together while Luke and Leia took to opposite sides of the building to search. 

Leia looked in the girls’ restroom, a backroom with a pool table, and all around the far side of the building but El was nowhere to be seen. They each searched for at least ten minutes until they had looked over the place twice. The only places they hadn’t touched were the rooms labeled “employees only” but before they could search those, a blood-curdling scream erupted throughout Rink-o-Maina. 

Startled, Leia followed the noise and met with Mike, Will, and Luke who all had the same fear. 

They all shoved their way through a crowd that had gathered only to find El in the middle of the crowd, in her chocolate-stained dress with a roller blade clutched white-knuckled in her hand. On the ground in front of her, with a waterfall of blood pouring from a nasty cut between her eyebrows, was Angela. She was sobbing and being weakly consoled by her friends as El stood over her with the bloodied skate. 

“Holy shit,” Mike mumbled. 

El’s shoulders shook before she dropped the skate. It clattered to the ground as Leia sucked in a sharp breath. 

Looking side to side, Leia tried to plan a quick escape, but there were too many people and too many witnesses of a crime that wouldn’t be seen as equal to what brought it on. Because most people didn’t meet bullies with the same tactics as fighting monsters. Most people didn’t know monsters existed at all. All they knew was good and bad, and it was clear at that moment, El was bad in the eyes of everyone who surrounded them. 

→←

A thick layer of fog blanketed Hawkins, leaving an eeriness in the air. Sunshine and the rest of the group clamored out of Steve’s car and onto the property where Calum was sure Eddie Munson was hiding. In just a couple of hours, the entire town was convinced Eddie had murdered the cheerleader, Chrissy Cunningham, but Dustin and Calum remained certain he couldn’t have done it. 

The house on the property was dark and no cars sat in the driveway. Dustin rang the doorbell one too many times while the rest of them peeked in the windows for any movement. There was no answer, which led to Dustin calling out loudly for Eddie or Rick, the homeowner. 

Sunshine followed Max around the front of the home to the side yard, where they spotted a shed. If Eddie was hiding, the house was too logical of a spot to be found, but the shed wouldn’t be the first place someone checked for someone. They called the group’s attention to the shed and headed towards it. 

The possibility of something once again lurking in Hawkins and the fog created the perfect awful atmosphere. The door to the shed creaked loudly as Steve pushed it open. It was dark and dusty inside, not the ideal place to hang out in. 

Using flashlights from Dustin’s bag and the Family Video supply closet, they searched the shed for any sign of life. There was an abundance of junk lying around, which made a plethora of hiding spots. 

A sudden whacking sound startled Sunshine into spinning around. Steve was in the middle of the shed, holding a boat ore and stabbing it into a row boat filled with tarps and more junk. 

“What are you doing?” Dustin asked. 

“He might be in here.” He stabbed the tarp a bit forcefully. 

Dustin winced, probably at the thought of Eddie being under there. “So take the tarp off!” 

Gesturing to the boat, Steve said, “If you’re so brave, you take the tarp off.” 

Dustin ignored Steve by turning his back to him and continued to search while Steve continued to hit the tarps. 

Sunshine trailed her eyes over the dusty ground for some kind of sign that Eddie had been there. 

“Come on, Eddie,” Calum called out. “It’s me, man. If you’re here, we’re just trying to help.” 

There was no response. 

“Someone’s been here,” Max said, pointing her flashlight at a collection of food wrappers and a half-drunk bottle of beer. The food was only picked at and didn’t look like it had been sitting there long. 

“Maybe he heard us and got spooked?” suggested Robin. 

“Well, don’t worry, guys. Steve will get him with his oar,” Dustin said, pricking Steve’s nerves quite obviously. 

With a pointed jab of the oar, Steve glared at Dustin. “I know you think you’re being funny, but considering everyone in this room has nearly died a hundred times, personally, I don’t find it funny in the-” 

In what Sunshine could only describe as a horror movie scene, something erupted from the bundled tarps in the boat with a yell. Everyone jumped and yelped in surprise as that something turned out to be someone who launched themselves straight at Steve. 

Before anyone could comprehend what was happening, Steve was slammed up against the shed wall with a thud before Eddie Munson held a broken beer bottle to his throat. Sunshine snapped out of her shock and raced across the room towards Steve. 

Eddie’s hands shook as one pinned Steve’s shoulder and the other held the sharp bottle dangerously close to Steve’s neck. He may have been the person they were looking for, a supposedly innocent boy who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but Sunshine cared very little about his innocence at that moment. 

She grabbed a handful of Eddie’s vest, which caught him by surprise, and pulled him back so hard he fell onto the ground. Kali was right behind Sunshine, kicking Eddie’s wrist to force him to let go of the beer bottle before she kicked the makeshift weapon away before he could make a grab for it. 

“Wait, wait, wait!” Dustin shouted, waving his hands around frantically. “Everybody, stop!” 

Sunshine placed herself in the space between Eddie, who sat wide-eyed and dazed on the floor, and Steve. 

For a moment, it looked like Eddie was going to try to get up, but he was stopped by Calum who crouched down beside him and placed a careful hand on his shoulder. “Hey, dude, just relax.” 

Sunshine had seen plenty of scared people in her life, the look they got on their faces when fear held them tightly wasn’t something easy to forget. Eddie had that look, a trembling chin, eyes blown wide as if they were too scared to blink, and a hollowness to his features as if a shadow had been cast over them. 

“These are my friends,” Dustin said. “They’re not here to hurt you. We’re here to help.” 

It took a moment for Dustin’s words and Calum’s gaze to settle into Eddie. Once they did, he slumped his shoulders in defeat of sorts. The two boys helped him to his feet while Sunshine turned her attention onto Steve who rubbed his throat and breathed heavily. 

“Are you okay?” she asked, reaching up and gently knocking his hand away so she could make sure Eddie didn’t do any damage with his broken beer bottle. 

Steve let go of the oar he’d been holding, letting it clatter against the ground. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He reached up and grabbed her hand, intertwining his fingers with her in reassurance for both of them. “You looked ready to kick his ass.” Steve’s tone was teasing, and Sunshine tried not to think about her almost violent outburst at Calum a day prior. 

With a shrug, she replied, “I didn’t want to freak him out even more by with my…you know.” Still, she probably could have handled that better than pushing Eddie to the ground, but he was holding a jagged glass to Steve’s throat. 

A smile graced Steve’s lips. “Very considerate,” he teased. She felt some tension roll off her shoulders, but there was still a knot in her gut that was too stubborn to unravel. 

Eddie had taken a seat against the wall with his knees pulled up to his chest, making him look small. For someone who loudly walked around school with his large, sliver rings, rock and roll hairstyle, and carefree attitude, it was odd to see him look hollow. It was reminiscent of how Calum looked after he had spotted the Mind Flayer in the woods or when Max first spotted the Demogorgon in the junkyard. It was an unnatural fear that one’s mind had a hard time making sense of. 

Calum and Dustin kneeled in front of Eddie, while Robin hovered over them, nervously fiddling with her flashlight. “We just want to know what happened,” she said. 

“You don’t believe me,” Eddie sniffled. 

“Try us,” said Max, her arms crossed over her chest. 

Something on Eddie’s face shifted as he glanced around the shed at all of them. There was nothing but sincerity on their faces, a mutual understanding of the horrors that had taken place in Hawkins. Whether they had seen the inside of Hawkins Lab, full-sized baby Demogorgons, or Starcourt Mall, each of them had an understanding of what Eddie was experiencing if the cause of Chrissy’s death was related to the Upside Down. 

“Chrissy, h-her body just, like, lifted into the air and she hung there. Her bones…” Eddie’s voice cracked as he spoke, and a chill seemingly ran through his body as he shivered at the memories. “Her bones started to snap.” Sunshine’s body reacted similarly, a chill racing down her arms. 

“Her eyes, man. It was like there was something inside her head pulling,” Eddie continued, avoiding the heavy gaze of everyone surrounding him. “I…I didn’t know what to do so I ran away. I left her there.” He paused, hanging his head in shame. “You guys think I’m crazy, right?” 

“No,” Dustin said. “We don’t.” 

“Don’t bullshit me, man!” Eddie yelled, burying his head in his hands. “I know how this sounds.” 

“We’re not bullshitting you,” Max said. 

Robin then added, “We believe you.” 

A sigh fell from Dustin’s lips as he glanced over his shoulder and met Sunshine’s eye. He was no longer a little kid anymore, but Sunshine still saw him as such as he silently asked her if it was okay for him to delve into the real story of Hawkins. It caused a dull ache in her chest, the idea of all of the growing up so quickly and still being forced to deal with the same bullshit over and over again. 

With a nod, she gave him the go-ahead, even though it wasn’t her story to tell alone anymore. 

“Look,” Dustin began. “What I’m about to tell you might be a little difficult to take.” Eddie looked up, his brows furrowed. “You know how people say Hawkins is cursed? Well, they’re not…that far off. There’s another world, one hidden beneath Hawkins, and sometimes it bleeds into ours.” 

Eddie looked confused, rightfully so. “Like ghosts and shit?” 

“There are some things worse than ghosts,” Max said, a dark and hollow tone in her voice that only caused the chill in Sunshine’s bones to worsen. She shuttered, letting out a bated breath. 

“This other word is home to monsters, monsters that we thought were gone. But they’ve come back before. That’s why we needed to find you,” said Dustin. 

Clearing her throat, Sunshine tried to rid herself of the dread creeping through her body before she spoke. “If they’re back, we need to know.” 

“That night, did you see anything? Dark particles, maybe? Something that looked like swirling dust,” asked Max, but Eddie shook his head and rubbed his bloodshot eyes. 

“No, man. There was nothing you could see or touch.” His expression turned even more grim, which Sunshine didn’t think was possible. “I tried to wake her up, but she couldn’t move. It was like she was in a trance or something.” 

Dustin gasped, the noise he always made when a realization fell over him. “Or she was under a spell.” 

There was a pause as Eddie studied the kid’s face. Much like how Dustin, Mike, Lucas, and Will often looked at one another when they were working through an issue together, Dustin and Eddie shared a similar stare, as if they could read each other’s minds. 

“Or under a curse,” Eddie said. 

Dustin’s eyes widened. “Vecna’s curse.” 

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose, probably feeling the same way most of them did when the kids brought up D&D. Their comparison of the monsters from the Upside Down to their game was helpful but confusing. 

“Who’s Vecna?” he asked. 

Dustin took his eyes off Eddie and stared at the group with a familiar twinkle of fear in his eyes. “An undead creature of great power.” 

“They're spell casters,” added Calum, who also seemed to be in the know of Dustin and Eddie’s D&D talk. 

Eddie swallowed thickly before he whispered, “A dark wizard.” 

The office in the Torres house had been turned into a guest bedroom since Sunshine had returned home and adopted a gaggle of kids and friends who were always hanging around. Her parents had no issue with converting the space; they enjoyed the change of their once somber and quiet home. 

Sunshine lingered in the doorway of the office, watching as Kali unlaced her combat boots. “Are you sure you don’t need anything?” she asked for what had to be the fourth or fifth time. 

Kali hadn’t said much since they returned to Hawkins, which Sunshine couldn’t blame her for. Not only did she drag Kali into a townwide witch hunt for the murderer of Chrissy Cunningham, but also for the reemergence of a creature from the Upside Down. 

In all honesty, Sunshine was surprised Kali was still there.

“I’m sure,” Kali replied, setting her boots side by side on the floor with a certain care. 

Sunshine hesitated, knowing that she needed to leave Kali alone to sleep, but she couldn’t stop the guilt that bubbled up in her throat. “I’m sorry,” she blurted out. Kali glanced up, face stoic. “Again, for bringing you into this. I didn’t know any of this would be waiting for us when we got back. I wanted to show you the good parts of Hawkins. But, as you’ve seen, there are still bad parts too.” 

With her bare feet pulled up onto the bed and her face washed of dark makeup, Kali looked a lot younger, softer, which was probably the reason she wore the makeup in the first place. 

“When Jane found me in Chicago, she spoke a little about the Upside Down and the monsters. I’d been curious, I’ll admit,” Kali said. “I’d get close to here, stop a town or two over, and read the paper. They never said anything about another world, obviously, but after what Jane told me, I assumed…” she trailed off for a moment, glancing at her folded hands in her lap. “I don’t know why I want to understand it. It’s their fault, the Lab’s, and they should have to deal with it and the consequences. But they won’t.” 

A sad smile fell across Sunshine’s face. “People like them, bad people, they rarely ever get what they deserve. I know this town, as Dustin said, is cursed. But-” 

Kali cut her off. “But there are still people here you care for. I don’t understand why you or your friends feel like it's your job to protect these people when I doubt they’d do the same for you, but for whatever reason you do.” 

It was hard to say if the people of Hawkins, having been in the group’s shoes, would have tried to save the town as many times as they had. Maybe not, but that was why it was their group that had stumbled upon the truth. It all happened to them by chance, but it had become their mess to clean up because there was no one else to. 

“I’m not asking you to stay and help.” 

Kali laughed dryly. “Yeah, well a ‘dark wizard’ sounds pretty intense. You don’t have Jane or the twins here either. I imagine you’d do most of the heavy lifting, right?” 

She shrugged. “You’d be surprised; they’re all pretty good at monster hunting, even the kids. But if I can do most of the fighting, I try.” Because it felt like her responsibility. 

Something flickered across Kali’s face, something like recognition. “You sound like her, like Ivy.” 

Sadness panged inside Sunshine’s chest. The twins and El didn’t remember much about Ivy, but Kali was older and had known her a little longer than they had. 

“She’s always in my head,” Sunshine admitted. 

“Yeah, that’s what she was best at.” Kali cleared the subtle prick of emotion in her voice by clearing her throat. “What I’m trying to say is, I’m already here. I may as well try to help you all go after this…this wizard murderer or whatever.” 

Sunshine couldn’t help but smile softly as she nodded. “Then we better get some sleep.” 

The two girls bid each other goodnight before Sunshine retreated to her bedroom, her whole body heavy with tiredness but her mind was racing. 

Steve had already made himself comfortable on her bed, absentmindedly gazing at the stars on her ceiling. Instead of joining him, she beelined for her bookshelf where she kept her journals. They were full of stories and memories from the Lab, some of which she had written happy endings for the children lost. The memories were what she was looking for, things that had occurred that she had once blocked out but that had started to rush back to her. Since she had been recalling more and more, she began jotting down everything so she wouldn’t forget it again- even if she wanted it. It felt important to remember, no matter how awful the memories were. 

As she skimmed through the pages, she wondered if she could find anything relating to the “dark wizard” that may have its claws sunk into Hawkins. A Gate to the Upside Down was opened at the Lab the night she and El had escaped, but that didn’t mean the other world hadn’t bled into Hawkins before. Maybe there was another instance, something she could recall somewhere in her writing. 

“What’re you doing?” Steve asked, trying to stifle a yawn. 

“I’m trying to see if something like this has happened before.” Steve stood up, dressed in his PJs, and made his way over to her. 

“You know, this can wait until the morning,” he said gently, wrapping his arms loosely around her waist and pressing a quick kiss to her shoulder. 

Sunshine didn’t shrug him off, but she didn’t stop her pursuit. “When Eddie was talking about what happened to Chrissy, I got this weird feeling. I don’t what it meant, but what if this wasn’t the first time something like that had happened?” Worry seeped into her tone, drenching the air. 

“You don’t think you’d remember watching someone’s bones break?” 

She shuttered and he muttered a quick sorry. “You’d think,” she sighed. What Eddie described was graphic and awful, but Sunshine had witnessed a lot of awful things at the Lab. “I don’t know; I didn’t remember a lot of things that had happened until recently. I don’t know how something like that could have happened back then, but we know that the Upside Down doesn’t play by a rulebook. Who knows how many times Hawkins has been exposed to the Upside Down without anyone really realizing it.” 

Her skimming through the pages became more frantic as she tried to soothe the growing itch in her brain, but her eyes were hardly focusing on the words. Steve must’ve sensed her frustration. He unwound one arm from her waist and plucked the journal from her hands. She protested, trying to grab it back but he held it out of reach. 

“I promise, we’ll look more into it tomorrow. We will figure this out, but we gotta get some sleep first, okay?” 

“Something is out there-” 

“I know,” Steve said quickly. He placed the journal back on the shelf before running his hands down the length of her arms. “But you know how this goes. We’ll regroup tomorrow and figure out all that we can about this Venca thing.” 

Sunshine closed her eyes with a sigh, knowing he was right. “I don’t want anything bad to happen. Or anything worse than what’s already happened.” 

Steve pressed a kiss to her forehead and she melted into his chest, letting a blanket of comfort wash over her. “We won’t let it.” They stayed like that for a moment, before Sunshine was ready to give up her research for the night. “You never did tell me how your trip went,” he said. “Kali seems cool; scary, but cool. But I don’t really understand how or why Calum’s here.” 

Something between a sigh and a groan fell from Sunshine’s lips. She broke apart from Steve and sat on the edge of her bed with the ghost of two men’s blood on her hands. “It was a disaster.” 

Steve furrowed his brows. “What do you mean?” 

“I was only gone for a day and I’m pretty sure I’m never allowed back in Indy ever again.” 

“It couldn’t have been that bad-” 

“Two people were murdered,” Sunshine cut him off, burying her head in her hands. 

There was a beat of silence before Steve cleared his throat and lowered himself onto the bed beside her. “Okay, well, that’s not…great. What happened?” 

She wanted to cry again, hot and shameful tears welled up in her eyes. “I don’t know.” She explained Kali’s revenge plan and how they had spoken to two men from the Lab who were connected to Dr. Brenner and Calum’s father. Only their visits ended in the men's deaths from hands unknown. 

Wiping a few tears that had escaped, Sunshine shook her head solemnly. “Sometimes I don’t feel like it’s just Hawkins that’s cursed; I think I am too,” she said. “I know they weren’t good men, but did they deserve to die like that?” 

Steve brushed his thumb across her cheek, clearing the stray tears she missed with a frown on his lips. “Honestly? I don’t know, Sunshine. But I don’t think you’re cursed.” Sunshine wanted to refute him, list out every bad thing that she had been too close to, but he spoke before she could. “I think you had something awful happen to you, and as much as I wish it could all just go away and we could forget about all of it, we’re not there yet. All of these bad things that have happened weren’t because of you, though.” 

She felt like it was though. She felt connected to everything, bleeding unluckiness into everyone’s lives who she’s touched. Sunshine liked being a problem solver; she liked to fix things, but she had not yet figured out how to fix herself. 

“Hey, I know that look,” Steve said cupping her jaw with both hands, carefully forcing her attention onto him. “Get out of your head, Sunshine.” 

That was much easier said than done. Lately, it had felt like her mind was holding her hostage. She reached for her necklace, something that always helped bring her back to reality alongside Steve, but her fingers once again met her bare collarbones. Another wave of sadness crashed over her. 

“Oh,” she sniffled. “I lost it,” she muttered miserably. 

“Lost what?” 

“My necklace. I lost it in Indy.” 

Steve glanced down at the space where her necklace had lied since he and Nancy had gifted it to her on her very first Christmas back in Hawkins. 

Before he could say anything, Sunshine rushed out, “I’m sorry,” feeling awful. “You and Nancy gave me a gift and I…I don’t even know how it came off. I should have gone back and looked but…” A hiccup broke up her sentence. 

“I’ll get you another one,” he said simply. “You don’t need to apologize, you were a little busy.” 

Sunshine tilted her head to the side, her stomach turning uneasily in the same fashion it had been since the day prior. “You’re not mad?” 

He pressed a quick kiss to her lips and smiled lightly. “Of course not.” She let out a small breath, not understanding what did to deserve him. 

“But I am tired,” he said, yawning again. Together, they crawled under the covers of Sunshine’s bed with her head on his chest and his arm tossed loosely over her waist. She listened to the sound of his heartbeat until sleep pull her under tossed her into a storm of dreams.

[sayyourprayers]

Don’t see how the rest of ships are any better endgame material than Lumax. I would say they all are worse.

Half of the couple is an insufferable manchild plus a cop

One step away from becoming a Reddit incel x Girl doesn’t know what words 'friend' and 'promise' mean but knows when to attempt to kiss incel and when you kiss someone few episodes later

Wait, Mike likes Will back?

Jonathan who

Anyone that thinks Steve telling Nancy he fantasizes about having six little nuggets with her is OK or romantic needs to be lobotomized

they're not. Lumax clears. The only ship I like better than theirs is Duzy. They're not too prominent and are portrayed exactly like a teenage romance is supposed to be. So even though they're not as important (or maybe BECAUSE) I love them.

Lumax has layers and is treated with seriousness and actually has some dynamism - even if it's on/off it's not just a gag.

Max being a bad girlfriend is a great way to misread intent. A show is not just what you see, but most importantly what it's trying to show you. We then label it good or bad, depending on how successfully it manages to express itself without relying on the audience to make do with "directions". For eg. you sometimes know a situation is sad even if the situation itself didn't make you sad. Like in MY case, El yelling Papa a bajillion times is annoying but I'm not daft enough to take that as being the show's intent. No. We are supposed to feel bad for her and agree that horrible things are happening.

Max being made the centre of Lumax is not the intent of the ship, but a writing flaw that has been previously pointed out and summarily dismissed by the high white council of analysts. The Duffers have trouble writing for characters testing positive for melanin. They also have a problem writing for people not El or Hopper. The characters they write most for are the ones better off among the gang of characters (except El - but she's OPed as hell so maybe not even that)

Nancy Hopper El Steve Mike - see a pattern?

In fact Max has the most interesting arc of the whitewalkers. And yes Lucas serves her story, but before hers it was someone else's. How is it a criticism of Lumax and not strangerwriters? What purpose does bad Lumax serve in the show? Just for shits?

Too many people overcomplicating things, acting like they're watching some Chris Nolan mindfuckery and it's people who wrote "you're the heart mike". Get serious. Watch other shows and films. The Duffers would thank y'all for not writing theses that make them look dumber than usual.

[sugarsfics]

Crushing On The Babysitter

Summary: Eddie finally has the courage to ask out his crush. What happens when she is babysitting? Not just babysitting anyone, he little sheep. Those same sheep he just told that having a crush is force conformity.  

A/N: Hiiii I'm Sugar this is my first fic and so many more to come so enjoy;)

Warnings: Use of Y/N, fluff, horrible writing.

Word count: 1.0k

Eddie fake gags as he watches Lucas stare at Max with the biggest heart eyes ever. As he looks around the table, he sees that almost all the boys have their eyes on someone, except for Mike and Dustin who are arguing on who's girlfriends are better. “Boys!” he says as he slams his lunch box on the table. “ Have you all been taken in my the dark side of the female gaze” he continues “Yes they are nice to look at but would they really want to be with us, us freaks it is all just force conformity” Dustin pipes in “Well Mike and I do have girlfriends” “ Still not believing till I see them, but as I was saying before they want you to look to fall in love for you to buy them stupid crap and that money that you are spending to make your “lover” happy goes straight to the big man’s pocket, that is way I never had or never will have a crush” oh boy was that a lie. 

Eddie has been hung up on the same girl since 8th grade. Y/N L/N. Just like him you were an outcast, a nerd. Your older brother was the founder of Hellfire and was very welcoming to Eddie. Sophomore year, your brother graduated and passed on the torch to you. Eddie was head over heels for you but was too scared that you did not like him. Oh boy was he wrong. After having many talks with Uncle Wayne, he was ready to ask you out. He asks you to meet him in the Hellfire room but then he got the worst news of his life, he failed senior year. He spent the rest of the day in his van smoking and fell asleep. When he woke up it was 5 pm and ran out and the parking lot was empty, your car was nowhere to been found. He apologized the next day and asked to talk to you again tonight, but you were busy. He never got the courage again then you graduated leaving him behind.  

He got home we you on his mind, as if Uncle Wayne were reading his mind ���You would never believe who I saw at the store today” “Who” “Y/N L/N” Eddie’s heart skipped a beat hearing your name “Really?” “Yeah, she said she has been in town for about a month-” “Do you know how long she is staying” “Boy I did not ask her 21 questions” Eddie got a ran to his room “What are you doing” Eddie comes out with a nicer shirt on, his wallet, and a letter “Doing something I should have done a long time ago.  

You have watched the boys every Friday and Saturday since they were 5. It was always Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will and you at your house or the wheeler’s basement playing D&D and watching movies. Even though you would have thought that you would stop watching the boys since they were now in high school but nope here there are. You plated the food for Mike, Dustin, and Lucas you almost grabbed a four plate out of habit for will, oh how you missed Will. Then the doorbell rang followed by rapid knocking. “Boys come eat” the three boys ran to the dining room. You open the door not excepting the person who was on the other side 

“Eddie?” he was frozen, how could you get more beautiful he thought. “Earth to Eddie” as you wave your hand in front of him. “Oh, sorry hi hey how are you” “I am doing great you?” “I am doing good oh oh these are for you” he brings beautiful boutique of red roses to your face. “Oh, wow thank you Eddie” “No problem I heard that they are the symbol of love so-” “EDDIE?” You both look behind you to see the boys staring at you guys. “Eddie what are you doing here with roses?" says mike Eddie’s face flushed a bright red “I- um – I – Well you see- I was-” “Boys go eat your dinner” “But-” “Now” they walk into the dining room but stay near the wall to hear you guys. “ I didn’t know you knew the freshman” “Yes those are my boys remember the littles one I used to babysit” “ Oh my god those are them” “Yeah isn't it crazy, but why did you stop by” “Oh yea well um listen so the night I stood you up I wanted to tell you something but then something happened, you the whole not graduating thing, then you got busy so um-” he spins and fishes something out of his pocket “ Here!” He gave you a letter. “What is this” “Read it, it will they you everything that I was going to tell you and so much more” he starts walking away until you pull his jacket “Stay, let me read it with you here with me” “Oh um yeah sure” he nervously laughs.

Dear Y/N I haven't got you out of my mind since the first day we met. I have been wanting to tell you this for so long but scared that your brother will banish me, or you just plain out would like me so here I goes. I really really really I could write so many really and it still would express how much I like you. You are funny, smart, beautiful, and so many more things and I really like you so much so will you give me a chance and go on a date with me? -Eddie M 

“Wow Eddie why didn’t you tell me this before” “I was too scared really” “Well that suck” “Sucks?” “Yeah because if you would have told me before you would have had yourself a girlfriend maybe now if you ask so kindly” “Wait really you like me too” “Duh” “Oh wow in that case Y/N L/N will you please let me, Eddie Munson, take you on a date and have the best night of your night” “ Yes” You make arrangements then kiss him on the cheek. The boys run to their seats as they are here the door closed “What” you look that the boys “Nothing” they say in unison. Oh boy were they going to tease Eddie Monday at school.  

[jaegerisim]

Screaming And Crying (and kissing in the rain).

*enters your dashboard visibly disheveled* heeeeyyyy y'all, it's me ya girl w a new AU!!! haha dw all of my fics will be finished, um, eventually. Someday.... Anyways this is for my moodboard that got waaaayy too much attention than anticipated. Enjoy! 💕🌈

TW: smoking

Tagging the lovelies interested: @foodiewithdahoodie @mikeslawyer @will--byers @aidyaiden @big-sad-for-byler @booksandpaperss @over-rated-cheese @embarrassing-nerd @maru-chu @callmetheidiot @moviebyers @chic-ultimate @conanssummerchild @rotessaboggs @willthecleric @sageyshideaway @melaniesmpo if anyone wants to be tagged too just tell me in the comments!

Link to AO3

One of these days Will was going to fire his manager. The manager in question being his beloved stepsister, El Hopper.

"So I'm supposed to believe you forgot Mike fucking Wheeler is gonna play my love interest? You just conveniently forgot, right? Fucking great!" Will paced his living room back and forth. He was on the verge of hysteria. It didn't help his mood that Dan, his boyfriend, had cheated on him. That fucking asshole.

"Just calm down, Will. I know you and Mike have a complicated history between the two but you need to do this" reasoned El, calmly sipping from her mug of coffee.

"Do what? A gay rom-com with Mike Wheeler playing my boyfriend? How is that gonna help? How is that gonna change the fact that him and I detest each other. How?" demanded Will, throwing himself on top of his couch, like the dramatic person he is.

"Oh, the tragedy! You and Mike have to make-out! Oh, the horrors!" interrupted Max Mayfield, Will's best friend, eating a baguette.

Will plucked the baguette from her hand and took a bite from it.

"Oh, shut up. Besides I doubt you guys want to see Lucas anymore than I want to see Mike!" snapped Will, knowing he'd hit a sore subject for both girls.

Max pressed her lips in a fine line. "Lucas will probably ignore me, which is what you should do with Mike! Ignore his antiques and live your life."

"Besides why do I need to do this?" spoke Will while chewing.

"Ew, gross. Swallow before talking, for fucks sake!" Max gagged.

"Will, I need you to get this through your thick skull, m'kay? You are an actor, right? Well your job is acting then. Not living off the press and media like a leech." scolded El, and she did have a point. Will had been living off the press for the last 2 years with romantic scandals and modelling jobs.

"Fine, I'll do it. Whatever. I don't care, but if this movie flops it's your fault!" Will wags his finger between Max and El, for emphasis.

"If you'd even bothered to read the script you would know this movie isn't going to flop." The red haired huffed

"I don't need to read to know it's gonna flop 'cause Mike and I are gonna play boyfriends and we are rivals! He is my nemesis, even! I can't stand his smug, freckled face!" Will let out a frustrated groan. "I need a smoke. Max, you coming?"

Max gave El a small kiss on the lips and followed Will to the garden.

"How can I play Mike's boyfriend without gagging. We have 0 chemistry! Who the fuck casted this shit?" said Will lighting his cigarette and passing the lighter over to Max

"First of all, the casting was done by Robin Buckley and the director is Murray Batman, so you keep your mouth shut." snapped Max, she was Mr. Bauman's greatest admirer. "Second of all, you guys used to have loads of chemistry. Remember when the 6 of us used to interviews together?"

Will turned over to look at Max, whose eyes glinted with nostalgia in the moonlight.

He took a long drag and exhaled slowly, Max mimicked him.

"That was when we were 15, Max. Nine fucking years ago. We haven't talked since then. How are we supposed to show chemistry? Anyways, it's not like I have much of a choice, do I?" Will sighed, softly. He remembered his teenage years with Mike. The both of them were wild and free. Not worrying about scandals and reputations.

"Do you want to be my friend?"

"Yes."

"Nope." she answered.

"Ok. Well, I'm guessing the both of you are characters too, right?"

Will threw his cigarette on the floor and stepped on it. The red-haired woman did the same.

"Yeah, El plays your childhood best friend and I play the antagonist. I'm Mike's stepsister and in love with you." Max rolled her eyes.

"Ew."

"I know, thankfully you only kiss Mike. Lucas plays your coworker and El's love interest. Dustin is your kind neighbour who happens to be Mike's best friend." explained Max, entering their house.

"These are gonna some complicated years of filming, it better be worth it" Will thought.

[rozunderpressure]

Max Payne 2 is better gameplay wise; environments, controls and such (tho, not character portraits, I hate you preppy Vlad), but the story sucks so bad...

It feels like they were just trying to bring back as many characters from the first one as possible when it didn't made sense for them to be back.

Like I get MONA, her disappearance after taking a bullet was intriguing, bringing her back was a must, and I love playing as her, but they added stuff that didn't made sense on top of it and then refused to address any consequences for what Max did or explore the fact he would 100% have an opiate addiction, and a legion of little fascist fans who thought him just enacting revenge by killing a bunch of people was cool!

It also takes itself too seriously... It has side-gags, and put some of best noir lines from the first game into "Address Unknown", but doesn't-- The writing has lost its Noir goofy flavor... Like we went from names like "The Finito Brothers", some latino hitman whose last name was "Muerte", a traitor called "Boris Dime" (get it? He turned on a di--DID YOU GET IT??) and "Jack Lupino" howling like a wolf, and Mona having a twin sister called "Lisa", and a dude called "Balder" who just dies first opportunity due to a betrayal, to just like... "Kaufman" "Mike the Cowboy"... Like fuck off! Give me my goofy noir flavor back!

Give me a game where Max didn't go back to being a cop (because he killed over 100 people and constantly threw away proof that would blow something bigger and help his case), but got away because Woden is rich AF, give me PI max who still lives in a shithole and has opiate addiction (BECAUSE HE WOULD), give me Mona being fully retired and living a quiet life with a kid we didn't know she had, give me Vlad just being a mobster instead of secret bitch of inner circle with daddy issues towards Woden-- Give me the twist that Max is actually super rich now, because Woden gave him a ton of money for that info on the inner circle he FOUND NEAR THE END OF THE GAME AND TOOK AS INSURANCE, but can't just use the money to enjoy life because revenge didn't actually sooth him...

Tho make him just as pathetic as he is in the second game, that was actually really cool and realistic...

[honeyoru]

off the deep end (eddie munson x henderson! reader) chapter two

previous chapter

“You look different,” he said, wincing when you raised an eyebrow. You didn't understand why he was speaking to you.

Ignoring the way your heart fluttered at the sound of his voice, you slowly raked your eyes over his lithe form, feeling a little smug when you noticed his fingers twitching nervously. 

His hair had grown since you last saw him, the long curls swaying slightly with the wind. He was dressed in the same fashion as he always had; ripped jeans, a Dio sweatshirt for the chilly weather, and a black leather jacket.

But his eyes.

Those were as dark as ever, but the emotion swirling in them now was a far cry from what you had seen last year. You swallowed hard and crossed your arms. “Different?”

“Hot!” Gareth supplied, leering at you. “He means hot. Well,” he paused with a smile, winking at you before nudging his best friend and giving a once-over to the tailored pants that accentuated your wide hips. “Hotter. Welcome back honey.”

That earned a snort from you, knowing the idiot was hamming up on purpose.

“I made her smile!” he cried. “We haven’t seen those pearly whites in a while, oh, my heart can’t take it.”

A gag came from your left side. “Ew man, that’s my sister!” 

“Well she’s not mine–” He was cut off by a swift slap to the head from the taller boy next to him, whose eyes still hadn’t left you, a fact you only noticed because you, against your better judgment, were still staring at him too. 

You’d been gone for too long, you surmised. The ice around your heart had melted a little too much, particularly towards him.

“The boots,” the Dungeon Master finally said. “It’s those, um, boots.”

“My… boots.” you repeated flatly.

“Yeah,” he gestured towards them. “They look like, super European. Totally different from what you used to wear.”

“Are you serious?” Mike repeated incredulously, in that snarky tone he loved to use. “You could have mentioned that her hair is also platinum blonde now, dude. It’s practically white!”

“And shorter!” Jeff added. 

“But just as pretty as ever,” Gareth sang, dodging another hit.

“Time to go kids,” you rolled your eyes at the group of idiots, most of whom you hadn’t spoken to long before you left in May. Except for Gareth, who refused to leave you alone. “I’m not doing this on two hours of sleep. Let’s leave.” You flicked Dustin’s hat and turned around, beginning the short walk back toward your truck. “Now.” 

The two kids took off, yelling their farewells to the club as you trailed behind them. 

You spared a glance back at the sound of your name. Eddie stood alone, the rest of the club having quickly dispersed without you there to irritate. Looking pensive and much more solemn, he twisted one of the many rings on his finger, one you knew all too well, and offered a small smile. “You look good, welcome home.” 

Your heart defrosted a little more as you walked away, unable to say anything back. 

~~~~

“Alright,” you said after the kids were buckled up and Eddie was out of sight. “Spill.”

“Um,” Dustin stammered your name from the passenger seat. “I think we should wait until everyone’s together.” 

“Everyone?” you repeated, suddenly realizing there should be more passengers in your car. You looked back towards the school. “Wait, where’s the rest of you?”

“What?” 

You squinted your eyes at him. “The rest of you, Dustin! I know you two weren’t the only ones who joined Hellfire. Will? Lucas?” You chuckled, peeling out of the school parking lot. “Honestly, I half-expected Max to be in it too, thought you would’ve worn her down by now.” 

The two shared a quick glance. 

“Lucas is part of the club, but he was at the basketball game,” Mike said slowly. 

“That’s right!” You broke into a grin. God you had missed them. Your time abroad (and the therapist you’d been assigned) helped you realize how much you had pushed everyone away last year. “I remember Steve mentioning that in one of his letters. Guess I’ll have to go to the games now.” You frowned at the thought. “Hey,” you said when they didn’t continue talking (a rarity, especially for Dustin). “Don’t worry,” you ruffled Dustin’s hair, assuming their silence was because of you. “I’m better now.” 

They all but rushed to reassure you. “It’s not that at all,” your brother insisted. “I just really missed seeing you like this and…” his lip quivered. 

“We don’t want to ruin your good mood,” Mike finished. Flickering his eyes to yours in the rearview mirror, he gave you a sad smile. 

“Hmm.” You furrowed your eyebrows. “How’s Will?”

“Well,” Dustin began and your heart rate picked up at the thought of the boy.

“Is he okay?”

“Yeah, he’s fine! Great, I think,” he said hurriedly.

“You think?”

 “It’s just that… the Byers’ sort of,” he winced. “Moved.” 

“Moved?!” you shrieked, slamming on your brakes in the middle of the road, testing the boys’ seatbelts as they flew forward. “What the fuck do you mean they moved?”

“First of all, thank God the roads are empty,” your brother wheezed, holding his arms out like you were a wounded animal. “I refuse to die in a car accident after everything we’ve been through, that’d be so lame. Secondly,” he looked at you with his puppy dog eyes. “Let me call a party meeting. This needs to be something you hear from all of us. Steve wanted to give you the week to get situated before we told you but that’s all gone to shit now.”

“Steve?” You sputtered before a sense of dread filled you. “Oh fuck,” you put your head in your hands and groaned. “Something happened.”

“It’s not as bad as you think!” 

Dustin twisted around, a look of pure outrage on his face. “Really Mike? Because I feel like maybe it's a little bad.” 

“Will you just fucking tell me?” You hissed, blinking rapidly and trying to get a grip on your anxiety before it sent you into a panic attack. 

Something bad happened. It had to be bad if it forced Joyce to leave the only place she’s ever lived. Something Upside Down-level bad.

No. You closed your eyes. Don’t go there. 

The counting exercises you’d damn near perfected flickered through your head until Dustin interrupted you. “We’re gonna tell you everything,” your brother attempted to reassure you, resting a hand on your arm and abruptly yanking it back when your eyes flashed angrily at him. “But not until we can get everyone together.” He grabbed his walkie out of his bag, pulled the antenna up, and began ordering a party meeting in the Wheeler’s basement in that bossy tone he seemed to have perfected since you’d been gone. “Just give me time to round them all up.”

And round them up he did, barking orders through his device with all of the attitude of a commanding officer as you tore down the sleepy town of Hawkins, well above the speed limit. 

                ~~~~~~

Mrs. Wheeler exclaimed your name when she answered the door, delighted to see you in her home again.“You’re back!” 

“I’m back!” you weakly smiled and allowed her to pull you into a hug, trying to hold on to the semblance of control you thought you had over your emotional turmoil when you stepped on the plane to return home. 

Mrs. Wheeler paused her fawning over your new hair to snap at her husband. “Ted, look who’s here!” She shot daggers at the man who had, up until then, refused to look away from the television. 

“Oh, yay,” he replied dryly, barely sparing a glance at you. 

You rolled your eyes. Fucking Ted. Glad to see he hadn’t changed, at least. You sent Mrs. Wheeler a fake smile and clapped Dustin on the shoulder harshly, pushing him towards the basement. “Let’s get this shit show started.”

Nancy strolled downstairs first, unsurprising, given you were in her house, after all. You hugged her tightly and answered the flurry of random questions about your trip in a constrained voice, partly because of your anxiety about whatever they were going to tell you and partly because you couldn’t remember the last time you had actually had a normal conversation with the girl. You vaguely recalled beaming a hairbrush at her during the last chat you had. 

Your brother had (annoyingly) insisted that she remain quiet about what happened until everyone arrived, which meant you were stuck talking about the upcoming school semester (a topic you dreaded) until the arrival of someone else made you gasp.

Lucas, clad in his Hawkins basketball sweatsuit, bounded down the stairs next, quickly gripping you in a hug. “Damn Sinclair,” you whistled at the boy, making his cheeks burn. “You’re almost my height now. What are they feeding you?”

You looked towards the stairs when you parted, surprised that the last two kids of the party, sans Will, weren’t here yet. “Are El and Max running late? I know about the Byers’ moving, but where are my girls?” you smiled at the thought of them. “They made me promise to tell them all about the boys in Italy when I came back.” 

“Uh, no, no they’re not.” Lucas’s face dropped, and he glanced at Mike and Dustin. “You guys didn’t tell her?” 

“Honestly!” Your brother threw his hands up. “What do you think we’re here for?”

You were just about to pinch him when one of your favorite voices in the world caught your attention. “–Henderson!”  

Your heart leaped, your feet scrambling up the stairs to meet your best friend halfway in a hug before you could even think. The familiar smell of Steve Harrington draped over you like a warm blanket as he practically knocked you over. “Glad to see you haven’t forgotten about me.”

“Yeah right,” he pulled you back at arm’s length with a laugh, practically vibrating with happiness at seeing you. “All I did was complain for eight months! I had to put up with Shitbird twice as much just so I could get my Henderson fill.”

Both of you ignored Dustin’s noise of complaint.

“Nice vest,” you commented, finally clocking the Family Video logo he was sporting. “Scoops get too boring for you? Was the hat finally too much?”

“You know that hat was awful.” He barely concealed his panic, tugging you back in for another hug. “We’ll get to that in a minute.” 

“Great,” you mumbled, the dread resurfacing.

Steve pulled back again, keeping his hands on your shoulders in a closer position to you so he could talk quieter. “Look at your hair,” he cooed. “It’s beautiful,” he tugged at a lock and smiled softly, his eyes telling a much deeper story of how he was feeling than what he would say in front of the kids. Your heart ached when you saw him blinking away tears. “You look healthy Henderson. Seems like being abroad did you well.” 

“Yeah well,” you coughed and gave a small smile. “I needed something different. Hair holds memories, you know.” Clearing your throat, you continued, the ghost of a nightmare floating through your mind. “Not too many good ones with my long hair recently. Wanted to start fresh and all.” 

His smile faltered for a second, quickly returning with ease. “And the blonde?” 

“That was a too-much-vodka decision.” Something creaked behind Steve, interrupting your laughter and you noticed someone was hovering on the stairs. You did a double-take upon recognizing the girl who looked like she wanted to fold in on herself. “Buckley? What the hell are you doing here?” 

“Oh!” She jerked into a flurry of action, hurrying down the stairs and fussing with her vest, identical to Steve’s, you noticed. “Well, that little nightmare over there called the store and insisted we were having a party meeting, so uh,” she winced. “Present? Your hair, um, looks really pretty,” she added with a hint of pink creeping up her cheeks. “By the way.”

“Thanks.” You’ve known the girl for years, having been acquaintances throughout school and then growing into sort of friends by association when she and Steve worked at the ice cream shop. “So you got dragged into this mess, too, huh?” 

“It’s my own fault for choosing a summer job at the mall,” she responded, laughing nervously. “But hey, now that we’re at Family Video, Dingus and I get free movies and there’s been significantly fewer Russians to torture us there, so I think it’s going pretty well.”

“I’m sorry,” the polite smile that you’d perfected abroad slipped off your face, all traces of your polite friendliness disappearing. “Did you just say Russians?”  

“I guess it’s time to talk,” Dustin sighed, pulling you towards the couch. “Sit down sis, you probably shouldn’t be standing.”

~~~~~~~

Blindsided. 

Staring down at your bloody palms, you only vaguely felt the pain from where your nails had dug in too harshly during the group’s spiel. 

You felt completely and utterly blindsided. 

Numbly, you allowed Nancy to wipe your hands with a paper towel, aware of the tension as they all stared uneasily at each other, no doubt expecting a meltdown of similar proportions to the one that had prompted you to leave for Europe in the first place. 

It’s not completely out of the question, you mused, feeling like you were drowning in the waves of anger, betrayal, guilt, and grief that threatened to undo the work you’d done for the past eight months all for your mental health. 

At least there’s not a hair brush near me.

“So,” you paused, squeezing your eyes shut and counting backward from ten twice, repeating the mantra your therapist abroad had encouraged you to focus on when you felt a spiral coming. 

The kids are safe. You told yourself, opening your eyes and staring at the sorrow-filled eyes of your little brother and his friends.

My friends are safe. Your best friend bit his lip anxiously, shaking his head to cut Mike off when the kid opened his mouth to fill the silence. He understood you were still processing. 

There’s no more danger.

You wanted to snort. As fucking if. That part of the mantra hadn’t been your idea, for obvious reasons, but the government therapist that had been assigned to you insisted. Not that he ever  truly understood the scale of what danger you’d faced to begin with, of course.

Taking a deep breath, you tried to remain as calm as you could while you repeated it nonetheless. 

The kids are safe. My friends are safe. There’s no more danger.

Swallowing hard, you started out simply. “So Russians… infiltrated Hawkins. And reopened the gate.” 

The kids are safe. My friends are safe. There’s no more danger.

Lucas cleared his throat. “And the Mind Flayer, um, that also happened.”

“Right,” you repeated softly and let out a disbelieving laugh, staring at the floor shocked, but not surprised that yet another monster had made its way through to your dimension. Only after accumulating a mass of Hawkins flesh, which nearly caused you to hurl when Dustin described it in gory detail. “And the Mind Flayer.” Would we ever run out of D&D names to attribute to the monsters? 

The kids are safe. My friends are safe. There’s no more danger.

“She’s taking this better than you said she would,” Robin whispered loudly to Steve. The nasty look you shot caused the girl to lean back with her mouth shut in seconds. Just exactly how close were they now? 

Steve called your name hesitantly, carefully kneeling down in front of you. “You understand why we couldn’t tell you, right?”  

You prided yourself on being logical, or as logical as one could be when they’ve fought monsters and know a girl with superpowers. You knew they were probably threatened by the government, just like you were last time. And you knew how hard it must have been to keep this secret from you.

And yet, you really didn’t care.

“You want me to say I understand,” you whispered incredulously, eyes blazing. “That you lied to me, you all lied to me!” you swept your glare around the room. “For months!” 

Logic be damned, the sting of betrayal was too harsh to consider their feelings. 

“It’s not so much that we lied to you as just… we didn't tell you,” Dustin tried to say, recoiling back when you looked at him.

“Lying by omission is still lying!” you yelled. “Mom literally says that all the time!” 

He hung his head. 

“I’m not dumb, I know our phones and tapped and any letters you sent could've been searched but you could’ve said something!” you screamed at your brother. “The handful of times you actually did write to me you only talked about the thousands of dates Steve went on,–”

“–thousand is a bit of an overstatement–”

“– but never anything about what happened in July or El and the Byers’ moving or you know,” you waved your hand hysterically, a stray tear falling out. “Hopper! How could none of you tell me that, at least?” your voice cracked as you directed the question to Steve. It hurt most that he hadn’t told you of the man passing away. 

That explained why you didn’t receive any letters from Hopper after June, you realized with a sniff.  He had died a couple months after you left.

Pushing that thought down for later, you closed your eyes to avoid bursting into tears at the mournful expression on Steve’s face. 

“I could’ve come back!” you said, your tone conveying your despair. “Fuck, I would’ve come back! Sure, I wouldn’t have made it back in time to punch a Russian or throw a firework at a monster or whatever,” you scoffed. “But I could’ve been here to help after, I could’ve said goodbye to the Byers and El! I-” you broke off, a sob finally escaping your mouth, your hands covering your face as you started to cry, words slipping out in a whisper. “I could’ve gone to Hopper’s funeral.”

Everyone remained silent. None of them, except for Steve and Dustin on rare occasions, had seen you cry before.

“Shit hit the fan again, just like I said it would,” you sniffed and stood up, fury and despair leaking into your words as you began to pace across the floor. “And I was told that I was just paranoid, that I was being crazy,” you spat, wiping a few tears away angrily to direct the last part to Nancy, who looked at you guiltily. “I told Hopper and Joyce, I told them that monsters that evil don’t just disappear, they wait. Closing a portal doesn’t kill them. And what did they say?” you asked rhetorically, sweeping your eyes across the room. “Go to school! Be a normal teenager and forget all of this even happened!” you laughed bitterly. “So excuse me for being a little upset that I just found out my baby brother and all of my friends had to fight goddamn Russians and another inter-dimensional monster while I was in Europe dyeing my fucking hair!”

The group winced in unison at the pitch you reached.

“You needed to stay away,” Steve said gently. “You left for a reason,” he said when you opened your mouth to argue, sounding much older than nineteen. “No one blames you for not being here.”

I do. 

“Babe, the shit we’ve dealt with,” Nancy said, letting out a dry laugh. “It's a lot. It affects us all differently. What happened last year…” she trailed off. “We were all so proud of you for doing what you needed to do, even if that meant leaving us for a while, especially when we weren’t the best at supporting you, that we didn’t want to try and explain it in a letter. But we're sorry,” she added tearfully. “We're- god, I’m so fucking sorry that I didn't tell you about Hopper or the Byers’. It’s just, your letters said you were doing so well.”

“We didn’t want to ruin your program,” Dustin sniffed. 

You stared at the floor. I’m so selfish for leaving.You thought of Hopper, who had been the one to encourage you to go abroad in the first place. I left him here to die. 

“I want to go home,” you said, shaking your head. “I-I can’t do this. I thought… fuck,” you scoffed. “I actually thought everything would be better now.”

“It is!” Dustin insisted earnestly. “El closed the gate, for good this time!”

“The Mind Flayer,” Lucas added. “And all of the Russians, they’re gone too! It’s finally over.”

You said nothing, staring at them sadly. Too young. We’re all too fucking young. And they said Erica had been there too? 

“That gate might be closed,” you finally said, crossing your arms. “But that world is still there. There could be other gates we don’t know about.”

“What do you mean?” Steve frowned. 

“How did the Russians find out about the Upside Down in the first place?” you asked seriously. “And aside from worrying about people in our own dimension, the gate in Hawkins being shut doesn’t kill the creatures lurking there,” a shiver ran down your spine. “Fighting monsters three times in three years isn’t a coincidence, it’s a routine.” With a tired wipe of your face, you chose to swallow the rest of your thoughts for later. The jet lag and emotional turmoil had finally caught up to you and you didn’t feel like bringing the mood down any more than you just had. “Let’s go, Dustin. I need to… process everything,” you muttered as you moved quickly up the stairs. 

“Henderson,” Steve rushed behind you. “You’re not retreating into yourself again, you can’t.” he frowned as he looked up at you. “Not after all the progress you’ve made.”

The kids are safe. My friends are safe. There’s no more- well, you snorted internally, shooting Steve a look. You didn’t respond to him, trudging up the stairs a different person than who you were when you came down earlier. 

The drive home felt like hours; Dustin was uncharacteristically silent, tossing you worried glances the whole way. Nausea tinged your senses, the gravity of what you’d been told seemed to finally hit you. 

In a frenzy you locked the door behind Dustin, hugged him tightly without saying a word, and bounded up the stairs two at a time, bursting into your bedroom that you hadn’t seen in eight months. You ran straight for the bathroom to throw up violently, sobbing while you heaved into the toilet.

Hopper. You couldn’t imagine how El felt. 

Your heart panged, you didn’t even get to say goodbye. You vowed to get the Byers’ phone number from Dustin later.

You ignored his knocks on your door, unable to look at your brother’s face. 

I’ll never forgive myself for leaving.

Sitting on the shower floor for a while, you let the water beat over you until it ran cold, and cried.

[spaceofentropy]

I was reminded of the pure delight that is the work of @shitpostsampler, and got the thought that in a modern AU Dustin would absolutely be into tumblr and shitposting, and he would totally ask his mom to put her crafting skill to good use for a gag gift to a friend.

Claudia is not sure what this stuff exactly makes reference to, but she's a good, supportive mom, and she likes that Dustin seems interested in her cross stitching, so she goes along and embroiders a little, weird sampler for Erica's birthday.

And from there, it's a deluge of personalized cross stitched things, each pattern carefully chosen by Dustin, while Claudia takes care of the rest.

Did I decide which pattern Dustin woul pick for each kid, teen, and Hopper and Joyce, either as a nice gesture or a gentle jab at the people in his life? Yes I did, of course!

(All the links are to the shitpostsampler store where you can buy their patterns, 95% of 'em being sold at pay-what-you-want prices).

Hopper - When I was younger I didn't understand why "may you live in interesting times" was considered a curse in ancient Greece.

Joyce - You will be ok. You have no choice.

Robin - Choose people who choose you

Steve - Patience my ass. I'm gonna kill something

Billy - Guide 4 teens: Tell the cops nothing. The the paramedics everything. Ur eyebrows are fine.

Billy (after he and Steve have been together and out long enough that Dustin had to listen to Steve wax poetics about Billy's ass-ets one too many times) - Be a bad ass with a good ass

Max - BRB, going feral

Mike - Momma didn't raise a quitter but she did raise a fool and it turns out those two things are a terrible combination

Will - If it weren't for the limitations of my corporeal form, I would have killed God and rebirthed the world in love and kindness

The rest is gonna get in a reblog because tumblr is having a hissy fit with 10 links already, it won't save the post if I try to add more... 🤦‍♀️

[roosterbox]

October Almost-Drabbles 10/13: Maze

Pairing: Steddie, implied Eddie x Chrissy (for like a SINGLE line)

Word Count: 1,027. God fucking dang it.

Additional tags: modern AU, single dads, implied meet-cute, Max is a lil shit and also Eddie’s daughter, Dustin is a sweetheart and also Steve’s son, Max’s POV

Side note: I TRIED TO KEEP IT SHORT. I SWEAR I TRIED. But as you can see, I failed, so this one goes under a cut, lol. The maze aspect was just a jumping off point, so I’m sorry it doesn’t play more of a part. Most of these prompts are of a similar nature for me - inspiration, though I may go off the rails a bit in the actual execution.

Anyway, enjoy!

———

“Our dads are gross.”

Max looked back at the two men trailing behind her and Dustin. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she could see their expressions just fine, thank you very much. Her dad, always animated with his hands, was talking and gesturing wildly. She could see the flash of sunlight against his rings. Dustin’s dad seemed to be listening intently, smiling. And blushing. Every now and then he’d interject, probably asking a question about the story. They were both making absolutely ridiculous goo-goo eyes at each other. Ugh, disgusting. She made a gagging noise and looked away.

“Super gross,” Dustin agreed. The path split a few yards ahead, and the kids decided silently as a unit to continue together down the left side.

“Don’t get too far ahead, Dust.” The boy’s dad called out. They were following at a respectable distance; close enough to keep an eye out, but far enough to give the kids some measure of independence. Dustin slowed down a little, giving a thumbs up. His dad visibly relaxed. Max saw her dad give the other man a comforting arm squeeze. In a touch that, in her opinion, lingered a bit too long.

She scowled. “D’you think we could lose them? In the maze?”

“We shouldn't.” Dustin looked nervous. “My dad gets really worried about stuff like that. This one time, my friend Mike and I got separated from him at the mall, and he totally freaked out.” He shuddered. “Never seen my dad cry before that.”

Max shrugged. “My dad cries all the time. Shoulda seen him at the last Disney movie we watched. He cried more than me. I didn’t even cry when I got this!” She waved her arm, in a cast from wrist nearly to elbow. “But before that, before he found you, was it fun? Hanging out without him?”

“I guess,” the boy was looking at his shoes. “But I don’t think it was worth it.” He glanced back at his dad again. “He seems happy.”

The two men walked comfortably side by side. Their arms were brushing as they moved, and if Max knew anything about her dad, he was actively fighting the urge to take his new friend’s hand. Just then, to her horror, he did. The other guy looked surprised, but then… he grinned. And now it was her own dad’s turn to blush.

“Gross!” She called out.

Her dad waved her off. “Don’t mind her, Steve. Ten years old and already a little adult. I’m going gray before my time.”

Dustin’s dad laughed. “You look fine to me.”

At that, her dad raised an eyebrow. “Oh, ‘fine’ is it now?” He leaned a little closer. There was a very particular gleam in his eye. One Max recognized at a distance, though she might not have known exactly what it entailed. Whatever it was, it was probably more Disgusting Adult Stuff. If they actually kissed, she was going to puke.

Luckily, somebody must have been looking out for her, because as they rounded the next bend…”

“We’re out!” Dustin cheered, making a break for the entrance/exit of the maze. Max ran after him, missing her dad’s quietly disappointed “damnit.” The adults still walked out hand in hand though.

“Did you have a good time?” Dad asked her later, while they were getting settled in the car.

She shrugged. “It was okay, I guess.” He snorted.

“A ringing endorsement.”

Her eyebrow raised in a perfect imitation of him. “What about you? Have fun slobbering all over Dustin’s dad?”

He chose that moment to start the car. “What? Sorry, can’t hear you!” He yelled over the sputter and roar of the engine. One of these days the whole damn thing was gonna fall apart. That’s what Grandpa Wayne said whenever he took rides with them.

“Whatever,” she rolled her eyes. They pulled out of the maze parking lot, and began the long drive back to Hawkins. After a few minutes of silence, he spoke up.

“Say, Max… how would you feel about me inviting your new friend over for lunch sometime? Might be fun.”

“Yeah, or you could just ask his dad out on a date or whatever. Dunno why you’re using us kids as an excuse.” She saw him stiffen a bit out of the corner of her eye, but kept her gaze out the window, watching familiar passing scenery.

“What? Me and Steve? A date? Nah, come on.” He tried to play it off, but his face was too pink for her to really believe him.

“Did you at least get his number? Because I remember when you and Chrissy broke up-“

“Hey now-“

“-and that was a freaking nightmare. A solid month of nothing but gross pining.”

He gasped, indignant. “I don’t pine!”

She gave him a flat look.

“It wasn’t that bad!”

Her expression didn’t change. He sighed, resigned.

“Okay, fine, it was bad. But I can’t help it, Max - I’ve always been this way. Big feelings, you know?”

“Oh I know. ‘S why Papa tells me he’s glad I got my mom’s temperament. ‘More than two of you’d be sending me to an early grave, and not a moment too soon.’” That last bit was said in a gruff imitation of Wayne’s voice. Her impression improved every time she did it, and never failed to make her dad laugh.

“Point taken, you little menace. And to answer your question: yes. I did, in fact, get Steve’s number.”

“Gross. I bet you gave him a super cute, disgusting nickname in your contacts too.”

He coughed and focused back on the road ahead. Max smirked. Bullseye.

“Just promise me one thing? Don’t call him as soon as we get home? It was embarrassing enough to watch you guys flirt back there. At least wait until I’m asleep. Or at the skate park. Or anywhere that’s not at the trailer.”

“Deal. Easy. I’ll bet you like ten bucks I won’t even think of calling him until tomorrow!”

And Max immediately agreed, knowing that she’d be ten dollars richer by the end of the day.

He barely held out for an hour.

———

(The nickname was “Pretty Boy,” by the way. In a few months, it’ll get changed to “Sweetheart.” It was “Babylove” for like a day. But then Max borrowed his phone, saw it, and demanded he change it because GROSS, DAD.)