#anyway thanks for this ask i love max + the Hoppers

[shushmal]

i was going to make a post that was just:

steve, watching took girls he used to be in love with kiss: *in the least creepy way possible* hell yeah :)

and in the tags i typed "steve being besties with all his exes" and then immediately thought of the fact that, yes, steve is friends with all his exes, EXCEPT for eddie

like, eddie and him have a quick summer fling or something, it burns hot and it burns FAST. but then, like in all relationships, they both change. they both start thinking of the ✨future✨ and... steve's not leaving hawkins anytime soon, you know? and eddie wants nothing more than to get out. but they're both attached, more than they thought they were, so it's not necessarily an amiable break. it's not horrible, they don't hate each other or anything. but there's lots of tears and a little bit of yelling, and then...

eddie leaves. and they never speak again.

and they think of each other, sure. in new partners, in new experiences, wondering what it might be like if— except that's not the reality anymore. they're NOT together anymore, so there's no sense in wondering, right?

except... they do. they do wonder, they do wish, they do miss each other, they still want each other. but that ship's sailed. he's moved on, they think. he's moved on and his happy with someone else.

and of course, that's when mike and el's wedding happens to everyone.

[bookshelf-dust]

healing

billy hargrove x gn!reader

word count: 5,445

warnings: swearing, smoking, mentions of past trauma (starcourt), slight sexual innuendos??

a/n: hi! remember when i made you do a poll for my 1k celebration? and one bed with billy won? well this is that fic! i'm sorry it took so long to get here, but school was kicking the ever loving shit out of me. anyways, i really hope you like it. it's a little different than other fics i've written, but i think that's a good thing. just for context, this is post the end of season three, with billy and hopper being okay and jopper being in full swing. i think that's all i wanted to say. thanks again for 1k followers. that's still so wild to me. i love you. and billy loves you too <333

————

November 1985

“No.”

“What do you mean no? You just fought an interdimensional being, don’t you want a vacation?” 

Lucas wipes both hands down his face, flopping down on the arm of the couch beside where Max sits with El between her knees, tying off one of the two braids she’s trying to make. 

“Max, can you help me? Please?” Lucas has been arguing about this for fifteen minutes. 

She rolls her eyes, but looks up from her work nonetheless. “Billy.”

The man in question crosses his arms, locking eyes with the redhead. “Maxine.”

Max finishes Eleven’s braid and she hops up to join Will where he’s working on a puzzle. Joyce brought it home from work a few days ago, and it’s been spread out on a card table in the corner of the living room since then. Will couldn’t watch The Golden Girls with Joyce from the kitchen table. 

“Just come with us, Billy. We all know you hate it here. It’ll give you a chance to get away for a little while.”

Except that’s not totally the truth. He doesn’t hate it here. Not with you around. 

“There’s a pool.” Will looks up, a little shyly, from the puzzle, fingers flipping around a single piece. “At the place Robin found.” 

Billy nods, and it’s enough to make Will smile at the acknowledgment. 

It’d been Steve’s idea, after everything that happened in July. He thought everyone going on a trip together might be a good idea. Go a little ways out from home, calm down. 

You and Billy started going to school, though Billy is still working. He found a job at a record store across the street from Melvald’s that opened after the mall went to shit. It definitely wasn’t his first choice, but it works. And he’s slowly fixing up the Camaro. 

Steve had offered to pay for the repairs in full, considering he did most of the damage when he rammed the side of it, but Billy couldn’t handle that. So far Max has only convinced him to let Steve cover the really expensive parts. It hurts Billy more than he’d care to admit—having Steve Harrington give him money. 

But he can’t lie, going somewhere away from Hawkins, even just for a couple days, sounds really nice. It’s the group part that’s bothering him. He’s still not used to everyone wanting him to tag along, but apparently major trauma brings people together.

There’s the slamming of car doors, and footsteps running up the driveway before the door swings open, Robin bursting in with a stack of movies in her arms. She’s followed by Dustin and then Steve, bags and keys being tossed every which way. 

Billy doesn’t see you for a moment and starts to worry maybe you aren’t coming. He’s already supplying excuses for having to go home, but Steve left the door ajar, and after a moment, there you are. 

You look sleepy, footsteps the quietest of everyone else as you carefully push the Byers’ door shut behind you. He watches as you accept a hug from Eleven, overhears her ask, “how did your test go?” 

He’s happy to hear you tell her it went well. It’s only after you’ve looked at her and Will’s puzzle and snapped a few more corner pieces in that you make a beeline for the open spot on the couch beside Billy. 

When you’ve settled, your knee bumps against his. “Hey.”

He looks at you, a little grin playing at the corners of his mouth. His arms are still crossed, thumb playing with the pendant resting on his chest. A chest surprisingly covered by a sweater, though the sleeves are pushed up. 

“Hey. Glad your test is over?”

That sound of his voice makes you smile, and he’s never been so grateful for something, even if it’s just an expression. “Yeah.”

You glance down at the new tattoo on his arm, a dark colored snake wrapping around the skin covering his elbow. You run your thumb across the tail that flicks across his forearm, and Billy relaxes into your touch. 

“You have work today?”

Billy shakes his head. You’re glad he had the day off. And you’d tell him so if it weren’t for the sudden bombardment. 

Lucas is suddenly standing in front of you, having returned from the kitchen where you think he and Dustin may have been cleaning out Joyce’s fridge. 

“Holy shit, thank god you’re here. I need you to convince Billy to go on vacation.” 

You glance at Max, assuming she’s already tried. She looks rather annoyed. “Lucas, would you sit down?”

The boy looks at Max, and she glares at him. Clearly he knows better and sits down next to her. 

“Billy doesn’t have to do anything he doesn’t want to do,” you finally say. 

The man in question turns to face you. You have to lean your head back some because of how close he is. 

“Are you going?” he asks, voice quiet and thick with something you don’t know that you’re supposed to notice. 

“Y-yeah. I was gonna. Robin only went on about it to me for an hour over the phone last night. I just think it might be nice to get away for a little while.” Billy doesn’t break eye contact with you, and while it makes you a little nervous, it tells you he’s listening.

“And I can watch Max for you if you really don’t want to go. Just make sure she doesn’t kill Lucas or anything.” Max snorts at your response, though Lucas looks at her in panic, already calculating how best to prevent that sort of situation. 

Your gaze softens and you fight the urge to reach out and run your thumb across Billy’s cheek. 

Please come with us. I want you to go. I want you there, you think. But it’s not what you say. You don’t know how badly he needs to hear it. 

“You really don’t have to go, Billy. Not if you don’t want to.”

“But there is enough space, man.” Steve stands behind the couch, handing El a scrunchie he retrieved from her bag. His voice is calm, informative. “If you decide to go. There’s plenty of room, and we’d be happy if you did.”

Billy could make some smartass remark. But he won’t. He knows that Steve is being honest, and that he’s not trying to be a dick. It seems that witnessing the guy who beat the shit out of you almost die not even a year after he moved to town really brings you together. 

Billy gives an acknowledging nod. “I’d be very happy if you did,” Eleven says. She loves having Jonathan as an older brother, really she does, but Billy lets her play with his hair. And in her books, that really ups the scale. 

He smiles at her, and El considers that a win. 

You notice him shift next to you, and then he’s leaning forward to whisper in your ear. “Come with me?” He cocks his head in the direction of the door. 

He gets up, assuming you’ll follow him. You always do. 

When you’ve shut the door, you move to the porch swing. It’s your favorite spot out here, and Joyce says it makes her happy to see someone use it. She used to sit there with Will in the mornings after Jonathan left for school and read to him. She did the same with Jonathan, but he was a much more fidgety kid, wanting to find something else to do. 

Billy lights a cigarette, and you watch where he fidgets with the ring on his middle finger. 

He’s standing a little ways away from you so as to not breathe the smoke directly in your vicinity, but you wish so badly that he was closer. You like having him close. The weight of his body next to you, the warmth, how solid his arm feels when it’s pressed to yours or when he slides down on the couch some and it's more so pressed to your side. 

“Which part of it are you worried about?” you ask him. 

He shrugs. “You really think they want me there? You think Max wants me around?” “Billy, I know she does. And I know that voice in your head is telling you that it’s a pity invite, but it’s not. And, besides…” you trail off, but he’s not having that. He needs you to reassure him. 

“Besides what?” 

You look up at him. “I want you to go. And yeah, I’ll be sad if you don’t go, but that shouldn’t sway your decision either.” You push your feet against the concrete porch a little harder, and the swing responds to the movement. You move quicker, now feeling very pleased with yourself. 

Billy almost laughs at the child-like look on your face, but you look so at home on the swing that he holds it in. A grin escapes nonetheless. 

“Say that again.” He stubs out his cigarette in the ashtray either Hopper or Joyce have left outside. He’s watching you again. 

“What?” He’s not gonna let you go all shy on him now. He needed to hear that. He needs to hear it. 

“You know what.”

“I want you to go.”

“Then it’s settled. Need to get out of this shithole anyways.”

————

The place Steve found is about two hours from Hawkins, with three bedrooms, a shockingly luxurious pull-out couch, and bigger common areas than you’ve ever laid eyes on. Excluding the ones in Steve’s house. In short, the rental is like Hopper’s cabin, if Hopper’s cabin were updated and substantially larger. It feels like the kind of place rich people have to take weekend trips. You’d rather not find out how much Steve is paying for the lot of you to stay there. 

Robin takes you on a grand tour while everyone else explores the backyard. Dustin is already determined to climb a tree. One of the rooms has two sets of bunk beds, dedicated to the four boys. “To ensure no cootie-spreading,” Robin proclaims. 

She and Steve will share the couch, with Max and Eleven in the smaller bedroom. 

Robin stops at the end of the hallway. “Which leaves…” 

You and Billy. 

You and Billy Hargrove.

Sharing a room. 

Sharing a bed. 

Speaking of, the man in question brushes past you, setting his bag on the floor at the foot of the bed. Robin takes that as her queue to leave and gives you a thumbs up on the way out. You hope she can feel your death stare on the back of her head, and she knows it, being quick to run down the hall. 

“So we’re roomies, huh?” Billy says, gathering his hair at the base of his neck. You hadn’t even realized he had a tie on him, and it takes him finishing off a lazy bun to realize it’s a blue scrunchie. You have to bite your lip to keep from saying anything. 

“I can sleep with Max and El, if you want. Or–”

That crease between Billy’s brows forms. “Why would you do that?”

You’ve gone all warm. You’d have to sleep in bed with him. And you sit next to him all the time, but this is different. Isn’t it?

Maybe it’s not so weird. You’re just friends. It’s like a sleepover, right?

“I don’t know, you might not want to sleep together or something.”

He cocks a brow, but you catch the double meaning of your words just in time. “You know what I mean, Billy.”

He sits on the end of the bed, and reaches out for you. You move towards him slowly, but the moment you’re within his grasp, Billy spreads his legs and grabs your waist, slotting your body between them. 

“You can go if you really want to. If you think I’ve got cooties or somethin’ and you don’t wanna share a bed with me.”

You snort, and Billy drinks in the sound, knowing he’s the one that made you laugh. 

“I don’t think you’ve got cooties.”

You realize in that moment that his hands haven’t left their spot on your waist, never straying anywhere else. The weight of them on you is enough to keep you focused on him, and he seems to acknowledge that. 

“Then what is it?” he asks, in that low drawl you fear could get out any answer he wanted from you. 

You hesitate, but say it anyway. “You don’t think it’ll be weird? Sleeping in the same bed?”

Billy fights the urge to rest his forehead against your stomach. He wants to tell you he’s wished you were in his bed on more than one occasion. Sometimes he just wishes you were there so it wouldn’t feel so cold, so he’d have someone to pull him out of his thoughts before they eat him alive altogether. 

“No, I don’t think it’ll be weird.”

You nod your head, and try to move back from him. 

Billy whines. “Uh uh. Nope.”

You go to put your hands on your hips, and they graze Billy’s on the way. He grabs hold of them. “You don’t want to have a sleepover with me?”

Billy’s looking up at you with those watery blue eyes, and you know this is a battle you’ll never win. 

“Really?”

He lets out a breath of a laugh, and your eyes fall to his neck when he tosses his head back. 

“Yeah, baby.”

Baby. 

It feels like every cell in your body has been sent into overdrive, like you can’t compute a single coherent thought. All because Billy called you “baby”. 

And if he’s being honest with himself, he feels the same way. He hadn’t meant to say it. It’s just that he calls you “baby” in his head all the time, and it just…happened.

“I’d love to have a sleepover with you, Hargrove.”

“Mhm. Thought so.” 

This time he lets the laugh out, and it’s a beautiful sound. The kind of sound you’d commit unspeakable acts to hear again. And this time, he does let his forehead drop to rest on your stomach. It surprises you, but you’re not mad about it.

“Oh, fuck off,” you say, and you can feel his chuckle against your skin.

When he quits, you find yourself just standing there, find your hands moving around his back. He’s always so warm. You rub your hands up and down his back, the denim of his jacket rough on your fingertips. 

You feel him shift, feel his change in position, the hard press of his chin against you. Billy is looking up at you, and you know he’s hoping you’ll return his gaze. His eyes bore into yours, and you hate to think of what you must look like from this angle. Clearly he doesn’t mind. 

You push a curl behind his ear, a shockingly perfect ringlet that’s too short to be contained like the rest of them. 

Billy would be taken aback by the gesture if it weren’t for the fact that you always go this easy on him. Like you know he’s healing, in more ways than one. 

“We can’t stay here forever, you know. I wanna go look around.” 

“Yeah,” he laughs. “I’m sure it’s riveting.” He lets you go anyway, following you down the hall to the rest of the cabin.

————

Your back rests on the base of an oversized chair, one that’s surprisingly comfy, your body in between Robin’s legs. She’s sitting next to Steve, watching you moderate El, Lucas, and Will play Twister. Dustin’s already out. 

“Right hand blue.”

“You’re kidding right?”

“Sinclair, have you never played this game before?”

Lucas scoffs, trying to reach the blue on the other side of the mat without toppling into Will. Max went with Billy to the store, but they should be back soon. You have a sick feeling they’re taking advantage of having been given Steve’s debit card. 

“Yes, I’ve played the game before. If you’re so good, why don’t you get down here and show us how it’s done, Harrington?”

“Yeah, Harrington, why don’t you show us how flexible you are?” Billy’s voice makes you look up from where you’ve been mindlessly twisting the spinner on the board around with the tip of your finger. 

He stands just inside the living room, holding the door open with his leg. He kicks it shut once Max has made it in. She heaves the paper bags she’d been holding up and onto the counter. Steve rises to help unpack them. You follow on instinct, handing the spinner to Robin instead, and Dustin is quick to take Steve’s spot before Mike can. 

Billy won’t let you take anything from him, but he will let you help figure out what the hell to do with all of it. “Do I even want to know how much you both spent?” you ask. 

He gives you that fucking smile, and you know you don’t. “Max said she wanted to have a spa night–whatever that means–with El, so we sort of split up. I’m sure Steve’ll live.” 

“For your information, Lucas,” Steve continues, clearly not ready to let the quips towards his limberness go, “I was the captain of the swim team.”

“What’s that got to do with being flexible, dingus?” Robin directs the two remaining players, the young boy in question having just busted his ass. 

“Swimming is an art form, Rob. You gotta learn to respect it.”

You choke on a laugh, and Billy is quick to rub your back while he chuckles into your shoulder. 

“Something funny over there?” Steve questions. 

You straighten, trying to wipe the smile from your face though it’s to no avail. “Nope, Steven. I’m sure you’re just incredibly stretchy. Like Mr. Fantastic.”

His brow furrows. “Mr. Fantastic?”

Dustin snorts, elbow deep in a bag of chips, and you quickly realize that you probably shouldn’t have given him an opening, but you don’t exactly regret it either. 

The lot of you spend the rest of the night in this fashion, playing games, eating way too much food, taking turns smacking the top of the television so your movie will keep playing. 

It feels like home. It feels safe. You wish it always felt this way. 

————

You’d just finished brushing your teeth when you hear the bedroom door click shut, hear footsteps you can tell are in search of you. 

You peek your head out of the bathroom and Billy grins at the sight of you in pajamas, a smear of moisturizer on your forehead you’ve yet to rub in. 

He squeezes in the small room, about the same size as his at home, to join you. There’s something about this moment, the domesticity of it, that makes your heart swell. It feels like something you could get used to, getting ready for bed with him. Neither of you have to say anything, you just do your own thing, but having him be there, having his presence–it’s more than enough for you. 

When you climb into bed, you try and read for a while, the sounds of Billy washing his face comforting you. You find it easy to read even when he does get in with you, the mattress sinking underneath his weight, the sheets rustling as he moves around experimentally, trying to get comfortable in a bed that isn’t his own. 

You feel odd though, reading when he’s right there, so it isn’t long before you close the book and slide further into the covers with him. Billy’s quick to turn on his side, wanting to see you like this. 

He watches you yank the blankets up to your chin, looking at him over a blur of fluffy white comforter. “It’s fuckin’ freezin’ in here,” you tell him.

“C’mere then.”

You burrow further into your pillow, fearing you know exactly what he’s going to suggest. “Huh?”

“You’re cold. You always whine about me being warm or somethin’ and I’m telling you to come here.”

“Billy.”

“Stop.” He lifts the covers up some, untucking you from them, and he wraps his arm around your back, tugging you into his side. 

Suddenly you’re pressed against him, having slid across the sheets easier than you’d have imagined. 

He’s let go of you, his arm hovering over your back. “You want me to hold you or no?” 

“Yeah.” 

Billy lets his arm drop against your side, his fingers splaying out over your back. He rubs his hand up and down your spine, hoping it’ll warm you up. “This okay?” 

“Yes.” 

He nods. You’re looking at him like he’s something special.

Billy realizes, in that moment, that that’s how you’ve always looked at him. Even before. 

He also realizes that your hands are tucked under your chin and your legs are curled up and into you like you’re afraid of making any contact with him. 

“You can loosen up, you know. It’s just me.” 

You let out a breath of a laugh, and he can feel it against the skin of his neck. 

“It’s okay, I promise. You can touch me.” Billy has this feeling that you’re afraid of hurting him. He’s sure you’ve noticed that he’s wearing a shirt to bed, something he never did before. And he thinks that you’re worried he’ll break. 

“You’re sure?”

“Wouldn’t have said so otherwise.”

He watches you unfold your hands and stretch your arm over him, hooking it around his hip. You want to rub up and down his side, but you’re nervous. 

It’s just me. 

“Do they hurt at all?”

Your thumb skates up a little further, and you don’t have to tell him what you mean. 

“Not all the time,” he says, voice low and thick with drowsiness. “At first, yeah, like hell. Now it’s just sometimes. They can feel a little tight, or just bug me. Depends, I guess.”

You nod, feeling brave enough now to slide your hand up a little further. Your touch is light, barely there. You close your eyes, trying not to think about when it happened. How he’d screamed. 

He can tell when you’ve calmed down some, because your arm relaxes and you hug him a little more firmly. You scoot in a little closer, close enough that your noses would touch if you tried to make them. 

“Goodnight, Billy.”

He makes the move, dragging the tip of his nose across your forehead. He kisses the top of your head, and you grin so wide you feel like a kid in a candy shop. 

“Goodnight, baby.”

————

When you wake up, you almost don’t want to disturb him, but you know you should get out of bed.

Billy is sprawled out on his stomach, having separated from you at some point during the night. His tank top is rucked up from the tossing and turning of sleep, and you look away when you catch a glimpse of pink skin. It doesn’t feel like your place to look. 

You wander out of the room, carefully shutting the door behind you. You make it down the hall, and find that Robin seems to be the only other one awake. You should’ve guessed. She told you once before that her body doesn’t seem to let her sleep in. 

Steve is still passed out on the pull-out couch, completely covered by the blankets. The only sign of him is a tuft of messy hair against the light colored pillow case his head rests on. 

Robin waves at you from her perch at the kitchen counter, a bowl of cereal in front of her. “Want some?” she whispers, pushing the box in your direction. 

You fill up your own bowl, having a feeling that Robin is about to ramble. 

“Sleep okay?” she asks. 

“Mhm. You?”

“Fine. Though, y’know, Steve is a horrific bed hog. Seriously, he was half on top of me the whole night. I might have to bunk with Max and El.” 

You laugh, and Robin takes that as her queue to ask what she’s been pondering since she woke up. 

“Was it okay? Sleeping with Billy? Well, not like that. Well, I’m assuming not like that, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I just meant like actually sleeping? Please stop me.”

You grin at her. “Please breathe, Rob.” She does, over exaggerating her inhales. “And it was fine.”

“Okay, good. I was kind of worried you’d be frustrated with my matchmaking tendencies. I just really want you two to be happy. And he seems so calm when he’s with you, and I realize I’ve just told you that I’ve been pushing you two together and I–”

You wipe milk from your chin, having almost spit out your cereal. “Robin, sweetheart, it’s okay, I promise. I know about your matchmaking tendencies. But I think we’re just friends, right?”

“Just friends, my ass.” You hadn’t even seen Steve get up, but he’s reaching for the fridge and pulling out a carton of chocolate milk. He really can’t say anything about Dustin’s eating habits when he has the exact same diet. 

“Oh my god.”

“Listen, I’m just saying, there’s been something going on between you two since before the world went to shit. I don’t know why you two tiptoe around each other like it’s not obvious that you’re in love.”

“Steve!” you exclaim. “Seriously, what the hell? I’ve been up for like twenty minutes and you two are schooling me on my love life?”

“Or lack thereof,” Robin says. 

“Okay, damn. You know what, I’m going back to bed.” 

Steve pushes your bowl back towards you when you attempt to get up. “No, you’re not. I’m just saying, there’s no sense in avoiding this. You both clearly feel a lot for each other, and I don’t see any reason to avoid it when you could be together.” 

He’s being vulnerable with you, his big brown eyes boring into yours and trying to convey how serious he’s being. 

“Just think about it, okay? There’s no harm in talking about how you feel with him. And don’t say that you don’t feel anything, because that’s a goddamn lie.”

————

Billy’s had his swim trunks on all day, but he hasn’t done more than sit in the shade by the pool while everyone else makes a mess and plays ridiculous games in the water. 

It’s killing him to watch you in there from time to time, swimming around or sitting in the shallow end. You told him once that swimming calms you down. 

It’s not until after dinner, when everyone has moved inside for the most part, though there seems to be the plotting of a water balloon fight out front, that he’s brave enough to head for the pool. 

You follow him out there, see him contemplating the water. 

“Whatcha doin’?” 

Billy drops the cigarette he’d been smoking, snubbing it out. “Thought about going for a swim,” he tells you. 

“That sounds nice.”

“Mhm.”

“I can go back inside, if you want.”

Billy turns to face you. “No. No, I want you to stay.” He wants you to see. He can’t explain why, but he does. 

“Okay.” 

He takes a shaky breath, hoping you don’t catch it. You do. You always do. 

“I just…wasn’t ready for everyone to see.”

“I understand, Billy.” 

You know what he’s really saying. He wasn’t ready for everyone to see. But he’s ready for you to see. 

“I can get in first, if that helps. And I won’t look if you don’t want me to,” you say. 

“That helps, yeah. And you can look. It’s okay.”

He watches you wade in, watches the way your swimsuit changes color as you tread water. 

Billy takes another deep breath, and he’s pulling his shirt off. He’s quick though, diving straight into the deep end, knowing he needs to get it over with. 

When he comes up, his hair is sticking to his forehead, and he flips it out of the way, giving you a glimpse of the broad pink scar on his chest. 

He meets you halfway, and you think he’s in a serious mood until he’s splashing you like a child. 

“You motherfucker!” 

You get him back, and he’s laughing. 

Billy is laughing and he looks so pretty in the last of the day’s sunlight, beads of water sliding over his collarbones and down his arms, and you feel like you could die. Like seeing him this way is enough. You don’t need anything else.

You try to return a particularly aggressive splash, but he catches your waist, pulling you up and over his shoulder. 

“Billy!”

“What?” His voice is teasing. He tosses the rest of the way over, your laughter fading out into the water. 

You come up, a brilliant smile on his face. Billy’s sure if you stood close enough you’d be able to hear his heart beating. 

When you’ve both gone quiet, your eyes drop to the scars on his sides, the way they stretch across his skin, mean and twisting. Some spots are darker than others, and while it hurts you to look at them, you know it must hurt him even more. But he looks just as beautiful as before, if not increasingly so. 

“See something you like?” Billy says it on instinct. To hide the fact that he’s worried you don’t really like it. That maybe you think he’s gross looking. But he knows that’s all in his head. He fucking knows it. 

“You’re fucking gorgeous, Billy Hargrove.”

You say it with such surety, such admiration, that he can’t even begin to doubt that you mean it. 

He smiles at you. It’s boyish. You’d do anything to see a million more of them. 

He moves towards you, the sky having darkened enough that the outside lights have come on, the lights in the pool too. All that remains of the sun is a slash of deep orange, though the night quickly pushes it away.

Billy’s got you backed up against the wall of the pool now. His hands find your sides.

It’s overwhelming, having him this close. You can feel his breath on your face, see the rise and fall of his chest, the freckles on his cheeks. 

When he kisses you, you think your heart stops. His mouth is warm against yours, and he tastes a little like chlorine, but you don’t care. Your hands find his face, and you’re smiling so hard that he pulls away because he wants to see. You don’t let him for long though, pulling him back, wanting more. He laughs into your mouth, and your chest aches with this feeling.

Eventually you do let go, and when you hold his eye contact, he knows what you’re going to say. He needs to tell you first, though.

“I’m in love with you, you know.”

“I know,” you respond.

He tosses his head back in a laugh, and you press a sweet kiss to his throat. 

“I’m in love with you too, Billy.”

“Damn right you are.”

You snort against his chest, lowering slightly to kiss his scar. His breath catches. He doesn’t know what he did to deserve you. 

“About fucking time!” Steve’s shouting and Robin is yelling, and Max would be making barf sounds if she wasn’t so pleased with seeing her brother so happy. 

“So much for that,” Billy says.

But you wouldn’t have it any other way. 

————

“I’m regretting this, Billy.”

“Stop whining.”

Billy wraps his arms tighter around your back, pressing a kiss to your jaw in hopes that you’ll let him keep doing this. 

“Get off.”

“No.”

“Get off, please.”

“Make me.” 

There’s the sound of a slap, your hand having met his ass.

He raises his head from where he’d buried it in your chest, looking at you drowsily. “You just spanked me.”

And you’d do it again. 

“Didn’t work, did it?”

“No. Shut up and take it.”

By that he means continue letting him lay on top of you, his entire body pressed to yours. It doesn’t matter to him that there’s an entire bed, one that’s made for two people.

You settle for playing with his hair, something he seems to enjoy, and you’d mess with him about the fact that he’s essentially purring if it weren’t for him looking so content. 

He might be heavy, but having Billy Hargrove sleep on top of you isn’t exactly something you just give up. 

He’s never had this before.

Hell, you’ve never had this before. 

And he thinks it’s healing him. More than the salve he puts on his scars, or the physical therapy, or fixing up the Camaro. 

You’re healing him. You. 

————

please let me know if you liked this! feedback is always appreciated!! comments and reblogs mean more than you know. <33

[ladykailitha]

The Au Pair Boy Part 12

Hey guys, can you believe that there are only three chapters after this one of this lovely fic? Thank you to everyone who has liked, commented, and reblogged this story.

In this we see Max and Lucas flirting with the idea of flirting with each other, Eddie takes care of Steve, and we meet the raccoon. ;)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

~

“Max!” Susan hissed, with a hint of giggle in her voice.

Steve, who was in the kitchen preparing lunch, stopped what he was doing and looked out the window.

There, leaning on the low brick and iron wrought fence, was Max, staring at something in the distance.

“Max!” Susan cried, her voice high with suppressed giggles. “Stop staring!”

The girl finally must have heard her mother because she jumped two feet straight in the air. Max mumbled something that sounded vaguely like an apology and then they came back in through the back door.

“We’re all done for the day,” Susan said brightly and sneaked a glance over at her daughter. “Someone was a little lackadaisical today, but we got it done.”

Steve laughed. “It’s fine. You guys do a good job. If some days are a little slower than others I’m sure Eddie doesn’t mind the extra. He loves you ladies.”

“Thanks, Steve,” Max muttered sarcastically. But he didn’t take offense. It was her default state of being most of the time.

“There we go!” he replied. “I just Venmo’ed you the money. Can you confirm you got it?”

Susan pulled out her phone and after a moment or two she nodded. “It’s all good! Thanks so much!”

“No, thank you ladies,” Steve said, putting his phone way. “It’s so hard keeping up with twins as just a nanny, I couldn’t imagine not having other people helping me.”

The Mayfields left and Steve went back to fixing lunch. He was making a potato soup with bacon and cheese and dab of sour cream and it was almost ready. But just as he was taking it off the hob, Lucas and Charles walked in for a drink of water. And suddenly it made sense. What, or rather who Max was looking at.

Because Lucas had taken his shirt off in the oppressive heat of late August and wrapped it around his head to keep the sweat out of his eyes.

As they were drinking their water, Steve got out a pitcher of lemonade and poured each of the Sinclair boys a glass. Which they took gratefully.

“Who were those two girls we saw out back today?” Charles asked, handing Steve back his now empty glass.

“Susan Mayfield and her daughter Max,” he replied, putting the glass in the sink. “Max is about Lucas’s age. She’ll be starting up at the local high school next week.”

Charles nudged his son with his elbow. “I told you so.” He turned back to Steve. “So they do the cleaning?”

“Yup!” Steve said with a nod. “The inside anyway. For the grounds, we have Jim Hopper and for the pool, we have you two.”

“Damn,” Lucas said with a low whistle. “It must be nice be rich enough to have separate cleaners for everything. Definitely don’t get that at home.”

Steve nodded. “My parents were lawyer rich growing up so we had someone who came in once a week to clean the big stuff, but for the most part we handled everything else. The cooking, the yard, the day to day stuff for the pool. That was all on us.”

“I didn’t know you grew up rich,” Charles said with frown. “You must really love being a nanny.”

Steve snorted and took their empty glasses from them to wash out in the sink. “Don’t get me wrong. I love my job and especially this one, but when I came out as bisexual, my parents tossed me out. Used my grandparents’ trust fund that left for me to go to school in early childhood development and the rest is history.”

“Well,” Lucas said with a grin, “I’m glad you’re here, because otherwise we wouldn’t have that awesome D&D room to play in and Dustin and them are so cool.”

“I’m glad you guys are having fun,” Steve said with a closed mouth smile.

“It’s been a blast!” Lucas said excitedly. “Plus we found out that Dustin is being transferred to our school. He was being bullied at his last school, so his mom was looking for a new school to send him to and Joyce, Will’s mom suggested our school and he got in!”

All this was stuff Steve knew, of course, but he let Lucas give his news.

Charles ruffled Lucas’s hair. “I’m glad he’s making friends.”

“What’s going to happen once Lucas goes back to school?” Steve asked. “I know plans were for the pool to be drained and covered for the winter in October, but there’s still all of September to think about.”

“We’ll be coming on the weekends,” Charles replied with a smile. “Eddie already talked to us about it, so he must have forgotten to tell you.”

Steve smacked his forehead. “No he did. I’m the one that forgot. Joan has been having nightmares and Janice has been even crankier than her sister over the whole thing.”

He shook his head. “I couldn’t imagine taking care of twins. It was bad enough having Lucas and Erica as close together as they were. A toddler and a newborn were not fun, let me tell you.” He cocked his head to the side. “Probably why we stopped at two, if I’m honest.”

“I feel that,” Steve said rubbing his temple. “I’ve already paid you, I did it when I did Susan’s.”

Charles checked his account. “Yup, we’re all good to go.” He clapped Steve on the arm and then they said goodbye.

Steve turned around and gripped the edge of the counter as he fought to breathe normally. Fuck. He was going to have to tell Charles that his cologne or aftershave or whatever was too strong. Sweat started to bead on his temple as he fought not to screw up his eyes as that would only make it worse.

“Steve?” a gentle voice murmured in his ear, concerned.

Steve looked up to see Eddie regarding him in that soft, careful way he does when one of the girls doesn’t feel good.

“There you are,” he murmured. “You okay there, beautiful?”

Steve blinked up at him for a moment before realizing Eddie hadn’t been home long enough for him to experience one of Steve’s migraines.

“I get migraines,” he croaked out. “And they can be triggered by strong scents, like Mr. Sinclair’s cologne.”

Eddie wrinkled his nose. “Sheesh. Yeah. I can smell it on you pretty intense. Come on, take the shirt off.”

If Steve’s brain hadn’t been trying to leak out of his ears he would have told Eddie to buy him dinner first, but as it was it, he meekly did as he was told. Eddie tossed the shirt into the nearby laundry room and then bundled Steve upstairs. Before he could even protest or let out so much as a whimper, Eddie was back with painkillers and a glass of water from Steve’s bathroom.

Steve took them dutifully, knowing that if he wanted to be a person at all later he would need to take them.

“What about lunch and the girls?” he finally managed to say weakly as Eddie tucked him.

“You do realize I did this by myself for a whole year, right?” Eddie asked with a raised eyebrow. “I think I can handle a single afternoon without you.”

When Steve whimpered, Eddie let out a sigh. “I didn’t mean it like that. Of course I love having you around and taking care of my girls. But you’re human, Stevie and taking an afternoon off will not cause an apocalypse, okay?”

“I thought there was only supposed to be the one apocalypse,” Steve muttered as the painkillers began to filter through the pain.

“Nah,” Eddie said with a grin. “Human has already gone through several. It’s like Ragnarok and the Greek end of the world. It just brings in the next era of humanity. It’s only Christians that think that it’s the one.”

Steve hummed as sleep took over.

Eddie stood up and turned off the light. “You Steve Harrington are going to be the death of me one day. But god, what a way to go.”

~

Eddie made sure to get rid of anything that might trigger Steve’s migraines. He even made Mike go home and change once when he showed up where an entire can of Axe body spray.

He made sure the laundry detergent was scent free, same with the girls’ shampoo. He almost tossed his own cologne before Steve stopped him.

“Most men’s scents are okay,” Steve explained. “Because they don’t use floral or fruit scents. Please don’t stop wearing yours.” He blushed a deep red. “I like it.”

Eddie’s eyebrows shut up but dutifully complied. Always keeping it this side of tasteful, but he began to wear it more often.

The school year started and the raccoon problem increased.

“I just don’t get it,” Hopper growled. “There is only one way to open them and there is no way a raccoon should be able to do it.”

Eddie rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Steve was inside with the girls and he was taking care of the problem himself. He had to stop relying so much on Steve for the day-to-day because Steve was only paid to be the nanny, not Eddie’s personal assistant.

“I’m starting to think Steve’s right about it being vagrants,” he muttered. “Because you’re right, no animal should be smart enough to open the bins.”

Hopper sighed. “I don’t mind homeless, it’s not like they want to be there. But I wish they’d come to the house looking for food and not digging it out of the trash.”

Eddie nodded. He had done his own dumpster diving when he was a kid and his dad had been too drunk to remember to buy groceries, never mind toilet paper.

“Any way to lure them out of the shadow and into Benny’s cooking?” he asked.

“I don’t rightly know,” Hopper said with a laugh. “But I’ll figure something out. It seems they know how to dodge the cameras, so I’ll pick up a couple of motion sensor lights so I can see when someone comes around.”

“That will have to do in the mean time,” Eddie said rubbing his cheek thoughtfully. “It’s too bad that it’s a person and not a critter. I think Janie was hopping to tame the poor thing to antagonize her sister.”

Hopper barked out a laugh. “Sounds like her. Well, I best be heading to the hardware store for those lights.”

Eddie watched him go with trepidation. Critters could be rehomed where they’d be safer, but humans? That was a much tougher fish to fry.

~

Suddenly there was a clash, a bang, a clatter followed by an ear piercing scream. Eddie was up out of his bed faster than lightning and made a dash for the girls’ bedroom.

He met Steve outside the door, but when they looked in, both girls were sound asleep. Janice, splayed out like a starfish and Joan, curled up into a little ball.

“If that wasn’t the girls...” Steve said, wide-eyed and panting for breath.

Then there was another clatter and a scream that clearly came from the kitchen. They dashed down the stairs and raced to the kitchen. There standing in the middle of kitchen was a very disgruntled Hopper holding what appeared to be a pile of rags. Until it screamed again.

“Quick!” Hopper huffed. “Close the door!”

Steve dove for the door and locked it behind him as Hopper yelped in pain. He dropped what he was holding and landed on the clean floor with a thud. It scrambled up and away from the groundskeeper, tucking itself in the corner by the pantry.

That’s when Eddie could see what it was. Or rather who. Her head was clipped short but there was no doubt it was a girl, she looked about twelve. Far too thin and gaunt. Her blue eyes darted around as she tried to make herself as small as possible.

“Looks like you caught your raccoon, chief,” Steve said coming up to stand next to Eddie with his hands on his hips.

“I’m not a raccoon,” she huffed. “I have a name.” Then she frowned. “Or I will once I remember it.”

All three men looked at her in varying degrees of shock, concern, and disbelief.

“You don’t remember your name?” Hopper asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. That complicated matters.

“Jane!” the girl shouted startling everyone. “It’s Jane. My name, I mean. Jane Ives.” But instead of filling out with the name, the girl seemed to shrink further from them, like her name was shameful and ill-fitting.

“Does your parents know where you are?” Eddie asked, kneeling down to look her in the eye.

She shook her head. “Never knew my dad, he ran off when my mom got pregnant with me, Mom is in the hospital.”

“Don’t you have anyone you can stay with?” Steve said, kneeling next to Eddie. “Another relative of your mom’s maybe?”

Jane shook her head. “Aunt Becky said she wasn’t equipped to take care of me and Mom so she put me in foster care.”

Eddie closed his eyes and breathed out through his nose, hanging his head between his shoulders.

“Fuck!”

“That’s a bad word,” she said primly.

Hopper chuckled. “It is at that. But what Mr. Munson means is that if you’ve run away from your foster home, you’re gonna be in a world of hurt when we take you back.”

Jane leapt forward and tried to get past Eddie and Steve but they formed an effective blockade keeping her from the door.

“No!” she cried. “I don’t want to go back! They’ll hurt me again!”

Eddie and Hopper shared a glance. They knew. They knew that most foster places where cesspools.

Now they had an even bigger problem.

~

Part 13 Part 14 Part 15

Tag list: CLOSED

1- @itsall-taken @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @tartarusknight @gregre369

2- ​@a-little-unsteddie @cryptid-system @maya-custodios-dionach @yesdangerpls @goodolefashionedloverboi

3- @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch

4- @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji @ollieolive @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1

5- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman

6- @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @ravenfrog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lingeringmirth

7- @gutterflower77 @a-lovely-craziness @just-a-tiny-void @w1ll0wtr33 @beelze-the-bubkiss

8- @sadisticaltarts @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @dolphincliffs @steddie-as-they-go @steddieislife

9- @kultiras @morallyundefined @themoonagainstmers @fearieshadow @blondie1006

10- @thesecondfate @wheneverfeasible @depressed-freak13 @genderless-spoon @sadiea20

[ataliagold]

Sip The Sunlight From Your Eyes

For @astrangersummer week 2 prompt 'afternoon nap'. Title from Not Yet/Love Run (Reprise) by The Amazing Devil.

Pairing: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson

Rating: G

W/C: 705

Tags: Post Series 4 Volume 2, Everyone Lives, Established Eddie/Steve, Summer, Backyard BBQ, Afternoon Naps, Steve has Insomnia, Fluff

Summary: The whole gang has gathered at Steve's place for a summer BBQ. Part way through, Eddie realizes Steve is missing, and finds him fast asleep in the midday sun.

___

“Where does Steve keep his cups, hon?” Joyce was asking Eddie.

“Ah…they’re in the cupboard next to the fridge. On the right,” Eddie answered.

“Thanks, I had a look around for Steve to ask him but I couldn’t see him anywhere?”

Eddie frowned. He did a quick scan of the backyard, searching for his boyfriend. Robin, Nancy, Jonathan and Argyle were sprawled over the loungers by the pool. Hopper was at the grill, chatting away to Wayne and flipping patties. The kids were spread out in the grass, chatting intently about something, Max’s wheelchair parked up in the sun with El sitting close by.

But no Steve.

Eddie tried to think back to the last time he’d seen Steve this afternoon. He’d been there while Dustin had asked to use the pool, trying to mask the small wave of discomfort that had crossed his face at the request before nodding and waving the kid off towards it.

Dustin had been none the wiser, but Eddie was an expert at reading Steve Harrington by now. He knew the boy still hated that pool and got nervous whenever anyone was in it.

He’d been there when Max had arrived, pushing the girl to her requested spot and toeing on the brakes on the chair, holding a bag of candy out of the reach of the other kids and offering her first pick.

He’d been there to welcome Wayne in, to sheepishly accept the brief hug Wayne gave him, not yet accustomed to open affection from paternal figures in his life.

But then Eddie had lost track, had gotten stuck in a heated debate with Mike and Erica about their last campaign, and Steve had slipped out of his view.

“I’ll go take a look,” Eddie told Joyce.

She smiled and headed off in the direction of the kitchen. Eddie followed her inside but angled for the stairs, heading up towards Steve’s bedroom. He had a feeling that was where Steve would be, hoped he wasn’t coming down with yet another migraine…

He gently opened the door.

The sun was streaming in through the window and landing on the bed where Steve was sprawled out on his stomach, eyes closed and his lips slightly parted in sleep.

Eddie paused in the doorway. Just to take in the sight of his boyfriend, just to breathe for a moment because Steve Harrington was beautiful and till his dying day he’d never understand why Steve had chosen him.

But he had, and Eddie loved him.

Quietly, he approached the bed, one hand landing softly on the small of Steve’s back. The boy shifted under his touch, his eyebrows crinkling a little and a sigh leaving his lips.

“Hey, Stevie,” Eddie murmured. “You ok?”

“Mmm. Tired.”

“No migraine?”

“No.”

And that was good, at least. But Eddie knew Steve still wasn’t sleeping well at night, even months after the gates had closed for good and Vecna had been destroyed.

“Do you want to sleep for a little bit, sweetheart? I can wrap this up early, send everyone home after lunch.”

Steve frowned slightly and shook his head. “They’re having fun. Can hear them.”

Eddie listened for a moment, the sounds of the kids shrieking and laughing drifting in through the window with the warm breeze.

“S’nice,” Steve mumbled. “Sorry, I just came up to get some shorts for Dustin to swim in, he forgot his again. Didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“It’s alright, Stevie. I’ll grab the shorts, you stay here and rest.” Eddie leaned over and kissed Steve’s cheek.

“Was meant to help Hopper with the food,” Steve said, voice still thick with sleep.

“I’m sure he’ll survive, baby. Wayne’s with him anyway, I’ve already heard the two of them debating over how long to leave the patties before flipping them. They’re fine.”

“Mmm.” Steve was half-asleep again already, but he leaned into Eddie’s hand when he gently brushed his fingers across his cheek.

“Sleep well, Stevie.”

“Eds?”

“Hmm?”

“Kiss me?”

Eddie smiled, leant over and kissed him, gentle and slow, his boyfriend’s lips warm from the sun.

“Save me a burger,” Steve mumbled into his mouth, and then his breathing evened out, and just like that he was asleep again.

___

[morganbritton132]

ahhhh i just spent the last three days reading every post on the emtts tag and im in love with your whole little universe. i kept meaning to make a list of all of the little things but i kept getting distracted and forgetting so i only started at april 18th bc i NEED (subject to your willingness to expand/care act this particular part of your universe) to hear more about all of the little stories of steve getting arrested (particularly hopper arresting steve?? and them breaking into steves parents house?)

thanks for this amazing space!! you’ve made a universe that ive been thinking about constantly and that expands on the characters in such a beautiful mundane way, its very cool!!

ps i just read one of the follow ups in the death threat part where steve admits he doesn’t want to stop teaching bc dustin asks eddie about it and i think im about to cry holy shit

pps on the death threat part with diane oh god. like just steve having to figure it out in front of her and her explaining to him and him admitting to just not being ok i just

First, thank you so much! This is all so very nice of you to say and props for getting through everything in three days. It is quite a bit! It’s honestly amazing how much has been written in such a short amount of time. I’m only going to cover Steve getting ‘arrested’ and I’ll touch on Steve and Eddie’s breaking and entering at a later date.

Steve started having seizures a little after they closed the gate on the Upside Down for good or, well. They started noticing that he was having seizures after they closed the gate. It was heavily implied in the undertone of his doctor’s voice that these seizures were likely going on for a while and that they likely not going to stop anytime soon.

Steve took this news as well as anybody could.

Everybody was kinda waiting for him to have a breakdown over it, but it never happened because Steve was – well, he wasn’t fine. Obviously. But it is what it is, right? If the worst thing to come out of all this Upside Down stuff is that he’s a little dumber than he was before than how could he complain?

Max was learning how to walk again.

What Steve didn’t take well was his doctor telling him that he wasn’t allowed to drive anymore. In fact, he did not take that news at all. He completely ignored it, and he ignored the looks that Robin when give him when he drove himself to work, and he would say, “It’s not like I’m driving the kids around or anything. It’s just me.”

“And that’s supposed to make me worry less?”

“I pull over if I feel weird.”

He wasn’t actually driving all that much anyways. Robin got her permit and Eddie got the all-clear to drive again, so no one needed to rope Nancy into lecturing him about ‘the dangers.’ He didn’t need Dustin’s complaining or Eddie’s ‘hey, maybe you should listen to them’ or Joyce stopping him on his way out the door. And he didn’t need Hopper.

Steve was learning to accept that sometimes he needed help. He was doing better, but Steve practically lived alone despite the jokes people were making about him being at Eddie’s all the time, and he wasn’t going to bother someone just because he needed toilet paper.

Steve was sitting in his car outside of the Fair Mart, trying to remember why he needed to go there in the first place, when there was a knock on his window. He startled and blinked hard twice before looking over at the drivers’ side window. He frowned.

Hopper was standing there and he looked annoyed. He gestured for him to get out of the car and Steve frowned more, fumbling with his seatbelt before pushing the door open. For lack of anything else to do once he was out of the car, Steve said, “Hey, what’s up?”

Hopper frowned more like he was annoyed with Steve which was, in itself, was really annoying because Steve didn’t do anything. He was just here to buy… He was here to get… Wait. “Huh?”

Hopper sighed loudly and repeated himself. Slowly. “Give me. Your keys.”

Maybe it was Hopper’s tone or maybe there was some stock in what his doctor said mood swings, or maybe Steve was just tired of everybody treating him like a baby that needed taken care of and watched. Just when Hopper reached to take the keys out of his hand, Steve shoved him away.

Everything kinda blurred at the edges and the headache that’s been wedged in the corner of Steve’s jaw pulsed. He didn’t really take a breath until Hopper shoved him against the hood of his car.

Hopper cuffed metal around his wrists and said, “Good going, Harrington.”

Steve yanked on his arm and snapped back, “You’re not even a cop anymore. You can’t arrest me.”

“Call it a citizen’s arrest.”

Eddie laughed for four minutes of Steve’s five minute phone call at the police station. He laughed so hard that Steve knew that he was holding his side where the bites were the deepest because they were still tender, and Steve just rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah. Yuck it up. Are you gonna get me?”

“Hm, yeah,” Eddie grinned through the phone. “Yeah. It’s a little ironic that the Prom K-“

Steve hung up the phone.

The ‘charges’ that Hopper (not a cop) threatened to ‘throw the book at him’ for were driving without a valid driver’s license. There was a part of Steve that knew that this was all just for show to teach him a lesson, but still argued that he had a valid license because no one took it away from him, and actually, “This is false imprisonment, right? Maybe I should call my family lawyer.”

It was even more annoying that Eddie – rolling into the building smelling like weed an hour later – agreed with Hopper. 

[louloulemons-posts]

Oil At The Coffee Shop IX

Eddie X Fem!Reader

Summary : Eddie tells Reader about the Upside Down, but she still thinks he’s beautiful.

Word Count : 2.5k

Warnings : Not proofread, angst, 18+, SMUT, talks of the upside down, eddies issues, vecna, smutty smut, choking, dom!eddie, oral (fem receiving), unprotect sex(for the love of god use protection), sadness then smut, this part is sad and horny 🫶🏻

A/N : This is my first time writing smut so apologies if it’s awful, also if you don’t want to read it, you are more than welcome to skip it 🤍

Fic Masterlist

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

You pushed open the door, letting yourself and Eddie in, flicking on the lamps dotted around. You hung your bag back up, dropped your keys, going to the couch so you could take your shoes off.

Eddie mimicked these actions, hanging his leather jacket up, and sitting down next to you. “Do you anything to drink before?” you asked him. “No, thank you though. I think I should just get it out of the way.”

“Okay.”

“And if it’s okay, could you just let me speak before you ask any questions, you can ask me anything after. Is that alright?”

“That’s fine, anything you need Eds,” you could tell he was uncomfortable, frightened even.

He sighed, unable to begin talking, you took his hand gently. “Take your time Eds, do what you need to do.” He nodded, offering a weak smiled.

“Just before the Summer of 86, something started. It started in my life anyways, it actually began in 83. Anyways, I was a troubled kid, was on my third try of my senior year, barely passing anything.

“I was um … selling drugs so me and Wayne could get by easier. Then one day this girl, a cheerleader, her name was Chrissy, she came up and asked to buy from me. Wanted really strong stuff.

“I didn’t keep it on me, it was at my home. The trailer. So after school we went there … I um …” he paused, taking a deep and shaky breath. You squeezed his hand, rubbing your thumb on the back of it.

“Take your time,” you said softly. He nodded, before taking another breath and continuing. “I went to my room to grab the stuff and when I came back, she, Chrissy I mean … she um … was in some sort of trance.

“I tried to wake her up. Her body was thrown against the ceiling. Something pulled her apart from the inside out. Every bone in her body was broken, her eyes were … I ran. I ran out. I left her there.

“Everyone thought it was me, so I hid.” He continued, explained how Dustin had found him, along with Steve, Robin and Max.

He told you about Vecna, about El. About the two other kids who were killed at the monsters hands, Fred Benson and Patrick McKinney.

He told you about the Upside Down. About the great final battle. Him playing guitar.

“I broke the rope, Dustin was stuck in this world and me in the Upside Down. I ran. I made as much noise as I could. The bats they um … they attacked me.

“Ripped me apart. It’s why I look … it’s why I look the way I do. Vecna was doing the same thing to Max that he did to Chrissy. She barely survived, but she’s a strong kid.

“If it wasn’t for El, neither of us would be here. She killed Vecna, saved Max. She was hurt, but she was alive. Steve, Robs and Nance came back, dragged me to the trailer.

“The doctors saved me. Well El did most of the work. Then … then Hopper came back, vouched for me. It got blamed on someone else, Jason Carver.

“Not everyone believes that. I’m still the town freak. People think that I summoned Satan to destroy the town. I didn’t. I was so scared. Then the earthquakes, the landslides, I was just hoping Wayne made it out.

“I didn’t care if he hated me, I just needed him alive. He’s all I got.”

“All you had,” you corrected, “You’ve got me now.”

“I do? You believe me? You don’t hate me?”

“Yes, yes and no.”

“I was so scared that you’d never want to see me again.”

“I believe you. I’m sorry that all happened to you Eds and I’m sorry people still judge you for it.”

You could now recall the times people looked at him funny, or stopped talking when he entered the room, or when they crossed the road to avoid him.

“I um … I’ll let El and Max tell you their stories, it’s not for me to say anymore. I still don’t really understand myself.”

“Thank you for telling me. You did so well.”

“I-I’m sorry that I had to tell you, but you needed to know. I couldn’t have you see me and not know what happened. That’s if you still want to see me?”

“Eddie you might not think it, but you are the most beautiful person I have ever seen. I want to see you, I want to see all of you if you’ll let me. No matter what you’ll be beautiful to me.”

He pressed his mouth to yours, face damp after what he’d just told you. “We don’t have to do anything, but if you want to stay you can.”

“I’d like the company if that’s okay?” he says, almost shyly.

“That’s more than okay. Hey I’ve got Cherry turnovers downstairs, let’s go get some.”

“What time do you have to be up tomorrow?” he asked.

“Shop opens at 9, but the girls get here at 8. I have to finish up stuff so I’ll be up around 6:30.”

He hummed, nodding. “Okay, well I have to get to work too.”

“Okay, now come on. Let’s go get treats.”

He laughed, as you pulled him with you.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

You headed into the kitchen and opened up a box full of the turnovers, handing one to Eddie and taking one off yourself. Both of you stood close together, chomping at the delicious pastry.

You smiled at Eddie before you eyes caught something else, “Oh my god,” you said.

“Hm? What?” he asked.

“That’s why you freaked out about the cake! Oh Eddie I’m so sorry!” you said, remembering the small fondant creatures.

“Hey, it’s okay. It wasn’t your fault. I was just having a rough day with it. Was dealing with my feelings about you too.”

“Oh yeah? How long have you had these feelings?”

“A while.”

“You’re gonna have to give me more than that Munson.”

“No way!”

“Mean,” you pouted.

“What was that?” he asked.

“Nothing,” you smiled.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

“Sweetheart,” he said, lifting your chin so you’d meet his eyes, “What did you call me?”

“Mean,” you spoke, voice almost a whisper.

“Am I? Am I mean?” he asked.

“I-I …”

“Come on, what happened to the mouthy girl here a few minutes ago.”

“I’m sorry.”

He kissed your forehead, “It’s sadly too late for that. I’ll show you how mean I can be.” He attacked your lips, holding you close to him. His lips traveled down to your neck, kissing and biting, just like how you’d been doing to him, hours before.

“E-Eddie we can’t h-here,” you stuttered, breathless at the feeling of his lips on your neck. “It’s n-not hygienic.”

“Not hygienic,” he laughed into your neck, “Okay then Sweetheart, jump for me.”

You did as he asked, he caught your thighs, legs wrapping around his waist. “Would your bed be more hygienic?” he asked.

“That does sound better.”

“Okay baby, whatever you want,” he said, stealing a kiss.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

As soon as you made it into the apartment, Eddie was in your room. Dropping you on the bed gently. Leaning up on your elbows you smiled at him. “God Sweetheart you’re so fucking beautiful,” he spoke, climbing onto the bed and between your legs.

Mouths on one another, tongues fighting, but somehow in sync with one another. Hands grabbing anything they could. “Can I take this off?” Eddie asked, playing with the hem of your shirt.

You nodded. “Use your words Sweetheart.”

“Yes.” Sliding off your cardigan first, you raised your arms above your head, letting him pull the shirt from your body.

Sat back on his knees, Eddies eyes were filled with lust. You were the most stunning person he’d ever seen. He began kissing down your chest, leaving marks along the top of your breasts.

“Can I?” he asked, dragging his fingers up to the back of your bra. “Yes,” you say, breathless. Undoing it, the bra was thrown somewhere in the room - frankly you couldn’t care less where it had landed.

“Fuck baby,” he said, taking your breasts in his hands, squeezing them lightly. You moaned out at the feeling. Leaning down, he placed his latched his mouth to one of your nipples. Sucking on it, twirling his tongue around.

“E-Eddie, oh fuck baby,” you cried out as he bit down lightly. Your hands tangled in his hair, pulling on it, he nipped more. “God I feel like I’m neglecting the other, better fix that. Right Sweetheart?”

You hummed in agreement, making Eddie cock his brow. “Y-yeah better fix i-” You didn’t get chance to finish as Eddie already began his attack.

You hips bucked up into him, making him grind down his own. Feeling his bulge grow in his jeans, your hands wandered down, squeezing him through the denim.

With a pop, he let go of your nipple. “Excuse me, what do you think you’re doing?” he asked. “I need you, please I need you,” you almost begged.

“I told you, I’ll give you anything you want. But you called me mean, so maybe I should make you work for it?” You eyes widened, you’d love to take him in your mouth, god he’d feel so good down your throat.

“Oh no, I’ll give you everything. You want me to make you work. Well no can do. You’ll take what I give you.” He began to unbutton your jeans, sliding them down your legs.

There you were, in only panties whilst he was fully clothed. He reached for the edge of his shirt, but hesitated. “It’s okay,” you said, sitting up to kiss his mouth.

Slowly you lifted his shirt up and off of him, there were scars and bite marks everywhere. You could see the doctors had done what they could, but the wounds were deep, ragged.

“You’re beautiful,” you spoke, kissing his chest, right above his heart. “So fucking beautiful Eds.” Your mouths connected again as Eddie climbed out of his jeans, pushing you down on the bed.

Lay in between your legs, his fingers trailed up your thighs. Biting, licking, sucking at your neck, his fingers found their way underneath your panties.

“God you’re so wet, all for me baby?”

“A-all for you.” You moaned when he brushed your clit, he smirked at that, rubbing again. “I bet I could just slide my fingers right in, better take the rings off.”

He went to move his hand, but you stopped him. “Please baby I need you,” you spoke, begging him. “What a dirty girl.” His fingers slid into you, making you cry out, the cold metal stretching you.

“F-fuck Eddie.”

“Already such a mess, better clean up,” he spoke, more to himself than anyone. Making his way down your body, he kissed everywhere he could.

Placing a gentle peck to each thigh, he let his tongue lick your slit. “Fuck!” you screamed, hands tangling in his hair. His mouth latched onto your clit, sucking on it, as his fingers curled upwards hitting that spot over and over.

“F-fu-Fuck .. E-Ed .. oh my god,” you babbled. “Does it feel so good?”

“Mhm,” you moaned.

“I asked you a question.”

“Y-yes, it feel so fucking g-good,” his fingers hit the spot again. “Who’s making you feel so good?”

“You!”

“Who’s that?” You could feel his smirk on you thighs, mouth licking you again. “You Eddie fuck. I’m gonna c-cum, fuck Eddie I’m gonna cum.”

“Yeah baby, give it to me. Cum for me, come on Sweetheart, cum.” You let out a cry of pleasure, clenching around Eddies fingers as you came. Legs shaking, he pressed soft kisses to your clit. Moving his fingers until your fingers weren’t so tight in his hair.

“Shit Sweetheart,” he laughed. You lay there trying to catch your breath. “You good?” he asked. You hummed, “Yeah.”

“Think you can take more?”

“Please,” you said, meeting his eyes.

“Do you uh … do you have a condom?”

“N-no, but I’m on birth control and I’m clean and I .. I trust you Eddie.”

He smiled softly, planting a kiss on your forehead. He slowly slid your panties down, his boxers following soon after. Fuck. You knew he’d be big, but fuck. He was thick and long and … well shit.

“Can you open up for me Sweetheart?” you legs spread for him, allowing him to line himself up. Slowly he slid into you. “F-fuck,” you moaned, he stretched you out so much. It felt so good.

“God baby you feel so good,” he moaned into your neck. Soon enough he was in you, bottoming out. “Can I move?”

“Please!” you cried out.

He did so, starting slowly, then building up a nice pace, nice and deep. You were squeezing around him. He smirked, taking hold of one of your legs, resting it over his shoulder.

Moving again, he was so deep, you could see him in your tummy. Each time, hitting that spot, making your body shake with pleasure. “Eddie oh my god,” you cried.

“I know, it just feels so good doesn’t it, fucking you so nice and deep,” his hips slammed into yours roughly, again and again, making you loose your voice.

You mouth was wide open and no sound was able to come out, eyes in the back of your head as he fucked you hard. His hand slid up to neck, squeezing softly. Rings cool, but sticky as they sat there.

“Fuck baby, I’m gonna cum soon, your pussy’s gripping me so good,” Eddie moaned. “Cum-cum in me p-please,” you begged, voice weak as his hand squeezed.

“Yeah you want all my cum?”

“P-please,” you said nodding, crying out again, “I-I’m gonna cum again baby f-fuck!”

“Cum all over my cock, come on Sweetheart, squeeze that dick.”

You did just that, body shaking, a loud moan leaving your body as you came, eyes rolling in the back of your head. Eddie groaned, thrusting his hips a few more times, “Fuck Sweetheart, fuck fuck fuck fu-“ hot ropes of cum filled you up.

The curly haired man dropped into your shoulder. Both of you breathing heavily. He kissed your shoulder, and neck where his hand had been. “You okay Sweetheart?”

“I’m okay, are you?”

“I’m more than okay.”

He pulled out as gently as he could, making you whine. Climbing up from the bed, you reached out for him, “I’m coming, just getting a washcloth hang on.”

You closed your eyes, listening to the faucet run for a few moments. Footsteps came closer and soon enough a warm washcloth was being rubbed gently on your lower body.

“All clean baby,” he said, kissing your stomach. He slid his boxers back on and helped you into his t-shirt. Pulling you into him, you listened to his heart beat.

“I don’t think you’re mean,” you spoke up, which made him laugh. “Oh I know, but I wasn’t lying when I said, I’ll give you anything you ask for.”

“Kiss me?”

He chuckled, pressing his mouth against yours softly. “I adore you,” he said, making your face flush. “Now Sweetheart, let’s get some rest, we’ve gotta be up early.”

“Okay. Goodnight Eds.”

“Goodnight Sweetheart.”

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

A/N : uhhhh so i may have got a little carried away 👀

Thank you so much for reading 🤍

taglist : @corrodedseraphine @flawiette @witchwolflea @emxxblog @plk-18 @vintagehellfire @lma1986 @squidscottjeans @eddiesguitarskills @nanas-lasagna @halialex1119

let me know if you want to be added 🤍

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

The Thunder in Our Hearts

An Elumax fanfiction

A/N: I never wrote for Max, El, as well as Lucas before, so I hope I got their voices right. I couldn't make Max completely blind. It hits too close to home that I could go blind one day, but I couldn't figure out how Max could come out of that completely unscathed, and I'm no doctor so I tried not to be so specific about her injuries. . .anyway, here you go!

El wiped her eyes before walking into Max's room. She closed the door behind her and paused when she saw Lucas reading to Max. She lowered her hood.

"Is it alright if I - ?" El asked nervously.

"What? Yeah, of course!" Lucas exclaimed.

"I know I should not be here, but I wanted to see her," El replied.

"She's your best friend. You're allowed to see her," Lucas said, closing his book.

"They're still looking for me," she whispered.

"They always are," Lucas said.

El ran her hand through her short, curly hair and sat down next to Lucas. Her hair had grown faster than it ever did over the last month or so. El couldn't believe how long it's been. . .it had been a total of 9 months since she had physically seen and talked to Max. . .to any of them.

"We won, but she still hasn't woken up," she sighed.

"She will," Lucas said. "She's too stubborn. She's Max. There's no way she's going to let something like this stop her."

El chewed on the end of her sweatshirt sleeve as she stared at Max's prone body. She was afraid that Max wasn't there anymore. Every night, she dreamed of her as though she was there, and El could almost touch her.

"Max," El whispered softly and took one of her hands.

"It seemed like there was something else bothering you," Lucas said.

"It's nothing," El shrugged.

"Just because bigger things are going on right now doesn't mean that nothing else matters," Lucas said.

"Mike and I broke up," El said.

"What?!" Lucas exclaimed. "Why would he do that with everything - "

"Why do you assume that he did something wrong?" El asked.

"He didn't?" Lucas asked, and she shook her head. "Did you?"

"We love each other, but it is not enough," El said. "We both want something different. We do not know what that is, yet."

"But you want to figure that out separately?" Lucas asked.

"Yes," El said.

"I'm sorry," Lucas said.

"I think if Max could speak, she'd try to think of all the ways that Mike is a dumbass and she'd tried to make me feel better," El laughed. "It would not, but she'd think it would. I would give anything to curl up with her and read Wonder Woman comics again."

"Yeah," Lucas said.

El glanced at him, thinking about all of the times that Max would pull her out of her shell after Hopper had supposedly died. When she wasn't with Joyce or Mike, she had been pulled into Max's space, trying to make her feel better as well. Some days, it was just Max, El, and Lucas. . .in that little bubble. Lucas had spent his time trying to do whatever it took to make both of them feel better or just encouraging them to talk. When they hadn't wanted to, Lucas had taken their hands and began to dance with both of them even when there hadn't been any music playing.

"I have not said thank you," El said to Lucas.

"For what?" Lucas asked.

"For helping," El said, and he knew what she had meant.

"Always, that's what friends are for," Lucas said. "Do you want to read to Max?"

"I am not very good," El said.

"I just don't think you had very good teachers," Lucas said with a grin. "I still can't believe that teacher from California defended Angela. . .yeah, Will told us all about that. That teacher should have known that you were right to do your report on your dad. Come on, I know you can do this. I believe in you."

Lucas placed the book in her lap, and El stared at him for a moment before smiling. With his help and encouragement, El read to Max. It was quite enjoyable, actually, and El almost felt guilty for enjoying herself, but she knew that Max would want her to.

"My eyes are hurting," El said. "That is why I do not like doing this. . .it's all blurry."

Lucas tilted her chin up and looked into her eyes.

"Have you ever thought that you might need glasses?" he asked.

"No," El frowned. "Do you think that I need glasses?"

"I don't know, I'm not exactly a professional," Lucas snorted. "It's a possibility, though. It could change a whole lot for you."

"Thank you for helping me," El said. "I think that you would make a wonderful teacher."

"Yeah, you think?" Lucas asked.

"Yes," she said. "You are a lot more patient with me than my other teachers were. You would be the favorite."

"It's not like I haven't thought about it," Lucas said. "I still think about other things, though. . ."

"Basketball?" El asked.

"After everything that happened, should I still like it?" Lucas asked.

"Did a basketball hurt you?" El asked.

"No," he laughed.

"We have fought for this town, for our friends, to keep liking things," El said. "If you don't want to stop, then you should not. It your choice."

"I wish you could have seen me play," Lucas said.

"I would have come to every game," El said.

"I know you would have," Lucas said.

"It's funny, you used to hate me, remember?" El asked with a smile.

"I didn't hate you, I never hated you," Lucas said. "I was just scared of you. You've always had your powers, but I never knew that someone like you could exist. My best friend was missing. . .I was just scared."

"They scare me, too," El said softly and looked at Max. "All the time."

"Hey, this isn't your fault, El," Lucas said. "With or without you, Brenner would have done what he did. You chose to save this town, save us. You did everything to save Max. You brought her back, and you're going to bring her back again."

"I do not know how," El whispered.

"Then we'll figure it out together," Lucas said.

El rested her head on his shoulder, and he pressed her cheek against her hair.

"I dream of her every night," El said.

"Me too," Lucas said and paused. "I feel guilty, too. I should have tried harder, and I just gave up. . .I walked away when she needed me the most."

"It was not your fault," El said. "She wanted to push us away. We could not force her."

They stayed like that for a while, staring at Max and willing her to wake up.

"I like your hair," El said and lifted her head. "It looks fun."

"You want to touch it, don't you?" Lucas asked in amusement.

"Please?" El asked.

He laughed and nodded. El placed her hand on top and burst into giggles.

"You know, it's only fair that I play with yours. I like it like this, short and curly. The curls are fun," Lucas said. "Boiinng!"

He pulled on one of her curls like it was a spring. El laughed even harder as he continued to do it. For a moment, when she looked at Max, she thought she saw her smiling, too. After a while, she pushed his hand away, still smiling.

"Stop it," she said.

"I like it when you smile. You've got dimples," Lucas said.

"I like it when you smile, too," El said.

They reached at the same time for Max's hand.

"We should smile for her," Lucas said. "It sounds cheesy, I know, but. . .I think she'd want us to."

"She will not smile when she does wake up," El frowned. "Her mom. . ."

"She's in rehab. She's doing the work to get better, but they don't see it that way," Lucas said, and his brows furrowed. "Although Max was taking care of her instead of the other way around. . .I don't know what the answer to that is. I know Max loves her mom."

"Dustin's mom is going to take her in," El said.

"She is?" Lucas asked.

"They already made room for her," El said. "Dustin spent all of his money buying Max her favorite comics."

"I think I live here now," Lucas sighed. "I didn't even know that."

"She would not want you to live here," El said.

"I know," he sighed.

"The food here is horrible," El said seriously, and Lucas laughed.

"Oh god, it really is," he said.

"I will sneak you some waffles," El said. "I have to go."

El slipped the hood over her head and moved for the door. Lucas quickly grabbed her hand, and she looked at him.

"I hope you can come back," Lucas said.

"I hope that you can leave sometimes," El said sadly and squeezed his hand before walking out the door.

That night, El lay in her bed at the cabin and dreamed of Max. She dreamed of Lucas, too. Max was being held in Lucas's arms, saying that she didn't want to die, and Lucas was crying. Blood was dripping down Max's cheeks, and El had her hand over Max's heart, trying to use her powers to keep her alive.

"Please, don't go," El whispered.

El watched as Max died in Lucas's arms, and Lucas looked at El, fury written on his face.

"You should have tried harder. It should have been you," Lucas said. "I live here now. I live here now."

Suddenly, El felt someone grab her hand and pull her away. She couldn't see who was pulling her, but suddenly, she was in the middle school gymnasium. It was decorated like it was the night of the Snow Ball. Max was standing in front of her, her red hair down around her. It wasn't like Vecna's mind soup world. There weren't any vines, only pretty lights and pretty decorations.

"Sometimes, we're our own worst enemy," Max said and held out her hand.

"I am not a boy," El said.

"Why does it have to be just boys and girls who dance together? What's stopping us?" Max asked.

"Nothing," El answered and took Max's hand.

It was just like the first night they danced together in Max's room. Max had turned up the music when Neil started yelling at Susan, and El had wanted to use her powers on Neil, but they had gone, along with Billy. It wasn't long after that night that Neil had left. El swallowed as she looked at Max. She had always thought that Max was pretty in the way that she thought that Mike was pretty when he started talking to her.

"I'm pretty like Mike?" Max scrunched up her nose.

"Can you hear my thoughts?" El asked.

"A little bit, I am in your head after all," Max replied and wrapped her other arm around El's waist.

"Are you real?" El asked as they swayed to the music that suddenly filled the air.

"I feel real, so I must be real," Max said and pulled El closer to her. "Do I feel real to you?"

"Yes," El said, feeling Max's breath on her face.

"Can you do something for me?" Max asked.

"Anything," El said.

"You and Lucas take care of each other. Make sure he doesn't sit in that chair forever," Max said. "Kick his ass if you have to."

"You are going to wake up," El said.

"I'm safe where I am," Max said.

"You're scared," El realized. "I will keep you safe. I pro - ,"

"Don't make a promise that you know you can't keep," Max whispered.

Suddenly, the lights went out, and Max disappeared. The entire room disappeared, and El was stuck in the void. She screamed as she started to fall.

"MAX!"

El woke up, drenched in sweat, as hands shook her. Will stood above her, looking pale. She collapsed into his arms, crying.

"Gone, gone," she whispered.

The door to their now shared bedroom was shoved open. Jonathan, Joyce, and Hopper burst into find Wil rocking a crying El in his arms.

"Max," she whimpered. "I could not keep her safe. Gone, gone."

El tried to pretend like everything was fine the next morning, but everyone was staring at her, looking at her in concern. She swallowed and blinked away the tears as she clutched her bear.

"I will not go out until it is safe for all of us," El vowed.

"Dr. Owens made a deal with them, they're not going to come after you," Joyce said.

"Then why are they still here?" El asked. "I know they followed me to the hospital. I should not have risked Max like that."

"It's not your fault. What happened to Max isn't your fault," Will said.

"You did everything you could, kid," Hopper said and touched her shoulder briefly.

"IT WAS NOT ENOUGH!" El screamed.

She got up from the kitchen table, brushed off Hopper, and headed towards her room. The door opened without her touching it, and using her powers, she slammed it behind her. She slid to the ground. Everything she touches. . . it just gets broken. She heard their voices outside the door, but she didn't care. El shoved her face into her bear and cried.

"We need to give her some time, Hop," Joyce said sadly.

"She's hurting, Joyce, it's killing her, and I don't - I don't know how to help her," Hopper said, his voice breaking.

"The only thing we can give her is time. We can't force it out of her," Joyce said. "When she's ready, she'll come to us."

"I hate this," Hopper said.

"It's killing me, too," she replied. "We promised Wayne and Eddie that we'll be there for them today, that we'd help them out."

"I don't want to leave her like this," Hopper said.

"I want to be alone!" El yelled through the door.

"Are you sure, kid, because - ," Hopper said.

El cracked the door open and peered through.

"I am sure. I will not be very helpful today," she said. "Space, Dad, I need space."

"Are you really sure because I can send Hopper and it can just be me, if you want? I know I said that I'd give you time but - ," Joyce said.

"Mom," El said softly. "Please."

"Okay, honey, if you're sure," Joyce said. "It's not that we don't trust you - ,"

"You worry," El said and smiled. "You care. I know."

Joyce smiled briefly at her before moving aside. El gave her brothers a watery smile but gestured with her hands for them to go as well. Jonathan and Will shared a look. She closed the door and listened as they left one by one. El let out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding. It's still hard to believe that she had people around her who actually gave a damn about her. Sometimes, she just needed time to accept that and space to breathe. El crawled onto the bed and curled up into a fetal postion, clutching her bear and wishing it was Max. It wasn't fair that everyone came back: Eddie, Chrissy, Patrick, Fred. . .but not Max. Tears fell onto her pillow, and she cried. At some point, she had fallen asleep because the next thing that she knew was that she was startled by a loud banging sound on the front door, and her pillow was bone dry. El slowly crept out of bed and froze in the living room. They were here for her. She didn't think. . .she lashed out with her hand and her powers. The person on the other side of the door flew off the porch.

"SHIT!"

She recognized that voice. Lucas. Oh, no, not again. El flew out the door and rushed to Lucas's side. She collapsed next to him, crying.

"I'm sorry!" El exclaimed.

"We have to stop meeting like this," Lucas tried to joke.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I thought you were one of them," El said.

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't have knocked like that, but when Will said that you were in a dark place, I had to check on you," Lucas said and he sat up, touching his head. "See? No blood. I'm fine."

Lucas moved towards her, but she stumbled back, trying to put distance between them.

"Not safe," El shook her head. "They were right."

Lucas rolled his eyes before grabbing her ankles and pulling her to him. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. She tried to push him off of her but held on, and eventually, she collapsed, burying her face into his shoulder.

"I feel safe with you, I promise," Lucas said.

"I'm a monster," she sobbed.

"No, you're not, and I would appreciate it if you stopped talking about my friend like that," Lucas said.

"I am dangerous," El said.

"Slipping on a banana peel is also dangerous, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop eating bananas," Lucas said. "They're too damn good."

El moved back and looked at him, frowning in confusion.

"Are you saying. . .that you want to eat me?" El asked slowly.

"What?! No! That's - I'm just saying that just because you could possibly hurt me with your powers doesn't mean that I'm going to stop hanging out with you," Lucas said. "I like spending time with you."

"I like spending time with you, too," El said.

"With or without powers, El, everything in life is a risk," Lucas said. "You're just more than a risk than some people, and I think you're a risk worth taking. You've saved this town, not because you had to, but because you wanted to. You risked dealing with being experimented on again for the sake of helping the people that you love. It shows a lot of heart, El. You put everything on the line, you always do, and you would never intentionally hurt someone else. You have better control than you think you do."

"I still feel her everywhere I go," El whispered. "I can not shake the feeling that there's something more that I can do."

She laid back on the ground, looking up at the sky, and watched the clouds pass by. Lucas laid down next to her.

"You'll figure something out, I know you can," Lucas said. "You're smarter than you know. . .don't let those asshole teachers get to you."

"You have more faith in me than I do. Why is that?" El asked.

"It's because you don't," he said. "Max had faith in you, and most of the time, she's right. Plus, you saved Will. You saved our friends, and you came back to Hawkins when you could have gotten out. . .you could have been free to do whatever the hell you wanted to. You dug down deep and showed Billy the last scrap of goodness that he had. You showed him that there was still good in his life, and in his heart, you showed him that he still needed to do the right thing by Max. You figured out what was needed to pull that out of him when everyone else didn't. I guess I have faith in you because you have faith in other people even if they don't have faith in themselves."

Tears slipped down El's cheeks as she glanced at Lucas. She looked up at the sky and stared at the clouds.

"That cloud looks like a cat," El said and Lucas laughed.

"Yeah, it does," Lucas said.

"I thought you lived at the hospital now," El said.

"Joyce and Will came by the hospital to check on Max. Will told me that you were in a bad place. I had to come," Lucas said with a grin. "Max would have beat my ass if I didn't."

"She would have totally beat your ass," El laughed.

"You're my friend, too," he said. "And you're important."

El moved over and laid her head on his shoulder. Together, they watched the clouds in the sky.

"That one looks like a bird with it's a wings spread out," El said.

"It does," Lucas agreed.

"Sometimes, I wish I was a bird," she said.

"Why?"

"So, I could fly."

"Where would you fly to?" Lucas asked.

"Everywhere. . .but really, I would go to Bradley's and pick up up more Eggos," she said and he laughed.

"You're a bird, how would you carry it?" he asked.

"I am a big bird with powers," El said rather seriously.

"Of course."

A couple of weeks later, El sat with Will, thinking about Lucas. He was all she could think about lately, him and Max. When she wasn't at the hospital, she was at the cabin. Between the cabin and the hospital, as well as home, were the only places that Lucas could be seen. School, of course, was a given. El and Lucas were constantly together, and she hadn't really had time to think about Mike at all until Will brought him up.

"You never said anything about liking Mike before," El frowned. "Maybe I didn't pay enough attention."

"No, not everything is your fault. I chose not to tell you. . .he was your boyfriend, and I know you, you would have broken up with him if you knew," Will said.

"Is that a bad thing?" El asked.

"You shouldn't have to keep giving up on your life, El," Will said. "You and Mike breaking up needed to be on your terms. They needed to be both of your decisions. Unless Mike felt the same way or that you knew that he did, I shouldn't have been a factor in that decision making. I'm glad you both made a choice."

"I want you to be happy," El said. "What about this thing with Gareth?"

"I deserve a chance to explore my options outside of Mike," Will grinned. "It's not that serious. He's using me because he has a crush on Jeff."

"You want Mike to be jealous?" she grinned.

"Is that childish?" he asked.

"Maybe. . .but I think you deserve it," El said, nodding, and paused. "Would it make you feel bad if I told you that I'll always love Mike?"

"No. . .are you planning on getting back together with him?" Will asked.

"He was my first love, and I was his, but no, I do not think so," El said, shaking her head. "Not in this universe. Dustin said there's many worlds like this one, but they're different, and maybe in one of them, I did stay with Mike but not this one."

El thought about Max, and then she thought about Lucas. It was hard not to think about Lucas and the feelings that were starting to bubble up inside of her. She felt guilty. Would Max hate her?

"Are you okay?" Will asked.

The front door of the cabin opened and Hopper joined them on the porch.

"Is everything okay?" Hopper asked.

"You do not have to worry. I am fine. We were just talking about Mike," El said.

"I don't have to worry?" Hopper asked with narrowed eyes.

"I will find someone else," El said. "Not now, but maybe someday. Maybe it will be a boy or maybe it will be a girl. I do not care. A pretty heart is a pretty heart."

Will looked at her with wide eyes, and it was like he could read her like she was an open book to him. It wasn't unsettling. In fact, it was nice and sometimes, that's why they consider each other twins. She wondered if he knew that she was thinking about Max and Lucas.

"I think that's great," Will said softly, deciding not to question her further, and nudged her shoulder. "That means you're definitely not straight."

"I am a wet noodle," El said and Will laughed.

"Hey, I'm proud of you, kid, of both of you," Hopper said, wrapping an arm around his kids.

"Thanks, Dad," Will and El said, hugging him tightly.

"I'm really glad you're not fighting over the same boy," Hopper sighed in relief.

"Yet," Will and El said, giggling when he let out a half serious growl.

Every night, she dreamed of dancing with Max, and every night, she fell from her grasp. El couldn't sleep anymore, she couldn't think. When she went into the void, she searched for her and looked for her mind. Maybe if she stopped looking for her. . .maybe Max would come to her. El needed a break. The soldiers were finally gone, and Eddie had been officially declared a hero from saving his "victims" from a serial killer. It was hard to celebrate with Max being in the hospital, but El knew they had every right to. El walked around the side of Steve's house, away from the pool party, and went to the driveway where Lucas was shooting hoops. El couldn't help but watch him, her belly growing warm at sight of him. She knew all about the urges and that she was a teenager now, a young woman who felt certain things. She knew, though, that she wasn't ready for that yet. . . Thanks to Joyce for that awkward conversation, but at least it hadn't been with Hopper. El let out a giggle, letting Lucas know that she was there.

"Hey," he said, turning around and tucking the ball under his arm. "You didn't feel like swimming?"

"No, I did not," El said, shaking her head. "They should celebrate but I do not want to."

"Me neither," Lucas said.

"Teach me?" El asked.

"Basketball?" Lucas asked.

"Please?"

"No need to use those eyes of yours, I was going to say yes," Lucas said.

El listened with rapt attention as he gave her a brief explanation and showed her how to shoot. Pretty soon, they were playing a small game of it. El was pretty good at getting the ball away from him, and she didn't even need to use her powers to do it. She was losing, however.

"Oh, a dog!" El exclaimed.

When Lucas turned to look, El grabbed the ball and threw it into the basket. Lucas snapped his head to look at her.

"Hey! That's cheating!" He exclaimed.

"Is it?" She taunted.

"Oh, that's it. . .you asked for it!" Lucas exclaimed.

To El's surprise, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. She didn't hate it. He started walking towards Steve’s backyard.

"No!" El shrieked with laughter.

"Oh, yeah," Lucas said.

She didn't try to fight very hard or at all, really.

"Sports has made you strong," she giggled.

"Yeah," Lucas said proudly. "It's awesome."

El could hear the sound of voices growing louder. There was shrieking and splashing. Dustin's voice was loudest amongst them all.

"YEAH, LUCAS, THROW HER IN!" Dustin yelled.

"Come on, man, be careful! That's my sister!" Jonathan yelled.

"I am okay, Jonathan!" El laughed.

"You're in for it!" Lucas exclaimed.

El's heart was racing, and it was beating so loud she could feel it in her ears. It was loud as thunder as Lucas shifted her in his arms, and she was looking into his warm, dark eyes. His cheeky smile was blinding.

"Gotta join them sometimes," Lucas said and jumped into the pool with her.

For a split moment, she held her breath and looked at him under the water. He was literally breathtaking. When El resurfaced, she let out a laugh and splashed Lucas.

"You are an ass," El laughed and kicked at him as he swam circles around her.

Max popped into her head again. Take care of each other. That's what she had said to her. It felt for a moment that they were the only two people there as they locked eyes. The sound of static and beating on the stereo brought them out of their trance.

"Stupid radio!" Steve cursed. "It was playing just fine. . .it's new!"

The radio crackled and hissed. The hint of a song was there. . .and then it grew louder. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper. El shared a look with Lucas. It wasn't that long ago that the three of them were dancing to that same song in Max's bedroom. The radio crackled again, and the song stopped. A whimper came through the speakers. It was someone's voice. Everyone froze. Everyone hopped out of the pool. El moved towards the radio with Lucas by her side.

"El? Lucas?" Max asked. "Are you there?"

The thunder inside her chest grew louder, and she felt Lucas take her hand. Her head was killing her, and she knew that at any moment, she was going to use her powers. Or maybe she already was.

"Max?" El asked. "It's El. . .and Lucas. We're both here."

"We're right here, Max," Lucas said. "Can you hear us?"

"Yes. . .I want to go home. . .it's so dark here, so lonely. I just wanted to be safe, I wanted everyone to feel safe. You have nothing to feel guilty about, El. . .nothing," Max said. "Take care of each other. . .am I dead? I think I might be dead. Shit, that sucks."

The radio crackled and went back to normal. Everyone turned to look at El and Lucas. El could feel her nose start to bleed, and then she was falling. She was falling into darkness.

"EL!"

El was back at the Snow Ball again, and Max was crouched in the middle of the floor. El ran to her and crouched down in front of her.

"You're real," El said.

"What?" Max asked, looking up at her.

"You are alive. You're still here," El said and cupped her face. "You are not dead. You are real, Max. This is real, and I am going to get you out."

"I'm dead, El," Max said, sniffling. "What else place could this be? I'm dead, and I'm stuck here. . .I can't get it out."

"You are your own enemy, Max," El said. "You said that you were safe, but you are hiding."

"I'm in hell, I know it," Max said, sniffling. "I belong here."

"You do not," El said, cupping her face. "Why do you think that?"

"I wanted him gone, and now he is. I did that. It's my fault. . .I'm just like him," Max said, sniffling.

"You are not. You are amazing and beautiful," El said. "You do not get angry like he did. You did not hurt people like he did. You are not him because you did things without being forced to it. You saved Steve. You were there for me when I was not very kind to you. I did not tell you this, but when you were in the gym, zooming around on your skateboard, I pushed you off."

"Why?" Max asked.

"I thought you liked Mike," El said. "I was jealous."

Max stared at her and giggled. Her body shook with laughter.

"You are not that dumb, I know you're not," Max laughed.

"We all have our moments," El giggled, and then her face softened. "I am sorry. Do you think that I am a monster?"

Max leaned her forehead against El's, smiling.

"Never," Max said.

"I find that being a teenager is confusing and hard," El said.

"We sometimes make it harder than it has to be," Max sighed.

"I will come back for you. Next time, follow me. You have to help save yourself, Max," El said. "You do not belong here."

"I don't know if I can leave," Max swallowed.

"Pretend you are a bird and that you can fly," El said. "I do it all the time."

El cupped her face and looked into her beautiful blue eyes. She wanted to kiss her like she had wanted to do with Mike in the past, like she wanted to kiss Lucas now. What would this mean for them?

"I'll try," Max said, and then her eyes filled with tears. "What if I can't see when I wake up? What if I can't walk or skate again?"

"We will be there, and we will figure it out together," El said.

Suddenly, El was being pulled backward. . .away from Max by an unknown force. Max was reaching out her hands, crying out her name. She could hear others calling for her. When El opened her eyes, Lucas's lips were on hers. It would have been nice if he wasn't breathing into her mouth or if she wasn't gasping for air. Lucas pulled away and El coughed up water.

"You kissed me," El said to Lucas and he looked embarrassed.

"No, it was mouth to mouth. I was trying to get you to breathe again," Lucas said.

"Oh, CPR?" she asked, disappointment in her voice. "Did I fall into the pool?"

"After Max's voice came on the radio and your nose started bleeding," Nancy said. "El, what was that?"

"I know how to save Max," El said.

After that, nobody cared that they were dressed in swimming atire, and they hadn't bothered to change before heading straight to the hospital. The only thing that El and Lucas cared about was Max. It was an odd site, to be sure, but El hadn't given a damn. Hopper and Joyce had met them there with the clothes they had left behind. El quickly pulled her shirt over herself.

"Are you sure that you want to do this now?" Hopper asked his daughter.

"I am sure," El said and paused. "We need to be alone."

"Are you sure?" Joyce asked.

"Please, Mom," El said.

Even in moments like this, she could tell that Joyce never got tired of hearing her say that. She smiled at the twinkle in Joyce's eye as she ushered everyone else out of the room beside El and Lucas.

"Tell me what we need to do," Lucas said.

"We need to both go in there and bring her home. She thinks she belongs there," El said.

"Why?" he asked.

"She wanted it all to stop, and it did. She thinks that everything is her fault," El said sadly.

"That's bullshit," Lucas said.

"I know," El said.

"I'm going to have my hands full with both of you," Lucas muttered.

He thought he had said it low enough that she didn't hear it but El did. She laughed.

"Go stand on her other side and take her hand," El said.

"Okay," He said.

El turned on the radio in the room to static and moved over to Lucas. She pulled the bandana out of his pocket.

"I do not know if this will work," she frowned.

"I trust you," Lucas said.

El stared at him. They really had come a long way since that moment in the junkyard. She always liked the color of his skin and the way it contrasted nicely with his pretty teeth. . .as well as the darkness of his eyes. She tilted her head at him.

"I like your skin," El blurted out and she closed her eyes. "That was creepy."

"It was," Lucas laughed. "So fucking creepy but it was nice. Thank you, I'm glad you like it, my parents cooked it up themselves."

El looked at him blankly before realizing what he meant and she burst into laughter, slapping his chest.

"I meant to say," El blushed. "That you are beautiful."

"You are, too," Lucas said. "And for the record, I like your skin, too."

El was giggling as she wrapped the bandana around his eyes. It was a shame to cover up such pretty eyes, she thought. She stared at Lucas for a moment. His lips had parted for some reason, like he was expecting something. El frowned and pushed his mouth closed. She wished she could kiss him, she wished she could kiss both him and Max but she didn't think that was allowed. El moved around to the other side of the bed. She grabbed Max's hand and slid her other hand into Lucas's.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"I trust you, El," Lucas repeated.

Suddenly, they were both falling into the void. This time, they were in Max's room. The radio was playing Cyndi Lauper, and Max was sprawled out on her bed, reading comic books. Max tossed the comic on her bed.

"Jesus, what took you so long?" Max asked and then she grinned. "I was hoping it would both be you. Hey, Stalker."

"Mad Max," Lucas smiled, tears filling his eyes.

Max hopped off the bed and patted his cheek.

"I'll kiss you on the other side," she said. "We still have to see that movie. Are those tears for me? So, pathetic. . ."

"Only for you," he said.

El watched on with a smile on her face. She couldn't even find it in her heart to be jealous even though she wished both of them would look at her that way.

"Are you ready to go home?" El asked.

Max looked away from Lucas and smiled at her. She took El's hand.

"How do we get out of here?" She asked.

"Imagine that you are a bird," El said, nodding her head.

"You seem to have a thing about birds," Lucas said.

"They are pretty, and Dustin said they are basically dinosaurs," El said.

"I'll get you all the books on birds and dinosaurs that you want after this," Lucas said, and El beamed.

"Come on, Ellosauarus, let's fly," Max grinned.

El took Lucas's hand while he took Max's. El closed her eyes and focused on flying like a bird. She imagined the type of bird she'd be, and she'd definitely be a raven. . .they were so misunderstood, she thought. Ravens were actually smart, and she remembered reading that they were once thought to be messengers between worlds. Yeah, she'd definitely be a raven. When El opened her eyes, she found herself in Max's hospital room. Lucas was smiling and crying. Max's eyes were open, and she was trying to raise her hand to pull the tube out of her mouth. Suddenly, Lucas was heading for the door and he opened it.

"We need a doctor in here! She's awake!" Lucas yelled.

"We did it," El breathed.

She and Lucas had been guided out into the waiting room with the others while the doctors examined her. El's bathing suit had become uncomfortable, and everyone else had changed, so while they were all waiting, El and Lucas quickly went to change as well. There was nothing else to do, really. El sat next to Lucas when they got back to the waiting room. Dustin sat down on El's other side.

"I called my mom, since she's Max's guardian and all," Dustin said. "She's getting off of work. . .I'm glad you were able to pull her out."

"Yeah, it was awesome. That was all El, I'm not sure how or why, but she managed to pull me into Max's head, too," Lucas said. "I really didn't do anything."

"She needed to see you, too," El muttered. "You are important to her."

"So, are you," Lucas nudged her.

"It's different," El said.

"Is it?" Lucas asked and raised an eyebrow at her.

"What do you mean by that?" El asked.

"Just that you'd be surprised, that's all," Lucas said. "And to never make assumptions."

"I am lost," El frowned.

"So, am I? What the hell are you talking about, Lucas?" Dustin asked.

Before El could question Lucas further, they were both being called back into Max's room. The doctor was leaving just as they walked into her room. Max squinted her eyes in their direction and smiled.

"I think that's Lucas and El," she said.

"You can see?" El asked.

"Technically," she replied. "I'm what you call hard of seeing. . .I'm going to have to get some special glasses, but I can sort of make you two out. I'm definitely going to need to see an eye doctor after this."

"I am glad you are awake," El said softly and moved closer to the bed with Lucas.

"Me too," Lucas grinned.

"Move closer so I can see you better," Max said.

El and Lucas moved, so they were kneeling next to the bed. With her hand shaking, she touched Lucas's face. His bottom lip was trembling.

"Can I?" Lucas asked.

"You better," she said.

Lucas leaned down and kissed her. El watched with a smile on her face as she watched them kiss. It was so desperate and sweet. . .so full of love. There it was. . .that feeling in her chest like there was lightning and thunder inside of her heart. She wasn't sure how else to describe it. Lucas broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against Max's.

"Mad Max," he breathed.

"Stalker," she laughed.

Max turned to El, looking at her with hopeful eyes. El tried not to get her own hopes up at Max looking at her the same way that she had looked at Lucas. El tried to make a joke of it, to try and shield herself from the fact that it might not be real.

"Are you wanting me to kiss you, too?" El laughed.

"Yes," Max said automatically. "Mike - ,"

"Mike and I broke up," El said. "Lucas - ,"

" - Does not have a problem with it," Lucas said and shoved his hands into his pocket. "Do you want me to leave?"

"If you leave, I'll kill you," Max said. "El? I'm sorry if that's not what you want but it's kind of all that I've been dreaming about besides Lucas, and I - mmfh!"

El cut her off by pressing her lips to hers. She could feel Max smiling against her lips, and she couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her. Max's lips were just as soft as she thought they would be, although a little chapped, but that was to be expected. Still giggling, El broke the kiss and touched her forehead to Max's.

"Hm," El said thoughtfully. "Mike is better."

"Okay, who taught you how to be an asshole?" Max laughed, and Lucas laughed with them.

El moved away and looked at Lucas, who was beaming at them both. He was wiping tears away, but they were not tears of sadness but of happiness. She had spent much time with him. She held him many times when he cried as he did for her, and she could tell the difference now. He was familiar to her as Max was. Lucas met El's eyes, and if it was even possible, his smile grew bigger.

"You brought her back, El, you saved her life," Lucas said. "I don't know how I could ever thank you."

"Well, you could kiss her," Max said, and Lucas looked at her. "Before my eyesight gets any worse."

Lucas cupped El's cheek, and she smiled. There was a fluttery feeling in her chest and she hoped that Lucas wasn't doing this because Max asked her.

"Do you want to kiss me?" she asked.

"For a while now," Lucas said. "I just felt so guilty, I kind just wanted to run away from it all. . .I mean, how could I do that?"

"I felt guilty, too," El said. "I like you and Max."

"I would like to see my favorite two people in the world kiss before I go completely blind here," Max said.

El leaned over Max and pressed her lips to Lucas's. His lips were softer than Max's, and his kiss was even more gentle. She loved that they kissed differently, but it still gave her the same feeling in her chest and stomach. When she pulled back and saw the smile on Max's face, the guilt faded away.

"Does that mean that I am your girlfriend?" El asked Max and Lucas.

"Definitely," they said and El beamed.

The door opened. Claudia and Dustin came bursting in. Claudia looked frantic.

"Oh, Max, honey, we're both so glad you're awake," Claudia said. "We've both been so worried, especially Dusty."

"I'm sorry, I tried to give you two more time," Dustin said.

"We've got plenty of time," Lucas said, smiling at El and Max.

While Max's casts had come off recently, she still had some healing to do. She wasn't going to walk or skate the same way again, and she was probably always going to need crutches as well as a wheelchair but she was alive. El and Lucas were there by her side and helped her with her physical therapy, holding her hands through it all. El had her eye exam scheduled for the same time as Max's, and they showed their glasses off to Lucas when they came in.

"Yours look better on you," Max frowned. "Mine are so thick."

"You can see better," El pointed out.

"Yes, better, but still not great," Max said, looking in the mirror. "And what's the cost?"

Lucas grinned and pressed his cheek against El's.

"All the better to see your partners with," Lucas said and El giggled.

"Hmm, I guess that is good," Max grinned.

She pulled herself out of her wheelchair and sat on the bed, throwing her legs over El's.

"I think your glasses suit you, I can see your eyes better," El said.

"People from space can see my eyes better," Max sighed. "It's easy to say. Your glasses are normal sized and black."

"We are here, and we are alive," El said.

"Speaking of, I got you something, El," Lucas said. "Close your eyes."

El beamed and closed her eyes. She waited and puckered her lips. She felt and heard Max laugh.

"I don't think it's a kiss, dorkasaurus," Max said affectionately.

"I do not get a kiss?" El frowned.

Lucas pressed his lips to hers and quickly pulled back, laughing.

"Open your eyes," he said.

He placed a book in El's hands, and she opened them. She gasped.

"A book on birds!" she exclaimed.

"I told you that I'm going to buy you all the books you want," Lucas grinned.

"Thank you," she said, and she kissed him.

"Now, as my present to you, I will let you read it to us," Max said.

She shifted until she was lying right next to El, placing her head on her shoulder. El leaned back against Lucas' headboard and allowed him to snuggle in on her other side to rest his head on her other shoulder. She still wasn't the best at reading, but she loved it anyway, and the glasses did help with the blurry vision. El opened the book and gazed at the birds on the page. El grinned. Just as she was about to open her mouth, the door was pushed open. Charles peaked his head through.

"Hey, guys, you look comfortable," Charles said with a soft smile.

"Hey, dad," Lucas said, looking at him in amusement. "Did Mom send you up here?"

"No, of course not," Charles said. "I was looking for my own pair of glasses, and I was wondering if any of you have seen them."

"No, Charles, I'm afraid we haven't," Max giggled.

"You know, you can say no to Mom every once in a while," Lucas laughed.

"What's my reason for saying no?" he asked and he shook his head. "I'm seriously looking for my glasses."

"Do you have two glasses?" El asked seriously. "Because there is a pair on your shirt."

"Oh, well, would you look at that?!" Charles asked. "Thank you, El."

"Yes, you never would have looked where they always are," he laughed. "Dad, get out of here, we're not doing anything."

"None of us are ready to have sex, Charles, especially me," Max said and patted her legs. "Or did you forget?"

"Sex?" he asked, his eyes wide. "Who said anything about sex?"

"Max did," El said, furrowing her brow, and she looked at Lucas. "Did he forget?"

"Seriously, Charles, you can tell Sue that I just got out of the hospital. She doesn't have to worry about us getting Lucas pregnant," Max said.

"Yet," El said, and the three of them dissolved into giggles. "It is funny because Lucas cannot get pregnant."

"Yes, I figured that out," Charles laughed. "I'll relay the message."

Charles left them to it, leaving the door open three inches. El rolled her eyes. They must have heard that from Hopper. She shook her head fondly and looked back at the book. In the distance, they heard Sue yelling at Erica about something.

"I doubt I will ever be ready for that," El said and paused, looking ahead. "I have feelings. I like to kiss, hug, and cuddle, but I am not sure if I ever want to do anything more than that, but I still like you two in a very romantic way."

"Hey, it's okay if you never want to do that," Max said. "And it's okay if you someday change your mind."

"Both are good options, and either way, we're with you, El," Lucas said.

"We want whatever you want to give us," Max said. "And I'm not ready for that either."

"Me neither," Lucas said. "But I'm glad we can talk about it."

"Me too," El smiled.

Max and Lucas raised their heads up to kiss her cheeks before laying them back down again.

"Now, teach us all about birds, please," Max said softly.

A few weeks later, the newly officially formed Hopper family had moved into their new home. Joyce and Hopper hadn't wanted a big wedding but instead held a small ceremony with their kids as witnesses. They had a small reception afterward with the rest of the party where Max danced first with El in her lap and then with Lucas. El's brothers now shared her last name, and they all lived together in a much bigger house where everyone had their own room except for their parents. It was a secluded house, surrounded by trees on either side, but it wasn't too far from the town that they were cut off completely. El was glad that she wasn't stuck inside anymore and that she could take the time to appreciate nature. She hadn't really appreciated it before and she was glad that she could do it with her brothers. They were exploring the area around their new house while they gave their parents some time alone.

"Are you missing Lucas and Max right now, El?" Will asked with a teasing grin.

El looked at her brother and rolled her eyes before looking back into her binoculars. Jonathan had his camera strapped around his neck and taking pictures every so often while also enjoying the woods around him.

"I do," she said. "As much as I would like, we cannot be together all of the time. Boundaries are important. I do not want it to be like it was before with Mike."

"Do you think that's what happened? You both held on too tightly?" Will asked.

"We did not want to disappear," she said. "I do not want them to either, but I can not just squeeze them because I am afraid. I will always be afraid, but I feel it in my heart. I feel them, and I know that they are okay."

El pressed a hand to her chest, feeling that pounding. . .that feeling of thunder that roared deep in her heart. It was almost like an invisible string of lightning, and for a moment, she could feel their heartbeats underneath her fingertips. She wondered for a moment if they were actually connected. El shook her head. She just had faith that they were okay.

"You like having a boyfriend and a girlfriend?" Jonathan asked, putting down his camera.

"Yes, I have two hands to hold!" she exclaimed, beaming at Jonathan. "And they both are different in many ways. . . but it feels right being with both of them."

"And you just knew?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes," she said. "I did not know it was allowed but then I thought about it, why should it not? If parents could love more than one child, if siblings could love more than one sibling. . .if best friends could have more than one best friend then why could I not just love them both? I do not understand why it is frowned upon."

"Neither do I, El," Jonathan said, shaking his head. "I think you and I have a lot in common."

"You love birds like I do!" she gasped.

"No one loves birds like you do," Jonathan laughed. "I'm talking about me, Nancy, and Steve."

El gasped delightfully and hugged her older brother, who hugged her back awkardly.

"This is great!" she exclaimed and pulled back. "I am happy for you, Jonathan."

"Thank you, I'm happy for you, too, El," Jonathan laughed.

"What about me? Did you forget about me?" Will asked.

"I am happy for you too," she said seriously. "That you are making Mike jealous and that Gareth likes being used."

Will just laughed and shook his head before slipping his arm through El's. She let her binoculars hang around her neck before slipping her arm through Jonathan's. She quite liked having brothers.

"I just don't understand, El!" Mike exclaimed. "What does Gareth have that I don't?"

El was sitting on her bed, flipping through the dinosaur book that Max had gotten her. Her glasses were perched on her head. Mike was pacing in front of her, his arms crossed over his chest. She was glad that they could get to this point. Mike didn't have a problem with her dating Lucas and Max. In fact, it had made complete sense to him. It was well into the summer, and their sophomore year of high school would soon begin, which meant more of Hellfire. El was glad that it was still allowed at school and that Gareth was now running things with Dustin. She was also glad that the music was playing from her radio loud enough that Will couldn't hear them. She was also glad that he was upstairs on the phone with Gareth.

"I thought you liked Gareth," El said.

"That was before he stole - "

"Will is not an object, Michael," El said, looking up from her book. "He cannot be stolen. He can be kidnapped. Did Gareth kidnap him?"

"No," Mike said, rolling his eyes.

"It is only fair that Will make you pine after him the way he did with you," El said. "And explore other options."

"Well, that's not fair, I didn't know he was pining after me!" Mike yelled.

"He's having fun, Mike, and he deserves it," El said. "And you can have fun, too."

"There's no one that I want to have fun with," he said and he looked at her. "Why aren't you hanging out with Max and Lucas?"

"One thing I learned from us, I do not have to be with them all of the time," El said. "Besides, Claudia and Dustin are sneaking Max up to see how her mother is doing."

"You think that the state is going to let Susan have custody back?" Mike asked softly.

"I do not know. . .Susan was drinking a lot, and Max was taking care of her," El said. "I would be surprised, but she is getting better, and I am glad."

MIke sighed and threw himself onto her bed beside her. He looked at her dinosaur book.

"Okay, what's your favorite? You have to have one by now," he said.

"Triceratops," she grinned.

"Nice."

A few days later, El met up with Max and Lucas in an empty parking lot. It was right in front of Family Video. Jonathan was already going there to meet up with Steve and Nancy, Argyle tagging along to hang out with Robin. Max's physical therapy was going great, and Max wanted to try skateboarding. It was a slow day for Family Video, so the empty lot was perfect for them to practice since everyone was busy for their last minute back to school shopping.

"Are you sure about this?" Lucas asked Max.

"Oh, yeah," Max said.

Her wheelchair and crutches were on standby in case she needed them. El wished she wore pads of some kind, but she understood that Max needed to do this herself. El and Lucas watched from the side as Max tried to get on her skateboard. Her legs were shaking, and El could tell by the look on her face that she was in pain. El interlaced her fingers through Lucas's, and he squeezed her hand. He was nervous, too.

"We have to trust her," El said.

"Doesn't mean we can't still worry," Lucas sighed.

"I can hear you!" Max exclaimed.

"We know," El said.

"Don't try to help," Max said.

"Yeah, you've already told us," Lucas said in amusement.

Max was trying to stay on the skateboard while moving it with one foot. The doctors said that she had suffered some nerve damage, and it would most likely affect her the rest of her life. Max, however, was stubborn, and it didn't seem like it was going to stop her from doing what she wanted. El admired her so much for that. It didn't take her long for her to wipe out and crash to the ground, however. El squeezed Lucas's hand, but Max only laughed before getting up. She managed to get back on the skateboard, only to fall off of it again. She did it over and over again, laughing while she did it. Lucas and El could not stand by anymore while she hurt herself. They rushed to her side, and she yelled at them, pushing their hands away.

"Fuck off!" Max yelled and then she burst into tears.

The door to Family Video opened, and the others spilled out. Jonathan looked at his sister questioningly, but El held up a hand, letting him know not to approach.

"Max - ," El started to say.

"Don't tell me that I'm alive!" She yelled.

"I was not going to," El said softly.

"I'm sorry," Max said softly. "I just - I don't think I'm going to be able to skate again."

"It is okay to be upset about that, Max," El said. "Things are not going to be the same."

"I'm tired of being angry all the time," Max muttered. "I feel like I'm - "

"Hey, even on your worst days, you're nowhere near close to Billy," Lucas said. "What happened to you - you're allowed to be angry about it."

"I shouldn't take it out on you or El, though, especially when you are just trying to help," Max said. "Claudia and Dustin don't deserve it either."

"They know that you are angry but that they are not the cause of it," El said. "They love having you around, and they know that it takes time. It takes time, Max."

"You don't have to shove it all into a box. If you need to direct your anger into something, we can always go to the junkyard and break shit," Lucas said.

"That sounds like fun," Max said and sighed, wiping away her tears. "I'm not ready to give up on skateboarding yet. . .for today, yes. . .I might not skateboard again, but that doesn't mean I can't keep trying and learn how to do tricks in a wheelchair."

"Wouldn't expect anything else from Mad Max," Lucas grinned.

"In the meantime, it would be interesting to watch my two favorite people learn to skateboard," Max said. "I deserve to live vicariously through you."

"Let's get you cleaned up, first," Lucas said.

"There's a first aid kit that Dustin put in my bag," Max said.

With their help, Max was back in her wheelchair and was being tended to her partners. Jonathan walked over with a bottle water.

"Thanks," Max said when he gave it to her. "You might want to get out your camera for this, By - Hopper, your sister is about to learn how to skate."

El had taken to the skateboard a lot more than Lucas did, which was fine with him. He preferred his bike and basketball. After much debating with himself and encouragement from his girlfriends, Lucas had decided to stick with basketball as well as Hellfire. This time, his friends were willing to work around it. Since Eddie and Jeff had graduated, the throne had passed onto Gareth. When the time came, he would pass it down to Dustin, and then Dustin would pass it down to Erica. The club was in good hands.

"This seems like a bad idea," Max said in amusement as she watched Lucas tie her wheelchair to her bike.

"It was your idea," Lucas replied.

"Did I say bad idea? I meant, good idea," she laughed.

"Flirt with my sister later," Dustin said.

"Is it weird that you once had a crush on your 'sister'?" Mike asked.

"Mike," Dustin said. "Do you live to make things more awkard than they have to be?"

"It's a simple question," Mike scowled.

"With a complex answer, my crush on Max was never real!" Dustin yelled at him.

El laughed. It was the last day of summer, the day before their sophomore year. El, Max, Lucas, Mike, Dustin, and Will were all going to the junkyard to let off some nervous energy. They weren't sure what kind of welcome they would be receiving walking into the high school, but they could guess. According to Mike, it felt a lot like training before going into battle, but El thought it was necessary considering what they all went through.

"Dustin, did you have permission to take Steve's bat?" Mike asked.

"Of course, I did!" Dustin said quickly.

"I don't think you did," Will said in amusement.

"You know that's not just Steve's bat, right?" Mike asked. "That bat belongs to Nancy and Jonathan, too. If Nancy finds out you took it, she'll kill me."

"As long as she doesn't come after me," Dustin said.

"Right, and after she's done with me, then she'll go after you," Mike scoffed.

"What about Will and El? They're Jonathan's siblings, too," Dustin pointed out.

"Why would Nancy get angry with them?" Mike asked. "That's stupid."

"Why would Nancy get angry with you for something that I did?" Dustin asked, and he narrowed his eyes at him. "Unless. . .what did you do, Michael?"

"What? Nothing! I did nothing!" he yelled.

"That's exactly what a guilty person would say!"

"You are so annoying!"

El and Max giggled. They were both so stupid.

"Let's get this show on the road," Will laughed.

"As Robin would say. . .dinguses," Max said. "Let's go!"

Mike flipped Dustin off before getting on his bike. Will got on his bike, shaking his head. Lucas made sure Max was secure before getting on his own bike. El started skating beside them on Max's skateboard. Max told her many times that she might as well call it hers, but El just couldn't call it anything else. She hated that Max couldn't skate anymore, but she seemed happy to know that El was skating beside her. The party was on their way to the junkyard, preparing to break things and shatter objects. . .using whatever they could to get their frustrations out. Maybe if El could concentrate her powers enough, then she could share the feelings she got when she was skating with Max. There it was. . .the pounding of the thunder in her heart. El spread out her arms like they were wings for a moment, trying to remain balanced at the same time. She hoped Max, as well as Lucas, could feel the joy in her heart.

"What is El doing?" Dustin asked.

"She's being a bird. . .don't be a dingus," Max said.

"You're hanging out with Robin too much, Max," Dustin said.

"I'm not hanging out with her enough," Max said, exchanging her glasses for sunglasses, and El laughed.

Birds flew overhead as they continued riding to the junkyard, and El grinned, her dimples on display for everyone to see. Dustin started singing.

"Day after day, I'm more confused!" Dustin sang.

"Yet, I look for the light through the pouring rain!" Will sang.

"You know that's a game that I hate to lose!" Mike continued with a roll of his eyes but he smiled at Will.

Will and Mike were ahead of them all, leading the group. They were biking rather close to each other, El noticed.

"And I'm feeling the strain!" Lucas sang.

"Ain't it a shame!" Max yelled, smiling.

"Oh, give me the beat boys and free my soul!" El sang with all of her heart.

"I want to get lost in your rock and roll and drift away!" Dustin sang.

El looked back up at the birds. They were flying free, and they could fly with them, at least until winter came. El grabbed onto the bars of Max's wheelchair and Lucas looked over his shoulder, smiling at the both of them. They weren't always going to have days like this. Some would be harder than others, but as long they got through it together, El felt like they could handle anything, no matter what happened between them all.

[kakerutori]

HEYY YOUR SO PRETTY BTW AND I LOVE YOUR BLOG

the ask :

so, i wanted to get ur opinion on s3 mike. such as, what he was going through and his internalized homophobia. things like that!

maybe some things w/ him and his relationship w/ el too!

THANKS FOR ANSWERING IF U DO ANSWER :D

I’m gonna pretend that I’m fine after weeks of getting flustered just staring at this in my inbox! Thank you, anon!!! 🥺🥺 You’re making me blush! But, uh, anyways! Let’s talk about Mike Wheeler! 💙

I think that Mike in season 3 is the most interesting version of himself in the entire show because of how hidden his story becomes. In all other seasons, Mike cries openly with other people and expresses his sadness and fears over Will and El.

In season 3, though? Besides the finale, the tearful goodbyes narrated by Hopper, we never see Mike truly cry and explicitly talk through why. Sure, it can be pretty readily implied that it’s because of the Byers leaving, but we don’t hear that aloud. We don’t see exactly who’s on Mike’s mind as those cars pull away. We're left with silent and unsure stares, looks of seeming regret or something else unknown.

Season 3 is truly a huge turning point for Mike, he’s losing his girlfriend and arguably his closest friend in the Party, and it's so easily overlooked because it all happens at the very end of the final episode. Whereas El goes through hell and fights to connect to Billy and save her friends, where Max also feels the weight of his loss, where Will gets his heartbreaking scene at Castle Byers - all the Party members who are very linked to Mike get their emotional moments that season, and we know exactly why they cry.

But Mike dances around his emotions all season long. In consulting Lucas to deal with breaking up and making up with El, in trying to tell El that he loves her without ever saying it, in fighting with Will because "it's not [his] fault [Will doesn't] like girls."

Oh, Mike. I really don't think that Mike was out to hurt Will when he said that. Rather, it's a culmination of heteronormativity and the poor relationship that he has with El and trying to compensate for it. I interpret the outburst as him saying, 'it's not my fault that I'm in a relationship and you're not, so you wouldn't get it.' And by extension, Will being in a relationship would require, normatively, being with a girl.

But at the same time, for a jab that deep - I can't help but question more.

Mike could have said, "it's not my fault you don't like anyone!" or "don't bring her into this!" or even as simple as, "you wouldn't understand!" But no. Mike takes the direct train to sexuality station and brings up the fact that El is a girl. So it seems to me that Mike is very likely harboring something in his heart about why El being a girl is important for him to argue.

But we never know for sure. This moment is never addressed again due to the Mind Flayer’s sudden return. And so it’s up to us as the audience to decide what we think of Mike’s statement. And personally, as I’m sure many of you believe, too, I think that Mike is projecting and trying to hide the fact that he doesn’t like girls onto Will, pushing away his problems to someone he trusts who’s more similar to himself than he realizes.

Tied to his inability to say to El’s face that he loves her, to the fact that they've - reportedly from Hopper - kissed all Summer long with no mention of meaningful conversation, to the very surface-level relational mending his makes by calling El’s outfit “cool” and giving her candy, to the very end of the season where Mike once again denies saying that he loved El just before an open-eyed kiss and a face like this:

Mike doesn’t need to say anything about that kiss for me to know that that’s not the reaction of someone who’s perfectly happy to be back together with his ex-girlfriend. So do I wish that we had a moment of vulnerability for Mike where he expressed his heart in season 3? Yes, but his nonverbals spoke volumes.

So, yeah, I think that in season 3, Mike is very much gay, but he he acts cautiously and self-preservingly because trauma is drowning everything out.

And what is this trauma? I know that I’m working backwards, but I need to bring up that Mike was separated from El for so long in the time of season 2, and I think that that makes him so attached to her in season 3. Think about what else he says in that scene when he admits his love: “I love her and I can’t lose her again.”

As sweet as it is to be reunited to El by the end of season 2, it’s not a clean reunion for Mike. He’s in shambles when he learns that Hopper was lying to him and not letting El even tell Mike that she’s okay.

Not to mention that this isn’t his first but second time almost losing her to the monster that season.

Because of this unstable connection, I think that Mike has built a protective relationship with El, one that focuses on keeping her rather than knowing her, and we see how that all unfolds with his superficial “superhero” complex he has of her in season 4. Season 3 was just the beginning.

And so I think that Mike in season 3 stands as a version of himself that’s confused protectiveness with love. Even though he arguably behaves with that same mindset all the time, it’s at its highest during season 3 because of his never-ending insistence to help El even if she’s capable to do things by herself. Mike isn’t just clingy, he’s worried. Worried for her life. There’s no time to worry about where the problems in their relationship arise, there’s only time to fix them and go back to how they were at equilibrium - when things were normal.

Thus, Mike behaves rather stubbornly. He’s insistent and defensive, not letting a single thing slip through the cracks and risk any more hurt. In doing so, his personality is left far under the surface and unexplored. He only acts to stir up emotions rather than reflect on them, because any pausing to think will only confuse him more. He’s looking ahead, looking at the light, holding onto everything good he has with all the propriety of a 13/14-year-old who has a heart bigger than his head.

Simply put, Mike is a bit of an anti-hero this season. And I think that it's because of this that he starts to get most controversial for the audience.

I’m clearly a Mike apologist, but I genuinely don’t think that he’s out to hurt anyone when he argues with others this season. He’s just stubborn and loud about it, which can definitely be to his fault at times. But in the end, when it comes down to who he loves, I think that season 3 is the era of change, and that ending scene with Hopper’s letter paints the perfect setup for the next seasons to reveal that Mike has a lot more going on under the surface that’s causing all of this. Maybe some regrets, things he wishes he could “turn back the clock” on, regarding, say, Will and El and how he treats them platonically and romantically? Just a thought.

The question of the day for Mike in season 3 stands: is he being selfish or selfless? And I think that it’s a mix of both, blended in with some heavy confusion due to role changing (not needing to protect El) and uncertain affections (not knowing how to figure out what he has with Will).

So, yeah. All in all, I think that Mike is really closeted in season 3 and doesn’t realize it until the final episode, and I honestly love him for it. As someone who’s gone through similar hurdles of internalized homophobia as a teen, it’s really heartwarming to see him grow and figure things out, even if the journey is far from perfect. It’s a humble origin story. And if he somehow ends up being straight and Byler isn’t endgame, well. I’ll be upset at the writers, but the impact still stands.

[greenfiend]

hello! your theories are absolutely crazy and i love them- i’m truly convinced that the one with hopper is accurate. however, i was wondering if you had a favorite theory? one that you think is more likely than others? (i know most of them go hand in hand, but i wanted to ask anyway)

Thank you thank you!!! I honestly feel like I’m Joyce Byers sometimes trying to explain these theories. 😅 Because, anon, I *know* people will think I’m insane and reaching but… I see the plausibility. I also just like to look outside the box, and expect the unexpected. Remember how difficult it would have been to predict Vecna during seasons 1-3? It’d be nearly impossible (but there were clues…)

Regarding my favourite and the most likely- flayed Hopper without a doubt. That theory still drives me insane! While watching season 3, I can now pinpoint when David Harbour is playing flayed Hopper and regular Hopper! His expressions are over-the-top and his voice is less deep while flayed. Regular Hopper? He’s more calm and stoic (but he has his moments too). During one of the regular Hopper scenes, the Major makes a comment: “why so serious?” 🧐

(Side note, I *get* why David Harbour is so giddy about Byler- he literally plays Will at times. Lmao).

The concept of flayed Hopper (and others) is clever on grander scale too.

Because, think about it:

- Season 2 featured Will being flayed by the mind flayer. Season 3 featured Will doing the flaying. It’s the reverse!

- Textually, we see the other William (Billy) going around “flaying” others in season 3. While, subtextually we see our favourite William (Will) doing his own flaying too. Of course, Will’s “flaying” is a lot less sinister, and a lot more funny/adorable.

- Will says he’s “not gonna fall in love��- yet he LOVES love. He’s going around playing Cupid with not just Hopper/Joyce but the other couples too; he’s living vicariously through them. (Notice how Will suddenly appears in the shot below when Lucas says the “right” thing to Max.)

(If anyone is interested, I’ll elaborate more on how Will is the love guru in season 3.)

But yeah, I also just have SO many questions about flayed Hopper too. Is Will aware he’s doing this? Is this ST3 Will doing the flaying or a future Will? Is ST3 a whole ass simulation created by Will? Is it just Will’s world and everyone is living in it?

“Welcome to my world” - Will Byers

(Look at this little guy playing with his “pawns”.)

I could go on but I’ll stop for now. Haha.

Thank you for your ask!!!

Also- anon (and anyone else), if you’re interested in joining my theory community group just message me and I’ll invite you!

[lunabug2004]

New to the stranger things fandom. Do you have any good fic recs? Especially byler.

First of all, omg welcome! I hope you're enjoying being a part of the fandom!

Second, bestie I wish I could supply you more but I don't keep track of the fics I read at all :(. I have a few that I remember so I'll link those after the break! (but I gotta warn that all of them will be Mike-related and not necessarily canon because I have an addiction to his character):

'a cruel summer with you' by andiwriteordie, astrobi, and wiseatom: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48097207/chapters/121281193 Byler summer camp AU. Iconic & rightfully so. So so so good. [Ongoing, currently ~303k words]

'It's still raining. Why is it still raining?' by bouncehouce: https://archiveofourown.org/works/41543979 Mike angst, love it. + Mike&Hopper fiction is my fav tbh (after byler ofc) [Finished, ~2k words]

'The snow won't melt in mid-december' by GhoulSanderson: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45649651/chapters/114871651 Again, pure Mike angst. Love it. Also Byler, but might be pretty slight, I don't remember. [Finished, ~39k words]

'Please stay' by GhoulSanderson: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42486687 Madwheeler. Again, Mike angst but this time with Max. Madwheeler fiction is also my fav (also after byler ofc). [Finished, ~1.8k words]

'Code Purple Series' by BewitchingNotes: https://archiveofourown.org/series/3039501 Pure Mike angst as a series. No Byler unfortunately but very good and very sad. I reread a lot. [Finished, 15 works, ~24k words]

'Force of Gravity' by oceanfruit: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40134231/chapters/100515708 Byler modern AU. Also pretty iconic. Very good. [Finished, ~170k words]

'a stranger things group chat <3' by cosmicbrowniefan: https://archiveofourown.org/works/39748521/chapters/99513723 Byler. Everyone's LGBTQIA+ and it's amazing. This one's just very fun and lighthearted if I remember correctly. [Finished, ~69k words]

This last one's only for registered AO3 users so it's being difficult but it's 'The Darkest Eyes' by light_lanterne. Byler. This one is probably my top favorite but it's incomplete and seems to have been abandoned. It's "a semi canon-compliant character study of mike wheeler, his unaddressed trauma and his relationship with will byers, told through the eyes of a very tired jim hopper who can’t help but to become attached to the boy who keeps dating his children". (Yes this is the only one I'm using the actual summary for cuz I'm lazy by the end of this.)

Anyways, I hope you find enjoyment out of at least one of these! Sorry I couldn't give you more, I haven't read ST fanfic in while as my hyperfixation has died down atm (still there, just not as crazy as a few months ago). Also I'm so sorry for how long this response took me! I had to gather the fics and had lots of family gatherings going on these last couple weeks so my time was limited!

Thanks so much for the ask! I appreciate you so very much! <3

[dollywheeler]

September 29th, 1996

And I say hey-ey-ey-ey-ey, hey-ey-ey I said "hey, what's going on?"

I've had this song stuck in my head all morning, still dancing along to it as if I'm still in the gymnasium, my gold dress swirling around me. I don't know why this song - it's not particularly romantic, or fitting to the occasion, doesn't sum up how the evening had felt. Yet, it had been the most magical moment of the entire night.

One moment, dancing with Daniel to Duran Duran, then this song came on, the slow start meaning we didn't break apart yet, trying to stay close as long as possible, but when the chorus hit the entire hall threw their heads back, screaming along in a messy harmony. It felt like a dream, didn't feel quite real, like some kind of movie, when your heart feels full even though you're just watching it play out in front of you. Except, this time I was in the middle of it, screaming along with everyone else, and it felt like I was floating, wishing the moment could less forever.

That's not to say the rest of the evening wasn't just as wonderful. Daniel took me to an actual restaurant, which was a nice change of pace from the dinner, but I honestly can't tell if the food was even worth it. My stomach was too busy swirling with nerves, and I could barely get any food past my lips because we were too distracted talking and laughing. It was wonderful - he was wonderful, looking dapper in his suit and glinting golden in the candle light. As far as first dates go, I'm sure it couldn't have gone any better. Not that I'd know, as this was my first first date, but it felt like a dream, like something that couldn't possibly be real.

It was the perfect blend between familiar and exciting - the comfort of someone you already know, someone you already love spending time with, mixed with the nerve-wracking thrill of a new context, of possibility.

We were having such a great time that we were late to the actual dance, having lost track of time completely during our conversation. Whitney gave me this knowing look about it - I don't think she would have believed me if I'd told her we'd just been talking.

Anyway, we danced and we laughed and gossiped and I didn't even care that Mike and his 'party' or whatever was there. I'd already realised I'd have to get used to them being around the school in every facet - that includes chaperoning school events. The night was too perfect though, and I was not going to let anything darken my mood.

I did get to talk to Max though, and thank her for the birthday gift. She said she'd mostly just said 'yes' or 'no' to things Mike had picked out and it was no big deal but that she was glad I liked it. I also used the moment to ask about everything else - I realised that if Mike won't call to tell her things, I might as well ask someone else for intel. Apparently, Lucas and her still live in Chicago, and she works as a counselor at the blind school she went to after whatever happened had happened. Everyone is always so vague about the details, but I didn't want to ask her directly and force her to relive it. That's one thing that actually is none of my business anyway.

Erica is living with them while she is going to college - she got her Bachelor's last June but just started law school. I can't imagine moving in with Nancy while I'm in college. Don't get me wrong, Nancy's great, but it's college! You're supposed to go out on your own and become independent and stuff. I said as much to Max, but she just shrugged and smiled to herself. She said Erica was happier with them than she'd been at the dorms.

I didn't know how to go from there so I just asked about El. I knew she still visits Hawkins a lot, because opposite to the others, I see her around town sometimes. At Melvalds with Joyce or in the diner with Sheriff Hopper, or alone around the library in the center of town. But there's also stretches of time when I don't see her at all. According to Max she takes a bunch of classes at the community college, but also travels a lot - bouncing between Chicago and San Fran and New York. Max said that whenever Dustin or Jonathan and Nancy have to travel for work, she usually tags along too. I don't know why or how she does all of that, but it sounds like a dream. Yet, at the same time, I think I'd personally hate it.

She seemed happy enough though, and it's obvious she is happy. From across the room I could see that, as always, her smile was wide and her skin warm with a tan, her hair pinned back with clips that clashed with her new pink highlights. Most of the chaperones hadn't bothered dressing up, but she had clearly thought about her outfit, each item carefully picked out to form a particular look, even if it was just jeans and a colorful sweater.

I didn't want to outright ask about Mike or Will, mostly because I know what they're doing right now and asking about Mike felt too much like snooping. Max didn't seem like she was going to mention it on her own, and before I could make up my mind on whether I really wanted to know, Dylan came to drag me back to the dance floor.

It was only after we were taking another break some time later that I realised I still didn't know what Dustin or Lucas are doing. I assume Dustin lives in San Fran, as that's the only reason El would go there as often as Chicago or New York, but I don't know what he does there. Probably some kind of tech company or whatever. And I'm pretty sure I heard Mrs. Sinclair talk about Lucas following in his father's footsteps but honestly I don't even know what he does so that doesn't answer any questions.

Might be something to talk about on Friday to fill awkward silences.

Anyway the dance was amazing, and someone must have succeeded in smuggling in alcohol because there was a girl puking in one of the bathroom stalls before 9 pm. She was nice though, told me she liked my dress. Even that felt magical, despite her smudged make-up and loopy expression, the entire night like a daydream where I was floating on air and nothing could ever be wrong.

There was an after party at Selena's house - I swear kids of divorced parents are raising themselves because somehow their houses are always empty at the most opportune times - but Danny and I decided not to go. I didn't want to risk ruining what had been the perfect evening, and I knew I'd only get more tired and everyone else less sober. It also kept the evening quiet, just Daniel and I in the car as he drove me home, drunk on happiness and singing along to the radio. Last night, it seemed, for once, I hadn't cared about missing out. I still don't.

I mean - nothing could have topped Daniel dropping me off at home, getting out of the car along with me as if he didn't know what he was doing either but had seen a few movies, and walked me up to the front door. I knew dad would already be asleep, but mom would be sitting up in the sitting room like she'd done so many nights before, for so many years on end, waiting for her teenager to get home safe.

I had my jacket draped over my shoulders because it wasn't too cold yet and I liked the air against my arms after the crowded gymnasium. Daniel pretended to pull it tighter around me, only to use it as leverage to draw me closer and kiss me. It feels silly writing it down because there's nothing I can say to really describe it. No words that feel right or do it justice, that explain how I'm blushing all over again just thinking about it, my stomach swirling at the recollection.

All I know is that I wish I was still in that moment, still holding his face in my hand, gently scratching my nail over his cheek, submitting the feeling to memory. But I didn't mind when he pulled away, his face flushed and dark eyes shining in the porchlight, because I got to smile at him and he smiled back, blush deepening as he stepped away and muttered a goodnight, dimples digging into his cheeks where I'd held him.

I watched him go before getting back into the house, finding mom asleep on the couch. It was late for her, I realised, even though it was only a little before twelve, and considered the fact she hadn't had to stay up in a long time - not since Mike had left. I didn't want to wake her but knew I had to - if just to let her know I was home and she wouldn't wake up worried.

I still can't quite believe the night was real.

I really should get the reading done for tomorrow, but I don't want to stop thinking about yesterday. Or tomorrow, when I'll see Daniel again.

Love, Holly <3

[1lostsoul0fishbowl]

Who do you think would propose first? Gareth or El?

also

Would you write a fic about Greatmage/Stali when they are older?

Aww that’s such a cute question! 😊😍

El has totally already proposed to Gareth at her senior prom, and while he was incredibly eager to say yes, he had to be the voice of reason and suggest they wait at least until he’s finished college and has a steady job. (You just know my boy had a long lecture from Hopper about the importance of being able to Properly Support his daughter!)

But Gareth proposes literally as soon as he graduates college, practically the moment he finds El after the ceremony, still dressed in his cap and gown and everything. Their families and friends are all crowded around excited taking pictures and everything, and Gareth is just bursting with glee and wiggling around like an overexcited puppy and he keeps looking at Hop like “now? Can I do it now?” Finally Hop pulls him aside like, I thought you wanted to do it later on at your house with flowers and everything, but Gareth says I CAN’T WAIT so Hop just laughs and says okay go ahead.

When he goes down on one knee in the middle of that crowded… uhh… field or auditorium or wherever the hell college graduations are held (idk I never went to college lmao) anyway. Gareth drops to one knee, his sister Morgan, Kali, Chrissy, and Max all start screaming immediately, his mother Maggie and of course Joyce both burst into tears, and Eddie is probably completely oblivious and blurts out “what the fuck are you doing buddy?” before he realizes what’s going on.

Gareth gets as far as “Janie, I love you, and—” before she’s kneeling on the ground right along with him, and then they’re both crying, and he forgets everything he planned to say and just holds up the ring and chokes out “will you?” and she joyfully shouts “yes!” through her sobs, and even Hopper is brushing away a few tears at this point. Their friends and family surround them, cheering and applauding, and El makes everybody laugh when she eagerly asks “can we go to the courthouse right now?”

*sigh* my babies are gonna have such a happy life together. 🥰🥰

As far as older Greatmage and Stali fics, of course I’d love to keep exploring their world and all their adventures! I don’t have any definite plots or fics planned right now, but the hyperfixation is still going strong, so there will definitely be more of them in my future. 💕 if you ever want to send me a prompt, feel free! And thank you so much for this lovely sweet ask!!!

(P.S. check out the “eleverson artwork” hashtag below for some absolutely FANTASTIC pics of our cuties, with bonus Stali in one!)

[stevie-petey]

hi i’m back!! first of all let me just say how mind blowing your writing is????? EVERYONE SAY THANK YOU M FOR THE AMAZING CHAPTER!!!

im so glad dear billy is ur fav ep from season four too because it’s mine too and oh my god. you did so well in making everything fit so perfectly together bc yk bug not being in st is still such a sad truth for me (and it’s shocking how you aren’t in the writers room for st s5 rn)

but anyways THERES ALOTTT TO UNPACK IN THIS CHAPTER !!

steve and bug first bc holy shiti swear i could feel my heart dropping multiple times while reading about them 

bug asking steve to choose max over her?? and steve pleading with her not to make him choose max over her and saying

“I’m choosing you, Y/N.” and adding 

“I’ll always choose you.” YK WHAT HERES THE FULL SCENE BC IT BROKE ME IN HALF.

[“I’m choosing you, Y/N.” Steve whispers, lips pressed softly against your hair. Your body stiffens, he feels it, but he holds you tighter instead. “I’ll always choose you.”

“Steve…” 

“Please don’t make me say no to you.” He pulls away, grabs your face and makes you look at him. You’re pale, tears wet your lovely face, and all Steve wants to do is fall asleep with you forever. He strokes the crest of your eyebrow, kisses your forehead. “Please don’t make me lose you.”]

PLEASE DONT MAKE ME LOSE YOU?????!?!?!?!?!!? just stab me with bugs pocketknife please.

and before that scene i remember the conversation between them about how steve recalled feeling gutted after seeing nancy and jonathan thinking his night couldn’t get any worse UNTIL HE SAW THE LOOK OF HEARTBREAK ON BUGS FACE and how it made him feel worse knowing he couldn’t have done anything to prevent her from feeling that hurt

[“But that night, it just-it really fucking hurt, you know? Thought I’d never feel anything shittier, that my night couldn’t get any worse. But then… I saw your face.”

“The heartbreak on your face, that fact that I couldn’t do anything to protect you from it. That’s what hurt me the most.”]

..AND THE MOST IMPORTANT LINE OF ALL (TO ME) [“And it’s why I won’t let anything else happen to you.”] and i know steve will try his best to protect her if it meant ensuring bugs safety in the end.

sooooooo who’s gonna tell them that they’ve been eachother’s protectors since day one without even knowing it!

these two are so special to me and it’s just so heartbreaking to see them this way, steve feeling so much fear, and anger :(

i understand his frustration with bug bc everyone can clearly see how she’s putting her own issues aside (despite her literally being cursed with the same thing as my baby max) just to save max and that’s not good bc it’s the BOTH of them that needs saving and bug being stubborn about it isn’t helping steve’s current state :( also i saw ur reply and YOU USING a beatles song is so evil and i love it so so much!!!!!

i’m not ready for bugs visions cause ik shes been carrying sm guilt…with the recent deaths of hopper and billy AND OMG THE NIGHTMARES???? dustin hearing her yell out billy’s name in the middle of the night ☹️ dustin’s being a champ rn LIKE i know he’s not showing it for the sake of his and bugs sanity but i know he’s going crazy in his head bc ITS HIS BIG SISTER?? AND HIS BEST FRIEND?? my poor baby is scared pf losing his bestest friend in the world :( i just need my Henderson siblings happy please </3

and lucas oh lucas!!!! my poor guy he’s literally never been so scared and worried in his entire life until now. THE POSSIBILITY OF LOSING BOTH THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE AND HIS BIG SISTER IS SO ☹️i need to hug him.

steve and nance r gonna be so best friends (alongside with the loml robin) and i love how they’re becoming more friendly with each other now like the playful banter im ready! (i know they were civil and were already somewhat friends but still) i didn’t particularly enjoy the love-triangle thing in s4 so i’m interested to see how you’ll be dealing with all of it 😭

btw i’m purposely ignoring jon rn. WE DONT SPEAK ABOUT HIM. (he’ll fall to his knees the minute he gets to hawkins and finds out about the curse that vecna gave bug)

ALSO SORRY THIS IS SO LONG BUT I KNOW YOU DONT LIKE TO CHANGE THE CANON TOO MUCH so idk what your plan is with max and bug…but oh my god the survivors guilt bug will carry…im not even ready. max and bug to me is like a literal reflection of each other and their relationship in this story is definitely my favorite thing ever. i don’t even wanna talk about that one scene where bug was yelling at vecna to take her instead. i don’t. i just mentioned it bc i feel so devastated and unready for what’s about to come.

i read smth about how u said there aren’t anymore disagreements between bug and steve!!! and how the rest will just be sad ones AND CUTE ONES (im holding u to that ml) 

does this mean they’ll talk 🤞🤞 i need them to have a proper conversation so i’m crossing my fingers and wishing that we’ll have that conversation alongside with the later conversation between steve and nance (and i believe that it was definitely done for good reasons!)

i listened to in my life while writing this btw and i feel so brave!! 

okay i’m done !! i’m sorry this was long but i appreciate your works and i’m in awe of you !! pls never stop being great!! i hope you’re doing well <333 sending u sm love today lovely <3 e

-🌟🍓

dear billy supremacy !!!

and the entire steve and bug i choose you scene ,,, oh boy theres so many layers to that one specific conversation that i simply cannot wait to dive into later. for now, the entire notion of their relationship is that they chose to love one another !!! bug chose to wait, steve chose to trust her, and they chose to fall in love <333 i firmly believe that true love is choosing to love your partner, not just the chemical reaction in our brains, but the act of staying and trusting to be loved in return - THATS true love.

and steve revealing hes always wanted to help/protect bug <333 i love the porch scene. i love tying things together and also just seeing their growth throughout the seasons. in season 1 the porch scene was heavy with insecurity. bug was weak, back then. she didnt want steve to see how hurt she was (but failed). now we fast forward years later for season 4 and shes actively leaning on steve !!! seeking his comfort !! yet shes also standing her ground, doing what she believes is right (even if shes wrong). and STEVE !! he failed her in season 1, he refuses to fail her again in 4 :((

now bugs whole "hey gang lets focus on max not me haha" will cause a few rifts within the group - everyone knows its unneeded, they all hate shes doing this, but they also know that they cant change bugs mind. its very bittersweet and :///

max and bug ,,, u Get It. they ARE reflections of one another. max is fifteen, same age bug was in season 1. its very very very reminiscent of how bug was back then, stubborn and slightly cold but still so full of love and concern for her friends. max is where bug was, confused and scared and unused to asking (or accepting) help. bug sees this and she also is struggling with this. theyve always had a close relationship, but billys death changed everything and brought them closer together. bug feels a kinship to max, she feels responsible for her, and max knows this and almost resents her for it. its messy and very sad and hard and me not changing canon too much will make things even MORE heartbreaking and sad :(

but on a happier note: YES STEVE AND BUG DO ACTUALLY TALK !!! they have a whole lovely conversation later (in the very last ep lmao) that resolves a Lot i promise guys theyre end game i just like drama and growth.

in my life <333

[writing-rat]

Murray's Theory

Pairing: Robin x Nancy

Content Warning: Fluff

Summary: Murray sees how close the 2 girls are. He decides to watch then talk to them.

It was a normal day in the Hopper-Byers household. Hopper had moved in with them after everything Upside Down related. All the kids could visit at any time too and get support too. Max definitely took advantage of it, as well as Robin who both had shitty parents. 

Hopper and Joyce were great replacements for them, and Robin would come over almost every dinner time. They also had recently learnt of Robin’s relationship with Nancy and were happy for her. This led to both of them coming together more, and being open with their affections. They were currently cuddled up, holding each other. They had been warned of Murray visiting, a groan coming out of the smaller girl. “He’s gonna figure us out,” she has stated. This scared Robin so they decided to put some distance between themselves but still cuddle. 

Soon Murray was over, his eccentric self already out. “Hoppers. Byers!” he called out, walking in then saw the 2 girls. “Buckley! Wheeler!” he added on immediately. 

“How do you know my last name?” Robin asked, confused and blinking in shock, but also a untrustworthy glare, still holding onto Nancy and crossing their ankles so Murray couldn’t see from there. 

“Joyce talks about you a lot and how you’re special!” He grinned out. Robin relaxed then nodded before a small blush crept on her face and hid it. Joyce meanwhile just rolled her eyes and smiled. 

“Come on Murray. You can help me cook dinner,” she spoke to which Murray happily followed, he loved to cook after all.

He would keep an eye on the 2 girls however.

-

Soon, dinner was ready. It was a roast beef meal with mash, gravy, carrots and green beans. “Thank you Joyce,” both Robin and Nancy said in sync at the same time, causing both of them to laugh quietly. Joyce just smiled as she was plating everyone’s dishes. “Yeah, thanks mom,” Will also spoke as Jonathan nodded. Murray was offended he wasn’t mentioned but he wouldn’t say anything. He was more focused on Robin and Nancy anyway, and how they were sitting next to each other, constantly touching it seemed. 

Nancy looked over at Murray, realising he was staring before she pulled away discreetly. He was looking at her and smirked, doing a whisper motion and signalled how he would talk to her later. Nancy rolled her eys, as they continued to eat dinner. After, Murray grabbed Nancy by the elbow, not explaining why and was taking her outside. “I knew you would find the one,” he spoke with a smile, causing Nancy to shake her head. 

“N-no, I’m not… you know,” she nervously responded. Murray smirked.

“It’s fine if you are,” he responded. “Plus, this Buckley girl seems cool and you are way happier than you ever was with Steve,” he added on. This caused Nancy to look down and think.

She then wandered inside, knowing that Murray knew from that point so she went to Robin and kissed her. Shocked, Robin kissed back and smiled. “What was that about?” Robin asked, her curiosity killing her.

“Murray giving me his blessing and how he’s happy I found you,” Nancy remarked, causing Robin to chuckle then kiss her gently again. They were soon sat down, cuddling.

[lovestuckyhatemarvel]

I took a day or so off because of life factors and now it’s a rainy Saturday and I’m gonna at least watch a few episodes and give some reactions to random stuff as well as note things I forgot or didn’t notice before. I at some point will stop doing an intro since I don’t think anyone is reading these consistently.

1.) I forgot El really just starts this episode back at the last time we saw her in episode 1, like almost a full year before season 2 starts.

2.) honestly I’d forgotten this sequence in general of her reaching through the placenta hole in the wall and then making it bigger.

3) I especially forgot that Mike kind of saw her through the window while agents are trying to get him to talk and he just keeps staring at the window like a dipshit

4.) I love this comically large tree that El can hide under that no one checks.

5.) Jonathan still does scrambled eggs and toast as a speciality

6.) Erica exists now

7.) the montage of the costumes us so cute

8.) Mike being a little bit racist

9.) I forgot literally no one else dressed up

10.) hopper is still very sweet and patient about Will when talking to Joyce

11.) I don’t care about these guys in the lab even though I probably should care about them fixing a power issue

12.) I fully understand where Nancy is coming from and I hate that at this point the Hollands are wasting their time and money and are tearing themselves looking for Barb when she will never come home. That being said, Steve isn’t wrong here. There is a shadowy agency that literally killed a man and covered it up as a suicide and covered up Will’s disappearance with a fake body that resulted in a funeral. They could really put themselves and others in danger. And something not fully discussed in this scene is: literally what would they even say? “hey, long story short, your daughter was killed by a creature from another dimension and her body is still there but you can’t talk to anyone about it or get her back or anything. Anyway, thanks for the McDonald’s.” Like that would be worse and they probably would not believe it anyway.

13.) Steve doesn’t even say forget forever, he asked to pretend to be normal on Halloween for one night

14.) I adore Max and if I’d known her in middle school, I’d desperately want to be her friend

15.) ok but how did el go from not knowing what half of food is to knowing how to skin and cook a squirrel? Like who taught her to do that? Her skill level varies wildly

16.) Billy is the fucking woooooooooooooorst and if he hadn’t died in season 3, it would have been something I did on my own in fanfic. People wanting to save him is crazy to me. He literally ran a bunch of kids off the road with his speeding car as one of the first things in the show!!!

17.) Jonathan not seeing what his mom likes bob is kind of hilarious to me because there’s a non insignificant chance that’s what he’s like when he’s 40

18.) still love Jonathan and will being adorable bros

19.) why is Billy so greasy???? Did he lather in baby oil before doing a keg stand???

20.) It was Nancy’s idea to go to this stupid party in the first place but now that she’s going with Steve instead of Jonathan, its a chore. Like ma’am you could have stayed home or insisted on doing some other normal thing. And by you, I mean the Duffers could have made up their minds

21.) bob and Joyce dancing in the living room is so cute

22.) every time max appears on screen I grin and whisper, ‘that’s my girl’, especially when she jump scares boys

23.) hop broke a promiseeeee but also that small child was only out there for hopper to buy candy off of

24.) max lives on Old Cherry Road

25.) Mike hating Max for no damn reason is so annoying

26.) jump scared right into the upside down

27.) Jonathan shows up to the party. Forgot that happened.

28.) all Steve was trying to do was stop Nancy from giving herself alcohol poisoning and he did apologize. But then she shatters his heart.

29.) Steve did leave her at the party which sucks but idk how I would be able to do anything else if someone called me a killer and said our love was bullshit

30.) I forgot El visits Mike through the void

31.) oh hi demodog. I remembered you were found in a trash can but not that you technically show up in episode 2, although not like seen by the audience

[okaybutlikeimagine]

I absolutely love your Dad Hopper adopting Billy headcanons! I eat that shit upppppp. I was wondering where in that whole family dynamic Max fits in? She’s still Billy’s sister right even if they’re not blood-related or legally-bound, right???

I’M GLAD YOU ASKED!! (also you’re so damn sweet ohmygod you’re too sweet thanks dear ♥♥♥ you’re always so damn sweet and any time you like and reblog my stuff i cry, it means so much)

She is 1000% still Billy’s sister. Pretty sure you sent this in before I answered all those other things about Max. i thought about adding this into the other asks i did w/ Max but i really just wanted to write more about Max w/ the Hopper family bc i can nEVER GET ENOUGH. I just love Max ♥

Also for those of you who may not know I’ve written it/want to read some more Max and Billy and the Hoppers, I’ve talked quite a bit about it! I’ll link a bunch of stuff here: x  x  x  x  x  x

oKAY so I’ve talked before about how Max is super duper fucking jealous of El’s relationship w/ Billy. He’s so nice w/ her and soft w/ her and friendly w/ her and it makes her upset bc she feels like she lost her brother. I  c r y  thinking about Max leaving the Hopper home and going back home to no one. Just her draining mother and her dickish step-father and a new guest room that she knows no one is ever going to use bc she really can’t imagine anyone coming to visit them out in Hawkins fucking Indiana.

So she spends a LOT of time at the Hopper residence. Like, you know how in sitcoms there’s always that one friend that is over at the other friend’s house all. the. time. And the parents are always like: “Don’t you have a home to go back to?” as the friend flops themselves on the couch and burns through a bag of chips??? That’s Max at the Hopper home.

Except, and I’m gonna say it: Hop really likes Max. She might be his favorite kid of the group (except for his own daughter but she doesn’t really count, y’know??) bc Max is basically Billy (snarky, sarcastic, sharp)  just w/o all of the aggression and destruction and teen-boy horniness. She’s really chilled out and she’s only slightly disrespectful sometimes but overall she’s fun to talk to and she seems to be a good influence on El. Any influence on El that steers her away from stupid boys is a good influence in Hop’s eyes. Hop knows her favorite TV shows and what her favorite subject is in school and the fact that she prefers the strawberry ice cream to the chocolate when he buys Neapolitan ice cream.

So she’s over allll the time. She’s always doing El’s hair or vice versa. They’re having fashion shows in El’s room. They’re dancing around to music on El’s stereo. They’re reading comic books or magazines on El’s bed or on the ground, laying around in funny positions and always touching be it their feet or their arms or their legs. They’re just always together. Joined at the hip. Pulling each other around hand in hand or arm in arm. Whispering and giggling and laughing.

And sometimes Max comes over to see Billy. Bc she’s hanging around her room missing hearing the stupid sound of his weights hitting the ground or of the heavy rock playing from across the hall or the way he pulls her hair when they pass each other. Even in their house where he would frequently shrink away in fear of being targeted, his presence was larger than life. Now the house is empty and she hates it.

But Hop said she’s always welcome and El is always excited for her to come over and Billy always gives her a smile before shifting into a smirk and asking: “Here again, shitbird?”

He doesn’t give her too much shit, though. He’s always very, very soft about teasing her about it. Bc she would never admit it to him, but he knows she misses him. He misses her too. He lived w/ her for years, they’re siblings, she’s fun to annoy bc she annoys him right back and it’s just what they do. 

Max stays over just about every weekend for extended sleepovers with El. The first few nights she stays over, Hop doesn’t let her even help cook, but eventually Billy makes her help him so that Hop can sit down and relax. Max pouts about it a little that first time, but she’s actually happy about it bc it reminds her of when she would cook dinner w/ Billy when they were home alone and their parents hadn’t left them anything to eat. El likes it too bc she thinks it’s fun to watch people cook. Plus, Max lets her eat little things like pinchfuls of cheese or a nearly cooked pasta noodle, whereas Billy and Hop always make her wait.

Sometimes, when Max and Lucas are dating and on good terms, she’ll invite Lucas over to the cabin to hang out and watch TV or something. Hop likes the kid, El thinks he’s fun, and Billy thinks he’s one of the lesser annoying ones (Mike and Dustin are definitely way more annoying in Billy’s eyes)(plus, Lucas drinks New Coke w/ him and laughs w/ him while everyone else gags in their direction)

Except…

“Why does she get to bring her boyfriend over and I can’t?” Billy asks one day, gesturing to Lucas and Max on the sofa watching reruns. Max sticks her middle finger up at Billy w/o turning to look at him. Billy swats it out of the air w/o looking at her.

“Because she’s not my kid.” Hop says, but his jaw is tight.

And it screws into Max’s heart. It solidifies to her that she isn’t really part of the family. They’ve kind of adopted her, but more as the pestering friend than the 2nd daughter.

Except… the more she does it, the more she comes over, the more she sits under Lucas’ arm, the more it gets into Hop’s skin.

To the point where Hop is taking Lucas’ arm off of Max’s shoulder and pulling him towards the door, telling him: “Your dad called, he needs you home.”

“I didn’t hear the phone ring-” Lucas whines but Hop silences him with a look.

“He called. Get home.”

And when he closes the door and turns around, he sees Max turned around on the couch, looking at him like she’s waiting for an explanation. He just shrugs.

“I didn’t like how he was looking at you.” He grumbles.

And let me tell you, it warms her heart. She’s not even that irritated at all. She turns back to the TV and huffs, but there’s a smile on her face that’s hidden from Hop. Not from Billy though, as he flops on the couch and shoves her head away gently and chuckles.

“Welcome to the family.” He mumbles, before he reaches for the remote and the two of them argue over it.