#but look how close they are in the scene with steve and dustin

[jonathanbyersphd]

even if they're broken up it's gonna be for .5 seconds they're too obsessed with matching each other's freak to separate

[ashwhowrites]

Hi there! I love your work, I was wondering if I could request a virgin Eddie who’s a lil bit of a perv who is in love with his best friend (the reader) and when she tells him she likes him and they eventually have sex Eddie’s all nervous. Maybe starting off a lil angsty and then fluff?? Thank you!!

I LOVE perv eddie.

I hope this is what you wanted and you enjoy it. Thank you for requesting ❤️

⚠️Smut!

His first time

Eddie was a basic man who had basic needs. He enjoyed adult magazines, he wouldn't deny it. He saved up to buy the newest issues, pleasuring himself to all the different women and their breasts.

He enjoyed checking the girls out, loved watching the cheerleaders perform and sex scenes in movies. But he got bored of the same things.

He blasted music through his speakers as he tried to focus on making himself cum. But he was getting frustrated as nothing seemed to get him there. He tossed the magazine on the floor, closing his eyes as he tried to picture the cheerleaders from before.

His hand moved fast on his cock as he clenched his eyes. His body was covered in sweat and his body was cramping from how hard he was trying to cum. He tried to imagine the scene like he was there again.

He sat next to his best friend, Y/N, as the cheerleaders warmed up. Their long legs stretched out as they bent over. Eddie noticeably checked them out, along with every boy in the crowd.

The bleachers were uncomfortable as Y/N tried to shift. The popcorn in her hand spilled as she did, landed right at Eddie's feet.

"Oh fuck!" She groaned. It caught Eddie's attention, before he could ask, she was reaching down to grab the pieces. Her body was right between his legs. He felt his breath get caught in his throat as her hand rested on his knee to balance herself. Her head between his thighs.

Eddie moaned as he felt his body melting into the mattress. Finally relaxing enough for him to feel true pleasure as he jerked himself off.

He looked down, enjoying the way her shirt dipped and he could see the top of her breasts.

Eddie sighed in pleasure as cum shot out of his cock, painting his hand as he worked himself through it. His hair sticking to his sweaty body as he thanked God he was finally cumming.

Then he realized what made him cum.

His best friend.

~~~

Eddie felt a little bit ashamed about masturbating to his best friend, but not ashamed enough to stop doing it. She was behind the greatest orgasms he's ever felt and he couldn't give that up.

It had been months since he first did it, and now he didn't see any worthy of girl compared to her. He was captivated by her. He began falling for her.

Suddenly her smile made his stomach flutter. The way she laughed made him smile. He wanted to feel her skin against his. He was curious to know how her lips felt.

He wasn't the best with feelings so he didn't bother to tell her how he felt. Plus, there was no way she'd be into him. She was out of his league even as friends. He kept his feelings to himself, torturing himself every second he spent with her.

She was ranting about a teacher. Her mouth moved but Eddie heard silence. Her hands were waving around as she cussed but he was focused on the deep cut of her T-shirt.

He tried to keep his eyes on her face, but he couldn't help but look down at the small part of her bra that was showing. He tried not to whine when she crossed her arms, squishing her delicious breasts against each other.

Fuck he craved to stick his head right between them. Or his cock. He felt himself twitch at the thought. Oh, he definitely wanted to push his cock between her tits.

~

"Wanna play a game or chicken?" Steve asked Eddie as they swam around the neighborhood pool.

"Depends, who's on you and who's on me," Eddie said.

"I'll take Dustin," Steve said as Dustin jumped in. "YO, KID! GET ON MY SHOULDERS!"

Eddie looked around for a partner, a smile on his face as he swam to the edge. He propped his arms up on the concrete, whistling to gain her attention.

Y/N opened her eyes under her sunglasses, looking towards the pool from her spot on the chairs. Eddie was looking at her with a suggestive smile.

"Oh God, what?" She sighed. She pushed her glasses up on her head and sat up. Her day of tanning seemed to be cancelled.

"Be my partner and beat Steve's ass?" He asked, he had one eye scrunched as he looked up at her. The sun beamed right on him.

She knew she could never say no to Eddie. And truthfully, sitting on Eddie's broad shoulders sounded like a wet dream. She stood up and discarded her sunglasses. She quickly took off her shorts and Eddie clapped as she walked towards him.

He whistled as she began to walk into the water. She flicked him off as her body felt the cold water.

"Damn, always looking good in a swimsuit," he winked. She rolled her eyes, hoping the sun was the reason her skin heated up.

Eddie plunged under the water, letting her sit on his shoulders as he stood up. She loved the feeling of his arms holding down her legs. The way they were wrapped around her.

He loved every second of her legs wrapped around him. The feeling of her cunt on the back of his neck. He wanted more than anything to lay her on the concrete and turn around, dive his face in her cunt as he ate her out in front of everyone. He hoped the splashing of the water hid the growing erection in his swim shorts.

~

It was a Friday night and Eddie was getting ready for a party that Y/N was dragging him to. It wasn't something he wanted to do but he had a hard time looking at her and saying no. Plus, if he didn't go she'd still go and he wasn't in the mood to hear about how she got hit on all night.

She's had boyfriends before and they never had Eddie's approval. Which made much more sense now that he knew he was in love with her.

He shoved a few pre rolls in his pocket and ran out the door.

~

About an hour into the party, he lost her. They were outside where he could smoke freely, she went in to get a drink and hadn't come back out. He was getting slightly worried so he stood up from the grass and began walking towards the house.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned. He thought maybe it was her but another girl stood in front of him.

"Hi sorry, but I was wondering if you had any of what you were smoking left? Or even a cigarette?" The girl asked

Eddie wasn't sure who she was, digging into his pocket as he grabbed his cigarettes. "Can't share the good stuff, but I can offer this." He smiled as he passed one over.

She smiled and took it, "lighter?" She put the cigarette between her lips, Eddie flicked his lighter the flame coming to life as he lit the end of the cigarette. She inhaled the smoke. She sighed from the taste. "Thank you. I needed this."

"Not a problem," he smiled. He prepared to turn around and leave but she spoke up again.

"Are you here alone?" She asked

Eddie was a little confused. It felt like she was hitting on him. "Uh no, my friend is inside getting drinks. Which is where I'm heading because it's been like an hour," he said as he checked his watch.

"Well if you don't find your friend, come find me," she winked as she turned around and walked off. The cigarette smoke following her. Eddie was stunned, he barely got hit on.

"Sorry!" Y/N said as she appeared in front of him. "You can't imagine how busy that kitchen is," she noticed the weird look on his face as she handed his drink over.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just think that girl over there was flirting with me," he said as he nodded his head in her direction. Y/N felt her stomach turn as she followed his head. She didn't like knowing someone was showing interest in him. She felt jealous as she spotted the girl smoking a few feet away.

"Oh! Well...she's cute, I guess," Y/N shrugged as she looked back at him. She didn't like how his eyes were still on the girl. "Did you, um, want to talk to her?" She cursed herself for asking. For giving him the option because she didn't want him to.

"Should I? I'm not sure how to talk to girls," Eddie said nervously. He took a swig from his red cup as the alcohol burned down his throat.

"You talk to me," Y/N said, once again not sure why she was trying to help.

"Yeah but that's different. You aren't into me and looking for like... something," he coughed, feeling uncomfortable at the idea.

Y/N figured this was the chance to say something. She could correct him, tell him she was into him and she wanted something with him. She opened her mouth, weight on her chest.

"Eddie, loo-"

"I'm going to do it. Hold this for me," he said as he handed her the cup. He wiped his hands on his jeans and took a few deep breaths. She frowned as he walked away, heading to the pretty girl.

So much for telling him how she felt, she thought. She carried their drinks towards the small bench in the backyard. She wasn't sure if she should watch or stare off into space. She tried to drink away the lump in her throat. Hoping the alcohol would kill all the shit she felt inside.

She finished off her drink, her eyes flicking to where he was. He was smiling as the girl laughed, shoving his arm. She quickly looked away, the sight alone hurt her more than she would like to admit. She chugged his drink, getting up as she went to fill the cups again. Fuck, she needed many drinks to survive this.

She debated going back outside, but figured inside was safer. The air was thick as there wasn't much room to walk around. She escaped to the front yard, letting herself sit on the grass.

She knew she should have said something sooner. Now he was probably going to come ask to bring the girl home. And Y/N wanted to cry at the thought.

She wasn't sure how long she was out there, but she knew it had to be over an hour. At this point she was sad and alone. She was ready to go home and cry herself to sleep. She stood up and dusted off her clothes. She prep talked herself as she walked to the backyard.

She tried to blink away tears as he was still with the girl, much closer than before. Maybe she was jealous, or maybe she was tired, but she didn't find a problem with walking right up to them.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I want to go home," she said. Her tone was serious and it worried Eddie as he looked at her.

"Are you okay?" He asked

"Yeah, just not feeling well," she wasn't fully lying. She did feel like she could puke right at their feet as their fingers were inches away from each other.

"Yeah, here are the keys. I'll be there in like a minute?"

She nodded as she grabbed the keys. Completely ignoring the girl as she began her walk to the van. She made it down the street when Eddie ran after her, throwing his arm over her shoulder as he panted.

"Sure you're okay? Need to get water or something?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Eddie," she softly smiled. She handed him the keys as they arrived where he parked. They climbed in but Eddie wasn't making any moves to drive off.

"What's going on?" He asked as he looked over at her. She looked straight ahead.

"I said I'm fine, can we please go home?"

Eddie sighed and started up the van, driving off.

The ride was silent. Y/N spent the whole drive forcing her tears to stay in her eyes. And Eddie kept glancing her way.

~

They entered his empty trailer, still silent as she worked her way into his bedroom. He took off his jacket and threw it somewhere on the floor. He walked to his room, freezing as she had her back to him as she unclipped her bra. He gazed at the naked skin, wanting her so badly to turn around. But one of his T-shirts was tossed on. She collected her clothes and put them in a small pile. Turning around, jumping as Eddie stood here.

"Jesus. You move like a mouse," she laughed. But Eddie's face was hard to read as he looked at her. She didn't say anything, just threw herself on his bed. She sighed in relaxation as she cuddled into his pillows.

Eddie removed his shirt, unaware of her watching eyes as he moved into the bathroom.

She tried to calm down her racing heart as he changed. She hoped she could avoid talking but she had a feeling he still didn't believe her.

A few seconds later he walked out, only in boxers. She chewed on her bottom lip as he joined her in bed. The small lamp beside him was the only form of light.

They stared at each other, both softly memorizing each other's faces. "You sure you're okay?" He whispered, his hand moving to softly rub her hip. She melted into his touch.

"Did you like her?" She whispered. Her voice horse as she tried not to cry.

"Not really," he admitted honestly. He continued to rub her hip as he shifted closer. His face right in front of her as he frowned. "Is that what this is about?"

She closed her eyes as she had to face it. She opened her eyes, Eddie was quick to wipe away the tears that began to fall. "Oh baby," he whispered as he pulled her into him.

Her nose was pressed against his.

"You know how you said I wasn't into you so talking to me was different?"

He nodded, thumb rubbing her cheek.

"I do like you," she whispered. She hoped he didn't hear it, but that was impossible as there wasn't any space between them. "I wanted to tell you but you know," she sniffled.

"You do know that if I knew, no way in hell I would have bothered with her," he admitted. She felt herself smile.

"Yeah?"

"You don't know how long I've been thinking about you," he whispered. His heart raced as she smiled. He couldn't believe it after all this time, she liked him.

Her smile slowly fell as she looked at his lips. She didn't say anything as she leaned in and pressed her lips against his. He gladly kissed her back, rolling on his back as she rolled on top of him. He moved his hands on her back as her tongue slipped in his mouth.

He whined at how incredible her lips and tongue felt. The feeling of her hands moving into his hair made him clench. His mind already raced with dirty images of them, his cock growing under her as he couldn't fight them off.

She could feel his cock growing hard underneath her, pride in her chest as her kiss seemed to do enough to drive him insane. It did the same to her, she didn't want to wait for anything. She wanted him to fuck her and kill the tension she always felt with him.

She rolled her hips against him, moaning into his mouth as his cock rubbed against her thin panties.

She pulled away for air, moving her lips to his neck. He shivered as she sucked on his skin. He didn't know what any of this felt like, but damn it felt good coming from her. He didn't care how noticeable her marks would be, he wanted to be covered.

His mind was clouded with pleasure as she kept rocking against his cock. Barely noticing her hands moving to strip off her shirt.

Wait, was this happening? Right now? He thought. His cock twitched seeing her bare tits. He stared in awe as his hands dropped to her hips.

She patiently waited for him to touch her, but he quite literally looked like a deer in headlights.

"Eds?" She asked

He looked into her eyes and she could see the nerves in his eyes.

"Shit! I'm sorry," she said as she climbed off his lap. Her face burned with embarrassment as she covered herself with his blanket. She closed her eyes as she wished to disappear.

"No, it's okay!" He reassured her. He sat up.

"We don't have to do any of that. I got way too caught up" she uncomfortably laughed. She felt like an idiot.

"I want to. Fuck, I want to so bad. I just have no idea what I'm doing," he admitted. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Have you ever done it before?" She asked, no judgement in her eyes.

"No," he said quickly, "but I promise I know I want to. And I'm ready right now," he rushed out. He was so desperate as his cock throbbed under the sheets. He was far too gone to ignore it and move on.

"Are you sure? I'm fine with just going to bed," she offered.

"I want you," he confirmed, leaning in as he pressed his lips against hers. She gladly accepted the kiss, climbing back on his lap.

She pulled away. "I'll go slow, okay?"

He nodded, just wishing she'd sink down on him already.

"Do you have a condom?" She asked. He quickly turned to his nightstand, yanking it open. She eyed the amount of condoms scattered around and a pair of handcuffs. "I hope you weren't planning on using all of those immediately."

Eddie blushed as he handed her the wrapper, and shut the drawer. "I wanted to be prepared."

"And the handcuffs?" She teased as she tore the package open. He watched as she moved down his body, hands seconds away from touching him.

"To experiment," he said in a heavy breath. His eyes locked on her hands as she began to put the condom on him. He shivered as she rolled it on, the single touch was better than anything he felt by himself.

She climbed up his body and put her face up against his. "Don't think you'll ever do this with someone else, got it?"

He moaned at her possessive words, loving the heat behind her eyes. He gladly would submit to her anytime she wanted him.

She smiled at his reaction, moving her body to hover over his cock. His submissive eyes were staring, becoming glossy as he whined for her to do something.

She softly gripped his cock, slowly sinking herself down on him. He let out a loud long moan as he gripped her hips. She was so warm. She gave herself a second to adjust to his size, planting her hands on his chest as she began to roll her hips.

His head smacked his headboard with a thunk as he threw his head back. Her wrapped around him easily became the best thing he ever felt.

He pried his eyes open so he could watch her. She looked angelic on top of him. The way her tits moved, her hair, her scrunched eyes and mouth open with moans. He wanted to feel more of her, sitting up straight as his unrehearsed hands moved to her chest.

He froze before he touched her. His eyes look up to her for answers. She opened her eyes when she felt him moving. She looked down at his puppy eyes. She tried not to speak on how fucking adorable he looked.

She slowed down her hips as she pressed her forehead against his. With her lips being that close, he didn't second think of his movements as he kissed her. She moved her hands to wrap around his neck, deepening this kiss. She waited until he wanted to pull away, sitting still on him.

He pulled back, his hands still on her chest. "May I?"

She nodded, going back to moving on his cock. "Yeah, baby. Touch me."

He growled at her words. His eager hands massaged her breasts, making her arch into him. He moaned at how they felt in his hands, so warm, and full. He hated how close he was, wanting this to never stop.

Y/N changed her pace as she went faster. He felt incredible inside of her. He was a perfect fit and she loved the way he kissed and touched her.

"Fuck, I'm gonna cum," he moaned. His brain only focused on how amazing the build up was, and how he never felt anything like it. He wrapped his arms around her and flipped them over. He didn't know how but he fucked himself into her, doing something right as she moaned out.

He fucked her, head dropping into her sweaty neck as he felt his final thrusts shake. He panted into her neck, she greedily wrapped her legs around his waist to shove him deeper inside her.

"That's it, Eddie," she praised. He gave his final thrusts as he came inside the condom. His orgasm ran through his whole body, he felt it everywhere.

He pulled out of her, body feeling like jelly. "Holy fuck," he chuckled out of breath. "That was the best thing I've ever felt."

Y/N squirmed as he shifted, his cock still inside of her. He wanted to continue but the more he moved, it began to hurt.

"Pull out, Eddie. It's okay," she smiled. He nodded and pulled out, already missing how she felt around him.

"But you didn't cum," he frowned.

"That's okay! This was about you," she said as she rubbed his cheek. But he wasn't having it. No way he was leaving her with nothing.

He wasn't sure what to do, but he's seen enough movies to have a slight idea. His hand skimmed down her body, sliding two fingers inside of her.

She gasped as his long fingers moved inside of her. She moved her hand down to her clit but Eddie slapped it away. He was determined to do it all on his own.

He added a third finger as he used his other hand to circle her clit. She softly put her hand over his to show him how. He enjoyed the way her breathing increased and she began to moan more. He kept a steady pace with his fingers on her clit, and fucking her as fast as his fingers would allow.

"Fuck that's it, don't change anything," she said, throwing her head back as she moved herself on his fingers to feel him deeper.

"Yes ma'am,"

Her eyes rolled in the back of her head from the name, feeling loved by the way his eyes watched her. And how badly he wanted to make her cum.

She focused on her orgasm as it began building. Her hands stretched out to grip his shoulders as she began to shake.

"Gonna cum," she warned, immediately soaking his fingers as she came.

Eddie continued, loving the sounds of her wet cunt, until she pushed his hands away.

He cleaned them both up before he crawled to lay next to her.

"I love you," he whispered as he cupped her cheek. He left a small kiss to her lips.

"I love you, too"

[stevie-petey]

episode five: the nina project

His confusion is adorable and you can’t help but press yet another kiss to his nose. “Wake up, honey.” “Five more minutes?” “Nancy seemed pretty alarmed–oof!” Steve’s arms wrap around you and pull you into his chest. He’s overly warm from sleep, his cologne is faint, but still it feels like home.  Steve nestles against you and sighs, content. “Much better.”

Summary: you and dustin steal pancakes to spite ted wheeler, steve just wants one morning of peace, nancy takes you to a haunted house, cobwebs are surprisingly intimate to remove from someone, and vecna decides to play flashlight tag with everyone. hes so sweet :)

Rating: general, some swearing

Warnings: mentions of blood, panic attack, , swearing, fem!reader, use of y/n

Words: 7.2k

Before you swing in: hey gang ! i present chapter 5, aka my least favorite ep of season 4 </3 however, she was very fun to write and i enjoyed twisting some scenes together ;) enjoy, thank yall for waitin !

–

“Hey, bee.”

The line is quiet.

You sound tired, you know Jonathan will hear the exhaustion in your voice, and he’ll worry. 

“I, uh. I miss you.” And you do. 

You’re in the Wheeler’s kitchen, Nancy and the others are down in the basement, trying to pretend that tonight they’ll fall asleep. The reality is that you’re all too afraid to fall asleep. The terror of what could happen in the dark ensures this. 

Steve sits on the counter across from you. He stares down at his hands, picks at his nails. He doesn’t want to be here, he doesn’t want to hear whatever you have to tell Jonathan. When you demanded to call him, Steve had originally denied you. He didn’t understand why you’d want to talk to him or why you’d risk not having your walkman on after what happened with Max. 

But then you’d broken down into tears and Steve gave in.

“Listen, I know we haven’t talked in a while.” To think that four days without hearing Jonathan’s voice is now considered a while saddens you. For years you couldn’t go more than a few hours without his voice. “But, um. It’s been… it’s been awful, without you.”

I could die tomorrow and I can’t remember what your hand felt like within mine.

A tear falls down your face and you wipe it away. You’re so tired of crying. “I don’t… I don’t know how much you remember, the last time we spoke. I just-I’ve had the worst week of my life and I could really use your voice right now.”

Jonathan is still the one you run to. He always will be. 

The line remains quiet. 

“Please, can you just… call me? I–” breath catching in your throat, you choke on the words that simmer on your tongue. “I’m really scared, bee.” 

This is the first time you’ve ever spoken the words out loud. They’re whispered, they come out hushed, as if afraid someone will overhear and call you weak. 

The voicemail line beeps, indicating that you’ve used up all your time to record the message. Numb, you place the phone against the wall. 

Steve looks up, sensing the conversation as drawn to a close. He stands up and wraps you in his arms. You’re cold to the touch. It unnerves him. You’ve always been so warm, so full of heat. “Did he… what did Jonathan say?”

Your head drops against his chest. “He didn’t answer. Voicemail.”

“Oh.”

The silence drags on a painfully long time. You reside in Steve’s arms, seeking comfort in whatever touch you allow from him. Your headphones, which rest against your neck, dig into Steve’s uncomfortably. Clearing his throat, he taps them with his finger. “Music?”

You nod, too tired to fight him. Ever since the cemetery, Steve and Dustin have insisted that you never take your headphones off. Music is what saved Max; they’re convinced they can keep you out of harm’s reach if you listen to your favorite song as well. 

“The tape, please?” You mumble softly to Steve, slowly lifting your arm to point to the kitchen table.

Understanding what you’re asking, he quickly lets go of you to retrieve it. Grabbing the old tape, his fingers find your walkman buried in your pocket. Steve puts the tape inside, eyes skimming over the writing that resides on it.

For bug.

“Will you ever tell Nancy?” He finds himself asking, unaware that the question had even been on his mind. 

It was only days ago that Steve’s biggest problem had been Jonathan’s vague question of “what if”. Now he stands in Nancy’s kitchen, cradling your body, wondering just how many more hours he has left with you. 

You rub your head tiredly. “I will, it’s just…”

I could be dead by tomorrow.

The words go unsaid, hanging in the air between you and Steve.

He stares down at you. Guilt twists in his chest. He’s caught between you and Nancy, between saving you and sparing you. A strand of hair falls in your eyes. Steve brushes it aside, his cracked lips press against your forehead. 

“Hey,” Lucas stands awkwardly by the kitchen counter. He looks between you and Steve, a sad, yet nervous look in his eyes. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but Max told me to come get you, Y/N.”

“Is everything okay?” You ask worriedly, stepping out of Steve’s arms. 

Lucas sees your worry and immediately raises his hands. “She’s fine, she’s just five seconds away from murdering Dustin. He keeps trying to turn her music all the way up and it’s hurting her ears.”

A ghost of a smile crosses your face. In his own, albeit flawed way, Dustin is trying to show how much he cares for you and Max. “I’ll talk to him.”

While Lucas nods with relief, you kiss Steve’s cheek and wish him a soft goodbye. The two boys are left alone in the kitchen. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler have long since gone to bed. Holly, too. 

Steve clears his throat. Lucas hasn’t left yet, and Steve doesn’t really know what to do. It’s been an exhausting few days. All he wants to focus on right now is you; already your absence makes his body weak. 

“How do you do it?” Lucas is so quiet that Steve almost doesn’t hear him at first. 

“What?”

“How do you do it?” Lucas asks again, this time with more urgency in his voice. He’s looking at Steve, his body stoic. There are tears in his eyes, though Steve doesn’t say anything. “How can you love Y/N and not want her to die?”

The question stuns Steve. 

Lucas stares up at him and for a moment he looks like the twelve year old kid he met all those years ago. Only now he’s fifteen, taller than ever before, and he’s experienced more loss than any kid ever should. 

Steve forgets, sometimes. How young they all are.

He sighs. “Look, Lucas–”

“I don’t think I can do it.” The boy leans against the counter, his entire body weight threatens to collapse. “I just, I love Max so much. And seeing her today… she almost-she almost–”

Lucas inhales suddenly. He doesn’t allow himself to cry, he doesn’t want Max to see the tear stains later. He shakes his head, instead. “What do you do, when the person you live for is already set on dying?”

Steve wants to tell him that you and Max aren’t dying. He wants to tell the teen that they’ve faced worse monsters than Vecna. They’ve escaped Russian lairs and navigated tunnels rooted with poisonous particles. They saved Will, closed a gate that was an endless abyss. 

But none of it amounts to the loss they’d feel if you and Max died; Lucas is the only one who truly understands this. 

So Steve doesn’t lie to him. 

Instead, he says, “You hold their hand.”

And that’s all they can do. 

–

Everyone takes turns watching over you and Max that night. It was Nancy’s idea, one you were entirely against. 

“Max is the one who had the vision, I don’t need you guys–”

“Shut up, Y/N.” 

The argument was over before it even really began. Dustin had shoved your headphones back on and turned the volume so high that you nearly winced. Steve laughed before dragging you over to the couch and forcing you to lay with him. 

“I’ll be first watch for Y/N.”

Robin had rolled her eyes. “I know death is like, totally evident. But you disgust me.”

Soft laughter rippled through everyone, but soon the shadows fell and night took over. Despite your protesting and insistence that the Beatles would keep you up all night, you somehow fall asleep against Steve’s chest. 

It’s the first time you’ve slept through the night in weeks.

– 

You wake up to Nancy shouting at Dustin.

“Then where is she?” She exclaims, shaking his shoulders.

Still half asleep, it takes you a few moments to understand what’s going on. “Where’s who?” You ask through a yawn, rubbing your eyes. 

“Max!” Nancy glares at your brother. “She isn’t down here, Dustin was supposed to keep watch.”

Your heart stops. Immediately you sit up, ignoring Steve’s groaning as you forcefully shove against his chest to stand. Even though you roughly pull from his grasp, he’s back asleep in seconds. “What do you mean she isn’t here?”

“I swear I just dozed off for like…” Dustin looks down at his watch, worried and guilty, and his face pales when he realizes what he’s done. “An hour.”

“Dustin!” You screech, now panicking as well. Before he can say anything else, you’re already running up the steps to find Max. Nancy follows close behind. “I swear to God, if she’s hurt–”

Max sits at the dining room table, head down with her headphones on. You and Nancy let out heavy sighs of relief while Dustin rolls his eyes in annoyance. 

Mrs. Wheeler greets you in the kitchen. “Good morning, guys!” When she notices you holding your chest, she frowns slightly. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Nancy breathes out, her own nerves finally settling. “Everything’s… okay.”

“Very okay.” You chime in, forcing a happy smile on your face. Pointing to the pancakes on the stove, you hum with gratitude. “Especially now that I know you’ve made your famous pancakes, Mrs. Wheeler.”

“Aw, you’re very kind, Y/N.” The woman gushes. She grabs a plate and starts piling the pancakes on. “Here, take as many as you’d like. You know, I think it’s sweet that you guys are sticking together like this.”

Mr. Wheeler flicks his newspaper with a huff. “Could try sticking together at a different house for a change.”

Nancy ignores her father and walks towards where Max is sitting. You and Dustin share a look, both of you despise the man. Shoving a pancake into your mouth, you moan dramatically. “But where else would I get such fantastic food, Ted?”

He glares at you while Mrs. Wheeler chuckles. “You know you kids are welcomed here anytime.”

“Totally, you’re like family.” Dustin smiles kindly at her before pointing to the remaining, untouched pancakes. “May I?”

Mrs. Wheeler readily offers your brother a plate and he eagerly starts stacking as much as food as he can. You grab a few more pancakes for yourself; they’ve always been your favorite. Mr. Wheeler notices you grabbing more and he narrows his eyes. “Yeah, why not? Take us for all we’re worth.”

“You heard the man.” You nod at Dustin, catching his eye.

Understanding immediately, your brother smiles even wider. “Okay!” 

Together, the two of you grab the remaining stack of pancakes and throw them onto your plates. Mr. Wheeler watches in disdain, his coffee cup raised just before his mouth. Seeing the mug, you gasp. “Oh! Mrs. Wheeler, could I possibly bother you for some coffee as well? I know Mr. Wheeler really values his expensive roast, but with everything happening this week…”

You stare up at the woman, eyes wide and innocent. Mrs. Wheeler places a hand against her heart and coos at you. “Oh, of course you can have some of Ted’s coffee, honey. Let me fix it right up for you.”

“You’re too kind.” You thank her, shoving yet another pancake into your mouth. Speaking through the food, you turn to her husband. “Thanks, Ted!”

Dustin snickers while the man clenches his jaw. Satisfied, you make your way over to the table and join Max and Nancy. 

“Holly let me borrow some of her crayons.” Max explains as you sit down. There are papers scattered all over the table. “We’ve been having fun all morning, right, Holly?”

The young girl hums in agreement, not looking up from her Lite Brite. “Hi, Y/N.”

“Hey, Holly.” You pinch her cheek, causing her to giggle. It’s rare to see Holly outside of the Wheeler house. You’ve babysat her a few times over the years, and she enjoys the cookies you make, but your interactions have always been limited. She seems to like you though, which pleases you. “Can I draw as well?”

Holly nods enthusiastically and quickly hands you a crayon and paper. “Here!”

“Thank you,” you accept the blue crayon and start to doodle something, keeping the girl distracted. As she colors with you, you finally look at the drawings that litter the table.

When your eyes land on them, you forget how to breathe for a moment. They’re horrible, filled with blood red. Ruined landscapes surround bodies wrapped in vines. The figures are twisted, disjointed. 

“You drew these, Max?” The thought terrifies you. 

“Is this what you saw last night?” Nancy asks softly, her expression mirrors your horrified one. 

Max shifts uncomfortably. “It’s supposed to be. I, uh. Thought it’d be easier to draw it out than to explain it, but… not so much.”

“I’m so sorry,” you breathe out, reaching across the table to grab her hand. 

Nancy touches one of the drawings, this one depicting Fred’s and Chrissy’s corpses. “Is that…?”

“It was like they were on display or something.”

You nearly gag. “Oh, my God.”

Max doesn’t look at you. “And then there was this red fog everywhere. It was like a dream. A nightmare.”

Nancy asks if Vecna could just be trying to scare her, but Max doesn’t seem sure. She explains how he originally used Billy, but last night felt different. “He seemed surprised, almost. Like he didn’t want me there.”

You frown at this. “Then that would mean Fred and Chrissy never made it to wherever you were. That Vecna didn’t take them there.”

“Maybe you infiltrated his mind.” Dustin offers as an explanation, now joining at the table. “He invaded your mind, right? Is it that big of a leap to suggest you somehow wound up in his?”

“It makes sense,” you bite your lip, abandoning the drawing you were working on with Holly. 

“Like Freddie Krueger’s boiler room.” Dustin adds, oddly excited about the idea. When Holly doesn’t understand the reference, your brother readily explains. “He’s a super burned-up dude with razors for fingers.”

“Dustin,” you try to get his attention, worried he’ll frighten the kid.

But of course he continues. “And he kills you in your dreams–”

“Dustin.” It takes smacking his head to finally shut him up. He yelps in pain, cowering, but you glare at him. “You’re such an idiot sometimes.”

“She wanted to know about Freddie Krueger!”

“She’s a kid.”

“But–”

You hit Dustin’s shoulder this time. “Apologize and tell Holly that Freddie Krueger isn’t real.”

After begrudgingly apologizing to Holly and explaining that it’s all just a movie, Dustin adjusts his hat and continues the conversation from earlier. “Anyways, just think about it. What if Max somehow unlocked a backdoor to Vecna’s world?”

“You mean, like another gate?” You’re so tired of goddamn gates.

Dustin shrugs. “Possibly? Who knows, maybe the answer we’re looking for is somewhere in this incredibly vague drawing.” He stares down at the picture he’s picked up and scowls. “God, we need Will.”

“For his artistic abilities or his connection to the Upside Down?” You ask, looking around the table. “Because either way, I agree.”

Max shakes her head, annoyed. “I tried calling them again this morning, but it’s the same busy signal.”

“I wasn’t able to get through last night, either.” You admit, watching with slight curiosity as Nancy starts compiling all the drawings. “Anything catching your eye, Wheeler?”

“Is this a window?” She asks Max, who quickly says yes. “Stained glass with roses?”

Max perks up. “Yeah. See? I’m not so terrible after all.”

Sipping your coffee, you wave the mug at her, unconvinced. “Your composition could use some work.”

She glares at you, but Nancy doesn’t pay attention to any of it. Instead, she starts sorting through the drawings with vigor. “Well, it helps that I’ve seen it before.”

Before anyone can question what she means, Nancy starts folding pieces together and arranging them. At first you’re confused. You don’t understand what she’s trying to do. But as the pieces start to take shape and you recognize what she’s doing, you drop your crayon in shock.

“It’s pieces of a house.” Max realizes as well.

“Holy shit…”

Nancy grabs a marker and outlines the house’s shape. She fills in the windows, adds details that she shouldn’t know about. “Not just any house.” 

She folds another drawing, careful with its edges. The drawing becomes a clock, its center the rose stained glass. Nancy drops the folded up grandfather clock in the center of the house she’s created. It lands with a quiet, yet final, thud.

Seeing the house unnerves you, and you shiver slightly. Nancy notices your unease and her eyes soften with dread. “It’s Victor Creel’s house.”

You suck in a breath and Nancy is already leaving the table. Dustin looks at you, confused, before calling out to her. “Where’re you going?”

“To wake the others.”

“I just wanted pancakes,” you mumble sadly, quickly shoving the breakfast aside so that you can follow after Nancy. 

She’s already shaking Lucas awake by the time you catch up. Robin is slouched against the coffee table and you take pity on her. Nudging her softly, you ease her awake. “Hey, rise and shine, sleeping beauty.”

“Why does my neck hurt?” She groans, eyes still closed.

You laugh. “Because you decided to sleep against a table, dummy.”

“Why’d you let me do that?”

“Blame Steve, not me.” You kiss her forehead, leaving her to wake up more on her own. Nancy has finally managed to rouse Lucas, so you turn to where Steve still sleeps soundly on the couch. He looks so young when he sleeps. His delicate features aren’t clouded by the worry he always seems to carry with him.

The morning sun seeps through the only window in the basement and basks against Steve’s face. He’s a warm honey-orange in the glow, and your chest constricts in a sickly sweet way that you’ve come to love. Walking over to him slowly, you press yourself against him and litter kisses across his face.

Steve scrunches his nose, surprised by your sudden body heat. “Y/N?”

“Nancy may have connected Victor Creel and Vecna.” You tell him in lieu of good morning. 

He opens his eyes, blinking a few times as he yawns. You don’t think he’s heard you, he’s never been a morning person. “What…?”

His confusion is adorable and you can’t help but press yet another kiss to his nose. “Wake up, honey.”

“Five more minutes?”

“Nancy seemed pretty alarmed–oof!” Steve’s arms wrap around you and pull you into his chest. He’s overly warm from sleep, his cologne is faint, but still it feels like home. 

Steve nestles against you and sighs, content. “Much better.”

You know that Nancy will be upset you’re taking so long, you know you should be next to Max, making sure her headphones are on, but you can’t bring yourself to pull away from Steve. You know you’ve asked so much from him lately; expected more from Steve than you know he’s willing to give you. And so, for now, you indulge him, risking a kiss before the others see.

Steve kisses you back; he always kisses you back. His lips move against yours, languid and slow, and for a moment everything is okay again between you.

– 

“Nancy, you know I trust your judgment,” you poke your head through the trunk’s gap and find the girl’s eyes in the rearview mirror. You’re in the back of the car with Steve and Dustin while Nancy drives. “But do we really have to do this?”

“It’s the only way we’ll get answers.” She sighs, although she also looks uneasy as her car comes to a stop. Nancy parks and everyone silently gets out. 

In front of you is an old, dilapidated house. Its shutters are boarded up, the blue paint has long since chipped away and rusted over. The yard before it is a mess; weeds grow everywhere and old debris litters the green. No one has touched this house in years, maybe even decades.

“The Creel house,” you murmur to yourself. The wind around you picks up, a chill hangs in the air. Every nerve inside your body stands on edge, screaming at you to run away. There’s something ominous, dangerous even, about this house. 

You don’t like any part of this.

“Yeah, that’s not creepy.” Steve voices what everyone is thinking.

Max sees your discomfort and she nudges you softly. “Hey, it’s just a stupid house.”

Shame washes over you. Max shouldn’t be the one offering comfort. It should be you reassuring her, not the other way around. Swallowing thickly, you nod at the girl before following the others. 

When you get closer to the house, it becomes clear that you’ll have to break in. A padlock rests against the boarded up door. Nails are rusted into its wood, sealing the horrors within the house. Steve groans. “Oh, joy.”

“I brought hammers, we can try to pry the nails out.” Nancy says, as if it’s perfectly normal to bring hammers with you to a haunted house.

“Of course you brought hammers.”

Nancy ignores you and runs back to the car, quickly returning with the tools. She hands one to Steve, who wastes no time digging into the nails and pulling them out of the wood. Nancy joins him, but it’s an achingly slow process.

“What exactly are we supposed to be looking for in this shithole?” Steve grunts, pulling off yet another nail.

“We’re not sure,” Nancy admits, wincing slightly at a particularly difficult nail. “We just know this house is important to Vecna.”

“Sure, so let’s bring Max and Y/N to a place from Vecna’s red soup mind world.”

You flick Steve’s head, sending Nancy an apologetic frown. “He’s just upset he couldn’t sleep in today.”

“Maybe the house holds a clue to where Vecna is.” Dustin suggests. “Why he’s back, why he killed the Creels. And how to stop him before he comes back for Max, or before he tries to go after Y/N.”

“We’re stopping him before he comes back for Max.” You remind everyone, an edge in your voice.

The group is quiet for a moment. Steve and Nancy share a concerned look with one another, something unspoken passes between them. The look upsets you, but you don’t have time to care. Eventually the silence becomes too much for Lucas, and he hesitantly asks if anyone thinks Vecna is actually inside the house.

“Guess we’ll find out.” Max says, looking at you briefly. The last nail falls, and together Steve and Nancy pull the board off the doorframe. It lands with a loud thud on the porch, sending fallen leaves and dirt into the air. 

You cough. “Christ.”

“Sorry, angel.” Steve looks remorseful, but you wave him off. He faces the door and twists the knob. It doesn’t budge. “Should I knock, see if anybody’s home?”

“No need,” Robin calls out, and it’s only then that you realize she’s no longer beside you but rather halfway in the front yard. She’s holding up a brick, a wicked smile on her face. “I found a key.”

“Oh dear God.” Your eyes widen. Steve tugs at your jacket as soon as Robin throws the brick. You fall against his chest, heart pounding. The stained glass shatters. Poking your head through the broken glass, you breathe out. “Nice, Robin.”

She bows. “I try.”

Steve gently pushes you aside so that he can reach his arm through the hole. He’s careful not to touch the jagged edges of the glass. Finding the knob on the other side, he twists it roughly, unlocking the door.

He’s the first to go in, and he lets out a low whistle. “Jesus.”

You follow after him, turning your flashlight on in the process. The stench of mildew is what you notice first. It’s poignant, intermixed with the scent of dust and discarded furniture. The house is filthy, covered in cobwebs; it’s practically frozen in time. 

Lucas tries to turn a light on, but it’s useless. Everyone turns their flashlights on, and Steve looks around, bewildered. “Where’d everyone get those?”

Dustin turns to him and lets out a surprised huff when he realizes Steve doesn’t have anything in his hands. “Do you need to be told everything? You’re not a child.”

Steve stares at him and you roughly hit your brother’s chest. He can be such a jerk sometimes, you don’t understand where this shift has come from. “Don’t be such an asshole.”

“Thanks, Y/N.” Steve accepts the spare flashlight you hand him while Dustin rubs the spot where you hit him, tossing his bag to the ground. 

You walk deeper into the house, scanning your flashlight over the furniture strewn throughout. Draped cloth covers them. A mirror stands before you, its frame a rusted gold. You find a girl in its reflection, and for a moment you almost don’t recognize that it’s you. 

“Hey, guys?” Max calls out to everyone, catching your attention. She’s standing in front of something, an uneasy look on her face. “You all see that, right?”

She’s pointing her flashlight at a grandfather clock. You stumble back when you see it, breath catching. The bones in your body scream at you to run away. “Is that…?”

You can’t bring yourself to finish the question, but Max understands anyways. She nods, eyes never leaving the grandfather clock, silently confirming that it’s the one she saw in her vision. 

“I don’t like this.” You turn to the group. None of you should be here, you had no right to enter the abandoned house. 

“C’mon, Y/N. I mean, it’s just a clock, right?” Robin shrugs half-heartedly. Before you can stop her, she steps closer to it and wipes her hand against its glass. Dust smears away. “Just an old clock.”

Steve isn’t convinced. “Why is this wizard obsessed with clocks?”

“Please don’t call him a wizard.” If you’re going to die, you’d rather it be at the hand of some dangerous, other dimensional creature. Not a wizard. 

“Sorry, but what if he’s like, I don’t know. A clockmaker or something?” 

Dustin breathes heavily through his nose. “I think you cracked the case, Steve.”

“All I know is that the answers are here.” Nancy looks around, not sounding as convincing as she’d like. “Somewhere.”

“You really want us to stay here?” You ask her, slight resentment in your voice. You trust Nancy, you always have, but something feels wrong about all of this. There’s this voice, screaming in your head, to get out. To leave, never return; the voice won’t leave, and you’re afraid it’ll rip your skull to pieces soon. 

Nancy offers you a reassuring smile. She understands your fear, that she’s asking a lot from you and Max right now. She’s placed you in the heart of the monster that wants you to die. “Everyone will stick together, no one will be alone. We’ll stay in groups. I promise.”

“But–”

“Robin, upstairs.” Nancy instructs, pointing towards the steps for the girl to follow her. They’re gone in seconds, already off on their own adventure yet again. Your throat feels gummy with fear. 

Max grabs Lucas’ hand and rushes off without another word. Steve and Dustin are left with you. They exchange words, bickering about something, though you don’t process what they’re saying. They wander off somewhere, unaware that you’re lost in your panic. Breath spiking rapidly, your muscles tense together, prepared to run. You need to leave. This isn’t safe. You’re going to die.

Light headed, you blindly fall against the stairs behind you. You’re struggling to breathe, the room spins. Desperate, your head falls towards your knees. Curling into yourself, you try to steady your breathing. You think you’re having a panic attack.

In through your nose. 

Out through your mouth. 

Except your breath gets stuck in your throat and blood drips from your nose. Frantic, you harshly wipe at your face, smearing the blood even more. 

Your first nosebleed. Another one of the symptoms. No one can know about this. 

The grandfather clock looms over you; it taunts you. 

“Hey, Dustin. You there?” A voice breaks through your panicked haze. “Remember me?”

They’re familiar. You know the person, you know you do. Carefully, you lift your head up. Looking around, you try to find the source of the voice. 

“Hey, if anyone’s there, I really think I might be in a bit of trouble here.”

It’s Dustin’s bag. 

“Wheeler? Anybody?”

“Eddie?” You rasp, barely able to pronounce his name. Your mouth is numb, your body still stuck in its terrified state. You have to press the walkie close to your lips, too weak to say anything else. 

“Henderson?” While Eddie is relieved someone answered him, he’s surprised that it’d been you. “Can you-can you get your brother? I’m kinda in deep shit.”

Your stomach twists at the anxiety in his voice. “He’s not with me.”

“Shit.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s Jason–” Static comes through, cutting off whatever Eddie is trying to tell you. “They-it’s not–”

The static intensifies. You hit the walkie, frustrated. “Hello?”

“–Boat and I think–” Eddie cuts in and out in a dizzying manner. “Here, and they’re–holes!”

“Holes?” None of what he’s saying makes any sense. “Boats? Are you-are you trying to tell me that there are holes in the boat?”

“No!” Eddie screeches, but then the broadcast goes out completely. 

You stare down at the walkie, brows knit together in confusion. “What the fuck?” 

But Eddie doesn’t respond. It’s quiet again. 

With a huff, you toss the walkie back into Dustin’s bag and sling it over your shoulder. At the very least, the bizarre conversation with Eddie was enough to pull you out of whatever spiral you’d been in. Steve and Dustin will be looking for you soon, probably even send out a search party if you don’t follow them upstairs. 

“‘The world is full of obvious things,’” Dustin’s horrible British accent greets you when you finally find him upstairs. He’s standing with Steve in a random room, though the older teen doesn’t look particularly pleased. “‘Which nobody by any chance ever observes.’”

Steve looks at your brother as if he’s grown a second head. You lean against the doorway, smiling slightly. “It’s a Sherlock Holmes quote, Steve.”

Both boys whip their heads around to face you. Dustin looks shocked, while Steve looks like he’s seconds away from strangling you. “Were you-were you alone?”

“Dude, how could you?” Dustin shoves his chest, already blaming him for abandoning you. “You know we can’t just leave her alone, she’s practically patient zero!” 

Steve slaps Dustin’s hands away and reels back to yell at him, but you step between them. “Okay, first of all, I’m cursed. Not infectious. Second of all, you both wandered off without me, but I’m not a goddamn child. I can take care of myself.”

“Yeah, but–”

You hold up your walkman up to Dustin’s face, shutting him up. “I also have this, in case you two idiots forgot.” 

“That’s great,” Steve responds sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “That’s real great. Totally reassuring that your life rests in a walkman.”

“Take it or leave it, Harrington.”

“Actually, can we go back to you knowing Sherlock Holmes? I’m dating a nerd. That can’t be good for my image.”

Dustin snorts. He pats Steve’s chest, already walking away. “Yeah, okay, buddy. Your ‘image’.” 

Steve scoffs at him and you pull the two boys away. “Stop being annoying, we’re supposed to be looking for clues or whatever the hell Nancy told us to do.”

No one argues, and the three of you split up. Dustin wanders towards one side of the room, you make sure to keep an eye on him as he looks around. You go with Steve, following him to the other side. 

A vent catches Steve’s eye. He nods towards it, alerting you of it as well. You shrug, indifferent. He bends down, opening it to reveal a collection of jars with twigs and debris inside. You make a face. “Gross.”

Steve reaches inside, picking up one of the jars. He brings it closer, aiming his flashlight to illuminate its contents. When the light reveals dead spiders inside, your heart lurches fearfully. You’re fucking terrified of spiders. 

And then, naturally, one begins crawling up Steve’s arm.

You scream, your fear alerting him of the insect. Steve drops the jar and quickly swats at his shoulder, stumbling backwards. He’s freaking out, so are you. You’re hitting his shoulder as you scream, stuck between wanting to help him and wanting to leave him for dead. 

“Stop!” You screech, falling backwards as well.

Steve doesn’t hear you, breaking through the doorway, before the two of you collide into another body. “Woah!” 

Nancy’s arm steadies you, concern etches her face. “What’s wrong?” 

“There was a spider,” Steve speaks for you, panting. He knows your fear of the creature. He brushes at his jacket, as if he can still feel it crawling upon him. “It was a black widow.”

Your heartbeat is in your chest. Looking at the door you crashed through, you topple forward and slam it shut. “Fuck this room.”

“That bad, huh?” Nancy can’t hide her laugh. She feels bad that you had to experience a black widow, but your almost childish reaction amuses her. 

“Fuck spiders.” Is all you can say. 

Nancy starts to laugh again, but stops mid-way. “Oh, oh no.” Her hand reaches towards Steve, her fingers find his hair. 

Steve flinches away, both from shock that she’s even touching him and from the idea that there’s something residing in his hair. “Is there something? Shit, okay.” He instinctively moves towards you, freaking out, but Nancy gently chides him. 

“Stop moving, come here.” She stands behind him now, her fingers still in his hair. Softly tussling the strands, you watch as she gently plucks a cobweb. “I got it.”

It’s the way her voice softens when she speaks to Steve, the delicate way her fingers course through his hair as if she’s always done this. You suppose, in a way, that the delicacy comes from practiced ease. She used to do it all the time. 

Unable to stop yourself, you raise your eyebrows. Something twinges in your chest. An icey, red hot feeling that you despise. 

Nancy must sense that she’s upset you, because she awkwardly clears her throat and snatches her hand away. “I’m sorry,” she mumbles, fearful she’s crossed a line.

Steve steps away, already back by your side.

“If there’s a spider in Steve’s hair, you’re never gonna find it until it lays eggs and the babies spill out.” Robin suddenly appears, cackling at her own joke. 

“What’s wrong with you?” Steve hisses at her, patting his head, now slightly paranoid. 

Robin leaves just as suddenly as she arrived, her laughter echoing in the hallway. Steve looks at you, and you merely shrug. “It’s Robin, what can you expect?”

“She’s got problems.” He huffs. When Nancy agrees, Steve jumps at the opportunity to lessen the iciness he feels between you and her. He wishes things were how they used to be, back before feelings complicated everything. “It’s, uh. Cool that you and Robin are friends now.”

Nancy doesn’t say anything, and you busy yourself with running your hands over the expanse of Steve’s back. You do it because you’re worried Nancy may have missed a few cobwebs, though a part of you knows that you also do it to show her that you can. That Steve allows your touch, leans into it. 

“Maybe after we find Vecna, kill him, save the world and stuff, maybe we can all go out or something?” Steve knows it’ll never happen, but he still says it anyways. It’s his way of extending friendship to Nancy, proving to her that there aren’t any hard feelings. “A long overdue double date, you know? You, me, Y/N, and Jonathan when he’s back.”

Jonathan’s name slips from Steve’s mouth before he can stop it. He knows he’s made a mistake.

You look away from him, the guilt of remembering Jonathan’s words. His dangerous reminiscing, how you still haven’t told Nancy.

And Nancy looks away because she’s reminded of her problems with Jonathan. The distance that has grown between them. How it feels like they haven’t been on the same page for a long, long time now. 

“I’d-I’d like that.” You finally say, the words bitter.

Nancy nods, her own uncomfortable expression mirroring yours. “Yeah, totally.”

Neither of you sound convincing. Neither one of you can look the other in the eye. You can’t bear to look at Nancy because of the overwhelming guilt. Nancy can’t bear to look at you because you’re Jonathan’s best friend. 

“We can bring Robin on the date!” Steve is desperate to break the tension. He hates it, he hates that Jonathan has created a chasm that he can’t cross. “I’m sure she’d love to join.”

Thankfully Nancy laughs. “Why would she want to third wheel?”

“Who says Robin would be the third wheel?” You say, relieved by the change in topic. “She’d be my date, obviously. Steve would be the third wheel.”

“Obviously.” Steve rolls his eyes, though there’s fondness in his voice that Nancy doesn’t miss. 

You pick the last of the cobwebs off of him. Running your fingers through Steve’s hair one last time for good measure, you poke his cheek. “You’re officially cobweb free, by the way. We should probably get back to searching the house.”

“‘The obvious things are not what people observe,’” He catches your hand as it falls, squeezing it. “Or-’don’t observe’?”

Steve’s cute little frown warms you. He’s trying to impress you, quoting what your brother had only a few minutes ago. You squeeze his hand back, your cheeks warming as you smile up at him. “‘The world is full of obvious things by which nobody by any chance ever observes.’ You were close.”

“Thanks, angel. I would’ve gotten it eventually.”

“You would’ve.” 

The tenderness that Nancy sees in Steve’s eyes burns. The way you’re smiling at him, the softness underneath your voice. She sees the way you squeeze the other’s hand. It makes her ache; she misses holding Jonathan’s hand. 

– 

You stand underneath a chandelier, its lights flickering. The sight is a familiar one. Flickering lights have become a part of your nightmares. 

Max and Lucas had called everyone over to where they were. They’d found the lights that way. 

“It’s the Christmas lights all over again.” You don’t know why you’re whispering, but it feels wrong not to. 

Nancy nods in agreement, but Robin leans forward. “Christmas lights?”

“When Will was in the Upside Down, the lights… came to life.” Nancy explains, staring up at the way the chandelier flickers now. 

“It’s how we knew he was alive.” Your chest tightens at the memory. You’ll never forget the dread you felt, realizing that Will was alive, yet trapped somewhere you could never reach. 

Lucas clenches his fist. “Vecna’s here. In this house. Just on the other side.”

Steve grabs your hand, protective. He doesn’t like the idea of Vecna being so close to you. When the lights stop flickering, he pulls you closer to him, on edge. Equally as scared, you turn to Max to make sure she has her headphones nearby. 

“Max, get your headphones on.” You command her, but she doesn’t listen.

“I think Venca just left the room.” Robin announces, looking at the group surrounding her.

Max frowns. “Did he hear us?”

“Can he see us?” Steve asks, hand skimming the walkman that resides in your coat pocket. Your headphones dangle from your neck. He positions himself so that if he needs to, he’ll be able to grab them as fast as possible.

“Headphones.” Lucas echoes your prior command, only this time Max doesn’t hesitate to put them on. He looks at you, too. “Y/N.”

You shake your head at him. Not yet. You’re scared that if you play your music right now, you’ll somehow miss any signs of danger for Max. You can’t be distracted, you can’t risk it. 

“Everyone turn off your flashlights and spread out.” Nancy orders. There isn’t any time to argue, she recognizes that. You’ve made your choice. 

Steve protests not having any lights on, and you can’t help but agree. The idea of running around the house without any sense of guidance makes you incredibly uneasy. It makes you easy targets.

But no one listens, already spreading out as Nancy told them. Steve groans, knowing you have no choice but to follow along as well. “Jesus Christ.”

“We’ll be fine.” You promise him, but Steve refuses to let go of your hand.

Robin is the first to find Vecna. 

“I got him!” Her flashlight is pointed in the air, illuminating for only a second before the light dies completely. She slowly lowers it, defeated. “I… I had him.”

Then Steve’s flashlight turns on. He holds it away from him, though quickly he realizes that the light is following something. “He’s moving. I-I think he’s moving!”

Steve makes it to the top of the stairs before the light dies once more. He curses in agitation. But before he can complain, your flashlight turns on. 

“He’s back,” you whisper, too afraid to raise your voice. Steve tries to snatch the flashlight from you, he doesn’t want Vecna anywhere near you, but you push him away. “He’s taking us somewhere.”

“Up here,” Max says, pointing towards a door. It’s cracked, faint light seeps through. Shoving it open, she reveals a separate staircase. 

“It’s an attic,” Robin’s voice pitches an octave. “Of course it’s an attic.”

No one says anything as you make your way upstairs. Your light shines brightly, growing stronger and stronger with every step you take. Dustin tries to warn you guys that it could just be a trap, but his protests go ignored. 

He’s probably right, but you’re already cursed and you have nothing to lose. 

When you reach the attic, a single lightbulb hangs from the rafters. It flickers wildly, growing dimmer and stronger in stuttering patterns. Your flashlight begins to mimic the light’s pattern, before everyone else’s flashlights flicker on. 

You all stand around the lightbulb, flashlights now joined together. 

“Okay, what’s happening?” Steve looks around, anxious. 

No one answers him. No one can answer him; but you can. The hair on your arms stands up. Static swirls around you, your body shivers at the sensation. 

You’re standing where Vecna’s standing.

“He’s here.” 

No one asks you how you know this.

A searing pain rips through your head. It’s so sudden, so jarring, that you can’t mask the pained sound you make. Everyone looks at you, terrified that you’re next, before the lights go haywire. The flashlights reach a burning capacity, energy exceeding their limits. One by one, they explode. 

Glass flies everywhere. One piece cuts your cheek. The cut isn’t deep, it’s only a superficial wound, but Steve has your head in his hands before the blood can even begin to drip down your skin. 

The lights go out. Steve tends to you in the dark.

The entire car ride back to Nancy’s, his hand never leaves yours.

-

⌑ series masterlist

⌑ if youd like to buy me a coffee ☕︎

⌑ thank you for reading ! feel free to like, comment, reblog, or send in an ask so we can chat <3

[runningupthatvecna]

get the peach(es)

bestfriend!eddie munson x reader

it's the day after chrissy got vecna'd and you and the gang decide to check up on eddie at rick's. he's still in so much distress that you can't help but selflessly stay with your best friend (who you've been harboring a crush on for quite some time) and keep him company. 6k words, not proofread.

cw: the good old friends to lovers trope, eddie is an anxious bean who just needs to be held (by you, ideally), mutual (and not so secret at all) pining, i wrote this with fem!reader in mind (she/her pronouns) but can also be read as gn i guess, fluff, hurt/comfort (for eddie), pet names, mentions of chrissy's death, there shall be kisses and a lot of softness. nothing too explicit but minors are still advised to LEAVE

a/n: totally not self indulgent, that scene of him being so terrified in 4x02 ripped me to shreds so this is my fix-it attempt, trying to still my need to hold him and scratch his head. disclaimer: this piece of writing is based on the ending of that episode, meaning all credits for the setting go to the respective writers. sources to the header images here, here and here. lovely divider by saradika. ok thank you so much for reading byeeee love y'all <3

–––––

The overwhelming need to befriend the satanic metalhead found you at that party at the Wheeler house. You had almost said no to Nancy when she invited you, knowing damn well how the night would end. Steve passed out with a girl on his lap, Robin silently pining after Vickie from some corner of the room while clinging onto the red plastic cup in her hand, Jonathan getting higher than a kite with his old school mates, the younger kids asking you every five minutes if you could give them a ride since you usually were the one staying sober.

Additionally this time, there would be Eddie Munson. This familiar stranger Dustin, Mike and Lucas had met and somehow befriended over the last months, due to them joining his DnD club. "He might come off as a bit intimidating ... but I promise he's super chill and easy going!", Mike had tried to convince his sister, poking the tip of her shoulder repeatedly with a bunch of pleases during lunch break in the editing room of the school's newspaper. Until she rolled her eyes theatrically and agreed to let the ambiguous stranger, which the whole town collectively perceived as not really fitting in (and who you both certainly knew under the not so chill reputation he carried around), attend the celebratory events at Casa Wheeler. Occasion: Karen, Ted and their youngest leaving the house for more than one day, off on vacation.

You'd always kinda stayed out of his ways, used to observe his antics back at school with a silent laugh and this .. intrigue poking at your guts. To you he always stood out, and if anyone asked you'd be hesitant to admit it, but his willingness to go against the flow and not conform to the acceptable standards set by society was honestly impressive. And besides, surely this whole mysterious drug dealer rockstar image must just be a fassade and deep down he's just a dork, right?

His eyes follow you through the living room, an echo of your name crossing his mind repeatedly after having pulled Dustin into a corner for a brief interrogation. He finds it endearing how quickly and almost bashfully you look away every time your curious gaze meets his. As you redirect your focus to the conversation you're becoming engaged in, there's a soft smile creeping onto your lips. Little did he know it would soon start to haunt him in his dreams at night.

"Anything specific you're looking for?"

God, his voice. The close proximity invites your nose to inhale a mix of fresh cigarette smoke, bergamot and sandalwood, allowing you to sense what can only be him standing behind you as you skim through the cabinets of the Wheeler kitchen. You turn your head for your eyes to confirm your assumption and what they find is the deepest brown of round baby cow eyes they've ever met, up so much closer now. The paring of his gaze and plush smile somehow manages to dissolve every little prejudice you've been involuntarily harboring about him. Eddie Munson, the town's freak. Prime reason for the existence of the satanic panic. Drugs. And then you realise that you should probably do the polite thing and give him an answer. "Yeah uh, I was just trying to find the peach syrup", holding his gaze with a small lopsided smile, lost in its warmth which you wouldn't have dared to expect from it, before facing away from him again. He snorts a little, "peach syrup?", pauses to bring a thumb to his upper lip, lightly scratching the skin above as if to wipe something away, before he removes it again and the dimples appear around the corners of his mouth, "that is oddly specific." His response spreads a smile over your face, and the next thing he says widens it, "looks like you have taste though."

You move one step to the side, about to investigate the insides of the next cabinet, the kitchen itself almost empty of people with only three others chatting away in the corner across the island. He follows, undoubtedly trying to stay close, and the heat from the fire he just ignited somewhere inside of you rises to your cheeks. "Thanks, I really like peaches. Especially in my drinks. It adds a little ... kick to my sobriety", you explain, Eddie now quirks an amused eyebrow paired with a lopsided smile at you, and as you get to the last cabinet it dawns on you (and also Eddie) that this household severely lacks peach syrup. An atrocity. Thanks Ted.

After he helped you rummage through the entirety of the kitchen without success but under a lot of small talk, the metalhead vanishes from the function for an hour or so. At least that's what your brain concludes when your vision fails to spot him among the people who are in attendance. Maybe he's selling out of Nancy's bedroom. Maybe he's puking up his insides in the bathroom because he had too much of that weird beer he's been downing all night. Maybe he's banging some random girl in the bathroom upstairs. Or summoning a demon. Or both. At the same time. You once again try focusing your attention back to the conversation you are involved in. Munson already feels so dear to you that the lack of his presence is starting to form an ache in your heart. It's tugging on those strings with how much you already want him near you. Yeah. You're gonna be in trouble with this one.

And then he stumbles into the room from the direction of the front door, an event you're totally unable (and unwilling) to miss. He doesn't look like he just puked, nor sold a whole lot of the stash since you notice it still bulging out the left ass pocket of his black jeans. Instead, as he pushes past the small groups of people socialising – and towards you – while you notice a red net of round fruits dangling from his right hand, and you start to think that his disheveled hair and that rosy tint on his cheeks might actually not be from shagging either. He meets your gaze again as he approaches you with a grin and your heart dares to swell at his attentive gesture (you think you might as well pass away on the spot).

"Have some, peach."

It's not syrup, but you'll take them anyway. And with your next drink, you swallow down not only that peachy sweetness on your tongue, but also whatever this tingly feeling in your chest is.

"Chchhrhch.."

Pause.

"Hey, uh– chrhchhr.."

Silence in your bedroom, the only thing illuminating the space is the moonlight softly falling through the window.

"Chrch– a-are you there?"

You stirr awake from dozing off in your bed, trying to piece together the information your senses are giving you.

Eyes gone dry, you have to blink a few times. Figure out which year it is and so on.

Confusion lies between the static crackle for a moment. That nap after your shift at the diner was necessary. God, you need to fucking quit.

"No I'm sure she'll pick right up, just– hey pleeease b-be awake, goddamn it!–"

Is it already past midnight?

You don't know and you can't tell, the clock on your nightstand still broken. What you do know though is that the familiar voice belongs to your friend Dustin and it's desperately trying to get ahold of you.

They must have found him.

"Dustin? I copy, where are you? What's going on?", you finally grab the device from the nightstand, fully awake and aware of your surroundings now.

You need to know. If he's okay.

There's that all too familiar instant tingle in your chest again, an ache that made itself familiar to you for the first time when he was introduced to you at the one and only Wheeler party several months ago. The dungeon master of Hawkins High's Hellfire club, the lead guitarist of Corroded Coffin and a super chill and easy going guy, to put it in Mike Wheeler's words.

What you didn't expect back then was your heart starting to develop that feeling, that tingle you'd always get to feel when you were in his presence, or like now, when his name is threatening to spill from your friend's lips on the other side of the connection at any moment.

"Aha! See? I told you she'd respond in no time."

You can practically feel Dustin's shit eating grin through the frequency, basking in being correct over Steve Harrington once again. It never gets old between these two.

"Oh my god", Steve's muffled voice is what you can make out vaguely from the off, he's probably palming his face.

"Dustin!", your voice disappears into the device, and your impatience grows with every passing second, hoping he gets the hint.

There's the sound of a door falling shut, leaves rustling under shoes, he must be outside now.

"Alright, okay yeah, so we found him at Rick's and he's really upset and he's been asking for you. I know it's late but can you meet us out here? And maybe, uh, stay with him?"

It's not even worth questioning. You're already wearing shoes. Your biggest hoodie in tow, you stumble into your kitchen with the intention to raid your own snack drawer. Pulling out Eddie's favourite, which you of course had stocked up on ever since hanging out with him at your place had become more of a weekly routine for the both of you.

Ten minutes, you told him. You'd be there in ten.

The drive feels like forever. The longest ten minutes of your life, you think.

You know the route like the back of your hand, having driven along the gravelly road leading from the last intersection before Hawkins' border to the outer world, to the serene woods surrounding Lover's Lake countless times. Eddie would take you here ever so often, for picnics, an occasional smoke after picking up a new delivery from Rick's, cloud or star gazing, listening to Metallica and Tears for Fears on Wayne's old walkman.

The gravel crunches underneath your white reeboks as they land on the ground. You close the door to your car as quietly as possible after you've taken out the bag and your hoodie.

Dustin and Steve are stood outside the boathouse, waving like madmen in the darkness once you come into their periphery.

The younger boy hugs you tightly.

"So glad you could make it", he gets out, the relief palpable through his voice as well as the grip he holds you in for a brief moment.

You look at them both after Steve presses you against him cordially, and breathe out through your nose, making your nostrils flare.

Dustin cracks open the case to you as he starts to ramble about the state in which they found your best friend, "well first he attacked Steve with a broken bottle, we had to put in great effort to convince him that we'd be on his side, and we came to the conclusion that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, basically."

What you want right now goes without saying. Everyone here knows how close you and Eddie are. As friends, of course. No one would think anything different.

Without wasting another second, the boys lead you inside where Max and Robin are knelt on the wooden floor. Heads turning towards the entrance of the room where you're now standing.

The sight of what's offered to your eyes, sitting opposite of them, breaks your heart.

You can see that he's slightly shivering, eyes glassy in the dim lit room. A small smile tugs at the corner of his lips though once his brain grasps your presence, and he can't help anymore but let the water fall once his eyes lock with yours.

The pain that is swimming in those two deep warm brown oceans hits you like a dagger to the chest. Over the months of being friends with him you'd seen him various different states, none of them comparable to this.

"Peach", his shaky voice announces your arrival and the sound of your nickname spilling from his lips cracks through your bones. The bag that's slung around your shoulder drops onto the wood with a dull thud.

Wobbly legs carry him towards you with a gentle shove past Robin and Max. You're once again reminded of your best friend's sheer physical strength as he wraps his arms around you, instantly burying his face into the crook of your neck.

One arm of your own sneaks around his torso, pressing him against you as tightly as your own strength allows you, while your other hand comes up to bury itself underneath the mane and to end up scratching soothingly over the scalp above the nape of his neck.

Eddie lets out a muffled sob, sniffling into the collar of the sweatshirt you threw on in a haste. He doesn't really want anyone to see him like this, certainly not Steve Harrington, so he clutches onto you so tightly that he thinks you might just feel his heavy heart beating anxiously against your chest.

And you do. How could you not with the amount of world he means to you? Like an automatism your other hand rubs slow circles over his back. Comforting him in the best way you could. Not a conscious decision you make.

"Okay so, m'not meaning to ruin the party, in fact I'd love to stay for another round of doom talk, but I really should get home soon, guys", Robin scratches the back of her head after she gets up from her huddled position next to the wooden crate Eddie had been sitting on. Max joins in and agrees, mumbling something about having to move her mom from being passed out on the couch again into her bed.

"Yeah me too, actually. My dad's gonna be fucking pissed. We'll see you tomorrow, yeah?", Steve's voice echoes through the room and you can tell he's already shoved Dustin back outside, itching to drive the kid home.

As Eddie processes having to stay in hiding, added the possibility of everyone leaving without him, his grip on you tightens even more.

"It's okay, Eds", you speak softly, head slightly tilted so your cheek rests on the dark frizzy mop you could call his hair. The skin on his neck and scalp so warm underneath your fingertips as you keep scratching it, emphasizing your presence, "I'll stay."

A soft muffled whimper is what you get as a response, and the way he lets you see him in this state melts your insides to a puddle.

You just need him to be okay.

They wave their goodbyes behind your back, accompanied by mumbles of "see you in the morning", and you can't even bring yourself to turn your head around, fully focused on making the young man in your arms less terrified of the world. A world he was sure was now going to come for him with all its force – in deep conviction of him being responsible for Chrissy's misfortunate end.

The door falls shut and Eddie muffles a quiet thank you into the fabric of your sweatshirt. The skin on your neck is damp with his tears, wet eyelashes tickling every time he blinks.

"It's okay, Eds", you softly keep repeating your words to him while continuously rubbing over the denim of his signature Dio vest in a slow motion, when he feels the urgency to claim the truth into the collar of your sweater about what has happened, "I– I didn't do it, I swear."

As if you would need any convincing.

"Oh no of course you didn't, I know that", you're looking for a way to ease the distress this entire situation is causing him, his quivering voice adding to your desire to soothe him to inner peace, "can I make a suggestion?"

Eddie nods with another sniffle against your collarbone, the round wet tip of his nose brushing against the column of your throat lightly. To his ears, your voice sounds like silk right about now.

"How about we head over to the main house and get ourselves a little more comfortable? Since we're gonna be here for a little longer? My god you probably haven't slept or eaten at all, have you?"

You can feel him nod his head again with a hum this time, and you start to think that the tears might not just be pouring because he just witnessed someone suffer a gruesome death right in front of him, but also due to physical exhaustion.

It makes your heart ache even more, that tingle still present, even more so now. It hurts to see your best friend hurt.

He just needs to be okay. And in that heart of yours there's that little spark of hope that leads you to believe you could be the one helping him with that.

You'd really want that. Be all his to find comfort in, to hold close, to kiss stupid

Stop.

A sigh escapes your lungs at the thought. That tingle, that longing, it's selfish. It familiarly pools in your belly and slowly drips downwards. You push your brain aside. This is about soothing your best friend now.

"C'mon then", you utter softly, encouraging him with your hand to lift his head from where it leans against your shoulder.

For your heart it's almost too much to look at, the hurt still swimming in the glassy big brown irises, his waterline red and puffy. The soft smile returning to his lips causes the wet apples of his cheeks to push up slightly, reflecting the dim light coming from the one torch Robin left you, placed on one of the crates.

He really hadn't been able to close an eye for a single second since he he'd gotten up for school the day prior.

You smile back at him almost bashfully as you slowly create space between your bodies.

Eddie is grateful that it's you who grabs his ringed hand next.

He squeezes yours, hoping to get the message of this meaning something to him across.

And he closely trails behind you as you lead the way.

The house feels empty, like no one's really been here in months. You'd never been inside. The few times you'd accompanied Eddie grabbing stash you'd stayed in his van, waiting. But as far as you now can make out in the darkness, there's a couch with knitted blankets, a little TV with a whole stack of VHS almost rising as high as the screen itself, spilled and spluttered empty cans and papers and wrappings littered all around. Maybe this is why he never let you come inside with him. Keeping you out of this definitely not sterile mess. Along with keeping you out of the business.

In the middle of the living room, you let go of his hand and shuffle one step away from him. He's inside now. Safe. Job done. Doesn't need physical contact. You shouldn't, he's your friend. You feel like something between you would break if you'd go there.

Eddie thinks otherwise, regarding close proximity at least. He promptly follows you into what you believe to be the kitchen where you hope you might find a tea bag or two. He comes up behind you and encases you in his arms as you rummage through the cabinets (feels familiar, hm?), not at all ready to say goodbye to the warmth of your body pressed against his own just yet.

You giggle at the silliness of him putting weight on you just to make it harder for you to reach into the cabinets. It's endearing. And very Eddie.

Twenty minutes later and there's two mugs – cleaned to your best ability – with steaming hot liquid on the sixties wooden coffee table. Next to them a plate filled with the almost equally hot insides of a ravioli in tomato sauce can. Thank Rick for a still functioning microwave.

You drape the knitted blankets over both you and Eddie as you settle into the cushions. The only light existent coming from two lit candles on said coffee table. It wouldn't be too wise setting up the torch you think.

The side of Eddie's face glows in the orange yellow, his wide brown bambi eyes dried after the first grand storm, and there's this tug on the corner of his pink plush lips again. He exchanged his leather jacket for the freshly washed hoodie for comfort and a small part of you hopes he doesn't spill his dinner onto any of it.

You lean back into the backrest of the worn out couch and watch as he eats, a domestic thing you've done a thousand times already, yet you still find comfort in knowing that he's nourishing himself.

Or well, in this case, inhaling the raviolis.

"Thank you Peach", he moves to put the empty plate back on the coffee table and it makes the spoon chink and glide along the edge, "I really needed this."

His voice is a little hoarse, probably from the emotions of the hours behind him. Maybe he has indeed calmed down a little. His hand moves down to your thigh, squeezing.

You give him the most empathetic smile you can bring yourself to display, painfully aware of the blaze that is transpiring through your leggings and seeping into your bones, "it's no big deal, really. I mean it is– uh, being there for you, is."

And he can't bring himself to look up at you. Instead, he stares at the empty plate on that coffee table in front of him.

"And to me as well. It really helps that you're here."

He doesn't bother moving the calloused warmth of his hand from the soft warmth of your thigh. It lights your entire nervous system on fire. In a good way.

And that's when you begin to wonder if everything that has just happened and is still happening right now changes anything.

"I'm so glad it does", is all you're able to get out.

Eddie decides that it's time to lean into your side and wrap his arms around your torso once again, drop his head back to its favourite place with a soft content little hum.

He just needs physical comfort. Of course. Just that. Nothing more, nothing else.

The words are redundant but your mouth articulates them anyway, "try to get some sleep, yeah?"

His back already lifts and falls evenly. You place your hand on the back of his head that rests in the crook of your neck again, scratching through the curls lightly, searching to help him shut off even deeper.

–––––

The candles have gone out by the time your eyelids slowly open. It takes you a moment to recall the location you fell asleep in, and you hope that the nightly darkness the whole room is now filled with hasn't invited any stranger to take advantage of your unconsciousness.

There's a warm hand holding your face, the pad of a thumb tracing over the apple of your cheek softly. It makes its way from the bridge of your nose to the outer corner of your eye, and back. And forth. And back. And forth.

You must have moved to lie down on your back in your sleep, with Eddie's weight still on your body, legs entangled. It's not the first time you've slept like this, there had been movie nights that had ended similarly.

His hand caressing your cheek though, yeah that is new. There's something unspoken in the air this time around. Your stomach is doing flip flops when you realise that he is propped up on his elbow, just .. looking at you. With eyes that don't require light to hint at whatever it is he is trying to say, or maybe not trying at all.

"Eds, what are you doing?", you ask almost in a whisper followed by a lopsided smile, expecting an unserious answer, because he always tends to make a joke whenever he tries to avoid conversing about emotions regarding his heart.

His thumb stops its acrobatics on your cheek, comes to a halt.

"I'm–", he takes a deep breath before he continues, "I'm just so grateful it's you that's here right now."

Your hand comes up to cup his. Brush over his rough knuckles with a thumb of your own. Enjoying the warmth that is seeping from his palm into your skin.

"Yeah, I figured you were gonna be a little opposed to spending the night with Harrington", you laugh, an attempt to turn your nerves into humour.

Eddie snorts a little, "yeah right, it's almost like you know me", he grins and pushes himself even closer to your face than he already is. It doesn't necessarily help in extinguishing the fire that's consuming you whole at this point.

"It's almost like we're best friends and I know what you think of him because every time Dustin or literally anyone else mentions his name around you, you're not necessarily secretive about it."

"Hey, my own worldview is not my fault, it's just– ... he just kinda seems like a douche of the highest order."

"He's quite alright, Eds. Try giving him a chance, I think he'd look great as Coffin's tambourinist."

He snorts again and you feel his breath on the column of your neck next when he dips his head down, nose pressing against the soft skin, his small giggle being swallowed by the collar of your sweatshirt.

Your favourite sound. Ever. Followed by the relieved moan Eddie lets out at the way your other hand is softly rubbing over his shoulder blade. The vibration against your neck makes you twitch as much as being pinned into the couch cushions by his body allows you.

It's soothing as much for you as it is for him.

When he lifts his head, the soft gaze he eyes you with is enough to let the goosebumps erupt. Even in the darkness of the room you can still make out those round buttons that could melt the entire north pole.

"Thank you, Peach, really. I'd be goin' mental right now and probably tryin' to counter that by smoking an equally mental amount of the stash I've been hiding here."

Your heart aches.

"I'm just glad I can be that kind of comfort to you, Eds. You don't have to go through whatever the fuck this is alone."

"I know I'm never gonna be alone as long as you are there."

You almost cry yourself now, his words making your hand travel from his own to his cheek, almost passing out from the way his eyes bore into your own once again.

Eddie isn't sure what it is that is making him feel lightheaded right now. The whole rollercoaster of events of the past hours. Or your words of affirmation. Or mayhaps it is your cute soft hand with that little ring on your thumb which is gently swiping over his damp skin.

That cute soft hand he'd been imagining countless times at night, silently yearning for your eyes to look at him differently, to finally see him in a different light the next time you'd hang out.

Probably a combination of just everything.

You reciprocate his soft half-lidded gaze, hand moving from his cheek to tuck some of his hair behind his left ear, revealing that delicate silver hoop earring you'd gifted to him for his birthday, after having talked your ear off about getting his ear pierced for literal months.

He'd insisted you join him for the appointment, "another metal moment for the books", as Eddie had called it, the need to have his hand held during the stab comically urgent in the way his voice sounded when he called you that day. And in the pace in which he picked you up.

"I'm here no matter what", you respond to his sentiment, that hand that brushed his hair away resting on the side of his neck while leaning the weight of your head into his palm that is still attached to your cheek.

Eddie's confidence reaches a new all time high with the admission of your unconditional support being stirred into the cocktail of hormones and emotions that's been circulating in his bloodstream for a generous amount of time now.

Because then he goes on by saying impossible things.

Impossible things with a slightly less platonic undertone.

"You're so fucking sweet, has anyone ever told you?"

You smile as you shake your head, heat rising to your cheeks once again and you're sure he won't be able to see just how flustered he's getting you (joke's on you he does).

You're also sure he's out of his mind for saying that. Now.

"A shame, honestly. You should scold your best friend for not telling you sooner. Tell him what a fucking idiot he is."

Eddie earns another giggle from you. Music to his ears. Better than Metallica. Okay maybe not but .. pretty fucking close.

"I'll let him know next time I see him", you say with a grin, playing along with pleasure, and you ask yourself why it is only now that you realise just how fucking close his face is to yours.

There is a moment of silence in which Eddie hesitates articulating whatever is seemingly bugging his mind.

"Do you, uh, still like him?"

If you lifted your head just a little your noses would be touching. A silly and utmost redundant question, and yet, Eddie dreads your answer. If the circumstances were different, less dystopian and tragic, you'd seriously wonder what would spark the doubt in your friendship in him, but considering that everyone else would be going to pour their judgement over him, you understand.

Every word exchanged between the two of you at this hour is soaked in mutual infatuation, something the idiots in both of you are slowly starting to fathom as well.

"Of course I do, he's everything to me."

As you say it, you can't help the grin which reappears reliably each time you finish verbalizing your thoughts. It's contagious, you notice.

"And do you think – just hypothetically of course", it's only then he breaks eye contact to clear his throat, "of course", you interrupt him still smiling and cocking an eyebrow at him, "d'ya think it would be okay for this best friend to, uh, maybe...", Eddie pauses, internally watching the ship containing his confidence set sail slowly and ultimately letting the irrational thoughts win for tonight, "would you let him..."

Eddie generally wasn't someone who lacked confidence. It showed in the way he boisterously wandered the halls of Hawkins High, the way his demeanor never changed, his mask never faltered no matter who was around. Except for you. You who he had always granted a look underneath the impulsive, extroverted surface.

"Eds", you try everything in your power to stay calm even though everything inside of you is screaming right now and you're certain you can feel your pulse in your earlobes.

"Would it be just insane of that best friend to kiss you right now?"

You want to squeal and kick your feet, pull him into your face, pinch your own forearm, pass away, leave the house and never return, and stay right where you are forever, buried underneath your favourite metalhead, the parts where your bodies are touching practically on fire, cosy and content.

Instead, the most fond smile spreads over your lips as you try to contain your internal overwhelm.

It's still dark, the only light source being the full moon outside. Eddie's so hopeful of your reciprocation and even more terrified of ruining his entire life at the same time, those deep doe eyes at this point pretty much resemble the shape of the space rock orbiting earth. Rejection from you, his pretty Peach and the Bonnie to his Clyde, would be unbearable.

"I think so," you almost whisper, the hand that's been rubbing over Eddie's back coming up to lightly trace one of his eyebrows with your index finger because you just can't seem to not touch him in some way, "but you should know that I love his insanity."

Your small giggle is being silenced by a soft and cautious kiss from Eddie Munson. Like he doesn't want to break you. Or he's afraid you'll snap out of a haze, slap him and leave if he starts kissing you like he really wants to.

And then it's you who goes for it, you feel at home, right where you belong, you don't think you've ever felt this good. The hand on his jaw tugs him closer softly, pressing your lips to his with a bit more urgency.

It gives him all the confirmation he could possibly need.

That tingle, it grows and fills up your chest and shoots through your entire being, goosebumps and all. Eddie moans and breathes against your lips, tongue dancing over the thin skin, asking for permission.

His ringed hand digs deeper and slowly moves to the nape of your neck, intending to hold you in place, afraid you could slip away from him if he didn't. This blossoming thing between you could slip away from him. If he didn't.

It's so soft, the way his lips touch yours, and before you know it they move to your cheek, to your jaw, down your neck before Eddie comes up again, smiling from ear to ear, to gently bump his nose against the tip of yours and his lips return home with a soft and deep hum escaping from his lungs into your mouth.

Relief floods his veins along with whatever it is you're doing to him. The ability to shut out the insanity of the past hours is what he so desperately wants to cling to for as long as you allow him, even if the dawn will remind him of the horrid reality he's involuntarily become subject to live through now.

"You're making things so much better, Peach, you're so sweet, so fucking cute, so fucking good for me, do you even know for how long I've been dreaming of this?"

Eddie greedily pulls your face into his again, not even giving you a chance to reply and not nearly getting enough of your affection it seems with how fervently his tongue searches for yours.

A gentle collision of skin.

The soft whimpers you let out only spur him on. You not backing away from him, staying with him, letting him be this close to you?

You, the only constant source of consolation Eddie's ever really had.

Life changing.

Soft touches follow soft touches, your thumb traces his jaw repeatedly.

"You don't–", kiss, "for how long–", kiss, "I've been dreaming–", kiss, "of you as well", you breathe against him and Eddie thinks he might be about to resort to sniffling into your collar again with the amount of relief he is experiencing.

You'd let him.

"Yeah?", he presses his nose into your cheek with his eyes closed, smiling from ear to ear, relaxing his entire body into yours as you let him slide inbetween your legs.

"Yeah, you know how much of a sucker I am for peaches", you grin, another peck to his cheek, his jaw, his neck, your hips slowly finding a rhythm against his own.

Eddie groans at your allusion with a wide grin on his face (and the feeling of your warmth against his dick), before pressing his lips against yours again lovingly, "me too baby, me too."

–––

taglist (thought you might be interested): @josephfakingquinn, @ghost-proofbaby, @analogkraken, @wroteclassicaly, @songforeddiemunson, @joejoequinnquinn, @somnambulic-thing, @trashmouth-richie, @eddddiemunson, @ceriseheaven, @userchai

comments, reblogs and other forms of affection towards the author are greatly appreciated thank youuuuu <3

[brbsoulnomming]

Heart On Your Sleeve Part 5

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

written for steddiebigbang2024 and belatedly posting here!

This part includes the Russian torture scene, so adding a warning for gore/violence just to be safe!

-----

Eddie comes by Scoops, once Steve gets the job there.

The first time, he laughs at the sailor hat for a minute straight until Steve rolls his eyes and calls back, “I'm taking my lunch!”

“Now?” Robin bitches. “Did you actually get a girl to fall for those ridiculous li-” She cuts off as she comes out of the back room and sees Eddie. “Oh. Huh.”

Eddie flashes a sharp toothed smile at her, and Steve rolls his eyes again and elbows him.

“I'll be back before the actual lunch rush hits this way,” he tells Robin, untying his apron and depositing it to the side of the counter.

To Eddie, he says, “Here, since this brought you so much joy,” and drops the sailor hat onto the top of Eddie's head.

Eddie gives a squawk and squirms around like he's trying to bat him off, though Steve notices he doesn't actually push him away as Steve adjusts the hat to his liking.

“There,” Steve says, shooting Eddie a teasing little grin as he steps back. “You keep that on the whole time, and I'll buy you lunch.”

“A small price to pay for a free meal,” Eddie says solemnly, but his eyes are crinkled a little like they do when he smiles, and he doesn't take the hat off the entire time they eat together.

—

He and Eddie sit out back behind Scoops, passing a cigarette back and forth. It's the end of Steve's shift, and technically he doesn't have to stay anymore, but he's not in a hurry to get home.

Dustin's away at camp, after all.

“Why the hell are you working here?” Eddie asks, sounding like he's been mulling it over for a while.

Steve snorts. “Needed to work somewhere.”

“Okay, fine, but haven't you done the lifeguard thing for like three years?”

Steve - didn't actually expect Eddie to know that, and he shoots him a little smile before he rolls his eyes. “Not a real job, according to my dad. It's just hanging out at the pool all day.”

Eddie scoffs. “Would your dad even know a real job if it bit him?”

“My dad's never really had to work for anything,” Steve mutters. “I didn't get into any of the colleges they wanted me to, so I needed to be taught a lesson. Pretty sure he was hoping it'd humiliate me.”

Eddie tips back, looking him over. “You don't look very humiliated.”

Steve shrugs. “Because I'm not. Yeah, sure, the outfit and the hat are stupid, but work is work. Ice cream makes people happy, I make people happy, it could be worse. Besides, he has no idea what I'm even making here. Every paycheck is a little more I can stash away where he can't touch it.”

Eddie's watching him very closely now, in a way that Steve's never seen before.

“How long have you been doing that?” he asks quietly.

“What, saving money that my dad doesn't know about?” Steve asks.

“Yeah.”

Eddie's face is serious - far more serious than Steve's ever seen him, than he thinks the situation warrants. Steve frowns.

“Since I got my first job, I guess? Anything I ask for from him comes with some kind of string attached, and I got tired of paying for it.”

Eddie's quiet again. “You've gotten in a lot of fights the last couple of years,” he says, slow and careful like he thinks Steve might bolt. “Lot of bruises.”

He clocks on to what Eddie's trying to get at, then, and a rush of relief washes over him as he hurries to set him straight. “Oh, no, my dad's not abusive or anything, just an asshole. He's never hit me.”

Eddie considers that. “Your dad can be an abusive piece of shit without ever hitting you.”

Steve licks his lips, takes his turn watching Eddie a little more closely. “Sounds like you're familiar with it.”

Eddie laughs, sharp and humorless. “Come on, man, you know who my dad is.”

“I know what people say about him,” Steve agrees. “But I've learned not to listen to rumors.”

Eddie flicks the cigarette butt off into the distance.

Steve gets out another one, puts it between his lips to light it. He takes a long drag, then - pulls his heart out of his chest, setting it between them before he passes the cigarette over.

Eddie's eyes drop down to his heart as he takes the cigarette, but this time he doesn't say anything.

Steve still doesn't ask to see his, even though he's tempted.

“You can listen to these ones,” Eddie says after a while. “They're mostly true.”

“You deserve better,” Steve tells him.

He looks over when Eddie doesn't say anything, finding him watching his heart. It's beating strong and steady.

“So do you,” Eddie says without looking up.

They sit in silence for a while longer, until the cigarette is gone.

Then Steve tucks his heart back into his chest and stands up. “Come on, I'll get us lunch.”

Eddie scowls at him. “You bought last time.”

“Yeah, but a conversation like that deserves a burrito bigger than your head, and I've got employee discount,” Steve counters, holding out his hand.

Eddie concedes, accepting his hand up.

—

Steve keeps making up excuses to buy Eddie lunch after that, every time he comes by at the end of an early shift or close to his lunch break on a later shift.

One day he gets them both pizza from Sbarro, and they sit at one of the sticky plastic tables in the food court. It's so small their knees knock together as they devour their slices, but -

But it also means that Steve can tuck his ankle up against Eddie's, hook his foot half around it, and have an excuse if he needs one.

He doesn't need one.

Eddie doesn't move his foot away, but he does shoot wide eyed little looks over at Steve like he's not sure whether this is a joke or not, and -

“Hi,” Steve says, soft and ridiculous and holy shit, he has to have something better than hi.

But apparently hi works, because Eddie ducks his head, looks back up at him with something soft and wary and surprised all at once.

“Hi,” Eddie says back.

And that's -

It's something.

—

Steve gets closer to Robin - their bickering has started to become playful, and even though her teasing's never been mean, now it sounds almost fond. She still gets annoyed when customers watch them work in complete sync and think they're a couple, but now she just rolls her eyes and complains to him later instead of throwing things off by trying to protest it.

It's nice. He thinks he might be winning her over, and it makes the days pass a lot quicker.

—

He doesn't see Eddie for a week after their pizza lunch.

He tries not to think much about it, just tells himself that if he hasn't seen him by the time Dustin comes back from camp, he'll call him.

—

This isn't like any beating he's taken before.

Steve'd thought he was prepared. He was prepared, at least in the beginning. Billy did just as much damage, even if it was in a shorter span of time, and the ache in his ribs and stomach and face is familiar.

He can handle it.

Besides, it doesn't matter how much they hurt him - protecting Robin and Dustin and Erica is more important than anything else.

"Let's take a look at his heart," one of the soldiers says. "See how honest he's really being."

Steve's pretty sure he makes a choked off little guh.

He doesn't want to let them anywhere near his heart.

But on the other hand - he isn't lying as much as they think he is, and maybe that will prove it? They'll have to undo his hands to get him to take it out, and he briefly considers trying to get the drop on them, but he has to concede that probably won't go very well for him.

It's not like they're really asking for his opinion, anyway.

They aren't making any move to untie his hands, either, and Steve's brow scrunches in confusion.

He sees one of them holding what looks like a mix of a gun and a taser. It - honestly, it looks pretty stupid, like a prop in a bad movie, and he wrinkles his nose at it.

They press it up against his ribcage, pull the trigger - and fuck, he jolts back with the force of it.

His chest splits open.

The shock of it makes him numb for a precious few moments, staring down at the gaping hole in his own chest. The pain doesn't hit him until they take his heart out. It feels like it's being carved out of him, ripped from his chest as though he were being mauled by a wild animal, and he has the somewhat hysterical thought that he shouldn't be alive for this.

His heart was torn out of his chest, and somehow it's still beating, erratic and racing.

"Hmm," one of the soldiers says, tilting his heart this way and that. "Feels real."

The soldier squeezes it, and this time Steve screams at the pressure tightening around his heart, making him convulse in his bonds.

The second soldier laughs.

"They're making such good fakes these days," the second soldier says.

The first soldier relaxes his grip, and Steve sucks in ragged gulps of air, too disoriented to really understand what they're saying.

"Much more sophisticated than patches and paint," the first soldier agrees. "What good would a spy be if he showed his real heart?"

"No," Steve protests. "It's real, come on, you can feel it."

There’s no sign of deception from his heart, but it's beating too wildly from the pain to really make a difference.

"We'll see about that," the second soldier says, handing a switchblade to the first.

The first soldier presses the flat of the blade against his heart. "Let's see what's underneath if we shave a little off?"

—

Steve doesn't really remember anything after that. He must have passed out, because the next thing he hears is Robin's voice, and he realizes he's in a different room, tied back to back with her.

His chest aches.

Everything aches, really, but his chest is the worst of it.

Steve looks down, sees himself solid and in one piece again. He might have thought the whole thing was just a pain induced hallucination if it weren't for the unstable beat of his heart. It's pulsing unsteadily, and he feels as though if he even breathes too hard, it might burst into pieces with the next beat.

But he's not alone now.

He's with Robin, and she makes everything better, and even though his heart beats too fast when he thinks of how much he likes her - it's the good kind of too fast, not the kind that makes him think his heart is going to explode.

He is pretty sure that his heart is going to explode, though, that they're probably going to die here. He knows Robin is thinking the same thing - he just knows, like going through Russian secret agent torture together has made them automatically on the same wave length.

They were heading towards being friends before this, he knows, wonders if maybe they could have ever been for real.

It's a shame he doesn't think he'll ever get to find out.

—

Dustin and Erica find them before Steve loses any fingers.

Which is good. He might not be on the basketball team anymore, but he still plays with Lucas sometimes, and he likes all of his fingers attached to his hand and not on the floor of a secret Russian base.

He tells Dustin that as they're escaping from said Russian secret base. Dustin looks a little pale, hugs him tight around the middle, which makes Steve laugh - it should hurt, he thinks, but he doesn't feel a thing.

The only thing he feels is kind of floaty, and the itchy, overheated sensation he always gets when he's had his heart locked inside his chest for too long.

When no one's looking, Steve takes his heart out of his chest.

His stomach turns.

Whatever he's feeling about it seems distant, too far removed for him to be able to react to it, but the physical sensation of his stomach heaving is present and accounted for.

It only barely looks like a heart. The shape of it is hardly visible, more like a double handful of the precut chuck roast he gets to use as stew meat, sluggishly oozing every time it beats.

The thought of putting it back in his chest makes his stomach heave again, but even like this, he knows he can't keep it out in the open.

He rips off the red scarf from his Scoops uniform, wraps it around his heart to hold it together, and ties it off.

There.

Now no one will notice.

This is already written, and my plan is to post one part a day until it's all up here!

-----

Part 6

Taglist (always happy to add more to this if anyone wants): @fairytalesreality @lostonceandneverfound @wheneverfeasible @awkwardgravity1 @theintrovertedintrovert @thewickedkat @ravenfrog @scarlet-malfoy @missmagillicuddy @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @ollyxar @cringe-culture-is-dead-99 @thedragonsaunt @makewavesandwar @ajeff855 @mae-liz @the-fantastical-asexual @jettestar @warlordess @samsoble @persnicketysquares @cryptid-system @my-love-of-books @mydysfunctionallife @dreamercec @holyangelstudentuniverse

[lizbetlovesbyler]

my biggest personal byler proof is just how much they remind me of my first queer relationship before we started dating

queer characters are incredibly easy to fuck over, even without intention. often spelled out or intensely sexualised to prevent misunderstandings for a mostly heterosexual audience, queer storylines are exaggerated and thus become unrealistic.

stranger things doesn’t do that with its queer characters. take robin:

this scene is done beautifully. genuinely beautifully.

robin admits her feelings for tammy and how she locked them away, not just because tammy didn’t like her back, but because she is a queer girl in the 80s. her feelings are unnatural and unwelcome in hawkins.

steve’s acceptance of robin in this scene makes people forget how horrifically this could have ended:

As for Mike and Will

you don’t write a perfect representation of mutual teenage queer pining between childhood friends by accident.

queer pining is quiet and suppressed (especially for young people and ESPECIALLY in the 80s). It is unhealthy to suppress these feelings the way queer people tend to, it’s beyond the typical “secret crushes” straight people experience. queer pining can destroy people when they’re not supported.

through robins character, and wills arc in season four, we can see clearly the duffer brothers understand the nature of queer love, and wish to do it justice.

will ending up with some random last minute jock is unrealistic and does not do his character justice.

mike staying in an insecure relationship, constantly worried his girlfriend will grow out of him and leave him, rather than accepting will’s unconditional love for him, accepting his own love for will and letting himself be who he is, does not do his character justice.

even so, if they tried to set up byler in a way that would come across clear to the GA, it would, by default, become unrealistic and unrepresentative.

neither are yet able to admit to close friends and family they are queer, but they are supposed to convey that part of themselves to an (understandably) dense/heteronormative mainstream audience?

queer teenage love is not the same as straight teenage love, it doesn’t shock me that the majority of the audience isn’t able to pick up on byler beyond wills feelings, and they’re not supposed to.

we all say what we see, they don’t see the queer love brewing because they’ve never experienced it, they’ve never been mike and they’ve never been will. they’ve been max and lucas and nancy, steve, jonathan, etc etc

doesn’t make their heteronormative perspective accurate, they are just straight. they understand will and mike the same they do lucas and dustin. mike says they are friends, they have no reason to think otherwise. they do not know what queer love actually looks like, the duffer brothers do. the actors do. we do.

you are not delusional. you are queer.

if byler was widely agreed upon at this point in the story, it would not be an accurate representation of queer romance. that is the point.

my moneys on the latter and they better get every award for it.

[steddiealltheway]

During season 3, there’s a deleted scene (because I said so) of Max and El’s first spin-the-bottle spy attempt.

The bottle slows to a stop right on Steve's name, and the two girls giggle as El puts the blindfold on.

She finds him in his Scoops Ahoy outfits, and El giggles harder as she tells Max, "He's kissing some girl."

Max gasps, "Who is it?"

El starts walking closer, trying to see who it is, but their hair is covering their face. "Some girl with curly hair."

"Nancy?" Max whispers conspiratorily.

El shakes her head. "Her hair is short. This girl's hair is longer." She starts to turn red, feeling like she's been intruding for too long. She starts to reach up for her blindfold when the person pulls back and says, “Ahoy, Captain.”

Just as Steve groans in irritation, El yanks the blindfold off and freezes. Max shakes her and asks, “What? What happened?”

El pauses, thinking back to the time Mike had to explain why he was so angry when Troy called Will a fairy. She didn’t understand why people were upset about a boy loving another boy, but she understood that it wasn’t something people talked about. Just like she wasn’t allowed to use her powers, Will wasn’t allowed to openly like boys.

So, she just lets out a deep breath and reasons with herself that it isn’t a lie when she says, “They started using tongue.”

While Max shrieks with laughter, El smiles at her, trying not to think of the boy Steve was with.

-:-:-:-:-:-

(An added extra part that is WAY longer than intended. Oops. Coming back after editing to add JSKEHDISBEHSH)

The next year, the information seems to come in handy when Dustin urges El to see if his friend Eddie is still somehow alive in the upside down.

The others are all there, trying to describe what he looks like when Nancy and Jonathan volunteer to run to the school and grab his missing poster for a photo. But the descriptions paint a clear picture in El’s head of someone she’s seen before. Briefly. But she remembers.

Curly hair. Wears lots of rings. Big brown doe eyes and full lips - Steve’s very helpful description.

And El can’t help but turn to Steve and whisper, “Ahoy, Captain?

Steve’s eyes widen and his cheeks flush red. His mouth opens and closes asking, “How-? Why-? When-?”

“Is that him?” El asks firmly.

Steve only nods. Brushing off everyone who asks What does she mean? By telling them to be quiet while El puts on her blindfold.

She finds herself somewhere dark and cold, feeling the familiarity of the place as she seeks out Eddie. She walks around, calling out his name, getting more and more desperate as time goes by.

But she suddenly feels something watching her and quickly turns around, finding Eddie as pale as a ghost staring at her from the ground. She bends down and puts a hand on his face. “We’re coming for you, okay? We’re coming.”

Eddie tilts his head and asks, “Who?”

“Steve,” El automatically says, hoping it’s the right person to name.

The name seems to give Eddie a small bit of hope.

“And Dustin,” El adds. “Dustin’s coming for you.”

Eddie gives her a weak smile and mumbles, “I knew he’d miss me.”

El smiles at the joke. She hears the other people in the room begin to ask if he’s alive, to remind him that someone named Wayne is coming.

El squeezes his cold cheek, hoping some of her warmth will bleed through the connection. “Just hang on a little longer, okay? They say Wayne’s coming too.”

Eddie weakly smiles again and murmurs, “Wayne.” His eyes get heavy, and El shakes him. “Mmm awake,” Eddie slurs. El hears footsteps behind her and turns, not seeing anything, but as she turns back she finds Eddie disappearing.

She reaches out yelling, “No! No! Hold on!”

When he’s completely gone she yanks the blindfold off, weeping as someone pulls her into their chest. She doesn’t hear any of the questions around her as she says, “Run to him. Run!”

But finally, Mike gets through to her and asks, “Did you see Steve there?”

El wipes her eyes and asks, “What?”

“Did you see Steve there?” Mike repeats.

El glances around, noticing that Steve, Dustin, Lucas, and Robin are no longer there. “Where-“

“They went to him as soon as you said we’re coming for you. Did you see them there?” Will explains quickly.

El shakes her head. “There were footsteps but… Eddie vanished before I saw anyone.”

Mike looks far off and puts his head in his hands.

They’re too late.

A tense silence passes.

“This is a code green! I repeat this is a code green!” Dustin’s staticky voice rings through the walkie.

The three kids race toward it, Mike grabs it first asking, “He’s okay?”

“He’s alive,” Dustin says, sounding choked up. “He’s alive.”

El sighs in relief and rushes off to the door.

“Where are you going?” Will asks.

“The hospital, come on.”

The trip there is fast, but no one lets them see Eddie yet as he’s still in critical condition. But they all opt to wait as long as they need to get any updates.

El sees Steve eye her for a while before she moves to sit in the chair next to him. She waits for him to talk first.

“So… how did you… know?” Steve asks.

El flushes red and ducks her head. “Max and I were playing this game where we would spin a bottle and-”

“Okay, I know where this is going. Jesus, kid,” Steve mutters.

El glares at him. “We would spin a bottle and see who it landed on to spy on them.”

“Oh,” Steve says, pausing before he suddenly realizes, “You spied on me?”

“Yes,” El replies because friends don’t lie.

Steve flushes red and asks, “So, how much of me and Eddie did you see?”

El leans in to whisper, “You were kissing a lot.”

“Christ,” Steve says, before burying his head in his hands. He slowly looks up at her and asks, “Did you… tell anyone?”

“No.”

Steve sighs and leans back in his chair, staring off.

El can’t help but press on. “Did you love him?”

Steve stops breathing for a second as he considers the question. He turns to her slowly and says, “I did.”

“Did?”

Steve runs a hand over his face. “It’s complicated.”

El pauses and says, “Well, it looked like he really loved you too.” When Steve gives her a look, she adds, “And he looked happy when I said you were coming for him.”

A conflicted look crosses over Steve’s face. “Did he really?”

El nods. “Friends don’t lie.”

Steve smiles and huffs a small laugh. “That’s right.” He hesitates before slinging an arm around El’s shoulder and pulling her into his side as much as he can with the arm of chair being between them. He plants a kiss to her head and whispers, “I’ll give you a lecture later about the spying thing. But for now… thank you.”

El leans into the hug, staying until an older man walks into the room.

“Wayne!” Dustin yells and runs to wrap his arms around him.

El watches as Steve slowly stands up and offers his hand to Wayne when Dustin pulls away. Wayne looks at Steve for a moment before pulling him into a hug.

El wants to ask and know the whole story behind Steve and Eddie and this Wayne person. But she thinks it’s time to look away as Steve breaks down in Wayne’s arms and the older man’s bottom lip quivers. “I know, son. I know.”

-:-:-:-:-:-

They wait for a long time before there’s finally news.

They all collectively hold their breath as the doctor walks into the room. He look over at them all before announcing, “He’s stable.”

A wave of relief floods through the room, but El thinks there’s an added tension when they’re informed that he isn’t allowed visitors yet.

But Wayne follows the doctor out the door and has a very stern word with him before he’s reluctantly allowed to disappear down the hall.

A few minutes later, he comes back to the room and asks, “El?”

El sits up straighter. “Yes?”

“He’s asking for you.”

El glances at all her friends before she stands up and follows (who Dustin had told her is) Eddie’s uncle. As she gets to the room, she looks at all the tubes connected to Eddie’s body, and wonders how he even asked for her.

But as she gets closer to the bed, she sees Eddie’s eyes crack slightly open.

“Lean down so he can whisper to you,” Wayne advises.

El leans closer and hears Eddie says, “I know… how… to get… to Max.”

El leans back and grabs Eddie’s hand. “Show me.”

With that, she’s taken into a vision of horrors, of Eddie dying and coming back. His heart restarted by Vecna for some unknown reason. A vision of all the bodies tied to the tree but Max’s spot is empty. But there’s something there. Something that’s trapped in the empty vines. But just as she sees it, a clock strikes in the distance, and it all begins to disappear.

She gasps as she steps away from Eddie, catching her breath as Wayne asks what the hell is happening.

But she can only run out of the room, heading toward Max’s room knowing where she needs to go to find her and bring her back.

[femtoddanderson]

behind the scenes

Steve harrington x Cinephile! reader

Summary: You work at the movie theater at the starcourt mall and Steve at scoops ahoy, you guys were always just the babysitters but what if you were more?

wc: 1.2k

note: this is my first post and blurb in over 2 years but im having fun again so expect a pt. 2

"I swear if anyone hears about this-"

"we're dead"

-

you glance at your watch and sigh as you stand by the the delivery access door with your foot against it to keep it ajar. they're five minutes late and at this rate they'll miss the iconic opening of the day of the dead. A opening you don't want to miss either; the seconds tick away as you contemplate ditching them to watch it for the third time by yourself or going back to your job of sweeping up theater two. And just at that moment you hear the growing bickering coming from the door.

you dip your head back into the hallway and glare.

"Hey! you're late!"

the group scurries in as you hold the door, "I swear if you make me miss this movie-"

"We're dead" the respond somewhat apologetically.

You all file into a row and take a seat. will unzips the backpack and begins passing out the snacks they smuggled in with them. You sigh and turn the other way to at least have plausible deniability. The projector whirs up and you lean to your right and bite your cheek in anticipation; you turn youre head already grinning as you watch them jump in their seats and the title card fades in.

-

“Hey are you ready to go?”

“Uh yep” robin responds as she closes the cash register.

“Robin your leaving? We still have 5 minutes until closing,” Steve responds exasperated.

“My ride is leaving so I’m leaving goodnight loser!”

You and Rob walk out and you say your goodbye: “have fun taking the kids home!”

You turn back walking towards the parking lot, and you hear a loud groan coming from the counter causing you two giggle with arms interlocked.

-

You and Steve bound because of the kids. But most of all Dustin. You were his real babysitter by choice and Steve was his babysitter by force.

Despite how much Dustin may claim he doesn’t need a babysitter, whenever the world was coming to an end you and Steve were there. And now you were there to welcome him home from his genius camp. You and Steve hung back watching el and them creep down the hallway to surprise him.

“So what are you doing tonight?” Steve attempts to break the silence coolly.

“Not much, me and rob are gonna see weird science supposed to be good…I mean it’s John Hughes,”

“Huh yeah so what is that like you’re 20th movie of the summer?”

“And what you’re going on your 20th date of the summer?”

“Ha, yeah I wish…no I’m working tonight” he looks back down to his feet.

Dustin’s voice grew louder as he walked down the hallway. “This camp was awesome it had an observatory, a billion telescopes, endless access to computers…” you’d never tell him but you missed hearing his geeky rants.

He finally acknowledges you and Steve’s presence when he reached the living room

“Hey I missed you guys so much. I even used the lady moves you taught me to get my girlfriend!”

There was a universal shock felt by everyone except Dustin. Girlfriend? You’ve barely been on one date and your little dork has a girlfriend?

“Oh you guys wanna meet her?” He grins as he leads the group out of the door.

“We’d love to dust but me and Steve have work, we’re happy you’re home”

“Yeah welcome home bud” Steve follows up as Dustin grins and shuts the door following his friends into the woods.

You mouth “girlfriend?”. He mouths back “lady moves?” with a genuine confused face.

You slap his arm laughing a little and open the door. He follows you to your respective cars.

“Hey if you’re not doing anything after work you should come see the movie with me and Robin it will be fun.”

He fixes his hair, “yeah maybe I’ll check my schedule” he says so not nonchalantly.

You chuckle a little considering five minutes ago he had nothing going on.

“Okay cool” you grin slightly, ducking into your car and turning your key.

-

You look up from your three ticket stubs to find Robin and Steve walking towards you, albeit totally engrossed in their conversation. the quarreling ends when they greet you with a sighing 'hi'.

"You came," you meet his eyes grinning.

"yeah I guess I made some time in my schedule," he responds cheekily, matching your grin.

Rob gawks at the locked eye contact between you too and takes it upon herself to break it up. "alright come on if I dont get cherry in the next 30 seconds I will kidnap one of your nerd kids to build me a new superhuman hot best friend".

You laugh at the reference and go to catch up with her. you look behind to find the joke to have gone over his head but following regardless causing you to laugh harder.

The three of you settle into your seats with your cold drinks and candy, all legally bought, and pass the popcorn around and the light dimming. It came as a surprise to Steve that you and robin were so vocal during the movie. Steve found a you he had never seen as he heard your laughs and jokes. For the first time this summer he had actually felt like he was having fun. He liked the movie but realized how much more fun everything can be with friends.

-

"okay lots of questionable character choices but feminism aside soundtrack 4.5/5, cinematography 3/5, and action 3.5/5 " you genuinely critic the absurd john hughes movie walking into the cool summer night's air.

Robin responds unprompted, "Um its a 5/5 on soundtrack, 2.5 on cinematography, and like a 3 on acting I mean what are they like 14? i dont know...what do you rate it Steve."

Steve had been visibly tuned out and was also confused by the conversation it seemed you two have had dozens of times. He scratches the space right above his ear. "It was good probably like a 4/5."

there was a silence of you and robin expecting more and exchanging a look confusingly. a honk came from behind.

"oh shit thats my mom, bye guys" she spits out quickly as she jogs to her moms chevy. "night" "bye" you and Steve respond.

He walks you to your car and you lean against it looking at his hazel eyes in the dim parking lot light. And he looks back at you in the same content way he did earlier in the night.

"I'm happy you came," you break the silence.

"I'm happy you invited me...movies are more fun with you guys"

"Oh yeah?" A smile begins to spread across your lips.

"more fun than I've had in a while actually," he steps in closer.

"Well I guess we'll just have to hang out more often" Your eyes flicker between his lightly tussled hair, his entrancing eyes. Your breaths get shallower.

"Yeah I would like that," he speaks in a tone only you and him could hear. A light breath bouncing off the tip of your nose.

[apomaro-mellow]

The government gets kas!eddie 2

Part 1

Of course, the first thing Steve did was call the others to tell them what had just happened. Nancy, Dustin, and Lucas were the first on the scene and they all craned their heads up to see the ascending claw marks on the back of his house.

"What do you make of it?", Lucas asked.

"Could be a demogorgon", Dustin said.

Nancy shook her head. "These claw marks are different. You said you heard it coming?", she asked Steve.

"I heard it climb up and then, it like cried. It sounded like it was hurt. Then a bunch of lab guys were here and it was like they were hiding something."

"When are they NOT hiding something?", Lucas crossed his arms.

"Are your folks still out of town?", Dustin asked.

"Yeah", Steve answered. The portals had closed but not before massive cracks let through several demobeasts, which was why the government came in and put the whole town on quarantine. No one in or out. Steve got a call from his parents telling him they were at a hotel in the next town over but that they weren't being allowed back in. All for the best. Two less people for him to worry about and lose.

"Were you having a party last night or something?", Lucas asked next.

Steve's brow furrowed. "What? What party? What's there to celebrate?"

Nancy shook her head. "He means, why was this thing, whatever it is, coming for you? If you were asleep, then how did you get its attention?"

Steve scratched his head. Vecna-slash-Henry-slash-One was still out there and unaccounted for. Maybe he was finally coming for revenge?

------------------------------

The sedation wore off the moment they got Eddie Munson in a cage and immediately he was clawing at the walls of reinforced concrete. He screeched and tried to roar but with the muzzle on his mouth he wasn't able to open his mouth completely. There had been pain then darkness then clarity, a goal, and then pain and darkness again and now he was awake but even further from his mate than before.

He was unaware that he was being watched right now. There was a heated debate behind the cameras. Who should they bring in? Who should they tell? Should they tell anyone when they didn't even know what this transformation entailed. Names were brought up only to be scoffed at. Children. They'd gotten lucky in the past but they weren't going to keep relying on children. No, if they contacted any civilians about...this, then it had to be next of kin, no?

Wayne Munson was brought in days later when the team decided they should at least keep the creature formerly known as Eddie alive and the damn thing wasn't eating the raw meat that had been thrown into its cell.

Wayne thought his heart couldn't break anymore than it already was. But seeing what his nephew had become. Claws and a tail and wings, it looked like the sort of creature Eddie would have come up with for his game. But this wasn't imaginary. His boy had been turned into a mindless, bloodthirsty-

"You said-", Wayne sniffed the tears away. "You said he ain't been eatin'?" He could see the chunks of meat on the floor through the camera.

"Our files say these creatures will eat raw ground meat if human flesh isn't available", one of the scientists said.

"Yeah that same intel said they eat candy too", another added.

"Kids", someone scoffed.

Wayne took a breath and found a pen and paper. "Send someone grocery shopping for this stuff. And we need to clean up that cell, that's no way for my boy to live."

-------------------

Steve had been face to face with Wayne two times since Eddie died, but it was almost three. The first time was Eddie's funeral. Steve went along with Dustin and the others to pay their respects and mourn. The second time had been a few days after that. He'd gone to the house Wayne was living in now. He said it was on behalf of Dustin as he delivered a casserole made by Claudia (himself).

But what would have been the first time would have been in the immediate aftermath. Steve had seen Wayne at the shelter that day. He'd prepared himself to walk over and tell him about Eddie the best way he could. He was ready to tell the man just how much Eddie meant to him. Dustin got there first and Steve hung back, not wanting to impeded on their moment.

He didn't know Wayne as well as he should; as well as he would have liked. He was always sneaking in and out of the trailer whenever Eddie wasn't doing the same at his house.

Suffice to say, he was very surprised when Dustin demanded they go out for lunch and it suddenly turned into a three person meal with Wayne. He tried, but wasn't able to keep the bewilderment from his face.

"I got somethin' to tell you both and it might sound unbelievable but you need to trust me."

"We're pretty experienced with unbelievable", Dustin said.

"Oh I know. Those lab coats have dossiers on all of you." Wayne almost couldn't fathom how deep that rabbit hole must go but he didn't need to know specifics. He just knew the ones who could help the most.

Steve froze and Dustin's face dropped. They couldn't tell how much Wayne knew or why he knew or why he was telling them now.

"Eddie's alive", Wayne whispered. Then he gave Steve a meaningful look. "And he needs you."

Part 3

Taglist

@estrellami-1

[imfinereallyy]

Bedside Manner

for @acasualcrossfade request for "the infection has spread"

"Some birdie told me that you have been causing a fuss, Wayne, is that true?"

Wayne huffs from his hospital bed, glasses sliding down his nose. He places the newspaper he was reading on the table beside him. "You tell that Robbie of yours to stop exaggerating. It was only a small request."

Steve raises his eyebrows at his favorite patient (Dustin tells him he isn't supposed to have favorites, but he also used to cry anytime he picked up Max before him when they were younger, so what does he know) and gives him a knowing look. "Robin listens to no man, Wayne, you know this. You're better off sending that message through her wife. Besides, small? She was telling me you refused to have any other nurse help you because I wasn't here last night. Which surprised me since you are always pushing me on about taking a vacation. "

Wayne opens his mouth, but Steve presses on. "And the fact Robin was even in the room means they called a psych consult, so I can only imagine how bad it was."

Wayne grumbles like a little kid being scolded for getting his hands caught in the cookie jar. "Yea, well, it was a bad night, kid."

Steve feels his shoulders sag, he takes off his glasses and rubs a hand down his face before placing them back on. "Sorry, Wayne, I had a bad migraine last night. Nance and Robs wouldn't even let me pass the entrance. Bad news?"

"Kid, don't stress yourself out over me. I'm just your patient, and more so, I am just a cranky old man." Wayne patted Steve's knee as he sat down next to him.

"C'mon, Wayne. You're more than that. I'd like to think seeing you in and out of here the last year has made us friends. Although I gotta say, you're the only friend I have that I'll be glad if I don't get to see again, given the circumstances. So, what's the news?"

"The infection has spread."

Steve takes in a deep breath, he tries not to panic, but any infection in a hospital can be deadly, especially for a cancer patient like Wayne. "Incision site?"

Steve must not be as good at hiding his emotions as he used to be because Wayne jumps to ease his worry. "No, kid, don't worry. The surgery was a success. Just got that hospital fever, the good old bronchitis. But it just means I'm here longer than I have to. It also means my nephew is on edge, and I don't know if I can take a second longer of his hovering."

Steve laughed wetly, thankful for the topic change. "Ah yes, the mysterious nephew of yours that I've never met. The way you talk about him almost tempts me into switching to the day shift, sounds like he might be entertaining. But only almost."

"Always wondered why you were always working the nights, most of the others seem to switch. Not a big fan of the day?"

Steve shakes his head gently, "No, I like the quiet here at night. Like getting to know the patients without having to worry about fixing ten million things. Don't get me wrong, it has its downfalls. Like the doctors can be horrible at night, never tell Dr. Wheeler that or Robbie will kill me, and the food is awful. But there is something special about it here at night. So sorry, your ridiculous nephew isn't enough to tempt me."

Wayne smirked, "What if I told you he was a looker and single?"

Steve blushes slightly. He is used to patients trying to pawn him off to their relatives, it came with being a young male nurse, but typically it didn't phase him. But Steve has become close with Wayne, so hearing him suggest he get together with his nephew has him flustered. "I'm good, Wayne, thanks. Gave up on the dating scene a while ago. Not many people can keep up with a guy who works nights and suffers from severe head trauma."

"Shame, Eddie likes the nights too. I'd reckon yal would get along."

"I'm pretty sure we would need more than that, Wayne."

Wayne smiles fondly at Steve. "You don't need a whole lot to build a connection, son. Me and Linda, god rest her soul, only started dating for our mutual love of mugs. And we may not have had long together, but our love was strong. Besides, there is more yal would have in common than just the night shift."

Steve huffs a laugh, "Oh yea, like what?" The least he can do is humor the man.

"Well, you both care about me deeply."

Steve blushes again, "C'mon, Wayne. I'm your nurse. I'm kinda paid to care."

Wayne won't hear any of it, "No, son, it's more than that. You take your break in here every night. You make sure to record the game at home for me because they only have the news here. And last night, you tried to come in with a migraine, even though we both know I am the only patient you can stand right now."

Steve doesn't know what to say back. Wayne is right, of course. Steve has been spending all of his time with the man, giving him extra care. Steve isn't bad with his other patients, he goes above and beyond most of his coworkers, but there is something special about Wayne.

"You got nothing, kid, you know I'm right. Remind me a lot of my nephew. Before visiting hours ended is when I got the news of having to stay longer. Kid almost threw a fit when they kicked him out. Swore he was gonna break in to stay the night with me. I told him not to worry since you would be there, I brag about you too, ya know. When he found out today you weren't here, that boy threw a fit again. Swear he gets his tantrums from his father. Said he was gonna sneak back in tonight. Make sure I had company. That 'the man' couldn't stop him. That if he ran into you, he was gonna have a word with you."

Steve can't help the snort that shakes his body, "I'd like to see him get passed Hop first."

Wayne starts to chuckle, too, "Eds may have had his fair share of escaping the law, but no man moves as fast as Jim in a security uniform."

Steve is fully laughing now, "I know, right? It's like those pants make him aerodynamic or something. No way your nephew is getting by."

It is almost as if Steve's words summon what happens next. There in the doorway is the most gorgeous man he's ever seen, even though he is bent over and out of breath.

"Eds?" Wayne questions, clearly surprised. Steve has to mask his face and quickly before Wayne catches him ogling his nephew. Steve is finding it difficult, though. The man, Eddie, despite his out-of-breath appearance, is stunning. His long curly hair is thrown up in a bun, showing off the piercings up his ears. His clothes are simple but suiting, ripped jeans and a black band tee. Tattoos cover his entire body, and Steve wants to ask about every single one of them.

The most surprising thing about him isn't that he got by Hop (although he has questions for that later), no the most surprising thing to Steve is that Wayne somehow knew his exact type, which most people assume wrong in that department.

Eddie awakens an old craving inside Steve that he thought he had buried long ago.

"Wayne, you would not believe what I just went to get up here. The story I have for you, oh boy. You're gonna love it. Who knew security guards could move that fast. Anyway, I hope that nurse boy of yours is here tonight because I am ready to—" Eddie stops mid-rant when his eyes land on Steve, a lovely blush blossoming across his pale cheeks.

"I believe what you are trying to say is, what was it, Wayne? Oh yea, 'have a word with me,'" Steve laughs softly.

Eddie sputters, "Wayne!?!" His blushing becomes deeper as the seconds pass by.

Wayne just chuckles as Steve stands. "Don't be mad at your Uncle, I think he was just trying to make me feel better. I am sorry I wasn't here last night for the news. Got my head knocked around too much as a kid—" Steve taps his head with his knuckles, "—so I suffer from migraines sometimes. I really did try to come in, but well—you met Jim. He's pretty fast." Steve worries his lip. Eddie's eyes follow.

"Well, I can't be too mad now, can I?" Eddie swallows nervously before a smirk spreads across his face, switching from shy to confident in two seconds flat. Steve shouldn't be turned on by that. "The pretty face helps too. I'm pretty sure you could convince me to give you my kidney right about now. I'm Eddie, which I know you know by now, and you are...?"

Steve puts his hand out for a shake, "Nurse Harrington. But most people call me Steve."

Eddie grabs his hand gently and brings the back of it to his lips. "Stevie, a pleasure, really." A light kiss is placed on Steve's knuckles. Stevie, he thinks. That's a new one. And he isn't mad about it, at all. In fact, the butterflies in his stomach want him to get Eddie to say it again.

Steve catches Wayne's smug face in the corner of his eye as Steve begins to blush again.

"I'm just gonna—I'll be right back." Steve stutters.

"Leaving so soon?" Eddie says disappointed.

Steve has the sudden urge to fix the frown on his face. "No, no! Just, uh, gonna call Jim and tell him not to send out a search party. That it's okay if you stay. I'll keep an eye on you."

Eddie's face breaks out into a brilliant smile, "Really, Stevie? You gonna keep me around?"

Steve's heart skips a beat, "If I can help it."

***

[dayasfilms]

Chapter Three - Shot in the Dark

Summary: You have an idea that may or may give you some sort of clue, so you, Nancy, and Robin head to the library to do some research.

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Mentions of Y/N, jealousy, mentions of murder and blood

Word Count: 3k

Note: I can’t wait for the dynamic between reader, Nancy, and Robin! One of my favorite friendships this season for sure.

Series Masterlist

ㅤ♡ ㅤ♡ ㅤ♡

Morning had come, and you and Nancy had already explained the situation to the police several times. The officers had lent you both coats to keep warm since the air was just a little too chilly.

You couldn’t think straight. The cops had found Fred’s body, his limbs completely broken, and his eyes pulled deep into the back of his head. When you and Nancy saw it, the shock on your faces couldn’t even begin to reflect what you were feeling inside.

Nancy immediately burst into tears, her eyes welling up. You wrapped your arms around her, trying to calm her down, helping her steady her breathing. You knew this brought back memories of Barbara, the memories she tried hard to forget.

Your heart pounded. You couldn’t believe something so horrific had happened so close to you. You’d only known Fred for a day, but he had already started to feel like a friend.

The ambulance arrived and took Fred’s body away, but you and Nancy remained at the crime scene, going over everything you knew with Chief Powell.

“Did you look into Victor Creel?” You asked, arms crossed tightly over your chest. You couldn’t stop thinking about what Wayne had said, how these murders were similar to the ones from years ago.

“Sorry, what’s that?” Powell asked.

“Victor Creel,” Officer Daniels repeated with a sigh. “Wayne’s got it in their heads that the old nut did this.”

Powell clicked his tongue and looked at you. “Victor’s locked up, Y/N. Don’t need to worry about him, all right?”

You took a deep breath and stepped away, letting Nancy continue the conversation. You bit the inside of your cheek, unwilling to let this go. It sounded insane, but knowing Victor Creel had committed similar murders, and was still alive, wasn’t something you could just ignore.

Suddenly, the sound of an approaching car pulled your attention away. You turned toward the road, the officers’ voices fading into the background as Nancy kept talking.

Your breath caught in your throat when you recognized the vehicle, a familiar BMW you’d ridden in so many times before.

Four people stepped out, including Steve, Robin, Max, and Dustin. Worry was written all over their faces.

Your brows lifted, furrowing slightly in the middle. Steve caught your gaze and waved a hand. You waved back, your breath shaky. This was your first interaction since you moved away.

“You’re saying that this thing that killed Fred and Chrissy…” Nancy said slowly, trying to piece together what the four of them had just told you both. “It’s from the Upside Down?”

“If the shoe fits,” Steve replied with a shrug.

You pressed your lips together, arms crossed as you sat at the table. You were between Nancy and Robin, while Max, Dustin, and Steve sat across from you.

“Our working theory is that it attacks with a spell or a curse,” Dustin explained, trying to make it make sense. “Now, whether or not he’s doing the bidding of the Mind Flayer or just loves killing teens, we don’t know.”

You furrowed your brows, trying to follow along.

“All we know is this is something different,” Max added. “It’s something new.”

You shook your head, exhaling sharply. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“It’s only a theory,” Dustin reminded you.

“No, not that,” you clarified. “I just don’t understand why Fred and Chrissy were targets. It doesn’t add up.”

“Maybe they were just in the wrong place,” Dustin tried to reason. “They were both at the game.”

“And near the trailer park,” Max added.

“Well, we’re at the trailer park,” Steve pointed out, glancing around. “Uh…should we maybe not be here?”

“There is something about this place,” Nancy said, eyes scanning the area. “Fred started acting weird the second we got here.”

You nodded, remembering how shaken up Fred had been when you arrived.

“Acting weird as in…?” Robin asked.

“He was…scared,” you said softly. “On edge. Really upset.”

“Max said Chrissy was upset too,” Dustin said, turning to Max.

“Yeah, but not here,” Max replied. “She was crying in the bathroom at school.”

“Serial killers stalk their prey before they strike, right?” Robin said, looking at you. You nodded in agreement. “So maybe Fred and Chrissy saw this Vecman–”

“Vecna,” Dustin corrected.

“Dunno about you but if I saw some freaky wizard monster, I would mention it to someone,” Steve said, scratching the side of his neck.

“Maybe they did,” Max said, her brows pulling together. “I saw Chrissy leaving Ms. Kelley’s office. If you saw a monster…you wouldn’t go to the police. They’d never believe you. But you might go to your–”

“Your shrink,” Robin finished. Max nodded.

With a plan forming, you all agreed to head to Ms. Kelley’s house, hoping Max could get more information. As everyone stood to head for Steve’s car, you pulled Nancy aside, gently tapping her arm.

“Hey…you should go with them,” you said. “I need to check something else out.”

Nancy raised an eyebrow. “Wait, what?”

You didn’t respond. You just turned and started walking toward your own car, hands buried in your jacket pockets.

“Whoa, whoa–Y/N!” Steve called after you. “Where are you going?”

You stopped and turned. “I just need to check on something first.”

“Something you wanna share with us?” Dustin asked, arms raised.

You sighed, looking down before locking eyes with Steve again. “I don’t know if it’s worth your time. It’s probably nothing. Just…a gut feeling I can’t shake, and I need to check it off the list. It’s a real shot in the dark.”

Steve squinted at you, frowning. “Yeah, okay. Are you out of your mind? Flying solo with Vecna on the loose?” He shook his head, clearly frustrated. “No. It’s too dangerous. You need someone to–”

He trailed off, digging into his pockets for his keys. You noticed the concern in his eyes, and a part of you felt warm.

He tossed his keys to Robin, who caught them easily. “Here. I’ll stick with Y/N. Take the car, check out the shrink.”

“I don’t think you want me driving your car,” Robin said, waving her hands around.

“Why?”

“I don’t have a license.”

Steve stared at her. “Why don’t you have a license?”

“I’m poor,” she deadpanned.

“I can drive,” Max offered.

You smiled slightly at the memory.

Steve immediately pointed at her, shaking his head. “No. Never again. Please. Anyone but you.”

Dustin tilted his head, smiling.

Steve turned to him. “No chance.”

“Oh, come on!” Dustin groaned.

Nancy shook her head, stepping closer to you. “This is getting ridiculous. Y/N and I will go, okay?”

Robin joined you both, tossing Steve’s keys back at him. “You know what? Us ladies will stick together. Unless you think we need you to protect us.”

Steve’s mouth flattened into a line, clearly irritated.

Robin grinned and walked off, Nancy following her. You gave Steve one last glance, smirking slightly.

“Be careful!” He called after you.

You, Nancy, and Robin climbed into your car, with Nancy in the passenger seat and Robin in the back. You started the engine and pulled away from the trailer park, heading toward the library.

Even though the officers insisted Victor Creel was locked away, your instincts told you there was more to his story. If he was connected to the murders, you needed to find out how before someone else ended up dead.

Nancy quickly picked up on what you were trying to research, and together, the two of you tried to bring Robin up to speed. But she was still visibly confused, struggling to understand why Victor Creel had anything to do with what was happening.

You pulled into the library parking lot and got out of the car. As the three of you walked toward the entrance, Robin spoke up, trying to make sense of it all.

“Okay, help me get this straight,” Robin said. “Eddie’s uncle, Wayne, thinks Victor Creel escaped from Pennhurst and that he’s the one running around committing these murders?”

“Pretty much,” you said, glancing at her, still slightly uneasy about her tagging along.

“But Victor committed the eyeball murders like way back in the fifties.”

“Fifty-nine,” Nancy corrected.

You opened the library doors and made your way to the front desk.

“So that means these murders predate Eleven in the Upside Down by about thirty years?” Robin asked.

“Yeah,” you answered.

“Which makes spooky Victor Creel like seventy years old?”

“Yep,” you said with a pop of your lips, then hit the bell on the desk for the librarian. Nancy gave you a look, clearly picking up on your growing impatience.

Robin leaned on the desk with her elbow, resting her chin in her hand. “So, he’s a grandpa murderer who can turn invisible and lift people into the air.”

You exhaled and glanced at Nancy. “It doesn’t make sense. That’s why it’s hard to believe. But like I said, it’s a shot in the dark.”

“And it’s also a lead,” Nancy added. “It might not get us far, but it could point us in the right direction. Y/N’s instincts are usually pretty good.”

“I know,” Robin said, straightening up and turning to face you both. “I just thought by ‘shot in the dark,’ you were being modest or hiding something super solid up your sleeve that you were gonna wow us with later.”

You tapped the bell again, a few more times. You inhaled sharply, trying to keep it together.

“But this is really, truly a shot in the dark,” Robin continued. “Like, we are snipers with blindfolds on who’ve been spun around fifty times.”

You rung the bell once again, more aggressively.

Nancy glanced at you, her expression curious, clearly aware of your tension. She didn’t say anything, but you could tell she was starting to piece it together.

“Coming!” The librarian called in a sing-song voice as she approached.

“Hi,” you said, forcing a polite smile. “Sorry to rush, but we’re kind of in a hurry. Is it possible to get the keys to the basement archives?”

“Of course,” she replied warmly. “Just give me a second.”

As the librarian walked away, Robin looked back at you, now visibly more self-aware. “Did I come off mean or condescending?”

You furrowed your brows. “No.”

“Right.” She stood up straighter, hands gesturing awkwardly. “Sorry. It’s just, you seem annoyed.”

You stared ahead, jaw tight. You didn’t know why you felt the way you did. You weren’t exactly annoyed, just unsure. Robin had been talking non-stop since you arrived, and you weren’t convinced she was the right person for something like this.

Robin glanced at Nancy, offering a sheepish smile. “You guys don’t really know me yet. I don’t really have a filter or a strong grasp of social cues.”

“Okay,” you said, nodding.

“If I say something that upsets you, just know that I know it’s a flaw,” she added. “Believe me, my mother reminds me daily.”

“Got it,” you replied, raising your brows slightly.

The librarian returned and handed you a set of keys. “All right, ladies. Here you go. Have fun.”

You gave her a tight, polite smile, casting a quick glance at Robin before looking back at her. “Yep. We’ll try.”

As you walked off toward the archives, Robin and Nancy stayed behind for a moment, watching you walk away. Robin looked at Nancy, then at the librarian, and shrugged before following you down to the basement.

You and Nancy sat side by side, sharing one seat, while Robin occupied the one across from you. You scrolled through pages of documents on Victor Creel, but so far, nothing stood out.

“Anything…juicy over there?” Robin asked.

“Nothing new,” Nancy said with a sigh, lowering her head.

“Same here,” Robin muttered. “Victor seemed like a normal guy. Dead family, missing eyes, took a plea deal, sent to Pennhurst. Blah, blah, blah.”

You closed your eyes and pressed your lips together, trying to concentrate, but it was increasingly difficult with Robin’s constant talking.

Robin leaned forward, arching her brows. “What are we looking for exactly?”

There was no response.

“Y/N? Nance?” She knocked on the wood to get your attention. Both you and Nancy glanced over, though only Nancy gave her a genuine smile. Your expression was tight, your lips drawn into a thin line.

“Any mentions of dark wizards or alternate dimensions? Things in that vein?”

You finally snapped, shaking your head in frustration. “I don’t know, okay?”

Nancy looked over as you stood abruptly and walked away from them.

“Honestly, I’m starting to think this was all a waste of time.” You turned back, your eyes on Robin. “And you’ve looked bored since the minute we got here, so why don’t you just call Steve and have him pick you up?”

At the mention of Steve, both Robin and Nancy raised an eyebrow. Nancy’s lips threatened to curl into a smirk.

“I mean, I’m not in danger,” you added, gesturing to Nancy. “I’ve got Nance. So you’re free to go.”

You turned and walked off, leaving the two of them behind. Robin stared after you, lips slightly parted, but Nancy simply sighed and got up to follow you.

You walked deeper into the archives, opening drawers and flipping through files, trying to settle your breathing. You didn’t mean to act like that, but Robin’s constant questions were making you lose your mind. She seemed to not understand why you were doing this and kept doubting your idea. It also didn’t help that jealousy kept creeping in. It stung, knowing you weren’t Steve’s person anymore. That you’d been replaced. You didn’t know if there was something going on between them, and maybe you didn’t even want to find out.

A hand on your shoulder made you turn to see Nancy.

“You okay?” She asked gently.

You let out a sigh, nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry.”

Robin walked down the steps. “You do know,” she said carefully. “Steve and I are, like, totally not a thing, right?.”

You blinked, unsure of what to say. “What?”

Robin made her way down, standing beside the two of you. “I figured, you know, since you’re in California now, doing the whole college and law thing, you’re probably thriving. But I just want to make it super clear that Steve and I are just friends. Like, platonic with a capital P.”

You paused, processing her words. The tension inside you loosened, just a little.

Robin kept going. “I mean, I’m just saying this in case there’s any tension between us.”

“There wasn’t,” you said flatly, offering her another tight-lipped smile.

Robin turned to Nancy. “And, uh, speaking of California, I figure that you and Jonathan are still going strong ‘cause you guys are going to college together, right? You two are like one of those unstoppable power couples, which is super cool,” Robin told her, chuckling a bit.

Nancy raised an eyebrow. You could see the slight hesitation on your best friend’s face. “Um, yeah. Thanks…”

Robin gave a sheepish grin, glancing between you and Nancy before opening a drawer of her own. Her eyes widened. “Holy shit. The Weekly Watcher.”

She held up the issue, turning to face you both.

“Don’t they write about, like, Bigfoot and UFOs?” Nancy asked.

“First, UFOs are absolutely real. Bigfoot I’m still on the fence about. But may I remind you we are looking for information on dark wizards?” Robin walked closer to you two, grinning. “If someone’s gonna write about that, it’s gonna be these weirdos.”

The three of you returned to the archive machine, flipping through pages of The Weekly Watcher. You stood between Nancy and Robin, scanning headlines.

“Ah,” you sighed. “‘Elvis Cloned by Aliens.’ Great.”

Robin looked at you, shrugging. “You never know.”

You shot her a look and rolled your eyes before stepping away, pacing back and forth.

“‘Victor Creel claims a vengeful demon killed his family,’” Robin read in a dramatic voice, turning to Nancy and then toward the back of your head. “‘The murder that shocked a small community.’”

“Ha, ha. Very funny,” you said dully.

“She’s not joking, Y/N,” Nancy called, making you turn back.

“‘According to several insiders,’” Robin continued. “‘Victor believed his house was haunted by an ancient demon.’”

You moved in closer, scanning the screen with wide eyes.

“‘Victor allegedly hired a priest to exorcise the demon from his home,’” Robin read, then looked between the two of you. “Pretty novel for the fifties. The Exorcist wasn’t even out yet.”

“Keep going,” Nancy urged.

“Okay,” Robin said, scrolling. “‘Victor claimed the exorcism failed, but it angered this demon, which then murdered his family, removing their eyes. Victor believed he was spared as punishment.’”

“That’s pretty convenient for Victor,” Nancy muttered.

“Yeah, or super inconvenient,” Robin replied. “Victor was declared legally insane by the court, right? What if this is why? It just didn’t go public because–”

“The plea bargain,” you breathed, eyes widening. “The records were sealed.”

Nancy nodded slowly. “So maybe a demon really did invade Victor’s home…”

Robin looked at both of you. “Exactly. Except this demon wasn’t just any demon.”

You stared at them, completing the thought. “It was Vecna.”

You quickly returned the keys to the librarian, and the three of you headed out. Robin raised her walkie as you walked to your car.

“Dustin, do you copy?” Robin said into the walkie.

“Yeah, I copy.”

“So, Y/N and Nancy are geniuses,” Robin reported. “Vecna’s first victims go all the way back to 1959. Their shot in the dark was a bullseye.”

“Okay, that’s totally bonkers,” Dustin replied, panting. “But I can’t really talk right now.”

“What are you doing?”

“Breaking and entering school to retrieve confidential and extremely personal files.”

“Can you repeat that?” Robin said, blinking. You shook your head in disbelief at the teen’s words.

“Just get your ass over here, stat. We’ll explain everything.”

Nancy raised her hands as she got into the passenger seat. “I thought they were talking to Ms. Kelley?”

“We leave them alone for two hours,” Robin muttered, climbing into the backseat.

You scoffed as you got behind the wheel. “This is exactly why I can’t leave them unsupervised.”

[boyfriendstevie]

lavender haze

unable to sleep, and having to share a bed with steve isn't exactly ideal, especially when you're in love with him... and you're not sure if he feels the same way | 4.2k, f!reader, friends to lovers, there's only one bed!!!, lots of feelings and fluff, fingering, unprotected piv | 18+ only!!! mdni!!!

You’ve been awake for hours. Days, even. Okay, that’s not physically possible, but that’s what it feels like, lying awake on your side, staring at the wall. You can feel Steve’s warmth behind you, and you know if you scoot back even a few inches, your back will be against his. In a cruel twist of fate, you’ve ended up in the same bed as your friend and not-so-secret crush. This would be a perfect scene in a romcom, but this is your real life, and it’s pretty much agonizing. 

A sigh escapes your lips, a little louder than you mean to, and you grimace as Steve shifts slightly next to you, but he stays quiet. You hold your breath for a moment longer, and then shift onto your back, pulling the blankets up higher. You sigh again, staring up at the ceiling after you drag your hands down your face. It’s silent for another minute, and then suddenly, Steve’s speaking. His voice is just above a whisper, and yet it feels deafening in the silence of your room, “Can’t sleep?”

You shake your head against your pillow even though he can’t see it, and reply quietly, “Not at all. Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you—“

Instead of replying, the bed creaks beside you as Steve turns over, too, flat on his back, “Nah, haven’t been able to sleep either.” The bed is small enough that his arm brushes yours now, warm and soft under the sheets. You glance over at him, eyes tracing the slope of his nose in the dark of the room.  

“‘M sorry,” you sigh, “didn’t realize there’d only be one bed, and—”

Steve’s quick to roll onto his side, facing you. He props himself up on his hand to get a better look at you as he shakes his head, “C’mon now, none of that, babe. ‘S not your fault, and I don’t mind. Could be worse. Could be sharing a room with Eddie. Ugh, or Dustin.”

You laugh a little at that, lips quirking up as you turn to look at Steve. Your breath catches in your throat when you realize just how close he is, his face only inches from yours in the small space. If you wanted, you could count all of his moles and freckles, every single one of his eyelashes. Somehow, you manage to breathe out, “Yeah?”

“Totally,” Steve nods seriously, “Neither of them are all that pretty, either. Well, Eddie’s got that hair and those big, brown, baby cow eyes, but I’ve got my eye on someone else.”

You want to laugh at his joke, but the last part doesn’t feel all that funny with the way he’s looking at you, eyes all soft. Your fingers play at the edge of the blanket, eyes darting back to the ceiling as you ask, “You do?”

“Mhm. Kinda why I can’t sleep. ‘S hard when they’re laying next to you but you can’t even touch them,” he’s quiet, voice laced with nerves in a way you’re not sure you’ve heard from him before. 

Your heartbeat quickens at his confession, and you glance over at him, eyes wide. You turn onto your side to face him, the space between you even smaller, and search his eyes. He seems serious. Genuine. It’s hard to believe that he might feel the same way you do, but you want him more than anything, so you whisper, “Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“Kiss me? Ple—“

He leans in and cuts you off with a kiss, not needing to be asked twice. For as quickly as he reacts, it’s a gentle kiss. Soft, and definitely not hesitant, but shy. It’s even better than you imagined. He kisses you like he’s been waiting to do it forever, lips slotting against yours perfectly. His nose nudges into yours, and his hands creep towards you, one settling against the curve of your hip. 

Steve pulls away with a heavy breath, hands almost twitching at your sides as he looks at you, searching your face for an answer. His voice is quiet, like he’s worried if he speaks too loud he’ll ruin everything, “Can I… can I touch you? Y-you can say no, I’ll stop if you want, I just—“

You nod a bit too quickly, desperate to have him closer, “Please. You can touch me. However you want, I don’t mind.” Your admission — the implication behind it — has you flushed, and you want to hide, but he doesn’t give you a chance as one hand cradles your jaw, the other slipping just underneath the hem of your big sleep shirt. 

His hand is warm on your cheek, and he’s gentle with you as he tilts your chin up to meet his lips in another kiss. The kiss itself is a little less gentle, a little more purposeful as he nips at your bottom lip, pulling a gasp from you. The hand under your shirt feels even hotter than the one on your cheek, a searing warmth on your skin, curling over your side, pulling your chest to his. 

One of your hands presses into Steve’s chest as you kiss, the other finding its way to his hair. As his kisses move from your lips to your jaw, you tilt your head back and murmur, “You know, I’ve heard— oh— ‘ve heard orgasms help… help to fall asleep.”

“Yeah?” Steve asks, a quiet laugh muffled against your skin, “We could always try…”

“Yeah,” you breathe out, nodding quickly, your fingers twisting into the strands of his hair as he sucks a mark onto your delicate skin, “if you want—“

“Well, we both need the sleep…” he trails off again. You’re both being hesitant about it. You know that if you do this, things will probably change in your friendship, but you’re not sure you can find it in yourself to really care. You want him and you want him to know it, so you reach for the hand on your side and pull on his wrist until his palm is on your rib cage, just underneath your breast. 

Steve takes the hint and swears under his breath as he cups your breast, pinching and rolling your nipple between his fingers until it peaks under his touch. Your back arches, chest pushing into his as you let out a whiny breath. You can feel his smile against your neck as he murmurs, “Got such pretty tits, babe, fuck.”

“You… you can’t even see them,” you , even though you’re barely holding it together. 

“Can I see them?” he asks, only half joking. But you pull back anyway, watching as his eyes go wide as you tug your shirt over your head. Steve reaches out again to touch you, pressing a kiss to your collarbone, “Christ, baby. I was totally right. Prettiest tits ‘ve ever seen.”

You desperately hope he can’t tell how flustered you are from his praise, instead turning your attention to his own shirt, pushing the soft, worn hem up his torso, “Your turn, handsome.”

“Y’think ‘m handsome?” he asks, muffled as he pulls his shirt over his head, tossing it towards the end of the bed. 

“Is that not obvious?” you ask, giving him a pointed look as you as you scoot back in towards him, hips pressing to his as your hands roam up his sides. 

“N-not ‘til r-right now—“ Steve stutters at the feeling of your body against his, your hands on his chest, his hips rolling into yours. It pulls a quiet moan out of you, and he decides he can’t wait any more, finally pushing his hand down your tummy towards the waistband of your pajama shorts. He pauses, eyes flicking up to yours in the darkness until you nod. It’s all he needs to slip his hand into your panties. 

Steve groans as his fingers find your wetness, dipping between your folds to collect your slick, “Shit, babe. So wet for me. You do think I’m handsome, huh?”

Before you can answer his jest with your own teasing, Steve presses a finger inside of you, drawing a sharp whine from you as it curls. His are much thicker than your own, and longer, too. Your hands scramble to find purchase on something, anything, and settle for grasping at Steve’s shoulders, nails leaving half-moon shapes in his tanned skin. 

Your hips roll against Steve’s hand, silently begging for more, and he gives it to you without question, a second finger joining his first. There’s a dull ache as his fingers scissor apart inside of you, pressing deep in search of the spot that will make you fall apart. His fingers fuck in and out of you slowly, the dirty sound of your wetness muffled by the sheets and the soft noises you’re making, “Ah, Steve—“

“‘S good?” he asks quietly, seemingly a genuine question as his eyes search your face for an answer. 

He finds his answer when you nod emphatically, eyes screwed shut, and whine, “More. Please, need more.”

Steve’s thumb finds your clit after a moment, slow and deliberate circles that are driving you insane in the best way. It’s like he’s exploring your body more than anything, familiarizing himself with you, figuring out what you like. He manages to find the spot that makes you feel weak, and doubles down when your lips part with another choked moan. 

Somehow, he seems to know your body like the back of his hand. He knows just when you’re about to cum, and pulls his hand away, leaving your cunt clenching around nothing as you whine pathetically, “Steve!”

You can feel the tip of his nose rubbing against the skin just under your jaw, the curve of his lips against the pulse point on your neck, and you know he can probably feel the way your heart is beating wildly. He huffs a laugh, a small puff of air that makes goosebumps prickle your skin. It’s not a mean laugh, more so teasing, maybe a little sympathetic as he murmurs, “Sorry, sorry. Just— just want to be inside you. Can I?” 

“Oh, fuck— yes, yeah. Want you.”

Steve’s breath catches at that, like he hadn’t been expecting you to say yes, and scrambles backwards so he has enough room to remove his remaining clothes. He sucks in a breath hard as he stumbles over his next question, “Shit, really? I mean— I don’t have any condoms, I just— you can say no, I won’t—“

Before he can talk himself out of it, you wiggle your hands out of the comforter so you can cup his jaw in them, tilting his chin until his gaze catches yours. Your heart is still beating out of your chest, but god you want him, so you swallow your fears and murmur, “Steve. ‘M sure. ‘M on the pill, and I just— I need you.” 

It’s like he’s in a trance, unable to move until your lips are at his neck and your hands dip back underneath the covers so you can shove his boxers down his hips. He only snaps out of it when your hand wraps around his length and strokes up towards the tip slowly. He’s painfully hard, and even though you can’t see him under the covers, you can tell he’s big. You worry for a second; maybe you should’ve let him touch you for longer. 

The thought disappears, though, when his long fingers wrap around your wrist, eyes big and pleading for you to stop, “Won’t last if you keep that up, babe. ‘D rather be inside you.”

“Oh, okay, sorry,” you giggle, shifting so you can also get rid of your last pieces of clothing. When your panties and pajama shorts are at your ankles, you kick them off under the covers and turn to your side once again to face Steve. 

His gaze is heavy, hazel eyes a darker shade in the unlit room as he looks at you like you’ve hung the moon that shines in through the curtains. He can’t even see all of you, and yet, he’s staring at you like you’re the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. With the way he’s looking at you, and the silence that’s fallen over the room, you feel shy, and Steve can tell. So, before you can pull away, a warm palm lands on the bare curve of your hip and he whispers, “C’mere.” 

He doesn’t give you much of a choice as he drags your body across the soft sheets closer to him. Not that you mind. You’ve thought about this. About how easy it would be for Steve to grab you to pull you closer and kiss you like it was his last chance. He does just that, lips meeting yours in a soft kiss as his hands roam across your side and pull your body into his. You fit together like two pieces of a puzzle, like it’s meant to be, and you briefly wonder how you haven’t done this before.

Steve’s hand moving from your waist down to your bum pulls you out of your head and back into the moment. A not-so-gentle squeeze has your eyes darting up to his in surprise. He all but giggles when your eyes meet, and it’s such a boyish sound that it makes you laugh, too, “Are you just coppin’ a feel or are you actually gonna do something?”

“You have a nice ass, okay?” he giggles again, squeezing a little nicer this time as his lips meet yours with a quiet hum. He kisses you and kisses you and kisses you, soft and slow as his hands wander again, finding the dimpled skin of your thighs. His fingers press into your thigh, flesh molding between them, and though it’s not enough to leave a mark, you swear you’ll feel his hand there for days. 

His palm leaves a scorching trail down the back of your leg until he stops just above your knee and takes your leg into his hand, hitching it up over his hip, pulling you in closer at the same time. He pauses as you hook around his waist, the tip of his nose brushing yours, his voice coming out gentler, more uneven than it’s been all night, “Is this okay?”

You nod quicker than you mean to and flush with heat, fingers threading into his hair after one of your arms pushes over his shoulder, “‘S perfect, Steve.”

He leans in for another kiss, lips pressing to the corner of your mouth and then your cheek, a welcome distraction as the tip of his cock nudges against your entrance. Your breath hitches as he pushes inside of you, your fingers digging into Steve’s skin at the not-quite-pleasant stretch. It’s not enough to hurt him, but he still takes notice, pausing for a moment to lift a hand to cup your jaw and tilt your face towards his, “Are you okay? Want me to stop?”

The way he nearly trembles in restraint as he waits for your word doesn’t go unnoticed, and you press your forehead to his, voice barely above a murmur, “‘M okay, keep going.”

“Okay. ‘Ve got you,” he replies just as softly, his thumb brushing up the plane of your soft cheek, gently rubbing back and forth against your cheekbone. His hips shift at the same time, drawing a sharp gasp from you that he soothes with more kisses until your hips are pressed to his, warm skin against warm skin. 

It feels like Steve is fucking everywhere. He’s so deep inside of you, and you feel so full in the best possible way. One of his arms is needled between your neck and your pillow, curving around your shoulders to keep you close, while his other hand wanders over your body, seemingly with a mind of its own, traveling from your thigh to your hip, up the expanse of your soft torso to your tits. 

His forehead is still pressed to yours, and the tip of his nose nudges into the apple of your cheek, his breath hot and heavy against your jaw as he says your name, “Christ, sweetheart. Y’got such a perfect pussy, feel like fuckin’ heaven around me. Been wanting you like this forever.” 

The whine that forces its way out of your mouth is half in response to the way Steve’s hips roll against yours, but almost more so a response to the confession that you’re not sure he realizes he’s made. Pleasure thrums low in your stomach from his words alone, and your head swims with the possibility that Steve’s felt the same way for you that you’ve felt for him all this time. Your fingers twist into his hair and tug, a bit harsher than you mean to, but it pulls the prettiest sound from him, one that you want to hear again and again. 

Before you get the chance to elicit another groan from him in that way, a strong arm curls around your waist, a warm, heavy, weight against the small of your back. He’s not as smooth as he wants to be as he pushes at your body to get you onto your back. You thud into the pillows behind you, giggling as Steve clambers back over you, kneeling in the space between your legs. Big hands on your thighs, he pulls your body towards his with a huff of a laugh, “That went a lot more smoothly in my head.”

You laugh again, completely enamored with the stupidly hot dork in front of you. Somehow, everything he does is endearing. Makes you want him even more. But he’s taking his time after getting you on your back, and you need him closer, want him back. You pout at him, bottom lip jutting out as you reach up towards him, managing to get an arm around his neck to pull him close, “Stevie, come here. Need you. Please.”

“You don’t have to say please, baby,” Steve murmurs as he gives in easily, a sucker for your pretty pout. One hand presses into the soft pillows beside your head as he leans in towards you, “Whatever you want, just say the word.” 

The thought of saying what you really want out loud makes heat rush to your face and your chest, so you settle for moving your hips, lifting them towards his, desperately seeking any sort of friction to ease the ache in your cunt. It works for a moment — a quiet gasp tearing from you when the tip of his cock catches against your entrance, bumps into your clit as his hips shift against yours. You give another hint, hitching one of your legs up around Steve’s waist so you can press your heel into the small of his back, urging him even closer. 

Steve takes pity on you — doesn’t make you say it out loud… this time — and takes the hints, finally sinking back into you with a bit more ease. You sigh in pleasure, a high-pitched noise that has Steve smiling into the crook of your neck, “That what you wanted, babe? Just needed my cock?”

“Mhm,” you nod against the pillow, bringing your other leg up to press into Steve’s side as he rocks into you slowly, an inch at a time, “feel so good, Steve.”

“Oh, fuck,” he mutters as he bottoms out, dotting a kiss to where his face is pressed into your skin, surprisingly chaste in contrast with what comes out of his mouth next, “Fuck, you’re so tight. An’ so wet, too. Just for me, huh?”

“Uh huh, just, ahhh, oh god— j-just for you, Stevie,” you reply, stuttering through your words as he pushes in deep, and grinds his hips against yours. The deliciously slow drag of his cock through your wet heat is making you dizzy with pleasure, and you clench around him. It draws a low moan from Steve that you can feel just as much as you can hear, his arms shaking, breath hot against your neck. 

You’ve never loved your name more than you do when Steve groans it against your skin as your hips meet his. The way it comes out of his mouth is a short fall from reverential, and full of love, and you want nothing more than to hear it again and again. You push your hands over Steve’s freckled shoulders, pulling at him until his chest is crushed against yours. The smattering of hair covering his chest scratches against your skin as he presses into you, but you can’t find it in yourself to mind, because this is all you’ve ever wanted. 

It’s quiet in the room, save for the soft noises you’re both making, and all of your senses are dialed up to 11, filled solely with Steve. His body heat, his hands on your thighs, your hips, your breasts, lips brushing any place he can reach, his cock filling you so perfectly with every thrust. The sound of his skin against yours, his moans and pants in your ear. The smell of sweat and sex and something warm and comforting that is so uniquely Steve. It’s all overwhelming in the best way possible as you inch closer to the edge, and it’s too much. But somehow, it’s still not quite enough. 

Like he can sense that, one of Steve’s hands grabs at yours, fingers sliding between the spaces of your fingers as he pulls your hand until he can press it into the pillows underneath you. He squeezes it tightly as his mouth finds yours in a messy kiss, as if to say I’ve got you. And sure enough, after a few moments, his other hand is traveling down the length of your body, slipping between the two of you to find your clit. 

“St-Steve—” his name comes out broken and choked, followed by unintelligible sobs as pleasure thrums through your body. You feel like you’re on fire, and every one of Steve’s touches ignites another fire inside of you until you combust. It consumes you, your entire body shaking, cunt clenching around his cock as you cum. He doesn’t let up, fingertips rubbing circles against your clit, hips meeting yours in a steady rhythym, only faltering for a moment when he cums, too.

He sounds like a fucking angel; the noise he lets out as he spills inside of you is one you’re going to remember for the rest of your life, though you desperately hope you’ll get to hear it again and again. Panting into the crook of your neck, he only slows when he feels your body go lax underneath his, and he gives your hands another gentle squeeze. Between that, the mind-blowing orgasm, and the kisses that he presses along your jaw, you swear you’ve gone to heaven from all of the affection. 

Slowly, he lets his body drop against yours, though not quite all the way, in fear of crushing you. You can sense his hesitance, and press your hand against his shoulders again, legs crossing at the small of his back to pull him close and keep him there, like your very own weighted blanket. He lets out a short laugh, shaking his head as he nuzzles into you, “Okay?”

“Perfect,” you murmur softly, sleepily, in response, fingertips drawing lines between freckles and moles as they make their way down his back. 

You stay like that for a few moments, basking in the softness and the silence of being with each other. It’s like nothing you’ve ever felt, and despite how content you are, there’s a nagging feeling in the deepest parts of your mind that make you wonder if you’ll ever get this with Steve again. He doesn’t say anything, even as he pulls his face from your neck and gazes down at you like you’ve hung the stars in the sky. His hand pulls from yours, only to settle at your hairline, his thumb brushing short strokes over your temple, soft brown eyes searching yours. 

Steve presses a kiss to the tip of your nose, at your cheek, close to the corner of your lips, and finally one last one to your perfect mouth, and then his warmth is gone. You watch with heavy eyes as he slips off the end of the bed and pads towards the bathroom without so much as a word. He’s back moments later, though, washcloth in hand to clean you up. And then, when he’s done, he’s back under the covers with you, an arm slung over your waist like this is your normal.  There’s so much to talk about, especially when it comes to the matters of your heart, but it’ll have to wait until morning, because apparently orgasms really are helpful when trying to fall asleep, and you blink slowly as you snuggle into his touch. 

“Babe?” he says quietly after a moment, fingertips tracing shapes against your bare hip.

“Mm?”

“I… I meant what I said,” he pauses for a moment, heart beating wildly in his chest, “About wanting you forever. Always have, always will. I’d love to actually take you out. Do things the right way.” 

You mumble something that he can’t quite make out, and it’s only when he glances down at you on his chest to find you fast asleep. Clearly, you haven’t heard any of his confession, but he can’t be upset with how peaceful you look. He’ll tell you again in the morning. 

[ladykailitha]

Share With Me One Love, One Lifetime Part 2

Whoohoo! The second chapter is here!!! Again I don't know how long it's going to be as it as already topped out at 10k, which is where I thought it was going to be. But I am nearing the end, so maybe another couple of chapters, which would make it about half the length of the other two.

In this we have the bottle scene and Dustin finds out about Steve and Eddie.

Part 1

~

When Keith relieved Steve and Robin, Max and Dustin followed them out to Steve’s car and they all piled in.

“I have to stop at the store to pick up some things for him,” Steve said, pulling out of the parking lot. “He pretty much had to book it with only the clothes on his back.”

“Oh shit,” Max said, “I didn’t even think about where he would get food and shit from!”

Steve just rolled his eyes.

They parked at Melvand’s and Steve hurried inside, the three of them following close behind. He grabbed a cart and sent Dustin for hygiene stuff and Max for drinks. He grabbed all of Eddie’s favorites and booked it to the check-out lane.

As they were walking to the car, Max cocked her head to the side. “How did you know what Eddie’s favorite food and drinks were?”

“Yeah,” Dustin said, crossing his arms. “And how did you know what deodorant he uses was?”

Steve turned around slowly, his eyes wide and a grimace on his face. “We’re friends?”

“That doesn’t account for everything you bought, Steve,” Dustin huffed. “I wouldn’t be able tell you what Lucas’s favorite cereal is.”

“It’s Froot Loops,” Max said dryly. She stopped dead in her tracks. “Shit. That’s why.”

Dustin turned to her with a frown and then back to Robin and Steve who were practically begging Max to shut up. Then his own eyes went wide. “Oh!”

Steve buried his head in his hands and moaned. His life was over. He was sure of it.

“You’re dating Eddie?” Dustin asked cocking his head to the side. “Wait is that why you wouldn’t date Robin? Because you were already with someone?”

Robin grinned. “Yup! Though to be fair I only know because truth serum sucks, but yeah totes not his type.”

“So you’re type is awesome,” he continued with a grin, “just in a ‘not girls’ kind of way.”

“Thank you for not ragging on my taste, I guess,” Steve said raising his head. He turned to Max and tilted his head. “I thought you figured it out ages ago, if I’m honest. So I’m a little surprised you didn’t know.”

Max shrugged her shoulders. “I figured it was none of my business. Friends, close friends, fuck buddies, boyfriends. Didn’t matter to me. There were guys like that out in Cali. Just always hanging out and close and shit.”

Steve and Robin shared a glance and then Robin said with a grimace, “You do realize that they were probably gay and couldn’t be open about it, right?”

“Oh.”

Steve put rubbed his face and then sighed. “Look, Eddie’s waiting for us and I’d rather not keep him waiting.”

“Oh!” Dustin said, jumping as though he had been stung. “Right! Eddie! God. Where is my head today?”

They all piled into the car and Steve started driving. They got about halfway to Lover’s Lake when he looked into the rearview mirror at Max and Dustin. “You understand, you can’t tell anyone about me and Eddie, right?”

Max and Dustin shared a glance. “Of course.”

~

In hindsight, poking Eddie with the oar when he so keyed up wasn’t the brightest idea he ever had. As evidenced by the broken bottle at his throat. He tossed the oar to the side and gently touched Eddie’s elbow.

“Hey, Eds,” Steve purred. “It’s okay. It’s just me. Dustin’s here. Robin and Max too. But I need you to put down the bottle.”

Eddie’s hands shook as his stared at Steve as if he was seeing monsters. Steve’s other hand came up and stroked the skin above Eddie’s belt.

“Come on, rockstar,” he murmured. “Can you let me go? You can still have the bottle, babe. I promise.”

“Eddie, it’s just Steve,” Dustin pleaded from behind him.

Eddie looked back at him and then to Steve before his eyes cleared and recognition hit. The bottle fell from numb fingers and he collapsed into Steve’s arms.

“There you are,” Steve murmured. “I’ve got you now. I’ve got you, baby.” He started pressing kisses to parts of Eddie’s face. His nose, his cheek, his forehead, his lips, his temple and his jaw. All the while his hands where rubbing his sides, muttering soothing words. Just comforting him the best that he could.

“I’m sorry Stevie,” Eddie whimpered. “I couldn’t trust my own eyes. Not after what happened. I was so scared.”

“Tell us about it,” Steve said softly. “Come on, let’s sit you down.”

Steve moved them over to a nearby milk crate and sat Eddie down. Eddie immediately curled in on himself as Steve stroked his back.

Eddie then began his tale. Of how he was looking for the drug Chrissy was asking for because he never kept the heavier stuff on him in case he got pulled over by the cops. But when he found it and came back out to her, she couldn’t move. She was stuck staring ahead and then the worst thing happened. Chrissy rose into the air and her limbs twisted and snapped as her eyes bled, all Exorcist style.

“Shit,” Dustin said, eyes wide. “That’s new. That’s not something that has ever happened before.”

Max and Robin agreed. “I’ve only been around since the second go round,” Max said, “but that shit’s crazy.”

“I’m not gonna lie, man,” Dustin huffed. “This is some real cult of Vecna shit.”

That startled a laugh out of Eddie and even Steve smiled.

“Got have it named after some D&D monster,” Steve said shaking his head fondly. “It’s tradition.”

“In all fairness to the first one,” Dustin said with a wince, “Will’s disappearance seemed to mirror his defeat to the demogorgon in our game. It was before we knew what the freaky ass thing looked like.”

Eddie tilted his head to the side and then nodded. “Fair.”

“Do you think you’ll be safe here?” Steve asked. “I don’t want to leave you here if you think other people will find you.”

Eddie looked around at everything they brought him and then nodded again. “I know where the hide-a-key is.”

“I also brought you some of your books and D&D stuff that you left at my house,” Steve said with a half shrug, “so you don’t get bored and accidentally do something stupid.”

“Hey!” Dustin and Eddie cried together.

Steve sighed. “Look, I know you really look up to Eddie. It’s all I’ve heard for the last seven months, but trust me when I say, left to his own devices, Eddie will find mischief if it’s to be had.”

Eddie sniffed, offended. “I think you’ve been hanging out with Jeff too much, thank you!” He crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.

Steve kissed him on the cheek. “I learned that one from Uncle Wayne, honey. But are you sure you’ll be all right?”

Eddie nodded and then just curled up into Steve’s side with a sigh. “Poor Chrissy. She must have been so scared.”

Steve kissed the top of his head. “I liked her too. She was a sweet girl. Mom was a grade A bitch, but Chrissy was sweet.”

“Uh...” Robin said raising her hand, “not to like be a wet blanket or whatever, but it’s starting to get really dark and my mom will kill me if I’m out late for the second night in a row.”

Steve gave Eddie a squeeze and stood up. “Let’s get Eddie into the house and all his stuff, then we’ll drive out the other direction and hope we can keep people off Eddie’s scent long enough for this blow over. I’ll send Nancy over to Wayne in the morning to let him know what’s going on. Dustin, get my spare walkie talkie out of the car, so Eddie has a way to communicate with us.”

Dustin hurried to do just that as everyone else helped get Eddie’s stuff into the house. Eddie pawed through the bags and humming happily at Steve’s choices.

“Never let it be said that Steve doesn’t know how to treat a boy, right,” he purred as he popped open a bottle of Yahoo and started chugging it.

“Why aren’t you concerned that we might be against you and Steve being together?” Dustin asked suspiciously.

Steve burst out laughing as Eddie shook his head.

“Dude,” Eddie huffed with a raised eyebrow, “his dad is like textbook homophobic, he’s perfected the art of us appearing to be ‘just’ friends for over a year. If you guys weren’t safe, you wouldn’t be able to tell any different.”

Dustin blinked at him in confusion.

“Yeah,” Max said with a half shrug. “That tracks. See you later, don’t die and don’t be stupid.”

Steve gave Eddie a quick peck on the lips. “Love you Eds. We’ll figure this out. We’ll be on so this. Hell, with Nancy on the case it should be solved before breakfast tomorrow.”

Once Steve had gotten them all bundled into the car and half way down the road when Dustin suddenly screamed, causing Steve to swerve off the road.

“Holy shit, dude!” Max said hitting his arm. “What the fuck was that about?! You could’ve gotten us killed.”

“Over a year!” Dustin huffed, kicking the back of the driver’s seat. “You’ve been dating for over a year! When did you start dating?”

Steve rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I don’t remember the exact date...” he taped his head, “but it was before Valentine’s Day, because this was the second Valentine’s we’ve had together as a couple.”

“That long?” Dustin whimpered. “You didn’t trust us?”

The car got deathly silent as they all took that in.

“It’s like that old saying if you want to keep a secret between two people,” Steve said, hands gripping the steering wheel tight, “you’ve got to kill them both or whatever.”

“You only need to kill the one,” Robin said gently. “But yeah, the more people who know they’re dating the more dangerous it is for them. If word got back to Steve’s dad or even his old friends they could really hurt him.”

“Oh.”

Steve shifted the car back into gear and started making his way to Hawkins again, letting Dustin sit with that information.

“Who knew?” came the quiet murmur from the backseat.

“Jonathan guessed right off the bat,” Steve said, eyeing Dustin in the rearview mirror. “And he told Nancy, which I really really wish he hadn’t. She made a lot of trouble for me just before I graduated.”

Dustin raised his head. “She did? Why would she do that?”

“Because Steve doesn’t like both,” Max said softly, “he’s gay. I’m not sure I wouldn’t be pissed at Lucas if I found that out about him.”

Dustin looked over at Max and then really sat with that information. “That was still mean of her.”

Steve smiled in the mirror again. “Thanks, bud.” He tapped the steering wheel with his fingers as he thought about it. “The whole of the ‘85 Hellfire club.”

“What?!” Dustin and Max squawked.

“They figured out I liked boys before I did,” Steve explained. “Plus, they were there for me when things got really bad with my dad. Stuff I’m not going to tell a bunch of middle schoolers, no matter how close we are.”

“That’s bullshit,” Dustin huffed, crossing his arms and slouching down in his seat. “You can tell me anything.”

“Yeah and what would you have done if I told you my dad is verbally abusive, huh?” Steve snapped. “There is nothing it would have done except make you worry every time they came home.”

“Sorry,” he mumbled. Because Steve was right. There were some things he couldn’t tell his best friend or his mom, because they wouldn’t understand. And this was definitely something he couldn’t understand.

“So,” Steve said after a couple of miles in silence, “that’s about it, except Wayne. Of course Wayne knows.”

“Wayne is acceptable,” Dustin said with a sniff.

“Yeah, thanks for that,” Steve drawled.

~

Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Tag list: TEN SLOTS REMAINING (you gain some you lose some *shrug*)

1- @itsall-taken @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @sadisticaltarts @dolphincliffs

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @irregular-child @cryptid-system @kultiras

3- @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

4- @beelze-the-bubkiss @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji @dreamercec @blondie1006

5- @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @genderless-spoon @fearieshadow @thesecondfate

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

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

8- @gutterflower77 @a-lovely-craziness @just-a-tiny-void @w1ll0wtr33 @themoonagainstmers

[wynnyfryd]

the kind of charm we need

written for @steddiemicrofic september prompt ‘charm’ + 548 words | rated T | pre-relationship, fluff, flirting, boys being dumb

🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄

“‘Not the kind of charm we need,’” Steve mutters derisively to himself for the tenth time that day as they pull up to the cemetery curb.

“Yeah, yeah,” Dustin sighs, “your time and talents are sooo wasted on us, Steve, we get it.”

Max glares at him from the rearview like she agrees with Dustin, then shoves out of the backseat and slams the door shut behind her without a word.

Shit.

Steve watches her climb the hill, guilt rolling through his guts. Fuckin’ Nancy. There are bigger problems here.

Like, for example, the metalhead fugitive having a nervous breakdown in a boathouse.

“Oh, my god,” Lucas says from the backseat as the walkie crackles to life, Eddie’s quivering voice calling out for ‘Dustin? Anybody? Hello??’

He passes the walkie up to the front with a look like he’s debating whether or not to just smash the thing to pieces on the asphalt instead. “Can you maybe use your charm on Eddie before I murder him?”

“He’s in distress!” Dustin cries.

“He’s on my last nerve!”

“Seriously, anybody?? Please!”

“Oh, Jesus Christ, give me that.” Steve yanks the walkie out of Lucas’ hand, hauls himself out of the car — leans in to tell the two shitheads to stay put and shut up before he closes the door.

He leans against the driver’s side, head throbbing, body sore. Can’t tell if he’s too young or too old for this shit. He pushes the talk button with a begrudgingly slow press.

“Steve Harrington’s babysitting and distraction service, how may I help you? Over.”

“Stevie!” Eddie whoops, sounding genuinely thrilled to hear Steve’s voice. Steve knows he’s just excited to hear anyone’s voice, but. Hm. “Goddamn am I glad to- wait, where’s Henderson? Sinclair? Are they—?”

“They’re fine,” Steve assures before the creep of hysteria he hears can fully take hold. He kicks his heel against the front tire. “They’re waiting in the car. I’ve been instructed to, like, charm you into calming down, or whatever.”

“Charm me?” Eddie’s voice lilts with interest. Steve can almost see the smile, the way he licks across his front teeth.

“Just a— well, not a joke, but, like…” Steve trails off, gives up trying to explain. Nance has this way of making comments that cling like cactus spines. “Never mind.”

“No, no,” Eddie says. “Go on. I’m ready to be charmed.”

And maybe it’s the way Eddie says charmed like a snake scenting the air, or maybe it’s the stress of the day; maybe he’s finally having his own little mental breakdown as a treat, because for some insane reason he leans into whatever this is, pitches his voice all low and slippery and asks, “What are you wearing?”

Silence for a moment, and then Eddie cackles, the noise so loud it overwhelms the little speaker in the walkie, bursts of laughter breaking through the static noise. Steve finds himself laughing, too, a slow thing that builds and builds, swells inside him like blown glass until he’s warm and bright all over.

“Jesus,” Eddie breathes when he finally calms. “You’re— you’re ridiculous. Shit, man, I really needed that, you have no idea.”

Steve smiles to himself. Bites the inside of his cheek. Not the kind of charm we need.

No, but someone might.

🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄

note: i am aware that this is canon adjacent (which is to say that i meant for it to take place in canon but i didn’t feel like rewatching the scene for total accuracy so like, canon can bite me it’s close enough)

[lokiiied]

i literally cannot with this scene. i decided to count how many times there’s a steddie glance/eye/contact and i just cannot believe what a fucking gold mine it is. first up: double side glance from eddie

(please excuse my own shitty gifs) then we have mirrored full head turn:

next up: (my personal fave) is we noticed eddie’s hand on steve’s shoulder AFTER the moment was over but I have just realised that eddie’s hand was ALREADY there before they were celebrating the “hi” -> you may need to look closely here but trust, eddie’s hand does not move from steve’s shoulder this entire duration. and then we have steve touching eddie’s shoulder for a moment - which means their arms are definitely overlapping/there’s mutual contact- ITS THE LITTLE THINGS OKAY ??

just gonna drop this much better quality gif (from @jeysuso) here as well for the moment eddie & steve both realise his hand is still there and eddie immediately becomes self conscious and doesn’t touch him again lol.

and then of course we have this moment where they’re being dustin’s dad’s but then eddie is also just gawking and the way the scene cuts between their two lines looks like there was definitely a take where they were looking at each other the whole time lmao and basically i’m really mentally unwell okay you guys. i’m just. they are down bad. this whole scene (including robin and nancy)…? is just a fruit salad.

[noihavenosanitythanksforasking]

i cannot express how much i adore the dinner scene in 1x01. i think about it constantly. theres so much covert queercoding for mike that it literally drives me crazy.

the fact that just a bit before this we have the scene with joyce and hop where they imply that they are scared that will has been a victim of a gay hate crime. and throughout the season its implied over and over and no one really seems to give a shit. not even lucas and dustin. they care about will DEEPLY ofc but the fact that most ppl are expecting him to be dead and killed bc hes gay doesnt seem to bother them? the scene where troy is bullshitting about will in the gym they both just stand there, they dont make any move to stop him or call him out. no one does (this isnt me calling lucas and dustin bad ppl or not allys or wtv but u get the point).

mike however does give a shit. he gives QUITE A FEW shits.

in the dinner scene mike is clearly distressed about his friend. which is a perfectly heterosexual thing to do. in general. however hes not straight so its gay when he does it. ANYWAYS. he is clearly distressed about it but his entire family is completely unconcerned. nancy is preoccupied and doesnt give a shit. hollys a baby. ted is well ted. and karen. i need to talk about karen for a sec.

karen ADRESSES that she thinks something bad happened to will by telling nancy she cant go to barbs house until will is found. however she acts very dismissive of wills situation in general. im sure she was worried for him but she does it (or at least expresses it) is a very passive way. she is not focused on will being missing or what may have happened to him, just the fact that something bad happened in general to a person in hawkins.

the fact is, besides mike, karen is the only one worried at all. and shes not even close to matching mikes energy in the slightest.

when mike mentions steve, the conversation is totally derailed from will. as if it wasnt an important conversation in the first place.

nancy storms off. and ted. oh ted you son of a bitch. ted says the classic

"you see what happens"

line. and what a line it is. due to all of the references prior to this and the fact that most ppl believe that somehting bad happened to will. its not hard to see that ted is once again referring to will being hate crimed.

you see what happens when youre gay? bad things happen to you. and then everyone you care about is just inconvenienced. theyre lives are disrupted.

karen glances at ted, clearly understanding what he means. and mike does too.

"what happens when what"

hes not asking. hes angry. and you can just see the exasperation on mikes face the whole scene

why is it not weird for will to go missing. why is no one surprised that something mad happened to him. why is no one else frantic to get him back. why is no one else worried about will. why is it considered normal for this to happen. why arent ppl upset like he is. just bc ppl think will is gay? that makes it all make sense? bullshit.

mike storms downstairs and calls lucas. when trying to convince him to come look for will his argument is the fact that will took a risk to help the party when he could have protected himself. but he didnt.

mike knows what ppl think happened to will. if he just thought will was lost or something looking for him wouldnt be a risk. it would just be an opportunity to find him. but he calls it a risk. will sacrificed something to protect the party (mike) when he could have saved himself from all that suffering. but he didnt. and now mike will do the same for him.