#cuddling with luca

[aragarna]

Le Fate Ignoranti (The Ignorant Angels, 2022, 1x01) - Luca Argentero, Eduardo Scarpetta and Cristiana Capotondi

[rockin-robin19]

Something something privacy, something something coffin.. yeah.

Post-finale Nandermo truly has so much potential

[koinotea]

more speepy bois i love speepy bois

[princessanneftw]

1984/2024 - Princess Anne cuddling her three-year-old daughter Zara Phillips on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. 40 years later, Zara Tindall cuddling her three-year-old son Lucas Tindall at the Badminton Horse Trials.

[artiststarme]

Steve is Afraid of Hospitals

Years of dealing with the Upside Down had taken a psychological toll on the entire Party. From nightmares to newly-developed phobias, no one escaped their yearly festivities unscathed. Steve was not an exception. Since his and Robin’s capture and subsequent torture by the Russians underneath Starcourt, he’d been terrified of drugs, needles, doctors, and everything else relating to the medical field. Any time he thought of having to go to the doctor, he could feel the torturer ripping his nails off with the plier. Whenever he tried to enter the ER, he felt the painful sting of the needle in his neck enough to make him dizzy. And imagining getting a shot? Well, that was enough to keep Steve away from even driving past the hospital out of fear alone. 

The closest he’d been to the white coats since the happenings underneath Starcourt was when he’d carried Eddie’s bleeding body into the ER for treatment. Even then, he hadn’t stuck around. He’d stayed just long enough to threaten the nursing staff to try their best and tell them that Eddie wasn’t a murderer. Steve waited until the doctors promised to do all that they could before he hurriedly made his way outside to escape the tightness in his chest. He waited briefly in the parking lot for Robin or Dustin or Nancy to follow him but he soon realized that they were much too busy dealing with Eddie and Max to worry about him. 

And so, he started the long trek back to his house. He knew deep down that he should’ve gotten his sides looked at, maybe even the abrasions on his neck. Irrationally though, Steve couldn’t stomach the thought of any doctors poking and prodding at him. Even thinking about being in the same room as a doctor with access to drugs and syringes caused his heart to palpitate. His reaction to everything made it worse. Why couldn’t he just get over his aversion to hospitals? Robin wasn’t afraid of supporting their injured friends around doctors. She had been stabbed in the neck with the same type of needle as he had and she had no problem being around needles now. And she could still drink the occasional beer, feel the relief of alcohol, without delving into a panic attack over loss of control. 

But Steve was weak. When he had a problem, instead of solving it, he avoided it. Even when his new friend and one of his kids was in the hospital fighting for their lives. And he hated himself for it. 

It took him a little over an hour to walk back to his house. The whole way there, the sides of his torso throbbed and his head ached. He could feel blood soaking through the dirty bandages and he could feel Eddie’s blood sticking to his skin too. He just wanted to take a shower and forget what they had all been through over Spring Break. 

He scrubbed his body clean in the warmest shower his wounds would tolerate. He was in there long after the water had run cold just trying to peel the stain of Eddie’s blood from his skin. When he was done, he tried to bandage his wounds and clean them with antiseptic but staring into the pulverized flesh reminded him too much of how his face looked after the Russian torture. So, he slapped on some gauze and fell into his bed to get some sleep plagued by nightmares. 

~*~*~*~

He called Dustin at the hospital to check on Max and Eddie late the next morning. “Hey Henderson, how’re they?”

“Um, they gave Eddie a blood transfusion and a couple of skin grafts last night. They said that he would be fine but the police kicked us out of his room and have him cuffed to the bed. He almost died trying to save Hawkins and they’re still treating him like a criminal! Max is in a coma, the doctors don’t know if she’s going to wake up or if she’ll be the same when she does.” He paused for a moment. “You’d know if you were here. Where are you? You just disappeared last night. Where’d you go?”

“Dustin, I’m sorry. I just, I just really needed some time to myself last night. I’m happy to hear they’re doing well. I’ll talk to you later,” Steve went to hang up the phone when he heard him speak again. 

“Hey, since you’re calling to annoy me, you might as well annoy me in person. Can you give me a ride home today?” Dustin asked in a desperate voice barely disguised with snark. 

Steve sighed, he couldn’t let the kid down after everything he’d been through. “Sure, man. I’ll be there in 20 minutes, okay?”

“Yep, thanks Steve! I’ll see you then.” And then he hung up and left the Harrington house in silence once more. 

Steve was a little nervous and his palms were already starting to sweat. He was just picking Dustin up from the parking lot, it was fine. He wasn’t going to get poked by needles or drugged with unknown hallucinogens. No, he probably wasn’t even going to see any doctors! All he had to do was get Dustin, drop him off at home, and go back to his own house to lick his wounds in peace. Easy peasy. 

He continued his inner pep talk all the way to the hospital and only stopped once he saw Dustin waiting at the ER doors. His stomach dropped as soon as his car turned into the lot and his vision blurred for a moment. Oh shit, he didn’t know if he could do this. 

“Henderson! Get in the car, I’m not going to wait all day!” Yeah, that’ll trick him. Steve couldn’t let anyone witness his weaknesses. It was his job to protect the group at all costs. If they knew he was afraid of such a trivial thing, they’d never trust him again. 

Dustin just shook his head and huffed as he climbed into the now-parked car. “Jesus Christ Steve, have some patience. It wouldn’t kill you. Speaking of, how are your bites? I saw some of Eddie’s after they cleaned him up this morning and they looked brutal, man.”

He reached for Steve’s waist but he slapped his hand away. “Um, no. Take me to dinner first before trying to get me to strip. Jesus Christ, Henderson. Don’t be a perv.”

Dustin pulled his hand back, affronted. “What the hell, Steve. You look all sweaty and I can see blood soaking through your bandages. Did you get them looked at by a doctor before you left yesterday?”

He reached for the hem of Steve’s shirt again and Steve grabbed his wrist. “I’m serious, Henderson. It’s fine. Let’s just go.”

Henderson yanked his arm out of Steve’s grasp and went to grab the hem for a third time. Unfortunately for Steve, he miscalculated slightly and poked his pointy fingers directly into his wound. A white-hot flash of pain shot through Steve and he released a half gasp/half yelp of pain. He felt the sluggish bleeding of the bites start anew with the blunt intrusion through the bandages. 

Steve screwed his eyes shut in pain and let his head drop against the steering wheel. His horn sounded but his eyes remained closed and his breaths left his lips in pants. Dustin shot back in his seat and fumbled with the door handle. “Oh my god, Steve! I’m so sorry! I’ll go get a nurse to help you!”

He didn’t receive an answer from Steve who was still keeled over in his seat, barely conscious and reliving the pain of the bats digging into his flesh. He must’ve lost consciousness because the next thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a moving gurney and lots of people in scrubs and white coats. He jerked in his spot and started mumbling meaningless pleads.

“No, no, no. Let me leave. Please, let us go. I work at Scoops, please. Scoops!”

The doctors paid him no mind even as his limbs started to flail. They spoke over his panicked shrieks and one approached him with a syringe filled with clear liquid. 

Steve wasn’t going to go down without a fight, unlike last time. Last time, he had to bide his time to protect Robin. But now? Now he was alone. He didn’t have to take the torture lying down this time. So, when the doctor was within reach past all of the nurses and restrictive grasps, Steve punched the white coated man in the face.

“Shit, he broke my nose!” You’re damn right I did, evil Russian. Logically, Steve knew that he was in the Hawkins hospital. But he couldn’t focus on logic over the sheer panic that he was experiencing. 

“Restrain him, give him the sedative!”

“No, please, no! Let me go!”

And then he felt a sharp poke in his arm and the world went black once more. 

~*~*~*~

When he woke up again, he saw a dark room. What happened? He let out a loud groan and moved his hand to scrub at his face.

“Easy Harrington. If you keep moving, you’re going to pull your stitches.”

“My what?” Steve paused all movement and tried to force his eyes to acclimate to the darkness. “Where am I?”

“You’re in the hospital. Dude, you went home instead of getting your sides looked at and they got infected. Nice going. They were worried about sepsis for a while there but they think you’re probably in the clear now. You’ve been getting IV antibiotics.”

When he heard about the IV, his attention was immediately pulled to the pain in his hand and he gasped as he pulled out the needle. It clattered to the ground with little fanfare but Steve could still feel it poking his skin. 

“Did you just pull out the IV? You need that, Harrington. What the fuck?”

The person turned on the light and suddenly the room was illuminated. Steve turned his head to the neighboring bed to lock eyes with an unimpressed and rumpled Eddie Munson. “Eddie?”

“Yes, Harrington. I’ve been talking to you for the past five minutes and you didn’t recognize me? I’m offended.” 

Steve shook his head. He was in the hospital. Oh god, he had to get out of here. He tried to scooch out of bed but fell back in pain. 

“What’s going on, Harrington? You need to stay here. Lay back down, you’re safe. Steve, I see you trying to get up. You need to not do that.” Eddie tried to calm him down but it wasn’t working. 

After a few more failed attempts, Eddie pulled himself out of bed and stumbled to Steve’s. “Fuck man, I need you to stop moving. I’m pretty sure I pulled some stitches on my way over here and if we both need new stitches, the nurses will get the wrong idea. Hey, Steve! Talk to me.”

Steve’s vision was blurred with tears and he was pretty sure his heart was going to explode due to the pressure pressing down on his chest. “I can’t be here, man. I need to get out. I can’t breathe, I can’t think, and where the hell is Robin? Is she safe? Did the Russians get her? Where’s Dustin? I gave them his full name. Oh shit, what if they go after him now? Fuck, I have to go.”

Eddie pushed his arms onto the bed and leaned his face close to Steve’s. “Steve, are you afraid of hospitals?”

Steve had told him a little bit about their time with the Russians and he guesses that Eddie made the connection. “I just, I can’t be here Eddie. What if they come after me again? I can’t lose control like that again. The drugs? I can’t do it again, man.”

“Hey, hey, hey. Stevie, I’ll protect you. And as soon as you can be discharged without dropping dead in your escape, we can leave. Alright? Move over.” Eddie comforted him. 

“What-” Steve tried to ask but Eddie cut him off. 

“Look man, you’re afraid of hospitals and I’m afraid of being alone. Move over so we can share a bed and not be scared together. Okay?”

Steve looked at him. It really was harder to be afraid with Eddie practically on top of him. And they had been through a lot together. So, Steve nodded and made some room for Eddie. There was hardly enough room for the two of them but they managed. And when the panic started to ebb away and his eyes started to close, Steve swears he felt Eddie press a small kiss to his hairline. 

He was still afraid of hospitals, doctors, drugs, and needles. But from then on, Eddie was there to distract him and make everything just a little better. And eventually, the fear stopped being so horrific and became just a mild nuisance as long as he had Eddie by his side.

@nburkhardt @doubleb11 @zerokrox-blog @carlyv @i-less-than-three-you @newtstabber @ghosttotheparty

The long awaited medical phobia fic @ghosttotheparty. I hope you like it!

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

I had so much fun with Chad on this episode because he felt good like directing. He'd just written that flashback episode. Now he is directing like it felt like there was some momentum and when you've been on a show this long and, you've just been doing the same thing over and over again and no one trusts you to do more. That feels shitty. And so he, he was being trusted to do more. You guys were on deck to direct, like it felt like there was some momentum. -Hilarie

[salivathehero]

selwyn wants to join you inside

[love-walkingonsunshine]

Sick day with Holly.

Holly is sick and, Mike takes care of her.

Mike had to cancel his plan to the mall with his girlfriend and friends. His parents and Nancy had to work. He was kind of bum but he was the only one who could watch. Mike couldn’t be mad at Holly he it wasn't her fault she was sick. After everyone left Mike covered Holly up on the couch. He sat on the armchair watching cartoons with her.

“ Mikey, are you mad at me?” Holly looks like she wants to cry. She hates the thought of Big Brother being mad at her. Mike got up and kissed her forehead.” Not mad Holly, not the fault that you're sick.” It broke Mike's heart that Holly thought he was mad at her. He thought she was a pain sometimes but he still loved her. She was his little sister after all and he always tried to look out for her.

Mike wrapped his arm around her and let her snuggle into him. She was shaking from being cold. But mom took her temperature before they left it was 101.1 he didn't care if he got sick. He was going to try to be the best big brother ever. He rubs her back to comfort her. Holly was having a hard time staying awake but she couldn't fight it anymore she fell asleep and snuggled up to him. Mike noticed after a while. He didn't move for a little bit. After a little while he got up slowly. He laid her down gently and covered her up.

Mike went upstairs grabbed his notebook and then back downstairs. He worked on his homework and some on his champion for D&D while he was working on while Holly slept. About an hour he was done with everything. Holly was starting to yell in her sleep. She was having a nightmare. Mike went to wake up but she woke up before he got to her. Holly was shaking and crying.

“ Mikey,” Was all Holly could get out. Mike gave her a hug. She couldn't stop. Mike held her.” It’s okay Holly I got you.” He ran his finger through her hair.” Mikey, there was a fire I couldn't get out.” She told him crying more. Mike felt bad that she had such a bad dream.” I won’t let anything bad happen to you.” Mike hates seeing her upset.” Mom, Dad, Nancy, Me, and the party all keep you safe.” Mike knew Will, Dustin, Lucas, El, and Max would keep her safe. Even Steve and, Jonathan would too.

They were all big family. Holly was just glad Mike was here. She was starting to feel better. She wipes her eyes.” Mikey, are you going to marry El one day?” Trying to keep her mind off her bad dream. Mike's face turns red.” Maybe one day.” He smiles.” We probably get you some to eat and drink.” Mike had given her medicine too. He gives her a stuffed bear to keep her company.

He went into the kitchen and heated up some chicken noodles soup and got her crackers and some ginger ale for her. Once the soup was done. He put on the food tray and went back to the living room. He gave Holly a tray and went back to grab her medicine. He came back and sat on the couch with her.

Holly ate some crackers and some soup. She saw that Mike had nothing to eat.” Are you going to eat Mikey?” She knew he was busy taking care of her.” I will in a little bit I had a big breakfast, don't worry about me.” He wanted her to feel better. Holly ate most of her soup and then couldn't eat anymore. Mike took her bowl and put it in the sink. Now it is time to take her medication. They both knew she hated it.

“ oh okay, Holly time to take your medicine. Mike knew she wasn't going to take that easily.” No, I don't want it.” Crossing her arms.” Come on it makes you feeling better.” He tries again.” No.” Holly wasn't going to take.” Just take the dang medicine!” Mike yelled at her. He hasn't done that in a while. Holly looked at him sadly and started crying again.

Mike felt like a jerk and didn't mean to yell at her.” I am sorry Holly I didn't mean to yell at you.” Mike just wanted her not to be sick.” If don't take the medicine you get sicker so can please take it for me.” Mike wiped her tears. Holly nodded and took the medicine. She didn't like being yelled at and was scared Mike was mad at her. Holly drank some ginger ale.

She laid back down and was still upset. Hugging her bear and hiding her face from her brother. Mike was sitting at the end of the couch. He didn't like yelling at her and wasn't made just worried.” Holly, I am not mad at you.” Trying to get to talk. Holly was still hiding. Mike got up and picked her up. Holly held on to him. Mike took her upstairs to her room put her bed and tucked her in.

Mike grabbed a movie and put in her favorite movie in the VCR. Mike was trying to cheer up a little bit for yelling at her. Mike knew it wasn't her fault she wasn't feeling good. Holly snuggled into her blanket and was scared Mike was going to leave but he didn't he sat at the end of her bed. They watch the movie. Halfway through the movie Holly asks for her ginger ale. Mike went downstairs to get it and brought it upstairs. She thanks him. Once the movie was over they watched another.

Holly fell asleep after the second movie. She woke up at dinnertime. Mike wasn't in her room anymore. She went downstairs everyone was eating. Mike looked up and saw his little sister. He picked her up and sat her on a chair next to him. Karen smiles.” are you hungry baby?” She would her some soup. She nodded and Karen got her some soup.

Mike was busy eating when he was done he went to his room. After dinner, Nancy went to bed. Holly got her bath and got ready for bed. Mike's bedroom door was closed. Holly opened the door she didn't knock Mike was talking to his friend. When he saw her and waved her over. Holly gave him a big hug.” Love you, Mikey,” She was feeling a little bit better. Mike could hear Will, Dustin, El, Lucas, and Max say aww over supercom. Mike chuckles.” Love you too.” He kissed her forehead. Holly went to bed and Mike went to sleep after a little while.

He woke up in the middle of the night Holly was sleeping next to him. She must have sneaked in when he was fast asleep but he didn't want to wake her up. Normally he would bring her back to her room. But sometimes he would let her stay. He was too tired. He went back to sleep.

The next day Holly was feeling a lot better. After eating breakfast Nancy, and Mike chased their six-year-old sisters around the house, and they tickled her until she was laughing too hard they would stop and chase all over again. They might not always get along but Mike loves his sisters and he always tries to be the best big brother to Holly and the best little brother to Nancy.

Mike was glad he got to spend the day with Holly. Even if she was sick he would do it again if had to. Mike gave her a piggyback ride. Holly was happy she got to bond with her big brother.

The end

[zharizard666]

Can you draw Lucas snuggling with Ness? Just a suggestion, don't have to do it.

YES ٩(≧▽≦)۶!!!

[ellenchain]

Met two little otters today at the Osaka aquarium! 🦦

[strxynekc]

SPUNKIE JUST HEADBUTT ME AND GAVE ME A BLOODY NOSE

[teethzdelurker]

World's Spirited! My @infamous-if mc's band!!!

Rambling warning!

I wanted to do something cute with the band but also show the closeness of them. So i did the only thing i got in mind... Cuddle Pile! Or, well, a looser version of it? This is something i do very often with my group of very close friends, and it always feels like one of the most intimate things we do, so i thought it would fit. Sadly i think my drawing (or atleast the shi**y coloring) doesn't do justice to the scene i had in mind. I was really hoping the picture would give off as cozy and intimate.

Also, just pointing out some details (this is gonna be long):

-I porposely draw August a bit away from the group because i could see them still feeling a bit like an outsider and might think they're still not close enough to them. But the rest of the band ofcourse try to show that's not true, hence Rowan reaching out to grab the back of their hoodie.

-Yes, the one sitting with a laptop is 100% Orion. I know there would NEVER be a chance for him to join in so i like the thought of the band coming to HIM instead so HE is stuck with THEM lmao, cause Ori is part of the band (no matter what he say) and there is no way in hell i'm not including him.

-And about Iris' pajamas, i... don't know why i even put her in pink??? I think i remember Amy saying she dress in all black? But i just couldn't get it out of my mind, so if it's a bit OOC, just imagine it given to her as a gift from the others (with a quip along the lines of so that she'll match with Devyn or something).

-Also, if it isn't obvious, Iris is laying her head on Rowan's thigh. And because i want to show their closeness in more than just them laying on top of eachother, i thought Iris trying to pull the blanket my mc is laying on top of to cover them up is a pretty clever way of showcasing it subtly.

-I previously wanted to draw Iris and Devyn spooning. But one of the point of this drawing is to show that platonics relationship can be just as intimate as a romantic one, and so i want to show they are as comfortable to other members of the band as they are to eachother.

-Also, i was wondering for a bit wether i should draw them doing this in the bus or in the hotel room, but i was too lazy to draw all sorts of furniture to show that it is a hotel room so bus it is! Tho the size of the bus probably doesn't make sense. Too wide and spacey to be true.

-And since this is in the bus... I could only imagine what seven must've feel/look like if they accidentally stumble into this...😈😈😈

I hope you guys like it!

[i-yyzw-cq]

Fluffy Elumax Headcanons

El discovers the Spiderman upside down kiss in the comics that she's reading and uses her powers to float lucas or Max upside-down to kiss them.

El gives the most convincing puppy dog eyes to her partners in order for them to do what she wants.

Out of three of them, lucas knows how to cook and doesn't set the kitchen on fire. He teaches El the basics of cooking.

Whenever Max is clingy, she wrap her arms around her partners' torso and hides her face in their chests. She doesn't plan on letting it go. She gets more touchy with lucas than usual when they walk outside of the school and wouldn't waste a minute to cuddle El in the sleepovers.

Lucas sees an orange cat and adopts it because it reminds him of Max.

The three of them share their clothes daily. They blame each other whenever one of them is missing their clothes.

El and Max would drag lucas to go to the mall with them.

El doesn't deal with compliments very well and gets flustered easily when lucas tells her hair looks great.

[gladiatorcunt]

.

[artiststarme]

Steve's Parents Are Dead

The angsty parent fic suggested by @newtstabber! I hope you guys like it and please leave your thoughts in the comments!

~*~*~*~

Steve never had a great relationship with his parents. Both his mother and his father were raging workaholics that didn’t want to put their careers on hold to raise a child at home. Not when they could be socializing with new clientele, expanding their businesses, and enjoying their lives. He was raised as a child by a revolving door of nannies with infrequent visits from his parents. 

Steve knew they loved him though. Whenever they were in Hawkins for more than a few days at a time, his dad would take him to play basketball at the park or to practice swimming laps in the pool. His mother would cook him her famous spaghetti with the sauce no one else’s ever compared to. He could tell they cared, they just had a hard time showing it. Their jobs would always take priority over Steve, their pride and joy rested with their work instead of their son. 

But that was alright. Their love language was gift giving and he could feel the love whenever he found an envelope of cash on the table or a new polo shirt gifted upon their return. It became apparent before he even truly realized that even though they loved him, they didn’t love him enough to discover his own love language. The concepts of quality time or words of affirmation were as cold as distant as they were. 

They could be assholes sometimes, especially with regard to his minor teenage delinquencies. But he knew they cared. When his dad screamed at him for drinking underage, he thought he was an asshole. Even more so when he got grounded after letting Barb disappear from his own backyard. Afterwards though when his dad pulled him in for a tight hug and murmured that he loved him and needed him to be careful, Steve felt bad for calling him names to his friends. 

When his mom rushed to take a red-eye flight back to Hawkins when she heard about Steve’s ‘fight’ with Billy and cuddled up next to him in the hospital bed, Steve had never felt more loved. She called off work for weeks just to make sure he was okay and fully recovered from his concussion before she went on her next business trip. His parents weren’t the best and they weren’t winning any parenting awards but they continuously proved how much they loved him. They were all Steve had and he loved them dearly despite their faults and his occasional teenage angst.

It all changed in one day. All it took was a drunk driver veering onto the wrong side of the road and Steve was an orphan. 

He always knew there was distance between them but in death it became insurmountable. The weekly calls with his mother were gone. The sports discussions and talks about girls with his dad were nevermore. Steve was well and truly alone. His parents were dead, his old friends hated him, and his ex-girlfriend that he still loved had left him for another guy. All he had was himself in a too-big house with a too-empty heart. 

He couldn’t sleep and he certainly couldn’t focus on college applications. So, he bought some weed from Munson and started filling out work applications after graduation. 

From the day he found out about his parents’ deaths, he didn’t speak of them at all. He didn’t need the pity of his teachers, his ex-girlfriend and the guy she cheated on him with, and he certainly didn’t need comfort from the kids. He zipped his lips and carried on as if nothing had happened. No one needed to know that he cried himself to sleep or that he had to take down all of the family photos to function. Who would care enough to ask anyways?

The Party noticed eventually. Everyone had noticed that Steve’s parents didn’t come up in conversation but no one ever had the guts to ask why. He’d say comments every now and again but they all lead to more questions. None of them had ever met his parents and really, none of them could even remember seeing them around Hawkins either. They all had their own theories but they were too scared of the truth to speculate on them.

Nancy had heard about the senior Harringtons exactly once. When she’d first gone to the police about Barb’s disappearance, Steve had begged her not to mention the alcohol that had been at the party. He’d seemed really worried about his dad finding out he was drinking and at the time, she couldn’t focus past the fact that he seemed to care more about getting in trouble with his dad than he did about finding Barb. Whenever she thought about the fear on his face back then or the closed off expression he developed now when the topic of family came up, she felt a deep dread in her stomach. Something wasn’t right here but she never wanted him to feel neglected or let down so she never brought them up to him. 

Robin had only heard a single comment from Steve about his parents and she wasn’t 100% sure if she actually heard it or if it was her imagination. When she and Steve were tied back to back in the underground Russian lair, he mentioned something about ‘maybe seeing his parents again’ when she asked if he was dying over there. She took it to mean that Steve really wanted to see them when they busted out of there. But then when everyone else involved in the mall fire had their families surrounding them, she saw Steve sitting alone on the curb pressing an ice pack to his head. When she saw him next and asked about his parents, he had a grimace on his face and changed the subject. She never brought it up again. It wasn’t her place to speculate and talking about it obviously hurt her best friend so she made sure to avoid talking about familial topics much in general. She had some thoughts but refused to voice them in fear of discovering something they couldn’t come back from. 

Dustin was perhaps the only person Steve had spoken to about his parents at any length. On one occasion, he was lectured on the importance of family by Steve when he told his mom he hated her in an argument in front of him. It had been a long day and he wanted nothing more than to eat his dinner in peace and quiet before going to bed. Steve was over that day for their monthly dinner because Claudia thought he was getting too skinny. Dustin’s mom was being a little more overbearing than usual, more suffocating and he snapped. 

“Jesus Christ, mom! Leave me alone! I hate you!”

There was a moment of silence before his mom stood from her seat and bustled out of the room. When Dustin turned to apologize to Steve, he was already glaring at him. 

“You don’t talk to your mom like that, Henderson. She loves you so much and after all you’ve put her through, I’m surprised. You don’t even realize how lucky you are! I wish that I had parents that loved me even half as much as your mom loves you. She does everything for you and you treat her like shit! Go apologize to Claudia right now or I’m not driving you anywhere ever again. Go.” Then, Steve walked out the door and didn’t come back until Claudia called him herself. 

After that, not only did Dustin have a new appreciation for his mom but he also had a new hatred for Steve’s parents. They were off gallivanting around Europe or wherever else and Steve was being neglected back in Hawkins! Him and his mom made a point to invite him over a lot more after that.

Eddie only heard about Steve’s parents because he got Steve high enough that he lost his filter. When he asked what Steve always wanted to do, he didn’t know. “Man, I was always just going to work for my dad’s company, you know? Just-just take the easy way out and work for my old man. Now, I couldn’t even do it if I wanted to. He’s gone and he left disappointed in me.”

Eddie had no idea what the fuck he was talking about but he assumed that Steve’s dad had left him and his mom while he went off and screwed his secretaries or whatever else rich white guys did. He felt a renewed anger towards the man. Jesus, Steve’s parents sucked and he deserved so much better. 

The way the entire Party found out was of sheer coincidence. Hopper was walking through the cemetery one night on patrol after some recent vandalism reports when he saw some newer headstones he’d never seen before. When he got a glimpse of the names, he nearly knocked himself over with the force of his double-take. 

Richard Harrington 

January 22, 1937 - May 17, 1985

Martha Harrington

August 23, 1939 - May 17, 1985

What the fuck? That would’ve been before his ‘death’ at Starcourt. Hell, it would’ve been before Steve’s graduation from high school. Hopper needed answers right that second, screw the vandalism reports. 

He didn’t expect to barge into a DnD session in the Harrington living room when he got there but that wasn’t going to stop him from getting his answers. Steve was standing in the doorway of the living room with a bowl of cheese puffs in hand but he turned to look at Hopper in confusion when he slammed the door open. “Hey Hop, what’re you-”

“Why didn’t you tell me your parents died, kid? You’ve been living here alone? What the hell, Steve.”

Apparently his friends didn’t know either because every head whipped to face him in shock simultaneously. 

“What the fuck?!”

“How long?!”

“Jesus H. Christ, Harrington! Open book, my ass.”

“Woah.”

“Well that’s a little heavy for a Thursday.”

Steve put the bowls down on a side table before giving Hopper the most unimpressed look he could muster. “I didn’t see the relevance. I’m obviously fine on my own.”

“Wh-you-hnh… Fucking hell, Steve! That’s not the point! You lost your parents and didn’t tell anyone!” Hopper yelled in frustration.

“Oh my god,” Robin gasped suddenly. “When you said you might see your parents again when we were getting tortured, you meant you’d see them when you died! Oh my god, you thought we were going to die?!”

Steve looked taken aback, “We were getting tortured in an underground Russian bunker. Of course I thought we were going to die! Luckily for us, I’m always wrong so we didn’t!”

Gareth, Grant, and Jeff were looking between the two of them in shock. Russian torture? They were not supposed to be hearing that. Meanwhile the rest of the Party was focused on berating Steve. 

“Steve, why didn’t you tell me?” Nancy asked him quietly. 

He chuckled sardonically, “oh you mean track down my ex-girlfriend, the one that said I was bullshit and cheated on me, to cry about my parents dying? Yeah, I wasn't really interested in doing that.”

“You could’ve told me! You could’ve told Mrs. Byers or Hopper. You don’t keep secrets from the Party!” Dustin yelled at him. 

“Why are you all yelling at me? Half of us weren’t even friends when they died and the rest of you weren’t around. So why are you mad at me?’’ Steve backed into the hallway wall, as far as he could get from the rest of them and hugged his arms around himself. 

“Stevie, we’re just surprised. No one here is mad at you, we’re just concerned. Why didn’t you tell anyone they died?” Eddie comforted, walking towards Steve with his hands up placatingly. 

“I told you my parents weren’t around anymore when you sold weed that summer.”

“Uhhhhh,” Eddie glanced nervously at Hopper who was glaring at him already. “Okay, let’s maybe leave that out of the story in front of the cops. Why didn’t you ask anyone for help?”

“I didn’t have anyone to ask. Look, I’m done talking about it. You guys can keep playing but I’m going to bed. Goodnight.”

“Steve-”

“Hopper, unless you’re arresting me right now, I’m leaving,” he waited a moment and when Hopper didn’t move, he nodded. “Great, night guys.”

They had to talk more about it later and they’d have to apologize for their anger but for now, the Party would ignore how Steve went to bed and Eddie followed. 

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