#dustin cordial

[lunetaj]

Dustin is still devastated by the death of his father.

Angela also tries to help him, and they actually became quite close.

They became so close that they started dating.

(2015)

[steviewashere]

I love you guys, so for WIP Wednesday, you get the first two and a half pages of my unnamed, but currently named "Steve Makes Eddie Apologize to Lucas for Not Postponing Hellfire for the Championship Game" fic. Uh, I don't think there's any warnings, but here we go.

You can read it here on Tumblr

Or you can read it here on AO3

——— “So, you and Eddie, huh?”

Steve startles at the sound of a voice, deep and hushed, from where he's been waiting in Hawkins High’s parking lot. Hellfire was supposed to be out by now—6:50pm if his watch is correct—it’s their first time back since March and it would be cordial. But it seems that only Lucas got that memo.

“Jesus Christ, Sinclair!” He yelps. Holds his right palm flat against his chest, trying his best to rescind the spike of panic that is crawling through him. “I thought I told you to quit doing that,” he harshly whispers, rubbing his palm against his shirt. The scratchy material of his polo a balm against his nerves.

“Sorry,” Lucas sheepishly murmurs. Speaking at a normal volume, he asks again, “So, you and Eddie?”

He rolls his eyes. “What about me and Eddie? Can’t I just hang out with the guy without being pestered?”

Lucas shrugs. “You can do whatever you want,” he states, but Steve can already tell there’s somehow more. “But I didn’t think you two would be…buddies. Considering how he feels about, y’know, sports and whatever.”

For a moment, Steve considers Lucas’s approach. His fidgeting hands and his slightly closed off eyes. The hunch to his shoulders and the general unease that accompanies talking about Eddie. Which, that’s particularly odd. Aren’t they buddies, Steve questions himself. Wrapped up in the Hellfire club, their mutual interest in Dungeons & Dragons, the ragtag group of nerds that they are—all of that is perfect for their oddball friendship, at least Steve thought so.

“What’s wrong with you and Eddie?” Steve asks, beating around the bush. He doesn’t do cryptic. And he especially doesn’t do it with somebody like Lucas, a kid already smarter than him by several margins.

There isn’t an answer right away. But Lucas’s shoulders drop. His eyes go from frustrated to…sad. “Remember my championship game?” He asks, though it seems a bit much of a topic change. What does this have to do with Eddie, Steve has to wonder.

“Well, yeah,” he answers instead, “I was there. Had a pathetic date with a girl I hardly enjoyed being around. Mocked Tammy Thompson with Robin. Watched you get that winning shot. It was a, genuinely, awesome championship game.” And that’s the truth. It’s the best one he’s ever witnessed. Which is saying something, considering he’d played several championship games. All of them, though, were major losses. He’ll take those to the grave with him, with how often his previous basketball teams teased him.

Lucas gives a harsh single nod, a small smile that whisks away as soon as it appears. “Right,” he mutters, “I remember.” He leans against the Beemer’s bumper, shoulder brushing with Steve’s. Looks forlorn towards the high school’s doors, where Eddie and the rest of the Hellfire bunch should be spilling out any moment now. Steve looks on with him. Listens as Lucas’s voice drops low, nearly angry, fully spiteful, “I begged Dustin and Mike to talk to Eddie about my game. To see if the Hellfire campaign—which would be happening the same night—could be moved. And I, look, I understand that D&D means a lot to all of them, it means something to me, too. But I was really hoping to see my friends there. If not my friends, then at least Erica.

“They didn’t move the campaign,” he states so bitter, Steve tastes the words on his own tongue, “apparently a game where you’re shooting ‘balls into laundry baskets’ is too…mainstream and norm-ie for Eddie. He refused to move his precious game. Then, get this, instead of getting some random kid to play, they egged Erica in.” Lucas drags his eyes away from the school, head turning slow to look at Steve. He follows suit, eyeing Lucas back. His stomach churns with the vitriol painting itself unsubtly across Lucas’s face. “Color me surprised, I guess, that he’s going out with a jock,” he states, voice carefully blank of anything.

Steve stares on at him. He didn’t know this was the case at all. Remembers getting the phone call about Dustin wanting him to play, but he figured that had something to do with him bugging Steve for the millionth time. Because that was something Dustin wanted. For Steve to play. And, granted, Steve refused because it was too nerdy—unimportant and embarrassing. Yet, now he’s looking into Lucas’s face. Where hurt etches itself like solid lines of chiseled marble. Being told, instead, that Eddie’s holding his own bias.

Maybe he hasn’t removed his biases towards high school nerds, not completely. But he’s coming undone from that mentality. Considering Nancy and Robin and Eddie—Dustin and Mike and Lucas—even Max, they’re all big nerds. They all have some sort of interest with Dungeons & Dragons or theater or video games and math. And he loves them all. Though, Steve’s never stopped to think about the opposite side of the coin. Tail-side, where balls in laundry baskets is considered taboo.

After a deep silence when Steve finally digests this information, his eyebrows furrow on their own accord. Mouth downturning into a harsh frown, one that he feels to the bottoms of his feet. He stops himself in time from balling his hands into fists, but the urge to do so snarls in him like a newly unmuzzled, wild dog. A dog, he thought, that he trained obedient away from his anger. But it seems like once the teeth are bared, they never truly hide away.

“That ass,” Steve snarks. “What—so I have to reconsider all my biases surrounding nerds, reconstruct how I view everybody around me, and realize how awesome it is. And—what—Eddie can just get away with that…bullshit? That’s…What the hell?” There’s a little bit more of a bite to his words than he had anticipated. But it really isn’t fair. The table turns and he’s better for it, sure, but Eddie just…That’s not fair. The dog growls louder, drool burbling in its chops, a bark forming in the back of its throat.

———

[suspiciouslackofclowns]

I’m having a lot of thoughts about super protective Steve right now, but I’m also having a lot of writer’s block so I don’t have the energy to actually set the whole scene.

I need Billy and Steve delivering pizzas and snacks to The Party (including the Corroded Coffin guys) to wherever they’re holding their campaign. Maybe somewhere in the woods because it’s aesthetic and the weather is nice, like out by Castle Byers.

The kids are fine with Harringroveson for the most part by now, though a couple of them (namely Dustin) don’t always get along the best with Billy. He tries really hard so it’s getting better, but progress is slow. He’s still detested by the Corroded Coffin guys (namely Gareth).

I love the misunderstood character trope for some reason. I love the idea of other characters hating Billy’s image, the idea of him, but when they get to know him as more than the asshole jock they peg him as, they realize he isn’t all that bad.

Maybe Gareth makes one too many comments about not wanting Billy there. Calls him an asshole and provokes him with the intention of validating his own perception of the blond. Maybe even goes as far as to insinuate that the only reason Eddie or Steve are with him is because of his looks. Something mean that’s said in a teasing tone, but hits just as hard despite it.

Billy doesn’t react with white hot rage like everyone’s expecting. He turns away and walks through the woods back to the car with a look of shame on his face, and Steve immediately jogs to catch up with him, lacing their fingers together as they weave through the trees.

Eddie stands there anxiously, wondering if he should follow them or if it’ll overwhelm his already upset boyfriend. He turns back to the group and looks pointedly at Gareth. Not angry. Just disappointed.

Which some could argue is worse.

“C’mon, man,” he sighs, gesturing vaguely. “You couldn’t be cordial until they left? He didn’t even do anything.”

“Made ‘em leave faster, didn’t it?”

Gareth’s tone is less sure than before, because after all, he isn’t a malicious person at his core. He’s clearly at odds with himself about hurting Billy’s feelings — he didn’t even think it was something that could happen.

Eddie just shakes his head and sighs.

“Well, you’ve poked the bear, so now shit’s gonna get testy.”

“What, like—“ Gareth gulps and his eyes blow wide. “Like Hargrove’s gonna kick my ass or something?”

At the words, Eddie laughs. Crosses his arms and sobers when he hears twigs crunch in the distance, a set of footsteps approaching once again.

“Not Billy,” Eddie whispers.

As if on queue, Steve emerges from between the trees. His jaw is clenched and his shoulders are squared. He gets eyes on Gareth before anything else, which has him scurrying up out of his seat on the floor. Ready to bolt.

Steve stops beside Eddie. Shrugs his hand off of his shoulder when Eddie sets it there and points an accusatory finger at Gareth. The movement makes him flinch even though he’s still a handful of feet away.

“I dunno what your fucking problem is, but you don’t say shit like that about my boyfriend when I’m around, you hear me?” Steve seethes. He eyes Gareth up and down like he’s sizing him up before he simply tsks and shakes his head. “You can find your way home in the dark for all I care, so don’t bother asking for a ride when the game’s over.”

He stares until Gareth nods, at which point some of the rage relaxes out of him. Only slightly.

Then he turns to Eddie.

“Get on the radio when you’re done?” he says much more softly. “I’m gonna go ahead and take him home.”

“Is he alright?”

“Yeah, but you know how he is.”

Eddie nods and cracks a smile.

“Big ol’ softie.”

“Mhmm.”

Steve mirrors his expression. Leans in for a quick kiss, then casts Gareth a final glare before he takes his leave.

Once he’s gone, Eddie huffs a laugh and intertwines his fingers over the back of his head.

“Jesus. Give him a while, he’ll get over it,” he dismisses. Glances over at Gareth, who looks about as startled as a mouse that’s been dropped into a snake pit. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“I dunno, you could probably speed up the process by making Billy a cake or something.” When Gareth furrows his eyebrows, Eddie shrugs and laughs again. “I’ve never pissed Steve off that bad, but I have hurt Billy’s feelings before. My boy loves him some chocolate cake.”

There’s a beat of silence. Then two.

They wind up having to wrap the game up faster than they anticipated, because the nice weather becomes a drizzle which becomes a pour.

Steve goes against his word and gives Gareth a ride home.

The next day, he’s standing on their porch with a Tupperware container full of chocolate cupcakes that say srry 4 b-ing an a-hole in blue icing on top.

Billy immediately shoves one into his mouth and Steve reluctantly forgives Gareth, meanwhile Eddie is laughing his ass off because he didn’t really expect him to take his suggestion seriously.

[queenie-ofthe-void]

A Desperate Fool - Part 11

Part 10

Last Time: Eddie accidentally answered Dustin's phone

~~~

To say the past few months have been difficult would be putting it lightly. He wasn’t surprised like the rest of the Party had been when Eddie used a PI to track him down and show up on his and Robin’s doorstep unannounced. However, Steve was surprised when Eddie decided to stick around. It’s impacted the Party in ways he didn’t expect.

Everyone tip-toes around conversations with him in best attempts at not mentioning Eddie casually. Sure, that’s partially Steve’s fault since he’d initially asked them not to, but now that Eddie’s home it’s frankly ridiculous how Nancy will side-eye Jonathan during a story, forcing him to back track and say they had a ‘dinner guest’ over. Or the way Dustin stops mid-sentence and completely changes the subject.

He’d thought the worst part about Eddie sticking around was how it’s clearly split the Party into factions, which– according to horror movies, DnD, and Dustin– is never a good thing. Mike barely talks to Nancy or Dustin, who’ve both been banned from Steve and Robin’s home on Robin’s orders. It’s cordial between Max and Lucas and Dustin, but can be awkward at times. Wedding planning is the only exception to a cordial get together. 

Becky’s barely noticed a change, which he supposes makes sense since she doesn’t know about his history with Eddie. A pang of guilt strikes him every time the thought crosses his mind. He wishes he felt comfortable enough to open up to her about Eddie, about his parents, about his sexuality. Steve knows it isn’t fair to keep his cards so close to his chest, but he can’t help it. So he can’t really expect her to notice when he hasn’t given her all the information.

All of that bullshit was hard enough, but he’s adjusting. He’s made good progress at mending the Party factions, specifically with Dustin and Mike. Everything was fine. It’s just another part of Eddie he could shove away into the corners of his mind, and force everyone else to do the same. It was fine, he was good.

But then his Teddie’s voice rang through the phone like wind chimes on a summer breeze.

“‘Stevie?’”

Steve swipes his hands up his face and into his hair to pull tight at the strands. He’s surprised there aren't any wear marks on the floor he’s been pacing for the last half hour as he waits for Dustin to get here, even though he’d told him not to come. At least Robin isn’t home, neither him nor Dustin could survive her fury if she knew what was going on.

There’s a pounding on the front door that sets his teeth on edge. He’s told that twirp a thousand times he’ll knock the whole door down that way.

“Dustin,” Steve says exhausted and annoyed, “I thought I told you I wanted to be left alone.” Yet Steve leaves the door wide open behind him as he heads back into the living room.

“You hung up on me. You never hang up on me.”

Dustin plops down into his usual spot on the soft blue sofa. He’s holding one of Robin’s favorite blue, white, and green decorative pillows to his chest, his eyes just peeking out over the top like he’s hiding. 

He wants to sit next to the kid and comfort him, but Steve’s thoughts and emotions are a whirlpool he can’t navigate. So he continues to pace and avoids Dustin’s painfully apologetic glance. “I just need some space ok?”

“Steve, I know we all agreed a long time ago, but I really think you need to talk to someone about Eddie.”

Steve cringes at the name. It’s been so long since he’s heard someone say it out loud that his ears are ringing. “I do talk about it– him– what happened. I do talk about it, just not with you.”

Dustin flinches like he’s been slapped, but doesn’t retaliate, much to Steve’s relief. He can’t help lashing out. His hackles are up and Dustin knows it. “I don’t think Max is–”

“What’s wrong with talking to Max?”

The kid scoffs, exasperation apparent in his squinted eyes, and argues “it’s not like she’s going to give you an unbiased opinion. Max doesn’t like Becky, never has and probably never will. At least Robin and I finally gave her a chance after you proposed. So explain to me how talking to Max is better than literally anyone else?” He slams the pillow down next to him and the movement sets Steve off.

“Max,” Steve snaps, “is the only person who’s willing to hear me out and actually listen to what I’m saying, even if she doesn’t agree. She’s the only person who doesn’t act like they know what’s better for me than I do. I can talk about the bad and the good times with Ted– Eddie–  without scoffs and eye-rolling, or someone telling me I’m wearing ‘rose-colored glasses’. So don’t bullshit me about Max not liking Becky. You’re just jealous I’d rather talk to her instead of you.”

Fuck. 

Steve freezes in place and tugs at his hair again. He can’t make himself lift his gaze from the floor, stuck in a fog of panic. This entire situation is fucked, but he can’t bring himself to take it back. Maybe he could’ve worded it better. Maybe he can still apologize before he fucks up another good thing in his life. Before he pushes another loved one away because he’s too scared to have a hard conversation.

“You shouldn’t pull your hair.” Dustin says it by rote. His broken voice is enough to force Steve out of his daze. He sits next to him and wraps Dustin tight against his chest.

Dustin sniffles. “Are you mad he’s living with me? Because I’ll kick him out if you’re–”

“No,” Steve interrupts. “No I’m glad he’s back in your life, I know how important he is to you and I’m glad you’re getting that back. He’s my ex, but he’s still everyone’s family, and for that I’m happy he’s home. The Party deserves to have him around.”

“Eddie’s a friend, but you’re my big brother. I love you, and you’re my family, no matter what.”

Steve’s eyes mist over. He kisses the top of Dustin’s curly head, and holds him out at arms length to look him in the eye. “I love you too. And I’m sorry I snapped at you, that was super shitty.”

The kid smiles at him. It’s a small thing, but it’s genuine.

“And I am glad you’re talking to Max,” Dustin adds on. “But if you talk about it with more people, maybe it would help? Like, different perspectives and stuff.”

“I know. I just– I’m not sure I know how to do that with other people. It’s been a while since I’ve tried.”

“Well, why do you want to talk to him?” Steve should’ve known the kid couldn’t help but ask, especially with how their phone call ended. Months ago, when he’d told Max to get in contact with Eddie, Steve just thought he wanted closure.

After hearing his name whispered soft and broken from Eddie’s lips, a deep-seated craving rooted within him burst out as he pleaded with Dustin to give the phone back. He’d been drowning for over a year and Eddie’s voice was like a forced breath of fresh air into his lungs, a crushing pressure on his chest that leaves bruises and broken bones but brings life. 

Steve felt alive. 

That was the moment the panic set in. Anxiety, self-loathing, and shame crested higher and higher until– he was back in their home, screams ripped from his throat as he swung Eddie’s guitar into the wall over and over and over until their bedroom walls were littered with holes, scraps of wood scattered across the floor, slivered into Steve’s bare feet.

Except now it’s not despair or anger that haunts his dreams– that’d be too easy. The dreams that linger into the light of day are always soft and mundane. They’re dreams of him tucked into Eddie’s side as they watch TV, or Eddie smiling at him across the kitchen while they cook. Moments Steve knows he can never have again.

Unless. Maybe.

Dustin might not be able to read his mind like Robin, but Steve’s never been able to mask his emotions well when they bubble to the surface. “Steve, no, he’s not–.”

“But he’s trying, right? Everyone seems happy he’s home, like he’s getting better.”

“Better doesn’t mean he’s good enough for you, Steve! Sure, yeah, he’s genuinely working on himself and he really is changing, but that doesn’t undo what he did to you. None of us have forgotten that, and I don’t want you to either.”

He pulls his hands away from Dustin’s shoulders to wipe his sleeve across his face and sure enough, it comes back wet. 

“Fuck,” Steve chuckles, tone dark and self-deprecating, “didn’t know I could still do that.” Sniffling into his sleeve, he lets out a ragged laugh, long and heavy until it morphs into an angry, choked off howl of frustration.

Dustin’s quick to pull Steve into him, arms wrapped around any inch of him he can reach while Steve heaves deep, uneven breaths. Without someone’s eyes on him, it’s easier to open the floodgates, but he’s held back the truth for so long that the whole dam bursts. 

“Dustin, I miss him so fucking much. That’s why I don’t know how to talk about this with anyone. No one wants to hear how I still wear his old guitar pick necklace to bed every night, or how no one’s ever made me laugh harder than he has. I never thought I’d see him again, but now that he’s home, there’s nothing I want more in this world than to hold his hand, to hear him say my name again or see him smile. I want to be with her– I know she loves me. But it’s not the same. I miss him and I hate myself for it. I hate how much I’m still in love with him.” 

Steve’s not sure how long he hides with his face pressed into Dustin’s shoulder, but by the time he shifts away, the sky is painted in cotton candy pinks and blues as the sun slips below the skyline. Worried he’ll find pity carved into Dustin’s features, he avoids his gaze altogether as he stands to move. 

The sound of padded footsteps follow him across the living room, down the hall, and into the galley kitchen just wide enough for two. Steve pours two glasses of water and sets it down next to the dishwasher, directly across from the oven where he sets his own. They hop up in unison, kicking their feet so they end up between the other’s knees on the outswing. A calm familiarity washes over him, like instead of dreading Dustin’s response, they’re just waiting for the next batch of cookies.

“He’s writing a new album,” Dustin says softly, even if it echoes in the hollow of Steve’s chest. “On the acoustic.”

Steve’s neck cracks with how fast he turns to look at Dustin, who smirks lovingly at the shock that must be written in his eyes. “Mike’s acoustic? He pulled it out of storage?” 

Dustin nods, eyes still shining wet in the light with his eyebrows raised like he can’t quite believe it either. “I’m trying to convince Mike to come over so he can see for himself.” He clears his throat and wipes his eyes before saying, “sometimes I can hear what he’s working on and– it’s different. Softer.”

Steve smiles as Dustin tells him everything and anything he can about Eddie since he’s been home. Finally, he’s found another person he doesn’t have to pretend with, someone who won’t tip-toe around the Eddie-sized elephant in the room that Steve constantly wants to ask about. 

An hour later as he walks Dustin out, one foot on the welcome mat, a last confession pours from his chest. “He’s not the only one that fucked up. I– I did too. Made mistakes.”

“Well,” Dustin says, plain as day, so normal and even-toned that Steve feels his lungs sigh in relief, “Max and I are here to talk about that too, whenever you’re ready.”

Steve goes to bed early that night. He crawls under the covers and reaches all the way to the back corner of his nightstand drawer where his fingers clutch the small, plastic triangle. The worn leather string slips over his neck easily. It sits lighter on his chest than normal. 

There’s still a roiling sensation in his gut, but instead of burying his face in his pillow he reaches out for his phone, pulling it under the covers with him. His fingers move without his permission, automatic and self-indulgent. The light is bright against his eyes as he stares back at the string of numbers he wishes he didn’t have memorized. He contemplates long enough for the screen to dim, then eventually turn black. Taking it as a sign, Steve rolls over and is plagued with soft, mundane dreams.

~~~

Part 12

Tag List!!!

@sadisticaltarts @5ammi90 @blacklegsanji21 @jaytriesstrangerthings @thewickedkat

@stripey82 @a-lovely-craziness

[theosconfessions]

before i post more of scars challenge i wanted to introduce a certain someone because scars going to be bringing up some things during one of the solo dates about dustin and the podcast etc. dustin mentioned before having been with someone when he was separated from theo and this is who he was seeing and also the light of my life, finnie .

Finnie Whitmore

bits and bobs about finnie.

hes 33 [ less of an age gap between him and dustin than dustin and theo]

he was the kids high school gym teacher so he does know scarlett [sid/riv/and robin too] he is STILL a high school teacher so in many years when the twins are that age theyll be in his period <3

im definitely going to be doing the globetrotter challenge with him later on because hes still kinda hurt from the breakup etc and he needs the distraction

he was the original host of the podcast with dustin and then after they broke up,while they tried to keep it together, it was too hard on both of them to continue doing it..so sid took his place . however....

ill get into more of his relationship with dustin when the stephens continued picks up. hes nicer than theo, treated dustin better than theo... BUT love is crazy so.

after the breakup with dustin he kinda just let him go with grace. when they would see eachother at school or when he was still on the podcast they would be cordial ofc. but i think the heartbreak was real for both of them for awhile.

he hasnt dated anyone SINCE dustin. hes just a lonely kinda dude.

more finnie tidbits to come as the stephens continued picks back up. i have a ghost chasers podcast coming in between scars posts too :)

[augustjustice]

Sunday Six

Harrington flips his Ray-Bans up into his hair, the portrait of popular high school douchebag that Eddie remembers all too well from last year. But the soft-looking baby blue sweater he’s sporting, combined with the way he impatiently ushers Henderson, Wheeler, and Sinclair into the Beemer with a hand on his hip, sinks some fairly sizable cracks into the overall effect. 

When he catches Eddie’s gaze, there’s a weariness in his eyes that has Eddie fighting down an instinctual shit-eating grin, anticipating whatever nasty jibe the former king is about to throw his way. He almost feels bad. It’s gonna be a pretty bad shock for Dustin. But, better the kid sees his hero’s true colors now rather than later. 

Instead, Steve’s head dips in a tired nod, a stiff but not impolite acknowledgement. 

“Munson.”

Eddie’s mama had run off before his folks got the chance to get a divorce, but, he imagines this might have been what that would have looked like, the pair of them passing him off between them with an icy sort of cordialness every other weekend.

(That’s not fair. If it had been his parents, there would have been a helluva lot more yelling, an a helluva lot less civility than Harrington’s showing him now.)

It throws off whatever snide remark Eddie had been gearing up to toss back. He feels wrong-footed, tugging a strand of hair into his face partially to hide his wide-eyed expression.

“Uh, yeah. Hey, Harrington.”

[schrijverr]

I Found Myself a Cheerleader 7

Chapter 7 out of 28

Bumped to the lowest step on the social ladder after his fight with Billy, Steve gets roped in with the cheer team. What starts as a favor to help them out when one member breaks her leg in turn for protection from the brunt of the bullying, sets the universe on a different path.

In this chapter, Steve gets a job at the mall, while he attempts to get his life back under control. There he meets his new coworker, Robin, who seems to have an issue with him for no reason. Tentatively and rockily, they try to become cordial with each other, maybe even friends. However, trying to front a sense of normality isn’t easy and can hurt those around you.

On AO3.

Ships: eventual steddie & buckingham

Warnings: internalized homophobia, f-slur, period typical homophobia, child abuse mention

~~~~~~~~

Chapter 7: The Summer Job

Finding a job proves to be easier than Steve had expected. The mall has opened and is desperate for workers who’ll accept shit wages for the amount of work they have to do. Steve fits right in with the rest.

He’s hired the day after graduation when he is given a uniform and told to show up the next day. All his stuff is still in his car and Steve contemplates not going back to the Byers house, but it feels wrong to leave without a word after all the kindness Joyce showed him. And he’s sure that he can’t hide in a town as small as Hawkins.

Still, he doesn’t want to face any of the party right now. So, he drives out the quarry again. A part of him hopes Eddie will be there like he was yesterday, an angel in the midst of turmoil, but the hours he is there are spend alone.

When it gets late, he knows he has to get back. He can’t keep ignoring the world forever, so he’s going to have to face Jonathan and Will at some point. Plus, if he’s going to act like everything is fine, he should just do that, not hide away.

Steve can recognize that a part of him knows he is reluctant to go back, because he knows he’ll have to break Will’s heart. But he can’t be there for him right now. He can’t pretend like he’s okay with being gay, can’t pretend he’s fine after getting kicked out.

He just hopes the kid can forgive him.

With great reluctance he climbs back into the car and drives the same route to the Byers that he drove last night. He ignores how Joyce seems to be waiting by the kitchen window when he gets there. Tries not to think of how he nearly stayed away.

He walks up to the door and is let in by Will, who has clearly also been waiting for Steve. He tries not to think about that too much either, nor about the bruise on his face. It’s not the worst one he could have gotten, but it is one he had to explain in his interview earlier. He told the man hiring him it’s a basketball injury. One hit him in the face.

It’s obvious that Will is dying to ask something about it, however instructions from his mom and general politeness are stopping him. Steve decides he isn’t going to put him out of his misery and just says: “Hey, Will, good day?”

Will shrugs, looking a bit sad, though Steve doesn’t know why, and answers: “It was okay. Dustin is leaving for camp soon. He’s sad he didn’t catch you at home today.”

A stab of guilt goes through Steve. He’s been so wrapped up in his own bullshit that he forgot his favorite little guy. He loves all the kids of course, but Dustin is the one that keeps coming back, keeps smiling, keeps being happy to see him. He even convinced Steve to watch those nerd movies with him once and make a silly handshake that Steve loves more than he is willing to admit.

“I’ll radio him to say goodbye,” he tells Will with a smile.

“Alright,” Will shrugs again. Steve wants to ask what’s bothering him, but he doesn’t want to start a conversation he isn’t willing to have. So they stand at the door awkwardly until Joyce calls them for dinner.

Dinner is also quite awkward. Jonathan is there for once, he doesn’t say much, but eyes Steve with those knowing gray eyes. Even without the camera, he can make Steve feel watched.

Joyce meanwhile is trying to ignore the elephant in the room as she puts food on everyone’s plate and asks after Jonathan’s first day. Jonathan isn’t the most talkative, so that conversation dies out quite fast. She asks Will, who also isn’t in a mood to talk.

Now Joyce finds herself in the position where not asking Steve would be weird, even though she is trying not to ask and give him space. So, she gives a tight lipped smile and asks: “And you, Steve? Have a good day?”

“Got a job at the mall,” Steve answers to help her out. “Ice cream parlor. I start tomorrow, so I’ll be out of your hair for most of the day.”

“That’s nice,” Joyce says, relieved that he had an answer that wouldn't make it awkward.

“How was your day, mom?” Jonathan asks, when a silence falls again afterwards.

Joyce fills the rest of dinner with useless chatter about customers, while the rest of them eat in silence.

Steve feels bad about taking advantage of their hospitality. Upon reflection, it’s clear that Joyce feels like she owes him something for what he did. This is her trying to pay that back, but that isn’t necessary.

So, once dinner is done, he insists on doing the dishes, already trying to figure out how he can convince Joyce to take some of his paycheck.

He still needs the money if he ever wants to get his own place, but he can miss some of it to help the people who let him stay in their house while he gets back on his feet. Besides, if it all goes to plan, he can go back to his old house at some point and he won’t even need the money.

That evening Steve ensures them that he’s fine taking the couch. Joyce protests: “You can’t keep sleeping on the couch forever.”

“It won’t be forever,” Steve promises, hoping that he is right. “It’ll blow over. I’ll probably be out of here in a little bit.”

Joyce doesn’t look like she believes him, something he tries not to take to heart, since she relents and lets him sleep on the couch.

The next morning, Steve gets up early and makes breakfast, leaving it as he drives to work, so he can change at the mall, not yet wanting to face the Byers in the stupid work uniform. He picks up some foundation and applies it in the bathroom. His face looks practically acceptable now. Barely noticeable.

If he could tell himself at the start of junior year what his post-senior summer break looked like, he’s sure he would have fainted.

He feels like a fucking idiot as he makes his way to the ice cream parlor, but he also doesn’t care anymore. He’s been humiliated so much, that this barely matters anymore.

Still, he notices how he shrinks under the curious gaze of the girl behind the counter in the same uniform as him. Her eyebrows scrunch up and incredulously she exclaims: “You’re the new hire?” in a tone that gives away that she knows exactly who he is.

“Yeah,” he replies, deciding to be a bit cautious, since has no clue who she is.

“But you’re, like, loaded,” she says.

Oh- Oh, she doesn’t know he got kicked out. No one really does. This is his moment to start a new narrative. “I couldn’t get into college, my douchebag dad is making me work to teach me a lesson about hard work,” he shrugs.

“That sounds stupid,” the girl says.

“It is,” Steve agrees, because if that was the truth, he would feel like it was stupid. He walks up to the counter, glad the girl, Robin, is wearing a name tag so he can ask: “So, Robin, show me the ropes?”

Robin laughs: “Nothing difficult about slinging ice cream, Harrington. But I’ll show you how the work the till real quick.”

She goes to show him how it works, but it is not quick, nor easy. Steve doesn’t know whether he is dumb for not following her or if Robin is terrible at explaining. She continuously gets sidetracked and there is no clear order to what she says. However, as her hands fly over the machine it does exactly what she said it would.

In the end Steve tells her he’ll just scoop and she can man the till, until he figures it out. She sends him a look that tells him she thinks he’s a bit thick for not getting it, but she easily lets him take over the scooping.

The first day of working together is awful and awkward. Neither of them know what to say to each other and Steve can sense that Robin doesn’t like him much. He can’t blame her for that part, but he also doesn’t know what to do about it. She is either homophobic and thinks he’s a filthy fag or she’s a nerd, who thinks he’s asshole King Steve. Until he figures out which one, it’s not like he can say something. But he’ll have to grit his teeth, because they’re always assigned together.

However, the work itself isn’t so bad. It’s a bit of a strain on the arms, but after months of lifting girls up into the air, he is more than fine.

He also finds that his job is the perfect place to get the new Steve into the world. He’s never going back to his asshole ways, but if he can just get his reputation as womanizer back, then that will save him a bunch of trouble. And at work there are enough girls that come by.

With Robin behind the till, he has a harder time starting a conversation, but he tries as much as he can when they give him the flavor he wants.

His efforts mostly earn him confused looks by those who have heard the rumors, but he doesn’t pay them any mind. He is going to carry on and erase them. Some girls even giggle at his efforts, which feels like a massive win after the terrible week he’s had.

The next day passes much the same. Robin keeps sending him glances every time he flirts with a girl and radiates with a confused energy that has Steve on edge and not very keen to interact with her beyond what’s necessary.

On the third day, Robin breaks. She has her break, but instead of spending it in the break room, she is sitting on the little bar where the dividing window also is. She’s kicking her feet and commenting on Steve’s tilling skills. It’s a calmer moment and no one is demanding their services.

“So, why did you do cheerleading?” she asks.

Steve tenses up at the question, unsure of why she wants to know. She doesn’t sound judgmental, more curious and confused, but Steve just can’t be sure. He reminds himself of the story he’s here to tell and turns around with a shrug. “I wanted to get into their pants.”

If he wants to fool himself, he could think that Robin’s face falls a bit at his answer. But he can’t think of why that would be, so he disregards it.

“Did it work?” she asks, after a beat that lasts a second too long.

“Not really,” Steve tells her honestly, not wanting to spread any rumors about his friends. The question, however, reminds him that he still has to call Chrissy. He keeps forgetting, because he doesn’t want to rack up the Byers’ phone bill.

“Oh,” Robin says, nodding, another awkward silence filling the air.

It is broken by Erica Sinclair and her posse coming in. At this point Steve sees it as a welcome distraction, instead of watching her arrival with horror. Robin, who has been working there longer, knows to take her break to the fullest and hides when they get there, leaving Steve to fend for himself.

Still, it seems that with the question she’s been burning to ask answered, some of the tension hanging in the air dissipated. Steve doesn’t know how to describe it. It feels like Robin has stopped expecting something from him and just turned up the snark towards him. Steve can’t phantom what she might want from him, but he can appreciate her cutting words in some weird way.

When her words are directed at him, it’s more at the old idea of him, who Steve also doesn’t care for much. So, he can ignore that. Besides, her comments are funny. Her words aren’t always directed at him either.

“God, who does that,” she breathes when a customer walks away with a horrid combination of flavors on his cone.

“I know, it’s a crime, like those socks in his sandals,” Steve adds, looking over the counter with some judgment as the man leaves the store.

Robin sends him a look that is part delight, part surprise. It morphs into a grin and she says: “I should have known you had it in you.”

Steve doesn’t really know what she means by that, but smiles anyway. It feels a bit like acceptance and that is all he has been yearning for.

The interaction is basically an invitation to comment on all customers, who they don’t agree with on some level. If Steve is honest, it is most of their customers. Especially the ones that complain about everything or are just rude straight to their faces. Even doing this only three days has Steve hardened to the way people treat him and Robin.

By the end of the day, there is a tentative solidarity and working rhythm between them. Finally something positive in Steve’s life.

As they close up, they pass a pay phone and Steve stops. Robin also stops, raising a confused brow at him. He asks: “Can I ask you a favor?”

Her eyes narrow suspiciously and Steve fears he just undid the day of progress between them. “That depends. What do you want?”

“Can you call Chrissy’s house and get her mom to hand Chrissy the phone so I can talk to her?” Steve asks.

“You want me to call your girlfriend?” Robin asks, affronted. “I’m not getting involved in your nonsense, Harrington.”

“No, no, it’s not that,” Steve immediately says, a bit frantic. “She’s a sophomore, are you for real? I am not that gross, Robin.” He wishes he knew her last name, so he could do that back. “She’s my friend. And her mom is really strict. She doesn’t even know we’re friends. I promised to tell her when I got a job. I had a fight with my father, she knew about it. I just want to make her not worry.”

Robin still doesn’t look convinced, but she at least looks like she is considering it. Steve holds his breath and gives her space.

“Okay,” Robin agrees. “But I am a nervous rambler, so you have to be right there to tell me what to say and you can’t get mad at me when it blows up in our faces.”

“Thank you,” Steve smiles, glad that she at least doesn’t hate him too much to deny him this. “Just tell her that you’re Stevie and you want to speak to Chrissy, because you are planning to hang out soon.”

“Stevie?” Robin repeats with a laugh.

Steve blushes and looks away. “Yeah. It’s the only way we could even hang out together. I know her from cheer squad.”

“Sure, I’ve always wanted to be a spy,” Robin grins and goes to pick up the phone. “You pay,” she demands.

The phone rings and Steve stands next to her anxiously to listen in. After a few rings, Mrs. Cunningham picks up: “This is the Cunningham household, to whom am I speaking?”

Robin is quiet and Steve prods her, which sends her into motion. “Hi,” she squeaks. “I’m Stevie, Chrissy’s friend from cheer squad?”

“Oh, Stevie,” Mrs. Cunningham says, sounding more positive than Steve has ever heard her. “My Chrissy has told me so much about you.”

“Only good things I hope,” Robin replies. “Wouldn't want her to lie about me, because there are only good things to be heard about me. Not that Chrissy would ever lie, of course-” Again Steve prods her and Robin shuts up.

“Sorry,” she says sheepishly and Steve isn’t sure, who she’s talking to. “I was calling to speak to Chrissy. We were planning to hang out.”

“Of course, I’ll get her,” Mrs. Cunningham tells her, sounding less enthusiastic than when Robin first introduced herself as Stevie.

As Mrs. Cunningham leaves, Steve takes the phone. While he does, he hisses: “What the hell, that was terrible.”

“I already told you,” Robin exclaims. “I don’t do well under social pressure. You promised not to be mad.”

Steve isn’t sure if he is mad, it was good enough for Mrs. Cunningham to let him speak to Chrissy and that’s all he cares about. He’s just a bit surprised at the word vomit that just happened. “It’s okay,” he says.

Robin smiles at that, then leans in, wanting to listen in. Part of Steve wants to push her away, another part guesses he owes her that much.

“Stevie?” Chrissy greets.

“Hey, Chris,” Steve smiles.

“Hi,” Chrissy says, sounding brighter. “How did you get my mom to patch you through?”

“I had Robin call for me,” Steve explains.

“Robin?” Chrissy asks

“My coworker,” Steve says.

“Hi, Chrissy,” Robin yells a bit too loudly into the speaker, making Steve wince.

“Uhm, hi,” Chrissy replies.

“We work at Scoops Ahoy together,” Steve cuts in before it can get weird. “It’s the ice cream parlor at Starcourt. I work full time right now, so you can come by whenever. I’ll hook you up with free ice cream.”

“Oehh, I’m not saying no to that,” Chrissy says. “I’ll be by tomorrow, that okay? I missed your face.”

“Sounds great, me too,” Steve tells her, feeling freer than he has in a few days.

It’s quiet for a beat, then Chrissy asks: “You still staying with that friend?”

Next to him Robin makes a curious noise as he just tries not to physically recoil. He probably can’t keep up the lie for the rest of the summer, but he doesn’t want to admit it with Robin listening in and the fight at graduation fresh in Chrissy’s mind.

So, he plasters on a grin and shakes his head. “Nah, they left town on business, so I’m back home again. Don’t worry about me, Chris.”

Chrissy sighs. “I don’t think I can, Stevie. It was really scary.”

“Not that scary, promise,” Steve tries to distract as he lies. “And I was in the thick of it. It looked worse than it was.”

“You can always come here if it’s bad again,” Chrissy says.

“We both know your mom would kill me,” Steve jokes and Chrissy laughs: “Yeah.”

“I’m fine, no need for that,” Steve assures her. “Goodnight, Chris. I’ll see you tomorrow again. You can see for yourself that I’m okay.”

“Okay, yeah, ‘till tomorrow, Stevie,” Chrissy says. “Goodnight.”

They hang up and Steve faces Robin again, who is staring at him with thoughtful eyes that make Steve’s hair stand on edge. A bit harshly he asks: “What?”

Robin blinks slowly, then softly says: “That sounded serious.”

“And it’s none of your business,” Steve grouches and starts to walk away.

“I kind of feel like you made it my business, Stevie,” Robin calls after him.

He turns around and snaps: “Don’t call me that.”

Robin runs a bit to catch up and says: “Alright, alright, touchy. Just curious what happened that got her like that.”

“Got into a fight with my father,” Steve shrugs, not facing her. “It happened at graduation. She saw it. It looked more dramatic than it was, okay. That’s all.”

“…Okay,” Robin says after a silence. She doesn’t really sound like she believes him, but Steve doesn’t care if she believes him or not, he just wants her to shut up about it.

They don’t say goodbye that day and Steve goes home in a bad mood. The mood isn’t helped by Will, who has been trying to talk to him for the past three days. Steve has been managing to distract, but that is bound to run out at some point.

Will is waiting on the couch – Steve’s space in the Byers house – when he gets back. Steve isn’t in the mood, so he goes to the bathroom and takes a shower, changing into day clothes, before going into the kitchen, skipping the couch.

He’s the first one back, so he starts up dinner. It’s his way to pay back Joyce and her kindness for taking him in.

The action isn’t deterring Will, who comes and sit with him in the kitchen, watching as he cooks dinner. Those wide eyes following his every action. It’s clear there is something on his mind, but Steve isn’t in the mood to ask. Far from it, in fact. So, he says nothing.

After a few minutes, however, Will breaks the silence. In that timid, sweet voice of him, he asks: “Is it the reason your dad threw you out?”

Steve halts – it is only for a second then he goes on, but he knows Will noticed it – and grits his teeth. He wants to snap, take out his emotions on Will, be mad at him like he wanted to rage at Robin and her curiosity, or at Chrissy for being worried, both of them reminding him of what he is trying to ignore. But he know he can’t. Will doesn’t deserve that.

Will can’t help that Steve hates himself, hates his father, yet also wants his approval, how he hates that he can’t be normal. And Will definitely doesn’t deserve that self hatred when that is also hatred against him.

But Steve also can’t confirm it. He can’t bring himself to make it real, to speak it into the world like he had with Eddie. Eddie, who made it easy to admit, to feel it, to talk about it. He misses how he feels with Eddie around. Because right now, he doesn’t feel like that. Right now he feels cornered and afraid.

“I don’t know what you mean,” is what he settles on. It’s not a denial, not the hurtful truth, but a dismissal.

They’ve never confirmed and always talked indirectly, both of them understanding what they’re talking about. Today, however, Steve is playing dumb. He is good at playing dumb. And right now, he hopes that Will is as conflicted as he is, too conflicted to actually say it. To ask it again this time with explicit words.

It’s the coward’s way out and Steve knows it. He can’t bring himself to look Will in the eye.

“Oh, okay. Nevermind,” Will says and Steve can hear the hurt that hides under the surface, as well as the confusion, but, most importantly, the defeat. Like he believes Steve truly doesn’t know what he means and he’s all alone again, but he knows he shouldn’t have expected anything else.

That tone breaks Steve’s heart and he wants to reach out. Wants to spin some tale about how it will all work out and he just got to hold on and it will all get better.

But Steve can’t.

He wants to, truly he does. But he can’t lie to Will, because Steve doesn’t like himself, he doesn’t like that he can’t bring himself to change. And he doesn’t believe that it will get better. He might have two weeks ago, but not now.

So, he keeps cooking and doesn’t look as he hears Will walk off, before a chair scrapes at the kitchen table and he sounds of crayons starts up.

They do their own thing like that until Joyce comes home. She asks Will about his day and gets him to talk about how Lucas and Max broke up again and how Mike couldn't come, because he was off with El, as Joyce tries to bud in with dinner, but Steve doesn’t let her. He’s content to stay in the background as Joyce fusses over Will, he’s sure the kid can use it after their conversation.

Dinner is as stilted as always. Steve can’t bring himself to lean into the care Joyce is offering him out of guilt or sense of owing, but Joyce keeps trying. This night Jonathan is off to eat at Nancy’s house and Will is quieter than normal.

Steve gladly turns in early, pretending to sleep for a long time in the hope he’ll be left alone by the two Byers in the house. At this point it’s a miracle he hasn’t woken up screaming yet. Though the Byers would at least know why and likely leave him be if he asked. He has graciously ignored Will and Joyce drinking hot chocolate in the middle of the night by pretending to sleep.

The next day, he takes care in covering the bruise. It is already starting to turn yellow, which helps in hiding it. He isn’t looking forwards to seeing Robin again, but he’s excited about Chrissy coming by, even if he’s wearing the stupid uniform.

When he gets there Robin isn’t there yet and he sets up in peace. A peace that is interrupted about five minutes in when it is broken by the arrival of Robin. She greets him like nothing happened yesterday and maybe in her mind it didn’t.

“Hi,” Steve decides to greet back. It’s civil enough and if he gives himself a second, he’s sure he can pretend as well. It wasn’t that bad anyway, Robin doesn’t know why he’s on edge about being questioned like that.

They settle back into their work rhythm and when Robin doesn’t bring it up again, he manages to relax and bitch with her again.

Around noon is when Chrissy walks into the parlor. She’s in a light green summer dress and looks absolutely stunning. It’s Robin, who spots her first. She trips over air and loudly bangs into the counter, causing Steve to look around. He light up and calls out: “Chris!”

“Stevie,” Chrissy grins, skipping up to the counter. Robin is there, staring at her as Steve hustles her to the side, frowning at her a little.

“Ahoy,” he says, dorkily tipping his stupid hat.

As expected it makes her giggle and she exclaims: “I can’t believe that’s the uniform. Sorry, but you look ridiculous.”

“I know,” Steve rolls his eyes fondly. “How are you doing, Chris? What flavor can I get you? On me, promise.”

“Again, not saying not to that,” Chrissy smiles, reading the signs, before picking strawberry. “Is your job fun?” she asks as Steve scoops. The question feels a bit like one you’d ask an acquaintance, the past few days hanging like an invisible barrier between them.

“Could be worse,” Steve shrugs, handing her the cone. “Some people are shit.”

“Tell me about it,” Chrissy says. “My mom can get so mad. It’s embarrassing to be seen with her when she does that.”

Steve barks out a laugh, the tension seeping away from them. He leans over the counter and says: “I somehow can imagine that very well. No offense to your mom.”

“Oh, full offense to her,” Chrissy laughs as well.

It isn’t busy and Steve clings to that calm as he takes as much time as he can get away with just chatting with Chrissy. Talking with her makes him feel normal again. They discuss what the cheer squad will look like next year, how Chrissy will have to get used to two bases again, and the rumor that coach Miller has a boyfriend now.

Steve notices Robin hovering in the background. She is oddly quiet, letting Chrissy and Steve catch up without blabbering on. Steve is grateful to her for that.

However, the calm doesn’t last forever and when more people come in than Robin can handle alone he gives her an apologetic smile. “You’re more than welcome to hang around, but I get off late, so it’s not really worth it.”

“I’ll go look around the mall,” Chrissy says brightly. “I probably won’t stay until the end of your shift, but I’ll come by before I leave.”

“Have fun,” Steve calls after her as they wave each other goodbye.

After she has left, they’re up to their neck in people wanting ice cream to flee from the growing early June heat. However, once the hustle has died down again, Robin turns to Steve and asks: “That’s Chrissy?”

“Yeah, who did you think Chrissy was?” Steve replies, a bit confused. He doesn’t think Chrissy looks that intimidating or weird, she looks like every girl out there. Is there something he’s missing that Robin sees? Is it a girl thing?

“Well, I mean- I guess- I don’t know,” Robin splutters. “I’m not involved with the cheer team. I do band. Guess, my image of cheerleaders is different than Chrissy.”

“No need to be so defensive,” Steve frowns. “She’s nice.”

“I believe you,” Robin squeaks.

Steve studies her closely, looking more confused. He doesn’t know what is up with her and why she’s weird about Chrissy. He already noticed she was a little bit quieter today and she seemed surprised by Chrissy. Maybe it’s because she does band and has a weird idea about more popular kids? Yeah, that must be it.

“Just because she’s a cheerleader, doesn’t mean she’s a bitch,” he tells her. “I’ll introduce you when she comes by again. You’ll see.”

At that Robin makes a weird noise, but nods, which is enough for Steve. He doesn’t care that much about Robin’s opinion of most popular kids, but he does care about Chrissy and he wants her to be liked.

It’s soon after that Chrissy come by again. She’s smiling brightly and holding a few bags. She sheepishly says: “I might have explored the mall too thoroughly.”

“Did you at least buy stuff you actually want?” Steve laughs at her.

“Yeah,” she lights up and shows him a few skirts and shirts that she bought as well as a new outfit for cheer practice. “I know it’s not going to be the same without you there, so this is to cheer me up,” she informs him. “And I can wear it if we practice together. If- if you still want to do that, of course.”

Steve wants to shut that down. He is building a new image here and cheerleading isn’t part of that, however he isn’t ready to let go of that. Cheerleading has been his happy place throughout some of the worst months of his life and he doesn’t want to give that up. Doesn’t want to let go of this friendship he has with Chrissy. So, he smiles: “Of course I want to, Chris. Don’t be stupid.”

“Yay,” she says with a bit smile. Actually saying the word yay out loud.

Behind Steve Robin makes a noise that might be laughter or her choking to death. Steve isn’t sure and turns around to see her looking a bit red. Probably choking, he guesses. But it also reminds him of going to introduce Robin.

“Oh, Chris, this is Robin, the one that called your mom for me,” he says, pointing at Robin, who gives Chrissy to most awkward smile and wave combo Steve has ever seen in his life. He has already noticed how clumsy she is, but she truly elevates it to a new level.

“Hi, nice to meet you,” Chrissy greets, turning her smile onto Robin, who just nods again.

Steve frowns at her, then says to Chrissy: “She’s usually harder to shut up, but I think her lunch fell funny.”

That’s enough to earn him a squawk and a push from Robin, who tells Chrissy. “Don’t listen to him, me and my lunch are perfectly happy together.” A statement that gets a giggle out of Chrissy as Robin stares at her with wide eyes.

She’s an odd girl, Steve decides, before inserting himself into the conversation again.

With the ice broken between them conversation comes easier. Steve knows Robin isn’t being as bitchy as she usually is and even Chrissy is toning down her rough edges, but he can see the two getting along.

He, himself, is starting to warm up to Robin too, as long as she stops her prodding, which she might. He hopes so at least. Anyway, the point is, it would be nice to have more friends and actually get along with the girl, whom he’s going to be stuck with for the rest of the summer. And if that girl and his admittedly best friend could get along too, that would be extra lovely. As he’d seen on the cheer squad, girls fighting could get mean.

But he doesn’t have to worry about that, they’re getting along, even teaming up against Steve at some point. Which is rude, honestly.

Chrissy does have to go home after a while. Robin is distracted by Erica Sinclair and her gang, when Chrissy decides to go, giving the other girl a quick goodbye. Then she turns to Steve and asks: “Can we have a sleep over together soon? We can order pizza and watch stupid movies and I can annoy you with my crushes.”

Steve aches to agree. He knows how she has been stuck with her mother while Steve sorted himself out and he wants to help out. The sleepovers have been a haven for both of them. However, Steve can’t even get into his own house and he’s lying to Chrissy that he can.

“I don’t know if I can manage soon, but I’ll tell you the moment I can,” he settles her, trying not to let the way her face falls slightly get to him. “But you can hang out here every day. I’ll even buy you lunch on my breaks, promise.”

That cheers her up a bit and she says: “I’m holding you to that, Stevie. See you tomorrow.”

“See you,” Steve says as he watches her leave.

Soon, he and Robin are closing up Scoops Ahoy, both of the seem to be lost in thought and Steve is grateful for it. He doesn’t need another interrogation from Robin.

Instead of driving straight to the Byers house, he makes his way to Loch Nora, hands tight on the wheel as his old house comes into focus.

He hasn’t been here since he got kicked out and a part of him thought his parents might still be around. Might want to stay with Steve out of their way. But it seems not, because the house looms over him as empty and dark as it has always had.

His body isn’t doing as told, so he climbs out of the car with jerky movements, having to fumble with the keys. He still hasn’t gotten around to trading his car, but so far it’s still unharmed. It must be hard to find among the masses at the mall, he muses.

Thinking about his car isn’t as big a distraction as he hoped it would be. He’s still standing in front of a familiar door, the keys jangling with how much his hand is shaking. Steve isn’t sure what will be worse, the door opening or it staying closed. The fact that his parents didn’t care enough to even bother fulfilling their threats or if the only time they cared was to fulfill them.

Slowly, he brings the key to the door. It goes in for a bit and Steve’s breath catches. Then the key stops moving and no pressure Steve dares to put on it can get it further.

They changed the locks.

His parents, who have never been home for more than a few days in years, cared to changed the locks, just to keep him out. Their hatred for who he is, is bigger than the indifference they have always had towards him as he tried his hardest to make them proud. All he had to do to get their attention was disappointing them too much to ignore.

Tears make his vision blurry and not for the first time does he wish that he can change, that he can stare at a girl and feel what all his friends always seemed to feel. That he could like Nancy the way he fooled himself into thinking he did. That he could be what his father wanted.

The last thought sends a wave of anger through him. He has tried so fucking hard, he’s still fucking trying and it’s not going to be enough. It never is.

So, he pushes away the tears, not willing to cry. He’s still going to try and find a girlfriend just to get rid of the target on his back, but he is refusing to cry over his parents changing the locks. He isn’t going to give them that.

Steve turns around pointedly and stalks back to his car, before driving to the Byers house where Joyce is already cooking. He greets her and Will, who is drawing at the table, only Joyce greets him back and he tries not to let that get to him either.

He takes a quick shower and changes into his normal clothes. His insides are still all messed up, but he is determined not to make dinner awkward again. He is still a Harrington (at least, he thinks so) and Harringtons play their part. He can use that bit of upbringing to make the Byers happy in their own home while he stays there.

When he gets back to the kitchen, Will has retreated into his room. It hurts more than Steve is willing to admit.

That evening passes as so many others have done. Though Steve is making more of an effort to talk, which is appreciated by Joyce, who is more fun to talk to than Steve had realized before today. He still doesn’t believe she cares that much about him, but he likes talking to her anyway.

The next morning, he rolls off the couch and into his uniform, covering his bruise once more, before driving to the mall. He’s going to see that mall more often than he would like this summer, he thinks as he sighs.

~~

A/N:

I love Steve as a queer mentor for Will, trust me I do and I’m gonna try and make it happen later, but you gotta be in the Right Place to be that for someone and Steve definitely isn’t right now. And yeah that hurts Will, but it hurts Steve too and it isn’t his fault that he isn’t ready. Queer reality is messy and I wanted to show that <3

Also, I am dying about Robin and Steve before they became besties, it’s so weird to writeeee ahhhhh

[findafight]

Oh I’m going to say something controversial here: I don’t know if the Munson doctrine mattered that much? Like, Eddie grew up in a shit show situation, because of that he can’t graduate properly, Hawkins has only one school so kids like Steve, Nancy and Jason can’t go to the private one, so obviously Eddie was getting like… like everything I think? In terms of bullying? Like the most significant proof is that Jason went straight for murder, and nobody escalates like that from nothing. Jason knew that he theoretically could kill Eddie, that means that they at the very least had conflicts, likely just physically fought each other. I’d like to believe that when Steve was the King Bee it was kind of chill (hence Eddie not knowing for sure if Steve is a jerk but suspecting), but when Billie came, shit must have hit the fan, because Eddie is the second most delicious target for him after Steve. Especially since Eddie even had his very own posse etc. like I’m sure that Eddie didn’t get beaten up like Steve (he is the drug dealer, Billie is not that stupid), but they had conflicts for sure.

But as soon as Eddie is in contact with the jocks that are not here to beat him up, Eddie is very cordial, nice and helpful and invested? Like with Chrissy, immediately he becomes kind and funny and lovely altogether? And with Steve, Eddie is immediately more cordial than Robin was at first, and more cordial than Jonathan ever was. Robin and Jonathan are also the characters who very much buy into the high school drama, with Jonathan being not like other boys and Robin hating Steve because she was jealous. So idk if Eddie actually buys into the doctrine or if it’s there to protect him from making friends with the wrong people.

Re rockstar Eddie: he clearly is a great guitarist and I think he is already well-known in a way, but he is not known for his music. Eddie becoming a teacher in high school or a semi-famous voice actor, maybe a famous fantasy author suits him so much more? Corroded coffin is clearly escapism, but what he is doing and what he is known for is Hellfire. I’m so sad that there are almost zero fics that explore Eddie not magically getting famous, but like. Working. Like and also he would have gone to college, the guy didn’t drop out of high school, come on. He’d be very dramatic about it but he is going. I bet he was supposed to be the first in his family to go to college and that’s half of the “I’m becoming my father” pain that he is clearly experiencing.

I think the Munson Doctrine is definitely sort of just. self defence mechanism. and also completely arbitrary. I think Eddie has a bunch of preconceived notions about "jocks" in general, and absolutely does what he can to protect himself, and is not willing to give them the benefit of the doubt right away, but he also definitely is willing to change his mind? (if they're pretty)(also the Duffers love perpetuating the false jock v nerd dichotomy)Because Lucas is one of "his sheep", yet he isn't actually protective of him specifically because Lucas plays sports, s i think Eddie does hold some resentment in general towards people who play sports. (also yeah Steve was definitely not a tyrant, he just barely registered people who weren't in his orbit, coasted through) He's a bit of a hypocrite tbh, and that's interesting! room for self reflection for him!

I think Robin was at least colder to Steve at the start was her petty personal vendetta against hi, while Eddie just has what he thinks Steve is like. Jon just doesn't like people and then Steve was dating Nancy so obviously he wasn't going to be buddy-buddy with him. And then Nancy left Steve for Jon and that's another reason to avoid him for Jonathan. Eddie's just out here operating on hearsay and Dustin's stevaganda (Steve propaganda)

Jason's mob for Eddie is influenced by Eddie's reputation, but we must remember Jason was already very religious, and his town had gone through a devastating and inexplicable mass casualty event less than a year before, and, of course. His girlfriend's body was found in Eddie's house. (I just made a post about this lol)Given what we see from him, idk if he would have been physically violent towards Eddie before spring break. He certainly may have though Eddie was a freak and a satan worshipper, but that would have been reason, to me, for a good christian bot to steer clear of. Maaaybe he would verbally taunt/insult Eddie. I could absolutely see that. You're right! Eddie had his own posse, so I just don't see Jason trying to beat Eddie up?

Eddie is definitely more of a Dewy School of Rock kind of guy! He would have a lot of odd-jobs i think. love it when he's just doing what I could absolutely see him being a YA fantasy author! idk about college for eddie. Definitely not right after he graduates highschool, but maybe a number of years later? if he did go he would absolutely be over-dramatic about it.

[tamtam-go92]

Ages after Round 1

After 3,5 days (1 year and 9 month) the current ages of Uberhood's inhabitants are:

If you didn't notice: there is now a Masterpost with all families (might contain mild spoilers): click!

You can also read the whole round 1 in chronological order if you click here!

89: Luis Aspir 86: Carlos Contender 64: Olive Specter, Patrizio Monty 60: Dora Ottomas 59: Mortimer Goth 58: Herb Oldie 57: Isabella Monty, Consort Capp 56: Coral Oldie, Betty Goldstein, PT9 Smith 55: Denise Jacquet, Herbert Goodie, Faith Goodie, Catherine Viejo 51: Jenny Smith 50: Daniel Pleasant 49: Mary-Sue Pleasant 46: Jason Cleveland 45: Marissa Cleveland 44: Edward Contrary, Albany Capp 43: Benjamin Baldwin, Stephen Tinker 42: Vivian Cho, Morty Roth 41: Isabel Baldwin, Wanda Tinker, Opal Contrary, Marcel Jocque, Sophia Jocque, Stella Roth 38: Darren Dreamer 37: Gilbert Jacquet, Buzz Grunt 36: Checo Ramirez, Leod McGreggor 35: Florence Delarosa 34: Antonio Monty 33: Loki Beaker, Pascal Curious 32: Timothy Riley, Lisa Ramirez, John Burb, Goneril Capp, Peter Ottomas, Lola Curious, Cornwall Capp 31: Armand DeBateau, Victor Aspir, Elizabeth Aspir, Issac Bell, Hannah Bell, Brandi Broke, Rose Greenman, Jason Greenman 30: Jessica Peterson, Circe Beaker, Ajay Loner, Erin Beaker, Samantha Ottomas 29: Sanjay Ramaswami, Vidcund Curious, Bianca Monty 28: Ramir Patel, Jennifer Burb, Alexandra O'Mackey, Priya Ramaswami 27: Ana Patel, Patricia Wan, Kristen Loste, Gabe O'Mackey 26: Gabriel Green, Matthew Picaso, Andrew Martin, Nervous Subject, Cassandra Goth, Regan Capp 25: Chastity Gere, Sharon Wirth, Jessica Picaso, Kent Capp, Oberon Summerdream 24: Samantha Cordial, Kimberly Cordial, Geoff Rutherford, Malcolm Landgraab IV, Chester Gieke, Jason Larson, Jodie Larson, John Mole, Trent Traveller, Julien Cooke, Nathan Gavigan, Mary Gavigan, Cyd Roseland, Robert Kim, Cynthia Kim, Tara Kat, Cleo Shikibu, Dina Caliente, Nina Caliente, Don Lothario, Lazlo Curious, Chloe Curious, Titania Summerdream 23: Connor Weir, Natasha Una, Trisha Traveller, 22: Gunnar Roque, Jane Stacks 21: Roxie Sharpe, Jonah Powers, Guy Wrightley, Mickey Dosser, Monica Bradfort, Ashley Pitts, Brittany Upsnott, Allyn Monty 20: Mitch Indie, Max Flexor, Delilah O'Feefe, Edwin Sharpe, Marla Biggs, Phineaus Furley, Ellen Frost, Chaz Whippler, Emily Lee, Tom Freshe, Matthew Hart, DJ Verse, Sarah Love, Jessie Pilferson, Jasmine Rai, Zoe Zimmerman, Frances J. Worthington III, Aldric Davis, Almeric Davis, William Williamson, Blossom Moonbeam, Klara Vonderstein, Stella Terrano, Martin Ruben, Allegra Gorey, Joshua Ruben, Kevin Beare, Castor Nova, Tiffany Sampson, Heather Huffington, Sam Thomas, Jared Starchild, Ty Bubbler, Jimmy Phoenix, Erik Swain 19: Johnny Smith, Hailey Goodie 18: Ophelia Nigmos, Swan Goodie 17: Tank Grunt, Andrzej Goodie 16: Mercutio Monty, Tybalt Capp 15: Ripp Grunt, Romeo Monty, David Ottomas 14: Justin Cleveland, Angela Pleasant, Lilith Pleasant, Puck Summerdream, Juliette Capp 13: Rick Contrary, Violat Jocque, Dustin Broke, Hermia Capp, Sandra Roth, Jacob Martin 12: Melody Tinker, Dirk Dreamer, Jules O'Mackey, Miranda Capp, 11: Tara DeBateau, Gavin Newson, Ginger Newson 09: Sofia Baldwin, Lucy Burb, Jill Smith, Bottom Summerdream, Alexander Goth, Buck Grunt, Hal Capp, Beatrice Monty, Benedick Monty, 08: Sally Riley, Daniel Bell, Desdemonda Capp, Sharla Ottomas 07: Tessa Ramirez, Tina Traveller, Isaiah Gavigan, Gabriella Newson, Gallagher Newson, Justin Kim, Xander Roth 05: Beau Broke 04: Markus Baldwin, Etsu Cho 03: Pauline Aspir, Garett Newson, Georgia Newson, Daisy Greenman 02: Ariel Capp, Tommy Ottomas 01: Willow Patel, Ian Broke, Winona Curious, Kevin Ottomas, Nadja Ottomas 00: Frank Tinker, Wendy Bell, Felicity Gavivan, Nicolas Greenman, Octavia Greenman, Victor Roth, Felix Smith, Isolde Capp, Otis Ramaswami

[steddie-fanfic-recs]

Cutting Close

by ann_anotherthing

Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationship: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson Characters: Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley, Dustin Henderson, Steve Harrington's Parents, Wayne Munson, Tommy Hagan, Original Characters Additional Tags: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Pining, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Slow Burn, Pre-Season/Series 04, Angst, Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, Coming of Age, Small Town Blues, Period-Typical Homophobia, Steve Harrington is A Mean Girl, Steve Harrington is a Fuck Boy, They Both are Infuriating Words: 93,500 Chapters: 10/10

Summary

Steve Harrington is in pain. No, not, like, psychological one, rather an unshooable bullshit of a headache, all thanks to the Russians squatting underneath a mall, torturing him a smidge. So, when his two best friends get all chummy with a known weirdo of a drug dealer, Steve first rolls his eyes, then rolls with it, jumping on an occasion to purchase his all-natural head trauma medicine. Except, you have got to be at least cordial with your dealer, to keep the relationship, and when the guy remembers you as a shithead, well. You gotta try harder.

[lunetaj]

Dustin knows what his father did for job and knows his "colleagues". He knew his father´s death was suspicious. Moreover, it happened only moments after he quit the job.

He went to say it with them. He thought they must have had something to do with it. But they defended themselves, saying that Skip was their good friend and that they wouldn´t do anything to him.

After that he went to see his friends. He needed support and he knew he would get it between them.

It looks like he will never know the real truth about his father´s death...

(2015)

[steviewashere]

Balls in Laundry Baskets: An Apology

Rating: Teen and Up CW: Bitchy/Mean Steve Harrington, Mean Eddie Munson (Both Briefly and For Good Reason) Tags: Post Season 4, Post Canon, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Arguing, Steve Harrington & Lucas Sinclair Friendship, Eddie Munson Gets Put in His Place, Lucas Sinclair is a Sweetheart, Steve Harrington is a Sweetheart, Protective Steve Harrington, Emotionally Hurt Lucas Sinclair, Emotionally Hurt Steve Harrington, Established Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Eddie Munson Means Well He's Just Defensive, Hurt People Hurt Others

This is chapter one, which also includes the first two pages that I already posted. Please keep your expectations low, as I'm still working on the second and final chapter.

Read on AO3

Read Chapter Two Read Chapter Three (Final)

🏀—————🏀 “So, you and Eddie, huh?”

Steve startles at the sound of a voice, deep and hushed, from where he’s been waiting in Hawkins High’s parking lot. Hellfire was supposed to be out by now—6:50pm if his watch is correct—it’s their first time back since March and it would be cordial. But it seems that only Lucas got that memo.

“Jesus Christ, Sinclair!” He yelps. Holds his right palm flat against his chest, trying his best to rescind the spike of panic that is crawling through him. “I thought I told you to quit doing that,” he harshly whispers, rubbing his palm against his shirt. The scratchy material of his polo a balm against his nerves.

“Sorry,” Lucas sheepishly murmurs. Speaking at a normal volume, he asks again, “So, you and Eddie?”

He rolls his eyes. “What about me and Eddie? Can’t I just hang out with the guy without being pestered?”

Lucas shrugs. “You can do whatever you want,” he states, but Steve can already tell there’s somehow more. “But I didn’t think you two would be…buddies. Considering how he feels about, y’know, sports and whatever.”

For a moment, Steve considers Lucas’s approach. His fidgeting hands and his slightly closed off eyes. The hunch to his shoulders and the general unease that accompanies talking about Eddie. Which, that’s particularly odd. Aren’t they buddies, Steve questions himself. Wrapped up in the Hellfire club, their mutual interest in Dungeons & Dragons, the ragtag group of nerds that they are—all of that is perfect for their oddball friendship, at least Steve thought so.

“What’s wrong with you and Eddie?” Steve asks, beating around the bush. He doesn’t do cryptic. And he especially doesn’t do it with somebody like Lucas, a kid already smarter than him by several margins.

There isn’t an answer right away. But Lucas’s shoulders drop. His eyes go from frustrated to…sad. “Remember my championship game?” He asks, though it seems a bit much of a topic change. What does this have to do with Eddie, Steve has to wonder.

“Well, yeah,” he answers instead, “I was there. Had a pathetic date with a girl I hardly enjoyed being around. Mocked Tammy Thompson with Robin. Watched you get that winning shot. It was a, genuinely, awesome championship game.” And that’s the truth. It’s the best one he’s ever witnessed. Which is saying something, considering he’d played several championship games. All of them, though, were major losses. He’ll take those to the grave with him, with how often his previous basketball teams teased him.

Lucas gives a harsh single nod, a small smile that whisks away as soon as it appears. “Right,” he mutters, “I remember.” He leans against the Beemer’s bumper, shoulder brushing with Steve’s. Looks forlorn towards the high school’s doors, where Eddie and the rest of the Hellfire bunch should be spilling out any moment now. Steve looks on with him. Listens as Lucas’s voice drops low, nearly angry, fully spiteful, “I begged Dustin and Mike to talk to Eddie about my game. To see if the Hellfire campaign—which would be happening the same night—could be moved. And I, look, I understand that D&D means a lot to all of them, it means something to me, too. But I was really hoping to see my friends there. If not my friends, then at least Erica.

“They didn’t move the campaign,” he states so bitter, Steve tastes the words on his own tongue, “apparently a game where you’re shooting ‘balls into laundry baskets’ is too…mainstream and norm-ie for Eddie. He refused to move his precious game. Then, get this, instead of getting some random kid to play, they egged Erica in.” Lucas drags his eyes away from the school, head turning slow to look at Steve. He follows suit, eyeing Lucas back. His stomach churns with the vitriol painting itself unsubtly across Lucas’s face. “Color me surprised, I guess, that he’s going out with a jock,” he states, voice carefully blank of anything.

Steve stares on at him. He didn’t know this was the case at all. Remembers getting the phone call about Dustin wanting him to play, but he figured that had something to do with him bugging Steve for the millionth time. Because that was something Dustin wanted. For Steve to play. And, granted, Steve refused because it was too nerdy—unimportant and embarrassing. Yet, now he’s looking into Lucas’s face. Where hurt etches itself like solid lines of chiseled marble. Being told, instead, that Eddie’s holding his own bias.

Maybe he hasn’t removed his biases towards high school nerds, not completely. But he’s coming undone from that mentality. Considering Nancy and Robin and Eddie—Dustin and Mike and Lucas—even Max, they’re all big nerds. They all have some sort of interest with Dungeons & Dragons or theater or video games and math. And he loves them all. Though, Steve’s never stopped to think about the opposite side of the coin. Tail-side, where balls in laundry baskets is considered taboo.

After a deep silence when Steve finally digests this information, his eyebrows furrow on their own accord. Mouth downturning into a harsh frown, one that he feels to the bottoms of his feet. He stops himself in time from balling his hands into fists, but the urge to do so snarls in him like a newly unmuzzled, wild dog. A dog, he thought, that he trained obedient away from his anger. But it seems like once the teeth are bared, they never truly hide away.

“That ass,” Steve snarks. “What—so I have to reconsider all my biases surrounding nerds, reconstruct how I view everybody around me, and realize how awesome it is. And—what—Eddie can just get away with that…bullshit? That’s…What the hell?” There’s a little bit more of a bite to his words than he had anticipated. But it really isn’t fair. The table turns and he’s better for it, sure, but Eddie just…That’s not fair. The dog growls louder, drool burbling in its chops, a bark forming in the back of its throat.

“That’s what I thought,” Lucas says, “and I know, I know, that Dustin and Mike tried everything in their power. And that Eddie was the one to, y’know, be the asshole. But I thought that maybe my friends would be on my side. That they’d skip the game, show Eddie up. Not get my little sister involved or have fun without me or…I don’t know.” And the way he says those last three words stings something acidic inside of Steve. Corrosion and battery acid hot and alive in his stomach. Anger reaching the surface of his skin, words crawling and resonating in his mouth. 

The doors to the school open distantly and Lucas suddenly perks back up, blossoming from where he was wilted against Steve’s car. “Doesn’t matter,” he chirps, though it’s all fake, “at least I can play with them now, which is awesome.”

But before he can stride away, to where his bike is parked and locked up, Steve snakes a hand onto Lucas’s wrist. They lock eyes again. “I’ll talk to him,” Steve swears, “he’ll apologize.”

“Steve, you don’t—“

“You used sports as a means to fit in, right? Granted, popularity’s not all that cool and you know that especially now. But it was a…a—“ He snaps his fingers, searching for the word. “—A cover, something to find security in. And you had that. And that’s what the D&D game is to Eddie. Sports is my D&D, too.” He loosens his grip on Lucas’s arm. Neither make any sort of move. “Just because you were trying to find your people doesn’t mean you can be…” He chooses his next words carefully. “Ostracized or outcast by those who you found safety with before. Especially when those guys orbit around each other for the same reason. I’ll talk to him,” he urges, “and he will apologize, or else.”

Lucas gives him a softened look. “Thanks, Steve,” he mutters, “I wasn’t looking to start anything, but I appreciate you having my back. It really means a lot.” And then he shuffles away, towards his bicycle, small chat starting up with Mike and Dustin.

When Steve turns back towards the school, Eddie is sauntering towards him. Eyes wide. Smile big and easy. Yet, his soft features are all too nauseating to Steve’s chest right now. His heart aches. If Eddie thinks of Lucas’s interests that way, what does he think of mine?

He tamps down his annoyance and anger. Because Eddie takes his hand and is looking at him as if the world belongs to the two of them. But that hurt on Lucas’s face is like a dagger impaled in his brain when Eddie greets nice and low, “Hi, baby. Been thinking about you the entire time I was in there.”

Steve smiles, though it may come off as more of a grimace with how Eddie falters. “Been thinking about you, too,” he echoes. Though, thinking positively isn’t what he’s been doing, as far as anybody’s concerned. Beat around the bush, he tells himself. He takes a steadying breath, posture straightening, demeanor changing. Says with a sour tone, “I, uh, I think we need to have a little talk in the car, if that’s okay? It’s not a breakup thing, but it might make you…somebody might get mad and I don’t want to cage you in at my house.”

“Oh,” Eddie breathes. His eyes go distant very briefly. When he refocuses on Steve, something has hardened in his features. Steve’s throat goes tight. “It can’t wait until after our date night?” There’s a low amount of ire in his words already and Steve is momentarily caught in it. Until he lets his eyebrows scrunch down his face again, giving in to that tightness in his throat.

He sighs, annoyed already. “No, Eddie,” he bites without meaning to. “I need to talk to you now. I’m already upset about it and it’s not going to do me any good to just brush it off.” His hand releases from Eddie’s grip, falling heavy against his side. He turns towards his driver’s side door and stares back at where Eddie is rooted. “Come on,” he states lowly, “you were the one to tell me to talk about the shit that’s bothering me. Can’t ignore it just because it has to do with you.”

Bitchy is probably not the best approach to all of this, but Steve is already cornered out of options. He pulls his door open with more force than necessary. Slides into his seat, key into the ignition, and honks once at Eddie. Jarringly gestures at the passenger seat. Thankfully, there’s nobody else to witness the potential torrential fire that’s brewing in him. It’ll be just the two of them; though that realization stirs something sickly in Steve’s stomach.

Eddie gets in silently. Places his school bag in the footwell. And keeps his face pointed out the windshield. “What’s wrong?” He asks, though his voice is devoid and edging on irritated.

Steve rolls his eyes, though Eddie can’t see him. He sets his hands firmly on his steering wheel. Squeezes the leather for comfort, an instinct. And heaves a sigh, urging himself to be calmer about this. “I had a talk with Lucas,” he starts. “About, uh, about his championship game back in March.”

Next to him, Eddie immediately tenses.

He continues without acknowledgement. Keeps himself as leveled as possible. “He told me that you refused to move your game for his. That he was looking forward to having his friends, which I’m assuming includes you, watch him play. And I—I know how important that championship game was to him. Y’know, it’s one of the bigger—“

“Are you mad because I didn’t want to sit at some jock event?” Eddie interrupts, question clipped. Though there’s also mild amusement in his tone, as if Steve being upset is poposterous. He continues without any regard for Steve. “In a room full of, mind you, people who hate me?”

Steve tenses more than Eddie had. His shoulders hiking and his stomach knotting impossibly more. Finally lets the dog bark, gives in to whatever it wants. “You know what, Eddie?” He bitches back. “I am mad at you. In fact, I…I…I’m so fucking angry that you…you make this whole deal about ‘lost sheep’ and herding them in to play your game. You concern yourself with making a community for people who are lost to the crowd of cliques in that school. And it’s just—Lucas is one of those kids! He is, even if that means he wants to play basketball!”

The passenger seat squeaks. Clothes rustling as Eddie turns toward him. But Steve doesn’t rip his eyes from the windshield. If anything, he leans more towards the left, creating a deeper, larger space between them. His hands instinctively tighten on the steering wheel again.

“Yeah, I do pride myself on that,” Eddie spits. “I do. Which is why, honestly, it irks me that Lucas would pick a crowd full of assholes. A bunch of people who would never give him the time of day.”

Steve goes rigid at that. He was an asshole, too. He knows that. Eddie especially knows that. The Munson Doctrine wouldn’t exist without the inclusion of asshole jocks, Steve being near the top of the list. He tries to tell himself that Eddie doesn’t think of him that way, but it’s hard considering himself. Who he used to be. Instead, he takes another breath, this one longer and hopefully more steadying than the other ones have been.

“He went out for basketball for a sense of security,” Steve states slowly, verging on impatient. “To find somewhere to belong to. That’s all a freshman looks for—a group to be somebody with. And, you know, considering that he’s already sort of singled out for being one of a few black kids at the school…Belonging is kind of important to him.” He settles back into his seat, arms still stretched to their full length in front of him. His stomach is turning and his heart is racing. And why won’t Eddie just get this? “Even if the basketball team has a bunch of assholes, he still wanted to do it. He was celebrated for his skills, who he is—even if it was for a moment. Playing was, and probably still is, important to him. And you—“ Steve finally turns his head towards Eddie. Knows his eyes are shooting daggers, can see where they lodge themselves between Eddie’s ribs. He raises a finger and accuses, “—you made his game feel unimportant. None of his best friends came because they were toopreoccupied with your game.” His face grows unusually hot as his voice drags passionately. The words just tumbling, splattering between them. But he carries on like a fire fed, “They even got his little sister to play yourgame. And, you know what really hurt to hear? Lucas wanted at least Erica to watch. And she wasn’t there. She wasn’t there because of your game, Eddie. How do you think that looks to him?”

Eddie has the audacity to look cowed, appalled. His mouth agape and his eyes as two large craters on his face. And for the first time, probably ever, he is stunned into silence.

Steve looks away. Bitter. All that festers in him now is hurt, ache, sadness. He chews on his lip, inhales softly through his nose, and opens his mouth with a silent word. Finally, he murmurs, “When I came to the high school as a freshman, I did the exact same thing as Lucas did. I joined the basketball team. Not because I was good. Or because my dad forced me to, like everybody seems to think. It’s because I wanted to fit in.”

His eyes are stinging. Cheeks flushing even more with overwhelming, consuming emotion. Continues, “And, though I let the feeling eat away at me, it felt good to be protected by a camaraderie like that. Outside of the nerdy friend group I had in middle school, going into high school. It felt good. And—It’s not the same as why Lucas joined, I know that, but I can understand.

“On top of that, I never had friends or family members show up for me at my games. So, for me to know the hurt Lucas feels, that would be an understatement. What’s important to note, though, is that he had people in his life to be there for him and they didn’t show. They didn’t.”

The fight is draining out of him, but he has to solidify his point. Has to finish this or else. Thinks briefly that maybe he should quit while he’s ahead, but he can’t make himself do that. The ferocity engulfing him from the inside out all too much to ignore. He’s been beaten down before for Lucas, literally—oh so literally—but he’d do it again and again and again for that kid to find his footing. Including this…spat? One sided argument? This argument with his boyfriend. 

“Even I was there,” he says, hollowly, “cheering him on. It just would’ve been nice, for him, to have more than just some washed up, ex-jock, nobody be there. Right? I’m sure you get where I’m coming from. You can understand what I’m saying.” He glances forlorn out his window. Can’t even muster the courage to look over at Eddie. He’s basically drained himself. Being vulnerable isn’t his forte, but he can be for the people around him. Even if it’s at the expense of his own well being. “Well, I thought you’d understand. Wanting to have a community, people to lean on, to make something of yourself. No matter the means. I just didn’t think you’d be part of the reason that Lucas feels so…so singular.”

He takes a deep breath, ignoring how nasally it is to his ears. And mutters, a final thing, “I didn’t think you viewed something that Lucas and I are into as so…nothing. I try my best to be better about what you like, but it seems that you don’t make that same effort. That’s not fair, Eddie. You should know that.”

Without much else to say and with Eddie’s eerie silence, he starts the car. Puts it into drive. And peels away into the silence of the long and stretching road.

Briefly, he thinks about turning on the radio or cranking down the window, but the air is too thick to move through. Even the slight turns of his steering wheel is enough to make him feel sick. He’s sick with how disgustingly to-the-point he had to be. Though, there’s no other way that Eddie would’ve listened. Not with how defensive he immediately got.

The original date night plan had been to go to his house, but he finds himself pulling into Forest Hills’ driveway. Past the dimly lit trailers and the striking quietness of Max’s home. He parks in the vacant spot next to Eddie’s van. Which, the van is broken down right now—the main reason Steve is even driving Eddie around. But, now what? Is Eddie mad at how mad Steve was? Is he going to realize that he doesn’t like Steve because of his interests, who he is? Is this it?

A gentle anxious thrum runs through Steve like the very blood he needs to exist.

He silences the car. And just sits with his hands in his lap. Looking blankly at Eddie’s front door.

“Your stop,” Steve murmurs.

Eddie takes a deep breath and sighs heavily through his nose. But he doesn’t make a move to open his door. To step out. To walk away from…all that Steve is and has been.

Steve turns to him, gestures loosely at the Munson’s. “Your stop,” he reiterates.

“I—“ Eddie musters, voice croaking and rough. “I didn’t realize that…I didn’t know Lucas was mad about that. I didn’t think it…mattered.”

“Of course you didn’t,” Steve bitterly states, “It’s not like you actually cared.”

“But I do,” Eddie insists, “I care so much about Lucas. And I care so much about you. I swear!” He finally moves, tossing himself in the seat to face Steve, flailing. His face a mournful thing, downturned and sad. Skin pale and his hands desperate and his voice urgent. “There’s no excuse, I know. But I just…The reason I look at jocks so awfully is because they’ve always turned on me, you know? They always downplay my interests and mock me and tease me for what I like. Which is why I have to show myself as the bigger guy, that I can take it. I just didn’t realize that I was doing it, too.”

Slowly, Steve crosses his arms over his chest. Fingers tightening over his biceps. “Real life and your friends are more important than biases, Eddie.”

“I see that now.”

“And I think that you…you love me? And that you like Lucas. But it’s just hard to feel that, for either of us, when you adamantly refuse to involve yourself in our interests. Even if it means attending some jock event. Even if it means sitting in a room full of people that hate you. Which, by the way, that isn’t true because Lucas and I both like you—I love you, even.” He faces Eddie again. His face a sure thing of great ache, based on Eddie’s own crestfallen eyes. “Maybe just…give us space for a couple days? Think about this. Apologize once you’ve given it some thought. I understand where the whole hating jocks thing comes from, but just think about how that hurts, too.”

Eddie takes a gasping breath. “But I’m sorry now, Stevie,” he swears, “I am. I’m so sorry.”

There’s part of those words that soothe Steve like aloe to a sunburn, but he can’t accept them. Knows that the sure sting of the burn will still be there if he lets Eddie do this now. So he collects himself, mulls the words, and defends himself—for once. “I’ll accept that when it doesn’t feel like you’re saying it just to make me feel better. I want you to mean it. And I want you to apologize to Lucas first.”

He watches Eddie nod fervently, sharply. His hands twisting together in his lap and his eyes wetting, shoved harshly to the side. “Yeah, okay,” his voice trembles, “okay, I’ll fix this.”

Carefully, Steve takes Eddie’s hands. Tugs them until Eddie looks at him. Involuntarily, he makes a soft, sympathetic noise. It’s clear in the wetness of Eddie’s eyes that he’s determined to change this, to make this better. It’s clear that he didn’t mean to hurt this severely. He presses deep into the back of Eddie’s hands, tethering himself down to the earth, away from the cloud of anger that threatens to swallow him whole. 

“Hey,” he murmurs, “listen to me, baby. I know that you’re sorry. I know, okay? But Lucas won’t know that, he’ll probably think you’re saying it to get on his good side. And…maybe you are, a bit, but it’ll be better if you really mean it. Trust me.” He swipes his thumbs over Eddie’s knuckles, massages them to ease the tension. “I still love you. I’m still learning, too, to love your interests with my full heart. And I know that it’s hard to let go of stupid biases, but you’ll be better for it. You will, Eds, and you’ll find you actually feel good.” Steve runs his hands up Eddie’s arms, to his shoulders, the sides of his neck.

Gently, he cups Eddie’s face between his hands. Presses his thumbs underneath Eddie’s eyes.

Eddie softens, loosening. Breathes slowly onto Steve’s wrists. “I’ll make this right, Steve,” he promises quietly, “I want to love both of you guys right.”

“I believe you,” he whispers in turn, “you’re a good guy, Eddie. You’ve got a good soul and a good heart. But you just need to relearn some things, baby.” He leans in, softly pecks the soft tissue of Eddie’s facial scar, and pulls away. Reaches up and runs a hand through the wiry ends of Eddie’s curls. Finds that he does mean the softness in his words, even with the bitter edge in his chest. He murmurs, “Let’s cool off tonight, because I know we’re both upset. And we’ll reconvene in a couple days, after my shift. I’ll help you come up with a good apology, promise.”

“Okay,” Eddie mutters, sniffling.

“I love you,” he feels the need to remind.

“I love you, too, Stevie. And I mean that. I really do.”

🏀—————🏀

Taglist (Open For Chapter Two): @wonderland-girl143-blog @tinyplanet95 @sharingisntkaren @ghostquer @practicallybegging @croatoan-like-its-hot @reinedslys-central

[spring-picnics]

The Wedding | Byler & Lumax

w/c: 4k

warnings: tipsy kissing, check down below for any important knowledge!

a/n: i loved writing this and it is for byler secret santa 2022 for @reactiontolife. hope that all of you guys enjoy and have a great new year!!!!

In my vision, Mike and Will are living in NYC and write best selling graphic novels together, but as Lucas’ best man and Max’s bridesmen (along with their flexible careers), they've temporarily moved to Chicago to help plan Lucas and Max’s wedding.

Lucas is an EMT and Max is a high school counselor. Erica is a mathematician and El is a highschool teacher and they also live in Chicago with Lucas and El. Dustin lives in Washington and works alongside the government in scientific relations to prevent any incidents similar to what happened in Hawkins. Steve also lives with him.

The main gang are about 26, 27 and the citrus six are 29, 30 and Erica is 24.

You are cordially invited to Maxine Mayfield and Lucas Sinclair’s Wedding Ceremony…

A beautiful, crisp card with gentle cursive font encased in an almost velvety envelope tied together with a satin bow. Mike knows that Will and Lucas spent hours picking the perfect invite for Lucas’ perfect wedding. He’s seen the vision board, and the scrapbook, and the practice dinners as a part of his best man duties. Though he apparently has “the eye of a colour blind racoon” and “cannot tell rustic from sophisticated decor,” he is still a part of the wedding planning. Unfortunately, this means he is also a part of the wedding ragging in which Max reminds him as much as possible that she has put a ring on it, while he has, as she puts it so eloquently, “no bitches.”

Now, in hindsight, RSVP-ing to the wedding was truly unnecessary since he was such an integral part of the ceremony, and RSVP-ing to the wedding slightly wine-drunk was even more unnecessary, but here he is with Lucas applauding him for finally landing a date to the wedding.

“What?” Mike’s voice rasps with the weight of a hangover and his perpetual lack of sleep.

Lucas stops clapping. A wide grin graces his face. “Dude! I came over to check whether the invites sent properly,” Mike’s eyes squint at the light from the open curtains, “You’re bringing a plus one?”

Mike sits upright and then immediately keels over from the shock. The lackluster events of last night definitely don’t flood his head with interesting memories, but a short replay of opening the invite reminds him of what Lucas is talking about. On the desk lies the stunning invite, the envelope and a small RSVP card signed Michael Wheeler with a little checkbox ticked. In front of the door stands an excited engaged man with high hopes for his best friend, waiting for an answer.

“Uh… Yeah, me and Will have been thinking of making it official.” Mike tries to keep his cool before he begins displaying symptoms of his outright lies. Lucas, however, isn’t blind or dumb; he’s known Mike for approximately 20 years. If he tries hard enough, he can guess what Mike’s eaten for breakfast. It’s pretty clear what's up, but also, this is the most entertaining thing that has ever happened, so he plays along, “You guys finally got together! That’s incredible, Mike. I owe Max but this is definitely worth it.”

Mike’s face immediately drops at the mention of his supposedly obvious feelings, before trying to ease the tense silence with even more awkward laughs. Mike mentally rearranges his list of priorities for the wedding:

1. GET WILL TO AGREE TO COME AS YOUR PLUS ONE.

Lucas finally leaves with an air of some kind of accomplishment that Mike can’t understand. All that Mike can comprehend is the blaring new goal to get Will Byers to say yes to his drunken and seemingly impossible ask.

Mike spends an hour or two getting ready. Showering, styling his hair, wearing a suit and then realising he’s trying too hard, before eventually deciding to just wing it.

Winging it was what anyone in the right state of mind would call “shitty judgement,” but Mike still rocks up with his fluffy curls and tired eyes and nailbiting anxiety.

He locked his apartment room and turned to the door opposite. For the first time in the last few months, having apartments right opposite each other was more of a pain than the saving grace it typically was. Inside was Will Byers, his comic book coworker, his best friend, the man he has been hopelessly and endlessly in love with since they got fake married back in third grade. And now he has to ask that same man to pretend to return that same endless love because he has to prove himself to Lucas “Doubtful” Sinclair and Max “Sass” Mayfield. This Monday was turning out to be an absolute dream for Mike!

Mike’s eyes close as he quietly lets air flow into his lungs. Exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale. He allows his head to gently fall onto the door before regaining position and bringing his hand up. His palm rests on the dark mahogany as a silent prayer for some sort of relief from this new personal hell, before the wood under it disappears.

“Mike!”

Will’s face lightens up with a welcoming grin that Mike can't resist returning. He unknowingly acts like a soft candle, warming him, sustaining him, brightening his life. Mike’s hand drops from its place in the air, and Mike suddenly pales, realising his impossible task.

Will notices Mike’s face flash with fear, one that's reminiscent of their time back in Hawkins, and immediately reaches for a hug. His arms completely encompass Mike and his overbearing nerves. The soft wool of Will’s sweater blankets Mike’s hands and eases his worries. Mike’s breath catches and when Will finally questions him,the river of his thoughts finally breaks free. Similar to a dam being broken, Mike asks “Do you want to be my date to the wedding?”

At once, Will steps back, and Mike instantly craves his warmth. His cheeks are flushed, and words are falling out of his mouth in a flood of rapid confusion, and Mike thinks he's fucked up. Will thinks he's still dreaming despite being up since 5 am.

“As a friend! As in pretend! Like I made a mistake and now I need to look like I have a date, and that I’m not all alone and desperate and desolate.”

“Oh.”

Mike thinks his heart might have just broken in two. He doesn't understand what he’s done wrong, but he knows that he’s messed something up. Was Will shocked? Was Will disgusted? Was Will… disappointed? Mike isn't dumb, he knows that something in their dynamic has shifted in an unrepairable way, but Mike isn't a quitter, and so he keeps standing, waiting for an answer.

Will eventually manages to stutter out a “sure.”

2. Work on the set for Lucas and Max’s Bachelor Games Night.

Mike can tell that Will is in a complete daze. Mike just asked him out but it's pretend? He should be losing it. All Mike wishes for is Will, and despite the confused mood of the conversation, Mike can't take his eyes off of Will; he looks absolutely ethereal in his sweater.

It's Will’s favourite; a sepia cashmere pullover that hangs on his frame. Mike remembers buying it. Their first novel had been published. All the long nights and tough edits had been worth it for the living proof of their identity, their pride and joy. And they were ecstatic, so ecstatic that Mike went and spent $400 on a Christmas sweater for Will.

Now that Mike was in Will’s apartment, standing in the tense silence, he couldn't help but ponder that maybe, just maybe, the sweater was more of a gift to himself than to Will.

“So the set?” Mike tries to ease the two back into a simple conversation again, and after a few minutes of clumsy back and forth small talk, they begin to throw themselves into the work.

Will and El, being the caring, thoughtful souls they are, had picked up the planning for the whole bachelor/bachelorette hybrid, and had been building a game show set for everyone to play in. El had spent hours upon hours taking wooden panels and screws and building little lecturns for the gang, with Will buying neon colours and lights and Mike writing up all sorts of weird trivia to test their “Mucas Knowledge!”

They continued to force themselves through the doubt and bewilderment until the set is finally done. Bright pink and electric blue red lecturns to represent Lucas and Max’s teams respectively. After a few moments of appraisal, they decided to split apart with quiet goodbyes.

“Wait… Will, I should explain what I said before.”

Mike sits with Will and tries to clear the tension. He watches Will slowly piece together the narrative and then sigh deeply in what Mike picks up as annoyance, yet also regret.

“Should we make a plan?” Will’s eyes shine in the light and Mike knows that this “pretend” relationship will definitely hurt his real feelings.

3. Continue planning activities for Max’s awe-inspiring month long honeymoon.

The pair eventually split up after deciding on all the planned details: Mike and Will accidentally kissed one night while writing together, they went on a dinner date, and now they've been together for two months, since the wedding planning started.

Will goes to work with Lucas on wedding details despite being Max’s pick for bridesman, while Mike goes to work with Max on figuring out the details to the two month long honeymoon that Lucas and Max want. Lucas comes to pick Will up; he chooses to say nothing as Mike stares pointedly at the wedding dreamboard in the back seat. Mike has known Lucas since elementary and has also known Lucas since the day he began planning Max and his wedding (eighth grade). They both declare a silent truce while watching each other's obvious symptoms of lovesickness.

Mike drives over to Max and Lucas’ apartment. The love that exists from doorway to livingroom makes the place feel akin to a home. He wishes him and Will could spend their days somewhere like here. Kate Bush wafts through the apartment to where Mike is taking off his shoes. Everytime Max calls Mike over she plays Babooshka, and everytime he comes, she gaslights him about what song is playing. Mike still doesn't understand that Kate Bush is playing.

At the couch, Erica and Max have a passionate conversation about the nuances of Heathers. Mike can vaguely recall the gang watching it together in the cinema. He remembers Erica’s approval of Veronica. He distinctly recalls Lucas describing each detail to Max and then getting told off for it by some entitled mother. He also recalls absolutely berating the shit out of that woman. A leader always takes care of the pack, the heart always beats.

Mike coughs dramatically (the heart needs love too) to interrupt the two.

“Hello Mr Byers,” Erica nonchalantly slips in. Mike almost doesn't notice the change, but once he catches Max’s chuckle, he turns bright red.

“Oh God, he’s even more whipped than we anticipated.”

Mike mumbles a simple “shut up Max.” He is definitely not having a good Monday.

The pair share one last glance before bringing up the reservations and tickets and potential activities that Max and Lucas can do together. They're flying to Toronto. Lucas has wanted to see the Canadian landscape since he was eleven and Max wants to see how nice the people are. On a scale from Mike to El, she predicts that they will be about as kind as Dustin: sweet but somewhat passionate about certain topics to the point of hostility and possible manslaughter.

After approximately twenty minutes of talking, the conversation merges into something entirely different. The Honeymoon itinerary was finished two months ago thanks to the unexpected speed and some kind of odd spite that the three harboured. Yet they still continue to meet. The trio see each other every Saturday for different reasons: Max wants Lucas to have as much time planning his dream ceremony without any pressure, Erica hasn’t seen Mike nearly as much as she wants to with him being her second older brother and all, and Mike misses the easy flowing sarcasm that emanates between Max and Erica.

They spend the whole afternoon spilling gossip from Max’s high school and hearing about Erica’s new theory that she's so damn close to understanding, and Mike is so confused, but this is what he missed. He misses Max complaining about the schooling system and he misses Erica shitting on the ancient Greeks for Pythagoras, and, most importantly, he misses the feeling of home.

Finally, late at night, Lucas trudges into the living room, worn out from another fight with the florist. Erica and Mike say their goodbyes and walk down to the parking lot. Before they depart, Erica turns to Mike.

“I know you’re a man of many overthoughts, but I want you to know that if you need a sign, take it. Don’t hurt yourself anymore.” Erica’s voice hushes and in the dark night, she can't see his shocked expression. There is an unspoken understanding between the two as to what this is about and Mike’s eyes gloss over with the realisation that Erica has somehow grown up while he was in New York.

He drives back with Erica's wisdom on his mind and Will’s name on his lips.

4. Pick up flowers with Will.

One more week. One more week until Max and Lucas are finally tied together in holy matrimony, and the electricity is truly in the air. As Max and Lucas’ godsends, Mike and Will have been bogged with task after task after task. Today is the night of the bachelor party and while El fixes the finishing details as game show host, Mike and Will are picking up all of the flower centrepieces and checking the order for the bouquet before the event.

Mike stalks to the counter in a precarious fashion, being careful not to slip on a tile. He reminds the owner of the order placed and then turns around to speak to Will, his breath catching.

Will is standing by a display of sunflowers and daffodils looking like a breath of fresh air. His hair surrounds him like a halo, all fluffy and blown out thanks to his shampoo routine. He’s wearing a bright yellow sweater and before Mike can make a fool of himself, Will shouts to him, “we’re matching!” Mike nearly blushes when Will begins to gesture to the flowers.

Mike opens his mouth. He can’t stay silent anymore. “Will, about the wedding, I don't think we should-” His mouth clamps shut when the owner walks back in with several boxes of flowers and garlands. Mike hates that this moment is ruined and his confidence is spoiled.

He half-asses a lie about what he was saying in the flower shop, and spends the rest of the car ride mourning his sanity and grieving what could have been.

5. Celebrate at the bachelor party.

Mike wonders if Will can tell that something is wrong. Maybe it's the new closed off attitude or the constant longing stare or the fact that everytime Max makes a comment about “their relationship,” he scowls. But if there is anything that Mike can do, it’s pretending that he's fine, that he's happy.

Mike can tell that everyone knows about the relationship’s authenticity, but he’s too stubborn to back down. Will keeps up the charade, but he seems uneasy at every little compliment and action. El has been quietly spying on every single move that they’ve made throughout the whole night.

The game show goes incredibly. El is an amazing host and she has a sort of palpable energy that passes through everyone. Her Taylor Swift Party playlist and bright fairy lights brought the whole night together and the whole gang had fun, but now the evening has mellowed down. Erica, El and Max are all sitting on the couch and sharing a bottle of champagne, whispering about every single move Mike makes. Lucas and Dustin have set up beer pong. Mike sulks in a corner sipping a fancy cocktail that Will made him while Will watches from the kitchen. Back when El started drinking, she wouldn't want a regular beer or tequila, so Will had spent several months before their 22nd birthday secretly perfecting his craft, to surprise her with his free bartending services for the rest of their lives. Now they’re 26 and El has gained a taste for champagne bubbles, so instead, Mike takes full advantage of his fake boyfriend’s superb skills.

Mike can tell that Will knows he’s getting tipsy, and that his delicate and drunk mindset is definitely on the verge of tears. Mike stands up, a little too quickly for his liking, and then slightly stumbles out to the balcony, trying not to trip over his own feet, to see the night sky of Chicago. He can’t think of anything when he watches the bright lights of the city. He wishes Will was next to him to see the sky. A few thoughts linger in the back of his mind. Is alcohol liquid courage or liquid sadness? Is he destined to end up alone? Where is Will? His alcoholic breakdown is set on hold when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey. I thought I should check on you.” Mike’s eyes drift to the figure behind him. He can’t help but smile at the man behind him. Crystalline tears begin to form on his waterline. Will brings his other hand to Mike’s forehead, checking for a fever, and he finds one. Mike’s face is flushed with the heat of his love, and Will’s eyes worriedly scan his face.

“Can I,” Mike whispers to Will.

“Can you what?” Mike feels like Will is searching through his soul, but he can't find it in himself to care. If he could, he would surround Will in his love like a blanket. If Will asked, he would plate his heart on a silver platter. If Will was the sun, then Mike would be Icarus, flying too close no matter what the risk, or the moon, always shining in his light. If he was the ocean, Mike would drown himself just to be with him forever.

Mike looks down at his lips, and then back into Will’s eyes. His voice goes even softer, “You know what I want.”

Mike places his palm on Will’s cheek and his lips turn slightly up, waiting for a reaction. Will look unsure, almost like he thinks Mike is lying or tricking him, before slowly nodding. It’s a small, gentle movement that Mike wouldn't have felt unless he was paying full attention to Will. “Yes. You can.”

Mike leans in and his lips stop right in front of Will’s. He wants to savour this moment, he wants to save this memory like a snow globe to watch over and over again, he wants to live the rest of his life like this, vulnerable in front of Will. When the moment is finally ingrained into Mike’s brain, he goes in passionately. His lips catch onto Will’s and he encompasses Will’s face with both hands in a desperate manner. Mike will never be the same.

Mike can feel Will relax into his touch. Will’s hands gradually begin to travel around Mike. His fingers grasp at Mike’s dark curls and when Will runs out of breath in the fury of Mike’s engulfing love, he lifts Mike’s chin away. Mike’s expression slightly saddens with the loss of Will, until he hears a quiet but warm laugh. “God, I’ve waited so long for that.” Mike smiles. It’s a sweet, gentle smile that spreads to Will like smoke from a fire. Mike doesn't know how, but his hands are in Will’s, and even though he’s unsure about most things, he knows that Will will be there tomorrow morning, and the morning after, and every single morning after that.

The party slowly filter out of Will’s apartment to leave the two alone. When Will and Mike are too tired to kiss anymore, they walk over to Mike’s apartment. His head has fallen on Will’s shoulder, and Will’s hand rests on Mike’s lower back, leading him over to the bed. Mike lies on the bed and falls asleep, content with the warm body that sits next to him and the even warmer feeling in his heart.

6. Go to the wedding.

Mike wakes up to his piercing alarm and his very much real and extremely hot boyfriend. After they wander to the kitchen and fix themselves a cup of coffee, Mike and Will come to the confounding realisation that today, some of their best friends are getting married. Today will be a long day.

They both live in somewhat of a haze while rushing through wedding protocol. Will works on curling Max’s hair while El does her makeup, and Mike helps Lucas practice his vows, singing and mimicking weird voices for Max’s lines to help Lucas take his mind off of the speeches and people and niceties. The only thing Lucas isn't anxious about is Max.

The day is stressful, as most wedding days are, but the day is also full of love. Max spends all of her time getting ready listening to a playlist Lucas made for her, for their relationship. And Lucas scratches Max’s initials at the bottom of his shoes so he can carry her with him throughout the reception, just like how she inscribed his initials into the fence of her house back in ninth grade.

They’re happy, and Mike knows it. He loves it. He’s missed seeing them together.

Their babysitters have all finally arrived to ease the situation even more. Nancy takes the lead and begins to organise the decorating of the garden. Jonathan and Robin carry out her orders and use their detail oriented eyes to put together a beautiful altar at the front of the garden. Steve and Eddie have taken to helping relations between all the workers. Eddie helps carry in the cake, Steve shows the photographer inspired wedding pictures and explains how the couple would like to be portrayed, Argyle helps Max relax in an interesting manner. It may or may not have involved weed. The wedding is messy, but it's beautiful like their love is.

Throughout the day, Will and Mike share glances and hesitant smiles. Yesterday was special, and things have definitely shifted, but today is about their friends, their family, their chosen blood.

Eventually, the party is ready. Family and friends are sitting on beautiful white chairs and Mike, Dustin, El, Will and Lucas stand up at the front. Eddie nervously fiddles with his palm cards as he waits for the bride to enter. Steve escorts Max down the aisle, placing one hand on her shoulder, and another on her wheelchair. She’s breathtaking. Her auburn hair is tied down in intricate braids at the top, while the rest falls naturally in loose curls. She’s wearing a cream dress that falls near the wheels of her chair and she can hear Lucas’ crying.

Lucas stops playing with his fingers as soon as he sees her smile. He remembers the first time he saw her smile like that, at the snowball. He can't believe that he gets to spend every single day of the rest of their lives together. Max has known this would happen ever since that school dance.

Steve parks Max right next to the altar and Max chuckles at his obvious sniffles. He’s been there through everything, and she knows that he would take care of her no matter what. He sits down, and Eddie begins officiating them.

Mike and Will can't remember most of the vows and small details, but they will never forget the love that they could feel as Max and Lucas whispered “I do.”

At the after party, Max and Lucas dance, and El joins, lifting spirits with her joyous attitude. She’s proud that her friends are now family in more ways than one. She and Max cry in the stall when it finally hits Max that Lucas just vowed that she would never be alone. Max eventually comes out and tells Lucas that she hasn't felt alone ever since 1986. Dustin and Eddie reunite and laugh the night away while making fun of Steve. They also all cry together in a corner when they watch Lucas and Max’s rings clink together and shine in the dim light. Nancy and Robin eat dinner and catch up with Erica, while Jonathan and Argyle join the cryfest that Dustin is hosting. Mike and Will sit in the corner and watch their friends celebrate the love that exists in the party. They know that they’re all older and wiser, but they're still the same family that started back in Hawkins. Though time has hurt, time has also healed, and Mike and Will silently thank the universe for blessing them with this happiness. For being able to see their friends alive and well together, for having each other, for having become people that they can be proud of.

Mike and Will share another kiss before they go back out and celebrate with their friends. This day will forever live in their memories.

@spring-picnics

[kurokoros]

Yeah, my least favorite part about Robin is how antagonistic she is to Steve and then we're supposed to believe that they'll be immediate besties. She isn't cordial to Steve at the start of the show (At least in my opinion) and during the investigation, she puts down Steve. She says that Steve was an asshole after he's been tortured for something that isn't even Steve's fault! And we learn that's because she was envious of Steve and she wanted to be normal like Steve was, but that explains her behavior, it doesn't really excuse it? She held a grudge towards Steve for something that wasn't even his fault. So he didn't pay attention to her in a class. Robin is not entitled to his attention. If she wanted it, she could talk to him. She never interacted with him yet she blames him for not remembering her from a class that was at least 2 years ago! Just because she remembers him, does not mean that he was also supposed to remember her. (Also Nancy fails to recognize her as well and we see in season 4 that she doesn't begrudge Nancy that. In fact, she wants Nancy to like her. We can assume that she changed, but the thing is that the Duffer's failed with acknowledging that there was time in between season 3 and 4. We can say that Robin changed in those 8 months but the way the Duffers write some character interactions and dialogue makes it seem like season 3 and 4 happen within like 2 weeks of each other.) Robin never acknowledges that she what she said and did wasn't nice because the Duffer's want us to see it as putting Steve in his place for issues that aren't even his fault.

Nancy not recognizing Robin is, imo, worse considering they're in the same grade. We had less than 500 students at my high school and I definitely didn't recognize everyone in the grade above/below me, or even talk to them if we were in the same classes, so that being on Robin's list of grievances is... weird?

I think one problem with ST is that the Duffers need the characters to be bantering at all times. That's the only kind of friendship (or romance) they know how to write. But when characters banter with Steve it always feels meanspirited. S1 Nancy calls Steve an idiot and a cliche when they banter/flirt. Robin has a board keeping track of all the times Steve strikes out while flirting, and in the final episode of S4 when they're getting into the upside down to fight Vecna, Robin makes a quip questioning if Steve wants them to applaud after he uses the rope to get through the mini gate. Dustin has gotten progressively more sarcastic with Steve in a way that doesn't really feel playful anymore. Steve can just be there existing and someone will critique him for it. It's weird.

[nanlanmoarchived]

new verse alert! v; but i'm a cheerleader developed with @theolderhenderson

Jess and her sister moved to Hawkins the summer before her freshman year and found a certain type of therapy that her therapist couldn't offer in the form of cheerleading. That was how she met Elie. The two were fast friends, neither of their home lives particularly great, the two girls climbed the ranks quickly and honestly? Jessica was certain that if there was someone up in the skies looking out for her, maybe all the bad shit her dad had done was meant to send her to Hawkins to find Elie. Freshmen year was. . . really everything Jessica had hoped public school would be. Parties, friends, and through it all Elie.

Sophomore year was when things got. . .harder. When Matt came around the friendship between the two girls became. . . Strained. Jessica didn't like how he controlled her friend nor the fact that a sort of. . . jealousy had begun to bloom over Elie. At first she thought maybe it was because her dating life had been nothing but "talking stages" and nothing close to serious. But that didn't make sense, she was happy with the ability to move freely between guy to guy. She wasn't jealous of Elie's relationship with Matt. . . She was jealous of Matt.

The realization that over the course of sleepovers and parties, shared secrets and doing everything together she'd developed feelings for Elie drove Jess to leave the team. She needed to put space between them and the only way she could think of doing so was to just cut everyone off cold turkey. Jessica fell to the background of the scene, headphones always blaring as she moved through the halls, avoiding any and everyone she used to hang out with especially Elie.

That was until Dustin and Eden started getting into more trouble, the pair of them disappearing for what seemed like days at a time. Jessica stayed out of it mostly, until Eddie was blamed for Chrissy's murder and her sister and Dustin were nowhere to be found. Now she's trying her best to keep cordial with Elie as they navigate this fucked up situation together and keep from blurting out everything that'd driven her away whenever the pair are together.

[qnewsau]

Em Rusciano blooms in her new tour Outgrown

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/em-rusciano-blooms-new-tour-outgrown-2024/

Em Rusciano blooms in her new tour Outgrown

No matter how much she grows, Em Rusciano will always bring the diva.

Raw, honest, funny and talented are just some of the words to describe Em Rusciano. The comedian has forged a career across Australian entertainment for decades.

Over the past five years, she’s gone through a lot of changes; from living in “the world of lockdowns” as she called it (Melbourne) to an ADHD diagnosis, finding out she’s autistic, and then going into early menopause.

But even though she’s using this growth and embarking on her first big national tour since 2019, Em still knows how to give her audiences exactly what they want.

“I’m not going to get up on stage dressed in a checkered shirt with a glass of water and a stool. That’s not who I am,” Rusciano laughs. “I’m putting on a show. People are getting babysitters and dressing up, and I respect that.

“Sure they may leave confused, or even aroused, but they’ll also be better than they were before they came.”

A multisensory experience

Following on from her wildly successful Rage and Rainbows show in 2019, Outgrown sees Em Rusciano share with her audience that she is still angry, but now she knows why!

“I’m selling tickets to 90 minutes in my brain,” she says of her 15-date Outgrown tour. Em will perform in Toowoomba, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Wollongong, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Bunbury, Ballarat, Newcastle, Canberra, Albury, Launceston, Hobart and Melbourne from July to August.

Not only is Outgrown a hilarious look at the beauty that can emerge after everything has been burned to the ground, it’s also a multi-sensory experience as she uses her art to communicate her new experience with her audience.

“When I talk about how medication works, we use sound and light,” she says.

“When I try and describe, how I see the world, we are illustrating that with little projections for autistic people who are in a state of awe a lot of the time. And I’m always in awe.”

“You know when your mum put the little glow in the dark stickers on your roof as a child and how that made you feel? I want the show to bring in those kind of feeling in my audience.

“There is a lot more deliberate use of light and sound and certain tactile things. There is not just my lighting director, but now there’s light choreography, very deliberate choreography. Because I want everyone to feel and experience certain type of way.”

Em Rusciano explained her experiences over the last five years “led to me questioning everything that I held dear.”

“The way that I process my trauma is through song and dance on stage in a leotard with a band.

“I gave a National Press Club address (below) a couple of years ago. I felt really apprehensive about being front-facing with my disabilities, because I’m not everyone’s preconceived idea of a disabled person.

“There’s a lot of internalized ableism that society has to deal with but also, I have to deal with around myself. So, when I decided to come out as neurodivergent, I did it not knowing what the response was going to be. I think deep down, I know how this society treats disabled people and the disabled community.

“But when I did it, I received this wave of love and support. People saw themselves in me, and saw their lived experience finally represented.

“Because up until that point, I think Bart Simpson was our only kind of representation of ADHD in the media. Or hyperactive white boys who shouldn’t drink red cordial. And I realized at that point why representation is so important.

“So when it came time to talk about being autistic again, I felt that kind of trepidation around it. Because there’s no exhausted forty-year-old women represented in the media as autistic. It’s Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, it’s the kid from The Good Doctor.”

“Being able to talk about my experience and then have people come back to me and say thank you, sharing that that’s how I walk through the world and having people share how that’s reflected in themselves has been a huge privilege and also made all the heartache worth it in the end.”

Em Rusciano rises from ‘Ego Death’

In the last five years, Em Rusciano has gone through ”total ego death and reframing of everything I thought I knew about myself”. What does that look like as she heads into her national tour ‘Outgrown’?

“I feel really peaceful. I think beforehand I was just surviving, enduring life, and I thought that was normal. That that was my lot forever,” she said.

“Once everything burned to the ground, I was really forced to have an honest look at myself, and also how I was allowing the world to treat me.

“The way I was living my life previous to Covid and to all my diagnosis was not sustainable. I did have a complete mental breakdown. And it was exhausting.

“Now, I get to step back into this arena with so much more knowledge about myself, who I am, what works for me and what doesn’t. This time I’m enjoying it and I’m taking my time with it. It’s something I’ve never been able to do.”

Em promises that you will still get the Rusciano that audiences know and love. Does that mean a return of her dancing vulvas?

“I’ll give you an exclusive: I have a puppet called ‘Menopausia,’” she shared.

“My daughters designed it. There’s going to be things falling from the ceiling. There are beautiful soundscapes. There are original songs. Don’t worry. It’s the full diva, switched on and turned up!”

Grab your tickets to see Em Rusciano ‘Outgrown’ here.

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