#end with joyce adopting him

[qprstobin]

I know it would never happen at this point with only one season left and the drama already in motion but-

I wish we could've gotten a Steve and Joyce team up.

People like to use Steve's confusion to make fun of him, but honestly his self deprecating assumption that he is never the smartest person in the room lends to him being ride or die for whatever situation you might be in. Joyce was right every time before? She's probably right this time, let's go Mrs. Byers, I'll hold your flower.

Joyce goes a little bit off the rails ready to protect her sons? Steve is like alright bet, I've got my nail bat/my axe just point me wherever you need me to go. They would cause so much chaos in the span of fighting monsters/Russians/the American government. Hopper would be so fucking tired.

Like Joyce gets made fun of for being anxious and paranoid, but Steve is used to badass women who are little bit off (aka noticeably nd). Look at his best friend/soulmate/drift partner! He's honestly a little odd himself at this point, Steve doesn't care. Probably the only type of person he trusts now in situations like this.

[zerokrox-blog]

Sinclair's adopt Steve

this is a a part of the Sinclair's adopt Steve fic I am writing, I needed to write this out so I did. Enjoy this snippet. (Also if anyone has that post about Jim and Joyce not really liking Steve please send it to me so I can link it here. I can't find it anymore ;( and I know I had it saved somewhere.)

It's the awkward comment that causes Joyce and Hopper to realize they're not as discreet as they thought. The older kids aside from Steve are hanging out at the Hopper-Byers. The kids were at the Wheeler's house for a sleepover and Hop had allowed Jane to join because both parents were home and Vecna was dead, so it would be fine. Sue and Charles Sinclair, Claudia Henderson and Wayne Munson, Joyce and Jim Hopper-Byers, Jonathan Byers, Argyle, Nancy Wheeler, Eddie Munson, and Robin Buckley were sitting around the table talking, catching up.

Mid conversation Sue's phone rang loudly. She glanced down and answered her cell.

“Hey baby. Is everything-” her voice cut off. She listened intently to the person on the other end. She nodded, she turned to her husband, “one second baby ok?” Sue turned to Charles, and put the call on hold.

“Steve needs to be picked up, his car broke down, and he just got it towed. He's at Rodney's. Can you get him?”

Charles paused, thinking, “yes I should be able to get him, I'd have to get gas but I'll have my phone on, I'll be there in forty to forty-five minutes.”

Sue nodded and relayed the information to Steve before hanging up. As she hung up she glanced up and noticed the barely held expressions on Jim Hopper’s face as well as Joyce Byers. Jim looked annoyed, and Joyce looked mildly disgusted. Sue didn’t want to say anything, and she didn’t have to because Joyce’s son Jonathon did. 

“Mom,” his voice was calm but there was something else hidden in his tone, an anger Sue wasn’t expecting. “why do you and Hop look annoyed or angry everytime Steve is mentioned or brought up in a conversation or over at our house?” 

Joyce blinked in shock, “oh I was thinking about something. It’s ok dear,” 

Jim snorted and gave her a look. But Jonathon persisted, “No mom I know you and I know the faces you make. What is your problem with Steve? He’s a good guy mom.”

Charles quietly slipped out of the room, he had someone to pick up. Sue caught his eyes as he was leaving and gave him a look, he mouthed a simple, “I’ll bring him home to ours and stay with him. Call me if you need.” she gave him a nod and turned back to the conversation.  

Jim and Joyce seemed to be communicating silently and finally Joyce turned to her son and stated, “I don’t like that he made you fight. You have never been an angry kid ever and he made you fight, he got into trouble and he never really apologized for it, honey that’s all.” 

Jonathan looked at his mother in shock. And before anyone could say anything else Jim added, “besides he is a troublemaker. He got into fights and had a lot of parties. Do you know many noise complaints I had to deal with at the Harrington house? The fact that his parents didn’t instill in him any manners is not-”

Jim was cut off by Nancy’s sharp gasp. He looked at her, her face ashen, her hand covering her open mouth. 

Jonathon sucked in a deep breath, “God no wonder he doesn’t trust you. You can barely hide the disdain on your faces when he was just mentioned. But this is crazy.” he turned to his mother,  “Steve apologized to me and Nancy several times already for that fight.” 

Joyce opened her mouth to say something but Jonathon had already turned to Hopper, “Steve had parties because he was popular and wanted to fit in, that doesn’t make him a troublemaker. Besides Hop, I was at some of those parties. It’s normal teenager stuff but his neighbors in particular don’t like any noise. We drove up to his house once during the day and there was an officer there because his car made a loud noise, so they had a noise complaint. It’s unrealistic to get upset or lose respect for a teenager acting like a teenager. Steve never hurt anyone Hop, in fact he was one of the only people to make sure that girls got home safely. He made sure they all had a way home, and if they got drunk he’d offer them a ride with another one of their sober friends to make sure they all got back safely.” 

Before anyone else could add in anything Sue injected, “you know Chief, I thought you were a mandated reporter. You don’t think it was suspicious that the Harrington parents never were around to help that boy?  You don’t it’s weird that his parents are not ever reachable to and I’m paraphrasing you here: ‘instill good manners into him’? Don’t you think most parents would answer when you’ve called about their son being in hospital, or getting hurt?” She looked directly at him and Jim found himself floundering because he had thought it was weird. But what did he know about the elite and their small issues? Steve Harrington is a rich white boy with wealthy parents who probably doted on him and at most his most pressing issue was not getting the girl he wanted.

Jonathan finally looked up at his mother and stated, “the reason for the fight we had was because I took a photo of Nancy and him without either of their consent and knowledge and Steve rightfully got angry at me and fought me for violating his and his then-girlfriend’s privacy. He fought with me and he apologized for it even though I should have apologized to him and Nancy first. We have since made up, and forgiven each other. But that still doesn’t explain anything.” 

Sue interjected, “Joyce, Jim, you are in some ways a lot more aware of our kids and their little friend group and you do know more than I or my husband do when it comes to what made them such close friends, but I will say this as Steve Harrington’s mother in all but blood, Do not let Jane hear you talk like that about Steve. She adores him like he’s her older brother and she will not take kindly to that. Secondly, Steve is not Richard Harrington, they are two different people and judging Steve on who his father is, is a huge disservice to him especially since he has done his best to be someone different then his parents. And lastly, Steve Harrington-Sinclair was kicked out and disowned by his parents two years ago during his last year of high school due to him leaving the basketball team due to his brain trauma. Maybe you should try getting to know him, before making a judgment call on him based on who you think he was some years back.” 

Sue stood up and grabbed her stuff, “if you excuse me I have a son to get home too.” She walked out, head held high. 

They watched her leave and before anyone could say another word Wayne spoke up, “I may not have been that boy’s number one fan, but he’s good. He’s a good kid. He tries real hard to be a good person and role model to your kids. But you miss the person he became because you’re too busy with your preconceived notion of who he is, instead of getting to know who he actually is.” he shook his head. “C’mon Eddie let's get home. I have a night shift I gotta get ready for.” Both Munson men got up and gathered their things and left as well. 

Once it was only Jim, Joyce, Nancy, Robin, Argyle and Jonathon, Joyce looked up at her son. He seemed sad, “mom, do you know that Will came out to Steve before he came out to the party? Do you know that Steve is the first person aside from you and I that Will felt enough to come out too? Steve made it a point to remind and show Will that he is always safe with him. Do you know Hop, that when Jane got sick last week she called Steve after you because she knew he’d not only pick her up from school but he’d take her home and take care of her until either you, mom or I got back from work. If he’s so bad, why do all the kids gravitate towards him? Why does Jane call him her big brother? Would Will feel safe around him?” Jonathan shook his head at them, “I have a friend to get to, I gotta go also.” The remaining teens got up and gathered their stuff. 

Robin had stayed quiet the entire time, not daring to speak or else she’d lose her mind at them and curse them out. But right as they left, she turned towards them and looked at them both, her voice low and hurt, “he was the first and only person I came out to, and not only did he reassure me while we were being hurt, he protected me. I have met Richard Harrington and Steve is nothing like him.” 

The door slammed shut behind the older teenagers, Jim and Joyce waited for a minute, breathing calmly or at least attempting to, “maybe we should take their advice and get to know him?” both of them thought quietly. 

Joyce and Jim hoped they weren’t too late to find out what about Steve Harrington had caught their kids and their respective parents’ attention.

[space-invading-pigeon]

Everyone jokes about Steve being the babysitter or the mom friend, but no one actually appreciates everything he does until he gets sick. Steve is the epitome of a doting parent; sure, he's only twenty and the seven kids he's adopted aren't actually his in any legal way, but those kids are his pride and fucking joy. Anyone who sees Steve with those kids can tell that he loves them deeply, which is why Steve is the only person in the Party that can convince their parents to allow anything- their parents KNOW that their kids will not only be well looked after, but they'll be genuinely enjoying themselves too.

Because he's a single mom except he's actually just barely out of his teenage years with no kids, he gets a lot of shit from everyone about it; he's known almost exclusively to the Party as Mama Steve (when he isn't in earshot of course). That's all fine by Steve, he always wanted a big family and now he has it. The problems start to appear when the Party realizes that Steve Harrington flat out ignores his own needs until they're so pressing that he's physically unable to do anything.

It all starts when Robin is told by Keith, of all people, that Steve has called in sick. Robin, of course, panics and calls him, and when he doesn't answer she calls Eddie to check on him. He and Steve had gotten closer since spring break, so it wasn't unusual for a member of the party to call either Eddie or Steve to check in on the other.

Eddie checks in to find Steve Harrington, badass warrior prince incarnate, sobbing from a blanket mountain on the couch in his living room. No one has ever actually seen Steve cry before, so Eddie freaks out, but it's just the result of a high fever and watching Old Yeller by himself. After calming the sick man, Eddie managed to coax some medicine into him and call Family Video to let Robin know that, yes, Steve is alive and no, he wasn't going to die of fever, but he only manages to get Steve to sleep by reading to him (Eddie finds it disgustingly adorable, even more so later when Nancy mentions that Steve loves stories but struggles with what he calls "moving letters"). And for the next two weeks, Steve is down for the count. Joyce and Claudia Henderson take turns making sure Steve is alright (Joyce because Steve is one of Her Kids, and Claudia because Steve is the Older Son she never had) while Eddie, Nancy, Jonathan, and Robin all try to take his place.

By the end of the first day, Nancy calls it quits: Mike is a bullheaded terror who only ever seems to like Will, El, or Eddie, and even then he doesn't always listen to them, so the Wheeler siblings fight even more ferociously than usual. She can't get El or Erica to listen, either; Erica is a force to be reckoned with, and El will only nod passively before doing what she wants anyway. By the end of day three, Jonathan is out. He won't say what happened, but he told Max to be nicer to the Party one time and, ten minutes later, he was tearfully saying that the kids were little monsters.

Robin lasts longer, almost an entire week, by chattering at the kids until they give up and listen to her. She meets her match when Dustin and Erica try to commandeer the Family Video computer again: Dusting sneaks past and almost breaks the computer just trying to get to it while Erica does Erica and argues until Robin the Rambler runs out of words. The morning of day seven is very dark for her.

Eddie, through what he believes to be the universe's acknowledgement of the depth of his affection for Steve and also sheer force of will, lasts the whole two weeks, but just barely. Mike argues over everything, no matter what; Will is skittish at the best of times and disappears constantly (thankfully, not like his Upside Down episodes - the boy just can't stop getting distracted and wandering away from the group), only to reappear directly behind Eddie and scaring him into an early grave; Lucas gets frustrated easily and can never seem to find the right words to communicate his thoughts and feelings, so he snarks and lashes out before awkwardly trying to mend the situation; Erica is so completely herself that it can be dizzying when the full force of that hurricane is directed towards Eddie; Dustin practically follows Eddie around like a little duckling, demanding updates on Steve or ranting about one of his many interests; El spends most of her time with the Party learning about how girls her age act through Max or practicing her braiding on Eddie. The worst of them all, though, is Max. Despite having healed up, she's still in physical therapy to rebuild her muscle strength and dexterity, and her eyesight is bad enough now that there's talk of her getting a service animal. It isn't that she needs a little extra attention that makes her the worst, though: it's that somehow, she still chases the most mischief. Eddie has only narrowly managed to keep her from assaulting no less that nine people in the two weeks that Steve is sick, and he knows she's definitely tried to commit arson at least twice that often.

Finally, after two weeks, Steve feels better enough to return to his usual activity, and Eddie begs him to never get sick again.

[livwritesstuff]

It’s late in the day when Sam Owens first approaches Eddie.

Eddie is sitting in a lawn chair on the edge of Joyce and Hopper’s backyard in Hawkins, Indiana, and sort of trapped there ever since his and Steve's daughter Moe had dozed off in his lap a little while ago.

For the record, Eddie and Steve don’t live in Hawkins. They’d have to be insane to stick around after everything this hole of a town put them through, never mind willingly choose to raise a child there. No, Hopper had bullied them into making the trek home to celebrate Moe's first birthday (Jesus H. Christ, she's one) and by the looks of how crowded the yard is, he'd done the same to practically the entire rest of the Party too.

Eddie isn't actually trapped either. It's true that he doesn't really want to tempt fate by waking Moe up from a nap that he and Steve had sort of resigned themselves to skipping that day, but he could get up if he wanted to. He's a whole sap in his big age of thirty-six though, and extremely aware of how quickly Moe’s first year of life had flown by. He'd be a damn fool to not relish in these moments, when Moe is a baby still, when she's little enough to fall asleep in his lap like this.

So he's sitting and he's letting his mind wander down whatever rabbit-holes it ventures upon because he's not just a sap these days, he's getting retrospective too.

Twenty years after all the shit that went down in his Hawkins, Eddie considers himself a secondary character in it all (even though it hadn’t felt like it at the time – that’s for fucking sure). 

Honestly, he'd really only been involved in about five days out of several years of that shit – not in the know yet for the first part, and unconscious for the end of it – secondary character stuff, in Eddie’s opinion (and as a two-time published novelist, he’d be the one to know).

It's probably for the best, to be honest. He barely survived even the secondary stuff — with a mostly-full picture of everything that happened over those three years he feels pretty positive that if he’d gone through anything more he wouldn’t have been so lucky. 

And these days, in July of 2002, he’s feeling pretty lucky too. 

“Doc,” Eddie nods as Owens takes the empty chair beside his own.

Owens is another one of these secondary characters in everything. Owens is…Eddie isn’t sure who Owens is, to be honest. A doctor in some capacity, he's fairly certain, and also a scientist too in some capacity given how he’s still in Hawkins doing research on all that shit — and he roped Dustin into it too (though as far as Eddie can tell, Dustin is a more-than willing victim in it and goddamn thrilled to be taking over his work someday too).

Someday soon, Eddie would wager, because Owens is well and truly reaching retirement age – he probably should have retired already, honestly, but Eddie can also sort of see why it might be difficult to step away from the kind of work he’s spent his life doing.

“Mr. Munson,” Owens greets him in return. Eddie watches his eyes flick down to Moe for a moment, “Or is it Pops these days?”

“That’s Steve, actually,” he replies, tipping his head in the direction of Steve, who’s standing at the grill with Hop (they’re listening to Dustin ramble about something and wearing matching beleaguered expressions).

Owens seems to understand the implication, because his only response is another one of those wry smiles and an exhaled laugh.

“Well, congratulations either way. I was very happy for you when I heard the news about the adoption.”

“Still keeping tabs on us after all these years?” Eddie asks, mostly joking because he knows the answer is yes. He knows they’ll have eyes on them for the rest of their lives for one reason or another (which he’s nearly made his peace with by now).

“Well, old habits die hard,” Owens replies somewhat tiredly, “Or something to that effect.”

Eddie doesn't really have anything to say in response, so he opts to say nothing, instead running a hand over Moe's hair — it's getting long these days, not quite long enough to style yet but long enough that she shakes her head to get it out of her eyes and knocks herself off-balance which is so so cute.

“I’ll admit," Owens continues after a while, "When I first met you, this isn’t where I thought you’d end up.”

“Yeah, you and me both, Doc," he laughs, because it's true.

“What I mean to say," he pauses, "It suits you.”

Moe chose that moment to finally stir, snuffling a bit as she lifts her head and looks at him with those beautiful brown eyes of hers.

"Good nap, bug?" he asks quietly.

She responds with a bleary, "Dada" (which she had only just started saying a few weeks ago and it goddamn kills Eddie every single time) as she nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder.

He hears Owens let out a soft chuckle.

“You’re really milking this, bug," Eddie says as presses a kiss onto the top of her head, "I think he gets it.”

[steddieas-shegoes]

Request: Hop & Joyce don't really like or trust Steve & he knows it. He can tell by their behavior towards him. Post spring break from Hell, Steve tears into them both after they insinuate that it's his fault for the kids being hurt. Steve YELLING at them in front of the party bc he is injured more grievously than the kids & he once again protected them, to the detriment of himself.

Joyce & Hop are forced to acknowledge that their behavior was cruel. And they have to apologize but Steve doesn't accept their apology straight away.

I am usually such a sucker for Hopper adopting Steve and treating him as his own that this was really difficult. Like, maybe top 5 most difficult things I have ever written. It's kind of short, but I wanted more of the focus to be on people standing up for Steve and Steve standing up for himself than the actual angsty part. My darling, I hope it lives up to expectations! -Mickala ❤️

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“I guess I just don’t understand how Max ended up like this if Steve was supposed to be protecting them all.”

Joyce’s words echoed in Steve’s head.

She was whispering to Hopper in the waiting room, but it was surprisingly quiet, and easy to hear just about anything.

The kids were asleep on the couches, waiting for any news on Max or Eddie, but the nurses told them it could be hours. Hours were a long time to wait when someone was bleeding out and the other someone had multiple broken bones and was unconscious.

Steve felt untethered, his connection to the earth cut the moment he saw what happened to Eddie, pushed into a dangerous orbit when he saw what happened to Max.

“He’s never really let me down like this. Did you hear Dustin say he thinks he was distracted by Eddie?” Hopper asked quietly.

“What did he mean by that?” Joyce paused. “Oh. Do you think so?” Steve couldn’t see their faces, couldn’t see the way they were having a silent conversation within a conversation. “It wouldn’t be the first time Steve let his romantic feelings get in the way of their safety.”

And that really wasn’t fair.

It wasn’t fair because he always put these kids who weren’t even his first whenever he could. It wasn’t fair because it wasn’t his job to be perfect. It wasn’t fair because they were the adults who should have been here to help and they weren’t.

He could feel tears building up, his vision getting just blurry enough that he knew he needed to walk away or he would start actually crying, and he couldn’t let anyone see that.

Especially not Joyce and Hopper.

Apparently, they already thought so little of him, he couldn’t possibly show them that he was struggling now.

“I think we’ll have to have a talk with the kids about trusted adults. They seem to rely on him for a lot and maybe if we just explain to them that Steve can’t handle it-”

“Excuse me, Mr. Hopper?” A nurse, thankfully, interrupted them.

Steve turned to see a young nurse, probably barely older than him, standing in the entranceway to the waiting room.

Hopper walked over to her, actually whispering this time, as if what was being said right now was a secret, but not the way he felt about Steve.

He glanced over at Steve, then nodded to the nurse. He called Joyce over to them, whispered something, then they both looked at Steve.

He hated what was happening. He was used to being a disappointment to adults, but in a silent way. His parents weren’t really ever around long enough to show their disappointment for long. Seeing it now, on the faces of people he respected and wanted to impress, hurt.

Hopper started walking over to him, his face serious.

“They have Max stable. She may not wake up from the coma, but they’re hoping she makes a turn for the better soon. Eddie woke up a few minutes ago while they were trying to stitch him up and he kept yelling for you. He isn’t quite stable yet. He passed back out as they were trying to put him on oxygen.”

“But they’re both alive?”

“For now.”

“Can I see Max?”

“I don’t think that’s a great idea right now. They’re trying to reach her mom, but the phone lines keep going down. I’m standing in as the adult responsible until she can be contacted.”

“So now you want to be the adult responsible? Not any other time when we needed you?” Erica said from behind them.

She’d been asleep with Lucas and El only a minute ago.

“Erica, it’s fine. I’ll just wait with you guys.”

“No, Steve, it’s not fine.” Erica put her hands on her hips, scowled up at Hopper and Joyce, who had just joined them. “Steve looks out for us every day. Even when the world isn’t trying to end. He drives us to school or from school or to the arcade, he pays for our food at the diner all the time, probably spends all his paychecks on us. And where are the parents? They don’t even know where we are most of the time.”

“But-” Joyce started to interrupt until Erica held up her hand.

“You left your kids to fly to Russia when you knew something weird was going on. You could have died, and then what? You know who would have stepped in? Steve. Because that’s what he does for us. Do you know one of his worst concussions was because he was protecting Lucas and Max from Billy? You know he drove Max everywhere she needed to go all year because she didn’t wanna be around anyone else? How about the fact that without him, we wouldn’t have even been able to get Eddie back here? But sure, blame him for this. It totally makes sense to point the finger at the one person who has protected us over and over again.”

Steve was crying.

The other kids were starting to wake up from her voice getting louder as she spoke, and it didn’t take long for them to realize what was happening.

El and Dustin surrounded Steve, cuddling into his sides to comfort him. He needed it, and he was always willing to accept love from the kids. They so rarely gave it, not because they didn’t love him, but because they were at that age where they didn’t want to.

These kids were his in almost every way that mattered, and he was just grateful that they weren’t hesitating when he needed them most.

“You kids could have died. Steve should have never allowed most of this to happen. He’s the adult, and he let you all go into this without even considering you could die.”

“You think we were just gonna sit around and wait for the adults to handle it? When have we ever done that?” Dustin asked incredulously.

“It’s what you should have done. Steve knows that.”

“Mr. Harrington?” A different nurse was standing in the doorway now, older, definitely less nervous.

“Yes?” Steve responded, wiping his tears away quickly.

“Mr. Munson is in a recovery room. He’s woken up a few times for a minute and each time he’s asked for you. Are you family?”

He was pretty certain hospital policy meant only family could go back, especially during natural disasters, so he lied.

“Yes, he’s my cousin. I can’t reach anyone else yet.”

The nurse smiled, though she probably didn’t quite believe him.

“Right this way, then.”

Dustin tugged on his arm.

“Can I come with you?”

“Sorry,” Steve shook his head. “Not yet. Let me check on him, and I’ll come right back out for you.”

“See? This is what I meant about letting his feelings get in the way! What if we weren’t here? Would you just leave the kids to sit out here alone?”

This time, El spoke up.

“Steve is always putting us first. He can put himself first sometimes. That is allowed.”

Steve wanted to hug her again, but the nurse looked like she was going to walk away, and if he didn’t follow her, he wouldn’t see Eddie.

“Go see him, we’ll be here,” Lucas said from next to Erica.

He nodded at them all, giving them a smile before he followed the nurse without looking back at Hopper or Joyce.

Eddie was asleep when they entered the room, so the nurse whispered to him at the door.

“He’s on a lot of morphine, and he’s still receiving a blood transfusion. He may wake up off and on, but he probably won’t make much sense until they lower the dose. Just be here for him,” she smiled before leaving the room.

Steve turned to Eddie and couldn’t hold back more tears.

He’d let him down. He’d let all of them down.

He was supposed to be the hero, despite the jokes about it all, they all knew he was.

But not this time.

Eddie almost died. Max almost died.

He could feel the bat bite on his stomach burning and itching, like it was already getting infected, but he ignored it.

He could wait.

He sat down on the side of the bed, slowly so he wouldn’t wake Eddie up.

But Eddie’s eyes fluttered open once, then twice, then a third time before they managed to stay open enough to see Steve.

“Stevie?” His voice rasped out, a small smile hidden under his oxygen mask. “You’re here.”

“I’m here, Eds.”

He had to be strong, but his brain was so focused on everything he’d done wrong and if he’d just been faster or got out of the vines quicker, Eddie probably wouldn’t be here and Max would be awake and-

“Stop.”

“Hm? Stop what?”

“Bein’ mean.”

Steve’s brows furrowed. He hadn’t even said anything else, had he? Was he so exhausted that he was actually talking without realizing it now?

“I’m not even saying anything.”

Maybe it was Eddie hearing things. He knew morphine was pretty intense.

“To yourself.”

“What?”

“Bein’ mean to yourself. In your head.”

“I-”

“‘S okay. Me too sometimes. Just gotta stop.”

Steve couldn’t help but smile at the way Eddie’s eyes kept drooping closed as he spoke. He would probably fall back asleep any second.

“I’ll be nice. You get some sleep.”

“You rest?”

“Not yet. Maybe later.”

Steve couldn’t really rest until he knew everyone was home, safe, and sleeping off some of the worst of their injuries.

“Yes yet.”

Steve snorted. Eddie was so high. He knew it was better than whatever pain he would feel when they eased him off of everything, but hopefully he wouldn’t remember all this.

“Sleep,” Eddie said, his hand managing to find Steve’s and tugging weakly on it.

“I can’t sleep here, Eds. This is your bed.”

“Our bed.”

Steve’s cheeks were hot, he knew if he touched them, they’d feel like fire. Eddie just had that way of completely rendering Steve speechless. He’d done it so many times over the last couple of days, Steve lost count.

“I’ll stay right here until your uncle gets here, okay?”

“And after?”

It probably wasn’t smart. It would look weird for him to stay in general, but he also had to get the kids home, try to patch himself up at home, maybe shower before he did some rounds and made sure everyone was taken care of.

“I have to take care of the kids.”

“But they have parents.”

“Yeah, well.”

They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Hopper walked in, face as serious as Steve had ever seen it.

“I was able to contact your uncle, Eddie. You can go now, Steve.”

But Eddie gripped his hand harder, frowning at Hopper. He seemed more awake all of a sudden, but with the way his eyes kept trying to close, Steve could see it was a challenge.

“I want him here.”

“Eds, it’s fine. He’s not too happy with me right now, so-”

“What? Why? You helped save the world.”

Eddie was looking between Steve and Hopper like an answer would suddenly make itself known, but Hopper was just staring at Eddie, and Steve was just staring at his feet.

He didn’t want to get Eddie involved in this. He just wanted to pretend it never happened, maybe try to look Hopper in the eye again someday, and apologize to Joyce for not keeping the kids as safe as he could have.

But Eddie apparently took the “no running” thing very seriously now.

“Steve? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just. I kinda let them down, didn’t keep everyone safe.”

Steve shrugged it off, but he knew he wasn’t very convincing, or really even shrugging it off. He still felt the ache of disappointing people in his chest.

“Hold the fuck up. You’re serious?”

Eddie sounded as outraged as someone high on morphine could. His voice was barely distorted by the oxygen mask on his face, and his eyes were nearly at their normal size.

Steve couldn’t look at either of them.

“Steve is trusted by all these parents to keep their kids out of danger, and he brought them headfirst into it. It just made Joyce and I wonder how often they were doing stupid things,” Hopper explained, though he didn’t even sound convinced he believed his own words.

Joyce was walking in just as Eddie was about to speak.

“Steve, I think you should bring Dustin home. Claudia is going to get worried.”

He didn’t need to look up to know that Eddie was glaring at Joyce and Hopper.

“Let me get this straight. Steve provides free rides, and babysitting services, and meals, and fun for your kids damn near every day. He protects them during this shit every time it happens, literally puts his body on the line to keep them alive. Tried to somehow keep them as safe as possible when it seemed like the world was ending this time, did keep them alive, and you’re still finding reasons to blame him?”

They both had the decency to at least look like they regretted it.

But they still didn’t say anything.

“Fuck this. I’m not gonna pretend to know everything about your little Upside Down Club, but I’m in it now. None of us wanna be here, but we are. Steve’s been doing his best for years, since he was a kid, and all you can do is complain that your sweet angels aren’t completely unscathed? This is a team effort, you know that. They volunteered. Steve would have had to lock them in a prison cell for them not to help.”

Steve looked up at Eddie, watched as he started to lose the fire that had overtaken him temporarily, his eyes dulling as the morphine dripped into his veins and flushed through his system.

“Best damn babysitter…” Eddie mumbled as his eyes fell closed.

Steve watched him for a moment, waiting to see if he suddenly woke up again. When he didn’t, he stood up slowly, didn’t want to risk him feeling the bed move, and made his way to the door.

But something hurt in his chest, something he knew wouldn’t go away unless he said something.

He turned to see Hopper and Joyce staring at each other, having a silent conversation.

“I’m used to disappointing people. I’ve been disappointing my parents my whole life. Disappointed friends, Nancy, bosses. But I have never let those kids down. I do my best with them. I try to be there for them the way I wish someone had been there for me. I make sure they’re kids because life handed them a shitty card or whatever and they deserve to still be kids. You can be mad at me if you want, but I know I did my best. They know I did my best.”

He didn’t wait for a response, didn’t want to hear them say anything else about how wrong his decisions were.

But Joyce stopped him from leaving the room, hand on his arm.

“Steve, wait. Honey, I’m sorry. I think…I think we got caught up in the moment and just needed someone to blame.”

“You do the best you can. We know you do a lot for them.”

It was nice to hear, but he couldn’t get over the uncomfortable itch in the back of his head that he deserved more than that.

“Thanks, but I don’t think I can accept the apology right now.” And then the anger really set in. It came over him so fast, he could feel his hands shaking. “A lot of things are out of our control. We all wanna blame someone for this stuff, but it just boils down to the same people over and over. Max is in a coma because of Henry Creel, not me. Eddie is in the hospital because of demon bats, not me. Eleven and Will are connected to the Upside Down because of the government, not me. I’m just trying to be whatever they need, and that’s better than I can say for either of you at this point.” Steve left this time, Joyce dropping her hand from his arm halfway through his loud speech.

Okay, he was yelling.

But Eddie slept through it, and it felt good to get all of that out.

He made his way to the waiting room, hoping everyone would still be there so he could check in.

Everything felt too fresh, too much like Vecna could show back up and take any of them at any moment.

But the waiting room was empty, not even Dustin remained.

Steve did his best not to panic. Their parents had all been contacted, so they most likely had just been picked up and brought home.

“They’ve all been picked up, sugar,” an older nurse said from the front desk.

“Oh. Thanks.”

“They left you a note, though.”

He recognized her as the woman who had been here the whole night, handling phone calls and people walking in like she’d been doing this for decades. Maybe she had been.

He walked over and grabbed it from her, giving her a small smile in thanks.

He walked outside before he opened it, not sure why he was suddenly nervous.

But as he read, he felt tears in his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that night.

Steve- Go home and sleep. We’ll be okay for a day while you rest. You don’t ever do that. We don’t agree with Joyce and Hopper, and we hope you know you’re the best damn babysitter ever. Love, Dustin, Lucas, Erica, El, Will, Mike, and Max (if she could)

He folded up the note, put it in his pocket, and walked to his car.

He ignored the blood in the backseat, rolled his windows down to ignore the stench of iron.

Knew he would be spending most of his day tomorrow trying to clean the stains out, but figured it would be a good mindless task.

He thought about Eddie, about how quick he was to defend him. About how he’d gripped his hand like it was a lifeline.

It felt that way to Steve.

He hadn’t let Eddie down. He’d saved Eddie.

If he didn’t do anything else right, he’d done that, and nothing Joyce or Hopper said could take that away.

[steviestits]

In The Family Way - Part 1.1

Written for an anon prompt, which can be read in its entirety on this fic's masterpost.

Pairing: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Background Argyle/Jonathan Rating: T (E in later chapters) Summary: The Munson family has never had the typical values that most modern Americans have as they find thrill in all that's mysterious and spooky. Steve Harrington, a black widow omega, hadn't known this when he mated with the family's eldest alpha, Eddie, and thought that he'd be another easy mark that he could kill to inherit the millions that Eddie owned. However, not only do all his murder attempts fail, but Eddie actually enjoys them! And to make matters worse, the alpha wants to try for a pup! Steve has to find a way to off Eddie for good, before he gets pregnant and maybe actually falls for the death-crazed alpha. (Addams Family Values au set in the Omegaverse after the events of the movie with Steve as Debbie and Eddie as Fester) Trigger Warning: Attempted Murder as a love language

The day Eddie met Steve Harrington was honestly the most horrendous day of Eddie’s life, and to be honest, Eddie couldn’t be happier. They met through Eddie’s adoptive brother, Argyle, of all people, after his omega, Jonathan, had a baby. The omega ran a photo studio out of their home, taking morbid pictures of newlyweds and family photos. He thought he would have to close the photo studio as he also had two younger siblings, El and Will, so Grandmama Joyce had her hands full with them and couldn’t help watch over the baby, too. However, Argyle insisted that Jonathan continue his dream and suggested they get a nanny instead to help out during his working hours. Jonathan had been hesitant at first, but since his studio was at home, if the baby needed him then he’d be only a few rooms away.

Finding a nanny proved to be a problem since most of the ones the agency sent over were quite disturbed. They ran away at the first sight of a bloody knife or a severed hand, leaving the baby unattended in the process. Eddie helped Argyle complain to the agency several times about their carelessness and demanded that the nannies be reprimanded for the neglect they showed in their duties. Instead of seeing the flaws in their hiring process, they proceeded to ban them from using the agency's services. At least, that’s what they had thought until another nanny showed up out of the blue. That beautiful vision was Steve, a very kind and sweet omega.

Steve took to the children well, and quickly became their confidant. Though El and Will denied it, Steve insisted that the kids desired to go to summer camp. And from what Eddie heard, the kids had a truly dreadful time. They made some new friends, led a rebel uprising, scalped some puritans, and set fire to a stage. Honestly, if Eddie had known summer camp was so much fun, he would’ve insisted that his uncle send him when he was a lad.

The departure of the children did make Steve lonely, however, but Eddie was there to comfort him and over the course of their interactions, the two of them fell in love. They eloped nearly the same day then took a flight directly to Hawaii for their honeymoon. Eddie hadn’t thought he’d like Hawaii because of all the sun, but Steve went the extra mile to make sure Eddie had a good time. He started by electrocuting him in the bathtub then introduced him to sex directly afterwards. And there was the impromptu shark tank swim that Steve sent him on, and the tour of the local volcanoes. One of which Steve, the seductress, tried to shove him into when the guide brought them to an active site.

Eddie had been worried that the magic would end once they returned home, but Steve continued to be affectionate and thoughtful. Their first day back, in their beautiful new home, his darling omega made him an explosive home-cooked meal after he placed a bomb in the tuna casserole. He then shoved Eddie off a two-story balcony onto a bed of spikes and dropped a grand piano on Eddie once after he returned home from visiting his brother.

Argyle had been worried about Eddie given Steve’s love of pastels, but Steve proceeded to set their minds at ease by staging a family execution. It was then that they were all convinced that even if he dressed differently from them, Steve was still a Munson through and through. The rest of the family welcomed Steve with open arms, happy that Steve would be able to make Eddie absolutely miserable for the rest of their lives.

Even now, several months later, Steve was still looking after Eddie. He could feel his mate’s love as he drank the whiskey the omega prepared for him. His mate was feeling feisty today as Eddie could tell that he had dumped a full bottle of arsenic into the alcoholic drink then added two spoonfuls of rat poisoning for some zest. He honestly didn’t know how he’d gotten so lucky as to find an omega who took care of his needs as well as Steve did.

“How’s your drink, dear?” Steve asked through gritted teeth.

Whenever Steve fixed Eddie a drink, he’d always hover around him, waiting for confirmation that the drink he made was especially murderous. Such as today, Eddie had been reading in his study when Steve brought over the drink he had mixed for him. He then proceeded to hover around the room, pretending to be interested in various items all while keeping watch through the corner of his eye for Eddie’s reaction.

“It’s positively poisonous as always, my pet. Your best work yet.”

Steve’s knuckles clenched until they turned white as he said, “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He then stormed out of the room, stomping his feet as he grumbled about adding more cyanide next time. It was flattering that Steve dedicated so much of his time to thinking of ways to please him, but a little worrying as Eddie thought the omega needed activities outside his devotion to his alpha, otherwise the spark the two had might fizzle out from overindulgence.

That’s why Eddie had decided to visit Argyle today, to get some advice as to how he kept his relationship with Jonathan from becoming stale. Eddie finished his drink then went to the attic door, where Steve sweetly spent most of his time plotting Eddie’s demise, and told him that he was leaving. Steve replied by shouting that he hoped the alpha’s van didn’t crash, which made Eddie swoon as his omega had clearly gone through the trouble of cutting his breaks.

Masterpost ~ Part 1.2

[otto-apocalypse]

Basically, Otto is the main antagonist of HI3. I said antagonist, because while a villain actively wants ill for the main characters, he doesn't want that. He was born in the XV century in Austria, and was the most frail and sickly kid, fifth born of House Apocalypse. He then mets Kallen Kaslana, who instead compliments him and believes in him, and from then on he idolizes her. When they were teenagers, they witness Kallen'a father die to save them, and since the oath of the Kaslana family states to protect the weaks, Otto is then terrified that Kallen will also die the same way. It's then that he unlocks Void Archives, trying to sacrifice his live to resurrect Kallen's father, but she stops him.

Ten years pass and Otto is willing to do anything, even less… ehtic things, to protect her. He also SINGLEHANDEDLY CURER THE PLAGUE. In the XV century. Then she finds out he's doing questionable things and that th Church of Schicksal, founded by the three noble familie Apocalypse, Schariach and Kaslana, is also very sus, nd she flees. In the East she meets Yae Sakura, and they fall in love. But Sakura become sort of a Herrscher (powerful emissaries of Honkai, the main threat of the world) and Kallen has to kill her. She then returns, and sends a letter of excuses to Otto (who never received it) stating that she was wrong to criticize him for what he did for her, when she did the same for Yae. Once back, Schicksal sends her to death, Otto tries everything to stop it, asking her in marriage as last resort (he's always been in love with her, but never confessed because he knew she didn't feel the same, and only wanted her happy). But she refuses, saying that she doesn't want to live if it means being someone else's puppet. So Otto, as the very last resort, asks for help his older sister Risa, who with their newphew was aiming at gaining power over Shicksal. She help, by releasing Honkai beasts during Kallen's death sentence. She tries to protect the people, and ends up dying.

Otto kinda loses it for a while, goes around opening orphanages and taking care of kids, helps the rebellion take Schicksal back from Risa (who was doing even worse experiments), and ends up travelling to the East, to seach for that Immortal who defeated even Kallen, the strongest valkyrie, hoping to find a way to revive Kallen. He mets Sushang, stuff happens, this is the untranslated, unfinished Seven Swords visual novel (where he gets called Raksha and has an outfit similar to HSR) Thanks to VA, he's pretty much immortal himself, but can't revive the dead

For 500 years he protects the world from Honkai. Valkyries exist thanks to him. If humanity managed to fight off Honkai it's thanks to him. All the technologies that allows Valkyries to fight are thanks to him. In the fifties he tries to clone Kallen, and has the clones fight each other, and one refuses to kill another. This clone is Theresa Apocalypse, which he adopts as his grandaughter, and the other is Amber (his secretary). At the same time, the First Eruption happens, and Welt Joyce is the Herrscher of Reason. This is the plot of the Anti-Entropy visual novel. In summary Welt Joyce (welt is literally the german word for "world") is on the side of humanity, but Void Archives does some tricks, and Otto ends up killing Joachim Nokianvirtanen's father, who inherits the core of the Herrscher of Reason from the dying Welt Joyce, thus becoming Welt Yang (Yang is from his mother). Yes, our Welt Yang.

Fast forward in the '90s, the Second Eruption happens, with the Herrscher of the Void, Sirin. They fight, yadda yadda, stuff happens, Welt dies but then resurrects, and not without difficulty humanity manages to kill Sirin. Otto keeps the cores of the Herrchers, because he tries to find a way to make Herrshcers on the side of humanity. At this point, his plan is still to be able to capture the power of the future Herrscher of Death and use it to resurrect Kallen. But an encounter with the Will of Honkai, suggest that this is not the way.

Meanwhile a few years earlier, a descendant of the House Kaslana, Siegfried, has met Cecilia Schariac, they end up together and have a kid, Kiana. Cecilia ends up sacrificing herself to save all Siberia from Herrshcer of the Void, and while she was conscious of this, it was literally her choice, Otto made Theresa, her great friend, think that he killed her with a nuke. Otto tries to find a way to control HoV powers with clones of Kiana, and one of these clones succedes. Little Kiana, of roughly 10 years, decides this clone in a tube must be saved, so her and her father sneak into Schicksal to steal it. Things go horribly wrong, and Kiana gets left behind, almost dead. Otto saves her, and since she doesn't remember anything, gives her the name Bianka Ataegina, aka Durandal. Meanwhile Siegfriend is with Kiana clone, and he gives her the name Kiana, grows her for a while and then leaves to avoid her Sirin personality to emerge. She then goes to school to become a Valkyrie and meets Mei and Bronya. When Sirin ends up awakaning, Otto kidnaps her to Schicksal flying HQ (had she awoken at the school, it would've been a massacre).

She fights, and Himeko's sacrifice awakens Kiana's humanity. She hides away for a while and other stuff happens to other characters. Meanwhile Otto has discovered, also thanks to Su from Previous Era and Durandal, what he has to do to resurrect Kallen. You see, he witnessed many, many parallel universes, and Kallen ALWAYS dies (this is a nod to GGZ).

But to enact his plan he needs HoV powers, and Kiana won't help him willingly. So he devises a plan: in Kolosten, the old Schicksal HQ, he calls everyone. He sends a threat: he's going to reverse time, everyone who's currently in Kolosten will be safe, but everyone else outside will simply cease to exist as time gets reverted back to when kallen was alive. He taunts them all to come and stop him. This is actually a bait, and also his plan B. If the girls couldn't stop him, they'd have no hope against Honkai and future dangers, so 500 more years would be needed. His main plan is to trick Durandal and Kiana to kill him using theyr powers, so he could trascend existence itself.

All the "traps" he devised were actually personalized to each girl and her power, a sort of training. They fight, he gets killed, and manages to reach the Imaginary Tree. There, at the cost of his existence, CREATES new braches of possiiliy to let Kallen live.

His morally grey character has the best writing I've ever seen. His love for Kallen is something so… wonderful, it doesn't fit into romantic nor sexual, he doesn't want her for himself, heck, he doesn't even get to meet her once she finally has a new chance at life. He just wants her happy and safe.

[estrellami-1]

If I Should Stay

Part 1 | . . . | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26

They watch her go, and Hopper remarks, “She seems like a good kid.”

Steve chuckles. “She’s great. Part of it is due to you.”

Hopper looks at him incredulously. “Me?”

“Sure,” Steve shrugs, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I don’t know how much I’m supposed to share, or not supposed to share, about the details of the future, but you end up basically adopting her. Joyce helps a lot, and for a while she moves to California with them.” He tilts his head. “It’s a weird custody thing that somehow works. I don’t really know the details.”

Hopper sighs. “Kid, you’re gonna drive me to drinking more.”

Steve smirks, fully giving in to the temptation to fuck with Hopper. “Eh, the Russians pretty much fix that for you.”

Hopper drags a hand down his face with another sigh. “I don’t want to know.”

“Probably for the best,” Steve agrees. “Especially since we plan on that not happening this time around. Hopefully with me not fighting anyone.”

Hopper squints at him. “How many people rocked your shit?”

Steve tilts his head. “I don’t know if Jonathan gave me my first concussion, but he definitely beat me to hell. Then the Russians, and there was definitely a concussion with that. Then Billy, he broke a plate over my head, so that’s another concussion.” He shrugs. “So like… two and a half, probably?”

Robin taps his shoulder as she passes by. “You’re forgetting the demobat,” she says, then pauses. “And did the vines get you?”

Steve sighs. “Dammit. I knew I was forgetting something. Can we just call that an even three?”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Hopper grits out. “Were you dropped on your head as a child?”

“That implies I was picked up in the first place,” Steve fires back without thinking, then blinks. “Um. Sorry.”

Hopper squints at him. “I feel like you need a hug, but I’m the worst person in the world for that.”

From across the room, Alli calls, “Steve, stop fucking with the chief.”

He turns to her, jaw dropped. “I am not!”

“Bubba,” she says, giving him an extremely judgy look.

He squints at her, then pointedly turns away, only to come face-to-face with Eddie, who’s looking between the two of them with an amused look on his face.

Steve goes scarlet. “Oh,” he says. “Hi.”

Eddie looks like he’s considering something. “Hi.” He shuffles a little, looks down at his feet then back up at Steve. “Um. I wanted to thank you. I heard what you said to the chief, about me.”

Steve smiles. “I know it probably doesn’t seem like it, but I swear the guy’s actually a teddy bear.”

Eddie shrugs. “Well, still. Thanks.”

Steve smiled shyly at him. “You’re welcome,” he says quietly. “And thank you. For the gun stuff.”

Eddie grins. “Gun stuff?”

Steve flushed scarlet again. “Shuddup,” he murmurs. “But seriously. I- it was selfish, wanting you here this time, y’know? You would’ve been fine if I hadn’t dragged you into it. Shit- shit, you would’ve been okay, nothing goes after you yet…”

“Steve,” Eddie says, and his attention snaps to a soft smile. “It’s okay. I’m involved now, I’m here, and I’m not leaving.”

Steve takes a breath. It only stutters a little. “Okay,” he whispers, then takes another breath. “Um. Sorry.”

Eddie offers him a kind smile. “I think you’re kinda due for a breakdown, dude, after hearing what you’ve been through? I think you’ve more than earned it.” He looks around, leans closer to Steve, lowers his voice. “Tell you what. Tonight, or whenever it’s just us, I’ll bring out the lunchbox.”

Steve huffs out a laugh. Does his best to ignore the just us. “Sounds great, honestly. Thank you.”

Eddie leans back with a grin, then winks at him before he walks away.

Steve turns and catches Robin’s eye. He widens his, and she raises an eyebrow, nodding in the direction of the bathroom.

Steve considers it, then shakes his head, jerks it in the direction of the kitchen, walking that way without waiting for her.

He’s got his head stuck in the fridge by the time she gets into the kitchen. “I’m thinking a casserole,” he says, “I don’t know what else is gonna feed everyone-”

“Steve,” Robin says gently. “We don’t have time for you to deflect.”

He shuts the door with a sigh and leans his forehead against the cool metal. “He’s being so nice,” he all but whines.

“And you don’t know how to handle it,” Robin nods, patting his shoulder. “I know.”

“I fucked this up,” he murmurs.

“You didn’t. He likes you, Steve. It’s just shitty timing.”

He takes a breath, lets it whoosh out. “I can’t ask him to wait for me.”

“Maybe you won’t have to,” she says. “Maybe he’ll realize you’re worth the wait.”

He manages a grin. “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

She rolls her eyes, but smiles. “Yeah, well, when you look this pathetic…”

He squawks and launches himself at her, and she yelps and runs out towards the living room.

He grins and turns around, back to the fridge. It really is time for dinner, and a casserole does sound good.

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[campbyler]

ACSWY OFFICIAL LIVE TIMELINE

as one direction once said, "you and me got a whole lot of history (whoa)," so we thought that this timeline might be a useful reference for you (and us!) to keep track of mike, will & co.'s very loaded history within the acswy universe! this will be updated as more information is revealed -- that said, feel free to holler at us if you feel we've missed anything!

only significant months and/or dates will be highlighted. if a month is skipped, nothing significant happened and/or significance has not been revealed yet. if there is a timeframe, it means no set date has been determined, but the event happened within that ballpark.

timeline begins below the cut:

MAY

mike, will, lucas, and dustin's first year as campers; jonathan's first year as a jr. counselor; joyce's first year as camp nurse

JULY

steve (yellow cabin counselor) and jonathan get into a physical fight and end up in the isolation cabin together (referred to as the Isolation Cabin Incident of 2017)

AUGUST

mike and will share their first kiss with each other

SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER

will comes out to joyce and jonathan

jonathan and steve start dating

will and max become close friends at hawkins middle

JANUARY-APRIL

will comes out to max

hopper fosters el

chester, the byers family dog, passes away 💔

MAY-AUGUST

el and max's first year as campers; jonathan's first year as a counselor (blue cabin)

mike and will rivalry begins

canoe incident of 2018

mike and el begin dating

MAY-AUGUST

slime incident of 2019

mike and el break up

hopper and joyce start dating

steve and jonathan's last year at camp whiteman

SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER

hopper officially adopts el

MARCH-MAY

hopper and joyce brady bunch the shit out of el, will, and jonathan (home from nyu bc of the pandemic)

discord era

pasta sauce incident

JUNE-JULY

condensed version of camp (two weeks, monday-friday, daytime only)

mike, will, lucas, dustin, max, and el's first year as junior counselors

DECEMBER

18th: will starts dating derek, who is a year older than him

between christmas and new year's: mike comes out to will, lucas, dustin, max, and el as bisexual

MAY-JULY

will and derek break up

mike is there for will during his break up

will pushes mike off the dock (but in a #fun and #chill way)

MAY

follow the sparks (i'll drive)

out of focus, eye to eye

mike, will, lucas, dustin, max, and el's first year as counselors

MAY-

events of a cruel summer with you begin

offscreen, during ch08: events of you know that i caught it

[groovinrightalong]

Alright, as promised, here are some ✨married Byler/Byler dads headcanons✨

A little preface that this is specifically for my transmasc Mike headcanons, so it’s not necessarily canon compliant, it’s pretty much just MY older byler AU so if it’s not your cup of tea you can just scroll along. Brief mentions of being a seahorse dad and a heads up right now that transphobia will get you an IMMEDIATE block:)

Now that that’s over with!

-Mike and Will get married at some point in the early 90s. Mike doesn’t get his birth certificate changed until some point in the 2000s, so legally he’s considered female, and you better believe they take advantage of it. He’s like at least three or four years on hormones by the time they get married but they’re just like :D yes we’re a straight couple I love my wife :D

-Bonus points if Will wears a dress for the wedding

-They get a dog pretty much as soon as they move in together. Will loves dogs (Mike’s more of a cat person but he adores the way Will’s face lights up when he sees them) and she’s probably a birthday present from Mike to Will. They like to joke that she’s their child, they bring her along to family picnics and events. Joyce and Jonathan are obsessed with her, she reminds them of Chester.

-Mike grows up to be an author! He makes a decent living between selling his books and a gig working at the local library, and Will does some graphic design. He doesn’t particularly like how regimented it is, he prefers doing art for the love of it, and he gets his chance when they’re early to mid 40s because Mike’s books start to get really popular and they can live off that income. Will then pretty much just does the art for the covers and works as a freelance artist. Gloats about being a trophy husband.

-They spend the first decade of their marriage just being the cool uncles for Jancy’s kid, always stopping in for surprise visits because they all moved to a bigger city within a decent distance from each other. Mike likes to buy the kid gifts he knows will piss off his sister, like water guns and play dough that’ll get stuck everywhere. He’ll sneak them candy, pick them up from daycare to take them out for the day. He’s a nuisance.

-Will aids in the schemes, but obviously he’s Jonathan’s baby brother so he’s the good one and Mike is the bad influence😇 And then the kid learns their first curse word from him when he accidentally slips up in front of them and he never hears the end of it.

-He’s really soft and happy with them though, and Mike obviously notices. Mike’s sort of iffy on if he wants any kids but he can tell Will does even if he won’t say anything.

-They adopt their son in like early 2002/2003. His bio mom was really young. They keep in contact with her, send her pictures and updates. His name’s Sam! (Short for Samwise. Because they’re fucking nerds.)

-They end up with two kids. Their daughter’s only six or seven months younger than Sam because hey y’all testosterone is NOT birth control. She pretty much looks like a mini Joyce, her name’s Gwen. (Gwenevere. Like I said, NERDS.)

-Their kids kind of have a similar dynamic to Will and El because they’re so close in age, they’re always in the same grades, etc. People jokingly call them the twins.

-Nancy takes her revenge by doing pretty much the same thing Mike did with her kid with the twins. She’ll sneak them treats, get them sugared up when they’re at her house then send them home. Sam thinks she’s the coolest person EVER (much to Mike’s horror)

-Gwen’s nonverbal. As a toddler, Sam talked for her pretty much all the time. She never said her first word, was really quiet and reserved, and it worried them obviously. But then they were like, oh wait, let’s try sign language (Mike has times where he’s pretty much totally nonverbal too so they already know a decent amount) and as soon as she figures it out she’s talking to them all the time. She’s super high energy and between her and her brother, they get into a LOT of trouble (Mike’s first gray hair comes in when he’s like 34😭)

-She also has a bit of a sixth sense! It’s mostly to do with the supernatural (which isn’t really an issue since the gates are all closed now… right?) but sometimes she’d react to something right before it happened and it would freak her parents out. Will has it too, but he’s so used to it now that he doesn’t really notice it? And Mike’s just like oh well that’s just how he is it’s not weird. It’s a… lot freakier when it’s a toddler.

-(Bonus!! Jonathan, Nancy, Mike, Will, and the kids all have the last name Hopper. Hop adopted Jonathan and Will and they changed their names to match him and their mom and El because FUCK Lonnie.)

I have lots more thoughts but this is going on really long and just🫠 Yeah. Byler dads.

[pollsonmorenichetopics]

Disproportionate Retribution Poll Round 3 Side B:

Danny Fenton's (Danny Phantom) Disproportionate Retribution:

"He cheated on a test and as a result his entire family, all his friends, and the one teacher who genuinely cared about him died in a fast food explosion. He was adopted by his greatest enemy, who he convinced to separate the ghost and human halves of himself to try and lessen the pain, which in retrospect feels a lot like a form of assisted suicide for people who are already dead.

His ghost half killed the human half, fused with his enemy's ghost half, and used their combined power to destroy the entire world. His current fate is indefinite imprisonment in a container the size of a soup thermos. Because he cheated on a test."

"Crime: Cheated on an ungraded test

Punishment: LITERALLY ALL OF HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS ARE KILLED (during a parent teacher meeting at a fast food restaurant?), he's forcibly adopted by his "rival" (aka the adult man who has repeatedly tortured this 14 year old because he wants to kill Danny's dad and marry his mom) only to have his literal humanity ripped out of him- his ghost fuses with his enemy's ghost half, turns evil, and then VIOLENTLY KILLS HUMAN DANNY (and then destroys the entire world)

Sounds excessive? Yeah! Sure, it could just be tragic coincidences so far, but stick with me. We're going to reset the timeline, we can make this better, right???:

TIMELINE 2:

Crime: THOUGHT ABOUT cheating on an UNGRADED test

Punishment: The Master of Time sends ghosts from the future to ASSASSINATE HIM, then is sent to EXECUTE DANNY HIMSELF (BECAUSE CHEATING ON THE TEST IS THE DIRECT CAUSE OF THE END OF THE WORLD APPARENTLY), but then he THROWS DANNY TEN YEARS INTO THE FUTURE OF THE PREVIOUS TIMELINE TO BE FACED WITH HIS ABSOLUTE WORST FEARS MADE REAL: the entire world was ended by HIM, everyone he's ever loved is DEAD, he was told of everything that happened in this timeline including the forcible adoption and his own death at his own ghost's hands, evil future ghost him TORTURES HIM AND TAKES AWAY HIS ONLY MEANS OF GOING HOME, THEN REPLACES HIM AND TRIES TO MURDER HIS FAMILY to ensure the bad future! Meanwhile Danny is being pummeled by the future versions of his rogues gallery because they think he's the evil version that destroyed their afterlives. Anyway he makes it back eventually (after his rival RIPS THE THING TRAPPING HIM OUT OF HIS CHEST WITH A DEVICE THAT COULD KILL HIM) and his family been captured by this impostor wearing his face, and after fighting for his life he finds out he was too late and HAS TO WATCH EVERYONE HE'S EVER LOVED EXPLODE RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM. Of course then the Master of Time shows up, says it was all a lesson, then resets the timeline to before the test again, leaving Danny with all the memories of what happened to traumatize him into confessing he willingly "stole" the test answers (which he didn't even do, they ended up in his possession due to an accident that only happened BECAUSE HE WAS DEFENDING HIMSELF FROM ONE OF THE FUTURE GHOSTS SENT TO KILL HIM) because he was fully intending to cheat on the test (again, false- his friends accuse and berate him for planning to cheat before he even considered it, which he later only thought about seemingly because he was already being treated as a criminal and he had no time to study since he was busy DEFENDING HIMSELF FROM GHOSTS SENT TO KILL HIM SUPPOSEDLY TO PREVENT THIS SITUATION), because of course that's a proportionate response

Why it's over the top: In what world is physical and psychological torture, kidnapping, repeated attempted murder, permanently traumatizing a child, making them absolutely terrified of themself and setting them up to be their own worst fear, and MORE a reasonable response to ANYTHING, much less a 14 year old kid (who just wants to keep people safe) accidentally acquiring the answer key to an ungraded test?!"

Joyce Dagen's (Saw 3D) Disproportionate Retribution:

"Literally nothing.

Her husband lied about being a victim of Jigsaw, and rather than him receiving any punishment for it, his punishment is that SHE has to suffer in a brazen bull, which is literally one of the worst methods of torture. There are many reasons this is the worst Saw film, but this just adds to the rampant undercurrent of misogyny throughout the whole thing. Her husband’s plot ends there, and he does not appear again in any other film! It’s just a last minute middle finger to everyone."

[catlady5001]

end of year fic recs

somehow it's almost 2024. where did the year go. where.

here // part two

i want to share some fics i really enjoyed this year, organized by fandom! each fic will have a short summary, the word count, and a + symbol if it's a work in progress!

fandoms:

Fear Street

Stranger Things

Percy Jackson

under a read more for people who just want to keep scrolling :)

Fear Street

break the chain by cassiopeia721 (@cassiopeia721). when Sam is forced to move to Sunnyvale due to her parent’s divorce, she’s shocked by how weird it is there. 5k, crack and angst

Stranger Things

always surprised by what i do for love by birthdaycandles (@steveharrington). dustin, lucas and mike are at a halloween party when they find someone dressed up as an injured steve harrington, and take it upon themselves to defend his honor. 6k, oneshot, hurt/comfort

the end is here (and we do it a hundred times over) by placebythering. set during season 4, steve keeps reliving the day of the apocalypse. 126k, angst with a happy ending

strange (but not a stranger) by heartofwinterfell (@nancywheeeler). mike wheeler character study - he struggles with feeling replaced by eddie. 10k, slice of life

this must be the place by palmviolet (@palmviolet). set after starcourt, robin stays at the byer's for one night - one night that quickly turns into two, then three, then many many more. 25k+, slice of life with fluff and angst

view from a bridge by palmviolet (@palmviolet). a retelling of season four that imagines a completely different type of monster - a cosmic horror. this is one of my favorite stranger things fics of all time. 173k, horror

In A Strange Land by MrsEvadneCake (@mrs-evadne-cake). set after season 2, it focuses on the eldritch monster that has invaded hawkins. another incredible fic. 180k, horror

you are young and life is long (and there is time to kill today) by heartofwinterfell (@nancywheeeler). series with two fics, one from eddie's perspective and one from steve's, about the timeloop they went through. eddie remembers. steve doesn't. 70k, angst with a happy ending

I've seen your face before, my friend, but I don't know if you know who I am by HMSLusitania (@hmslusitania). after S4, the stranger things gang has to time travel back to 1983 to fix everything. they get the chance to lead normal lives from that point onward, but everything has changed - making things very weird for eddie munson, who has no idea what's happened that makes Steve Harrington of all people try to befriend him. 27k, fix-it (this fic is ao3 locked)

a boy, a tender age by Kostas. in the aftermath of season 4, joyce byers adopts steve harrington. 11k, hurt/comfort

good for my boy by MacksDramaticShenanigans (@stevethehairington). the first time wayne munson met steve harrington (completely by accident). 7k, domestic fluff

HEARING DAMAGE by yes_bella_no. steve learns to live with his hearing damage, post S4. 35k, hurt/comfort

light my way by lesbianrobin (@lesbianrobin). in which Wayne doesn't meet Steve until quite a while after he and Eddie start dating. 10k, domestic fluff

Love and Honor but Not Obey by crow_of_crimes (Theyna_Shipper). a story about steve and robin's marriage of convenience and their (failed) attempt to keep it a secret. 11k, angst and fluff

the lathe by palmviolet (@palmviolet). my favorite steve timeloop fic. set during the season four apocalypse.

sub-culture by palmviolet (@palmviolet). steve is pretty convinced eddie now hates him. turns out eddie has the opposite problem. 61k, hurt/comfort

eating in the underworld by greatunironic (@greatunironic). 8-fic series in an au where steve goes with hopper, joyce and murray to the underground russian base and doesn't return. 103k, angst with a happy ending

an eye for an by pukner (@pukner). six times that the boy who calls himself Steve Harrington feels real, and one time he realizes that he isn't. 18k, angst with an unhappy ending. tw violence

i can give you a heartbeat by soupbitchin. ghost eddie tries to get someone to notice him. 114k, fix-it

STEVE’S FIRST BRUISE by cairparavels. spider-man steve au. 47k, hurt/comfort

hellfire (save my soul) by philomendron (tetrapteryx). steve asks eddie for help planning robin a birthday party set in the Cabaret of Hell . everything spirals from there. 49k+, slice of life / hurt/comfort

always burning, world keeps turning by pukner (@pukner). eddie survives season four, and is around to deal with the massive post-apocalyptic fallout. between all of the 'post-earthquake' mess, he and steve figure out what they mean to each other. 2-fic series, 61k+, hurt/comfort

i'll kiss your mouth, and you'll be better for it by cpressmn. somehow, steve and eddie are the last ones to realize they are dating. 8k, minor hurt/comfort

The Very Best People by scioscribe. something is very wrong in a seemingly normal suburb. steve and robin go undercover to investigate. 18k, mystery

this demo will save your life by oh_simone (@aiyahsimone). The summer after Vecna, Steve ends up managing Eddie’s band. 13k, fluff

I Like to See You in the Morning Light by BonitaBreezy (@bonitabreezy). eddie survived the apocalypse. now everyone has to deal with the fallout. 27k, hurt/comfort

you're beautiful (every little piece, love) by strawberryspence (@strawberryspence). for eleven, steve shaves his hair. 7k, hurt/comfort

Of Kings and Cult-Leaders by ladyofthenorthernlights. dustin convinces steve to host eddie's latest d&d campaign. 12k, hurt/comfort

It's Not a Big Deal by AidaRonan (@aidaronan). after S4, eddie survives, but his entire life is locked away in the Upside Down forever (his books, his DnD stuff, his guitar.). steve takes it upon himself to replace them. 12k, hurt/comfort

Percy Jackson

here comes the sun by seaweedbraens (@seaweedbraens). au where percy and annabeth are soulmates, and percy is a roman. 23k, hurt/comfort

if i were to pluck on your heartstrings and if i were to pluck on your heartstrings.by seaweedbraens (@seaweedbraens). a percabeth soulmate au told from two perspectives. annabeth knows who her soulmate is before percy knows his, and misunderstandings ensue. 45k, hurt/comfort

kiss me once 'cause you know i had a long night by herecomesthepun. no powers au where the PJO gang work together. "Annabeth is married, Percy is new and Jason is really trying to be a good friend here." 12k, comedy

Everything, And Then Some by palestinianpercy (@sar-soor). no powers au. percy is a wildlife photographer who ends up coming on his best friend's band tour to help them out while he looks for a new job and gets his life back on track. 127k, hurt/comfort

ends and beginnings series by palestinianpercy (@sar-soor). no powers au where percy and annabeth meet by chance, and while they know that what they have can't last forever, they can't resist each other. 146k, hurt/comfort

we made a lot of music dancing (you and i) by vll8586 (@percyheartsannabeth). au where percy and annabeth are dancers in a ballet company, and grow closer after being cast to perform a pas de deux together. 11k, fluff and romance

Not By Design by inkncoffee. Paul's journey from that guy dating Sally to being Percy's father. 11k, hurt/comfort

constellations by liketolaugh (@liketolaugh-writes). a series fic detailing the immense therapy percy goes through post PJO and post HoO. it's incredibly therapeutic to read. 310k+, hurt/comfort

Laying Waste To Halloween by pinspec (@pinspec). follows percy and annabeth through their childhood and teenage years. 127k, hurt/comfort

Not So Shore by bananannabeth (@bananannabeth). mortals meet percabeth au. 10k, slice of life

bring me home by pjoseries (divineauthor). percy jackson is twenty-six when hera takes his memories. alternate HoO AU. 4k, canon-divergent

is this the way to exit my youth? by afromaniiac (@afromaniiac). Percy gets a bottle of vodka for his birthday. He isn’t a fan. He and Annabeth talk about it. 1k, hurt/comfort

[temptingfatetakingnames]

The Last Steve Harrington Part 20

AO3 / Part 1 / Part 19

Eddie watched as Steve drove away, tucking his hands in his pockets and frowning in concentration. Something had just happened. When Steve had stumbled forward and he caught him – there had been something in his eyes that Eddie had never seen in them before. Something heated. Something weighted. Something he was terrified to even consider naming because what if he was wrong? What if he had misread or misunderstood it?

They were friends. Good friends, Eddie was shocked to admit. He was honestly surprised at how easily they had fallen into it. Was it because they had known each other in another life? Had loved each other in another universe…? Eddie shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He didn’t believe in fate. Just because Steve had been with Eds didn’t mean that they shared some kind of cosmic connection. The world didn’t work like that. Not for Eddie Munson anyway. Not for this Eddie Munson anyway.

But the more he got to know Steve, the more he liked him. He was still quiet and haunted by his grief sometimes – but there were more and more days now where he laughed and joked and smiled. Especially when the kids were around. He was just so good with them. Eddie understood, a little… he had heard all the stories, had even witnessed a few himself, and he knew who their Steve had been. But for this Steve to be so good with the kids, to fit so perfectly into the gaping wound in all their hearts –

It meant that some things did carry over.

Didn’t it?

Eddie shook his head again, exasperated at how often his thoughts strayed to Steve Goddamn Harrington.

It’s just that… he was also surprised at how committed Steve was in helping him fix up the trailer – spending his time and his money on it a few days every week. He worked hard, and even managed to keep Eddie focused and on task, which was no small thing! And Jesus Christ, every time he climbed up that ladder…There were a few times he thought Steve had caught him checking him out but he never reacted. Had never returned even a hint of interest.

Until today.

Eddie didn’t really know what to do with that information. He just knew that he liked spending time with him. That every time Steve opened up – it felt like a gift. Realistically, Eddie knew that he didn’t have a chance. That whatever fleeting moment of lust or desire that he had seen in Steve’s eyes was because….

Well…because he looked like fucking Eds.

And wasn’t that just Eddie’s goddamn luck?

---

Robin was still trying to convince him to go to Eddie’s party, pacing around the room and glaring in his direction. Steve was sitting on her bed, trying to hold back his smile because he had already decided to go. It was just too fun to get her riled up.

“It’ll be fun, Steve! You never go out! You need to let off steam…and meet new people! Let’s go to the party. Please? Please? Please?” Robin asked and turned pleading eyes in his direction.

He was only a little nervous about going. He didn’t know how to interact with people anymore, didn’t know how to forge new connections. He didn’t count Robin because she had bludgeoned her way past his walls faster than he could build them. He also didn’t count Joyce or Hopper because they were his pseudo-adoptive parents, not his friends. The kids… well, they were his kids – he had no hope of ever keeping them at arm’s length. Eddie didn’t count because – because he didn’t count!

How was he supposed to meet people and make friends when he didn’t really belong here? When all his memories were from a place that no longer existed? How he could be himself when he was still trying to figure out where he ended and Other Steve began? It felt like every new beginning would be tinged with lies, with deception. How much did he tell them, how much did he hold back?

He sighed loudly and Robin turned away with a groan before collapsing onto the ground. He crawled the length of the bed and peaked his head over the side. Her hair was a wild cloud around her head and she had an arm over her eyes. Jesus, she was as dramatic as Eddie. How had he ended up surrounded by the most dramatic people on the planet?

“Alright,” he said, drawing out the word as if she had convinced him. “Let’s go to the party.”

She jumped up and screamed, “yes!” before launching herself at him. They fell back on to the bed, laughing.

“It’ll be great,” Robin said as she beamed up at him.

“Been to a lot of Eddie’s park parties, have you?”  

“Sure, a few!”

“Well, what can I expect?”

“It’s a party, Steve. You can expect a party.”

“Very helpful. Thank you, Rob,” Steve said sarcastically.

“You’re welcome, now what are you going to wear?”

He hadn’t really thought about it, but he was wearing the same thing he had worn all day. The same thing he had worn when he and Eddie had hung out earlier. He should definitely change…but he didn’t have anything that was much different from what he wore every day. Steve found that he wanted to dress up a little, he wanted to look good. He tried very hard not to think about why. A finger appeared in front of his face and softly pressed into the space between his eyebrows.  

“You’re going to get wrinkles if you keep thinking that hard.”

He turned to Robin and she let her hand drop.   

“I don’t think I have anything to wear, other than changing this shirt into an equally plain but different colored shirt.”

Robin hummed as she looked over him critically.

“The jeans are fine, but we do need to change the shirt – you have a yellow one, right?”

Steve nodded.

“You look good in yellow…” Robin trailed off as she got off the bed and went to her closet. She flung it open and inspected it quietly, biting the tip of one of her nails. She moved coat hangers from one side to the other. Then she moved them back. Then back again. Steve doubted she had anything that would look good on him. Robin had a unique style that worked for her, but it definitely wouldn’t work for him.

“Rob, it’s fine –”

She pulled his blue Harrington jacket out of the back of her closet. She looked at it for a moment, gaze soft before bringing it over to him.

“I don’t know if this is something you wore, too.”

“It is, but…”

“You should wear it tonight, if you want to. It always looked great on Steve, so it’ll look great on you too of course, and the blue will go nicely with the yellow and you said you didn’t have anything and we don’t have time to go shopping somewhere with better options than Hawkins, so…”

She was rambling. Nervous. Looking at the jacket in her hands and not at him. Probably afraid that he would freak out on her. A few months ago, he would have. He recognized his old clothes on the kids every now and then – jackets, vests, polos and t-shirts. They must have raided Other Steve’s closet before his parents tossed it all out. None of it had ever been offered to him, which he was glad for because he would have refused to take any of it. Odd enough wearing Other Steve’s life, he didn’t need to wear his clothes too. But he knew that Robin wasn’t giving him this jacket, it clearly meant a lot to her. She was letting him borrow it because he had been worried about what he was going to wear. Nothing more.

“Thanks Rob, I’d love to borrow it for the night.”

She smiled and held it out to him, spinning back to her closet after he took it.

“Now for me…” she said slowly.

He stared down at the jacket, remembering simpler times and simpler worries. A different life.

Fingering the material, he smiled.

He did look great in it.

---

The night was cool as they drove up to the trailer park. Summer was truly gone and the coming winter could be felt in the air. They had stopped at his place so he could grab the Edge of Silence tape and change into a yellow shirt. His coat had felt odd when he put it on, like a skin he had previously shed and then tried to sliver back into. Despite the weight he had lost it was tight around his shoulders. Robin gushed about how good he looked until he started blushing and he rushed her out of the house.

His nerves worsened the closer they got to the park.

“People from high school are going to be there, aren’t they?” he asked a little desperately. Why did he think this was a good idea? “People who knew him?”

“Probably,” Robin said as she nodded seriously. “But they’re all going to be people that he didn’t hang out with much…or at all if I think about it. Like Eddie’s band. Most people left after graduation and…everything, so there won’t be many of them.”

“Steve might not have hung out with Corroded Coffin but I did, Rob. They were my friends.”

Her eyes widened in understanding.

“Oh…”

Yeah. Oh.

The tires crunched on gravel as he turned the car into the trailer park and his heart started to jack-rabbit around his rib cage. A frightened thing trying to escape.

“Well, this could be a great way to get reacquainted? High school was a while ago, you’re different, they’re different. A new start!”

Steve wondered when he would stop needing ‘new starts,’ but he did appreciate Robin’s endless optimism.

“We didn’t really come up with a story for why I was gone for so long.”

“I imagine Eddie would have warned them off of asking you about it, but we can come up with something now if you want to.”

Steve nodded. “Yeah. Something simple, but plausible? Just in case.”

“You went on a journey of self-discovery!” Robin said as she spread her arms out in front of her.

“Is that supposed to be code for rehab?”

“No! But…rehab could work…”

He quickly shot her a disgruntled look before turning back to the road and parking the car in front of the Munson trailer.  

“Okay, no rehab,” Robin said as she unclicked her seatbelt. “Let me think for a sec.”

Simple. Plausible. He turned in his seat so he was facing her and said, “I just needed to get out of Hawkins. Same as all the other people that left.”

“That’ll do. It leaves you open for questions though. Why didn’t you tell anyone you were leaving? Where did you go? Why did you finally come back?”

“Guess we’ll see,” he said and slipped out of the car. “Hopefully people won’t be that nosy. I don’t owe anyone an explanation anyway.”

“You really don’t,” she agreed easily.

She came around to his side of the car, linked their arms together and they set off. There was a roaring bonfire in a large pit blazing away from the trailers, flames and smoke curling up into the night sky. It was encircled by picnic tables and lawn chairs that had been dragged over from peoples’ homes. It wasn’t too late in the night so music was playing on a large boom box. He made out Wayne sitting close to the fire, beer in hand, chatting with some of the older folks from the park. Eddie and the boys from Corroded Coffin were at all one of the picnic tables with a few other people Steve recognized from high school.

“Holy shit,” a shocked voice said as he and Robin walked up. “It’s actually Steve Harrington. I thought you were fucking with us, Eddie.”

Eddie whipped his head in their direction and his eyes widened as he took them in. He looked at Steve like he was seeing a ghost in the flickering firelight. Eddie’s overalls from earlier in the day were gone and he was wearing his usual black ripped jeans, chains hanging from his studded belt. His hellfire shirt was covered by a denim vest and a leather jacket, pins and patches covering them both. A battered pair of headphones around his neck completed the outfit.

He blinked a few times before a grin spread across his face and he came over to them with arms spread wide. “Steve! Robin!” he shouted, pulling them into a tight embrace. “Glad you could make it, come sit!”

Eddie turned, Robin under one arm and Steve under the other, and led them over to the table. There was some grumbling and shuffling around so they could all fit. Robin squeezed herself into the middle of one side, sitting beside a girl with short hair and a nose ring. Steve sat himself on the edge of the seat, legs stretched out long beside the table. After he got settled, he looked up to see the entire table staring at him.

“Uh, hi,” he said.

Wide eyed stares greeted him but before it got too uncomfortable, Eddie stepped in.

“Everyone this is Steve, Steve this is: Gareth, Sam, Jeff, you know Robin – beside her is Liz, and Grant,” Eddie said as he pointed to each person.

“Hey,” Steve tried again, with a little wave this time for good measure.

He wasn’t sure if it was his wave or Eddie’s glare but everyone chirped in with little hellos and awkward waves of their own. Conversations began again, but everyone’s eyes still trailed over to him every few minutes.

“So… Steve, where the hell have you been?” Grant asked suddenly.

Eddie, standing at the head of the table because there wasn’t room for him to sit anymore, spat out his beer. Steve was almost relieved that the question had popped out so early in the night because now he could stop worrying about it. He shrugged; if he acted like it didn’t matter, like it wasn’t a big deal, maybe they wouldn’t think it was either.

“Around,” he said vaguely. “With everything that happened last year, I thought it was best to get out of Hawkins for a bit.”

“There was a search party for you, man,” Jeff said incredulously.

Steve couldn’t help but scoff. “How long did that last before my parents called it off? One day? Two?”

No one answered as he looked from one face to another.

“Two,” Robin answered quietly, holding his eyes.

They hadn’t told him there had been a search party. He was surprised his parents had put up with it for two whole days. There must be some law that required it before they could officially file him away as missing. The bare minimum sounded about right for the Harrington’s. It didn’t matter, Steve decided…but he couldn’t help imagining Robin in the woods, keeping up appearances and searching for a body or a clue that she knew they would never find. He hoped she didn’t do it. He hoped none of them did.

The atmosphere felt tense and Steve didn’t know what to say. Robin was right, he should have told them he was in rehab. Eddie probably would have found that hilarious. He reminded himself that he didn’t owe them any more of an explanation than he had already given.

“Has Will finished writing your campaign?” Eddie asked as he came around to Steve’s side and perched himself on the table in front of him, leaning down into his space.

“Not yet,” Steve replied. “He’s been working on it a lot though; he’s really excited to DM. You’re gunna play with us, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Eddie said and winked. “Oh! Let me get you and Robin a beer.”

Eddie jumped off the table, landed badly and pitched forward but luckily caught himself before he faceplanted into the grass. Steve watched his back as he walked over to where Wayne was sitting, a cooler beside his seat. They spoke for a bit, Eddie standing with his back to the fire and Wayne looking up at him. He looked good against the firelight, smiling so big at his uncle that his dimples showed. Steve turned back to the others before he got caught staring.  

Liz was talking to Robin, their heads tilted close, Gareth and Jeff were arguing about something beside him and across from him, Grant was eyeing him warily.

“You’re playing D&D?” he asked skeptically.

“The kids have been trying to get me to play for years, it was only a matter of time before I cracked,” Steve replied with a smile, deciding to stick to a version of the truth.

“What class are you choosing?” Gareth asked from his side – a test – a challenge.

Steve had given it some thought but he was stuck between choosing a wizard or a thief. He had been tempted to pick another fighting class because it was what he knew how to do but had decided against it. He wanted something completely different as a way to keep the games separate in his mind.

“Haven’t decided yet, but I’m thinking either a wizard or a thief.”

Gareth made a shocked splutter at his answer as Eddie returned to the table, plunking a can of beer down in front of him and Robin. Steve nodded his thanks and cracked the tab before taking a long drink. The beer was cheap and mostly tasteless but it was cool and refreshing.

“What are we discussing?” Eddie asked after taking a sip of his own beer.

“The merits between a wizard and a thief,” Jeff supplied, leaning forward so he could be seen.  

“Oh.” Eddie brightened. “Don’t get me started on that, I could go on for ages!”

He did, in fact, go on for ages… but by the end of it, Steve had decided he was going to be a thief.

It sounded like fun.

---

Later in the night, after the younger and older folks had gone off to bed and the music was turned down, they had all settled around the fire. Robin was sitting across from him, talking to Liz and Jeff. She glanced over at him a few times, checking his position, making sure he was okay, which was sweet but unnecessary. He had stopped drinking after only a few beers so he could drive them both home later and he was content to sit and enjoy the fire.

Eddie’s friends didn’t seem to know what to do with him. Which was fair because he didn’t know what to do with them either. Things still felt a bit tense when he talked to the Corroded Coffin boys but they loosened up as time went on. Eddie had been smart to bring up D&D because it really broke the ice. Pretending he knew less than he did was hard, but they seemed to really appreciate his interest. Liz was friendly and he could tell why Robin had a crush on her. He would have to talk to her about that later.

He was quietly staring at the fire, enjoying the sounds around him even if he wasn’t currently apart of them, when Eddie slipped into the empty seat beside him.

“Did you bring it?”

“Bring what?”

“Steve,” Eddie whined and pouted at him, causing Steve to crack a smile.

He reached into his pocket, took out the cassette tape and waved it in Eddie’s face.

“Is this what you want?”

Eddie screamed and grabbed it out of his hands before Steve could even attempt to play keep away. He pulled a Walkman out of his back pocket and popped the tape in.

“I’m so excited,” Eddie said, smiling wide and bouncing his legs. He settled his headphones over his ears and pushed play. Steve could faintly hear the music and he watched Eddie’s face closely for any sign of pleasure or displeasure. The man had a surprisingly good poker face when he wanted to.

Time slowed as Steve watched him listen to music that no other living creature in this universe had ever listened to before. Eddie’s eyes widened as the first song continued, but he gave nothing else away. Steve had no idea if he loved it or hated it. After what felt like an eternity, his thumb hit the pause button and he slowly put his headphones back around his neck.

“Shit. Steve, I –” he cut himself off, running his fingers through his hair. He opened his mouth and closed it again. Speechless. Eddie was speechless!

Steve waited impatiently for him to get his thoughts together but he just kept staring into the distance as he ran his thumb over the buttons on the Walkman.

“What did you think?” Steve finally asked. “You should listen to more; the third song is my favourite. Eds liked the last one best.”

It felt good to be able to share something from his home. To share this small piece of his history that he had managed to save. Steve remembered when Eds had first played Edge of Silence for him: He had been so nervous, so afraid that Steve wouldn’t like them. It was the first time that they had really connected over music because their tastes had always been so different. A lot of metal music just sounded like noise to Steve and he could never listen to it loud enough to fully appreciate it. Edge of Silence was still metal as hell, but they had a beat that Steve could tap along to and lyrics that made him feel understood.

He wanted Eddie to hear it, he wanted to share it with him. Reaching out, Steve moved the headphones back to Eddie’s ears and pushed play. This time, Steve watched as emotion danced across his face, his stoic act over. He listened closely, intently, taking in the instrumentals and vocals. When the third song started, Eddie captured Steve’s eyes and held them.

The world disappeared around them, nothing but the flickering firelight and the hints of the song escaping through Eddie’s headphones.

No one’s looking for

A lost boy all grown

But still, I want to be found

No one cares for a

A lost boy all grown

But still, I want to be held

Steve was suddenly afraid that he was revealing too much of himself as Eddie continued to hold his eyes. It was too intimate, too much. His heart begged him to run but Eddie reached out and took his hand, stilling his nervous fidgeting. They were sitting close, bodies angled towards each other instinctually as they shared the music. The fire crackled and the song continued and Eddie made small circles on the back of his hand with his thumb and Steve wished they were alone. Wished everyone else would disappear.

Eddie took a deep breath and paused the tape when the song faded, using one hand to push his headphones back around his neck.

“They’re amazing, Steve. I don’t even know what to say.”

“Speechless, huh?” Steve asked with a smile. “That must be new for you.”

“I want to listen to more, but I’m afraid if I keep going right now, I won’t stop. They’re great musicians but the drummer and lead vocalist are something else. I feel like I could spend hours taking apart every little detail.”

“Borrow it for a bit. Make yourself a copy.”

“Are you sure?” Eddie asked, looking at Steve intently.

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure.” He didn’t want to have the only copy in existence, and maybe Eddie would learn some of their songs and play them for him.  

“Now you know how I feel about Madonna.”

Eddie threw his head back and laughed so hard that the others looked over to see what was going on and Steve smiled so wide his face started to hurt. When they calmed down, they both leaned back in their chairs and Steve tried very hard not to freak out over the fact that Eddie hadn’t let go of his hand yet.

Part 21

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-Hopefully the tags are working the way they are supposed to! I've been having trouble so some of you may have missed a few chapters, I do apologize if that happened! -As always, thank you so much for your patience and support <3

@bookworm0690 @estrellami-1 @hbyrde36 @mx-jinxous @a-gae-af-racoon

@novelnovella @meela86 @vampireinthesun @penny00dreadful @questionablequeeries

@espressopatronum454 @r0binscript @ellietheasexylibrarian @manda-panda-monium @paintsplatteredandimperfect

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@whole-moods @queenie-ofthe-void @nailbatanddungeon

[rymcfly]

Now that some time has passed (1 day) I want to share more thoughts about TFS:

Assuming the play has a direct linear connection to the TV series - it was super interesting seeing the adults/parents as teenagers. Interesting but also absolutely devastating knowing ->

Joyce was doomed to end up with Lonnie and is not going to get out of Hawkins.

Jim taking the same job as his dad (who was an absolute asshole)

And of course Bob :((( literally one of my favourite characters in the play - he really really cared about Patty and helping Hop n Joyce. All of those moments where he was trying to impress Joyce were super cute :(

Ted Wheeler was indeed some version of a 1950s Steve Harrington and definitely used as a sort of comedic relief character but well nobody is born as an emotionally absent father/husband & bland office guy. Because that pipeline is unfortunately indeed common.

Karen was very delightfully surprising with her very energetic personality (like her auditioning for Joyce's play with Bob including a hint at their friendship and changing up her outfit before the final performance)

Claudia was probably pretty much the closest to her older version personality wise even if Walter Henderson was an absolute racist loser (wonder what happened to him tho)

Sue was an absolute icon & boss and I hope she will get more involved in s5 (aswell as Lucas' father; Charles)

And of course now Patty:

I really really liked her character. Her passion for wonder woman, superheroes and comics & how she bonded with Henry over that (her also doing the sort of "jump" later and all :( ) Her complicated relationship with her adoptive father & and her desperately wanting to find her mother. And like mentioned already her friendship with Henry.

-> Friendship because like other bloggers/fans, I could not see how their interactions were romantic. Their first kiss literally was part of the school play and Henry was clearly freaked out which was not in any cute way as some claim. Patty attempted to kiss him later at Melvalds which was interrupted and it was never declared that they were dating except Patty suggesting that Henry trying to find her mother could technically be a date. Henry helped her auditioning and attempted finding her mother and Patty provided him comfort and friendship at times so yes they indeed needed each other but not in a romantic way. Like mentioned Henry seeked comfort by asking Patty to hold his hand after putting the blindfold on because he obviously did not get that from his family - which is also what eventually lead him to hug Brenner later.

So yes all the Patty-Henry scenes were not romantic in my eyes which doesn't mean Patty isn't a great & interesting character.

-> I have even more questions regarding her now! She who apparently did not possess any powers managed to contact Henry by putting on a blindfold, which made me wonder if not she was responsible in some way for the light flickering after the reunion with her mother.

More thoughts later, gotta re-read all the existing theories regarding the play now!

[livwritesstuff]

what’s the girls relationship like with uncle (grandpa?) wayne?

yesss we love Grandpa Wayne 🥹

Wayne was actually the first person to know about Moe (and the only person, for a little while, because privacy is a big deal w/foster kids and the Party is notably god-awful at keeping things on the DL so Steve and Eddie didn’t loop everyone in until the adoption was complete).

Wayne was the first one to meet Moe, the first to hold her. Wayne proudly wrote the reference letter they’d needed as part of their home study to adopt her.

Wayne came up to Massachusetts from Indiana to take care of Moe while Steve and Eddie were in the NICU with Robbie.

Wayne was Eddie’s first call when Hazel was born.

When the girls are very little (toddlers/early elementary school) he’s still living in Indiana (he's in a silent feud with Hopper over who can stand to stay in Hawkins the longest). The feud only comes to an end because, when Steve’s dad passes in 2009, Eddie gets freaked out and basically insists that Wayne move closer to them.

Wayne isn’t even all that bummed about losing to Hop because it means he gets to spend more time with the grandkids. He absolutely rubs this in at any opportunity, and Hopper and Joyce make the move up north only a year or two later (Hop claims it was unrelated).

The girls adore him. He’s steady and reliable and always down for a good card game (he teaches them how to play poker just a little bit too young) and he shows up to every play and recital and all the important sports games, and he can roast their dad like nobody's business.

He has a particularly special bond with Hazel, who, like him, loves nature and being outside. They go birdwatching and fishing together (catch and release, obviously, because Hazel wouldn’t stand for anything else) and take day trips to nearby national parks and botanical gardens.

Hazel goes to Florida for college, pursuing a degree in zoology at one of the best programs in the country, and they joke that Wayne should be awarded an honorary BS with how much of her coursework Hazel relays to him (she calls him after practically every lecture). Eddie has to fight tooth and nail to keep him from moving back down to Florida to join her there.

[steddieas-shegoes]

Headcanon: Wayne, Claudia, Joyce & Hopper meeting Steve's parents who are neglectful & pretty cruel to their son & realize that Steve is sooo good without having parents to help raise him (maybe he gets adopted by one of them)

Okay picture this:

Steve is 14, his parents haven’t been home in a month.

Hopper finds it weird that he’s constantly catching rides with friends or walking places when his parents are loaded and could easily have someone drive him.

He drives by his house late one night and sees one light on upstairs, assumes it’s Steve’s bedroom, and decides to stop and check in when he sees an empty driveway.

Steve comes to the door, clearly home alone, and Hop asks how long he’s been alone.

Steve’s scared to tell him the truth but he’s at the age where he’s just scared enough of cops to not wanna lie to him.

Hop is pissed. Tells him to pack a bag for a few days because he’s staying with someone he trusts. An adult.

That adult is Claudia Henderson, who doesn’t even need to know everything to know that Steve needs love.

That’s how he actually meets Dustin, ends up sharing a room with him for a couple nights until his parents get back in town.

Hopper unleashes pure fury on them, says if they didn’t want the responsibility of a kid, they shouldn’t have had one. They argue back that he’s old enough to take care of himself now and he doesn’t have any right to “kidnap” him and bring him to a person’s home they don’t know.

Claudia is there for all of it, so is Steve.

Hopper tells them they’re lucky he didn’t get CPS involved and that he still might if they don’t figure out how to be parents.

Steve is cowering in the chair in the corner, watching his parents fight for their reputation, but not for him.

He finally speaks up, finally gains the courage he needs to say that he liked staying with Claudia and Dustin, that he knows his parents don’t want him.

After hours of going back and forth, his parents agree to send money to Claudia for groceries and care of him and he gets to have a family.

When Joyce finds out, she starts having Steve over for dinners a couple times a week too, and he becomes good friends with Jonathan instead of Tommy.

He becomes another older brother to Will, and they actually come out to each other at the same time.

Will is how he meets Eddie. Will looks up to Eddie as a DM and Steve doesn’t understand most of the game, but he knows that seeing Eddie’s passion turn Will’s passion into more.

Eddie and Steve start hanging out, usually alone, usually when Wayne is at work. It’s slow, the way they fall in love.

They’re two teenagers who never really saw romantic love, not the healthy kind, so they don’t even realize they’re in it until Wayne asks how long they’ve been dating one night when they’re all having dinner.

Wayne didn’t know much of Steve’s story, not until he shared it one evening shortly after graduation.

He hugged Steve to him tight.

“You’ve got a family, a family who loves ya, but I’m here too. You’re my boy, too.”

Steve grew up feeling like a burden, feeling unwanted and unloved. But ironically, when he lost the only family he had, he gained more than he could have ever expected.