#lex + steve

[heartbreak-sandwich]

"R-Rewards? Oh my god--! Wait, you... really think i'm the best? *chuckles* You're so kind, I can't believe how sweet you are. Plus... Somebody HAS to save those brats, you can't leave them one hour alone without at least one of them wanting to go fight a dragon or something... *start to gaze at you and smiles* Speaking of, there is this uh, this place I'd like to go with you so I was wondering... When you're free?" - S.H

AHHHHH STEVE MY LOVE!!! I have missed you so much! 💕 Of course you're the best, the sweetest. I'm free anytime for you, of course!

What's on your mind??

[formosusiniquis]

for @thefreakandthehair and inspired by this. Everyone enjoy some bee keeper!Eddie saving the day so Steve can play some baseball

Eddie picked up beekeeping the way he picked up most things in his life: accidentally and by virtue of following a crumb of serotonin straight down the rabbit hole of obsession. It isn't what he expected to do for a living, and at this point he does have to admit that when it accounted for 91% of his taxable income last year it is what he does for a living, but he likes that he gets to work outside and set his own hours. He likes that the regular customers he has who buy his honey are nice, and likes getting to advise people about things like flavor profiles and what they taste best with, it was the thing he liked best about his position at the dispensary that was now more of a side gig. And then there's his contract with city animal control that gets him called out to parts of the city he didn't even know existed to relocate hives a lot more often than he thought would happen.

It's a good life, and he likes that he's made it himself.

But it's the kind of life that gets him calls from people late at night when trying to finish binging Fallout before the internet can spoil it for him. He has a rule to always answer when Chrissy calls though, he isn't going to miss helping her if it's an emergency.

“I need a favor,” she says before he's even finished answering.

“Anything for you,” he agrees.

“You might regret saying that.”

Chrissy Cunningham turned a full ride scholarship for cheerleading into a business and marketing degree and she turned that into a fancy job with the White Sox that he didn’t fully understand but totally supported. He wore the free cap she gave him, and was endlessly glad that as a white guy he didn’t get gatekept the way girls like Chrissy did, since he couldn’t name a single player on the team.

And it was that endless support that had him in his full gear at the White Sox stadium with his smoker and bee vac.

Chrissy meets him at the front with a harried expression and a warm hug, “I’d say I owe you one but if everything goes right we’ll be totally square before the first inning.”

“What does that mean?” he asks, repeating it louder when all she gives him is an enigmatic smile. 

The only answer he truly gets is being shoved into a little green cart that she drives with a frightening speed. She drives them through the stadium through a route he has no hope of remembering on his own until they reach an opening that leads straight out to the field. Eddie always had a dream, as a kid, of being a rockstar, driving out onto the diamond to a sudden and uproarious cheer is the closest he thinks he’s ever come to truly experiencing what it would be like to be famous on stage.

He hams it up of course. Waves his arms to try to get them to cheer louder as Chrissy stears them toward the lifter that he’s going to have to go up to get to the swarm. And they do, the cheers becoming an enthusiastic roar, a sound so loud he thinks he could climb them up to the bees without the lifter. 

“Focus will you, you’re on national television right now.” Chrissy says, with a subtle elbow to his side.

“Yeah but how many people are watching a delayed baseball game?”

Never one to just take his smartass comments, he’s sure that Chrissy says something super witty and sarcastic back. Only Eddie made the mistake of turning his head and catching sight of the most glorious ass in the snuggest pair of pinstriped white baseball pants and lost the ability to hear. A second elbow in his side reminds his brain full of metaphorical bees that he’s on television and he doesn’t have his veil on, he isn’t about to get caught drooling on television.

The fattest ass in the stadium turns around and Eddie thinks he’s been stung. He has to be going into anaphylaxis with the way he suddenly can’t catch his breath. The guy in front of him, with a hand on his hip and his eyes trained unwaveringly on Eddie is tongue-swellingly hot. And he just keeps getting closer as Chrissy doesn’t stop driving forward.

“Steve, you’re not supposed to get this close, you're our starting pitcher you can’t get stung.” Chrissy chides.

“I just wanted to make sure that he wasn’t going to kill the bees.” The guy, Steve, says.

“He’s not.”

“I’m not,” Eddie says, shaking his head as fast as he can, like that will make things more convincing for the hot baseball guy. But he’s got an eyebrow raised giving Eddie an up and down like he still doesn’t believe him.

“Look,” he pulls out his equipment so Steve can see. “I’ll smoke them with this, that’ll make them calm so they don’t freak out when I vacuum them up with this.”

“And running them through a vacuum isn’t going to kill them?”

“It’s a gentle suck,” he says, immediately filled with a burning mortification. “It’s just enough to move them into the tank where I can relocate them.”

Hot baseball Steve has his big brown eyes open even wider, there’s a twitch at his mouth like he’s about to say something else and Eddie actually can’t have that. “Chris can we get me strapped into this thing, we want to get this big ballgame going right?”

Steve takes a couple steps back, hands raised up in a placating gesture. Whether it’s for him or for Chrissy because he didn’t listen, Eddie’s too busy putting a neon yellow safety buckle on to think about it.

He takes his time, this is basically free marketing so he’s not about to rush through or do a half-assed job. But in just a few minutes he has a vac full of bees and the game is ready to be played. The lifter gently lowers Eddie back to the ground with another round of cheers. He unclips from the safety harness and takes a shallow bow for the crowd.

Then Steve is jogging over, Eddie stands up straighter than he ever has in his life. Nervous for what is about to happen.

“You saved the game, man!” Steve has the nicest smile that Eddie has ever seen, wide and toothy. He is but a man and thus falls a little bit in love immediately.

“It was nothing, really, just part of the job, y’know.”

“Well, here’s something you probably haven’t done on the job. You have to throw the first pitch.”

“No, no, I absolutely will not be doing that.”

It’s the wrong thing to say, a mischief lights up in Steve’s eyes. He jerks his chin up at Chrissy who says something Eddie is too far away to hear into a walkie talkie. He thinks he has a guess though when the loudspeaker begins to drawl, “Laaadies and Gentlemen, our game is about to begin. Tonight’s first pitch will be thrown by our bee rescuer, Eddie Munson!”

The crowd begins to scream again, but the sound is almost like the hive's steady drone when Steve leans close enough to whisper, “It’s just ceremonial, all you’ve got to do is throw it. I’ll even play catcher for you.” And Eddie’s helpless to do anything but nod.

There’s actually a lot that has to happen before they’re ready for him to throw his sad attempt at a pitch. But that gives him the time to settle his equipment out of the way and scream at Chrissy. Still it’s sooner than he’d like before she’s shuffling him over to a big mound of dirt in the center of everything. She pushes his hat and veil back and it feels a little proud father of the bride right until she pats him on the top of his head and whispers, “Don’t fuck it up, nerd.”

His palms are sweaty, they feel too slick to get a good grip on the small, white ball. He thinks he might throw up, only across from him Steve is there. A glove on one hand he sends Eddie an encouraging little finger wave with the other. 

He can do this. 

He takes a deep breath and throws.

It’s awful. Too high and a little off center, but Steve snags it in that large, ungloved palm and the crowd cheers again like he’s done something fantastic. He’s starting to think they’re just happy to be here.

He starts to walk off the field, toward Chrissy where he knows he’s safe. But he can’t help noticing that Steve is jogging his way too; the ball that Eddie just threw in one hand, a sharpie in the other, his glove tucked tight under his arm. “Eddie, hey, you gotta take this with you, dude.”

Steve lobs it at him in a soft underhand, and Eddie still fumbles the catch, “Thanks, man, but really, I don’t-” the rest of his response dies in his mouth when he realizes just what Steve has scribbled across the ball.

“Give me a call if you’re interested,” Steve says, walking backward toward the mound Eddie just left, “I can show you my gentle suck.” He laughs at his own shitty pickup line, which is somehow more attractive than his whole hot jock thing.

Eddie thinks he must be blushing up to his hairline by the time he makes it back to Chrissy and his things. She looks too smug for it to be any other way. “Told you we’d be even before the end of the night.”

“Chris, if this goes well I might owe you a favor. Now we gotta go, I’ve got bees to relocate.”

[nastybuckybarnes]

Newer Works

Here you'll find links to all my newer works since coming back in 2024!

Click here for my older works

Angst = a Fluff = f Smut = s Dark = d

Bucky:

DBF!Bucky Riding Lessons (s) 1, 2, 3 Birthday Girl (a,f,s) Date Night (a) In the Ring (a,f)

Kingdom Fall - Series (a,f) One Two Three

Car Rides (s)

Comfortable (a,f,s)

Steve Rogers:

Teddy Bear Picnic - Series (d,a,s) One Two

Cling to Me (a,f)

Simon 'Ghost' Riley

Ghost X Mouse: Street Mouse Stowaway Watch your Step Trinkets and doodads Dr. Riley and his Sick Mouse Bumps and Bruises Mouse Trap Sleepless Nights Under the Stars Home Clumsy Corporals Rat in the Mouse Cage

Welcome home (a&f)

[hawkinslibrary]

Steve Harrington and Dustin Henderson 2.06 | The Spy and 4.06 | The Dive

[stevesbipanic]

@steddielovemonth Day 24: Love is the only thing we can take with us. 

@thefreakandthehair

Steve looked around his room, it would be the last time he did. He could hear his parents still arguing downstairs. He knew he didn't have a lot of time, soon he'd hear his father's footsteps coming up the stairs.

"You're no son of mine!"

Steve hadn't felt like his son in a long time anyway. When he thought of dads he thought of Hopper at his graduation or Wayne watching the game with him. He'd called Hopper, Dad, when he woke up in the hospital and saw the previously dead police chief at his bedside. No, Steve Harrington hadn't been Richard Harrington's son in a long time.

He knew he didn't have much time, but he'd been planning for this moment, the day they would find out. It was inevitable, small town, nosy neighbours. Steve kept his room impersonal for a reason, it wouldn't last forever. Kneeling quickly he grabbed his box, it was all he would need.

The clothes he actually liked wearing weren't in this closet anymore, the beemer had always been in his name. Nothing else in the house mattered but this box. The last piece of Steve in these four walls.

"Steven?"

He'd asked her to call him Steve all his life, she didn't.

"Can't you see what you're doing to your mother?"

Maria Harrington hadn't been Steve's mother in a long time. Mothers were there for their kids when they woke up from nightmares. Claudia never judged when he woke up screaming on the couch. A true mother looked after their son when he was sick in bed, soup and comfort and love. Joyce brought him soup last winter, when the flu had him stuck in bed, he didn't even call, she just knew.

"I know, I'm leaving now."

"Please, Steven, there are places we can go to fix you," she cried. Mothers don't think their kid's heart needs fixing.

"You were supposed to be a real man!" Richard yelled as he passed him down the stairs. Fathers are proud of their sons growing into protectors and carers.

"This will never be your home again!" Was the last thing Steve heard as he closed his car door and placed the small box on the passenger seat. Parents always have a home waiting for you, even when they think you're wrong.

"Steve?"

Wayne is the first one to spot him as he arrives at the trailer. It's sunday, family dinner at the rotating family table. Tonight was meant to be at the Munsons.

"Steve, honey? You ok?" Joyce is the first one to touch him, worry in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, son." Hopper is the first one to read his teary eyes like a book. They all knew where he'd been.

Claudia gingerly took the box from him, "I'll put this in your room, sweetheart, let Eddie know you're back home."

Steve could hear the kids yelling around the picnic table outside; could smell dinner cooking. Robins laughter piercing though the air and Eddie's boombox playing loudly.

"Baby?"

There he was.

"Hey, Eds, think we'll have to move up that moving date, if it's ok?"

Eddie's features softened from worry to sympathy, "Course, sunshine, although I'm still surprised Joyce and Hop didn't kidnap you months ago.

Later, when he'd given everyone hugs goodbye, some were a bit tighter than others, he sat on the bed with his box.

"You wanna unpack that alone, or want help?"

"You can look, it's not a secret, just special," Steve replied, patting the space next to him. Eddie plopped himself down beside his boyfriend, lifting the lid.

Inside was a mess of bits and pieces. Eddie reached in and took out a stack of photos. Steve at his graduation, a big smile with Hopper's arm around his shoulders, Dustin beaming beside him. Robin putting Steve in a headlock at the quarry last summer, he refuses to say he let her win. Eddie at his first show back, scars on full display. And countless other memories.

There were also little toys from the arcade and pebbles and ticket stubs and letters and a full life story of one Steve Harrington told through the love of his family.

"This was all I went back to get, all I needed. Wasn't expecting them to know about you already, but I knew they'd find out one day. Couldn't let them have this, not after they spent so long trying to take my heart from me."

"I think it's high time we clear some space around here for all this, Stevie, time to let your love be out on full display."

When Steve fell asleep that night, wrapped in the arms of a boy who went to hell from him and staring at the new photos on the wall, he truly felt home.

[firefly-party]

for the @steddielovemonth prompt, day 16: Love is staying in bed for five extra minutes because you can’t tear yourself away from them just yet

Pls go and read @thefreakandthehair 's and @sidekick-hero 's accompanying fics!! Here's Steve's and here's Eddie's POV! ❤️

[smallcloisville]

MY SUPERMAN 2025 TEASER RANT

It took me to process the teaser (believe me I am still processing) but I have so much to say.

First I would like to talk about the ✨colors��

The colors! Oh My Rao! for so long I was craving the bright colored Superman movie. I wanted colors that would hurt my eyes and capture my heart and Gunn gave us that.

There have been talks that since it was just the teaser they might brush up more, I wouldn't mind that. Just make it more golden tinted.

DAVIDDD!!!

Again the perfect choice! I know it's presumptuous but when I saw him stumbling through the crowd as Clark with his clumsy hands and curly hair with contrast with a brightly colored Superman suit having the lil curl and saving children. I KNEW I KNEW I FOUND MY CLARK/SUPERMAN. HE IS SO GONNA NAIL IT.

RACHEL ♥️💜

We didn't see Rachel much in action but I have had the pleasure of knowing her through other interviews and some other media. She talks so fast and she has that "ENERGY" to play Lois. So I know she is gonna be THE LOIS LANE. MY WIFE. MY LOVE 😭😭

Thanking Gunn again for giving her the purple outfit.

CLOIS!cLoIs!CLOISS!cloisssssssss

I felt the connection between them and they are gonna give me heart attacks (I am already having mini ones through these pics/teaser). The flying together moment! making out in the kitchen! staring deep into each other's souls while the world is ending! Stares while working at the planet! Giving each other hugs and being each other's hope during tough times! GIVE IT TO ME GIVE IT ALL TO ME.

And we already know there is no "2 people love triangle" so we would have other aspects of their relationship.

OUR MOVIE STAR KRYTO

Simply one of the best decisions to include him cuz we never had him on the big screen. That cape🥹 he just warmed my heart. My smile was so big when Superman whistled for him (can't get that whistle out of my head, I feel things) and he came running.

Our hero Krypto 🥰 nothing should happen to him! And that's a warning!

Lex Luthor

He hates Superman so much that we can feel him loathing. We all know Nicholas is gonna be great as Lex given how well he played the psychos before. And that shiny bald head gave me flash blindness🫡

There are also talks that there are gonna be Ultraman and Grodd(I like to think of Mallah)

Other ICONIC heroes

Mr Terrific is looking really terrific.

Hawkgirl can slay me anytime.

Guy Gardener and his bowl cut. That's it!

Debut of Metamorpho.

Fortress and Kelex

We are gonna get the actual crystal like fortress🤧🤧 just like Krypton atmosphere.

Also Kelex!!! he better be alright too.

Other thoughts

We are gonna get the entire daily planet crew!?!!!!

This kid is representing us. How much we need SUPERMAN!

The score

That "Superman superman" I can't get that out of my head. I randomly throughout the day start chanting superman's name...

That John Murphy's theme inspired by John Williams is fire 🔥🔥🔥

I am so happy that Gunn decided to make everything so comic-like/colorful yet feels so real and attractive. I missed these early 2000s vibes of fun movies.

I FELT a strong sense of HOPE while watching the teaser. Don't know what's gonna happen when I watch trailer and movie??

Mark my words : lives are gonna change, history will be created, souls and hearts gonna heal, we will have something to forward to everyday! I am so ready!!!

[cgbcomics]

[steveepting]

Superman 78: The Metal Curtain 4 (2024) variant

[harmonictechnicality]

*no rest for the wicked*

my teensy contribution to @thefreakandthehair's spicy six summer collection 💖 | word count: 3k | rating: T | ao3 link | also, this wouldn't exist if @chocoarts didn't send me a sketch that immediately set off sparklers in my brain so bless youuu ✨

Twenty-six hours. That’s how long Eddie has been up. Twenty-six hours and twelve minutes. The heaviness hanging in his eyes is medieval-level torturous, and the cramp in his left calf is probably permanent by now. 

A sane person who enjoys sleeping might be asking, ‘Why? Why put yourself through this when there’s a perfectly decent bed down the hall?’ And Eddie would be forced to reply back with two, simple words:

Concert. Tickets.

That’s right, Eddie is actively murdering his own brain cells to win two vip tickets on the radio. Twenty-seven hours ago, it seemed like a grand idea. Genius, even. It’s free and minimal effort - he just has to call the station every hour on the dot. No biggie, right?

Ha, sure. Tell that to the muscles in his eyelids.

“How much longer do you have?” Chrissy asks, snagging a magazine from the stack on the couch.

Eddie checks his watch. Huffs out a laugh. “Let’s just say, I could watch the entire Star Wars trilogy including the credits for each one.”

“Translating to...?”

“Seven-ish hours.” Robin quickly chimes. She pops out of her bedroom and joins Chrissy’s side, instantly threading their hands together. They share a look, one that makes Eddie believe in nice things, even in his state of misery. It’s their superpower, injecting their optimistic outlook into the atmosphere. Infectious in the best way. 

“I always forget that you speak fluent nerd.” Chrissy snorts.

“Ouch.” Robin gasps and pulls away, stomping off to their room. Too dramatic to be believable. “Get back to bed before I actually feel offended by that.”

Normally, Eddie is charmed by how hopelessly in love his roommates are with each other. But right now, they are his mortal enemies (well, tied with The Clock), because they get to sleep and he gets to stare at the lightbulb in the ceiling fan. Every now and then, it flickers, which never fails to startle him. 

Good. He desperately needs the extra alertness. 

Another forty-five minutes go by before anything noteworthy happens. Eddie’s other roommate gets off his night shift around one in the morning. The front door squeals as it opens, crackling all the adrenaline leftover in Eddie’s body. 

“Scared the shit out of me, man.” Which could’ve been a literal statement if Eddie hadn’t just taken a bathroom break.

“Gotta get this door fixed.” Steve says. That’s what he always says when it creaks. The reaction never changes, always skating his fingers over the door hinges, mouth twisting to the side. Hands on his hips in disapproval. Eddie has to look away before Steve breaks out his insufferably cute ‘foot tap’ routine. “Hey - why are you still up?”

Ah, yes. Just what Eddie needed. A reminder that it’s fucking late. He finds the energy (or common decency, who knows) to point at the phone. Then to the radio.

“You’re still doing that, huh?”

Eddie nods twice.

“Damn, I’ve never heard you this quiet.” Steve sounds genuinely surprised. A little too smug for Eddie’s liking. “Didn’t know your mouth could stay in a straight line for this long.”

There it is. The rich boy smartassery that will never die. Always lurking in the depths of his genetic makeup.

Eddie claps, total deadpan.

The conversation lulls while Steve messes around in the kitchen for a bit. He’s noisily opening cabinets and clanking dishes around in the sink. Eventually, he walks back into the living room with two beers. 

Both for him apparently. “Well, listen,” he starts out. Kicks his feet up on the coffee table. “I’m pretty wired after work, so if you need some company-”

“Six… hours… left.” Eddie musters out.

“Okay well, I doubt I’ll last that long. But I can give it a shot.”

Eddie smirks, raises both eyebrows. “There’s a dirty joke somewhere in there. Too tired to find it though.”

“Good to know the horny part of your mind is still awake.” Steve gives Eddie a small pat on the head. 

“Oh? That’s a good thing?”

“Depends on who you ask.”

“I’m asking you.” It’s too direct, Eddie hears it. And now it’s just Out There - his inability to flirt in a subtle way. And yeah, he could blame it on sleep deprivation, but he’s never been known for his mastery of ambiguity so…

The pause goes on long enough for the light to flicker again, the room growing darker with it. Steve takes a swig of his drink and smiles. “It’s good to know, Ed.”

The light flickers even darker.

Eddie is fully awake after that. Which could’ve been part of Steve’s plan - stimulate his brain with flirty comments and keep him up with those melty smiles. It’s no secret that Eddie turns into a hair-twirling loser around this guy. 

Even after living together for a year and seeing one another’s most disgusting habits, he still feels this way. Tight throat, stomach flips. Purely smitten in a way that would nauseate deadbeat poets.

In this moment, however, it’s a wonderful remedy to staying awake throughout the rest of the night. Much more effective than energy drinks and Tootsie Rolls.

Steve ends up on the floor, leaning against the edge of the couch. He sips another beer, recounting some bullshit that happened during his shift at the hotel. Eddie does his best impression of Listening to Steve’s stories, but the words are just buzzing around the glow of Steve’s hair and the shine on his lips. Nodding at seemingly appropriate times is all Eddie currently can offer.

“Sleeping with your eyes open, Munson?”

Eddie blinks hard. ��Huh?”

“Creepy, but impressive.” Steve laughs, tapping his hand against Eddie’s leg. “You should add that to the Special Skills column on your resumé.”

“Bold of you to assume I have a resumé.”

They spend the next hour doing just that - adding useless skills to Eddie’s nonexistent resumé. It keeps them busy. Content. Steve smacks Eddie’s knee anytime he laughs, leaves his hand longer every time. Maybe that’s all in Eddie’s semi-dormant mind, especially since Steve shows casual affection to all of his friends. But the warmth of his palm is real enough to have Eddie fully committed to making Steve laugh as much as possible.

“What about… Expert Paper Clip Chain-Maker?” Steve suggests. 

Eddie stares at the chain in his hand, the one he was oblivious to creating. He whips it around like a lasso and then shrugs. “A bit wordy.”

“So you’re saying length matters?”

“Christ on toast, Harrington. You’re awfully quick to jump to that conclusion, aren’t you?”

Steve doesn’t answer, just starts laughing again. Eddie didn’t even need to tell a shitty joke this time. 

And when Steve’s hand hits his knee, sliding slightly up his thigh, Eddie laughs along with him. It’s the only way to cover up the heat rushing to his face.

Eddie enters the realm of delirium with three hours left in his challenge. He slumps onto the floor next to Steve, nudging his shoulder, staring into his sleep-heavy eyes. It’s four in the morning, inhibitions be damned.

“Do you think if you ever visit Europe, they’d call you Harring-metric-ton?” Eddie picks a piece of lint off Steve’s sleeve. Perfect excuse to reach out, move in closer.

Steve groans. “Yikes. But yes, that question keeps me up at night.”

“So that’s why you’re still awake. See, I knew it wasn’t because of my silly little concert tickets.” 

As soon as the words leave his lips, Eddie convinces himself that it’s the truth. Which is so dumb, so stupid. But this seed of insecurity keeps him going, fully projecting his assumptions onto Steve’s harmless comment. Somewhere deep down, buried underneath his exhaustion, Eddie knows it was a joke. But he can’t seem to shut up anymore.

“The riddle has been solved, folks! We finally know why Stevie here is still awake.” Eddie exclaims, flinging his arms out to the side. “Alert Scooby and the gang at once! Mystery Incorporated can finally pack up their magnifying glasses and pursue careers with better health insurance. Ones that covers vision costs this time. It’s what dear, ol' Velma deser-”

“Eddie.” Steve places a hand on Eddie’s arm, holding him still. Was he moving? Oh god, was he shaking? 

Fucking mortifying.

Steve’s thumb swipes across Eddie’s skin, tracing diagonal lines back and forth. “You’re rambling.”

“And you’re…” Eddie loses focus. He looks down at the hypnotic patterns that Steve is making. “There. Doing that.”

Steve stops briefly to flip Eddie’s hand over, starts tracing the lines in his palm instead. The pressure makes Eddie’s heart lurch up into his throat. He can feel it thumping in his neck, faster with every stroke of Steve’s fingers. All he wants to do is close his hand around them, keep Steve there for the rest of the night. Longer if he’d let him.

“I can stop if it’s weird.” Steve’s voice is so much quieter than it was earlier. 

Don’t stop. Eddie thinks. Can’t say it like that because gross. Humiliating and gross. “It’s not weird.”

Steve keeps his focus on the motion, Eddie does the same. They stay like this for a while, just watching. Intently staring over the invisible lines like pages in a novel. Eddie is pretty sure he’s breathing too loud, can hear it above the whistle in the air conditioner. Wonders if Steve can hear it too. 

Probably.

“That’s not why I’m staying awake.” Steve says, never breaking the pattern.

“No?”

“It’s who I’m staying awake for.”

Steve finally stops, right in the center of Eddie’s hand. The air in the room goes dense, weighted with acknowledgment. Something has changed and Eddie can feel it everywhere. 

He tilts forward, pulling his gaze away from his hand and up at Steve’s lips. If he weren’t stuck between half-awake and total-delirium, Eddie would just do it. Kiss Steve the way he’s always wanted to. Syrupy slow and deep. Savoring every second.

He could do it right now, right this second. But his focus starts drifting as he closes his eyes. “Did Chrissy tell you?” Eddie grumbles, almost unintelligible. 

“Tell me what?”

Eddie’s head falls, landing somewhere on Steve’s chest. He inhales the scent of laundry detergent (because Steve and Chrissy are the only avid laundry-doers in the apartment). It’s so soothing, drawing him further into a dreamlike place.

“Tell me what, Ed?”

“That I…” Eddie is nearly asleep before he can finish the thought. The confession:

‘That I’m crazy about you.’

Sunlight hits Eddie first, startles him so much that he jolts upward. Fully awake. It takes a few seconds of furiously rubbing his eyes before the dread kicks in. 

Morning.

It’s morning.

“Shit.”

Eddie fell asleep.

Steve fell asleep.

“Shitshitshit. So many shits!” He fumbles through the labyrinth of blankets and pillows around him, snatching his watch from the coffee table:

10:24 a.m.

“Goddamnit!”

Eddie sinks back down to the floor, clutching the phone that serves him no purpose anymore. All of those hours of waiting and calling for nothing. Even if general admission wasn’t already sold out, it’s not like Eddie could afford tickets on his own. He can barely keep up with his share of the rent. Chrissy had to cover for his grocery run last week and he still hasn’t paid her back.

It’s just so expected too - for him to fuck up like this. Always letting opportunities slip through the cracks, making careless mistakes. No one will be surprised that he failed at such a simple task like calling a fucking radio station.

Eddie sets the phone back on the table and cleans up the living room in a daze. Every now and then, he mutters under his breath about being a total moron. He stays relatively quiet for the most part though. No use in throwing a bitchfest while Steve is blissfully conked out three feet away.

Of course he looks good sleeping too, even in the midst of Eddie’s breakdown. Unfair.

Just before heading back to his room, Eddie hears that familiar door creak. Same one that always sets off Steve’s inner handyman tendencies. 

He looks back to see Chrissy padding towards him with a blanket wrapped around her. For someone who hasn’t had their mood-altering cup of coffee yet, she looks extremely pleased to see him. Maybe she knows about the fate of the concert tickets. Maybe this is an early-risers pity party.

Fucking yay.

“Chris, please don’t try to-”

His words are muffled by Chrissy throwing her arms (and blanket cape) around him. She’s so bouncy, the way she always gets with Robin whenever their favorite song comes on at the karaoke bar. He pats her on the back and clears his throat, still trying to piece together what this exchange could be about. However, Eddie is functioning on a few hours of sleep, so his cognitive skills are groggy at best.

She gives him one more squeeze and then looks up, positively gleaming. “I knew it! I knew it would finally happen!”

“That I’d screw up for the umpteenth time in my life? Gee thanks, Chris.” Eddie says.

“What are you talking about?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about you and Steve!” She whisper-yells back.

Was she snooping on them last night? He wouldn’t put it past her, snoopiness is the foundation of their friendship. Well, whatever Chrissy thought she saw, she’s wrong. Sure, Steve and Eddie flirted, both letting some potentially mutual feelings slip out.

But it was all cut short by Eddie passing out mid-flirt. God knows how Steve took that reaction. Probably assumed Eddie was so bored that he would rather sleep than makeout with him. Or worse, that Eddie was pretending to sleep to let him down easy.

Christ, he doesn’t wanna think about that right now. Not while he’s still mourning the loss of his precious tickets.

“Hate to break it to you, honeyjam, but nothing happened.” Eddie shakes his head, gesturing to Steve who hasn’t budged from the recliner. “It’s just me over here and Steve over there. No conjunction connecting us together in that way.”

He can already tell Chrissy isn’t buying it. She’s getting that little forehead wrinkle right above her eyebrows, just like an angry cartoon character. Her best attempt at intimidation. “You didn’t see what I saw.” 

“Gay desperation?”

“No, you jackass. Come here!”

Chrissy yanks Eddie into his bedroom, demanding for him to lock the door. He listens, mainly because the intimidation is starting to work a little. They sit at the edge of the bed and she begins to explain everything she saw:

Steve constructing a wall of blankets and pillows around Eddie to ensure he slept comfortably. Steve waiting by the phone, tapping his foot in that insufferably cute way that Eddie loves so much. Steve scoring the tickets, celebrating quietly to himself.

“How long were you standing at the door, weirdo?” Eddie teases her to avoid the way his stomach is twisting around her words. 

Chrissy shushes him and squeals. “And he kissed your cheek!”

“Liar.”

“He did, I swear! He kissed you on the cheek or the chin or the nose. I don't know which one for sure because my view was obstructed by all of your hair.”

Eddie instinctively combs his fingers through a few strands, undoing the knotted pieces. Not all of them, but enough to keep his hands busy while he thinks through this. Processing. “And you’re sure it wasn’t a dream?”

“Positive.”

“What about a hallucination? Didn’t Byers make a batch of those infamous brownies again?”

Chrissy gives a deep sigh. “Whatever. You’re hopeless.” She shrugs the blanket back over her arms and heads toward the door. More than a fair assessment, Eddie can’t argue even if he wanted to (he always does). 

He stares at the line of posters along his wall, letting Chrissy’s words replay over and over. Imagining what it might have felt like. If Steve’s breath was warm or if his lips were soft. Eddie wonders how it looked to have Steve dipping down to his level. Staying so quiet, so careful not to disturb him. The visuals swarm his head until there’s nothing left but Steve. 

Him and Steve. Connecting them together in that way after all.

So, Eddie gets up and walks back into the living room. He takes in the view of Steve curled up in the recliner, mouth slightly parted open. Chest falling with every sniffle, not quite a snore.

There’s so many emotions while looking at him. Eddie can’t just pin one down to fully comprehend what's going on. All he can do is repeat the scene that’s occupying his mind, settling in his bones.

“Here,” he whispers, placing another blanket across Steve’s lap. It’s feathery gentle, more than he intends for it to be. So gentle that Steve doesn’t shift or stir. 

Eddie takes a deep breath and bends down, close enough to notice all the little details. The ones he’s been too sheepish to indulge in before last night. 

The tiny hairs on Steve’s forearm. The creases in his t-shirt. The bit of dried toothpaste on his chin. None of it should make his cheeks feel this flushed, but they do.

He lets the rush of bravery wash through him as he kisses Steve on the tip of his nose. Just the way Steve must’ve done to him. It’s swift, lighter than he means for it to be. Barely touching. But it’s enough to switch his heart rate up a few notches, pulsing jumping in his wrist.

Eddie steps away, waiting to see if Steve wakes up. Not entirely sure if he wants that or if he’d rather keep this memory to himself. 

“Thanks… by the way.” Eddie adds, brushing the tips of his fingers over Steve’s hand. Wishing he could trace the lines in his palm. Rewind back to last night and pause it there indefinitely. “I’ll tell you again when you’re up, but yeah.”

“Thank you, Steve Harrington.”

[heartbreak-sandwich]

"You... missed me? *grin cutely* I missed you too. I was thinking about uh, this new drive-in cinema, I saw a few interesting movies on here and we could get ourselves some snacks before. What about... Friday evening?" - S.H

STEVE, MY LOVE, WHERE HAVE U BEEN 🥺���� I miss you all the time! I would absolutely love to. It's a date 🥰 I'll bring some blankets to keep us cozy!

[murdockcastleslut]

lex's fall specials

these are the people i write for so just send one of the prompts and a character and i'll repsond!

pumpkin spice latte (with oatmilk) - 18+ only, send in your spicy thoughts about anyone and i'll add on.

apple cider donuts - send in a character and i'll tell you what i think they'd order from a cafe.

chai latte - i'll cast my mutuals as anything you send in.

maple apple turnovers - send in some fluffy thought about anyone and i'll add on.

pecan cold brew - send in a fall idea and a character and i will make you a smau based off it!

caramel apple pie - send in a character and i'll tell you their favorite fall time movie!

cinnamon latte - send in a character and i'll give you a headcannon! *if you want a nfsw head cannon pls specify and you must be 18+*

pumpkin spice bread - 18+ fuck, marry, kiss

tagging some mutuals i believe would be interested: @kimoralov3 @arkofblake @ivysprophecy @ellebellebarnes @clara-b0w

[soranatus]

Action Comics (2016) #1075 variant cover by Steve Beach

[hawkinslibrary]

Stranger Things 4 Chapter Seven: The Massacre at Hawkins Lab | 4.07

[stevesbipanic]

@steddielovemonth Day 25: Love is asking, "do you want a blanket?" @thefreakandthehair

Eddie had developed a small obsession.

It wasn't in his usual realm of obsessions, no dragons or magic to speak of here. No, it existed in the same space as one of his other recent obsessions which was Hawkins Golden Boy, Steve Harrington.

This particular obsession started at one of the monster hunters alliance's movie nights. They'd started routinely going over to Harrington's house every Friday night, rotating which of the teens picked the movie. It helped, having something to look forward to every week.

Now November, the movie nights were just him and Steve, waiting patiently for their college bound friends to return over Christmas break. Eddie didn't mind, he learnt pretty quickly he and Steve had more in common than just the kids. Finding out Steve had seen all of the Star Wars movies would've put a younger Eddie in a coma.

But back to the obsession, it started so innocently, they were both sitting on the couch, slouched on either end, their usual positions, when Eddie had a random shiver. The weather had dipped as they crept towards winter and now that movie nights were at Steve's apartment not his old fancy house with central heating, it was a lot colder.

"Do you want a blanket?"

It had been such an innocent question, Eddie didn't know what he'd be getting into by accepting.

"That would be great, I forget this place's walls are as thin as the trailers."

Steve had gone to his room and returned with a thick woven blanket, large enough to stretch across both of them without them moving. That wasn't its only perk, the material was probably the softest thing Eddie had ever touched and it didn't hurt that it smelt like Steve. He felt warmer already the moment it touched him.

After that Steve would always have the blanket out once Eddie arrived, a few times Eddie even stayed over and slept with the blanket. He was pretty sure Steve must've taken it from his old house when he up and moved without warning over summer, but Eddie didn't want to mention it, Steve didn't like talking about it much.

The blanket felt like home. It also seemed to possess a magic power that meant Steve didn't mind tangling his legs with Eddie's underneath it as the movie played. Eddie had half a mind to ask to take it with him he loved it so much.

By Christmas though, their friends had returned. Tales of big cities and college life were told around the table as they had dinner together before the movie. Now all shoved onto the couch and armchair it wasn't as cold but Eddie still mourned not getting to have the blanket, and Steve so far away from him.

"Steve I'm cold, could you go get your blanket," Robin pouted part of the way into the film. Robin knew about the blanket? It must be from the Harrington's then, some fancy blanket that cost more than his trailer.

Steve glanced at Eddie so briefly he almost missed it before nodding and getting up to retrieve it. He placed the blanket over the three of them, Nancy and Jonathan seemed plenty warm cuddled in their position on the armchair.

"Ah I have missed this blanket, remind me why I can't steal it from you and take it back to my dorm?"

"Because then I'll be freezing on my bed without it, besides, if you'd waited you would know I made you your own for Christmas."

Robin's eyes lit up in joy while Eddie's widened in surprise now a million questions in his head. Made? Steve had made this blanket? Had made one for Robin too? And he didn't have another one on his bed, meaning Steve had willingly given him the only blanket when Eddie stayed over.

"You made this?" He couldn't help the burning question from tumbling from his lips. Steve looked shy now.

"Um yeah, my gran taught me how to knit years ago and helped me make this when I was younger."

Eddie had too many questions but they'd have to wait. A couple weeks later their friends gone again, movie night rolled around and Eddie found himself on Steve's couch once more.

"You always give me the blanket when I stay over."

Steve raised an eyebrow but let Eddie continue, "You only have this blanket and you let me have it, the one you made, even though you'll be cold."

A faint blush is gracing Steve's cheeks now, "Don't want you to be cold," he mumbled.

"Steve?" Eddie said, feeling brave, "Can I stay over tonight?"

"Of course Eds."

"Don't want you to be cold though, think we could share?"

There's a brightness in Steve's eyes as he understands, "Course Eds, wouldn't want you to be cold." Somewhere under the blanket, their hands met and maybe that obsession had a different word, love.

[formosusiniquis]

Earlier this/last week @thefreakandthehair did some possible s5 scene speculation based on some leaked pics that circulated. The scene and it's kas!eddie/pre-steddie implications stuck with me and now I present you all with this

---

Maybe he should feel worse about it, but the first thing Steve thinks when he hears the voices cresting up the hill, angry in a way that sounds drunk, is he's glad.

It's not that he wants the kid's mourning time interrupted, Steve is just glad for something to do. Something that isn't standing off to the side doing his own mental math. How long do you have to know someone to feel this anguish looking at their headstone? How long to make it okay that you've added their grave to your city patrol, checking a couple times a week for new graffiti and especially two hours before picking up Dustin to bring him here. At least his time on the ladder outside The Hawk was well spent, paint remover and rags in his trunk beside a bat that only leaves to join him in places like this.

They put Eddie's grave near the back but it's still surrounded. The Hawkins Cemetery taking on dozens of new residents, tall dirt mounds marking their new homes. He tries not to think too much about the details. Was this the plot Mr. Munson had bought for himself? Did the government provide it? The least they could do for the hero they're generously allowing to take the role of villain, a free plot for an empty grave.

He's five back and four to the right of another empty grave, Steve needs to remember flowers next time he comes. Anniversaries have always stuck in his mind. Four years maybe geraniums.

Ball caps crest over the hill before faces, and he already knows this won't be good. Tiger green has become his least favorite color. He pats Dustin on the shoulder, letting the kid know he's stepping back and away. Let it look like privacy, not that he’s done more than stare. Edward Munson Now with God.

Meandering over to where the problem is headed his way, Steve wonders if that was deliberate. A preventative measure, to keep people away. Or is Mr. Munson a devout believer, hoping this inscribed plea will help the universe do right by his boy?

He tries not to think too hard about it.

There are other things to worry about. Five important things in ballcaps and letterman jackets, stalking up faster like the closer they get the better they can smell the blood in the water. He hadn’t moved fast enough. They’re too close. To him, to Dustin. Andrews and Miller and Jackson and Thompson and one other, three seniors, a junior, and a reedy kid that must be a sophomore like Dustin. Faces he recognizes in the vague sense of athletic camaraderie. Guys he’s played pickup with on nice days.

“What’re you doing here, Harrington?” It doesn’t matter who actually says it, it’s the voice of the mob. There’s a blankness in all of their eyes, maybe he was wrong about them not being drunk. Mob justice, the spirit of the night.

“Feels like I should be asking you fellas that.”

“Kid up there’s been running his mouth, he’s gotta learn what happens to freaks around here.”

They’re way too close. Steve can tell Dustin heard that the same way he can tell when the kid is ignoring him on purpose. There’s a second that he thinks about playing along, five on one, if he could play the jock card and get away with it things could be easier. But Dustin is pointedly not listening now, picking at the grass that’s barely started growing over the dirt they covered Eddie’s grave in.

“That’s not gonna happen, not while I’m standing here.”

Five against one.

He’s still not very good in a fight with people. Maybe it’s the fucking yips.

The bat has worked as a deterrent. When people with anger and bile in their eyes looked at him cleaning up red painted words across grey granite. Nails pointedly facing the sky, keeping their sneers at a distance.

Held at his side, they all know he doesn’t want to hit anyone with it. He swings low, he pulls them shy.

It isn’t long before it’s wrestled away. Tossed to the side and he’s left with only fists to swing.

When the first hand closes around his collar, the seams on his sleeve popping, the adrenaline presents him a pointless gift. The collar on Dustin’s shirt didn’t get torn by the agitator in their washing machine. Of all the things to lie about, of course he lied about this.

The telltale throb of his pulse in his face and his fists point to the fight going rapidly down hill. He’s put one down. Four against one.

“Hey assholes!” And of course Dustin can’t help but get involved.

“Get out of here,” Steve tries to urge him away. Can’t make the gesture with his hands, every time he moves another person grabs his shoulder or his arm. Pulling him deeper into the fight. Like he’s that horse in the swamp in that movie. 

But Dustin doesn’t listen. Of course he doesn’t listen. Dustin is swinging the bat wildly like it’s a club and he’s BamBam, he’s going to hurt himself before he hurts someone else.

Andrews or Miller or Jackson, they're all the same in this mob, pull away from him. Moving toward Dustin.

“Get away from him! Get away from him,” Steve struggles, shouting even as his voice cracks. He can't get away, can't move. Two people have his arms held. The sleeve of his shirt rips. The third hits him again.

Pain and adrenaline, there's a ringing in his ears that drowns out whatever Dustin is saying. Mouth moving in a babble that Steve can't make heads or tails of with his blurred out vision.

But he sees the swing. Dustin unused to the weight of the bat, the hit lands too close to the handle.

He only gets the one. Then it’s ripped from his hands and tossed back toward Eddies grave.

Then he sees the swing. A fist that lands exactly where it's meant to. Dustin staggers back but stays standing. Staggers closer to the grave.

Where rivulets of red are spreading across the ground the same way they're pouring from his face.

Steve struggles harder, pain tolerance fucked he can barely even feel the hits that have been landing. He has to get to Dustin.

Long black claws, a hand with greyed flesh. It digs itself into the ground ready to pull itself up.

“Dustin, Dustin, you have to run. Go!”

“I'm not fucking leaving.”

Another hit. It takes Dustin down this time. One eye blinks as the other already begins to swell. Steve can taste blood in his mouth.

A dark streak launches itself into the air. Moving too fast to make out anything but big, it vanishes into the dusky fall sky. Steve tries to track it. Tries to keep his eye on it and Dustin and the guys.

Another swing, on Steve this time. Attention drawn too many places he doesn't see it coming. Hard across the temple, one of these assholes is still wearing his class ring. 

Vision greying out, when Steve can see again there's one more missing. The hold on his arms is slack. Steve pulls loose, running straight for Dustin, trying to pull him up from the ground.

“We've got to go. C'mon, Dust, we've got to get back to the car. Make the call.”

He's tugging but Dustin isn't moving. The sound of a scream takes the air. Steve doesn't know if he can pick him up. Isn't sure he ever healed right after the bats.

Another scream. Another. Dustin is moving now. Barely. Feet stumbling over themselves. Two hard hits to the head, could be a concussion.

It's following them. Moving faster through the air than they have any hope of on their feet. Prey. They're running, they have to try.

Swooping low, the thing passes overhead. That throaty clicking that haunts his nightmares fills the air. It lands on two legs. Tall and human. Long, leathery wings extend from its back. Steve's bat clutched in its hands. It walks closer. Stalking.

Steve tries to shove Dustin farther behind him. Tries. Tries. But the thing walking toward them, it's Eddie.

He struggles against Steve's hold. “Let go. Let me go! It's Eddie, he's alive.”

“Dustin. Don't. Dustin,” he isn't sure what he's trying to stop. He isn't sure he can anymore.

Back wheels skidding on a wet road. There's a helplessness every time he realizes that things are starting again. When he knows for sure that the wreck is going to happen, fishtailing out of his control.

It's November and it's back.

It's back and it's wearing Eddie's face.

At least when he comes to the end of his borrowed time, the thing that will kill him will be beautiful. Even with the milky film covering those big brown eyes. Even though he looks pale as a corpse. 

Predator. Eddie moves with a fluid grace. Closer. Closer.

Anything is better than the demogorgon. He supposes. But he probably shouldn't be thinking that either. 

Will Dustin run when he goes down?

Steve thinks they're about to find out. Eddie starts to fold, a sprinter getting into position, a cat about to pounce.

Only he keeps going, collapsing until he's down on one knee. Far enough away that if they had to, Steve thinks they could get away before he's chasing them again. Close enough that he can make out the humor that's spread across a smile with too many new teeth. A seriousness in his eyes. He holds the bat flat across both hands, offering it out to Steve. Urging him to step forward and take it. Proposing.

“Your scepter, my king, you're going to need it. Vecna is coming but I have a plan.”