#mike needs to talk to murray

[jonathanbyersphd]

Double Byler Exes to Lovers/Wedding AU fic is a go because I got the STRONGEST mental image of Byler helping Jonathan pick a first dance song (in reality he's had it planned out for years)

And FOR SOME REASON (revenge/mess/tomfoolery) he plays I Will Always Love You and the two of them are just sitting going THROUGH IT

[lune-moon-nuit]

Someone have the fanfiction of #Byler being Murrayd ??

i have read many fics of byler getting murray’d, i have read many fics of robin having a very queer coded conversation with either mike or will… i would have never thought that murray, and robin, getting paired together in s5 would come to fruition.

do you understand the power they have together to clock byler? do i understand the power they have together clock byler?

the two most honest and real people are gonna conversate and im not ready

[hotchocolatebeforebed]

I don't want Mike and Will to get Murrayed.. I *need* them to get Clarked.

Like Mr Clarke has known them since they were 12 and obviously knows them very well. He's literally the sweetest and I feel like the boys trust him and his opinion a lot (even years later) so him talking to them and telling them it's ok would be so cute 😭

[hippielittlemetalhead]

So... I lied about getting a full fix-it to This → Part 1. Y'all get parts focusing on different characters for now as Hop traverses his guilt trip. I won't say it gets worse before it gets better but... kinda in places? I promise it's a happy ending though!!

What do you want from me I'm stressed and depressed and I like making my blorbos suffer (a.k.a projecting my trauma instead of doing the healthy shit my shrink tells me to)

You've been warned... But I do hope you like it.

So here we have Part 2 (Pride and Prejudices: Joyce Edition)

He goes to Joyce about it first. Thinks about her gentle herding of the trio that has become the Hopper-Byers brood. Thinks about how she put everything he was feeling about Mike and El and their giggling and the fucking door into words that kept him from looking like an imbecile (if he'd have ever used them instead of fucking it up 'winging it'). Thinks about the way her voice stays soft and kind of quiet even when she's spitting in his face about listening to her (and every time she's been right) and how that's translated to talking down government goons and wrangling the army of children that seems to get bigger each time they have to fight interdimensional terrors. So he goes to Joyce about what Murray said, the noise Steve made with That Look in his eyes and his bandages peeking out from under a shirt that looks like one of the Henleys he's been missing since coming 'back from the dead' and they dug out his clothes from storage. (El wouldn't let her throw anything out, not until she was ready to say goodbye. Thank whatever god[s] there may be she never needed to)

He doesn't expect Joyce to make a face like he suggested inviting Owens to family dinner. He doesn't expect the scoff and eye roll as her shoulders tense and her hands flex at her sides like she's about to let loose her (honestly really attractive) righteous fury. About the Harrington kid.

Maybe he should have asked when the kids weren't home. Before El quietly told them the bullying wasn't as bad as it was in California but some people still made fun of how she spoke and how all of her friends were boys (and just as quietly asked they not do anything. Asked that they let her and The Party handle it until they couldn't). Before Will came home sulking about something idiotic Mike said or did or something the kid missed (though lately the latest Wheeler mistake is followed by bashful mention of the Emerson kid doing something specifically to make Will feel better in the moment). Before Jonathan came home from 'job hunting' or 'volunteering at the school's relief center' reeking of weed and his long-haired friend in tow (less than usual but still enough to make Joyce feel guilty for missing it for so long, for making the boy grow up so fast that he spends his days out of his mind instead of the weekend bender like when they were kids). Before The Party had come by with what homework the school was still giving out and talking over each other about all the latest small-town gossip a teenager can get their hands on (Eddie's name has been cleared but he's still laid up at the hospital. Susan Mayfield has been noticeably absent according to every nosy housewife in Hawkins considering her daughter is in a coma. The Hagans, Carvers, Perkins and a handful of other 'well to do' families have skipped town taking most of the sports population with them. Steve has been letting people displaced by the damage crash at the Harrington mansion. Steve has kept up hours at Family Video somehow and is a regular volunteer at the various relief centers in town. Steve has been giving all of them rides and may have told Dustin he's thinking of trading in the Beemer for a bigger vehicle for all the kids and people he chauffeurs about. Steve keeps a room empty and waiting for when Max wakes up before her mother makes an appearance. Steve. Steve. Steve.)

He doesn't expect the way she spits his name like she's talking about Dick and Margaret under the bleachers over a smoke before the yard teacher catches them. The rant about bullies and broken cameras and trashed kitchens and dead monsters in her fridge. The crack in her voice when she crosses her arms to stop their shaking as she lays sin upon sin at this boy's feet.

And maybe before that would have been enough.

He doesn't expect the stone in his stomach or the burning in his chest as he looks the woman he loves in the eye and says "So I guess we should tell Nancy to break up with Jonathan before he pulls a Lonnie, huh?" It's a low blow. He knows from the hurt anger on her face and on the purse of her lips. He knows that's why he said it. "That kid is lucky to be alive let alone walking and have we ever even thanked him for keeping the fucking kids alive each time they pull their dumb shit when the world goes to hell? Does that sound like anything his folks would have ever done for us? Hell for their own fucking kid they practically signed over to ME of all people?"

He's shaking now too and Joyce has her hands fluttering between them like she wants to reach out. To touch, comfort. Pull him close and tell him to take a breath.

"He called me 'His Hop', Joyce" He barely has enough breath on him to squeeze the words past his tight throat. "Called me His Hop and watched Ellie and the kids when I just couldn't and you were at work. I don't think I've seen his folks in town since the mall was opened and all the donors had that big party. Don't think I've spoken to them since '83 and they made me the kid's guardian when they aren't around cause they didn't want to fly down for a government sized concussion."

By now he knows El and Will are peeking around the corner, their eyes wide and worried. Jonathan has his door cracked and Angus (is that the hippie's name? He can't remember) is whispering something about heavy auras. Joyce is staring somewhere off in the distance, wringing her hands and biting her lips like she's facing an interdimensional portal shaped problem.

"The kids are planning to have one of their games in a few days." Her voice is brittle in a way he's not used to anymore. Not since she pulled her youngest out of hell and faced down a demon clawing through her walls. "He always drives them over and- and disappears until they need to head home. I can make sure he stays for dinner. Like the rest of the kids. I know Claudia has been having him over so I- I can get some recipes from her that he likes."

Something in his shoulders shakes loose and he reaches out to pull her practically shaking from into his chest.

"I don't know what to say to him Hop. He's not Mike and he's not like either of my boys. In my head he's just always been..."

"Dick and Margaret's brat." He sighs out and rests his cheek on the top of her head as she nods and presses herself in closer.

He's aware of eyes on them. Confused and worried and judgemental and he'll pay that piper next. These kids taught him how to be a dad again once, they can do it again, right?

Part 3

Part 4.1

@thelittleclare @jackiemonroe5512 @0body0disphoria0 @strangersteddierthings @lingeringmirth

Part 4.2

Part 5

If I missed you in the tag list I'm sorry I tried 🙃🫡 Tell me what you think? 🫣🥲

[acowardinmordor]

Found this is in my drafts when I went to reopen a a different continuation of this. It ends where it ends. At least its not mid-sentence. if it prompts you to something, have fun with it but I'm gonna continue the other one bc I have no memory of what I was going to do with this.

Sort of a second part of this. It is Not Complete, and I'm posting exactly what I found in my drafts:

Idk if this is going to become something usable. But I’m at the best point of an edible, so let’s do this.

Murray and Nancy and Hop working together are only able to confirm the church group that the Harringtons made a recent donation to. Yeah, that’s gotta be where Steve is, but every single lead they chase says that the group doesn’t have anything that could even possibly be “help” for a queer kid.

The Harringtons havent made their son part of their public image since he was 10 years old and cute enough to be useful. It doesn’t stand out that they don’t mention him after they return to DC. Summer goes on, harvesting starts, the kids return to high school, now with El and Will back. No one likes to say it’s because they’re worried the UD is still a threat, but yeah, that anxiety is part of it. Steve is the other part.

Will only got to have one conversation with Steve about the alibi before Steve vanished. He won’t tell anyone what they talked about, and he’s viscerally, constantly scared by where he thinks Steve is. Lucas and Mike are pretty good at acting like they’re not worried. Erica rages. Dustin flips between furious at the Harringtons, furious at Steve, and furious at Eddie. Max hobbles out of the room if anyone tries to mention Steve in her presence.

Robin defers college for a year. She knows she would flunk out if she tried right now. Eddie, on the good days, teases her that if she didn’t flunk out, she’d panic-study and graduate cum laude with six new languages and two degrees. On the bad days they don’t say much at all.

They do start working with a very small group of activists in Indianapolis. Nancy found them on accident while investigating the places Steve could be. They’re the opposite of what she was looking for. A group has started a tiny version of a rainbow railroad, leaving flyers and messages with their information. All of it subtle enough to hide. If they need to get out, get somewhere safe, they can contact, and the railroad will help.

Robin helps with a bit of the research and writing they need. Eddie does some of the follow up calls, using a dozen strange voices to be a dozen random businesses calling to reach whoever asked for help, without raising suspicion.

It doesn’t help Steve. They can’t help Steve. They can’t even find him.

And you’d think that eventually Steve would call the hotline and ask for help, so Eddie could return the favor and save him. No.

Dustin wakes up to a loud noise a few hours after midnight, during a heavy snow storm. It’s in that dead week between Christmas and New Year when Steve comes back. And he goes first to Dustin.

[cluelessbees]

Yknow what ? I think Byler getting Murray’d would be more heartfelt than anything else.

Because like-

Murray doesn’t just call out Jopper and Jancy because it’s obvious. He points it out because he knows they’re being stupid. In their cases, it’s really just them not communicating their feelings to one another and trying to pretend they don’t exist.

But with Byler it’s like…it’s different.

Because it’s not just that is it? We’re not just watching two people pine over one another whilst being oblivious to the fact they other likes them back. We’re not just looking at two people who can’t communicate well. There’s more to it.

Because they’re two boys who have been best friends since childhood. They grew up at the peak of the AIDS epidemic. They live in a small town and they’re expected to act a certain way. It’s different for them.

I don’t think Murray is gonna waltz in acting all holier than thou and essentially out both Mike and Will to one another. He’s a smart man as we’ve seen. He’s attentive. He doesn’t just call jancy and jopper out to prove a point he knows what they both need to hear so they can get over their miscommunication hurdle.

I think he’s going to go up to them. Either both or just Mike or Will or whatever, and he’s going to talk to them about it. Because that’s what they need. They need someone to talk to them about it. And I don’t think he would start with just directly talking about it. I think he (and this is me headcanonning Murray as queer) would open up first. Like about his own experiences- to show them that he gets it, and he knows what it’s like. And then he would casually bring up the whole byler thing.

Hmmm something along the lines of...

Okay– picture a conflict Mike Wheeler sitting by himself – either on the couch or on the floor or whatever. And, he’s stuck in his head. A lot had happened. He broke up with El and he’s struggling to grasp what he’s feeling about his best friend. And there's this…weird tension between them that– he just– he can't put his finger on. But they’re off. They aren’t clicking like they used to and Mike can’t seem to fix things. 

So he sat alone, trying to understand or comprehend whatever he’s feeling whilst everyone else is god knows where in the house. Will was in the kitchen though. Mike knew that much. And then suddenly, he felt a weight on the couch seat next to him or the space on the floor beside him was no longer there and he heard the words of Murray Bauman pull him out of his thoughts with the weirdest fucking ice-breaker he has ever heard.

“Y’know…I was like you when I was younger.” 

“Really?” Mike asked – mostly out of disbelief as he scanned Murray. No way. Not a chance. 

“Oh yeah…” Murray smiled, nodding to himself as he continued. “I know it's hard to believe it, but I was this…brash, stubborn, reactive teen who loved going against authority. I was very...headstrong in my beliefs.” 

He paused and Mike turned to him. Murray had his head down, looking at his lap silently, and Mike didn’t know what to do but watch or…more– listen to the silence. 

“And…I was also in my head a lot.” Murray looked up, turning to Mike once before looking forward again. “I was angry at things – at people and at myself because…no matter how much I pretended like I loved being a freak…a part of me hated that I wasn’t normal…”

Mike felt cold. His heartbeat raced as he turned away from Murray – facing forward and staring at his lap as he continued to listen.

“Yeah?”

“Oh yeah…I was-- going through a lot of stuff internally that I tried pretending didn’t exist.” He paused again – taking a deep breath. “I was…in love with someone who I didn’t want to be in love with.”

“...You were?” 

“Yeah…” Murray laughed to himself. “Yeah…it was– well he was…my best friend.”

Mike held his breath.

“I fell for him. And I was mad at myself for falling for him. Because even though I knew it wasn’t wrong…I just kept thinking about how I wasn’t supposed to like him. Because that’s not normal– Well ‘normal.’” Murray airquoted, rolling his eyes. Mike’s eyes were glued onto him at this point. 

“So…I grew angrier. And I took it out on myself. On him. Even though he didn’t deserve it. Even though I loved him– I just..I let my fear get the better of me and I pushed him away until I lost him…And I hated myself for doing that.” He breathed, another pause, before finally turning to Mike. “It took me a long time to realise that there was nothing wrong about loving someone.”

Murray tilted his head towards the direction of the kitchen as he raised his eyebrows – and it clicked to Mike.

“I..” Mike’s throat felt dry. “You know?”

“I had a hunch.”

“Is it obvious? Does he–”

“No, he doesn’t know. Your secret's safe with me, kid.”

“Okay– good.” Mike paced his breathing. “I just…I– I can’t lose him because of this. If he knew– if– if he knew he would–”

“He’s your best friend right?” Murray cut him off.

“What? Yes but–”

“Then. he could never hate you, Mike. Not about this.”

“How do you know that?”

“Call it…another one of my hunches.” Mike knitted his brows together.

“Look – kid, I’m not going to force you to tell him or anything. It's your choice at the end of the day. And I can’t say much, but it doesn’t take a genius to know how much that boy cares about you. And you care about him, correct?”

Mike nodded. 

“And you trust him?”

Mike nodded again. “With my life.”

“So…all I can say is…if you trust him? Then...trust him with this.” Murray began to stand up. “Take it from me. Holding it in only hurts the both of you.”

And then Murray leaves

Anyways yeah thoughts––

[justcameheretobyler]

I think there’s something I missed in the transition of s3 and s4 (probably it’s been already talked enough but I came late to the party so I’m doing it anyway)

There are moments like, when a couple that is supposed to happen has a turning point (like Jancy in s1) but then, the person that sets the boundary in that relationship has to make a choice and ends up choosing “safe path”

In Nancy’s case it was just at the end of s1, we see her being together with Steve again, even when it was clear she had feelings for Jonathan.

I think that’s the case with Byler ending s3

Mike and El weren’t together anymore (just as Steve and Nancy) and Mike and Will had their moments in s3 (the theater scene, the rain fight showing how good is Mike reacting when he knows he hurt Will)

And this scene when Mike is still single

But then we have THE scene

These both are, part of the turning point about byler, and the moment Mike, the one setting the boundary with Will, makes a choice. A safe choice.

Let’s remember that Steve called out Nancy cuz she was drunk when she told him she didn’t love him. But sorber Nancy was still holding the lie, if it wasn’t for Murray’s speech I don’t know how more it would take Jancy to be a thing btw.

Same happened with Mike, he was holding the lie, even when he couldn’t say it.

I do have a doubt here do’

Was the last scene in s3 actually ElMike getting back together? Or it was later on?

Cuz we had Nancy and Jonathan talking about their relationship not going anywhere later in s2

“I waited”

“Just like a month” (lmao 😭)

And then, we have the fact Mike called Will a couple of times, but Will didn’t call him back.

I’m not sure if it was stablished that Mike and El just continued their relationship as nothing happened before, and also, I think obviously Mike’s feelings for Will are more complicated cuz Mike doesn’t know Will is gay and in love with him. So part of the problem can be him gaslighting himself.

The point is,

Byler had being building up since s1, having the “turning point” in s3 and elaborating one side more in s4

If we see it clearly:

In s1, we have the focus of how much Will means to Mike.

In s2, we have the focus of how much Mike loves Will and how much Will needs Mike without openly expressing it (him calling his name in his worst moments was supposed to be a thing)

In s3, we see their relationship struggling and their fights becoming more serious while growing up.

In s4, we have the focus of how much Will loves Mike, and Mike being weird around El and Will.

But then, the turning point comes again.

Mike says “I love you” to El finally, with a pity speech cuz even the way Finn delivers the lines are kind of (?).

But his last scene is with Will. Reassuring him and walking beside him down the hill.

So… I think that’s supposed to be a new moment for Mike to make a choice.

And common, we know, at this point we already know.

[brbsoulnomming]

Tell Me Sweet Little Lies Part 18

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | AO3

-----

Fortunately, Eddie doesn't actually have to participate much once he and Robin make it back to the living room. The best seating seems to be reserved for the injured and injured adjacent, since Max is already sitting between Lucas and El on one of the couches, with Dustin and Steve on the other. Steve scoots over, leaving the middle cushion open for Eddie to claim, and Robin comes to sit on the armrest of the couch by Steve. He drapes his arm over her thigh, and she checks his shoulder with her hip, shooting him a little smile.

He watches them for a moment, attempting to be an adult and sort out what he's feeling about it now that he knows Steve and Robin are soulmates, but after a few moments he concedes that's going to take longer to process than he's got right now.

Everyone else is scattered around the room in various seating - Will and Mike squished together in the armchair right by Max, Lucas, and El's couch, Erica curled up in the second armchair, Nancy, Jonathan, and Argyle occupying what looks like chairs dragged in from the dining room.

Conversation goes around in circles. There isn't an active threat forcing them into a quick decision, which apparently means they interrupt each other and veer off on tangents and attempt to solve at least four problems at once.

Eddie's a little too floaty from the pain meds - and a little too occupied with Steve's thigh pressed up right against his own - to join, but it's nice, listening to them. It reminds him he's not alone.

They talk about what to do with Vecna - nothing, for the moment, just continue to let El rest and rebuild her powers, with El and Will keeping an eye on Upside Down things; what to do about the gates still open in Hawkins - regular patrols, no one goes out alone and everyone brings a weapon and their walkie with them at all times; what to do with Hopper, who has apparently been alive this whole time and was being held in a Russian prison after being captured at Starcourt - which, sure, of course, it's not like that's the craziest thing that's happened this week. Some guy named Murray is working with his contacts and they're going to spin a story to present to the Hawkins PD.

Eddie watches Steve out of the corner of his eye when he feels him go tense at that one, sees him shift his hand on Robin's leg so it's palm up. She immediately takes it, lacing their fingers together and giving his hand a squeeze. He debates with himself for only a moment before he lets his own hand rest on Steve's knee, squeezing it lightly as well.

Both Robin and Steve turn to him, smiling at him in a way that makes warmth bloom beneath his ribs - Steve with surprised affection, and Robin with a pleased little knowing. He ducks his head and pretends to be really focused on what the group is arguing about.

At some point, the conversation shifts to what they're going to do about Eddie's situation, and, unfortunately, then he really does have to focus.

He doesn't really want to. They don't really seem to have a lot of ideas other than to get Hopper reinstated at Hawkins PD, to work with Murray to come up with a story to pin everything on Henry Creel, carrying on in his father's footsteps.

It just makes him tired.

"This is a lot of talking for what's essentially wait until everyone's back up to full strength and then we can figure out the details," he says after a while.

Steve snorts next to him. "It's not like Eddie's going anywhere," he tells the others. "He's safe here until we figure it out."

Some part of Eddie - the Eddie he was before all this, who didn't need anyone and was convinced Steve Harrington was a jackass - kind of wants to bitch about being under house arrest at the Harrington palace.

But, well. That part is a fading ember compared to the rest of him that wants to grab onto that and take it as an excuse to make himself at home in Steve's life and never leave. The rest of him wants everyone to just get the hell out already, so he can stop trying to pretend he isn't pants shittingly nervous about finally telling Steve he thinks they're soulmates.

Platonic soulmates, he reminds himself.

It takes forever.

Everyone stays for dinner, and Eddie really wants to be pleased about that, to bask in the sounds of so much life, of bickering and teasing and shouting and a fierce, aching love that's woven into every word spoken and every one left unspoken, into every gesture and laugh and shout. To bask in the way that it includes him, how easily he's been folded into it all, how it makes him itchy and content all at once. To bask in the way it makes Steve come alive, golden and vibrant and looking like he's never been happier.

It's just that it also makes him even more antsy about confirming once and for all if Steve is his soulmate, and every time he sees him light up or look so goddamn fond beneath a bitchy expression, he kind of wants to bite him. Or, barring that, get his hands on him, run his fingers over the words etched on Steve's skin to see if it's really true, what he's heard about. If it really does feel like nothing else when your soulmate finally touches the words they've marked you with forever.

Robin keeps shooting these little looks at him, which doesn't help at all, especially because he catches Steve looking back and forth between them with a little scrunch to his forehead - that only gets deeper every time Steve meets Robin's eyes and she just looks back at him, wide eyed and innocent.

She does loudly mention her curfew multiple times, though, and that she's sure Eddie is exhausted after being subjected to them all day, which is worth the protesting shouts she gets from his Hellfire trio.

When they finally all leave, well. Eddie is kind of exhausted, and he tips his head back to rest on the back of the couch for a moment.

"You want me to carry you upstairs?" Steve asks.

His voice is teasing, but when Eddie cracks open one eye to look at him, he looks sincere.

"Thanks," Eddie grumbles. "But I think I'll try to keep what's left of my dignity."

He does kind of want Steve to carry him up, is the thing, but he definitely doesn't want to admit it. Or to deal with it while he's still trying to figure out how the hell he wants to do this.

Steve looks like he wants to say something scathing about Eddie's dignity, but he holds himself back, and offers out a hand to help him up instead.

"Yeah, yeah," Eddie grumbles, deciding to respond to whatever Steve thought of anyway, just to show him that nope, he can't get away with that.

He does take his hand, though, and leans on him as they walk up the stairs. He counts each step as they go, telling himself over and over that okay, he needs to get this sorted out before they reach the halfway point - before they reach the top - before they make it halfway down the hall - at least before they get to Steve's room, come on -

Eddie plops down onto Steve's bed, silently cursing himself as he accepts the bottle of meds Steve offers him, downs two and hands it back.

"So," Eddie says, because he's an idiot. "You and Robin, huh?"

Steve's brow furrows in confusion, which - yeah, fuck, of course it does, because Eddie literally announced that out of no where, and he focuses on that and not on how cute Steve looks.

"She told me this morning," he clarifies. "About the whole two soulmate thing."

His expression clears up, goes all warm and fond even as he rolls his eyes. "That's what all those looks were about, I knew it was something."

When he looks back at Eddie, his expression is a little more closed, eyes a little wary. "Yeah. She and I are soulmates, and we've both got another one we haven't found yet."

Eddie nods, hoping he's accurately conveying just how cool he is with this. In the grand scheme of things, his maybe soulmate having another soulmate is a whole hell of a lot more normal than everything else that's happened in his life recently. "The same one, you think?"

That gets a small smile. "Nah, we've compared." Steve picks at the label on the bottle of pills, not looking at him. "You don't think it's weird? Or I'm - just greedy, or something?"

He flinches, just a little, because if he's being honest - yeah, if he'd found out a year ago, hell even a few months ago, that Steve Harrington had two soulmates, he probably would have rolled his eyes and called him greedy. Little rich boy taking more than his share, Mr. Popular Jackass who of course has two people destined to fall over him. He thinks back to what his uncle had said to him, before high school, and feels shame curl at the bottom of his gut.

"I think," Eddie says after a long moment, because he's still an idiot, but he doesn't want to run anymore, he doesn't. "That I'm your other one. Your - uh, platonic. You and me, platonic soulmates."

Steve looks - all right, Eddie can't actually figure out how he looks.

"I think I like weird," he continues, because he doesn't know how to shut up. "I think you're so, so different from everything I thought you were, and I'm still a little pissed off about that, man, the Munson Doctrine was sacred and here you are blowing it all up. I think if I had to have a jock for a platonic soulmate, I don't want it to be anyone but you."

Steve's looking up at him with these huge, liquid eyes, now, and Eddie's tongue feels like it's glued to his mouth, and then -

"I didn't miss you before I even met you," Steve says, and Eddie feels the quick prickle of heat around his ankle, and -

"Holy shit," he says, laughing because he doesn't know what else to do with all the feeling bubbling up inside of him, because -

Because Steve'd told him that Nancy was the only person that he'd ever wanted to be his soulmate so bad that he wanted to test it, and it - it's not the same, it's not, and when he comes down from the high of having found his soulmate he's going to realize how fucked he is if he doesn't get over this crush on him, but -

"I didn't think about my soulmate all that often," he says, just so Steve can have the same feeling he does, and then he ducks his head a little, hand tugging his hair in front of his mouth. "Yeah? You wanted it to be me, too?"

Steve quirks a little smile. "Yeah. I really did."

Eddie groans. "Jesus, Steve, you can't just say stuff like that to me."

Steve's smile grows. "Too bad. I'm going to say stuff like that all the time, you're going to have to learn to take it."

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck don't think about that, nope, don't think about Steve - his soulmate Steve - telling him how much he wants him and showing Eddie how to take it and - Eddie laughs, feeling it bubble up through his chest, a little bit giddy and a little bit hysterical.

Before he knows it, Steve's huffing out a little laugh, too. "I knew you lied in there with Mike, man, I could feel it. I just couldn't drop my pants in the middle of the living room to check what it was, but when I did, you were going to be so busted."

"I mean, you could have. There were a few people in there who probably would've appreciated the view," Eddie teases. "You might've scarred Mike for life, though."

Steve's lip curls into a grimace, and then they're both giggling again.

"Thanks for being brave," Steve tells him quietly when they've managed to put a lid on their laughing.

Eddie twitches, barely resisting the urge to twist to check to see if he's got a new lie on him. It's just - Eddie hasn't been brave. The one time he did decide to be brave, he nearly died, and people keep yelling or almost crying at him about it, so he's pretty sure they think that was more stupid than brave. "For being what now?"

"For being brave about this," Steve says. "I've kind of wondered if it might be you for a while, just kept telling myself it wasn't the right time to ask."

Oh. All right, yeah, he did beat Steve to it, didn't he? He grins at him. "So when did you first start wanting it to be me, huh?"

Steve rolls his eyes, and for a few moments Eddie thinks he's not going to answer, but then he says, "In the woods, when we were trying to find the gate. After you tried to make Lucas feel better, got him and Dustin distracted."

That - Eddie wasn't expecting that, even though part of him thinks yeah, it would be about the kids. "Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, I suspected earlier. There wasn't a lot that could give you away, but what you said about jocks being violent monarchs - some of your table speeches had similar phrasing."

Fuck.

It's - he'd known, that he and his soulmate would have to talk about why they stopped talking. Known that he and Steve would have to talk about it. He'd just kind of hoped it was another one of those things he could add to his pile of later.

"Steve," he says softly, but he can't think of what to say to continue, and it just hangs heavily between them.

"I know," Steve says after a moment. "I figured that was why you stopped talking to me. That you realized I was one of the kind of people you hated."

He wants to tell Steve that he wasn't, but he's too worried it'll be a lie. Steve was the kind of person that Eddie used to hate - not really because of anything Steve had done, but because of what Eddie assumed about him, because it was easier to believe all the popular kids were the same than maybe some of them were different.

"You aren't," he says instead. "The guy I was talking about - he graduated the year before you - you're nothing like him. You weren't even back when we were in high school. You weren't a bully, man, just kind of a bitch. I was the one who didn't care about the difference."

Steve considers that for a moment. Then, "I'm still kind of a bitch."

Eddie lets out a bark of startled laughter, hand coming up to press against his abdomen. "Fuck, dude, don't be funny, it pulls at my stitches."

Steve grins at him, entirely unapologetic.

Eddie almost hates to ruin it, but - shit, he has to know, and he lets out a slow exhale. "That why you stopped talking to me, because you knew I didn't want you to?"

Steve's grin fades, but he looks like he'd kind of been expecting that question. "That was part of it. But also, I was mad at you," he admits. "Everyone always had these expectations of who I was and who they wanted me to be, and when I saw you talking about jocks and popular kids like they were the enemy, I realized you had them, too. I knew I wasn't going to live up to yours."

"Fuck my expectations, you're better than anything I could have dreamed of." Eddie - hadn't meant to say that, and he spends a quick moment freaking out a little in the back of his mind, because that didn't sound platonic at all.

Steve doesn't seem to think anything of it, though, just gives him a pleased little smile, ducking his head like he thinks it's going to hide how his ears have gone pink.

"It's not like your expectations were that unreasonable, lumping everyone together aside," Steve says. "I could have taken a step back and wondered why it pissed me off that you expected me not to be a violent jackass, but I was too busy getting wrapped up in all that popularity shit. I'm sorry for that."

There's a pause, then, "I'm not sorry for being a jock, though. I like sports, that's not going to change."

"I don't want it to change," Eddie says, but it comes out more like a promise. "You already did a hell of a lot of changing, man."

Steve gives him a little crooked smile. "I guess a good thump on the head will do that to you."

Eddie grimaces. "Upside Down shit?"

"Nah, just Nancy and Jonathan, actually. When Jonathan and I had that fight in the alley, I - I was angry, and hurt, and I wanted to make him hurt. It comes easy, you know, knowing what to say to hurt someone the most. How to be cruel."

The other side of being good with people, yeah, Eddie knows that. He'd never been on the receiving end of it, but he'd heard the gossip about what happened when Steve Harrington got pissed. It's what he meant when he said Steve was a bitch.

"Later, I was sitting with Tommy and Carol, listening to them talk about jumping him as soon as he was released from the station and I just kept thinking - I sounded exactly like my dad in that alley. That's the kind of people that Tommy and Carol were, and that's who I was going to be if I stuck with them."

"But you didn't," Eddie says.

"But I didn't," Steve agrees, giving a little shrug.

Eddie's quiet, in case Steve wants to say more, but it seems like he's done talking about that, because after a few moments he gives Eddie a little smile.

"So I, uh. I told you mine, you gotta tell me yours now. When did you change your mind and decide you wanted it to be me?"

"Oh, uh. Same as you, actually. I didn't admit it until after the first time in the Upside Down, but when we were in the woods, and you looked at me like I was doing something good, and I - yeah." Eddie's pretty sure he's a little flushed, now, and he looks away.

Steve just gives a little hum, and Eddie looks back at him, eyes narrowed, but he can't quite make out his expression. Eddie barrels on past all that, then, not giving him time to do - whatever that face he's making is a sign of.

"I wondered way earlier, though," he adds. "I kept getting stuff about not being all that hurt and not wanting to go to the hospital, and then you'd show up all beat up. Which, by the way, I was really mad at you for, you kept scaring the shit out of me."

"Sorry," Steve says, and he does look reasonably apologetic. "At least I went to the hospital this time?"

Eddie raises one eyebrow, assuming the withering look he gives him is enough to tell him exactly what he thinks about that. "How about you stop needing to go to the hospital, huh?"

Steve looks at him, quiet for a long moment. Then, "You're the one who said I'm a paladin."

"And I already regret it." Eddie nudges him with one knee. "Mike's convinced you're a barbarian, anyway."

Steve makes a face, like he's immediately having some regrets of his own. "Mike's in on this now? I'm still not playing with you guys any time soon."

Eddie grins at him. "Any time soon isn't never, man, I-"

He cuts off as he realizes that this is the second time that Steve has said he wasn't playing any time soon, and it prompts him to remember -

"You lied!" he shouts gleefully.

"What?" Steve asks, caught off guard.

"Hang on, gimme - just let me-" Eddie grunts as he tries to pull off his sweatshirt too quickly, ends up twinging his shoulder, and has to do it more slowly.

"There," he says triumphantly. "Left shoulder blade, it says I'm never going to play this thing with you, man, you might as well stop asking."

Steve wrinkles his nose. "How do you know that was about this?"

"Because you're good at adjusting your words to make sure what you're saying isn't technically a lie, and this fits. I'm right, aren't I?"

Steve is looking at him like - well, like Eddie probably looked at Steve when Steve told him that he knew what it meant when Eddie's face shut down. Like he didn't realize Eddie noticed that about him, and Eddie almost lets himself get tripped up on it, but - no, he doesn't want to go there, doesn't want to let them get off track.

Instead, he just waggles his eyebrows at Steve, who groans.

"Okay, okay. I knew after I said it that those kids were going to wear me down sooner or later, I just didn't want them to know that."

Eddie scoots a little closer, until their knees are brushing together. "Have you played yet?"

Steve tips his head back, like he's looking to the heavens for support. "I played. Erica wanted to practice as a DM, so Robin, Dustin, and I played for her first game. And before you ask - yes, I did have a good time, but I don't really think it's something I'd want to do all the time."

Yeah, all right, that's fair enough, and it doesn't really put a damper on Eddie's glee. It means it's pretty likely that he could get Steve to play for a one-shot sometime, maybe even a short campaign.

If he's honest, part of him was a little worried that he might not look at D&D the same way after all of the comparisons to a campaign he was doing, but no, he feels the same excited energy that he has before. It's a relief to know that this wasn't taken from him.

Steve's tipped his head back down and is looking at him, now - or, more accurately, looking at his bare torso, eyes scanning a clear line from his neck and shoulders down to his waist, and back up again. Eddie's mouth goes dry, and abruptly he feels - self conscious? Hesitant? Some kind of nervous energy, which is stupid, because it's not like Steve Harrington would - but shit, Eddie knows the way Steve looked at him after washing his hair, he doesn't think he was so out of it that he could conjure that out of nowhere -

"Let me get the first aid kit," Steve says, pushing himself up.

And right, yeah, the first aid kit. For the bandages that Eddie almost forgot he was wearing, which is a far more likely reason that Steve was staring at his bare chest, except - well. Except there'd been a hunger in Steve's eyes, and Eddie doesn't think it's just because the guy was so damn eager to change out his bandages.

He drops it, though, reminds himself platonic over and over again until Steve comes back with his massive first aid kit.

Steve strips off his own sweater before he sits back down on the bed, and Eddie doesn't bother to try not to look. Now he doesn't have to feel bad about letting his gaze sweep over every bit of that perfect, hairy chest, eagerly reading any bit of writing he can see, and - wait.

"Can I?" Eddie asks, making grabby hands at him.

Steve looks down at himself, sees where Eddie had been staring - at I love it when coffee is so weak you can barely taste it just below his collarbone - and huffs out a little laugh. "Yeah, sure."

Eddie reaches out, just barely brushing over the words with his fingertips, and Steve sucks in a harsh breath.

"Bad?" Eddie asks, going still.

"No," Steve says. "Just different."

He's going to take that as permission to continue, so he keeps going, rubbing his thumb over If I could have a whole swarm of silverfish in my room, I'd be so happy on Steve's side. Steve shivers, and Eddie reminds himself - platonic.

"Here, let me-" Steve reaches down, carefully peeling off the bandages from around his stomach.

His demobat bites look a lot better than the last time Eddie saw them - less open and weeping, more stitched and healing, which makes Eddie give a soft sigh of relief.

There's ink leading up to one of the bites, looking like it got cut off, and Eddie leans in a little to see it better.

For your mo, it says, and Eddie barks out a laugh.

"For your modesty, dude," he says, lightly touching it with one fingertip. "It caught me. It was for my own sanity, I knew I was going to keep trying to see your writing."

Steve huffs out a little laugh. "I didn't even feel it."

"The gaping stomach wound probably edged it out a little," Eddie teases. "You feel it now?"

Steve's gaze catches and locks on his. "Yeah."

Eddie swallows. "You said it was different?"

Steve hums an affirmative. "From Robin's. It feels different when she touches her words."

Right.

Of course it does.

"How does hers feel?" he asks. He half fears it'll come out jealous, but - no, it just sounds curious, and he realizes that's mostly what he feels.

Curiosity, not jealousy.

"It's changed, but at first it was… fizzy," Steve says. "Like butterflies in your stomach, or drinking a beer too fast. Now it's like - holding hands in the rain, or the first drink of hot apple cider when it's cold. Like coming home."

Huh.

"Poetic," he says, half teasing and half sincere. "What does mine feel like?"

Steve considers that for a moment. "Electric," he decides. "Like static shock, or the moment before a first kiss. Or a metal guitar solo in the Upside Down," he adds slyly, then reaches out for him. "Can I…?"

"Yeah, uh, go ahead."

Steve's eyes scan over him again, like he's looking for something, and Eddie's gaze drops down automatically to his own torso. Which - is covered in gauze and medical tape, and at this point he's pretty sure there's more bandage showing than skin.

"Not a lot of real estate left, though," he says.

It comes out shakier than he'd meant it to, and he sucks in a ragged breath. If at least one of his lies on Steve had gotten cut off, he knows that means a decent number of the words on his own skin are gone.

Fuck.

He hasn't really looked at himself, but now he wonders which ones it is, what words he'll never see again. If it's the ones that he read over and over again, that made him smile so wide when he was fourteen, the ones that made him so fucking angry, the ones that scared the shit out of him. It shouldn't matter, he tells himself, because they aren't meant to have this many words between them anyway. It's supposed to mean there's something wrong with them, that there's too many lies to make things work, but - it's different, it means something else.

It's always meant something else, to Eddie.

"Hey," Steve's saying softly. "Eddie, hey, look at me."

Eddie nods, already preparing to hear Steve tell him that it's okay, that it's better this way, that less words are a good thing, and then looks up.

"I'm not taking my rain check now."

There's a sting somewhere on his lower back, and Eddie blinks at him.

"What?" he asks.

"My rain check," Steve repeats, like it's supposed to make more sense a second time. "To tell you the things I like about you. I'm not taking it right now."

Eddie's mouth goes dry, and he feels like he can't do anything but stare at him.

"I don't think you have a good heart," Steve says.

Lie, blooming over his spine.

"I don't think you're clever. I don't find you funny. I don't think you're really good with the kids. I don't think you're brave."

Each one of them a lie, writing themselves on Eddie's skin forever, and every one of them steals more and more of Eddie's breath. Fuck, if he keeps going, Eddie's going to kiss him, going to ruin this right after he found it.

"Steve," Eddie says, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm not proud of you."

"Touch me," Eddie blurts out, sounding a little strangled.

Steve's brows furrow, pupils blown wide as he looks at him.

Eddie forcibly wrangles his thoughts back into some semblance of order. "Didn't you want to…?" he trails off, gesturing at his own torso, jerking a thumb at his shoulder where he knows at least some writing is visible.

"Oh!" Steve swallows, looking like now he's the one who has to get his thoughts back in order. "Yeah, yeah I did."

He reaches out determinedly before Eddie can try to think too much into that, resting his palm flat on Eddie's chest for a moment - right over his heart, and Eddie wonders if he can feel how quickly it's beating, if he - then it slides up, smoothing over where some of his words peek out from under the bandages.

Fuck.

Despite Steve's halting poetry about how his soulmate touches felt, Eddie wasn't prepared for this. It feels like -

It feels like Steve's fingers running through his hair, blunt nails scratching over his scalp, little goosebumps shuddering over his skin. Like hot water washing everything away, strong hands cradling his head in their grip.

"Oh," he breathes out, not really meaning to, but his entire brain has just shut off.

"Yeah?" Steve asks, sounding pleased, and his hand sweeps up, stroking over any bit of soulmate ink he can find. "What's it feel like?"

"Like a hot shower after a week in the Upside Down," Eddie tells him, because that's true, and easier than admitting it feels like when Steve washed his hair for him.

Steve huffs out a little laugh. "Pretty damn good, then," he teases, then pulls his hand away. "Speaking of showers - we should both probably take one before we change these bandages. You want help with yours?"

Yes, fuck yes, he really does.

And yet -

"Nah," he says, and it's not a lie. He knows there's no way he can handle being in the shower with Steve after all this. "I can stand long enough now, I should be good."

If Eddie didn't know any better, he'd think there was a brief flash of disappointment in Steve's eyes. But he doesn't say anything, just helps him remove his bandages, gets out a clean set of clothes for him and gets the shower going.

"I'll be right outside, just yell if you need anything," Steve says before he steps out of the bathroom and leaves the door open a crack.

Eddie takes a few deep breaths before he looks at himself in the mirror. It's… not as bad as he was expecting, really. He'll have scars over his stomach, scattered across his chest, curving up to his neck, but it's no where near as bad as it could have been if the bats had been able to go at him even just a little longer.

He's lucky, in more ways than one.

The shower goes - fine. He manages. He can't really wash his hair, but he gets the rest of him okay, gets to look at Steve's shower products and grin a little at his shampoo and conditioner - Faberge Organics, with honey and wheat germ oil. When he's finished, he even manages to mostly towel off and get dressed, forgoing the shirt for the moment.

He pokes through the first aid kit while he waits for Steve to take his turn in the bathroom, not entirely surprised at how well stocked it is, considering everything.

When Steve's finished, Eddie insists on bandaging him up first, carefully wrapping them around his stomach and trying not to think about Nancy doing this for him in the Upside Down, or what he'd thought it might mean then, or what it means that Eddie's doing it for him now.

It means they're soulmates, and Steve trusts him. When it comes down to it, that's all that really matters.

When he's finished, Steve twists a little so Eddie can spread some ointment over his shoulders and back, hissing in sympathy at the healing skin there.

Steve slips on a short sleeved t-shirt, then returns the favor.

His hands brush over the words on Eddie's skin often enough that he's reasonably sure it's purposeful, especially because they linger on the ones that Steve'd just put on him.

Eddie huffs out a little laugh, more to diffuse the way the feeling keeps bubbling up inside him than anything else. "This a thing for you?" he teases.

To his surprise, Steve's ears go a little pink. "I mean, kind of? It's - nice. I know everyone says that having so many lies is bad, and it's supposed to mean more when you only have a few to touch like this, but…"

He trails off, but he looks like he wants to say more, so Eddie stays quiet as Steve finishes bandaging him up.

"Did you know you can get them removed?" Steve asks after he's done.

There's a surge of panic, and Steve must see it in his eyes, because Steve's own eyes widen.

"Shit, I'm sorry, that - wow, that was really bad timing, I can't believe I just said that when you-" he cuts off, gesturing at Eddie's torso. "I don't want to remove ours, I'd never remove them."

The panic fades, a little, though he still has to resist the urge to cup his hand over his own side, where some of his words are missing.

"I'm okay," he says after a moment. "You can keep going."

Steve frowns, looking uncertain.

"Please," Eddie adds. "I like it when you talk to me like this."

And that's the right thing to say, because it makes Steve light up a little.

"Okay," he says. "Just - let me know if it's too much, okay?"

Eddie nods.

"My parents never had any visible words, no matter what they wore," Steve continues after a moment. "It was a point of pride."

Of course it was. It usually is - that's not something exclusive to the rich. The fewer lies you have, the better your match is, everyone is supposed to want that.

"They always told me to be careful what I said, that my match was going to be someone like them, someone who didn't have lies between them. Said I would be messing up her life if I told too many lies and she had to have a visible mark. I believed them."

"What changed?" Eddie asks, before he can help himself.

Steve gives him a crooked little smile. "When I was like eleven or twelve, my mom got a few on her arm, where she'd have to wear long sleeves to hide them. Never knew what they said, but I saw them. I was… I don't know, shocked, I guess. I couldn't believe what happened. She wore long sleeves for a couple of days, and the next time I saw her arm, they were gone. I asked her what happened, and she just - looked at me, and told me it was nothing to worry about. 'The Harringtons aren't liars, sweetheart, those were a mistake.'"

Jesus Christ.

"I didn't really know what to think at first. But then I heard her and my dad fighting. She was yelling at him about the money she just wasted getting his little mistakes corrected." Steve's face mimics a cold expression, then, a haughty sneer at his lips as he says, "'What good is all that Harrington charm if you can't even get your little bimbos into bed with you without lying? The next time I see any words, that's the end of your trips alone.'"

He deflates, rubbing absently at the back of his neck. "It was like - the cheating wasn't even worth fighting about anymore, but the lying? That's when I started realizing that it was all about appearances with them."

Eddie's quiet for a long moment, fitting all of that into what he knows about Steve - and what he tried to figure out about his soulmate, all those years ago. "She was the one you lied to about being able to handle it by yourself."

That little crooked smile is back. "Yeah, after she started going with my dad on his business trips. I figured out how to handle it eventually. You, uh. You really helped a lot, you know, when you started talking to me. Made me feel like I wasn't alone."

Fuck if that doesnt make him feel all warm and pleased, knowing that Steve had gotten something out of it like Eddie did, even if it had gone sour for a while.

"My uncle helped me talk to you most of the time," Eddie admits. "I think he knew that it was probably going to go south at some point, but he wanted me to figure that out on my own, you know?"

Steve smiles. "Your uncle sounds like a good guy."

"He is," Eddie replies, trying to push past the twisting in his gut at the reminder that Uncle Wayne is out there with no idea what's happened to him right now. "Course, he also called us little jackasses with no impulse control."

That makes Steve laugh. "He was probably right," he says, eyes gleaming with mirth. "Anyway, I, yeah. It's how I figured out I had two soulmates, because Rob got freaked out at all the words appearing on her skin at first. It wasn't until we actually met that we figured out how we both really feel about them."

Eddie's breath catches, mouth going dry. He licks his lips, trying to work up enough saliva to speak. "How's that?"

Steve's quiet for a bit, brows scrunched just a little like he's trying to figure out how to put it into words. "They're a lifeline," he decides finally.

And what the fuck is Eddie supposed to do with that?

"So I just, yeah, it's kind of a thing for me." Steve runs his thumb over a scattering of ink on Eddie's sternum. "I get it."

Nope, no, Eddie is not equipped to handle this right now, not prepared to deal with the shuddering feeling that rocks into him with Steve's touch to some of his words at the same time that Steve just validated every feeling he's ever had about having so many lies splattered across his skin.

He sucks in a ragged breath, and just barely manages to get out, "Thanks. For, uh." Eddie clumsily jerks a hand at himself, vaguely in the direction of one of the lies that Steve had just said tonight.

"Yeah," Steve says, and fortunately for Eddie's everything, that's it.

Admittedly, Steve looks pretty drained, too, and Eddie gets the feeling that he's not the only one feeling wiped from this much emotional honesty.

With his soulmate.

He kind of thinks that exhaustion or not, there might be too much on his brain to sleep quickly tonight, but his brain has also apparently decided it would really rather just not.

It shuts off pretty much the second he's under the covers and flat on his back.

This ended up being the longest part so far, but I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! We're definitely winding down now - I anticipate probably six or so more parts to this and then it'll be wrapped up.

-----

Part 19

Tag list (always happy to add more!): @vampireinthesun @koibug @estrellami-1 @mentalcyborg @allbimyself26 @questionablequeeries @the-s-is-silent @whimsicalwitchm @a-gae-af-racoon @tinyplanet95 @n0-1-important @velocitytimes2 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @newtstabber @jcmadgirl @roblingoblin285 @lexyvey @paperbackribs @goodolefashionedloverboi @evix-syne666 @raisedbylibrarians @stxrcrossed186 @nightmareglitter @greekgeek24 @starman-jpg @crazyhatlady86 @imfinereallyy @manda-panda-monium @deleataecount @prideandsensibility @chaoticvictorianspirit @maydillydally @disrespectedgoatman @scarlet-malfoy @i-less-than-three-you @hbyrde36 @hallucinatedjosten @dragonsandgayships @arepaconchocolate @g4ys0n @novelnovella @bisexualdisastersworld @ghostofyourvampiregf @scarletyeager @pettrichore @nerd-and-nervous @hiimlevi @queenie-ofthe-void @cinnamon-mushroomabomination

[erikiara80]

I talked about how September 8 could be a Fringe Easter Egg

September is the Observer from the future who saves Walter and Peter from a frozen lake, where Walter opened the portal to the parallel universe. When he tells Walter that "The boy is important, he must live," Walter thinks he's talking about Peter, but September is actually talking about his own son, Michael. Saving Walter and Peter makes him remember that he loves his son. The love for Michael is the key...

I'm sure there's a parallel here, one of the reasons the name Mike is so often mentioned in ST. Because he's involved in whatever happened in 1976. Maybe he's the one who saw what happened to Will. Wrong place, wrong time, like Hopper says in 1x03 (Interestingly, the memory of the day they met includes a playground. We see Sarah and Alice in a playgroung, and they both look terrified. And in S2, when Jon and Nancy are waiting for Barb's mother in a playground, to talk about Barb's death, they realize it's all staged and they're taken to the lab. Basically, playgrounds are associated with dead animals (people?), scared kids and abduction, so, I think something bad also happened in 1976)

I noticed that the few bald people we see in ST are always in scenes connected to Hopper, Will, Eleven, and Mike.

It starts with Sarah, of course.

In 2x07, a bald man tells El that she's dead, they're all dead. This, after she sees a cop and we hear these lyrics of Runaway

Hopper was in a graveyard... And Mike also needs to get (a message) through. That's it's a trap (staged)

Code name for Joyce, Hop and Murray in S3, Bald Eagle, and one of the soldiers asks Joyce and Hopper if Mikhail sent for them

This parallel. The bald russian puts out his cigarette and then he looks at the gate

And Sarah's photo is in the shot when the Mind Flayer (William) puts out his cigarette

Also, after the scene of the gate in Russia, we see Mike, El and Hopper, and locks, time and closing doors are mentioned

In S4, Dimitri says that his son Mikhail would call Hopper the bald American. And in another scene, Hopper says this about Mikhail and his papa: "Your son is not your son. And your wife..."

At end of the season, Hopper says that he stole El's haircut, so she's "bald" too

And I think we can also count Mr Baldo, the clown. We know Will was afraid of clowns when he was five, and clowns seem connected to (Lonnie) something bad that happened on a frozen lake (Argyle says that it could've been an ice skate, and then "bliping" the circus music) We also see clowns in Jane's room and on Sarah's pajamas and when Alexei is killed. Imo, all hints at the tragic event in 1976 that involves the kids, guns, and a frozen lake

[brionysea]

there's a lot of talk about how mike is a bad boyfriend - which, he is. el's a bad girlfriend too. it's been going strong for 2 seasons that they're not a good match romantically. but this often breezes over how mike was the only one Doing Anything for el in california

jonathan only considered el his 'step-sister', seemed more worried about will, and was too overwhelmed to even do anything about that despite being willing to give up his college experience with nancy for joyce and will. will talked to el about 'fixing it together', but when we see el fixing her diorama, she's doing it alone. joyce didn't know el was being bullied (remember how joyce was about will in season 2? she wouldn't leave it alone when he was acting weird, and she said she'd kill his bullies), that jonathan was literally high at the dinner table (murray figured it out), or how lost will felt after moving away from hawkins (he's always like that, but joyce used to push him to open up)

el accused mike of being scared of her, but will was the one who seemed scared. mike was more shocked and mad, because he believes that breaking a girl's nose over getting a drink spilled on you is a severe and cruel overreaction. this is an intentional parallel to season 1; when el is bullied, mike says to rise above it, like he does for himself, lucas, and dustin. when will (who wasn't even present to hear what was being said about him) is bullied, mike snaps and pushes troy (probably partially to impress el, because mike wants to emulate superheroic qualities like her - meaning, for mike, standing up for what's right and not hurting people unnecessarily, which isn't how el hears it). el fits in with the rest of mike's friends, and will is set apart. max isn't here because she protects them from bullies and she'd start another argument with mike if he tried to intervene; their friendship is special too

despite this, mike was still the one pushing for them to find el at rink-o-mania. mike chased el away from the dinner table (because he's still mad, and those feelings are valid, which the show already told us about el's feelings a thousand times over), but he's also the one to go up to her room when she doesn't come down for breakfast, even though he's not eating either. neither jonathan or will went to talk to her (will was more worried about mike, and jonathan was watching over both of them, as if he doesn't have a sister now too), nor joyce the night before (who fucked off to alaska or wherever, that's how distant she is right now), even though they all saw el storm off at dinner and they're supposed to be her family. how many times has mike sat alone in his basement without anyone checking up on him?

you'd think it would be common sense that someone other than mike should talk to el about what happened (max mayfield come back your best friend misses you), but no one does. he's the only one reaching out, because if he doesn't then she'll be alone. and then his experience with bullying gets invalidated, the conversation gets twisted against him, and somehow he's the bad guy for being the only one who's actually doing something after months of no one around el taking action or so much as initiating conversation that would help to improve her situation

all because... what? mike doesn't like using the word love? that's not a moral failing. a problem if his girlfriend wants to hear it and takes it as a personal insult when he's not comfortable saying (or writing) it (because he would be lying and there are other words that are more accurate to how he feels), yes, but not evil. it's his parents' fault for being so emotionally unavailable to their children/married out of obligation that mike has no idea what love is supposed to look like, anyway. thanks to the wheelers, mike's version of love is constantly doing things for people so they can't get sick of him and cut him loose, which is why he's so distressed by the idea of nobody needing him anymore

[divinisable]

Mike isn't clueless, but calm down.

So I'd like to talk about the fact that Mike def isn't clueless but some of you are giving him a bit too much credit bc he also def doesn't have anything about his situation under control.

In s1 & 2 everything was mostly subconscious, being gay was wrong but it wasn't something he knew about himself. Mike just cared about his best friend a lot and none of what he felt was of questionable nature to him. And besides, he had El, she was a pretty girl and really nice to him, he cared about her a lot too.

And it wasn't until s3, when puberty came around, that Mike had to push down some confusing thoughts and feelings that we can see him projecting on Will during their fight. At the end of said season, he does come to a very very scary conclusion that he's now actively hiding in s4.

“We're friends. We're FRIENDS!” , Mike repeats ; as if Will needed the reminder more than he did, it isn't right to think about these kinds of things anyway. Atp he's fully admitted to himself that he's gay but isn't happy about it at all. Therefore, even if Will's feelings for him were presented to him on a silver platter, – which they were – he will still choose to ignore and deny them because 1. his tainted mind is obviously misreading the situation and 2. he can't do anything about it, because being gay is still not okay. Two wrongs don't make a right. And he knows what they do to people like him, especially in Hawkins. He can't afford to take that risk, he's already lost Will too many times to fuck everything up just bc he wanted to satisfy a stupid whim.

Imo he's going to need someone to open his eyes. He's too scared to do it on his own. Murray, Robin, Lucas, anyone. He'll eventually realize that being gay is okay and he CAN kiss Will on the mouth.🙏🏻💯

[etherealwanderings]

Quick reminder that neither Will nor Mike need anyone to know how they feel about each other. Maybe someone could give them a bit of hope that the other will react the way he wants the day they will come out to each other but in no way they need Robin or Lukas or Murray or anyone to talk to each other about their feelings. They know how to do so and remember that they aren't afraid to tell each other the truth. They are just afraid that the truth would ruin what they took years to build so they prefer to remain silent to be sure that their bond won't change.

[sp0o0kylights]

Being from PNW as I am, I really want to do a Polybius AU with Steddie (I just don’t want to write it lmao) 

We begin with Eddie being absolutely attached to this growing urban legend. An arcade cabinet shrouded in mysterious gameplay, awash with rumors of kids disappearing or even dying, and men in black “collecting” something from the cabinet every week? 

Throw in his own little weird encounter with an arcade game as a kid, one Eddie cannot for the life of him find again and yeah, he’s salivating over this shit. 

Hellfire’s tired of hearing about it. This has been Eddie’s white whale since they met him, they’re done listening to him chase down rumors and insist the game was checking for psychic powers in the population. (Or testing a “mind weapon” or six other things.) 

 He gets met with nothing but groans and complaints when he catches wind that something like Polybius popped up on the west coast, igniting the rumors all over again, but this is a new tale for Hellfire’s freshmen.

They sit, enraptured  and asking six million questions, by something everyone but Mike thinks is just some silly bullshit story--but it’s so out there that Lucas and Dustin placate him. 

(“Why on earth would Brenner use an arcade cabinet when he was just kidnapping kids at birth Mike, you just want an excuse to see El…”)

Obviously Polybius IRL takes place in Oregon, but let’s say things have grown a bit. Extended, like the growth of a disgusting, pulsing vine, into California. 

Will is walking home when his hand flies to the back of his neck, a buzzing overtaking his ears as this weird, black arcade cabinet from a nearby shop seems to slide into his focus.

Slowly, like a camera lens being focused, it pulls him in until El yanks him out of it and he realizes he hasn't been breathing.

 Later he tells Mike--because he has to tell someone that isn't Jonathan and isn't El and absolutely isn't his mom-- and Mike absolutely loses his shit. 

This, of course, accumulates into a blowup at lunch, in front of the rest of Hellfire. 

Who are rolling their eyes because oh God, not only has Eddie infected the freshman with this, they’re now doing that thing they do where they get all secretive and try to talk in code words. 

(As if all of Hellfire isn’t aware they think “Mike’s girlfriend” who is about as real to them as Suzie is, has superpowers. 

The party is good at a lot of things, but whispering isn’t one of them.)  

There's an argument about whether this means Brenner, or someone like him, is collecting kids again and if so, do they have a responsibility to stop it, and that this isn't the Upside Down this is human horror, but what if it is actually the Upside Down, they don’t know--and it goes round and round between the Party in Hawkins and El & Will up in California, via phone calls. 

The Hawkins crew decides they need to go to California, together. 

They just…have to figure out a way to get there, first. 

Will & El on the other hand, decide they can’t wait, because they can save kids.

They can make a difference--prevent this shit from happening in a new location all over again.

El doesn't want to be like Kali anymore, but she understands what Kali was trying to do and she feels that same sort of responsibility to stop what she can. 

They disappear. 

Jonathan calls everyone he can, frantic, because he thinks Will and El have decided to go back to Hawkins, and his mother just left with Murray to do something she was extremely vague about and Argyle does not have enough weed for this.

If you guessed this accumulates with a Eddie + the Extended Party (Nance/Steve/Robin) going on a road trip you’d be right. 

Also they collect Suzie on the way because no one ever uses her in stories and fuck it she’d be fun to bring in. 

With them being in California you have Max’s past coming into play, as well as Eddie’s own mystery with the arcade cabinet, everyone crashing together at the Byers house (one bed or no bed either is hilarious for Steddie) and as we left the rest of Hellfire back at Hawkins to try and dodge six million questions about where like, ten people vanished off to (“Uh….camp?”) we get to have some fun there too. 

Throw in Eddie’s massive ass crush, “out of Hawkins”  Robin + Steve (who is perhaps a lot more chill with things than Eddie realized) and a need to go “undercover” at a gay bar purely for selfish reasons on my end (I want to see Steve flirt shamelessly with men and watch Eddie blue screen bc of it) and you have a lot of fun with the entire groups dynamic. 

I don’t have an ending other than Eddie at some point needs to play Polybuis and Steve drapes himself over Eddie’s back, whispering encouragement in his ear as a way to keep him from getting pulled into it the way Will was while the kids work together to kill whatever it is the government's unleashed this time (not Brenner, but instead another branch or faction who took his research and ran) but I’d love to parallel Eddie more to Will, on both the gay and supernatural fronts.

[philconnorz]

Intro Post (remaster)

Please read!

Hello! My name is Phil, or Wolfie. I use He/it pronouns.

I’m 14, from the US, I’m possibly on the spectrum but I am currently undiagnosed.

I’m a huge nerd about a lot of things.

I am comfortable with people of all ages interacting, as long as you’re not weird (a creep). Nsfw and semi-nsfw accounts please don’t interact.

My inbox and dms are always open, I’m a very chill and approachable dragon. I’m sorry if it takes me a while to respond to tags, asks, or dms. All of your messages matter a lot to me, I just need some time, so please be patient.

Please follow/ interact if you like any of the following:

Special Interests:

-Groundhog Day (the movie and the musical)

-Wings of Fire (the book series)

-Animals/stuffed animals/zoology/anything to do with furries

Other Interests:

-Bill Murray/ Murrayverse

-Footloose(1984 movie and the musical)

-Little Shop of Horrors

-Ghostbusters

-School House Rock

-Mike Dodds (SVU)

-UtDr

-Fnaf

-John Mulaney

-Internet culture/history

-The Peanuts

-Christmas movies

-Saw

-Don’t Hug Me, I’m Scared

-Musicals

+more

In terms of music, I mostly listen to Patricia Taxxon, movie/ musical soundtracks, Will Wood, Jack Stauber, Nat King Cole, and a bunch of random inconsistent songs and artists.

I don’t have a dni. If you follow me, 97% of the time I’ll follow you back. If you make me uncomfortable for whatever reason, I’ll block.

I’m sorry if I ever come off as rude or blunt. I promise I really do care about what you’re saying. I try to use tone tags to clear things up, and I would appreciate the use of tone tags with me.

I can get very defensive/talkative/intense about my interests, ESPECIALLY Groundhog Day (I’m very pretentious about ghd). I’m sorry if this ever gets overbearing/ a lot.

I post art! You can find it all in the tag “adamz art”.

IF YOU SEE ANY OF MY POSTS MADE BEFORE 2023 PLEASE IGNORE THEM. THEY PROBABLY DO NOT REFLECT ME NOW.

That’s all, have fun be safe don’t get in trouble. I love you guys.

P.S, if you need to contact me, leave your message in the bank of your local creek. I’ll get back to you.

[dinitride-art]

“Okay, bye. I love you.” Mike hangs the phone back on the receiver and turns to the smattering of people in his basement. Somehow he’s ended up in the group with Dustin, Lucas, Hopper, Robin, Steve and Murray. Steve and Robin are upstairs doing God knows what. They’re probably trying to talk his mom into letting them use the kitchen. A terrible idea if Mike’s ever seen one.

“So, Will said that-”

Dustin and Lucas burst out laughing. Mike looks around the room for help. Hopper’s staring at him like he’s trying to look into his soul, and Murray’s shaking his head and muttering something under his breath.

“What the hell is wrong with you guys? We have shit to do,” Mike says.

Dustin takes a few deep breath. “Are you sure you were talking to Will?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I was talking to Will. What kind of a question is that?” Mike crosses his arms and glares.

“Dude- do you even know what you did?” Lucas asks.

“What do you mean what I did? I talked to Will, like I said I was going to because we needed to check in and find out what-”

“No, no, no, no- the last part- y’know where you said I love you at the end?” Dustin dissolves into laughter again.

Oh.

Mike looks back at the phone and back to Dustin and Lucas. Lucas isn’t laughing anymore. He’s just… looking at him, like hopper us.

Oh, fuck. That’s- he didn’t mean to do that. Oh God, what if Will thinks he’s weird or- oh no. This can’t be happening right now. This can’t be-

“Alright! Children! Get yourselves together. You heard him. We have shit to do. We don’t have time for whatever goes on in your little traumatized minds,” Murray says, gesturing intensely with his hands as he does. He looks at Mike. “Cmon kid we don’t have time for this either, what did he say about the plan?”

Mike breaths in. He’s right. They don’t have them for this. Hell figure it out later.

“So, Will said that the plan- their part of it at least- was going to…”

———

I raise you, not Mike and Will getting Murray’s, but Murray subtly protecting them. In his own little way.

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Warning: Murray stupidly pushes Steve into outing himself. There is a happy ending. Shoutout to the person who recently posted about this and gave me the idea.

Steve looked around at the party, a warm smile on his face. Joyce was sitting in Hopper's lap as they talked to Claudia and Sue. Judging by the looks on Sue and Claudia's faces, they were boasting about him again. He doesn't understand why they felt the need to brag so much or why they made sure he heard it as often as he could stand it. They were celebrating the fact that the fourth of July was over and that there wouldn't be any more fireworks to retraumatize them. They were also celebrating the fact that they were all alive and well, the gates closed hopefully forever. Steve was sitting off by himself after having chased the kids around the Hoppers' new and spacious backyard with Eddie. Steve was tired, but Eddie somehow managed to keep going and now had Mike in a headlock.

"Finish him!" Erica hollered, causing Hopper and Jonathan to snort into their cups.

Steve laughed. That's when Murray plopped down in the empty chair next to him.

"I'm not sure if I like that kid or if I'm afraid of her," Murray said.

"I'm pretty sure she could have taken down Vecna just by talking to him," Steve said.

"I do not doubt it," Murray cackled.

Mike finally surrendered to Eddie, and he let go of him, cheering loudly. Steve smiled at him, his heart fluttering. Eddie winked at him, and his cheeks flushed red. Nancy cheered and clapped. Mike flipped her off, and Jonathan threw his empty cup at Mike's forehead, and when Mike yelled, Jonathan claimed he was aiming for the trashcan.

"Those two kids still together?" Murray asked.

"Mike and Jonathan never dated. At least, I hope not," Steve said, his brow furrowing.

"No! Nancy and Jonathan!" Murray scowled.

"Oh, yeah, no. They're friends, Nancy wanted to focus on school," Steve said.

"Sounds about right considering I was the one who pushed them together," Murray said.

"You were?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, she was dating this complete dud she clearly had no feelings for," Murray said. "I was all, 'we like Steve, but we don't love Steve'. Hey, you know, you have the same name as him."

"Yeah, it's funny how that works. Poor Steve, right?" He said. "They never love him. I'm the very same Steve, dumbass."

"Don't you like guys?" Murray asked.

"What the fuck?" Steve said, staring at him wide eyes, his cheeks flushed. "No, I don't!"

"I'm not gonna judge you, Harrington," Murray said, rolling his eyes. "I'm gay too. Safe space for you and your boyfriend over there."

"What business of it of yours?" Steve snapped. "And Eddie's not my boyfriend."

"Oh, do you guys need a little push too?" Murray scoffed.

"You do know bisexuals exist, right?" He asked, gripping his cup.

"Yeah, and are you?" Murray asked, amused at how mad Steve was getting.

"It's not any of your goddamn business!" He snarled at him.

"Are you still hung up on Nancy?" Murray continued to push.

"No!" Steve rolled his eyes, wanting this conversation to be over.

He stared ahead, not looking at him. Everyone was still conversing and horsing around while Steve was stuck, having the most awkward conversation of his life. Murray's words from earlier rolling around in his head.

"So, you don't have feelings for him?" He asked.

"I do, okay!" He exclaimed.

"Then what's the problem?" Murray asked.

"We don't love Steve, remember?" Steve growled at him, tear prickling at the corners of his eyes, and suddenly, he was back at Tina's party.

He stood up suddenly, knocking his chair back harshly, causing everyone to look at him.

"Steve, honey, are you okay?" Joyce asked.

"Oh, he's just being a little sensitive, Joyce," Murray replied.

Sensitive. The same word that Steve’s father used to call him when he didn't want to say the word. He always knew about Steve and the fact that he was too sensitive. Steve whirled around, and before he knew what he was doing, his fist was colliding with Murray's face and knocking him out of his chair. There were several gasps, and Murray cackled.

"There's no need to be ashamed of yourself, Steve," he said.

"I have never been ashamed that I also like men, and I am not ashamed that I like Eddie!" Steve yelled at him.

Suddenly, he realized that he just outed himself in front of everyone. Steve felt very overwhelmed. Well, Robin and Dustin already knew. Steve quickly apologized and ran around to the front to head towards his car. He pulled out his keys, but his hands were shaking so badly that he kept dropping them. He got to his driver's side door when he dropped them again. He squatted down to pick them up when he saw someone else's hand reach down to do the same. He looked up to find Eddie squatting next to him.

"Oh, sweetheart," Eddie said softly. "He had no right to push you like that."

Steve hadn't realized he had been crying until Eddie cupped his face and wiped away a tear with his thumb. He could hear the distinct voice of Joyce yelling in the backyard. They stood up, and Steve collapsed into Eddie's open arms. He shoved his face into Eddie's shoulder as he sobbed.

"We like Steve, but we don't love Steve. That's what he said," Steve whispered.

"Please tell me that you don't believe that shit, man," Eddie said. "Because everyone here loves you. . . Including me. Especially me."

"You love me?" Steve said, his voice small.

"Yep, in a very not straight way. I also like men," Eddie said. "I'm not ashamed of it either."

"I want to kiss you," Steve said softly.

"Right here? I'm okay with it if you are," Eddie said.

Steve pressed his lips to Eddie's, wrapping his arms around his waist and pulling the metalhead against him. His lips were soft against his own, and then Eddie pressed his lips hard against his as he deepened the kiss. Eddie wrapped his arms tightly around Steve’s shoulders as he tried to press himself further against him. Eddie broke the kiss, gently nibbling on Steve’s lip as he pulled away. Steve leaned his forehead against Eddie's, sniffling.

"I love you too, Eddie," Steve whispered.

"See, I knew you needed a push," Murray said.

Steve peered around to see him coming around the house, being dragged by Joyce and Hopper. Murray's nose was bleeding heavily. It was also clearly broken.

"Did I do that?" Steve asked.

"No. It was hard to tell who broke his nose, Sue or Claudia," Hopper said, chuckling. "But it was definitely Joyce who knocked his tooth lose."

"It's still hanging in there. Oh, and there it goes," Murray said.

"By the way, you didn't do shit!" Eddie exclaimed. "Fuck you and your tooth!"

"Yeah, I had a special evening planned tomorrow where I was going to make him dinner and then tell him, so thank you for that," Steve said. "With or without you, I would have told him."

"Wait, really?" Eddie asked with wide eyes. "Even though this jackass ruined your big reveal, can we still have dinner together tomorrow?"

"Yeah, it can be our first date," Steve said, smiling softly.

"You mean our first date wasn't our trip through the Upside Down together?" Eddie asked, and Steve laughed, shaking his head. "How about I do the cooking, big boy?"

Murray made a half assed apology before leaving. That's when Sue and Claudia came through with the kids following behind them. Sue, Claudia, and Robin started fussing over him.

"Oh, honey, are alright?" Sue asked.

"I'm much better, thanks, Sue," Steve said and pulled out of Eddie's arms to welcome her embrace.

"Oh, sweetie, we just want you to know that we love you," Claudia said.

"Yeah, we're proud of you, baby," Sue said, rubbing his shoulder.

"Yes, we love you, too, Steve," El said. "You and Eddie are cute."

"It's awesome!" Dustin exclaimed.

"Uh, why are Erica and Max whispering with their heads pressed together?" Steve asked.

"Uh, well, they said they were plotting Murray's death, but it was hard to tell if they were joking or not, and I wasn't going to ask," Lucas said.

"You guys really love me, huh?" Steve asked.

"Of course, sweetheart, you're family," Joyce said. "After everything you've done, it would be pretty shitty of us not to accept you."

"Yeah, you're our brother in arms," Lucas said.

"Our paladin," Will said with a proud grin.

"Our protector," El said.

"Our washed-up jock," Erica said with a fond smile.

"Our mother," Max said with an amused smile.

"Our kid," Sue, Claudia, Charles, Joyce, and Hopper said.

"My platonic soulmate," Robin said with a twinkle in her eye.

"My boyfriend?" Eddie asked.

"Your boyfriend," Steve said as he choked on his happy tears.

He swooped in and kissed his boyfriend in front of his entire family.