#nancy wheeler oneshots

[kennahjune]

Jealous?

Thanks so much to the amazing @rogueddie for letting me write this!!!! Hope it lives to standards :)

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Eddie had a problem.

A Steve Harrington sized problem.

Said problem was standing behind the counter at Family Video while the woman in front of him blatantly flirted with him.

It wasn’t the woman Eddie was worried about— she had at least five years of age on Steve, so maybe there was cause for concern— but Steve wasn’t paying her the time of day.

Instead, he was glancing over the woman’s shoulder at Eddie, who lurked in the aisles, and kept making faces and blabbling his mouth mockingly whenever she wasn’t paying attention.

Eddie was desperately holding back snickers and snorts. He couldn’t help but let a giggle escape when Steve moved his hand in a “blabbing” motion when she said something about her ex-husband (HUSBAND) again. The woman whipped around and glared at Eddie. Eddie gave her a finger waggle wave he realized belatedly was the same one Steve does.

Steve himself was almost beet red in the face with his effort to hold in his laugh. Eddie was amazed at how long he’d lasted.

The moment the door closed behind her Steve put his face in his arms on the counter and full on cackled. Eddie was quick to join.

They were still laughing when Robin came back from the bathroom.

“Is she gone?” she asked, looking oddly between the two of them.

Steve nodded, not having enough breath to get words out. Robin sighed a dramatic breath of relief.

“Oh thank God. Cause she looked one second away from bringing up some stupid shit like her failed marriage—“

That sent Steve and Eddie into another spiral of laughs.

“There’s no way she actually did.” Robin deadpanned.

Eddie nodded vigorously. “She fucking did!”

“Four times! As if bringing up how she was newly-single would make me want her. Did she look in a mirror before leaving? She’s closer to my dads age.”

Eddie snorted, trying to get his laughter under control enough to say “Even man-whore Richard Harrington wouldn’t go within a 20 foot radius of her.”

Steve didn’t waste a second before racking on: “Doesn’t need to get too close with how far back that hairline stretches.”

Robin and Eddie laughed themselves to tears.

And that was how it went.

A woman would come into the video store, shoot their shot with Steve, and Steve would laugh about it with Robin and Eddie later.

And it was fun. Eddie found it fun. Cause he knew Steve would always shoot the girls down, however nice or rudely he has to be about it.

Until—

Until.

It was a Friday, and as per usual on Fridays, Eddie was at Steve’s. Of course, it wasn’t just him— Robin, Nancy, Jonathan and Argyle were there as well.

They’d been hanging out whenever they all could before Nancy and Jonathan went to college and Argyle back to Cali. Hence the Friday night hang outs.

Tonight was no different, except for one thing.

“So explain to me once again why we have to drive all the way out to Indy for this?” Jonathan complained.

Nancy sighed and leant into him. “Cause there aren’t any good bars in Hawkins. And everywhere in Hawkins knows that almost none of us are of legal age.”

Jonathan grumbled but conceded, Wheeler had a point.

“Besides,” added Robin. “It’d be nice to finally get the hell out and see some new people.”

“Amen.” Agreed Eddie and Argyle at the same time. They both chuckled.

“Yeah well, I’d like to go soon before my social battery drains itself dead.” Remarked Jonathan, throwing an arm around his girlfriend’s shoulders.

“We’d have left already if SOMEBODY DIDN’T HAVE TO SPEND HALF AN HOUR PRIMPING HIMSELF!” Yelled Robin towards the stairs.

Steve had been MIA since Eddie got there at least 20 minutes ago. According to Robin he was still getting ready.

“PUT A LID ON IT BIRD-FOR-BRAINS, IM COMING!” Was the reply she got from the top of the stairs, where Steve was now coming from.

Nancy and Argyle snorted at the insult, but Eddie’s mind was rather taken up by the cut-off jean shorts Steve wore that showed more of his thighs than Eddie thought necessary for anyone’s functioning brain. He was also wearing what looked like the softest sweater he owned; a dark purple one that seriously brought out the green in his eyes.

Nancy whistled, Robin clapped. Argyle grinned at Steve and said

“Hey man! That’s the sweater I got you!”

Steve grinned right back and nodded. “Uh huh! Dude it’s like— SO fucking comfy you don’t even understand.”

The sweater was a little big on Steve, hanging over his thumbs a bit in the sleeves and landing just below the waistline of his shorts. If Eddie wasn’t so focused on the many moles on his thighs that were on display, the fact that Argyle had gotten Steve a sweater may have rubbed him the wrong way.

As it stood, Steve looked good.

He looked stunning, actually, in his glasses and his hair slightly ruffled in a delicate manner and his eyes wide and bright and—

“Eddie!”

He blinked and Steve was standing in front of him, no one else in the room.

“Huh?”

Steve grinned giddily and laughed at him. “C’mon dude, you’re my ride up, remember?”

Oh yeah. They’d split everyone between his and Argyles vans.

“Isn’t Buckley with us?” Eddie asked as he grabbed his keys and headed out the door.

“Yeah, but I think she’s sticking with Jon and them on the way up.”

Eddie nodded and averted his gaze once more. There was a reason he’d skipped gym and avoided the mall.

That reason was glaring at him with all of its dotted moles and freckles and faint scars.

Jesus Christ he needed a cigarette.

The ride up was uneventful, peaceful even. Eddie let Steve have control over the radio, something Steve thought was normal but was downright foreign to anyone else. Eddie usually fought tooth and nail for control over the music but the sight of Steve singing and drumming his legs (holy shit his thighs jiggled—) and jamming out with a bright smile to whatever Tears for Fears or ABBA song he put on was worth it.

He followed behind Argyle and reluctantly sang under his breath with Steve to Head Over Heels.

The club they ended up going to was a little deeper into the city than they’d initially thought, and was slightly crowded when they got in.

Eddie was immediately hit with the smell of sweat and booze but not in an entirely bad way. In a way that told him that people here had fun.

It was bright and loud and the air tasted like fries (though Eddie might just be hungry). They took an empty table booth in a corner in the back.

After dropping their jackets off and everyone picking a seat, Steve got up to get everyone drinks.

“You want me to come with?” Eddie asked worriedly. It was Steve’s first time in Indy in a while and his first time out of Hawkins since the fall of Vecna. Sue Eddie for being cautious.

But Steve smiled sweetly at him and shook his head. “I’ll be alright, Eds. Be right back.” He knocked his knuckles on Eddie’s head affectionately and walked off. Eddie may have spent a second ogling before snapping his gaze to the table.

“So?”

Eddie looked at Nancy with a raised eyebrow. She raised one right back.

“Soooo…?”

She sighed. “Oh you’re hopeless.”

Jonathan snickered.

“Wha—“

“Are you gonna make a move tonight?” Argyle elaborated.

Eddie shot up real fast. “Make a move? On who, Steve?”

“Yea, on Steve, doofus!” Robin reprimanded.

“There’s no board to make a move on.” Eddie pushed stubbornly. Because it was true. There was nothing there.

Robin groaned and dropped her head to the table.

“Dude, relax your knee. It’s shaking the whole table.” Jonathan tapped Eddie’s leg under the booth.

“Sorry, sorry. He’s been gone a while, right?” Eddie craned his head to look around the bodies of people dancing.

Robin huffed. “Yeah, kinda. But there are six of us, maybe he’s having trouble carrying all the drinks.”

Nancy suddenly kicked his leg under the table, a lot harder than her boyfriend had earlier. Eddie winced.

“Go help him.” Nancy all but demanded.

Eddie was up and away in a second, happy to have an excuse. He faintly heard Nancy and Robin high five behind him.

He weaved through the dancing crowd, bodies jostling him and pushing him forward until he got to the bar and finally spotted Steve and—

And?

Something bubbled low in Eddie’s gut at the man standing in front of Steve. He was taller than both Steve and Eddie, well-built and had a bit of a beard going. He was leaning on the bar next to Steve, sort of caging him in. The scene made Eddie mad for reasons he didn’t give himself time to think about before he inserting himself.

“Steve!”

Both Steve and the asshole’s heads turned to Eddie. Steve’s eyes lit up in recognition and relief while the man’s narrowed in anger at being interrupted.

“You know him, doll?”

Eddie wanted to make the man spit his own teeth out. Nobody else got to call Steve pet names. Just Eddie. It was an Eddie Thing, not an Everybody Thing. Fuck this guy.

“Yeah—“ Steve started.

“Yeah, he does. And yet I don’t think he knows you.”

Eddie stood shoulder to shoulder with Steve, glaring daggers at the douche.

The man scoffed and huffed, walking away and muttering under his breath. Eddie scowled until he could see the guy and his stupid beard. He finally turned to Steve.

Who was absolutely red in the face.

“You alright, sweetheart?” Eddie asked worriedly. “He wasn’t bothering you right? He seemed like a dick, looked like one even before I got up close.”

Steve stared at Eddie wide-eyed with his pretty lips parted. He blinked and spluttered a response.

“U—um, yeah! Yeah, no, I’m— I’m good. I’m alright. I’m great! Yep, great! Uh—“

“Are you sure?” Eddie was concerned, never having heard Steve stumble over a simple sentence so much.

Steve nodded vigorously before turning to the bar snappily. Eddie could still see the red painting his ears.

“Yep! Perfect! Could you help with the drinks? I don’t think I can carry them all, thanks!” And he was off back to the table.

Eddie stared after him for a moment before slowly grabbing the other three drinks and following back through the sea of bodies.

Steve was sat by the time Eddie got back to the booth, whispering heatedly with Robin, Eddie only managing to hear Steve hiss to her “that wouldn’t work!” before noticing his presence and shutting up all together.

Eddie raised an eyebrow but let it slide while he gave Nancy and Jon their drinks. He slid into the booth next to Steve who sat between him and Robin and across from Jonathan.

For the next 10 minutes, they all talked. They talked and laughed and joked and drank. But Steve seemed more in his head than usual.

Eddie was just working up the courage to ask him what was wrong when a guy came up to their table, eyeing Steve. Eddie immediately tensed.

“Hi.”

All six heads turned to the dude who just showed up. But that didn’t deter him much.

“I was just wondering if pretty boy here wanted to dance?” He smirked at Steve, who Eddie felt tense up beside him.

“Um—“ Steve’s voice was kind of shaky, barely. But it was enough (mixed with the anger already brewing in his gut at the NERVE of this guy) for Eddie to finally step in.

“He’s alright.”

Six heads suddenly turned on him.

“Excuse me?” The asshole asked.

“You’re excused.” Eddie waved his hand in a shooing motion.

“Well I hadn’t exactly—“

“And I hadn’t exactly /asked/, now have I? Goodbye.” Eddie didn’t even bother offering a smile to hide the aggression in his tone. His message was clear: Get Lost.

The douche walked away grumbling and conversation soon resumed at the table.

“What was that!?” Jonathan asked incredulously.

Nancy and Argyle were both openly staring at Eddie in bewilderment.

Eddie shifted, but was more focused on the fact that Steve seemed to relax again.

“The dude was being an asshole. Just told him to get lost, not a big deal.”

“He was just asking Steve to dance? I don’t see the problem there.” Robin cut in.

It gave Eddie pause for thinking. She was right; there really was no problem there, so why had he been so upset about the dude asking Steve to dance. God just the thought of it left a bad taste in his mouth.

“It’s fine, Rob. I was just gonna tell him no anyway.”

Eddie looked at Steve then, who was a whole new shade of red.

“Are you alright? You’re all red again.” Eddie worried. Jonathan snorted into his drink and then winced when Steve kicked him under the table. Steve looked at Eddie.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit overwhelmed in the tight space I think. You wanna— uh— you wanna go dance?”

Eddie didn’t waste a second with his answer. “Sure.”

Eddie watched Steve and Robin have a silent conversation with their eyes and expressions before Robin grinned in victory and waved at them eagerly.

“Buh-bye! Have fun!” She sing-songed. Steve shot her a glare.

Eddie led Steve to the dance floor somewhere towards the edge of the crowd where there was less people. They really just stood there talking and sipping on their drinks while everyone around them danced.

“Hey, uh— thanks for telling him to back off. I’ve, I’ve never actually… been flirted with? By a guy, I mean— this is like— a brand new thing. But he and the other dude seemed just really creepy so— uh, thanks.” Steve stumbled through.

Eddie stared at his wide, earnest eyes and wondered how no guy had ever flirted with Steve before tonight. Even if the idea of it ever happening made him want to hurt somebody.

(Even though Eddie knows that guys have flirted with Steve before. Knows that he didn’t just make up those looks Tommy Hagan and Billy Hargrove gave him.)

So Eddie smiled and shook his head. “You’re all good, sweetheart. Just don’t want you running into the wrong guys.”

That pretty blush was back again, making Steve look even more breathtaking under the florescent lights and making his smile twice as bright.

Then they were rudely interrupted.

“Hey, babyboy.” Came an obnoxious call from behind Eddie. The guy was, again, taller that Steve, but this time he was barely taller than Eddie (a/n lemme live in slightly shorter Steve fantasy ok—). Eddie immediately hated him and his entire existence. Who just called people that? Babyboy? Was he serious or delusional?

Eddie watched Steve’s shoulders tense awkwardly while the guy spoke. His anger only grew and grew.

“Alright that’s enough dude, he’s not interested.”

The guy didn’t say anything to Eddie but kept talking to Steve which only served to irk Eddie further.

“I said he’s not interested ass face.” Eddie grabbed the guy’s shoulder. He finally looked at Eddie, seeming bored.

“He hasn’t said anything? Why not let the babydoll decide, huh?” He smirked at Steve. Eddie wanted to puke and scream at the same time. He felt like he was chewing on nails listening to this guy. Babydoll? First babyboy and now BABYDOLL??? Who the fuck was this dude? And more importantly would the possible assault charges be worth it?

“Um— yeah, I’m sorry. I’m not really interested in looking for anybody tonight.” Steve confirmed.

“Oh c’mon, doll face, don’t be like that.”

Oh the assault charges would so be worth it.

“He just said he wasn’t interested so fuck off.” Eddie shoved his shoulder. The dude finally turned to look at Eddie, leveling him with a glare that Eddie happily returned tenfold. If looks could kill the guy would have been fucking obliterated on sight.

“If he wasn’t interested then why’s he dressed like that, huh?”

Jail was looking mighty fine to Eddie.

“I’m right fucking here, asshat.” Steve spoke up. “And Im dressed like this because I look good and I know it. Not for fucks like you who have to beg for scraps to get by. I said I wasn’t interested and you’re just causing more of a headache if anything.”

Eddie grinned at Steve. It was so hot when he got all bitchy.

The asshole scoffed. “Oh so baby’s got a mouth on him.”

Eddie finally snapped, those assault charges no where in mind when he punched the guy in the face.

“Eddie!” Steve yelled, absolutely flabbergasted at the sudden violence.

The guy left after that with a threat of harassment charges. Steve took Eddie outside to the alleyway on the side of the club to get away from the crowd and to better examine his freshly bruised knuckles.

“You didn’t have to punch him.”

“He fucking had it coming.” Eddie spat through clenched teeth. He was still seething. And Steve was prodding at the bruises but that was neither here nor there.

Steve looked at Eddie, still holding his bruised hand. His eyes were wide as always and his cheeks flushed once more. His eyes seemed to search Eddie for something.

“Was it cause he was an ass?”

Eddie scoffed. “Of course! He was an ass and made you uncomfortable and—“

And I wanted to be the one to call you baby.

“And?” Steve prompted.

“And… and I hated how he talked to you.”

Steve looked down at Eddie hand, the blush rising to ears again. Eddie hooked a finger under Steve’s chin with the hand that wasn’t bruised and being held.

“Hey, you alright? You’re getting all quiet again.”

Steve’s eyes flitted back and forth between Eddie’s own before he sighed.

“Eddie.. I can’t— I don’t understand.”

Eddie pouted, confused. “Don’t understand what? There’s not much to it, honey.”

Steve cheeks pinkened again with the endearment. “Not— not that. I get that he was a dick— a massive dick attitude to make up for what he was surely lacking—“

That startled a laugh out of Eddie.

“—but I guess I don’t understand the other times? You were never like this before when anyone else flirted, so what changed tonight?”

And wasn’t that a thought.

What changed?

Well for starters, he wanted to kiss Steve. He wanted to kiss Steve senseless, shove him up against a wall and stick his tongue down his throat until he was breathless an begging for it.

So that’s changed.

But he also wanted to hug Steve and hold him right and call him things like Sweetheart and Honey and Love and Baby (which he already does anyway for the most part). He wanted to take Steve places and show him things. Wanted to give Steve every pretty rock he found and show him every cool leaf he saw.

What changed was that he wanted Steve in every which way Steve would let him have him.

But of course, Eddie didn’t express these aloud.

“Eddie…” Steve stared wide-eyed with his mouth opened in shock, his face a violent shade of red.

Or maybe he did express them aloud.

He’d drank more than he thought.

And then Steve was kissing him. Steve was pulling him in by the hand he was holding and pressing their lips together in a kiss that Eddie would never forget, not matter how much he’d drank that night.

They let go of each others hands, Eddie immediately grabbing Steve’s waist and Steve tangling his hands in Eddie hair.

By the time they’d pulled away to breathe Eddie bad fulfilled his wish of shoving Steve against a wall and sticking his tongue down his throat.

“So you were jealous?” Steve teased, playing with Eddie hair where his arms were still wrapped around his neck.

Eddie grumbled under his breath and kissed Steve to shut him up. Steve hummed and smiled into the kiss.

“Kissing me into going to make me drop it, Munson. You were totally jealous of those guys in there.”

Eddie huffed and stooped lower to kiss at Steve neck, gaining an immediate reaction with Steve’s stuttered breath and sudden silence. Eddie chuckled.

“Oh? I thought kissing you wasn’t going to make you drop it.”

Steve hit his shoulder weakly. “Shut it, asshole— mm!” Eddie bit down lightly on the side of his neck.

Then the door to the alley was opening and Robin was telling them to get their horny asses home before thy got arrested for public indecency.

So they agreed to pick up at home. And the whole ride there was filled with relentless teasing about Eddie’s apparent jealousy towards any guy who so much as looked at Steve oddly.

.

It’s rushed I know but it’s like 2am on a school night 😭 and I’m not upset with the results. Could it be better? Yeah. Could it be worse? Absolutely. It’s not my finest work but oh well 🤷

[eds6ngel]

I read your recent Nancy fic and it was SO GOOD AKDLLEKFKGKG

would you consider writing one where reader has been teasing Nancy and being bratty all day and when they get home, Nancy just snaps and fucks the life out of reader, idk i just need more Nancy fics 😅

bratty bitch 𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ⋅ᡣ𐭩 ་༘࿐

nancy wheeler x fem!afab!reader

summary: after relentlessly teasing nancy on your day out on the town, nancy can’t hold it back any longer when she gets you home.

warnings: ROUGH SMUT!! kissing. hickeys. boob sucking. fingering & oral (r receiving.) squirting. strap on use (r receiving.) dirty talk. mommy kink. degradation kink. one ass smack. hair pulling. pet names (honey, baby, baby girl, my love.) a reminder in there to wash your sex toys !! some fluff & comfort at the end. [2.4k].

a/n: thank you for requesting this!! you said ‘she snaps’ and i took it very literally so… it’s a dirty one! enjoy !!

Nancy had been trying to keep her possessiveness to herself all day, but you were making it increasingly difficult as the hours passed.

It started off simple, you placing your hand into the back of Nancy’s jean pocket. Although she could feel your palm digging into her right asscheek, she let it slide.

When dinner arrived, you began upping your game. When the waiter came to take your order, you purposefully squeezed Nancy’s thigh, making her cough in surprise as she simply tried to read out the fancy name of the Italian dish that she could not pronounce for the life of her.

After you had eaten your delicious cuisine, you dragged her to the bathroom, luckily empty considering how late in the evening it was, and started making out with her against the sinks. You placed her on top of the counter, Nancy knocking over a container of liquid soap, as she tried to keep her cool. All Nancy managed to let out was a moan of “Fuck, baby,” before the sound of the bathroom door could be heard opening.

You’d never seen her part with you so fast as she practically pushed you off her so she could hop to the floor and pretend to wash her hands. You, on the other hand, just grinned as the girl walked towards one of the stalls, giving her a wave and cheeky smile as Nancy almost growled at your cockiness.

But, the ride home was when she was on the edge of snapping. You had began to put your hand on her thigh just like in the restaurant. It wasn’t too out of the ordinary, but knowing your misbehaviour today, Nancy knew that it would just get worse… and that it did.

Your hand inched higher and higher, before landing in between her thighs, pressing down over where her vulva would be. Nancy physically lets out a growl this time, warning you, “Be careful, baby. Don’t be naughty for me.”

Yet, you ignore her pleas, beginning to rub your hand over the denim of her jeans, up and down in a steady, but slow rhythm.

After your ten minutes of relentless teasing and Nancy’s thighs trying their best to stay open and put in place, she opens the car door for you, grabbing your hand and dragging you into her apartment in the centre of Indianapolis.

Before you even have time to understand her change in demeanour, she’s slapping the front door shut and ramming your back into it, Your ribs get shoved into the door handle, but you don’t have a care in the world. She’s kissing you all over, her teeth leaving marks over your cheek, neck and exposed collarbone which she had gained access to by pulling down the corners of your dress.

She’s so desperate for you that she isn’t even paying attention to the surprised moans and whines escaping your throat. She doesn’t even remove your dress, her head dipping under the fabric to attach her mouth to your boobs, swirling her tongue around your perked nipples. You can even feel her teeth digging into the fat surrounding your bud, leaving hickeys on every place she visits, each mark supported by a high-pitched whine from you.

Finally, she slows down, only for a second, to stare you dead in the eye. Her pupils are dilated, the blue orbs that adorn her soft features all but gone. “You’re such a fucking tease, baby. Being such a brat all day, trying to get us caught in that damn bathroom. Just wanted me that bad, huh? Could barely even wait for us to get home.”

You love it when she gets all dominant for you. It didn’t happen often, but when it does, you become nothing but a slut for your girlfriend. “Just needed you so bad, honey. You looked so fucking good in those tight ass jeans and white shirt that just makes your tits pop.”

She tuts at you, “Still, you could’ve waited until later. You almost made me crash, baby. And we technically got caught in public. Doesn’t sound like good girl behaviour to me. Does it sound like good girl behaviour to you?”

You shake your head, keeping the whimper that wanted to escape inside your mouth, “No, honey. I’m sorry.”

She sighs, “I’m afraid sorry’s not gonna cut it this time, baby. You were just too badly behaved and were inappropriate in public. Which means… I’m gonna have to fuck that bratty attitude out of you. Leg on my shoulder, baby.”

She gets on her knees and you immediately follow her order, draping your left leg over her right shoulder. She quite literally snaps your panties in half, you whining, “They were my favourite!”

At your disobedience, she whacks her hand down onto your pussy, a strangled cry rupturing out of you as she sooths the pain by copying your motions from earlier: rubbing her palm over your vulva.

“Naughty girl. I’ll get you a new pair another time. This wouldn’t have happened if you behaved today. Now, be quiet for me whilst I eat this goddamn delicious pussy.”

You don’t know whether she is joking or being serious about you shutting up, but you follow regardless, especially at the feeling of her sweet tongue against your clit, her fingers peeling back your lips to gain full access to you.

She’s sucking and licking, your hand swatting over your mouth as the moans threaten to spill, but you follow her presumed orders, your eyes rolling to the back of your head instead.

She’s so attentive to you, using her right hand to dig scratches into your inner thigh which is gripping for dear life, making sure you don’t attempt to leave her. Your nails are leaving similar marks in her hairline, not wanting her to part from your pussy.

She moves from calculated, fast strokes on your clit, to long, lavishing strokes up your cunt, using her perfect tongue to occasionally dip into your glistening hole.

“Oh, fuck,” you quietly let out, Nancy hearing exactly what you said, taking a mental note of all the times you accidentally moan, whimper or let the odd profanity slip from your sweet lips.

She’s doing it on purpose now, trying to find any excuse to fuck you into the night. She didn’t want you to behave at all. She wanted to claim you, ruin you, pound you until you couldn’t walk straight for the next week.

She drags her middle finger through your folds just below her tongue, gathering your slick so she can slide it into your hole, another accidental moan slipping from your lips, Nancy taking the total poll up to two.

She immediately finds your g-spot, having sex with you enough times to know the spot off by heart. She caresses it with her fingertip, her mouth going crazy over the rest of your vulva, attacking it like a woman starved.

One finger slowly becomes two, and the tally continues to increase, the silence becoming harder and harder to maintain. Her fingers are stroking you perfectly, her tongue focusing once again on your clit, flicking it side to side, followed by up and down, in a steady motion she knows will send you to the Heavens.

“Jesus Christ, honey…”

The phrase you mutter is definitely audible to Nancy, and your eyes dart open when you see her lift her head up from your pussy. Your worries continue to increase as she slowly removes her hand from your thigh. However, she dips her head back down, and you swear you see stars when you feel her next move.

Nancy licks a few times by your hole, before pushing her tongue in right on top of her two fingers. You let out a soft scream at her actions, all sense of control leaving your body as she cackles, “That’s fucking it, baby! Fucking take it! You’ve got it.”

The hand which was once on your thigh is harshly rubbing your clit, the pleasure so immense that a certain sensation builds in you that you have never experienced in your life.

“N-Nance— Nancy— Oh my god! Ah! I’m g-gonna—”

You barely even get time to finish your sentence as your vision goes to white, your ears practically ringing as the faint sounds of Nancy shouting “Yessss!” can be heard in the distance.

By the time you’ve come back to Earth, Nancy is bringing your chin towards hers in a heated kiss. She opens her mouth and lets something slide onto your tongue, something sweet, something juicy…

And when she slowly parts from you, your eyes flutter open, and everything clicks.

Her mascara is dripping down her face, her features covered in liquid, still falling from her chin and landing onto her shirt, parts now see-through from the power of your orgasm.

You didn’t just cum, you fucking squirted.

“S-So good—” is the only thing you’re able to mutter out, your brain still fucked out from the most amazing orgasm you’ve experienced in your life.

“Aww,” Nancy mockingly coos at you, “First girl to ever squirt on me. I feel honoured, baby girl.”

You smile lopsidedly, the post-orgasm haze trying to take over your body, but Nancy quickly stops that from settling in.

“But I’m not done with you quite yet…” She smacks your ass harshly, another low-seated groan being let out from you as she pushes you towards the staircase, “Bedroom. Now.”

You clumsily make your way upstairs, struggling to stand up from the way Nancy just fucked the life out of you. But… it seems as if it’s only going to become worse, and your legs probably won’t even have this much ability come tomorrow morning.

Nancy leaves the bedroom door open behind her, ordering you, “On your hands and knees, ass up so I can see it, baby.”

As you follow her commands, she undresses, sifting through her wardrobe for a particular item.

You have no idea what she’s doing, waiting patiently until you feel her roughly twist your head. You’re presented with a gorgeous sight, your favourite black, silicone cock in front of your mouth, Nancy on her knees, towering over your body.

“Suck.”

You latch onto the glimmering dildo, Nancy grabbing a tuft of your hair to fuck the cock into your mouth. You gagged around the strap, Nancy pulling the toy from your mouth and confidently saying, “That’ll do it,” with a smirk.

“Stay lying like that, baby. I’m gonna fuck that bratty attitude right out of you, ‘kay?”

You can’t muster up the courage to say anything but whimper and give her a fervent nod. And before you can even wrap your head around what is even happening, all eight inches of the plastic cock is shoved into the back of your pussy.

Nancy gives you zero time to adjust, her pulling the entirety of the toy out of you, mixing together your spit and slick with her hand, before shoving it right back in.

She sets a harsh pace, rutting back and forth into you, the dirtiest of phrases leaving her mouth, “You think you can just rile me up in public like that and expect to be happy with it?”

When you just continue moaning, she grabs you by the hair, forcing you up so your back is pressed against her bare chest, her nipples rubbing against your sticky skin, “Fucking answer me, then.”

“N-no! I’m— Shit! I’m sorry, mommy!”

“Didn’t think so,” she spits out, throwing you back down onto the mattress, not letting up on her rhythm, “You’re taking it so well, though, aren’t you? Taking it like a good girl. You’re my good girl, aren’t you, baby?”

You nod, tears threatening to spill from your eyes. The way her cock hits the back of your pussy with every thrust knocks the wind out of you. All that you can mutter out is a loud “Ah! Ah! Ah!”

“My goodness, baby! You’re gonna make the whole damn apartment block hear us. Unless…” she leans down to you, whispering lowly into your ear, “That’s what you want. You want everyone to know it’s me making you feel this good, baby? Want everyone to know you’ve been a fucking brat all day?”

“Y-Yes mommy, oh my God!”

She leans back up, pushing as deep as she can into you, tucking her hand underneath to reach for your clit, circling it as she sets the harsh pace once more.

The tears start falling, your walls tightening around the silicone cock as you can no longer take it, “Nance— I’m gonna—”

“Yeah? Gonna let go, baby?” she coos, letting go of your clit to wrap her arms around your centre, her lips by your ear once more, “That’s it. I got you, baby. Be a good girl and cum for me. It’s okay.”

And with those words of encouragement, you scream, your legs shaking as Nancy continues her deep thrusts into your pussy as you ride out your high. Your hands grip the bedsheets harshly, your eyes rolling to the back of your head as you let the waves crash over you.

As your screams die down and your breath comes out in heavy pants, Nancy stills her movements, kissing you softly on the cheek, her attitude immediately changing to one of care and tender, “You okay, my love?”

“Never been better,” you pant out with a chuckle.

She smiles, “I’m gonna go clean this up and then be back, okay?”

“’Kay,” you weakly reply, rolling over and getting under the covers, sleep already getting to you.

Nancy returns a few minutes later, storing the strap in the wardrobe once again and joining you in bed. “I wasn’t too rough, was I?” she questions, a hint of worry in her tone.

“’Course not, baby. You just wore me out,” you giggle, your eyes already starting to droop.

Nancy chuckles along with you, “I’m glad. I’ll let you get some sleep then baby, okay?”

“Thank you, Nance,” you sweetly say, your eyes now fully closed.

“Alright,” she kisses you on the forehead, “Night, sweets. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

taglist: @robinsno1lesbian @agxxb @agenderrat

[ronance-romance]

Have some wound cleaning ronance for your Wednesday morning!

“Shit,” Robin gasped, looking over her shoulder. “Is it dead?”

“I only shot it twelve times,” Nancy mumbled. “If it’s still not dead, we have a big problem.”

“Right. Right right right—”

“Robin, your shirt.”

Nancy lifted her torn up shirt without thinking twice about it to see the source of the blood. There was a series of three inch gashes in the shape of claws. Not good. Blood seeped out steadily.

“It’s just a scratch,” Robin said pleasantly as if it were a paper cut. “I’m fine!”

Nancy unzipped her backpack. In the last several months, she had rebroken bones, made splints, given stitches, administered pain medication. Who knew her calling was nurse now rather than journalist or detective? She fished out the needle and black thread. She was almost out, but there should be enough for Robin.

“W-what are you doing?”

Nancy took out disinfectant. She was too focused on trying to remember steps she had read all too recently to answer.

“Is that alcohol?” Robin’s voice pitched higher. “Nancy! I’m fine. Really!”

“It’ll sting, but you can’t get an infection,” Nancy said finally. She started gently soaking a rag with the disinfectant. “That’ll be worse than the initial injury.”

“O-okay.” Robin sucked in a breath. “Do it.”

With that, she swiped the rag over the claw marks. Robin barely let out a whimper.

“Now, you need—”

“Get that needle away from me!!” Her voice had reached that fearful, worrying pitch again.

“Robin,” Nancy said softly, patiently. “I’m trying to help you.”

“That’s what they all say,” Robin babbled. “And next thing you know, you’ve had a hundred needles in you and everyone disappointed in you that you’re broken and no reason as to why.”

Nancy paused, mid-threading the needle. She looked at Robin’s face for the first time since she opened the first aid kit.

“Did someone tell you that?”

“What? No!” Robin let out a high pitched, half formed laugh.

“Robin.” Nancy finished threading the needle, but didn’t let it pierce her skin yet.

The quiet look shared between them did more to calm Robin than words ever could. It was then Nancy took notice of the piercing pair of sparkling blues staring deeper into her than she’d allowed anyone in a long time. She cleared her throat and began stitching, taking that as permission.

“Anyone ever tell you how pretty you are?” Robin blurted, her voice tinged with pain.

“Did you hit your head too?”

Pretty? When was the last time someone had called her that? She spent half her time covered in blood, drenched in sweat, dressed like she was going to war. None of that screamed pretty to her.

“Yeah, yeah that’s definitely it.”

“Just a bit…more…”

Nancy leaned in and cut the thread with her teeth, bringing her lips close to Robin’s skin as she did so. The girl shuddered in response and finally pulled down her shirt, but Nancy grabbed her wrist mid-pull.

“I gotta bandage this too,” she reminded her. “And then we’re done.”

“Yes, Nurse Nancy.”

Nancy made quick work of the gauze and finally drew back from her patient, admiring her work before remembering she needed her shirt back over her body.

“Well…there we are. Simple as that.”

“Yeah.”

Steve yelled out that he found Will, tearing them both out of their spell and into action once again.

[sleepynovalunosis]

contains: spit, scissoring, mean!nancy,

imagine scissoring with nancy wheeler. you lay down, nancy stays above you on her knees, her pussy grinding against yours. you both moan and pant, your pussies kissing each other as your clits bump against one another.

you bite your lip, humming melodically as she thrusts against you. her lips are so pretty and pink, swollen from eating your pussy. "you like that?" she asks, and you nod. "answer me, slut." she says, slowing down her grinding as she bends down to face level. she has your leg above her shoulder, her face hanging right above yours. "i-i like it-" you say, helplessly. "open," nancy demands, and you comply, sticking your tongue all the way out. "mhm-" nancy nods, wicked with mockery. she spits on your tongue, and you moan softly.

"swallow it." she says, and you do. nancy's eyes light up; she's never seen someone as pathetic as you. no one has ever made her pussy this wet.

"yeah," she moans, turned on just by how you listen to her. she begins to grind her pussy against yours again, leaning down to kiss you. nancy is always clean, "little miss goody-two-shoes"; except when she's in the bedroom. not even steve has seen her like this.

she likes it sloppy.

your tongues desperately lap at each other, drawing a trail of saliva between your lips. nancy won't stop, and you don't care. you want her to use you. both of your tongues are sticking fully out, licking all over each other. you can feel the spit dribble down your chin, and you moan softly. her pussy continues to bump against yours, the lewd sound of skin squishing together, her pretty little clit nuzzling against your own.

she pulls back from licking you to focusing on scissoring, and she can tell you're both close. "you don't come until i say." she instructs, and you nod rapidly. "yes-yes." you whimper. she holds your leg still, desperate to overstimulate you. she turns her head to kiss your ankle, licking and pecking at it wildly. her pretty rosied lips trail along the skin, pressing warm, soft kisses against you.

"oh fuck-" you whine, and you can tell she's grinning just by the way she looks down at you.

"not yet, baby." she coos.

[harringtondweeb]

maybe i should write my own steve harrington/steddie fics if i truly want to see a change in the world we live in

[fromasgardandback]

Stranger Things Summer

this is a whole list of compiled drabbles and headcanons of mainly eddie munson and the rest of the stranger things (hawkins) kids

going to a late night movie

dancing in the rain

burning schoolwork with the gang

thrifting an outfit

cooking contest

ice cream bar

completing a 1000-piece puzzle

a day in the city

hammocking

the usual game night

making bracelets

strawberry picking

meadow picnic

going to an art gallery

making a summer playlist

Harrington Beach House Road Trip

Harrington Beach House Road Trip photo collage

firework show

visiting a national park

tie dying

karaoke at the Hideout

hosting a cookout

getting breakfast at midnight

drive-in movie

spay day

sleeping under the stars

keepsake letters

movie marathons

arcade

risky business

homemade pizzas

baking contest

getting matching tattoos

watching an early sunrise

staying awake for 24 hours

going to a farmers market

running through sprinklers

a day at the mall

watching old movies

painting each other's backs

cooking a new meal together

life-changing decision

end of summer party

summer with eddie photo collage

summer with friends photo collage

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Steve sat in the empty classroom, wishing for the pain to go away. The bat bites were killing him. He popped on the teacher's desk, facing away from the door. He was supposed to be helping with the 'earthquake' relief efforts and help sort through the clothing, but his wounds were flaring up. He just needed a minute. Of course, the door had to open.

"Steve?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah?" He asked without turning around.

"We wanted to talk to you," Jonathan's came from behind him.

"Yeah, okay," Steve said. "I, uh, just needed a break."

He hoped Jonathan wouldn't punch him for telling Nancy how he felt. That would suck because over the last couple of days, Steve came to the realization that it wasn't just Nancy he had feelings for, but Jonathan as well. He didn't even know he liked guys. They all just managed to save the world. Couldn't they wait a few more days before rejecting him? They walked around the desk, and he tried not to wince as he shifted.

"Hey," Steve said. "What's up?"

Was he being too casual or not causal enough? Did he always have a squeak in his voice?

"So, Nancy told me about the dream you had," Jonathan said.

"Oh God," Steve said and closed his eyes. "It's okay. Go ahead, punch me. I deserve it. I just thought we're going to die, and I didn't want to die without telling her. . . "

"Steve!" Nancy laughed. "It's nothing bad."

"At least, I hope not," Jonathan laughed. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"Well, not yet. If I'm going to be honest here, I want to tell you that there's more to the dream," Steve said.

"Yeah?" Jonathan asked. "Tell us."

"It wasn't just Nancy there. I saw you there too," Steve said softly. "And I totally get it if you guys think this is weird - "

"Thank God!" Jonathan and Nancy exclaimed.

"Huh?" Steve asked.

"We actually came in here to ask you if I could be a part of it too," Jonathan said as he placed his hand on Steve’s thigh.

"Yeah?" Steve asked, his cheeks turning red.

Jonathan cupped his cheek and leaned into closer to him. Steve leaned into his touch, and for a moment, he had forgotten about his pain. Jonathan's hands moved to his back, and one hand went to his hip, brushing against his stomach. Steve hissed and held his stomach, wincing at the pressure on his back.

"Steve?" Jonathan asked.

"Are you in pain?" Nancy asked.

"I'm fine," Steve winced.

"Is it your bat bites?" Jonathan asked.

"Take your shirt off," Nancy said.

"Jeeze, Nance, right here on school property?" Steve asked.

"Shirt. Off," Nancy demanded, and Steve sighed.

"Can you help?" He asked.

Nancy and Jonathan smiled at him before kissing both of his cheeks. Their hands moved to the bottom of his Henley and carefully pulled it off of him.

"It looks like your bandages need to be changed," Nancy said and bent down to look in the drawers. "Yes! First aid kit!"

Jonathan had started to take off the bandages and knelt to take a closer look at the bites.

"Jesus, Nance, you didn't say they were this bad," Jonathan said. "The road rashes too. . . How do you sleep, man?"

"Painfully," Steve said.

Nancy moved to study his bites with Jonathan. Steve tried not to think about how close the bites were or the fact that they were both eye level with his crotch. Suddenly, the door burst open, and Jonathan looked around Steve to find Joyce standing there.

"Jonathan, do you know - oh, honey, I'm not judging you for who you're with, but is this really the time and place for that?" Joyce asked.

"Mom! It's not what it looks like!" Jonathan exclaimed.

"We're just taking care of him," Nancy said, looking around his other side.

"Oh, honey, I was young once," Joyce said. "I've "taken care" of a couple of guys in my day. . .and one girl."

"Mom! That's not what - " Jonathan said.

"They just can't keep their hands off me, Joyce!" Steve said, cheerfully.

"Well, I'm glad you three have figured things out. Stay safe!" Joyce said and paused. "Do you guys need any condoms?"

"Oh my God, Mom!" Jonathan groaned, his face red. "Just leave!"

"Oh, baby, she just wants to make sure that I don't get you pregnant before you're ready. She's a good mom," Steve grinned at Jonathan.

Joyce laughed as she left the room. Jonathan glared at Steve.

"Yeah, thanks for helping with that, man," Jonathan said as he and Nancy started to freshen up his bandages.

"You're the one who wants me," Steve laughed.

"Starting to regret it now," Jonathan said, his eyes twinkling with mirth. "And really, you joke about the whole baby thing, but who knows what these bat bites did to you."

"Well, in that case, it's more likely that you're going to get me pregnant," Steve said and put his hand on his chest. "I'd bet you do it really good too."

"Yeah. . .you think I'd fill you up really well?" Jonathan asked, looking at him shyly.

"Please, I am trying to focus here," Nancy said as she finished bandaging him up. "Alright, let's get you home and get you into bed."

"I like how this is going," Steve grinned.

"You've been over working yourself. You need rest, which means no funny stuff," Nancy said.

"Can I watch you guys do funny stuff?" Steve asked.

"Will it get you into bed?" Nancy asked.

"Maybe," Steve pouted.

Nancy shared a look with Jonathan, and he nodded, smiling.

"Didn't think you guys would say yes. Should I get hurt more often?" Steve asked.

"No!" Jonathan and Nancy exclaimed.

Jonathan cupped the back of Steve’s neck and kissed him deeply. Steve sighed happily, enjoying the way Jonathan's lips felt against his. They were so soft. . . Jonathan pulled away, and Nancy's lips took his place. There was a lot more pressure, and Steve enjoyed the familiar feeling of Nancy's lips against his. Nancy kissed him eagerly, and Steve smiled when he realized what she was doing. She pulled back and smiled triumphantly when she saw him grinning widely.

"That's cute, but you don't need to compete to see who's the better kisser," Steve teased.

"I wasn't - that's not what I was doing," Nancy blushed.

"Yes, you were," Steve said. "But that's okay."

"Yeah, we actually do like that about you," Jonathan said.

They helped Steve put his shirt on and then wrapped their arms around his waist as they helped him up. They walked him out of the room and down the hallway towards the front door, where they ran into Robin.

"Are you guys kidnapping my platonic Steve?" Robin asked.

"They're taking me home, and then I'm going to watch them have sex," Steve said.

"Oh, okay," Robin said, and they quickly pulled him away. "Wait. . .what?!"

"What are we going to do with you?" Nancy asked as they walked outside with him.

"Keep me forever?" Steve asked.

"Well, when you inflate your eyes like that and stick out your lip, we really have no choice," Jonathan said.

"Is that your mom?" Steve asked.

Joyce was in the parking lot, shoving Hopper into her car and getting onto him for overexerting himself.

"Jesus, you're just like Hopper, Steve," Nancy said.

"Well, if I'm like Hopper, then you're like Joyce, and that means Jonathan fell for two people who are similar to both of his parents," Steve said and Nancy giggled.

"Oh my god!" Jonathan exclaimed. "I'm going to need some purple palm tree delight! Oh! Purple palm tree delight! I'm an idiot!"

"You're cute, though," Steve said, and he pulled away from him to run towards Argyle's van parked in the parking lot. "He's even cuter when he runs. Look at that perky little ass go, and I can say that outloud with you now."

Nancy turned her face into his chest and giggled. Jonathan and Argyle talked for a little while before Argyle hugged him tightly before putting something into his pocket. Jonathan ran back to them, putting his arm around Steve.

"I, uh, got you something to help with the pain," Jonathan said.

"Thanks, baby," Steve said. "You're so good to me."

Much later, after smoking weed and watching his partners perform for him in a weed fueled ecstasy, they collapsed beside him. They surrounded him on either side, and Steve felt content, complete. The pain had resided, and maybe it was the weed's doing, but Steve knew in his heart that it had been them who scared away the pain. They held him carefully between them with Nancy's hand over his waist, holding his chest with her hand over his heart. Jonathan ran his fingers through his hair, humming quietly while his other hand caressed his naked thigh. Steve fell asleep to the sound of his humming and the sound of Nancy's breathing as she started to fall asleep as well. Everything was coming together, and this what they had both wanted when they had first been together, whether they had realized it or not. This, right here, was Steve’s dream.

[lovelyatomicpeace]

List of prompt:

1. "I can't do it without you."

2. "Why did you lie to me?"

3. "I need to talk to you."

4. "It's not what it seems."

5. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

6. "That place is dangerous."

7. "I miss you, you know?"

8. "Promise you'll come back."

9. "I thought you were different."

10. "It was a mistake, I know."

11. "We are stronger together."

12. "I can't let you go."

13. "Please be careful."

14. "I've missed you."

15. "Can I help you with something?"

16. "What would you do in my place?"

17. "Life is short, live it."

18. "We are destined to be together."

19. "There is something you need to know."

20. "I wish you were here with me."

21. "The truth may hurt, but it is necessary."

22. "Don't let the past define you."

23. "I trust you this time."

24. "When will I see you again?"

25. "I have a plan, listen to me."

26. "I cannot imagine my life without you."

27. "Please listen to me."

28. "I will always respect you."

29. "Maybe one day you will understand that."

30. "I wish it was always so."

31. "You can count on me."

32. "I love you, you know."

33. "I don't want everything to end like this."

34. "I hope you will forgive me."

35. "I'm here to stay."

36. "There are things you can't understand."

37. "I don't need an apology, just the truth."

38. "The fear of losing him was greater than the joy of becoming a mother."

39. "The positive test had changed her life in an instant."

40. "She was not ready for this responsibility, but fate had other plans."

41. "How would he react? This question haunted her every night."

42. "The fear of telling him was paralyzing, but she knew she could not wait any longer."

43. "Every smile she gave him hid a world of worry."

44. "She couldn't stand his arrogance, but she couldn't help thinking about him."

45. "Every clash between them was a spark that ignited something more."

46. "The hatred she felt for him was slowly turning into something different."

47. "Each squabble was a step toward a deeper feeling."

48. "She could not believe that her heart beat faster every time she saw him."

49. "Hatred was just a mask to hide the real feelings."

50. "Every time they fought, he felt his heart beat faster."

51. "Every sharp word hid an unmentionable desire."

52. "She could no longer deny the attraction she felt for him."

53. "She never thought she could love someone she detested so much."

54. "Every night, the nightmares came back to haunt her."

55. "The darkness brought with it her worst fears."

56. "She could not escape the nightmares that haunted her."

57. "Every dream turned into an endless nightmare."

58. "Fear kept her awake, fearing the next nightmare."

59. "She hid her feelings behind a smile."

60. "The love she felt for him was a secret she could not reveal."

61. "Every unspoken word was a burden on her heart."

62. "She could not confess her love, for fear of losing him."

63. "Every glance was a reminder of his unmentionable love."

64. "Every day she struggled with the desire to tell him the truth."

65. "She could not reveal her feelings, for fear of ruining everything."

66. "Don't you understand how much you make me suffer?"

67. "I love you, even though you drive me crazy!"

68. "Why can't you see how much I care for you?"

69. "Why can't you see how much you mean to me?"

70. "Why can't you see how much you hurt me?"

71. "Why didn't you choose me?"

72. "Every time I see him with someone else, my heart breaks."

73. "Can't you see how much you hurt me?"

74. "It hurts me to see you with someone else."

75. "Why am I never enough for you?"

76. "Why can't you understand how much I love you?"

77. "I can't believe you chose her instead of me."

78. "Her hands were delicate, as if she was afraid of breaking me."

79. "Our hearts beat in unison in the rain."

80. "Her gaze was full of sweetness and desire."

81. "We approached each other slowly, as if time had stopped."

82. "His lips were soft and warm against mine."

83. "Each caress was a whisper of love."

84. "The world around us disappeared, it was just the two of us."

85. "His embrace was my safe haven."

86. "Her breath was a sweet song in my ears."

87. "Her smile was all I needed."

88. "I can't find peace with them."

89. "Why do they never understand me?"

90. "Their words hurt me deeply."

91. "Through the window of his car, he saw her sitting alone and offered her an alternative evening"

92. "She did not have a date, but he kept her company in the parking lot, under the full moon"

93. "While everyone was dancing, he found her alone and asked her to spend the evening together, away from the crowd"

94. "I can't go on with this marriage. I need a way out."

95. "I'm not ready for this life. Take me away from here, please."

96. "I can't marry him. Help me find another way."

97. "I need to get away from all this. Can you help me?"

98. "I can't do that. I need someone to take me far away."

99. "I can't continue with this marriage. Take me away, please."

100. "I can't marry him. I need to escape, and you are the only one who can help me."

[bangaveragewhitewine]

Wanna be with you everywhere

Surrounded by your earthly possessions, boxes upon boxes stacked and looming over you in your new home, you don’t know where to start. Steve reminds you that the most important thing is right in front of you (and has a box of his own for you to open). 

Word Count: 2.7k

Content / Warnings: This is fairly tame and sweet. Reader is overtired and overwhelmed, but other than that - total fluff. Moving in together, a brief sex mention, Steve being romantic and totally down bad for reader. Maybe a big question is on the cards, idk. 

Reader is referred to with one gendered honourific. (No spoilers…👀) I have tried to leave physical descriptions as neutral and inclusive as possible 🧡

If you are not 18+ please do press the back button

Author’s Note: Once again, soft Steve Harrington has invaded my brain. This is pretty short and sweet. Oh to feel safe and loved in his big beefy arms, amirite?

I hope you enjoy! Thank you for the love on Clean Slate & Pinch Me recently - it means a lot!!! Once again I had way too much fun on Canva... Let me know what you think / if you catch any typos!

Please do not do any AI fuckery with my work or repost on other sites.

Boxes. Heavy, full and labelled with a blocky scrawl. They are everywhere, stacked by the coffee table you had thrifted, the big squishy armchair for you to read in. You haven’t seen so many since your high school weekend job filling shelves and scanning groceries and wearing your customer service smile until your cheeks ached. 

The smell of fresh paint and cardboard combined with the dry feeling that the boxes left on your hands makes you want to peel your skin off. You look around the room with your hands pressing into the small of your back while you stack more tasks on your mental to-do list. The room was empty a few hours ago, a total blank canvas. 

The floor calls, grounding you.

With a sigh that pulls from the tips of your toes, you lie back against the cool wood and stretch your arms out by your sides. This is where the couch will go when it arrives. You close your eyes and feel the all-over ache from packing, carrying and lifting. Before the carrying and lifting was days of packing and organising.

That’s when it dawns on you - you still need to unpack them all.

Tears push themselves up and you feel your ugly-cry face break the dazed-but-happy expression you had been wearing all day. All you want is a hot shower and your comfy new bed. And -

“Hey.”

Steve.

Your dry hands cover your face, swiping your wet cheeks as your boyfriend closes the door - the door to your first apartment together - and navigates his way around the boxes to get to you. His presence cuts short your catastrophising.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” he asks, sounding almost panicked. “Do you hate it? I know the paint dried a little darker than we thought, but we can redo it. It’ll be okay.” Steve is quick to join you on the floor, lying on his side by you with one arm wrapped over your shaking body. “Babe…”

When you move your hands to look at Steve’s concerned face, you see that he looks as tired as you feel. Despite that, he’s still the most gorgeous person you have ever seen. His hair is crushed under a backwards baseball cap and there’s pizza sauce on his tshirt. His deodorant and aftershave has long worn off but you let him hold you, lying half on top of him on the floor, not ready or able to speak yet. Big hard-working hands sweep soothingly up and down your back. Steve’s good at that, letting you just cry it out, holding you steady and safe when you need to weep. He always seems to know what you need; a distraction or silence, gentle words or just the steady thud of his heart against your ear. 

Despite the sweat and dust, Steve presses kisses to your forehead as you slowly settle. The fact that he’s so handsome and nice to you makes you sob shakily one more time. 

“Just breathe, you’re okay.” 

Steve is calm, but you know that inside that he’s wracking his brains to get to the bottom of why the love of his life was crying in the middle of their brand new apartment while he was waving off the friends who had helped you move. Had he said something stupid, was the paint really that ugly… Steve didn’t let his mind even go near the idea that you might be second guessing moving in together.

When he sees you peering up at him, his heart beats double time like it always does when you look at him. His attention is back on you now, out of his own head. You can see the cogs turning in his head and feel worse for making him worry about you, feel insecure or like he was the reason for your tears. 

“Hi,” you whisper. “Sorry. Overwhelmed.” 

“Don’t say sorry, honey. It’s okay.” 

You rest your cheek on his chest again. His tshirt is stained wet from your tears now too but Steve doesn’t care.

You lie together on the floor, both aching and bone tired. From somewhere, you summon the energy to  squeeze Steve as tight as possible, needing him to know how much you adore him. He makes a small happy noise before returning the squish. 

“We’re here,” you murmur against his chest, before you free each other to lie side by side in the golden glow coming from the big un-curtained windows. 

“Here we are. Welcome home, baby,” Steve says, turning his head to look at you again. He covers your hand and stroked his thumb over your racing pulse. “What’s going on in that big juicy brain of yours, huh?” 

“Ew.” You laugh, wincing when your body reminds you that it has clocked out for the day, and meet Steve’s gaze. “All the boxes freaked me out. We still need to unpack everything, and the couch won’t fit if we don’t get some of them out of here -” Your voice shakes and catches and you make yourself take one slow deep breath. Steve squeezes you once, no rush. “I’m just so fucking tired, Stevie.” 

Steve gives you a little smile. “I bet. You’ve been running the show today, making sure everything is perfect.” Steve had been up before you, excited to get going, and had spent the day lugging boxes with Eddie, never letting you take the heavy ones. You had caught yourself staring at how his biceps bulged deliciously a couple of times - Steve had caught you too and made sure to come give you some kisses when his hands were free. And he had checked in with you, not wanting you to get too caught up in making everything perfect or taking on too much of the responsibility - you were just better organised than him. The brains to his brawn, though he knew you didn’t like when he thought like that.

He sits up, then stands, groaning like a man older than his twenty-odd years. He holds out his hands to help you up, and he puts his arms around you once you’re upright. 

“Everything’s where it needs to be. You and Nance had that list. Everything’s all colour coded.” You had both been armed with coloured markers and sticky notes to make sure the boxes were in the right rooms. “What’s the word? It’s meticulous, baby.” You can hear a smile in Steve’s low soft voice; he’s proud of himself for remembering and of you, for everything. It helps ease the tension bunched in your shoulders. 

He kisses your head with a fierce amount of love. “It doesn’t need to be perfect right away okay? We’re in this together and we’ll figure it out. All that matters is you and me, yeah? You and me in our first place together. S’already perfect for me.” 

Your heart hurts with how much love it holds for Steve Harrington. He’s right; all that matters is the two of you, boxes of bed sheets and belongings be damned. 

Steve starts a slow sway, his fingers tucked into the belt loops on the back of your old jeans as you settle your hands on the base of his neck. He hums a song you both loved, one that had come on the radio in a moment of pure fate when you started the short drive from his old place to your new one together. 

I want to be with you everywhere…

The smile Steve had graced upon you then was like pure gold and you turned the volume up loud, rolling down the windows as you sang together.

Now you feel his smile, wide and lovely, against your temple and peel back to look up at his face. “What’s the smile for, handsome?” 

“M’happy.” You see that boyish twinkle in his eyes, and when he smiles Steve looks so innocently happy, the little boy who had to grow up too quickly. You press up on your toes, ignoring the burn in your feet to lessen the gap between you. He is quick to meet you halfway and accepts the kiss you land on his smiling mouth. Steve’s joy is contagious and he is as generous sharing it with you as he is with his kisses. 

“I’m happy too, promise.” Foreheads pressed together, you close your eyes and let the calm feeling wash over you as Steve starts the sway again. You’re pressed together, head to toe.

“S’okay if you’re not. You don’t have to say you are if you feel shitty.” Steve’s voice tickles your cheek and he chases it with a kiss there. 

“I am. We’re going to be so happy here, Steve. I love this place.” You feel the truth of your words deep in your bones, beyond your aches and pains. “Love you.”

Your words make his heart zing. “Love you more,” he whispers, nudging your nose with his own as he kisses his way back to your lips. “M’happy with you wherever we are, I just want to be with you.” 

As you hold each other, swaying in the setting sunlight, you let the thought of unpacking shrink and enjoy the moment, calmness washing over you like a balm. Over the next few weeks and days you and Steve will place your things side by side, hang up pictures and clothes and fill the blank canvas. You’ll try the diner down the block for breakfast in the morning as a treat, and do your first grocery shop together. You have already promised each other that you’ll have sex in every room to christen the place (Steve’s idea, you loved it) and in a week or two you’ll invite your friends around for a party. You’ll make up the spare room for when the kids who aren’t kids anymore come to visit. There’s no rush, you have the rest of your lives to feather your nest together, find a bigger one when you’re ready.

You breathe him in, finding that scent that is simply Steve behind the fresh paint and sweat and the lingering smell of the pizza you shared with your best friends to say thank you for their help - the first party of many in your home together. 

Steve presses his love into you with his kisses and stroking hands, thinking of the only box that matters to him; a small ring-box housing soft gold and sparkling jewels that reminded him of you. It’s not in any of the cardboard towers, or the overnight bags with the basics for your first night and morning. The little green velvet box sits heavy in his back pocket, plucked from the Beemers glove compartment while he was waving Eddie and the girls off (all of them had whispered their good luck while they hugged Steve fiercely tight).

Seeing you in tears made him second guess his timing, but as he sways with you now he couldn’t be more sure that you’re the one he wants to marry. 

“Hey. Lemme take a picture of us,” he whispers, “The disposable still has a few shots left on it. Stay there.”

“Steve I look so gross,” you whine - but you have to admit it’s a sweet suggestion. His lips meet yours and he pecks the pout away. 

“You’re beautiful,” he says in a murmur against your lips. “We can show our grandkids someday. You’n me, young and cool in our first place together.” 

Steve’s heart beats double time at your grin and he makes your nose scrunch up when he dots kisses all over your face. “Wait there. The light is..” He kisses his own fingers with an over exaggerated ‘mwah’. 

He leaves you laughing as he dodges boxes on the way to quadruple check the ring and fetch the camera. 

You had both been snapping pictures all day, pictures that would end up in a photo album with little annotations of the date and who was in each shot; Steve & Robin hugging outside their apartment before hopping in the moving van, Eddie in an Iron Maiden tee with the sleeves cut off sticking his tongue out as he carried a box under one arm, you and Nancy deep in conversation on the sidewalk, you and Steve stealing a kiss in the empty kitchen (Nancy was stealthy with that one). There were three clicks left.

When Steve arrives back you’re poking through a box of books and thinking about how you’re going to stack them on the shelves (which will be dropped off tomorrow). Your smile when you see him lights up the room already glowing with the setting sun. You both think ‘how’d I ever get this lucky’ and find your way to each other, sharing another kiss before getting your picture taken. 

Steve stands in front of the windows, tucking you under his arm as you both make the most of the golden light illuminating your tired smiling faces. After the click, he rolls the film on. 

His heart beats hard and quick with anticipation, but he’s not nervous - he has never been so sure of a decision in his entire life. You are the one; his one.

Steve places the camera on the windowsill before taking your hands. “You’re the love of my life y’know?” 

You look up and nod, squeezing his hands. “Mhm. And you’re mine. I love you so much I could scream.” You mean it too, thinking about how you could open up the window right now and shout to the city that you love Steve Michael Harrington. 

He presses a single soft kiss to your forehead. “The best day of my life was the day you smiled at me in that little dive bar, baby. Ever since then, I knew I was a goner.” He brushes his thumb over the back of your hand. “I don’t ever want anyone else. Waking up next to you every day, and going to sleep with you every night... I feel like I’m dreamin’ sometimes. Like, how’d I get this lucky?” Steve squeezes your hands three times ‘I love you’. “You’re my love, my best friend.” 

Your face hurts from smiling, about to quip that you promise not to tell Robin or Eddie, but instead you see Steve lowering himself down onto the floorboards - dropped down on one knee. 

For a moment your mind goes blank until you see that little green velvet box, which he flicks open to show you the ring inside. 

Steve says your name so quietly as he gazes up at you, “Will you marry me?” 

All capacity for speech evades you. Your focus is all on Steve, barely comprehending the gorgeous ring winking at you in his hands. Every cell of your body is screaming S T E V E. You manage to nod as more tears press and push up and spill down your cheeks. 

You let him take your hand to slide the ring on. A perfect fit. If you could think straight you would remember one of your favourite rings going missing for a week a while back - the culprit kneeling in front of you.

You pull him up this time, crushing your body to his as you babble ‘yes!’ a thousand times, even as he kisses you with his own wet cheeks pressing to yours. 

Everything feels soft around the edges, luminous and dreamlike, as you see Steve and his smile and his love for you in bright high definition. You take his face in your hands - the left one ever so slightly heavier now - and you bring your faces together. 

“Hi Future Mrs Harrington,” he whispers, each syllable filled with an almost-giggly bubbling joy. 

“Hi Mr Harrington,” you whisper back, feeling his hands squeezing your hips. You kiss him again, smiling too much to make it last pass a few slow romantic pecks and you’re just holding each other, glowing. 

In that moment everything is perfect, your previous sense of total overwhelm replaced by utter joy. Tired and still a little sweaty, dust on your jeans and your hair coming undone, you’re still the most beautiful creature Steve Harrington has ever laid eyes on - even more so now with the promise on your hand. 

Steve reaches out to take up the camera again. “Still got two more. Engagement pic for the grandkids?” he asks, and you practically squeal with delight when you realise he had it all planned. 

As he angles the camera in front of you both, hoping the light is still okay and that he’s not chopping off his own head, you hold your ring up to make sure it’s in frame. That picture, and the next one of you two sharing a kiss with diamonds glimmering in the dipping sunlight, will take pride of place in that little album of the day you moved in together, the day Steve Harrington asked you to marry him. 

Likes, comments and reblogs are absolutely cherished and adored!

Bonus next day diner breakfast Steve for the girlies - thank you for reading 🩷

[butchrobin]

"don't move" || spidermike au oneshot

based on @drangues super cool au, specifically this post regarding wheeler sibling angst <3

~~~

All things considered, it had started as a pretty good day.

Not necessarily normal, no, things hadn’t been normal for Mike ever since he’d got bit by that spider that had granted him his powers. Now it seemed everyday was a new challenge to overcome, or more specifically, more bad guys he had to take care of. Just an ordinary day for Spider-Man, really. In the short year he’d been in the mask too much had happened for him to comprehend, part of him was still struggling to accept that he was different - though, truthfully, he had always been rather different to start with. 

The spider bite had changed a lot of things, but not everything. He wasn’t sure how many changes he could handle, the stability of his life was already long gone, a new less stable routine had taken place. One he wasn't sure how he felt about just yet, but was used to nonetheless.

So that’s where Mike found himself, webbing up the last unconscious criminal to the wall for the police to find and take away. There had only been a few, four muggers who had attempted to rob a man only a couple of years older than Mike himself. It was something Mike found he’d come to view as part of his new routine, he’d patrol often whenever he had the time to spare, which happened to be mostly at night. Student life be damned, he thought. So he found the night to be, well, normal he supposed. He’d stick around and make sure until the cops arrived and the thugs were in custody before resuming patrol. 

But then his spider sense, a buzzing feeling all around his body alerted him to danger behind him just as his ears picked up the sound of a gun being loaded. He swiveled round, body tense as he prepared to web up any thug he’d missed, assuming they must have called for backup. But nothing could have prepared him for who was holding the gun, he lowered his hand, the lenses of his mask conveying his shock and growing wide as he gaped, horrified.

Because it was Nancy. His older sister Nancy. And she was holding him at gunpoint, her knuckles pale with how tightly she was gripping the pistol, which she had aimed right at the spider symbol on his chest.

“Don’t move.” Nancy snarled. Mike couldn’t even if he tried, or wanted to. His body had seized up entirely. He couldn’t breathe either, his breaths caught in his throat as he stared.

“Wait-” Mike blurted, but Nancy silenced him by taking a deliberate step closer, the gun clasped firmly in her hands. 

“Don’t even try it.” Nancy hissed darkly, her eyes flashed coldly, holding an icy glare Mike didn’t know she was capable of. “It’s about time you answered for what you did.”

“I-”

“Everyone thinks you’re a hero. But you’re not, I know what you are and I’m going to show them.” Nancy went on, her voice never wavering. “You’re a murderer.”

Mike exhaled shakily, not moving an inch as he eyed the gun warily. Right, that brought him back to the complications with being Spider-Man. The complication being that his sister hated his web-crawling persona, ever since the untimely death of her best friend, someone Mike had known well with all the time she’d spent at their house.

Barbara. The thought brought back a string of painful memories, followed by immense guilt. Nancy had blamed him and sought to avenge Barb, she’d grown bitter and resented him for it  and it seemed the hate she felt for Spider-Man that had taken root since had never quite let her go.

Now she was here, gun in her hands and ready to shoot. And Mike? Part of him that felt the most guilt for what happened to Barb wanted to let her.

The spider part of his psyche however screamed at him to do something. To disarm her, run away and to not look back. But the other part, the part who had always looked up to his sister with nothing but admiration all his life, could only remain fixed in place, stiff as a board and speechless as she seethed.

“I won’t shoot you, if I don’t have to.” Nancy spoke again, her voice hard. “You’re going to stay here until the police arrive and then you’re going to hand yourself over to them.” She paused, thinking for a moment. “But if you try to leave, I will do it. I have a good enough reason to and I know how to use this.”

Mike didn’t doubt that. He would’ve laughed if he weren’t so goddamn terrified right now, he knew how skilled Nancy was with an assortment of guns, Hopper - the Chief of HCPD had taught her himself.

Mike finally found his voice again. “Please just let me-” in doing so, he finally seemed to snap out of his frozen trance, moving forward slightly but retreating just as quickly when Nancy jabbed the gun forward in his direction. His sense was buzzing worse now, but it was confused, it had never before perceived his sister as a threat. It was disorientating, with the pure panic overwhelming him in that moment he could barely think.

“I said don’t move.” Nancy repeated, her words firm.

A breathless sound almost akin to a sob escaped Mike’s lips. “Nancy please.” Usually he would have hated how feeble and weak he sounded, but he couldn’t bring himself to care about that right now.

A look of confusion flashed within Nancy’s eyes at that. Her breathing hitched and her expression then solidified once more. “How do you know my name?” She demanded harshly. Mike’s gaze was still fixed on the pistol, unmoving.

He wasn’t thinking clearly right now, he knew that much with how everything around him had muted - which is why he wasn’t sure why he did it. But he dragged his gaze away from the gun, to his sister's enraged look, then back to the gun and his fear spiked. It was a split second decision based solely off adrenaline alone and he regretted it the moment he’d done it.

He ripped off his mask.

“Nance…”

Nancy went completely still.

Mike used her reaction to finally get the words he’d been wanting to say out.

“I’ve been wanting to tell you ever since… but I… I didn’t know how. I thought about it everyday but I just couldn't…  Just please listen to me Nance. I didn’t… I didn’t murder Barb. I swear I… I tried so hard to save her. You have to believe me, I-” Mike fumbled with his words, still stricken with panic. “Can you… Can you please just listen to me?” He pleaded, “I’m your brother… Do you really think I’m a murderer?” His breaths came out short and ragged, he was finding it increasingly more difficult to compose himself.

Nancy didn’t reply, she still didn’t look up to meet his eyes.

“Nance please, please listen to me. I would never murder anyone I didn’t… I didn’t kill Barb, you don’t understand just let me-”

A thundering gunshot filled his ears. Mike’s jaw snapped shut. Nancy lowered her hand from where she’d fired the pistol into the sky.

When she finally looked up to meet his gaze, he really wished she hadn’t. Her expression was pained, but her eyes were colder than he’d ever seen. It was a look he thought he’d never see on his sister's face, especially directed only to him.  Mike’s heart raced, his body had shifted without him knowing, his instincts locking him into a defensive stance. The spider screamed at him to run, get out of here, go.

He ignored it.

“Nance, please…” Mike begged softly, hoping she’d listen.

Nancy drew in a deep breath that didn’t sound too steady, the pistol shaking as her hand trembled. “You need to wait for the police to get here.” This time her voice did waver, but her words were the only thing Mike could focus on. He stared at her, dark eyes wide and filled with disbelief, brimming with tears.

“Nance stop.” He begged, a sob catching in his throat as he desperately tried to get through to her. He took a step forward, Nancy took one back, he looked down at the gun still pointed squarely at his chest. His eyes found his sisters again. “Are you really this afraid of me? Please don’t… Just-”

He stopped short when registered the sound of sirens a block or two away, the police were almost here and Nancy…

Nancy was willing to turn him over to them.

When the sirens got closer and the sound of a car skidding to a halt at the end of the alley was heard, Nancy looked away at the direction of where the noise had come from, distracted. And Mike, still so scared and hurt and betrayed and panicked, took his chance. He shot his wrist outwards and a web shot towards the pistol, he yanked it from her hold before she could even look back.

Mike stayed in place for a few moments, eyes locked onto Nancy’s own, he didn’t have time to catch the look in her eyes before his spider sense buzzed frantically as approaching voices grew louder and without a second thought Mike launched himself into the sky, finally allowing the tears to fall. He kept swinging, the city a mere blur around him, no real destination in mind, no goal other than to get away from there. 

Away from the piercing look of cold hatred in his sister's eyes.

[spicysix]

girls make me wanna die

"the way we met not so unique / on the internet we make up things / a different story every person we see i'm writing poems and they're all online / under a different name, nothing like mine / i tried to tell her once, on a drunken night / but it came out all fucked like a bad pickup line i don't know when i fell. she doesn't know as well"

rating: T warnings: Eddie's trans in this fic, it's not a major plot point but it is a major Eddie characteristic heh. also, this is an Edancy fic, meaning Eddie and Nancy and i know that's not everyone's cup of tea so please for the love of god if you're not interested in this pairing, keep that to yourself, scroll the page, leave the fic untouched. don't like, don't read, all the maners. i think that's it word count: 6.1k author's note: fic idea and title from the song of the same name by The Aces. written for Lex's Spicy Six Summer Fanwork Challenge, for the prompt "rooftops". yes, i know i'm a little bit late (just six months), but it is Summer where i live right now so i think it still counts lmao. thanks again for hosting @thefreakandthehair ♡ also super thanks to my beautiful betas robin (@ronancevibes) and frankie (@blubblesandink) ♡

↳ read on ao3

I DON’T KNOW WHEN I FELL

The first time Eddie saw her, she thought she was a mirage.

It was Steve’s birthday party, and since the guy was still as popular as he used to be in high school, his house was packed. Eddie hadn’t seen her when she first arrived, and she later found out it was because she had been upstairs finishing getting ready with Robin.

But as she came down the stairs, all dolled up, a true femme divinity of Eddie’s most sapphic dreams, the neon lights were hitting her just right in a way that encompassed her with pink, purple and blue all around and it was one of the prettiest sights Eddie had ever seen. Eddie stood right at the end of the stairs and stared up at her, jaw on the floor, probably drooling all over her chin.

She probably could’ve fallen right then and there.

If she hadn’t looked at Eddie, still standing dumbly in the way, up and down with her eyes narrowed and lips turned down into a frown before she opened them to say, with the most velvet smooth, passive-aggressive voice Eddie had ever heard:

“Can you move?”

It wasn’t a request. It was a demand.

Eddie kinda wanted to bitch-slap her for it, but her own body betrayed her as she moved out of the way instantly and she smiled at her — almost fondly, but venomous, also all passive-aggressive and, honestly? Delicious.

“Thank you, sweetheart.”

Eddie was pissed off and aroused to her deepest corners, and she would later find out that it wouldn’t be the first time Nancy Wheeler would piss her off and still have her do whatever she demanded with that silky way of hers.

Eddie didn’t see her anymore at all after that at the party, and still had no idea who she was for a whole week before she ran into Robin at the grocery store. She asked her who the girl was, describing her looks and clothes. She tried not to be too obvious about her annoyance and also attraction to the mystery girl, and she thought she succeeded because Robin didn’t shoot her one of her bombastic side eyes.

“Oh! Short curly bob, about yay high?” Robin asked, gesturing somewhere around her chin level. Eddie nodded as she turned to pick up some sugar. “Yeah, that’s Nancy.”

Eddie stopped with her hand mid-reach. “Steve’s ex, Nancy?” she asked.

“The one and only,” Robin snickered and Eddie blinked a few times in shock before proceeding with her shopping.

Eddie thought she knew a lot about the infamous Nancy Wheeler, because she had befriended Steve right after Nancy had broken his pure little himbo heart, almost eight years before. She knew Steve and Nancy had worked things out and were friendly now, but didn’t know they were friendly enough for Steve to invite her to his birthday. She shared those thoughts with Robin, who chuckled teasingly.

“Oh, sweet summer child. You have no idea of the intricacies of our friend group, do you?”

That was true. Eddie knew of Steve and Robin’s friend group from their hometown and she knew that it was a whole beautiful mess off queerness, but she hadn’t met anyone but Robin so far, even with the almost eight years of friendship with Steve — and probably only knew her because Steve and Robin were glued at the hip. She knew of Nancy, and of Jonathan, and of course, knewRobin’s girlfriend Vickie, but didn’t know what their intricacies were.

She was honestly a little scared to ask at that point, so she just shrugged and Robin and her continued their shopping talking of other stuff from then on.

She saw Nancy again a couple of months after Steve’s party, because then it was Vickie’s birthday party, and at least this time Chrissy was able to go so Eddie wouldn’t have to be stuck to Robin the whole night.

“I’m so glad I’m not missing this one. I mean, Vickie’s a great girl and of course she’s the main reason, but that Jon boy was looking delicious in the pics Steve posted and I’m so sad I missed seeing him looking like that,” she was rambling on and on about her crush as she reapplied lip gloss on the way to the bar Vickie chose to have her small party at. “Did you meet him at all?”

“No, I only saw him passing by. He did look good, smelled amazing too,” Eddie replied with a grin.

“Ugh, you’re no good as a best friend. You know I’ve been in love with him ever since Steve posted that picture last November! You had to befriend him!” she complained but she had a smile on her shiny pink lips.

“You can’t be in love with him, bitch, you don’t even know him,” Eddie replied.

“I so can, bitch. I feel it in my tits,” Chrissy ended the discussion as the Uber parked in front of the bar, and they left it laughing loudly after thanking the driver. “In my heart, I mean. Under the tits. If he’s not here today I’ll leave immediately!”

“I’ll tell the birthday girl you said that,” Eddie sing-sang as she started walking faster towards the bar entrance. Chrissy yelled after her as they walked through the doors still laughing.

To Chrissy’s delight, the Jon boy was there in all his scrawny glory where he sat across from Vickie at the table they reserved for the birthday. Vickie was excitedly talking to him about something, gesturing all around her as Robin looked at her with pathetic heart shaped eyes. Nancy, sitting beside Jonathan, was also paying attention.

No, she was not the first person Eddie noticed.

Eddie and Chrissy approached the table and Steve lit up at the sight of them from where he was sitting on the other side of Vickie.

“There they are! My favorite sapphics club is complete!” he was getting up from his seat as he talked, and Vickie wrapped up her story before getting up to greet them too.

Jonathan turned to Nancy and they whispered between them, and Eddie would’ve thought they were talking about Vickie’s story if Nancy hadn’t shot her a look from over Jonathan’s shoulder. He then looked over too and smirked before turning back to Nancy and saying something that made her hide a laugh behind her wrist.

“Why do you surround yourself with so many sapphics anyway?” Chrissy asked as she and Steve separated from their embrace, and Eddie finally tore her look away from Nancy and Jonathan to hug Vickie tightly.

“It’s the ally in me,” Steve answered and it got him a slap from his favorite sapphic who had also gotten up to greet the newcomers.

“You’re literally queer too,” Robin said as she made grabby hands at Chrissy for her own hug. Steve just cackled and shrugged.

They finished their greetings session and both Eddie and Chrissy handed Vickie their gifts — a matching set of earrings and a necklace — before walking back to the table. Aside from them, Jonathan and Nancy, there were only a couple more people that were introduced as Vickie’s work friends.

“Nice to finally get your name,” Nancy said with a smirk when Vickie introduced her to Eddie.

Eddie narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t ask for it when you were bossing me around like a bitch last time.” Eddie didn’t made clear who the bitch was. It was on purpose.

Nancy’s smile only widened with her answer as Jonathan hid a snort behind a cough.

“She tends to do that,” Steve said as he pulled a chair for Chrissy to sit at beside him.

“Excuse me?” Nancy asked, but she was still clearly being playful.

“Yeah, no, he’s right,” Jonathan said before sipping on whatever drink he had.

Nancy rolled her stupidly beautiful blue eyes. “Love when my exes team up against me.”

Eddie thankfully wasn’t drinking anything yet or she would’ve choked on liquid, and that would be worse than choking on thin air —which she did.

“What?” one of Vickie’s coworkers thankfully asked, and all of the long-time friends laughed together.

“Oh, isn’t that a long story…” Vickie giggled to her friend who just shrugged:

“We do have all night.”

Long story short, they all had had relationships in some way.

Not like Eddie or Chrissy could judge, since they both met Steve on different nights out and they both hooked up with him in the respective back alleys of the clubs they were in, and Chrissy and Robin were definitely flirting before Robin went all monogamist-serious with Vickie. And they wouldn’t judge even if it didn’t make them hypocrites because there was nothing wrong with all that anyway, but that’s an obvious statement.

But none of their things with each other had been serious or even consummated, meanwhile it was kind of funny that Nancy dated Steve and then Jonathan, and Jonathan dated Argyle who had been in the bathroom and appeared in the middle of the story, and who was now on his journey to woo Steve into a relationship, and Nancy and Robin also had a fling at some point and so did Jonathan and Steve.

Eddie felt tired at the end of the retelling and she had been sitting down the whole time.

“Ah yes, the amazing queer experience,” Vickie’s coworker who had initially asked commented at the end of it all.

They all laughed at that and the coworker — Eddie really didn’t get their name — waved a bartender over for some shots. Once they were delivered and everyone had gotten one, Coworker started a toast.

“To Vickie, and her hometown friends who all fucked each other!” they toasted, and everyone laughed louder as they clinked their tiny cups together before throwing the shots back.

Those were just the first shots of many that night, each round with a more ridiculous toast to accompany the ‘To Vickie’ one every time.

After a few hours Chrissy was best friends with Vickie’s coworkers, and Eddie still had no idea what their names were, and instead had found her way in between Jonathan and Argyle as they all talked about photography, an art they all shared their love for. Jonathan was actually a photographer himself. The talk went from classic photography, analog to digital, and just as they started talking about Instagram accounts, Chrissy stopped by, whispered something right by Jonathan’s ear that made him blush, and they left together. Eddie and Argyle traded knowing looks and continued the conversation without the person who had begun it, and soon Nancy took Jonathan’s seat instead.

“What’s the talk?” she asked while sipping her fruity cocktail that Argyle then took from her and drank before answering.

“Our favorite Instagram accounts. We were talking about photography, but…”

“Oh!” Nancy took her phone from the pocket of her dress — a dress with pockets, amazing; Eddie thought — and opened the app. “It’s not photography, but this one is my favorite of all times. It’s so inspiring to me,” she said as she found the profile she was looking for and then turned the screen for Eddie and Argyle to look at.

Eddie had a really hard time trying not to choke on thin air for the second time that evening.

The profile Nancy was showing was a poet’s page, by the name of M.W. and who posted small, handwritten poems with a beige and brown color palette, a drawn sheet ghost as their profile picture. Clearly anonymous, even with hundreds of thousands of followers, the person behind the poems and the page didn’t want people to know who they were.

The person behind the poems and the page was Eddie.

“What-” Eddie tried to talk, failed, cleared her throat and tried again, “What do you like about it?”

Nancy got this look on her face that Eddie hadn’t seen before so far. Something fond and sweet, her blue eyes like pools Eddie wanted to drown in. Her smile was wide and it turned her face to something entirely different, all the sharpness and sarcastic expressions Eddie had been graced with so far transforming into earnest softness.

“I’m a journalist, and I love writing and sharing stories. Poems have always been something I wouldn’t do, because they all seemed so hard and too complex and I always thought ‘normal’ people couldn’t do them,” she explained, looking Eddie in the eye the whole time. She was like Medusa, and Eddie was trapped paralyzed under her stare but with no intention of leaving any time soon. “And then all these modern poets came around on social media, and they have always spoken to me in some ways, but Emme…” She looked down at her phone screen again, that same soft look that made Eddie’s brain short-circuit. “I don’t know what it is, but they talk to me so personally. I love everything they write. They are delicate with words without losing their candidness, and forthright without losing their gentleness. I just… I’m very impressed and inspired by them.”

Maybe it was then.

Eddie, of course, had no idea what to answer to that. She received comments and messages every day about how her writing helped and affected people, but it had never happened in person because no one knew who she was. That was different. Nancy’s words echoed right into her chest, making it swell with pride, but she didn’t know how to respond. She just stared at the girl before her, hoping her expression wasn’t giving her away.

“That’s so nice, dude. They’re really nice poems,” Argyle said as he rolled through M’s feed. “Do you not like them, Eddie?” he asked, and Eddie shook her head to get out of her wandering thoughts before glancing at the screen Argyle was showing her.

She didn’t need to look too hard, she knew every single poem there by heart.

She shrugged. “I don’t… think too hard about poems, I guess,” she lied without thinking, already trying to come up with other topics she could suggest to stir the conversation before she admitted anything.

The only person who knew she was the one behind M.W. was Chrissy, and Eddie wasn’t ready to make it public — probably never would be. The words were too personal, open windows to her soul that she carefully curated, that she poured so much of herself into and she wasn’t ready to share the backstage of.

Eddie saw as Nancy’s eyes hardened again, as she shut her jaw firmly and she felt immediately sorry for her lie. She didn’t want Nancy to retreat, she liked seeing her vulnerable side. The side of Nancy that related to Eddie’s own vulnerability, even if she didn’t know it.

“Too bad.” And then she gave Eddie that sneering look, the same as she did from her superior level at the stairs of Steve’s house, that up-and-down look that made Eddie’s face turn into a scowl instantly.

Both their jaws clenched and they narrowed their eyes at the same time and stared at each other for what felt like hours, but was probably less than a minute, before getting up to walk to different directions, headed to different groups of other people to talk to.

“What the hell happened, man?” Argyle whispered softly to himself as he was left alone with all the tension still hanging in the air.

Eddie replayed that conversation in her head for many days after Vickie’s birthday. The gnawing feeling in the bottom of her stomach that threatened to burn her from the inside out appeared every other hour.

Why the fuck did she lie about not liking poems?

She didn’t have to tell them the truth about being M.W., but she could still have said something nice about Nancy’s passion for the poems. Not dismiss it completely, making it seem like she was a total bitch, causing Nancy to go back into her distrust, closing the doors to her vulnerability. Making Nancy think Eddie had no interest in her interests at all, like she was still holding a grudge over nothing, like they couldn’t bond over something they both loved.

The what-ifs and the should-haves kept eating at Eddie’s brain, sometimes so strongly that it was overwhelming, and she didn’t relax even a little bit about it for almost three weeks, when she met Chrissy for their monthly brunch together.

“What’s up with you today?” was the first question Chrissy asked over their mimosas, no need to be at Eddie’s side for long to realize that something was giving her anxiety.

It caused Eddie’s shoulders to slump down and her throat to get a little less constricted. Just knowing Chrissy cared enough about her to notice the small signs of her distress made some of the fog in her brain dissipate. It was easy to tell her everything after that, the scene she had caused, the disappointment in Nancy’s eyes, the way it made Eddie feel like shit. Chrissy heard it all quietly, attentively, as if Eddie’s life depended on it because she knew that Eddie felt like it did at the high of her anxiety.

“I think you like her more than you care to admit,” Chrissy answered at the end of it all.

Eddie didn’t like that Chrissy’s mind went straight into that area instead of comforting Eddie, but she rationally knew that Chrissy wouldn’t bring that up if it wasn’t relevant.

“Chris, I don’t even know her-”

Chrissy interrupted. “And I think you should be honest with her.”

“I can’t tell her-”

She did it again. “I’m not telling you to come out to her as Emme, I’m only saying you could honestly tell her she makes you kinda nervous and you stumbled over your words near her, and you said things you didn’t mean because you couldn’t think through.”

“Can you stop interrupting me!” Eddie whined. “Oh, so I just have to make a fool of myself in front of her? Solid advice, Chris, thanks.”

“Why’d you ask for my help if you’re gonna complain about what I say?” She asked, swirling her cup around.

“I didn’t ask for your help, Chrissy!” Eddie all but shouted, her voice a raspy tone, and Chrissy stopped mid-movement. Eddie instantly regretted it. “Sorry. I’m so sorry. Ugh, I’m so stressed out over nothing.”

She hid her face behind her hand, embarrassment making her cheeks burn up, but she soon felt Chrissy’s cool hand on top of her own. It was soothing once again.

“Sorry I pushed too. It’s not nothing, Eddie, I swear. I still think you can be a little more honest with her if you ever see her again, though,” Chrissy still advised.

“Maybe you’re right. I’ll think about it,” Eddie answered.

“And I still think you like Nancy more than you want to admit,” Chrissy continued.

Eddie let her hands fall from her face and stared into Chrissy’s blue pools. They reminded her of other blue pools.

Nancy’s pool blue eyes hardening over Eddie’s words, the way her jaw shut tight, the clinical look she shot at her. Nancy’s pool blue eyes softening over talking about Eddie’s words, the blush on her cheeks, the adoring speech she gave about Eddie’s soul without even knowing.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right about that too,” Eddie finally admitted.

Maybe it was then.

Summer was approaching and as the temperatures started to rise Steve hyped them all up for a lake day. Eddie took Chrissy, Robin, Vickie and Jonathan in her van; and Steve, Argyle and Nancy went in his car. They all brought snacks and smuggled drinks amongst card games and inflatable buoys.

The lake wasn’t packed because summer vacations still hadn’t started and the middle schoolers, high schoolers and college students still weren’t free to enjoy the scalding Sun and the cold water, so Steve’s idea was great after all.

Eddie waited until the Sun wasn’t at its peak to venture under its rays, because she was as pale as a vampire and the Sun was a menace to her just the same as it was to the blood-sucking monsters. She’d burn instantly. So she covered herself in sunblock, hid under the shadow of a big tree with one of Wayne’s old caps on her head and a book in her hands, and watched as her group of people had their fun.

Steve and Chrissy were playing with a volleyball in the sand, while Argyle and Vickie went against Jonathan and Robin in a game of chicken in the water with Nancy as the referee. Eddie had fun people-watching, and when it came to some of her new favorite people it was even better.

As midday approached, they all gathered under the barely-there shadow to eat their snacks and escape the dangerous Sun beams at their high. Argyle had some pre-baked space brownies for dessert and they all shared stories and laughed about nonsense. Eddie felt happy that she and Chrissy were finally being more included into the lives of Steve and Robin, and that their friends came along. It felt like they had always belonged there, as a full group. It was amazing.

When both the Sun and Eddie weren’t as high anymore, she finally felt safe enough to take off her shirt and cap. With another sunscreen layer applied, she stretched a bit before asking Chrissy to join her at the shallow ends of the lake. The pebbles hurt her feet in a good way and the smell of damp earth was refreshing.

“How’s it going?” Chrissy asked.

Eddie looked at her and saw that she was staring ahead. She followed the line of vision and saw Nancy taking a few laps in the deeper parts of the water. She instantly knew what Chrissy was asking.

“I might have been stalking too much on Instagram,” she answered, and Chrissy cackled.

“Does she follow you?”

“Uh, no. Her profile’s open,” she finished and Chrissy almost choked on her laughter.

Eddie tried to hide her smile, but Chrissy’s snorts were endearing even if they were at her expense.

“What are we laughing so hard about?” The subject of the conversation appeared out of nowhere, Robin and Vickie behind her as they approached.

Chrissy laughed harder.

“Uh, just this dude. You guys don’t know him.” Eddie tried to act casual, but Nancy’s raised eyebrow showed she wasn’t buying. Thankfully, she also didn’t press further. “Uh. Nice bikini,” she pointed at Nancy’s torso, immediately regretting it.

Nancy looked down, as if she didn’t remember what she was wearing. There was nothing special about it, just a different color in each of the little triangles covering Nancy’s breasts, but now all the attention was in it, on them, and Eddie felt like a complete fool. If she wanted Nancy not to know about her stupid not-crush, talking about her fucking boobs wasn’t the best course of action.

“Thanks?” she said, kind of asked, as her answer to Eddie’s random compliment. “Yours is pretty too.” She smiled sweetly, and Eddie was a hundred percent sure she didn’t deserve that kindness.

“Not just the bikini,” Vickie whispered a little too loud, causing Chrissy to fall into her laughing fit again. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. That was so out of pocket.” Her freckled face was all red, and Robin was hiding a grin under her hand, and Nancy was suddenly looking at the water, brows pinched, pink cheeks, perched lips.

Interesting, Eddie thought.

“Ah, don’t be,” she answered Vickie. “I paid a hell of a price for them, they’re supposed to be admired.”

“Wait until you’re at a level three friendship clearance and you’ll get to see them uncovered. Maybe even touch,” Chrissy said, still in between chuckles.

“Well, yeah, I want to show them off!” Eddie spoke up.

Nancy coughed loudly. “I’ll go back to the-” she stopped herself and never finished her sentence before practically running back to the water, her body curving in a beautiful dive once she was deep enough.

Eddie felt glad she was still wearing her shorts, cause the tightness in them could get a little uncomfortable.

“You guys are funny,” Robin said, arm draped over Vickie’s shoulder, and her pointed look at Eddie’s profile seemed to mean something more.

“What do you mean?” Eddie asked.

Robin chuckled a little louder. “You and Nancy would get along real well if you stopped dancing around each other,” she answered.

Eddie bit the inside of her cheek before turning to look at the lake again. Nancy wasn’t doing laps anymore, instead she was talking to the boys. As if she felt Eddie’s eyes on her, she also turned to look back to the shore, and her gaze met Eddie’s.

She smiled so sweetly. As if Eddie had never insulted her, as if her vulnerability had never been hidden, she smiled the same way Eddie saw her smile when she talked about M.W’s words.

Maybe it was then.

“Still don’t know what you’re talking about,” Eddie lied, without ending her eye contact with the girl on the water, and her senses were so focused on only her that she didn’t even hear Robin and Chrissy’s snickering.

She really had to stop dancing.

Chrissy went to Eddie’s house and ruined her life on a simple Friday.

“You’re being so dramatic,” Chrissy said while Eddie paced around her living room, fingers tangled in her hair, and her phone still in Chrissy’s hand.

Eddie knew it had been a horrible idea to download Tinder to get over her not-crush on Nancy, and she knew it had been a horrible idea to tell Chrissy about it — but she went ahead and did both of those things anyway.

It started harmless enough, Eddie and Chrissy sat side by side, a bottle of wine shared with no need for glasses, a random movie on the TV as background noise. Chrissy giving her input on Eddie’s bio, her picture choices, the people she swapped right or left.

It started harmless enough, until Nancy’s profile showed up.

Only a few miles away, a stunning profile picture that made Eddie’s heart almost crack her ribcage, a bio that Eddie couldn’t even read entirely because suddenly her phone wasn’t in her hands anymore, and Chrissy was locking herself in the bathroom.

No amount of Eddie’s banging on the door made her get out, not until she felt like her mission was complete, not until after she swiped right on Nancy.

And then Eddie was spiraling, pacing around her living room while Chrissy finished whatever wine was left in the bottle, the movie had ended on the TV and Tinder was left open and forgotten on Eddie’s phone.

“You acted like a bitch and you know it,” Eddie said, and Chrissy only huffed. “Christine!”

“Calm down, I’ve told you already! It’s not like-” she paused mid sentence when the phone screen lit up. Chrissy’s eyes grew comically larger, and she bit her bottom lip tightly, the skin under her teeth going pale. “So, about that-”

“Christine!” Eddie yelled again, throwing herself on the couch and aiming for the phone already. “Please, for the love of god and all that is holy, please tell me she didn’t just-”

“You have a match,” Chrissy confirmed Eddie’s worst nightmares.

“FUCKING HELL!”

It was undeniable, right at the center of the screen, big bold letters in a way that Eddie couldn’t blame on drunkenness because she hadn’t even drank that much. She had a match with Nancy Wheeler.

“Why is that a bad thing? You have a crush on her anyway, you just learned it’s reciprocated?” Chrissy asked, already getting up to fetch another wine bottle.

“What if it’s a joke. What if she swiped in the wrong direction as an accident. What if she sat on her phone and butt-matched me. What-”

“Eddie, stop spiraling,” Chrissy told her, a new wine bottle in her hands that she passed to Eddie in exchange for the phone again. “We’ll keep watching whatever movie this is,” she checked the TV, saw the movie was over, “We’ll watch whatever other random movie and get your head out of this and tomorrow you’ll wake up renewed and look at this situation with fresh eyes and see it’s not that bad. Okay?”

“You just don’t want me to yell at you ‘cause you know it’s your fault,” Eddie grumbled.

“I won’t lie to you, my best friend, that is partly the reason.” Chrissy chose another random movie without really checking what it was. “But I also really don’t think it’s such a big deal.”

“Whatever,” Eddie whined again, but draped her head on Chrissy’s shoulder when she sat beside her.

She was warm, and smelled of berries and coconut, and she had Eddie’s phone so she couldn’t do anything stupid, and she usually knew better. She was probably right. Eddie let herself be comforted in the presence of Chrissy’s calming aura.

Eddie ended the night having no idea what the movie was about, her mental state a little over tipsy and a little under drunk, her phone back in her hands and the Tinder conversation with Nancy Wheeler opened.

She came to learn a lot in between one and six A.M., the time she spent talking to Nancy while Chrissy still snored beside her.

Nancy had a younger brother and a younger sister.

She loved ballet.

Her favorite singer was Madonna.

Her parents were divorced, and the day they told her the news was one of the best days of her life.

Some of her hobbies included journaling, roller skating, and painting her nails.

Her best friend was named Barb, and she was studying abroad for her PhD.

She legally owned a gun. That was terrifying. (And also a little hot.)

She had never used it, though. But felt safe having it.

She was power driven, passion driven, a force to be reckoned with, and kind and sweet while doing it all.

Maybe it was then.

Neither of them acknowledged the fact that they both had been assholes to each other, and just accepted the Tinder match as if it had been nothing more. Nancy had started the conversation as if they had already texted before, and Eddie just rolled with it.

They talked all night, and Eddie could’ve kept talking to her if she hadn’t passed out from sleep deprivation and alcohol consumption.

She only noticed the next afternoon, when she woke up, that she tried telling Nancy she was M.W. at the peak of her insanity, but thankfully had never sent the message.

She deleted it and said nothing else instead.

Eddie saw Nancy sooner than she expected — and, honestly, sooner than she was ready to.

She and Nancy hadn’t talked after that day, not at all, not on Tinder and not on Instagram after they followed each other. Nancy liked a couple of Eddie’s pictures and stories, and Eddie liked some of her stuff back, but that was it.

She thought it had dwindled out, she was too much of a coward to pull Nancy back to a conversation and thought Nancy had no interest when she also made no move to message Eddie again.

Eddie was nursing a minor heartache when she asked Chrissy to go with her to a party one of her neighbors invited her to merely a week later. It was at the rooftop of another building, fairy lights still turned off during the day but they would look beautiful by night, the Sun was warm and they had punch, so Eddie thought it to be the perfect place and opportunity to get her mind off of Nancy Wheeler.

Imagine her surprise to see Nancy Wheeler there?

Chrissy spotted her immediately, elbowing Eddie until she noticed too. She looked beautiful under the sun, all sparkly makeup and flowy dress and pulled-up hair. And Chrissy gave Eddie no time to think or react before pulling her by the hand straight into Nancy’s direction where she was talking to a short-haired girl.

“Christine, stop, what if they’re-”

“Nancy! Hi!” Chrissy didn’t let Eddie pour out her negative thoughts, and instead called to the source of all of Eddie’s most recent problems.

“Chrissy!” she smiled, oh so pretty. “And Eddie!”

Eddie didn’t want to get all delusional, but she felt like Nancy’s smile to her was wider than the one to Chrissy.

Chrissy hugged her, and soon came Eddie’s turn, and if she put a little more strength into her arms, and if she made it last just a second longer, and if she carefully sniffed Nancy’s hair — well, that’s her problem.

“So nice to see you two. This is Barb!” She looked at Eddie as she said it, maybe to see if Eddie remembered that conversation, and Eddie could never lose that opportunity.

She took a deep breath, inhaled some courage from the air, turned to Barb and said, “Heard only the greatest things about you.”

Barb smiled, and so did Nancy, and maybe, yeah, maybe Eddie was a little delusional and maybe she was a little biased but Nancy’s smile was wider and prettier and more important.

She touched Eddie’s arm after she hugged Barb, and she looked Eddie right in the eyes and there was something there —  some gratitude, some recognition, Eddie wasn’t sure what it was, but it was there.

And maybe it was then.

“So… what about that poem page? Still digging it?” Eddie asked hours later, when Chrissy was hooking up with a stranger in the bathroom and Barb had gone home already.

Nancy turned to pay attention to her immediately. They were leaning against the rooftop’s half-walls, Eddie’s jean jacket over Nancy’s naked shoulders cause there was a funny cold little breeze.

“Yeah, of course,” Nancy answered. Her eyes were sparkling, and the sun was setting, and the fairy lights were on.

She looked breath-taking.

“Still your favorite?” Eddie asked again, just because she needed to have that little pinch of Nancy Wheeler’s approval, even if Nancy had no idea.

“Still my favorite,” Nancy answered again, her eyes narrowing but smile widening a bit. “You still hate poetry?” she asked instead, and the slight twitch in the corner of her mouth was the only hint that she wasn’t as serious, that she was just teasing.

“I don’t hate poetry,” Eddie said with an accompanying eye roll and a small smile of her own. “I actually envy them. I wish I could say stuff that makes you feel… the way you feel. Instead of constantly annoying you.”

She kept a smirk as she said it, but it was a deeply honest confession. Of course, it was her words making Nancy feel the way she felt. But Nancy didn’t know that, and if she didn’t know that, did it really count?

Nancy’s expression softened as Eddie said it, those blue pools opening up for her again. Eddie felt like she would never get tired of it.

“You don’t constantly annoy me, just sometimes… most of the time,” she teased and nothing about her face said sarcasm and Eddie smiled wide back at her.

Nancy’s hand found Eddie’s, her fingers small and delicate and they fit right in between Eddie’s fingers, and it felt like it was meant to be, like the perfect puzzle pieces. There was music somewhere around them, lots of chatter from all the other people, but it all felt so distant as Nancy held Eddie’s hand so tight it almost hurt but it didn’t because it was her.

Maybe it was then.

Eddie wasn’t sure when she fell for Nancy Wheeler, but she knew for sure that’s when their story really started.

SHE DOESN’T KNOW AS WELL

Six months later

“I knew it already,” she said.

Her hair was a bit longer by then, curling around her head like an aura and getting all knotted up right with Eddie’s hair as they laid side by side in bed. The air smelt like sex, like them, and the streets outside the window were quiet in the middle of the night.

“The fuck you did,” Eddie answered.

“I’m an investigative journalist, Eddie, of course I knew you were Emme like, two weeks after we started dating.”

“Shut the fuck up,” she said, and Nancy snorted. She knew Eddie wasn’t actually mad. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Nancy instantly sobered up. “Cause it’s important to you. I wanted you to tell me, whenever you were ready. That’s your soul, Ed.”

It definitely wasn’t then, it had been long ago.

But it was then that Eddie confessed it, out loud, almost screaming in a whisper:

“I love you.”

Nancy smiled, her blue eyes two huge pools of vulnerability, that sweetness that poured out of her like honey.

“I don’t know when this happened. But. I love you too, of course.”

[ronance-romance]

Concept: Nancy wears flannels more and more, nobody says anything until Steve asks why she keeps stealing Robin’s clothes

——-

The first time it happened, Steve didn’t say anything. Perhaps it was laundry day. Nancy did like to keep a rigorous schedule. But a couple days later, when she entered Family Video, there she was again in loose plaid and jeans, hair a bit of a mess. Of course Nancy’s version of “a mess” meant anything less than the usual perfection he saw in her. He often tried to tell himself he was over that high school crush. Sometimes, Nancy Wheeler made it hard to actually make it be over.

“Trying out a new style, Wheeler?” Eddie snorted as he hopped up on the counter, stealing Steve’s popcorn from his morning movie with Robin. The girl in question had stepped out to the bathroom, having missed Nancy’s and now Eddie’s entrance.

“Shut up,” Nancy replied cleverly.

“Hey Robin!” Eddie called as she finally emerged. “Have you noticed Nancy’s new look?”

“Um, not really!” Robin ducked into an aisle. Steve raised an eyebrow, tracking her movements. What the hell was she doing in the horror aisle? They finished stocking that.

“Right, okay.” Steve scoffed.

“What brings you here, anyway?” Robin asked from a distance.

“Returning.”

Fast Times.

You had to be kidding. Joking. Pulling his leg, even. Steve looked at Nancy like she had grown two heads. Opened his mouth. Then closed it.

“Yo Harrington, did you forget the English language or something?” Eddie said, his mouth full of the last handful of popcorn he’d stolen.

Steve wanted to grab him by the jaw and tell him to stop being a nuisance. But he didn’t do that. Nor did he acknowledge the question.

“Something the matter?” Nancy demanded. “Did I scratch it or something?”

Steve picked up the film and walked it to where it belonged, feeling like his body didn’t belong to him in that moment. Robin was about to ask what the hell was wrong with him till she saw the movie he was holding.

“Nancy rented Fast Times?”

“Yep.”

“THE Fast Times?”

“Yep.”

“The Fast Times with—”

“This going somewhere anytime soon, Buckley?”

Robin’s cheeks were as pink as a sunrise as she shelved the movie without further comment. Steve had more questions than answers, but people never liked answering his questions. So he didn’t ask any.

Another day, another interruption from the ever annoying Eddie Munson. After shooing him out of the store, Steve and Robin served several other customers. For a Saturday, it was quiet.

Ding. Nancy appeared again. Red and blue flannel. He tilted his head as she gave a friendly greeting to Robin. As they chatted it up, he felt that odd sensation in the back of his skull coming to the front, like he was remembering a dream he’d had. Dejavu, his brain reminded him. Something was familiar. And then he remembered:

Two weeks ago. He and Robin were on a friend date. She’d worn that shirt. He remembered because he had stupidly spilled his drink all over it and he had offered to clean it at his place and return it to her the next day. The shirt was too big even for someone as tall as Robin.

And that’s what all the shirts Nancy had worn that week had in common. Too big. They swallowed her whole.

“Nancy, why do you keep wearing Robin’s clothes?”

The comical, red faced silence that followed was better than any movie Steve could’ve picked out that day. But it was Robin’s turn, unfortunately, and she had chosen Fast Times. For some reason.

[nix-rose]

Better Than Revenge (Nix-Rose's Version)

1k. words

Proofread by the amazing @steph-speaks

Warnings: Breakups, Nancy Wheeler is written as the villain, bit of cursing

Summer of 1983 in Hawkins. 

Two people are on a walk downtown, who were on a ‘date’. Two people who couldn't be closer to the end of a relationship.

“And I know he's my little brother but, goodness, I wish he’d just chill out sometimes.” You stated, your boyfriend nodding along to your rant without any input. His hand had fallen from yours nearly a block ago, his attention stolen not long after that.

“Steve!” You snapped in the boy's face, “Are you even listening to me?” 

The boy in question blinked away the dumb look on his face but still didn't look you in the eye. “What? Yeah yeah, of course.” He assured you nonchalantly. 

Except it was obvious he wasn't listening. He was staring, blatantly you might add, at a couple of girls in a store across the street. 

It used to be him looking at you like that, when he only had eyes for you. All the shared moments from when you had first started dating were gone, since exactly two thirty-four last Wednesday. 

That’s when Nancy Wheeler had shown up in a pretty little two-piece and stole Steve Harrington from right under your nose. 

You hadn't thought much of it when Nancy and Barbara had shown up at the pool and sat down with you and Steve. You had been talking with Barb about school related things when you realized both Steve and Nancy were  nowhere to be found. It had struck you as an odd occurrence but nothing  more. It wasn't until five minutes later when Steve walked over from the snack bar area with Nancy in tow did you suspect something. Her red face and shy demeanor mixed with Steve's strut and over confident smirk practically wrote the story  by itself. 

“Then what did I say?” You demanded,  knowing you were losing him. It wasn’t hard to see, he started ignoring little things you said and was flaking on dates, and when he was with you there was a constant, dreamy look in his eyes as if he wasn’t.

“I- Something-” He was floundering for an answer and you both knew it. It put a chip in your heart. You were losing him and there was nothing you could do about it.

“I’d like to go home.” You mutter as you turn back, keeping as much distance between the two of you as possible. One glance behind and you would have seen a certain brunette still watching through the store’s window.

The only thing playing on the car ride home was the piercing sound of silence, unfortunately it didn't last the whole drive. You had chosen to look out of the window instead of interacting with Steve, while he'd been fidgeting the whole ride and itching to say something. He opened and closed his mouth multiple times before running a hand through his hair. Keeping the other hand on the wheel, he turned to look at you. “I don't understand why you’re so mad about me just not paying attention about-...” His voice drifted off.

“My brother! I was talking about my brother!” You snapped. You were fed up with his bullshit. He wasn't about to gaslight you into thinking you were crazy about this situation. 

“You talk about your brother all the time, excuse me if I don’t always listen.” He scoffed as he turned the corner to a different street.

“I don't care if you just hadn't heard all of it, it's not about that! But you and I both know that you would have heard if you weren't too busy checking out little miss princess Wheeler! Isn't that right?”

Steve rolled his eyes, “What? Are you jealous of Nancy? You are being so clingy, Jesus-”

Being clingy was something you struggled with and had always disliked about yourself. You had told Steve about that and it's left another chip in your heart at the fact that he would use it against you. But the fact that he had called you jealous was the straw that broke the camel's back. 

“Jealous? You think I'm jealous? I should have no reason to be jealous because you're my boyfriend and I'm your girlfriend!” Tears pricked at your eyes and using the back of your hand, you angrily wiped them away. 

“Jesus Christ, are you crying?” Steve glanced at you before he turned the last corner to your house. “You are overreacting right-”

You cut Steve off “No, you're not going to ogle at other girls and then call me jealous. This is bullshit, Steve!” You yelled. 

“If you think it's such bullshit, why the hell are you still here?” He slammed on the brakes, “Here's your house, don't come running back to me.” He hissed.

You snatched your purse from the floor and threw the car door open. 

“Don't worry, Harrington. I won't bother you and your little princess.” You spat before you slammed the passenger door. The sound of tires squealing and a revving engine getting quieter told you all you needed to know about where Steve was going. 

As you made your way to your front door, it hit you that there would be no making up from this. Steve Harrington wouldn’t crawl through your window tonight with flowers and his head hung low, asking that you forgive him. He wouldn't catch you after tripping over your own feet in the hallways when it was crowded. There would be no more dates in the evenings where you would simply be with each other and do nothing. Every memory of him from this moment on would be forever tainted by Nancy Wheeler. 

The reality of what happened finally hit as you closed the door and took off your shoes. Your purse fell from your hand while your tears fell from your cheeks, it felt as if your heart had shattered on the floor in front of you. Steve Harrington was gone. And he would never come back.

She came along, got him alone, and let's hear the applause, 

She took him faster than you can say "Sabotage”

He was a moth to the flame, 

She was holding the matches.

[cursiveinkwords]

here's a fic I wrote a bit ago but never posted, I probably won't post ch4 in the next week so here's smth to munch on

PLEASE read the trigger warnings it's a bit unhinged

[stevesxyellowxsweater]

Dating Nancy Wheeler would include...

Helping her with news stories,

Study dates,

Putting cute notes in her locker,

Sneaking into her bedroom,

Going to parties,

Surprising her with cute little gifts,

Offering her comfort when she needs it,

supporting her when her summer job sucks,

Watching her as she becomes excited about things,

Taking it in turns to give each other rides to school,

Night picnics to look at the stars,

Falling asleep holding hands,

Sending each other letters,

Couples costumes at Halloween,

Helping out with school activities to get time with her,

Fighting for who gets to be the little spoon,

Helping her through her trauma,

Dinners with the Wheelers,

Babysitting together,

Being the first one to say I love you,

and being patient until she's ready to say it back,

knowing where the library is,

Getting each others opinion on your work,

Always encouraging her.

view more characters here

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

What if Nancy slapped Jonathan?

Summary: When Nancy actually allows herself to be angry about Jonathan's pictures, she realizes that she doesn't regret sleeping with Steve and that there was more to Steve than she realized. Jonathan realizes his mistake and friendships begin to form. Long fic, one shot.

A cold, numbing feeling came over Nancy as she looked at the pictures. The worst fear of people somehow knowing came true and in the worst possible way. It wasn't that she was ashamed that she slept with Steve. It was the more that it was an intimate moment that she trusted Steve with, that she enjoyed knowing that it was just between them. Sure, there was a part of her that wanted to gush about it and talk about it. . .yes, but with her friends. . .with Barb. God, maybe it was her fault. She should have closed the blinds. . .pulled the curtains. . . Something. All she could think about was Steve.

No. No, it wasn't her fault. Steve wanted her there, invited her there. It was an intimate party between friends. Jonathan had found his way over there, crept in the bushes, and took her picture. He took Tommy, Carol, and Steve's pictures without their permission. They didn't know someone was watching them. Nancy could understand Carol's disgust. She was disgusted herself and quite, frankly, angry. Suddenly, she felt her hand moving on its own, and there came a loud slapping sound as her hand came in contact with Jonathan's face.

"What the hell, Jonathan?" Nancy asked.

"Damn," Carol whistled. "Didn't know she had it in her."

"Why?" Nancy asked.

"I was looking for Will," Jonathan said, clutching his cheek.

"I would believe that if the pictures didn't prove otherwise. You stopped the moment you took pictures of us in the pool. How long did it take for us to get from the pool to inside the house to me getting inside Steve’s bedroom? A few minutes, give or take, long enough for you to realize that you stopped looking for Will," Nancy snapped. "Why?"

"I just saw - I just saw someone trying to be someone they're not," Jonathan said. "I thought it was a good picture."

"That's bullshit!" Nancy exclaimed. "So, what? Because I wear sweaters buttoned up to my neck, I study hard, and I like nerdy things that I can't possibly be human and want to have sex with Steve Harrington?"

"It just didn't seem that way to me," Jonathan said, his eyes downcast.

"Just because I was nervous doesn't mean that I still didn't want to go through with it," Nancy snapped. "By the way, I've noticed that you still haven't apologized."

"I, uh," Jonathan started to speak.

"Save it. Saying it now, I know you're not going to mean it. The embarrassment you're feeling at having been caught is how I feel about having been caught, except the major difference here is that I have nothing to apologize for. I will never apologize for sleeping with Steve. It was my choice, my decision and it's something that I'm never going to regret. Your interpretation of me is dead wrong. For the first time, I was doing something that I wanted to do and not what was expected of me. Steve is who I wanted, I liked him not because every other girl in the school did but because I did. I like him. I'm sorry that your brother is missing, I truly am, but it doesn't excuse what you did and I hope that when he does come back that he never finds out about you using him as excuse," Nancy said it all with clenched fists and tears filling her eyes.

"She is ripping him a new one," Tommy cackled.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped. Steve was looking at her with genuine concern in his eyes, and she felt her anger melt away. Steve kissed her gently on the forehead and went to hand Jonathan his camera back. Jonathan went to reach for, but at the last second, Steve let it drop to the ground. Nancy felt a brief satisfaction for a moment when she heard the camera break and even more so when Steve tore up the pictures, letting them fall to the ground in front of Jonathan as he knelt to retrieve his camera. Nancy quickly picked up the pieces and stuffed them in her bag before Jonathan could get to them.

"Don't want him gluing them back together," Nancy explained to Steve.

"Smart," Steve muttered.

"Jonathan," Nancy said softly, and he looked up. "I think that maybe you need to step out from behind the camera every once in a while and remember that there is more to people than what you think pictures are saying to you. It's just something to think about."

As they walked off, Nancy wrapped her arm around Steve's waist, squeezing him. She was grateful that she had him to lean on in this moment. She realized again that it wasn't just her privacy that Jonathan had violated, but Steve’s as well. Nancy stopped him when they were out of earshot of Jonathan.

"Steve. . .do you mind if we get out of here? I mean, I know you wanted to watch the game, but I'm feeling kind of overwhelmed," Nancy said.

"Of course, I'm a little on edge myself. Was the camera thing too much?" Steve asked.

"No. He deserved it," Nancy said. "Was the slapping thing too much?"

"No, he definitely deserved it," Steve said and paused. "Did you really mean when you said that you don't regret what happened?"

"Yes, I like you, Steve," Nancy said. "I want you."

"I want you too," he said softly.

Nancy wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. She stood back and stared at him before frowning.

"I want to go back to your house and look for Barb," Nancy said. "I think something might have happened. I don't think she went home last night, and she definitely didn't come to school today."

"Okay. Do we - should we call the police?" Steve asked, rubbing her shoulders.

"Maybe we should check out your place first," Nancy replied, slipping her hand into his.

"Hey, Tommy, Carol. . . We're going to get out of here," Steve said.

"Oooh," Carol laughed.

"Have fun," Tommy said wiggling his eyebrows.

Steve flipped him off before walking off with Nancy to his car.

"I'm glad you're coming with me. I'm not sure that I'd want to do this alone," Nancy said.

"It's no problem," Steve said softly.

"I was right," Nancy said, leaning against the door. "There is more to you than what people say there is."

"Is that a good thing?" Steve asked.

"Definitely," Nancy said.

"Right back at ya, Nancy Wheeler," he replied.

When they drove to Steve’s house, they discovered that Barb's car was still there. Holding hands, they began searching the woods behind the house. Nancy and Steve moved through the woods, crunching sounds breaking the silence as they walked on the leaves. They could clearly hear the wind whistling through the branches, but they nearly jumped out of their skin when they heard larger rustling sounds as though someone or something was moving with them. Whatever it was, it was moving rather quickly.

"Barb?!" Nancy called out. "Barb?!"

"Barb?!" Steve called out, whirling around with Nancy.

Suddenly, there came a growling sound, and they watched a blurry figure dart through the trees. Nancy stumbled back into Steve’s arms.

"Did you see that?" Nancy asked.

"Did he - did he not have a face?" Steve whispered.

They heard another growling sound, and Steve was grabbing Nancy's hand again. They both took off at the same time, running straight towards Steve’s car. They jumped in, and Steve didn't waste any time driving away from the house. Once they deemed it a safe distance, Steve pulled off to the side to calm himself down. . .to calm both of them down.

"He was wearing a mask, right?" Nancy asked.

"I don't know," Steve said.

"What if something really bad happened to her, Steve?" Nancy asked. "What if she's - ,"

"I want to be positive here, Nancy, I really do, but I don't know," Steve said softly. "I really hope not."

Nancy reached over and hugged him, letting him know that she appreciated his honesty. The drive back to her house was silent, but Steve kept a comforting hand on her knee the entire time. He didn't hesitate to follow her into her home either. He must be as scared as she was. As soon as she walked into the kitchen with Steve’s supportive hand on her shoulder and when she saw her mom, the tears started to come.

"You're home early. How was the game? Who is - Nancy, what's the matter?" Karen asked.

"It's Barb. I think. . .I think something happened," Nancy sniffled. "Something terrible."

Karen was quick to call the cops after holding a crying Nancy. Steve and Nancy both sat down with a cop for what seemed like hours. Officer Moore seemed intent on Steve being the one behind Barb's disappearance, which Nancy was quick to rectify that he couldn't have done anything because he was too busy sleeping with her.

"I swear I was respectful. I made sure she knew it was her choice and everything. I was a complete gentleman. I really like Nancy," Steve had said quickly to her parents.

If it was under any other circumstance, Nancy would have laughed. Luckily, Karen seemed to believe Steve. Maybe it was the fact that Steve didn't want to leave her side during all of this when he had plenty of chances to. Night had fallen when Mike had come into the house suddenly, sobbing. They had found Will. The hope for Barb coming back alive dwindled inside of Nancy. When the cop finally left, Steve stood awkwardly in the kitchen, leaving Nancy to have time with her family, which is where Nancy and Karen later found him.

"I talked mom into letting you stay the night," Nancy said.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that," Steve said, scratching the back of his neck.

"No, Nancy's right. I wouldn't feel good at all sending you back to that empty house without your parents," Karen said, frowning. "Of course, Nancy twisted my arm into letting you stay in her room. She said she was just going to sneak you up there anyway."

"She's so determined," Steve said fondly, and Karen's eyes twinkled for a moment.

"I just don't understand why Mike wouldn't let us put you in the basement," Ted said as he entered the kitchen with Mike.

"Maybe he's keeping a girl down there," Steve said, causing Ted to laugh, and Mike's eyes widened.

"Not that Mike can't get a girl," Nancy said, smirking. "But I doubt he'd risk mom and dad selling his collectibles if he did that behind their backs."

"I mean, she's not wrong," Mike said, rolling his eyes as they laughed.

Later that night, Karen was saying goodnight to Steve and Nancy when Ted came in with an armful of pillows. He started putting them in between Nancy and Steve like a wall.

"Do you think you left enough pillows for the rest of the house, Ted?" Karen asked with a sigh. "I think you missed the ones in the living room."

"Oh, hold on," Ted said and came back with two more, placing them on Nancy's bed.

"I'm so sorry," Karen said.

"No problem, I think Mr. Wheeler's hilarious," Steve said with an honest grin.

"Hm. I think I'm starting to like you. Might have to resend my earlier statement," Ted said. "Goodnight."

Steve turned on his side as soon as they left, leaving the door cracked. He peered over the pillows at Nancy.

"I'm going to need a grappling hook to get over to you," Steve said in amusement.

"It's actually kind of comfortable," Nancy said.

"Yeah. . .wait, what statement did your dad make?" Steve asked.

"Don't worry about it, Steve," Nancy said and kissed him. "Thank you for being here with me."

"Thank you for letting me stay," Steve said softly, and there was a long pause between them.

"Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"Was Tommy telling the truth when he said that your mom follows your dad around to make sure that he doesn't fool around?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, we walked in on him a few times," Steve said.

"I'm sorry. . .how often do they leave you alone?" Nancy asked.

"Too often," Steve admitted.

"Well, you're not alone now," Nancy said.

"Neither are you," Steve said gratefully and kissed her knuckles.

"Goodnight."

"Nighty-night."

The next morning, Steve ate breakfast with the Wheelers and helped Karen clean up before leaving the house with Nancy early so he could go to his house to change. Steve and Nancy stared at his house with trepidation.

"You know, any other day, I would be more worried about my asshole of a father and the fact that we had a party and we drank beer. It's crazy how small that seems now," Steve said.

"Yeah, it was just the other that Barb and I were shopping for a sweater that you might like," Nancy said. "So, I get it."

"We're going to figure it out," Steve said. "Somehow. . . Purple, by the way."

"What?"

"I think you look really good in light purple," Steve said. "You seem happier when you wear it. I don't know."

"It's my favorite color," she said and then paused. "You look good in blue."

If he chose a blue polo because of what she said, Nancy didn't comment on it, but she smiled, and for a moment, she wasn't worried. Well, not until she was called out of class to be questioned by the police again. She met Steve out by the gym to go over what the cops talked with them about, which was basically what they asked them last night. Nancy was glad that they were both peeved about them focusing on the wrong thing here. Who cares if Nancy and Steve had sex?

"It's all everyone seems to care about with me," Steve frowned. "Don't the cops have anything better to do? Oh, yes, looking for Barb."

"I'm not saying they're still not wrong about that, but to be fair, nothing like this has ever happened in Hawkins," Nancy sighed. "Something else is bothering you."

"It's nothing," Steve said. "It's nothing important."

"It's important enough to upset you. Tell me. Besides, I can't possibly decide what to do next. It might help me to think about something else," Nancy replied.

He was leaning against the wall, his legs spread out before him. Nancy stepped in between his legs, holding onto him tightly.

"I got into a fight with Tommy and Carol. Apparently, they got into their heads that you're stealing me away from them," Steve replied.

"You make it sound like you're with them or something," Nancy snorted.

"Well. . .I mean, it wasn't very serious. They made it very clear from the beginning, and I wanted a serious relationship," Steve shrugged.

"Oh. . .um, thank you for telling me," Nancy said.

"I trust you," Steve said.

"I trust you too," Nancy replied.

"Anyway, they said some really shitty things about you and then about Barb. I had to walk away," Steve said. "I'm done with them. I mean, not just for you but for me too."

"Mom said you're welcome to stay another night if your parents aren't back yet," Nancy said.

"This whole thing feels weird. . .I mean, you know what I mean, I think," Steve said.

"It's all weird, but I think Mom appreciates your help this morning," Nancy said. "And we all especially appreciate how nice you were to Mike this morning."

"Well, he's a good egg," Steve said.

"He's an asshole but yeah," Nancy said with a smile. "She also told me that you got up early this morning and had tea with Holly."

"She said she wouldn't say anything," Steve groaned.

"Come on, Princess, let's go get you some clothes," Nancy said in amusement.

After grabbing some clothes for Steve, they went back to her house. She spilled the contents of her bag to clean it out when the pieces of the torn up photograph also spilled out.

"Are those the pictures?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, I forgot about them," she said, frowning as she looked at them. "Steve. . ."

"Is that. . .?"

"The faceless man. Steve, what if whoever this is also did something to Will?" Nancy asked. "What if Will really didn't drown in the quarry?"

"Should we tell Jonathan?" Steve asked.

"I know neither one of us wants to see him, but he should know," Nancy said.

"Yeah. . .do you think someone's trying to cover this up. . .whatever this is?" Steve asked.

"Possibly," Nancy said. "Let's go."

After talking with Joyce briefly, Nancy and Steve found Jonathan at the funeral home picking out caskets. They hesitated for a moment before going in. Jonathan sighed before walking over to them. Nancy and Steve led Jonathan out of the room.

"It looks like it could be some sort of perspective distortion," Jonathan said when they showed him the picture. "But I wasn't using the wide angle. I don't know."

"Are you sure you didn't see anyone else out there?" Steve asked.

"No," Jonathan said. "And she was there was one second and then, um. . . Gone. I figured she bolted."

"The cops think she ran away, but they don't know Barb," Nancy said. "We went back to Steve’s place, and we thought we saw something. . ."

"Some weird man," Steve said. "Or. . ."

"We don't know what we saw," Nancy said, pausing as she realized where they were. "I'm sorry . . . We shouldn't have come here today, sorry."

"What he'd look like?" Jonathan asked.

"What?" Steve asked.

"The man you saw in the woods. What did he look like?" He asked.

"I don't know. It was almost like he didn't have . . . ," Nancy trailed off.

"Like he didn't have a face?" Jonathan asked.

"How do you know that?" Steve asked.

It was awkward, waiting for Jonathan to enlarge the photo. They could all feel the tension in the air.

"Have you been doing this awhile?" Nancy asked. "Photography?"

"Yeah. I guess I'd rather observe people than you know. . .," Jonathan said and paused. "You're right, though. I think I hid behind the camera too long and forgot for a moment that the people in the picture were real. . . Alive. I used that to distance myself from because it was easier to pretend they they were someone else, something else than admit that they could hurt me just like my dad. I tried so hard not to be like him that I - that I ended up doing something that he would have done. And he was never sorry for anything that he did or the hurt that he caused. I don't want to be like my dad. I am sorry, I really am."

Nancy smiled gratefully, taking his hand and squeezing it.

"I get the whole not wanting to be like your dad thing. I don't want to be like my dad either," Steve said.

"You have an asshole for a father, too?" Jonathan asked.

"Yeah," Steve replied.

There was a look of understanding between them all for a moment, and they could breathe a little better. Jonathan gazed at Steve as though he were trying to figure him out.

"You know, I really wanted you to be an asshole," Jonathan said.

"Sorry to disappoint you," Steve said.

"Don't be," Jonathan said.

When the photo was done, they got a better look at the figure behind Barb.

"My mom. . .," Jonathan gasped. "I thought she was crazy. She said that it wasn't Will's body, that he was still alive. And if he's alive. . . "

"Barbara," Steve and Nancy said.

Steve had to go home again to pick out a suit for "Will's funeral" with promises to meet Nancy and her family there. Despite the fact that they knew Will wasn't really dead, there might be hope for Barb, too. It was all still tragic. Steve let Nancy hold on his hand as tightly as she could.

"You didn't have to be here, you know," Nancy whispered.

"I wanted to," Steve whispered back and squeezed her hand.

Steve and Nancy met up with Jonathan after the funeral to calculate where the creature was going. Once they determined that it wasn't traveling far, Nancy decided that she wanted to go out and look for the monster.

"Yeah, no, that's crazy!" Steve exclaimed. "I mean, what are we going to do when we find it?"

"Kill it," Nancy said. "You don't have to come with us."

"And let you get all the glory?" Steve sighed and then said with a soft voice, "You can't get rid of me that easily. Let's kill this son of a bitch!"

Later, they went to Nancy's house to change out of their clothes and started looking around the house for weapons. She found an old baseball bat of hers from when she played softball.

"You know what would look great and add maximum damage?" Steve asked. "Nails."

Nancy chuckled and pinched his cheek fondly. They eventually headed toward the field where Jonathan told them to meet and found him, practicing how to shoot. He was rather bad it. Steve and Nancy teased him mercilessly.

"You ever shot a gun before?" Jonathan asked.

"Have you met my parents?" Nancy scoffed.

"I promised myself that I would never do it again," Steve said firmly.

"Yeah, I haven't shot one since I was ten," Jonathan said. "My dad took me hunting on my birthday. He made me kill a rabbit. I guess he thought it would make me into more of a man. I cried for a week."

"Don't sweat it, Byers. My dad took me hunting once, but I'm pretty sure it was only to impress a client. Anyway, he tried to get me to kill a baby deer, but I didn't want to do it. He tried to force me to do it. The gun went off. So, that's how I shot my father in the foot. I swore I would never shoot a gun again. My dad didn't try to force me to do it again either. It certainly gave him another reason to hate me, though," Steve shrugged.

"Okay, both of your dads are major assholes," Nancy said with wide eyes.

"Yeah, I guess my mom and dad loved each other at some point," Jonathan said as she showed Nancy how to shoot. "But I wasn't around for that part. Uh, just point and shoot."

"I don't think my parents ever loved each other," Nancy revealed.

"Your parents must have married for some reason," Jonathan said.

"Pretty sure mine got married because of me," Steve muttered.

"My mom was young. My dad had a cushy job and came from a good family. So, they bought a nice house at the end of the cul-de-sac, and they started their nuclear family," Nancy said.

"Screw that," Jonathan said.

"Yeah. Screw that," Nancy said. "Not that I never want to get married."

"You just don't want to end up up in a loveless marriage," Jonathan said.

"Exactly."

"Never really believed in the whole nuclear family thing but a family. . .yeah, I think it's nice. You know, when I was younger, I dreamed of having a big family. It's silly. . . I'm talking about a full brood of Harringtons. I figured we all packed into an RV and traveled to like the Rockies, the Grand Canyon, maybe Yellowstone. We'd end up in some beachside town in California. Learn how to surf or something. I don't know, whenever my parents left me on my own, it made me feel less alone," Steve said. "And I always thought that I would adopt, you know. Give kids a loving home."

"That actually sounds nice," Nancy said.

"Yeah," Jonathan said. "You really want to adopt?"

"Yeah," Steve said. "I always wanted to have a little brother or sister, but my mom always told me she doesn't like kids whenever I asked."

"Well, you're more than welcome to have mine," Nancy said.

"Wow. It's a little early in the relationship to be asking me to join your family, Nance," Steve asked, and Jonathan snorted.

"I wasn't - " Nancy sighed and rolled her eyes, smiling. "Asshole."

"She didn't even ask you first. No wining or dining," Jonathan said.

"Not even flowers," Steve said.

"Alright, can you guys go back to not liking each other?" Nancy asked.

"Nah," Steve and Jonathan said.

Once they got done practicing, they headed towards Steve’s as night started to fall. They moved through the woods, with everyone on edge. Nancy stopped suddenly.

"What? Are you tired?" Jonathan asked.

"Shut up," Nancy hissed.

That's when Steve and Jonathan heard it. A whimpering noise. The guys followed Nancy, and they came upon a wounded deer.

"Oh God, it's been hit by a car," Nancy said.

"In the middle of the woods?" Steve asked, incredulous, and Nancy gave him a look. "Sorry."

"We can't just leave it," she said softly.

"I'll take care of it," Jonathan said, holding out his gun.

"What about - ?"

"I'm not nine anymore," Jonathan replied.

Just as Jonathan was about to shoot, the deer got pulled away by something. To Jonathan and Steve's surprise, Nancy chased after the deer. Suddenly, she disappeared, and they couldn't find her until they followed the sound of her voice, along with the sound of something growling. They pulled her out of a tree, the both of them holding her tightly as the odd, squelching door closed, leaving behind no sign that something odd had happened. Nancy insisted that Jonathan go home and be with his mom, that he should meet up with them at her house the next morning. Steve brought her home, and she sat on the edge of the bed. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her.

"Tell me what you need," Steve said softly.

"I need to take a shower," Nancy said.

"Okay," Steve said.

"Can you - can you come with me?" Nancy asked. "Not to do anything but can you - can you hold me?"

"Of course," he replied.

Underneath the spray of the water, Nancy curled up in Steve's arms and cried. It was a different kind of intimacy, a lot more intimate, even more than them having sex. Not only was Nancy naked physically, but she was also exposed to Steve emotionally. Trusting him with the trauma of what just happened to her, trusting that he's there, and that he wants to be there.

"I'm here," he whispered as they clung to each other.

After showering, they crawled into bed and held onto each other tightly. Eventually, they drifted off to sleep, but it was restless for both of them. When they left the house that morning, Jonathan was waiting for them. They talked about what happened, and they all came to the possibility that Will and Barbara might be trapped in the place that Nancy was dragged into.

"We have to find it again," Nancy said.

"You want to go back out there?" Steve asked.

"When I saw it, it was feeding on that deer," Nancy said.

"Meaning he's a predator. Right?" Jonathan asked.

"Right," Nancy said. "And it seems to hunt at night like a lion or a coyote. But it doesn't seem to hunt in packs like them. It's always alone. . ."

"Like a bear," Jonathan said.

"And remember, at Steve's, when Barb cut herself?" Nancy asked.

"And then, last night, the deer. . .," Jonathan said.

"It was bleeding too," Nancy said.

"Sharks can detect blood in one per million. That's one drop of blood in a million, and they can smell it from a quarter of a mile away," Steve said, snapping his fingers, and they looked at him. "What? I like sharks."

"Steve, are you a nerd?" Nancy asked.

"What? No, of course not. Not that it's a bad thing," Steve said, and they continued to look at him. "Okay, fine. Hi, I'm Steve Harrington and I'm a closeted dork."

"Well, admitting it is the first step," Jonathan said he laughed with Nancy.

"Anyway, it's just a theory," Nancy said. "But we can test it."

Testing it, of course, required weapons and ammunition, which meant going to the army supply store. Of course, it wasn't going to be that easy, especially when they discovered that Tommy and Carol had called Nancy a slut on the theater in spray paint for all of Hawkins to see. They found them in an alleyway with Nicole and her meathead of a boyfriend, Andy. Heated words were exchanged with Tommy calling Nancy every name in the book and then turning on Jonathan. Nancy ended up slapping Tommy, and just as she went to do it again, Andy grabbed her arm. That caused Jonathan and Steve to snap. They started swinging until the cops came, but Jonathan stopped too late and ended up hitting one of the cops. Now, they were all sitting in the police station, Jonathan, and Steve handcuffed together. Nancy was putting ice on their wounds when Joyce and Hopper came into the station.

"What happened?" Joyce asked. "Jonathan?"

"I'm fine," He replied.

"Your son assaulted a police offer, ma'am," Officer Callahan said.

"It was an accident," Steve protested.

"Yeah, was it an accident when you were beating up those two other boys in the alley?" He asked.

"Nicole's asshole of a boyfriend put his hands on Nancy!" Steve exclaimed.

"Alright!" Hopper exclaimed and turned to Nancy. "You alright?"

"Yeah," she shrugged. "Steve’s face is worse."

"Take them off," Joyce said. "Take them off!"

"You heard her, take them off," Hopper said.

"Chief, I get that everyone's emotional here, but there's something that you need to see," Officer Callahan said.

When they showed Hopper the things that were in the back of Jonathan's car, they had no choice but to tell Hopper and Joyce the truth about the monster. And then Mike's bully, Troy, came in spouting stuff about a girl with powers who made him pee himself and the losers she hung out with. That led them to Nancy's house, where they discovered vans parked outside and a bunch of suits entering her house. Nancy gasped and went to walk over there when Hopper stopped her.

"Hey! The last thing in the world we need is them knowing that you're wrapped up in all of this," Hopper said. "They haven't found him. Not yet."

He pointed towards the helicopters, above the trees, that were searching the area.

"He's right, Nancy. I only met him once, but he seems to be as smart as his big sister. They're going to have a hard time finding him," Steve said reassuringly and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Look, we need to find them before they do. Do you have any idea of where they might be?" Hopper asked once they were back in the car.

"I don't know where he might be," Nancy said after a moment. "But I think I know how to ask him."

They managed to contact him over the radio, and after much convincing, Mike gave them their location. Hopper left them at the Byers' house while he went to the junkyard to get the kids. When they came back, night had fallen, and Nancy had burst out of the house before throwing her arms around Mike. They walked into the house, and Mike paused when he saw Steve.

"Jesus, what happened to your face?" Mike asked.

"A couple of bullies," Steve replied. "Not really important."

"And you took them on yourself?" Dustin asked.

"No, and if you should be impressed with anyone, it's Jonathan," Steve said.

"Hmm, modest," Dustin said.

"No, truthful," Steve scoffed.

"Sure," Dustin grinned. "El took out some bullies, too. Are you a superhero like her?"

"No. Nance, who the hell is this kid?" Steve asked, and she bit her lip, smiling.

After all that, they started talking about the place Nancy had been dragged down into. . .or what the kids call the Upside Down. The kids had discovered that a gate had been opened in Hawkins Lab. El tried to find Will and Barb by using her powers, but she had been too weak to do it. What they needed was a sensory deprivation tank, which required them to go to the school for the salt. Pretty soon, the deprivation pool was ready, goggles on El's face. Steve and Nancy shared a concerned look with each other for a moment, squeezing each other's hands. She searched for Barb first, calling out her name, and when El started to cry, Steve put his arm around Nancy.

"Gone. Gone. Gone! GONE!" El screamed.

Nancy pressed a hand to her mouth, sobbing. She turned and buried her face into Steve’s chest. Steve wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly as she shook. Once they discovered that Will was hiding out at Castle Byers, Hopper and Joyce left to go rescue Will from the Upside Down.

"We have to go back to the station," Nancy said to Jonathan and Steve.

"What?" Jonathan asked.

"Hopper and your mom are just walking in there like bait," she said. "The thing is still in there, and we just can't let it get them, too."

"You still want to try it out?" Steve asked.

"I want to finish what we started," Nancy said.

"What about the kids?" Steve asked. "Aren't those guys still after El?"

"Well, do you want to stay here?" Nancy asked.

"I mean. I also don't want to leave you and Jonathan," Steve frowned.

"Hm, you're torn. How about I help you with that? Steve, stay here. Jonathan and I've got this," Nancy said. "Keep the kids safe."

"There's one thing the cops didn't get," Jonathan said as he pulled the bat and nails out of his car. "You're going to need a weapon."

They went their separate ways with Nancy going off with Jonathan and Steve heading back into the gym with the kids. Inside, Steve put his bat together and stood ready to protect the kids with his life, which he almost did a few times. A couple of the agents shot at him, grazing his arm. Meanwhile, Nancy and Jonathan tricked the demogorgon into the trap, but eventually, it got out, heading towards the school when El killed the agents. In the classroom, the kids huddled together while Steve took on the demogorgon with his bat. He took a slash to the chest for his efforts, but it too was a graze. Finally, El came into the room, stood her ground, and sacrificed her life to protect them. Now, they were all at the hospital, waiting for Will to wake up. Nancy was sitting next to Steve after she made sure he got checked out by the doctors. Dustin was sitting on his other side, talking excitedly.

"Nancy, did you know that your boyfriend likes comic books? That he horded him under his floorboards?" Dustin asked.

"No, I didn't," Nancy said in amusement.

"Steve, do you think that you'd want to try playing Dungeons and Dragons with us?" Dustin asked.

"I don't know. Doesn't that require a lot of math? I'm not the best at it," Steve admitted.

"That's the best thing about it! We all have our own strengths and weaknesses!" Dustin said.

"I guess I'm willing to try it. . .on one condition, you have to at least give basketball a try," Steve said, and Dustin looked at him thoughtfully.

"I'm up for it," Lucas said eagerly.

"We can give it a try, but if we don't like it, we can quit, right?" Dustin asked.

"Of course," Steve replied.

"Then we have a deal," Dustin said and they shook hands.

It wasn't long after that Dustin fell asleep against Steve’s shoulder while Lucas fell asleep against him. Nancy smiled at him.

"Starting on your brood early?" She asked.

"Shh, go to sleep," Steve said and patted his other shoulder.

Pretty soon, Will woke up, and the kids were quick to gather in his room, flocking to him. Nancy and Steve stood in the doorway, smiling fondly as the kids relayed everything to him. Steve watched as the smile slipped off Nancy's face. She turned around and walked out of the room. Steve quickly followed her and found her trying to hold herself against a wall as she sobbed. He pulled her into his arms.

"I should be happy that he's back, and I suppose I am," Nancy mumbled into his shirt. "It's just that - "

"Barb should be here too," he whispered.

"It's not fair," she said weakly.

"I know," Steve said. "And when you're ready to talk about her, maybe you can tell me about her. I don't know, maybe it will help."

"Thank you," Nancy said. "For everything."

Jonathan came stumbling out of the hospital room. He shoved his hands into his pockets.

"I'm sorry about Barb," Jonathan said softly.

"Thanks," Nancy said and smiled sincerely. "I'm really glad your brother made it home."

"Me too," he said.

"Thank you for saving my life back there," Nancy said.

"Yeah, I think that means we're all friends now," Steve said.

"What?" Jonathan asked in surprised.

"Oh, do you not want to be our friend?" Steve asked. "Hm, and to think that I was going to share my hair care products with you."

"We are friends!" Jonathan said quickly.

"I knew it! You are jealous of my hair," Steve said, and Nancy giggled. "Well, I guess I can handle Jonathan Byers being interested in me only for my hair."

"Shut up, man," Jonathan said.

Nancy smiled. Of course, she would never be okay with what he did but mixed with his sincere apology as well as the way he almost died to protect her from the demogorgon. It's funny how forgiveness can sneak up on you in the most unexpected ways, and it's strange how quickly things can change. It's nice, though, that forgiveness can make you breathe a little bit better.