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steddielations · 1 year ago

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ao3 | hurt/comfort, friends to lovers, pre s4

"Hello? Ed, is that you? What's all that noise? What's goin' on?"

"Wayne, can you come pick me up ... I’m at a party at the Harringtons’ house ... I don't wanna talk about it, man … Can you please just come get me? Please."

Eddie hangs up the phone and swallows down the lump in his throat.

He refuses to cry in Steve Harrington's kitchen.

Making his way through all the teenagers crowding this soulless house, he blinks the fog from his eyes. No tears are gonna take him back to half an hour ago, shooting the shit with his dad in the van, happily ignoring years worth of bloody hatchets and skeletons between them.

While Eddie was desperate for it to be real this time, dear old dad hadn’t changed at all, taking off with Eddie’s van the second he came inside to scope out the party. Sorry to all the manicured girls of Loch Nora that pay pretty pennies for his shitty joints, but his stash is long gone, along with all the cash he made the last few days.

It’s all in the wind with Al Munson like always.

The muggy air washes over Eddie when he steps outside, rubbing his eyes against the cool sting of wetness brimming in them. He’s not gonna cry in front of Steve Harrington’s pool either, even if he’s alone out here.

It’s like a different dimension from the crowd inside, but everyone knows the pool is off limits, though no one seems to know why. Everyone just falls in line to the will of the king. Whatever, Eddie doesn’t give a shit he just needs a minute to breathe. He needs a damn cigarette, too, but of course, his smokes were in the van.

“Hey Munson, you sold out already or something?”

Eddie’s hands drop from his face, whipping around to where the voice came from. Caught off guard, embarrassment rises in his cheeks under the gaze of the man himself, Harrington. There’s an almost eerie blue glow casting off the water where he’s sitting poolside in a deck chair, strangely alone out here when he’s got a whole party inside.

Eddie clears his throat, trying to shield his vulnerability from a moment ago, “Nah man, all my shit was stolen.”

“That bites. Do you know who took it?” Harrington sounds oddly… concerned. “I bet it was that dickhead, Hargrove. I kicked him out like 10 minutes ago.”

“What’s it to you?” Eddie shoots back, instinctively distrustful, hackles raised like a cornered animal. He’s already taken a knife to the back tonight.

Harrington holds up a hand as if to ease him, like somehow in all his prim Polo-wearing properness, he’s used to handling wild things. “Just figured maybe I could help you get it back.”

“Why do you care?” Maybe Eddie’s being too defensive, it’s not like Harrington has ever given anyone hell like Hargrove or Hagan, but they’re all one in the same right? Or maybe Harrington really was ousted from the throne like the rumors in the hallways say. Eddie’s got more on his mind right now than the intricacies of Hawkins High pecking order.

“Uh, because it’s my house and I don’t want some thief around? Jesus you’re prickly, dude.” With an eyeroll, Harrington waves him over to the empty chair next to him. “Here, just sit down and relax for a sec. We’ll see if we can figure it out.”

Eddie hesitates, feeling like it has to be some kind of trap, but there’s no one else around. Harrington’s never done more than stand by while his jock buddies do their damage to whoever or call Eddie a freak under his breath a couple times, but who hasn’t? Eddie encourages it, even. What would Harrington get out of pulling anything now when it’s not for show?

Honestly, Eddie’s just trying to rationalize it because he could really use the beer that’s also up for grabs, offered with an outstretched hand.

So Eddie stalks over to the empty chair, warily sitting down as if it might snap him inside like a snare. His nerves are all frazzled. Between his dad’s little stunt and now the king of the jocks (former king?) is handing Eddie an open beer that he’s taken a sip from himself, give him a break. Eddie mellows out a tad after a couple chugs.

“Do you have any clue who took it?” Harrington asks, way too much concern in the line between his brows than he should be able to fake for Eddie.

“No one here.”

Eddie sort of wishes it was that simple. A stranger would only hurt his pockets, instead of this bone-deep betrayal he should’ve seen coming. He doesn’t even care about the money, or his van, it’s deeper than that. It aches somewhere the booze can’t wash away. He squeezes the cool bottle in his grasp, blaming the contents for what he woefully admits next.

“It was my pops, man. He ran off with my van and everything in it.”

For some reason, it’s embarrassing to say. Either secondhand for his old man pulling something so low-down, or just his own pride for falling for it. He stares at the unnaturally still water in front of him, instead of meeting the gaze beside him.

He can feel Harrington taking in it, questioning it. Maybe he’s wondering how a father could screw over his own son like that, or maybe he’s thinking everyone knows that’s exactly what Al Munson would do, and Eddie— especially Eddie, should’ve known that.

Even Jeff warned him this time too, having been there since the days that Al would bring Eddie a new bike when he won big at the casino, then steal it back the next week to sell when he lost. Seems like Eddie was the only idiot willing to give his dad another chance, even blowing off band practice the last couple days to spend time with him.

“Your van, huh?” Is what Harrington finally says, soft for some reason. “I could give you a ride home. Forest Hills, right?”

That’s… not what Eddie was expecting at all. Just picturing that hotrod that’s all the rage in the school parking lot kicking up gravel in the trailer park rubs him wrong. It’s all off-beat, Eddie feels so far off his center that he’s normally so sure of. All he can do is push back to try and find it again.

“What, you’re gonna ditch your party to slum it on the wrong side of Hawkins with me? Don’t worry about it, I called my uncle.”

Looking over, he sees how Harrington almost looks disappointed by that.

“Yeah okay, but I don’t really care about this party,” he says, not even trying to pass it off in a ‘cool’ way, he just seems put off by it, “Graduation’s coming up, y’know, it was Tommy’s idea. I should’ve said no, I don’t give a shit about it. Or Tommy.”

Again, not what Eddie was expecting. He feels a thud in his stomach at the mention of graduation, yet another failure under his belt. “Well I’m not graduating, so does it count as that kinda party if you’re out here with the super senior freak?”

“Guess we’re just having a shitty dads party then,” Harrington tries for what Eddie assumes is a reassuring smile, because for whatever reason in this twisted reality, Steve Harrington is trying to comfort him.

Him, Eddie Munson.

But it ends up striking an already sensitive nerve.

“What do you even know about it?” Eddie scoffs.

Harrington’s smile drops, snapping back, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

A bitter laugh bubbles up in Eddie’s throat. He hates how it sounds as awful as he feels. Gesturing with the beer in his hand, he states the obvious, “Look around, dude.”

Maybe Harrington’s not as popular at school, but he’s still well off at home. A rich, two parent household that he’s never had to worry about scrounging to keep the lights on. The only business he’ll ever have to do is for his Daddy’s fucking letterhead. Eddie will accept his pity to the extent of a free beer, but he won’t sit there and listen to Harrington pretending to know what it’s like for him.

“Yeah, look around,” Harrington retorts, an even more bitter curl on his lip than Eddie’s. “Got everything except parents, don’t I? Like if they buy me enough shit, I won’t notice they’re hardly here.”

The look in his eyes is a little hurt but fierce, grating enough to cut through Eddie’s defenses. Wayne keeps telling him to stop jumping the gun and going off half-cocked. Yet here Eddie is again, assuming he’s got this guy all figured out.

When in reality, all he knows is that despite being the talk of the town, Harrington’s parents are rarely ever seen around. He lost his girl, doesn’t seem to have any real friends to show, and looks about as lonely at school as he does now— while he’s doing nothing but trying to help Eddie.

“I’m sorry, man,” Eddie relents, “You’re just going against everything I thought I knew about you right now. I’m trying to kick the habit of putting people in boxes with the whole anti-conformity thing. Been told I can be a real judgemental asshole.”

“Yeah I wonder why,” Harrington says lightly, his lips curling back into a smile that sort of makes Eddie want to hide his face. It doesn’t feel wrong somehow, like the rare times that a girl spared him a look, more like it shouldn’t be directed at him. Steve Harrington shouldn’t be smiling at him.

“And call me Steve, alright? If we’re gonna be in the shitty dads club together, we should be on a first name basis.”

That actually gets a laugh out of Eddie. Short and pained as it sounds, it’s real.

“Okay then, Steve,” he has to look away after he says it, feeling his chest cave under the weight of that smile for some reason. Must be the state he’s in. Steve made him forget for a second but he’s sinking again, staring out over the pool, trying and failing to see the bottom.

Read the rest on Ao3

for day one of @eddiemonth prompt “Parents”

#pre season 4 steddie w so much eddie lore anyone anyone #full fic linked at the bottom hehe #steddie #steddie fic #eddie munson #steve harrington #al munson #arriving to eddie month so late but i’m here now #rueswriting #steddie ficlet #stranger things

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ahoyrcmanoff · 6 months ago

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A SHORT STUDY ON KLAUS HARGREEVES. 🃏

— based on the s4 tarot cards scene.

(hi! tbh I have no idea if this has been done yet. I’m finally out from the shock of this shitty ending lmao. Only seen a thing or two about this topic, talking ‘bout the Hargreeves’ fate… but i wanted to give it a deeper thought, ‘cause I just haven’t stopped thinking on that specific scene where klaus does a reading, and what each card meant for his character specifically, so, I decided to do this for fun & because I have my good knowledge on tarot cards. enjoy.)

Okay! So, the scene starts with Klaus sitting in the van, just passing time by doing a small reading with his cards. Which, not only gave us a brief look into the future for the Hargreeves’ fate, but it also gave us a look into who Klaus Hargreeves is. It shows us how his character could’ve been developed, what they could work at as a person (if they hadn’t erased a certain couple of scenes). And it is honestly sooo on point with their personality.

• We start off with Card #1 — The Lovers.

This is the first card that comes out. A classic. And obviously, we all go to the same thought when seeing this one specific card, but if you watch closely you can see much more in it than just a couple. Klaus jokes about it, saying; “that’s obvious, I haven’t been laid in months.”

And sure it’s a fun joke. We all might think the main thing that is the talk about this card (love, couples, lovers, etc). And damn my mind also went to Dave. But it has a deeper meaning.

This card talks about self-love. Something we know Klaus struggles with. Sure, they are a very confident person in their body, they care for their appearance, but he also despises himself for their usual low points. For letting it out on his family, all the stealing he did, the times he didn’t accept help, the times he felt like he wasn’t important or that he was a disappointment. The Lovers is the card of the search for self-love, for confidence, of being your own soulmate, in a way. This person has a tendency to fall in love quickly, but they have to be careful — the mountains and the snake represent the obstacles to reach to that desired love. Which, hell, Klaus had to go through considering his true love (Dave) is from another time and couldn’t be free. Romantic love will be easier to find once you reach into that self-care/self-love. The angel does represent that not everything is lost, there is a chance for love, for a certain couple.

Yet— we don’t see that happy ending for Klaus on the screen.

• Card #2 — The Tower.

What there is to say about this that isn’t obvious? This card represents pure chaos. Klaus says it himself; “Loss of self-control.”

It is also the card of change. Ringing any bells yet? All the siblings went through a big change on those six years without powers. And Klaus’ was impressive, he spent three years sober, now lives with Allison and Claire, and had developed a germaphobia.

If we get the negative sort of change, The Tower brings a misunderstanding, the way something that shouldn’t be will be forced. (Klaus getting his powers back, then when he sees how it will be inevitable to fall into old habits again as soon as he gets home and gets into the argument with Claire). But if we get the positive side, we’ll also get strength against the adversity, some optimism. (Which, hey, he managed to escape from the building and then from a goddamn tomb, it showed huge strength of character from someone like Klaus to do that.)

Now! If we look into the future with that reading scene being the starting point — there is even more change. Watch the card, there’s two characters jumping out of the window, away from the fire and darkness of the tower (one’s mind). There’s also some doubt, but it is something inevitable, you have to escape. It represents a freeing or liberation, a crisis, a rupture of some sorts. It can be shown in the other siblings as well, as we saw during the season.

But for Klaus specifically — he got freed from the constant fear, and got his powers back after dying. Again. Which, once again, wasn’t his choice but that is where the chaos starts. Right after that, there comes the fall in his sibling relationship with Allison, and once again the liberation, where Klaus finally stood up for himself. They are in a crisis, because he thinks he will fall into old habits. Because he thinks it’s inevitable as soon as the ghosts appear.

But with change, comes an end. A realization, an escape… In the deleted scenes, we see how Klaus decides to go to A.A. after Allison and Claire help him out of the grave. There’s this loving moment, where they let the fight behind and they go back to being a family. And this also shows strength from Klaus, because after so many years, he is willing to accept the truth. He talks about his struggles with addiction, opens up, shows his development during those sober years, says how he regrets on letting it out on his family (which surely means specifically Ben because he was the one to see Klaus on each fall, and then they never got a chance to have a serious talk because even Ben’s ghost is gone). And finishes up by saying he is an alcoholic, showing that development. Despite everything, he gained psychological strength and decided to accept the help, to deal with his problems and stay sober.

• Which brings us to Card #3 — Ten of Swords.

Klaus is *very* clear when this card comes out. “The card of death.” He says, and then immediately put everything away, scared. And yes, it did show that he would die, to later come back to life — as we saw when he got shot and the siblings didn’t have any other choice but to give him the marigold. But once again, there’s always a deeper level with Tarot.

Well, there’s something about the Swords. They all talk about the mind, thoughts. The path of the swords is to learn through experience.

Klaus Hargreeves has gained plenty of experience in various topics throughout the seasons. Starting off with how much their powers developed over the years, how much they trained on season three. How emotionally developed he had always been. How each experience gave him a new thing to learn. And despite everyone’s thoughts, Klaus does learn. But he just keeps facing shit and sometimes has to hit the same wall to really learn first.

There is a certain insecurity in the swords, a lack of level, that is also shown on the other two cards that Klaus took. But before he learns, he has to hit the same wall, has to face the chaos, has to hit rock bottom.

And that is what this card means exactly, hitting rock bottom. We’ve seen Klaus hitting it a couple of times, but this was the drop that was needed to fill up the glass. When this card appears in a reading, it’s hard to advise the person, why? Because this person has auto-destructive tendencies. Sounds familiar? Klaus has had those tendencies since he was a child. We saw it. It started off with their addiction, then with hitting dangerous places, the constant dying, the way they haven’t really gotten into serious relationships, how he always chose the thing that would explode in his face. So, anything that happens could cut the stability that this person may have gained. Which is why Klaus kept falling into the same patterns over and over throughout his life.

But — with an end, there’s also a new start. With death also comes a reborn, literal death and reborn for Klaus, because of his powers. It shows that the person couldn’t escape their problems anymore, because the thoughts (the swords) they have been trying so hard to ignore, sneaked on them and killed them. (Once again, a bit literal for Klaus). One has to face their problems to come back. There is a need for transformation, like a butterfly, or like the Phoenix that comes back from their ashes.

And honestly, this would’ve been so much more clear if they actually kept the Klaus’ scenes they deleted. Where he embraced the transformation, accepted his problems and searched for a solution. Where he could get a closure, a hint of hope.

Anyway, if you can’t tell, I genuinely love this sweetheart and I think they deserved so, so, so much better than the ending they gave him. It doesn’t take much but be observant on how interesting of a character Klaus Hargreeves is but unfortunately this fell into the wrong hands, because they couldn’t give a character with so much depth a good final. (And all the Hargreeves for all the matter! Justice for my fav siblings). If anyone actually takes the time to read through this, thank you. This was for fun, out of love for the show, love for Klaus and love for tarot all combined. <3

#klaus hargreeves #I love my sweet baby with all my heart #the Hargreeves siblings deserved a better ending than what we saw #it’s bullshit and we all know it #now that we’re here send fix-it fics #justice for the Hargreeves siblings #fuck you st*v* bl*ckman #Klaus Hargreeves character study #tarot cards #tua #the umbrella academy #tua s4 #the umbrella academy season 4 #tua season four #klaus hargreeves season four

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