#stethany my loves

[su8arandspite]

i have this terrible, gnawing feeling that it might not work out for us this time…

good god i cant stop thinking about season 4!sullivan sisters

[su8arandspite]

Babysitting Wars

Summary: Steve and Beth engage in a friendly competition for the title of best babysitter. Or, alternatively, the one where Steve uses a bet to his advantage.

steve harrington x female!oc

warnings and content: not much, fluff, short

A/N: this was something i wrote in 2018 so pls forgive me. but it's my birthday today so i am celebrating with a bit of stethany

word count: 1k

THE kids’ bikes raced in the direction of the arcade before Beth could even get a word in. With a heavy sigh, she set the cookie dough she’d been mixing down on the counter. Arms crossed over her chest, she whipped around to glare at the other teenager. 

“Steve!”

Steve shuddered under the intensity of her gaze, a sheepish grin working its way across his lips. This side of her, usually reserved for when one of the kids stepped out of line, shocked him. While just last week he’d sniggered at the sight of her chewing out Mike Wheeler for an off-handedly sexist comment, Steve found no humor in the look on her face when directed at him.

“What’re you doing?” she scolded. “You heard what Joyce said; they’re meant to stay here.”

“It’s just for an hour,” he offered.

When her expression remained unchanged, he lifted his palms in surrender.

“I’m a damn good babysitter!”

“You don’t know the first thing about babysitting,” she said, brows cocked. “I bet you probably let them watch whatever movie they want because you believed them when they told you that their ‘mom said it was okay.’” 

A giggled died in her throat at the guilty smile on his lips. 

“Oh, my god!” 

“Tell you what—why don’t we let those little shits—"

“Kids, Steve. They’re kids.”

“Yeah, Okay. Fine. Let the kids decide who’s the better babysitter.”

“Like a competition?”

“Yeah. If I win, you’re spending the entire weekend with me. No questions asked.”

“And if I win?”

“I’ll take you to see that Michael J. Fox movie for the 20th time, and I promise I won’t even tease you for drooling.”

“All right,” she smirked. “I’ll take that bet. Game on, Harrington.”

Beth’s competitive streak brought out a side of her Steve didn’t even know existed. While he figured she brought home all those cheerleading trophies for her team using more than that sweet smile of hers, he had no clue what he was really up against.

In a competition with no rules, Beth chose to get creative. 

As she leaned in closer, reminiscent of the day that had officially marked the start of their friendship, the pad of her thumb wiped at his cheek, erasing an imaginary stain. 

He gaped down at her, using whatever self-restraint he had left to keep from pulling her flush to him. Steve seemed to have trouble thinking of anything other than what her lips might taste like lately.

“Something a matter, Harrington?”

Feigning innocence, she chewed on her lower lip. Steve’s cheeks flushed a scarlet color, suddenly worried she could hear his thoughts.

“I-I, uh,” he cleared his throat. “Beth?”

“Hm?”

“Can I kiss y—“

“Steve,” a voice chastised from the hallway. “C’mon, man! That’s, like, the universal first rule of babysitting. ‘No boys,’ duh—"

“You mean girls, Dustin. I like girls”

“If you say so… Not my fault you’re the only male babysitter in existence. Beth-1, Steve-0.”

“Better luck next time, then?”

He didn’t need to catch the look on her face to see her triumph smirk as she slipped past him and into the living room.

After that, Steve decided to up his ante. He got his first point by convincing one of the girls on the cheer team to call Beth with some made-up conflict, knowing she would stay on the phone until she had it in her mind that everything was fine with who he’d heard her refer to in the past as ‘her girls.’

Ordinarily, her maternal approach to most things warmed his heart. He often thought she might make the perfect mother—a thought he kept to himself, of course. But he really, really wanted to use this as an excuse to take her out on a real date and he didn’t think he could win against her if he played it fair.

Dustin’s face lit up like Christmas morning at the news of their bet and even more so at the stakes. In hindsight, they should’ve known better than to assume any of those kids would play fairly. While Dustin promised Steve not to meddle in his relationship with Beth anymore, this game was the perfect loophole.

He freely tossed points around for made-up rules. 

Dustin wasn’t entirely sure how many of those points Steve deserved, but he knew Beth. He knew otherwise she would win, and they’d stay in the limbo between friends and lovers. Dustin thought he had it figured out- until the end of the week left them with an even score of 5 to 5, thanks to Will.

While Steve hadn’t been able to stand the sight of the pool in his backyard for the past year, he felt right at home with Beth by his side. Just her feet dangled in the water, which the heater could bring only to a lukewarm temperature in the December weather. 

“So,” she said. “Do we have to do both things now?”

Steve chuckled lightly.

“Maybe. But mine was better.”

“Yeah,” she rolled her eyes, stifling laughter. “If you say so.”

He held his hands up to his right ear in a mock-telephone, smirking:

“Hello, 911? I’d like to report a loser.”

“Steve, what are you even talking about? It was a tie!”

“Nah,” he pulled her closer. “Not really, ‘cuz I still won the girl.”

With one playful shove to the shoulder, she sent him splashing into the pool. Steve smiled through the salty taste of chlorine and dragged her by the ankle down after him.

As she resurfaced, Beth pushed her sopping hair from her eyes with a chuckle.

“For the record, Steve,” she said. “You could just ask me on a date next time.”

“There’s gonna be a next time?”

“Not if you aren’t careful, Harrington.”

Steve imagined he looked ridiculous standing in the shallow end of his pool, fully clothed and stuttering over his words. Beth couldn’t help but think she could get used to the sight.

[su8arandspite]

on today’s oc brain rot:

Hawkins High Prom, 1985!

prom night 1985

- someday, I’ll make this an actual blurb, but that day is not today so instead here’s the next best thing

- by the time prom season rolls around, steve is no less in love with beth and growing both more smitten and in denial by the day

- so, naturally, he suggests to her that they should go as friends!! bc they’re best friends!! (upon hearing this, I’d like to note that the force of tiffany and amy’s collective eye roll could be felt all the way in Ohio)

- there’s no one else either of them can even fathom spending the night with anyways

- so, when steve shows up on her doorstep, corsage in hand, he is buzzing with anticipation

- but whatever small talk debbie and rich were trying to make with him falls upon deaf ears the second beth turns the corner and begins the descent down the stairs

- on their way to spy from the living room, katy and dustin remind steve to close his mouth before he starts drooling

- and he can’t even quip back at them bc she’s breathtaking and it’s so unfair

- the dress she has on is perfectly tailored and it looks like it was made just for her; the pouf, the off-shoulder look neckline, the pink, the taffeta, even her satin minnie mouse pumps

- and it’s nice to take a night to just be normal teenagers after all the shit life’s thrown at them

- dancing like idiots

- slow dancing to a pop song bc he just really wants to be close to her

- aNd STEVE oh my god..,.

- when beth wins prom queen he’s just all 🥹😍 and proud boyfriend best friend bc she deserves it more than anyone else

- but no one’s really more surprised than steve when he wins king

- bc honestly he thought it’d be some asshole like billy hargove

- smitten, giggly beans slow dancing as king and queen

- to beth’s favorite song, cuz of fucking course steve is that kind of a cheeseball and he’d 100% request it

- and i think that was the moment (slow dancing, with half the school watching them, and beth clinging to him) that steve swore to himself that they were going to be exact like this for their first dance- as husband and wife, not prom king and queen

- but his favorite part of the whole night?

- the end, when beth has gone home and she’s half-asleep, wearing one of his t-shirts that’s way too big on her

- and he’s sneaking into the bed next to her

- and both of them just wanting to spend forever with the other next to them

- and if they made out more than friends probably should that night? it’s none of my business

[su8arandspite]

Masterlist: Beth & Steve edition

in chronological order of writing:

key: ✧-contains smut, 18+ only mdni

falling for you

the one where steve makes a big splash at carol's lake party in an attempt to defend beth's honor

babysitter wars

the one where steve uses a bet to his advantage

cheerleader

the one where steve feels unloved by his parents, but his girlfriend is always there to cheer him up

kings and queens

the one where beth puts billy back in his place after he tries to weasel his way into her relationship

back to risky business

the one where steve's plans for halloween sound a little too familiar for bethany's liking

feels like forever (18+) ✧

the one where steve has a very important question to ask beth

[su8arandspite]

this song has STETHANY written all over it

[su8arandspite]

this is something i made years ago and updated but good god i love it so much

but you’ll find the real thing instead. she’ll patch up your tapestries that i shred and hold your hand while dancing, never leave you standing crestfallen on the landing with champagne problems. / your mom's ring in your pocket, her picture in your wallet. you won't remember all my champagne problems

[su8arandspite]

oc lore dump continues: beth edition ft. steve harrington

today, we are talking about beth’s bedroom:

this is the teen dream bedroom, complete with her own pastel pink princess phone line bc duh

i’m thinking lots of purples, whites, even reds. I’m thinking cindy mancini’s room from cant buy me love (see above), but with andie’s bay window from pretty in pink, and a four poster bed a la chris in adventures in babysitting

its 1985 and beth has this poster up in her bedroom—right between one’s of johnny depp, steve perry, and like 20 of michael j fox, mind you—and it caused a fight between her and steve. as seen in s1 especially, steve's insecurities often play out in the form of jealousy and rash conclusions that interfere with his relationships. so, after overhearing two girls comparing billy hargrove to the guy from st. elmo's fire, he never wanted to see that stupid thing again.

but one thing about beth is she's not gonna let him feed into that side of himself because it's only a poster of freaking rob lowe, not a polaroid of billy hargrove some guy she met at the hawk. and it's because she understands the real reason he doesn't like it ("hey beth? who's that" ' rob... you mean rob lowe?” “does that earring look familiar?" etc) that she ends up taking it down, folding it in half, and stuffing it into her whiny boyfriend's fist. she'd never admit it, but beth thought it was kinda cute that steve was jealous. besides, she'd always been more into back to the future than the outsiders, anyways

bonus headcanon: it is soon replaced by polaroids and photo booth strips of her and steve

bc steve harrington?? OH BOY i just know he loves the fuck outta a photo booth and he will blow a concerning amount of cash on it because he can’t stop making out with beth long enough to get the normal picture he wants. that’s just what he says, anyways

[su8arandspite]

Top 5 ships of anything ever

This question utterly stumped me at first. Idk if I’m just too fic-focused lately or if my love for horror has given me too few couples to root for in my recent reads. (I am not going to indulge myself and include any oc ships here but stethany always has my heart)

But I think I’m going to have to go with my gut here (by which I mean just the first 5 that come to mind). So, in no particular order, here’s my final answer:

1. Everlark [ Peeta Mellark & Katniss Everdeen ]: The Hunger Games trilogy

maybe it’s just that peeta is the ultimate lover boy or i just love how much they grow together and their happy ending but (really moreso in the books) they are so special to me

2. Winnie Foster and Jesse Tuck: Tuck Everlasting

this book/movie always makes me bawl like a baby and ugh just the love or immortality thing is so intriguing to me

3. Kat Stratford & Patrick Verona: 10 Things I Hate About You

i'm not usually an enemies to lovers fan but they are the exception. increasingly so as i (slowly) write this au, i appreciate that they have their own love story that we don’t see in Taming of the Shrew. it’s a rom-com, after all; not the social commentary of Shakespeare. And giving kat the real choice to be with patrick (and yk making him less of an ass than petruccio) is key to this but that’s another post entirely

4. Lumax [ Lucas Sinclair and Max Mayfield ]: Stranger Things

They are the only canon st ship i care about (bar jopper) and my god im rooting for them. i have no hope but pls god give them their movie night

5. Mondler [ Monica Geller and Chandler Bing ]: F•R•I•E•N•D•S

i love love love (best) friends to lovers and the siblings’ best friend thing? yes pls. i still cry every time i watch that proposal scene. (it even makes a cameo here ) 💛