#steve ���the stray’ harringon

[hawkinsbnbg]

“Can we keep him, Uncle Wayne?”

Wayne didn’t look up from his newspaper, too used to his nephew picking up strays and bringing them home. God blessed the boy’s big young heart, but their trailer didn’t have space for another kitty or pup.

“I told ya before and I told ya it now,” Wayne said gruffly but not unkindly. “We don’t have space for your pet, son.”

“He’s not–”

“Eds, I’ll be fine on my own,” a quiet voice cut in before Eddie could start his usual speech.

That garnered Wayne’s attention immediately. And there standing next to his nephew was Steve Harrington who looked worse for wear—red puffy eyes, split lips, disheveled hair, and rumpled clothes.

“What happened?” Wayne set his newspaper aside and straightened up in his chair. He had a few good guesses already given what he knew of Richard and Amanda, but he still wanted to hear their side of the story first.

“His parents kicked him out,” Eddie hissed, hand clutching Steve’s fiercely in case the other boy tried to get away. He didn’t, just deflated as soon as the words were out of Eddie’s mouth.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Steve mumbled, eyes shining stubbornly as they locked with Wayne’s. “I just need a place to stay until tomorrow and then I’ll be out of your hair soon.”

“Stevie,” Eddie turned to him with an exasperated look. “You can’t believe that I’d let you leave after everything, right?”

“I know you want to help,” Steve rubbed a hand down his face tiredly, like he needed to hide a part of himself, vulnerable and slightly worn-out. “But I don’t wanna intrude.”

“You won’t,” Eddie shook his head rapidly and then looked at Wayne. “Right, Wayne? He’s not bothering you or anything, right?”

Wayne took in the sight of the Harrington boy, scared and lost, and knew his decision had been made for him. It wasn’t his first time taking in a stray anyway.

“Just call me Wayne or Uncle Wayne, kid,” he offered Steve a closed-mouthed smile, his most amiable one. “We don’t have much here, but feel free to ask me anything you need.”

When Steve ducked his head with a shy smile and sniffled a small Thank you, Wayne didn’t regret his choice.

It didn’t hurt that his nephew also beamed at him like Wayne had just saved the world.

And in a sense, to Eddie, it was true.

Because Wayne could see how much the Harrington boy meant to him, see the way they looked at each other without admitting it aloud.

Perhaps, Wayne picked up his newspaper again as Eddie offered the Munson’s new member a mug of warm milk, he was going to have another son soon enough.

[sssatorus]

i couldn’t stop thinking about eddie dating steve harringon’s lil sister and i had to write it. she’s a nerd and tutoring him and eddie is smitten. here’s a snippet of my wip lol

Reaching for the volume dial, he turned the music down just enough to speak.

“Holy shit, Harrington. Are you actually cool?” Slack jawed and wide eyed, he watched her scoff, pulling into a parking spot and turning off the car. She moved her sunglasses up onto her head, pushing back her curly brown hair. Turning to face him, she balanced her elbow on the center console, leaning in. Her sharp gaze made him uncomfortable, “Yeah, I’ve been cool this whole time. You would’ve known if you actually showed up for the project last year.”

He swallowed, but before he could speak, she was laughing and getting out of the car. He hurried behind her, wracking his brain for what the hell she was talking about. “Hold on, wait!” He shouted after her. She opened the door to the gas station, pausing with a lifted eyebrow, waiting for him with what seemed to be a joking impatience. “What are you talking about?”

“You don’t remember.” She hummed, making a beeline to the slurpee machine. He followed right behind her, following in grabbing a slurpee cup. After successfully filling her cup to the brim with cherry sweet goodness, she moved to place the dome lid on her drink and continued filling the cup. He watched her movements intently.

She turned to him, her finger scooping up the dollop of stray slurpee dripping from the top of the lid. He watched her bring her finger to her mouth to suck the sweetness off with an exaggerated popping sound. Eddy felt his stomach flip. Was Little Harrington actually cool and kind of hot? There was no way.

“Last year,” she started, “we were assigned to be partners for Mrs. O’Hara’s class. I told you when to meet and you never showed.”

She laughed at his perplexed expression, eyebrows knitted together as he tried his hardest to remember the incident in question. It must’ve been a day he was way too high to remember - a common occurrence. Must also be why he failed the class, he thought. She moved towards the candy aisle, giving his shoulder a pat as she walked past him.

“It’s okay, though. I still got an A.” She called over her shoulder. He followed her once again, empty slurpee cup in hand. “But, it’s your loss, really. Cuz you could’ve known I was cool this whole time.” She feigned disappointment, but the smile on her face gave her away, eyes trailing down at the large assortment of sweets the Hawkins Grab’n’Go Gas Station had to offer.

“Alright, I’m an asshole, I know! Can I make it up to you with some, uhhhh-“ He scanned the rows of candy and snatched a bag to hold out to her, “some Twizzlers?”

She faced him once again, eyes narrowing, and he felt small under her scrutinising gaze. Finally, she softened, smirking up at him. “Add some sour straws and we’re even.”

“You’re my kind of woman!” He beamed down at her, snatching two bags of sour straws for good measure. “Oh shit, I never got my slurpee. I’ll meet you at the register!” He called out, running back to the slurpee machine way too obnoxiously for gas station standards. Her laugh followed him, and he smirked knowing he was the cause of such a noise.

Once back in the car and happily sipping their slurpees, she asked, “Now that you’ve got your snacks, can we actually study now?”

Eddie let out an exasperated sigh, reaching for the seat lever to recline the passenger chair back dramatically with a groan. “You’re such a killjoy!”