#steve harrington being a mom

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

A/N: I had to write this. I needed Nancy and Steve being parental as well as Steve being bitchy. Everyone's relationship is up in the air except for Robin and Joyce's. Joyce is clearly with Hopper. Robin is always with Vickie because people hate on Vickie for no reason. Anyways, love to all, no matter what you like. Unless you like Billy, then I'm judging you harshly.

Steve was already annoyed because his date backed out at the last minute, but now he was even more annoyed when he found out from Robin that they wouldn't be at Lucas's game. Just for one night, Lucas wasn't asking them to abandon the game completely but to take one night off. Don't they understand that this is what Lucas was afraid of? Not being able to be a jock and to be able to still be a nerd? Of losing his friends? One night wasn't an unreasonable thing to ask for. Sometimes, being a good friend means supporting them when they need it even if you don't like it or understand it, not all the time but sometimes. How do they expect Lucas to compromise for them when they need it if they never do it for him?

Steve was too in his own head to notice that someone else was striding towards the drama room. He arrived at the doors at the same time as Nancy. Their hands reached for the door handle. They stared at each other, and for a moment, Steve had forgotten what he was doing. Nancy looked so beautiful when she wasn't angry at him. Oh, she was angry. Was she angry at the same thing he was? Oh, right, Mike, Dustin, and Erica.

"You mad at the kids for abandoning and replacing Lucas, too?" Steve asked.

"Yes!" Nancy exclaimed.

"Well, let's do this together then, shall we?" Steve asked.

They opened the doors, causing them to bang loudly against the walls. Nancy and Steve stormed in, their hands on their hips.

"Hey, assholes!" Steve and Nancy exclaimed in unison.

They paused and looked at each other in surprise for a moment before turning back to them.

"Oh my God! They're together and they're both pissed!" Dustin shrieked.

"You're damn right we're pissed!" Steve yelled.

"Lucas asked for one night for you guys to be there to support him, and you couldn't give him that?" Nancy asked.

"It's not our fault Lucas went to the dark side!" Mike exclaimed.

"The dark side? So, all people who play basketball are Darth Vader?" Steve asked.

"You know Darth Vader?" Dustin asked.

"Of course, I do! I can be a little nerdy sometimes!" Steve exclaimed.

"He reads comic books, too!" Nancy yelled.

"What? Why didn't you say?!" Dustin asked.

"Whenever I try to join in on your conversations, you brush me off and scoff!" Steve yelled, and then his eyes went soft, as well as his voice. "Do you guys just think of me as a dumb jock who gives you free rides?"

"Nice mom guilt," Nancy whispered to him.

"Thanks," Steve whispered back.

"I mean, really, everything that Steve’s done for you. . .for Lucas, especially in Starcourt. He saved Dustin and Erica's life!" Nancy exclaimed. "And do you just think that all people who enjoy basketball are assholes?!"

"Nice dad guilt," Steve whispered.

"Thanks," Nancy whispered back.

"Hey, Mike, didn't you promise Will that you wouldn't join another party?" Steve asked, snapping his fingers at him.

"That's right, I mean, if D&D means so much to you, then why are you sitting here in another party?" Nancy asked.

Mike opened his mouth and closed it again, unable to find the answer. Dustin looked incredibly guilty. Good, Steve thought. Eddie scowled and stood up.

"Who gives a fuck about some stupid laundry basket game?" Eddie asked. "This is when we play. It's not our fault that Sinclair chose the wrong game."

"Lucas gives a fuck about that laundry basket game!" Steve snapped. "He wasn't asking for you to give up the game completely, he was asking for one fucking night so he that he wouldn't feel like a freak for enjoying both games! He wanted his friends to accept him for that and for someone who stood up on a fucking table to preach against forced conformity - yeah, Robin told me about that - here you are trying to force Lucas and his friends to only comform to D&D!"

Steve was pleased to see that Eddie looked like he had been slapped in the face.

"That's not - I mean - ," Eddie stuttered.

"Yeah, Robin was pretty much agreeing with you until you went after science and band," Steve said. "I mean, are you telling me that all of you have the same exact interests? Do you all like the same food? Do you all like the same music?"

"The problem isn't basketball. The problem is that every group has their assholes but they also have their good people, too," Nancy said, looking at Steve.

"And sometimes people can crossover into other groups," Steve said. "It happens."

"We didn't think Lucas actually enjoyed basketball," Dustin said.

"Yeah, he told us he wanted to stop being bullied," Mike said.

"Hm, and which group was he talking about?" Steve asked.

"What happens when one of your players gets sick?" Nancy asked.

"Well, yeah, we postpone then because it's a good excuse," Gareth said.

"A championship is a good excuse," Nancy replied. "But it's nice to know that you guys aren't completely heartless."

"Heartless?! We're not the ones beating the shit out of people because of what they like!" Eddie snapped.

"No, you're just letting them know that they're replaceable if they decide they need to explore other options," Steve said, and then he scoffed. "Can't believe I ever had a crush on you."

Eddie's eyes widened as the whole table gasped dramatically.

"You're fucking with me," Eddie said.

"No, I'm not," Steve said. "I like men and women. I know that liking more than one thing is a hard concept for you to grasp."

"That's not, I mean, you can like whatever you want, but liking basketball and D&D is different than that," Eddie frowned.

"I don't see how," Nancy said, shaking her head. "Do you guys play every day of the week?"

"Well, no," Eddie said.

"Well, if you don't play every day of the week, then it's not going to be the end of the world if you wait just one more day?!" Nancy asked.

"Okay, enough of this. I don't care if you guys come or not, but Dustin, Erica, and Mike, you guys are coming to the game to support your friend," Steve said clapping his hands.

"But - " Mike started to say.

"You heard your mother! I mean, your Steve! You heard Steve!" Nancy exclaimed, shaking her head again.

Mike and Dustin ducked their heads as they gathered their things. Erica held her head up high as she did the same thing.

"I didn't do anything wrong, they tricked me!" Erica exclaimed.

"Erica!" Nancy scolded.

As they were leaving with the kids, Steve overheard one of them - Frankie? - speak up.

"I wasn't ever going to say anything, but I, uh, kind of like watching basketball," Frankie said.

"Fine, fine! We'll go to the goddamn game," Eddie said.

It didn't take long for them to catch up with the group.

"Decided to join us assholes, huh?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, look, you were right, and Nancy was right. . .it's not going to be the end of the world if we wait one more day," Eddie said. "And of course, I know that Sinclair isn't going to turn out like those assholes especially if he has the support of his friends."

"Yeah, well, I'm not the one you need to apologize to," Steve said.

"Yeah, that's true. . . So, you have a crush on me?" Eddie asked.

"Had. As in past tense," Steve replied.

"Yeah, I suppose I deserve that," Eddie said. "I am curious to know if you are seeing anyone, though."

"I just tore you a new one," Steve said, looking at him in confusion.

"I know," Eddie grinned.

"Well, I'm kind of seeing someone," Steve said.

"Kind of?"

"It's on and off."

"Is he being intentionally vague?" Eddie asked Nancy.

"I can't say," she grinned.

"By the way, was I little too bitchy in there?" Steve asked Nancy.

"No, you were perfect. I know someone else who would have loved it like a certain someone did," Nancy said.

"Okay, you two aren't bad assholes, just annoyingly vague assholes," Eddie said, and they both giggled. "This is going to be a long game."

The game wasn't so bad as Eddie had thought it was going to be, especially when Chrissy jumped up and waved excitedly at the sight of him. He eventually got caught up with it when Lucas was sent in to play. He was glad he did come when he saw the pure joy on the young man's face when he saw almost everyone he cared about was there to cheer him on. When Lucas scored the winning shot, Eddie hugged Nancy and Steve both tightly. He needed to be reminded every once in a while that it's not just about him and what he likes. He started Hellfire to give lost sheep like Lucas a place to belong, and he almost ruined that because of a few bad eggs who happened to like basketball. Besides, people needed to know that just because you have different interests doesn't mean you have to be enemies.

"Thank you for making me come," Eddie told them. "I would have regretted it."

A week or so later. . .

"So, Nance, what were you saying about it not being the end of the world if I postponed the game for a day?" Eddie asked with a cheeky grin as he laid in his hospital bed.

"We stopped it before it could happen," Nancy rolled her eyes. "Do you regret going to Lucas's basketball game?"

Eddie grinned as he thought about the pure joy on Lucas's face.

"Nah!"

"Well, no one stayed dead, so there's that!" Chrissy grinned.

"Well, Hopper's still dead," Steve said.

"Oh, yeah," Chrissy frowned.

Suddenly, there came a knocking at Eddie's hospital room door. Robin got up to answer it.

"Steve, you were wrong. Hopper is very much alive!" Robin exclaimed. "Holy shit!"

Robin let Hopper and Joyce into the room. Moments later, Vickie skidded in behind them.

"Hey, guys, did you hear? Someone said they saw Chief Hopper wandering the hospital!" Vickie said and glanced at Hopper for a moment. "Hiya, Chief! Isn't that crazy, Robin? He's supposed to be dead, right?!"

"It takes her a moment," Robin said. "She gets there eventually."

"Oh my God! . . . Eddie, is that your mom?"

[morganbritton132]

I’m thinking about Steve’s mom in the context of this AU I’m (apparently) creating where Steve is the affair baby that broke up his much older half-siblings’ family.

Put yourself in the shoes that his mother would’ve been in. You’re nineteen. You have no education and you’re working your first real job. You start an affair with your boss - who is the father of the friend that got you the job - because you’re young and you think you’re in love, and you don’t think of the consequences.

Suddenly, you’re pregnant and he’s leaving his wife for you, and you still think you’re in love so you follow his lead. You’re nasty to his first wife because he is and you’re insecure because she nothing but nice to you. Her children hate you but Richard says that they’ll get over it so you believe him. They never do.

Then you’re married and you have access to more money than you’ve ever had in your life, and you’re in love. And you’re a mother. He sleeps through your delivery but everything is okay when you hold your little boy.

You know that things have changed now. That you’ll do everything in your power to make sure this little boy makes it in the big scary world. You promise yourself that you’ll do anything for him.

The baby cries, and you cry, and you thought things would be different and that you’d know what to do, but you really don’t. You don’t feel a connection with your baby beyond wanting to protect him, and you hate this. You hate being a mother. You hate this constant failing.

Richard is never home. He still works long hours but you’re no longer at the office with him. He seems completely disinterested in being a father and less interested in you playing mother, and you’re not stupid.

You know he left his wife for a younger, more attractive woman. You know he fell in love with you because you’re passionate, you’re fun, and you haven’t been that in a while.

You stood smug and happy by his side while he tried to take everything in the divorce, and you know his first wife has more money and influence than you. You know she has lawyers and you don’t. You don’t know what happens to you if he wants a newer model. You don’t know what happens to your son but you think he’ll try to take him from you.

Richard doesn’t want to be married to a mother, so you stop being one. You have to for the marriage to survive and it feels like guilt to be relieved by that. You’re not his secretary anymore, but his assistant. You travel with him and you join the right committees. You join the walking club and you shed the last of the baby weight, and he loves more than he ever has.

And you’re happy but you’re not in love.

It was too easy to pass motherhood onto Richard’s daughter, onto the nanny. It was easy to sidestep into the role of ‘friend,’ so you befriend your son.

Not a close friend. Not in any way that would make Richard feel like he wasn’t your world, but you’re there. You know the drama currently happening on the basketball team but not that your baby is failing English. You go on spa dates and make a whole day out of getting your hair cut together, but you don’t discipline him. Richard does that.

Then one day, you come home from the Poconos and your son has bruises on his face and bandages on his fingers, and a haunted vacant look in his eyes. He job was a pile of burning rubble when you drove into town. You asks what happened and if he’s alright, and he’s gives you the same smile you’ve been wearing for years, “Everything’s great, ma.”

[harringroveera]

A bit late for that now Dustin

[queenie-ofthe-void]

The Babysitter Chronicles - Byers

Steve POV 5+1 (immediately follows s2) || wc: 3.9k || cws: check tags || full fic ao3

Henderson || Mayfield pt 1 / Mayfield pt 2 || Sinclair || Wheeler || Byers || +1 Hopper

Can be read as a standalone

~~~

Steve’s filled with dread, standing in front of the Byers’ front door at 6:30am on a Saturday morning. Out of all the kids’ parents, he’s pushed Joyce off as long as he could manage. But he’d promised Mike he’d try, and according to Jonathan, this is the best time to catch her.

That doesn’t change the fact it’s not even light out, and a boy she probably hates is about to knock on her door. Hell of a way to start the day.

He knocks anyway.

Joyce opens the door in a soft grey t-shirt and baggy black sweats. Her hair is brushed through, mascara coats her long lashes, and the smell of fresh coffee wafts through the open door. At least he can find small consolation in the fact she’s been up for a while.

“Hi Joyce, I mean Ms. Byers,” he stumbles, off to a great start. “Sorry to catch you so early but–” 

“No,” Joyce interrupts, voice firm. 

Steve stands there, mouth hanging open around an unfinished sentence. He watches as her eyes harden. She squares her shoulders and stands straight-backed and tall, only reaching about Steve’s shoulder. Joyce Byers in all her fury still makes him feel small, like maybe this was a bad idea.

“I’m sorry, Steve,” Joyce says. “But I know why you’re here. And the answer is no.”

“Oh,” he responds lamely, deflating even further. 

Her voice is soft, but she’s unyielding. “The kids like you, and I know their parents are ok with you watching them. Which is fine, for their kids.”

She pauses, and Steve knows what’s coming. Mentally prepared himself for the worst-case scenario. All of Dustin’s logical arguments and Lucas’ hype talks couldn’t prepare him for how thoroughly Joyce flays him open.

“But, Steve, I would never trust you with my kids.”

Even though he's desperate to run, he plants himself like a tree on her front stoop. He's trying not to be that guy. The kids deserve the best version of him, and on some level, he knows cutting out the bad parts of himself includes letting Joyce Byers drag him through the mud.

He tries to hold her gaze, really he does. Her dark eyes are filled with conviction, but he can see the gentleness to them as well. Almost sad, like he’s making her do this to him. 

Joyce grips the door, knuckles white with tension. She takes a step out onto the front stoop, forcing Steve to take a measured step back. The door stays cracked and the smell of burning toast reaches his nose. Nausea rises in his throat.

“They shouldn’t have even been in those tunnels in the first place,” she says, voice growing louder as she gains momentum. “We asked you to watch them, we trusted you with them, and they still almost got killed! And I know, I know, you helped Jonathan and Nancy last year– saved them from that, that thing crawling out of our walls.”

Her eyes flicker over her shoulder, like the demogorgon’s still haunting her house. He follows her gaze, like Billy could still be standing in her living room with a blood-stained, toothy smile.

She sighs, exasperated. At her wits end for being pushed into a conversation she’s probably been dreading for weeks, since it seems she knew what he wanted. “But you’d be with my baby, my Will, everyday. He’s had bullies since kindergarten, and it’s only gotten worse since everything.

“He doesn’t deserve more bullies. And from what I’ve heard, you’re no different. Just like your father.”

Steve flinches– can’t help himself– the sentence ringing through his head.

Just like your father.

“No, no I’m not, I swear,” he chokes on the words as she steam rolls his pathetic lamentations.

“You’ve pushed my boys– and kids just like them– around your whole life, making them feel small for having less money, less friends, less stuff. Every time Jonathan came home with a new bruise or bloodied knees, how do I know that wasn’t you?”

Steve’s watering eyes are fixated on the small, furious woman before him, flushed with a rage familiar to any decent mother protecting her kids. He’s trying so hard to hear her, but his head is filled with static and his mouth feels stuffed with cotton. Steve wipes his hands down the front of his pants, then shoves them in his pockets.

“You called my boy queer! Something I’m sure you heard from your father. I saved for months to get him that camera for his birthday and you just smashed it, like it was nothing. Like we’re nothing.”

Neither of them notice the pair of shadows moving beyond the door frame in the living room. 

“I cannot allow someone like you around my boys,” she hammers home. This is what Nance meant by a thesis statement he thinks deliriously. “Sue and Karen might be alright with it, but my answer is no.”

Steve sniffles and nods stiffly as turns to leave, hoping to at least make it to his car before the tears start. He knows he deserves what she’s said, knows the truth of it in his gut, but he’s stood here long enough. Now it’s time to run and hide, like his mind’s been screaming to since she set her sights on him.

“Mom,” Jonathan says, out of breath like he ran here from his bedroom. He’s appeared over Ms. Byers’ shoulder like a ghost, or a ninja– silent and on the attack. “What’s going on?”

He’s a sleep-rumpled version of his mom, wearing a plain, soft t-shirt, and grey sweatpants scattered with light bleach stains. Steve notices he still has pillow creases on his left cheek. His gaze follows the red indent down to Jonathan’s jawline where a small, purpling bruise is haloed by faded red lipstick.

All of the air in Steve’s lungs is punched out of him, hard and fast. A feeling he should be used to from Jonathan Byers. 

Steve thinks he sees a flash of pastels in his periphery, dashing through the trees to the road. Or maybe it’s his imagination. It doesn’t matter, because he can’t look away from the uncomfortably familiar mark on Jonathan’s neck.

Jonathan must notice. His hand flies up to his neck, wiping the mark and finding a smear of red on his fingers. The spell holding Steve breaks, and he can breathe again. 

Their eyes meet, and Jonathan’s cheeks now match the stain on his fingers. It’s awkward and Steve doesn’t know how to fix it or how to make this easier. Because Steve never knows how to fix things, only how to break them. Something Joyce seems well aware of.

Distracted, Steve’s just now noticing the small shadow creeping up behind Jonathan. He sees the young boy poke his head out from behind his brother’s back as he takes a small step towards the commotion.

“Steve was just leaving, sweetie,” Joyce answers, voice soft and sweet as she turns away from him to go back inside.

“Wait, no that’s not what I meant,” Jonathan continues. He shakes his head and roughly pushes his unruly bangs from his eyes. “Steve, why are you here?”

Jonathan’s looking at him like he knows the answer. And he should really, considering the only reason Mike agreed to have Steve as his babysitter was because Jonathan promised he’d talk to Will about it, and then they’d talk to Joyce. 

A long train of telephone Steve was relying on to get a head start at Joyce’s good will. Which, apparently, never happened.

Steve plays along into Jonathan’s prompting. She’s already said no, so what’s one more try with a little back-up.

“I was asking if I could babysit Will, since I watch the rest of the gang too. Can’t leave any party members behind,” Steve says, parroting Dustin.

“And I was just telling him–” Joyce starts, before she’s interrupted.

“I think Steve would be a great babysitter,” Will says. His hair’s a mess, and he’s straightening out his matching Star Wars pajama set as he steps further into view.

Joyce rushes over to him, squatting down to meet his eyes. “Will, honey, you don’t need a new babysitter. You can still spend time with your friends at their houses, when their parents are home.” Jonathan takes the distraction to wave Steve into the house, silently closing the door behind them.

“But the other parents don’t know about– you know,” Will hesitates, before mustering up the courage to say “about what actually happened to me.”

“Baby,” she says, gently running her hands up and down his small arms. “You know we can’t tell them. We went over this.”

“It’s not about them knowing the truth,” Will says. Steve watches as the boy tries to make himself bigger, taller, even with the slight shake in his voice. “They just look at me like I’m broken. They’re sad when I’m around and they just think I was kidnapped or lost or– whatever the story is. That I was sick or something.”

Steve can’t help but imagine Will Byers, always the shy, quiet kid in the Party, having to constantly withstand the severely misguided pitying glances from adults who aren’t read-in on vast government conspiracies and alternate dimensions. Steve’s almost nineteen and can barely manage alone.

Her brows are knitted tight and her lips downturned the more Will confesses. “Well, Jonathan can–”

“I don’t want Jonathan to watch me anymore.”

Joyce’s eyes widen, confusion painted across her face as her mouth drops open. Steve turns to glance at Jonathan to find that, unlike his mother, he’s not surprised at all. In fact, there’s a light shining in his eyes and a small uptick to the corner of his mouth.

The tension is thick but familial, leaving Steve unwelcome and gawking at a private conversation. Which he supposes he is: both unwelcome and gawking.

“Go on, Will, it’s ok,” Jonathan encourages. He shines with a proud smile, like he’s watching his little brother walk for the first time. 

Will’s hesitant, his eyes downcast as he shuffles side-to-side. Waiting for him to continue, Joyce stays quiet. Steve can’t help but feel envious of Will and Jonathan at having a mom patient enough to hear her son outright, even when she doesn’t agree with him. She saved him from an alternate dimension, but sometimes the little things are just as important.

“When Jonathan dropped me off at Steve’s for DnD last week, it was fine… at first.”

“You both told me that was at Mike’s,” Joyce interrupts, turning a motherly glare at Jonathan who sheepishly avoids eye contact. She rounds on Steve again, closing the distance between them in three long strides to get in his face. “This is exactly what I’m talking about, Steve. What if something had happened and I didn’t know where to find him because of you?”

“Mom,” Jonathan interrupts, irritated. “That’s not fair. We are the ones who said it was at Mike’s– Will and I. I knew you wouldn’t let him go if you knew it was at Harrington’s place, so I told Will to lie.”

“You’re damn right I wouldn’t have let him go,” Joyce argues, turning back to Jonathan. “He’s not safe there! I know Steve Harrington and I know his parents. What if they had been home?”

“They haven’t been home in weeks,” Steve mumbles. He doesn’t mean to say it out loud, catching himself off guard. Years of practicing the lie, and he slips in front of the last three people on earth he’d want to know about his home life. He’d never complain, not to them. 

She shoots him a confused glance, an emotion behind her eyes Steve refuses to consider. But it seems she’s the only one whose noticed he said anything at all as Jonathan speaks up again. Shaking her head, she shifts her attention back to her son. In the midst of the chaos, Steve breathes a small sigh of relief.

“Mom, it was fine– everything was fine. Just–” Jonathan stops. He gestures to Will to keep going.

Will puffs his chest up, holding his mom’s gaze as he barrels on. “I liked having it at Steve’s. It smells nice, like candles, not like farts and laundry detergent like Mike’s basement. He had all the snacks we like, and he’s got a huge table that can fit all our stuff.”

The kid’s smiling now, and goddamn if it doesn’t melt his heart. Steve’ll be disappointed if Joyce says no, but at least he knows for a fact Will felt comfortable around Steve and liked being at his house.

“But after Jonathan picked me up, Lucas said they stayed up and watched movies all night. That Steve even made an ice cream sundae bar and there were a million toppings.” Will’s arguing is starting to sound like a petulant child, a slight whine to his tone, and Steve can tell Joyce is losing her patience.

“Will, that’s something you and Jonathan can do. We’d love to do sleepover nights with your friends.”

“No, Mom,” Jonathan states, strong in a way Steve’s never seen from him before. His only tell is the waver behind his voice. Steve’s willing to bet Jonathan would rather face down another demogorgon than take on his own mother. Yet here he is, sticking his neck on the line for Will.

“What do you mean, no?” It’s barely a question.

“I don’t want to babysit Will anymore.” He quickly closes his eyes and shakes his head, like an etch-a-sketch. “No, wait– I’m not babysitting Will anymore.”

The room falls deadly silent. Joyce’s lips flatten into a thin, white line, matching the color of her knuckles. She looks ready to explode, like how his father used to look before the first blow. 

Steve flinches when she takes a step towards Jonathan, and she clocks his reaction just like before, but ignores him to glare at her oldest son.

“I want to spend more time with Nancy.” Jonathan’s eyes are wide, like he forgot Steve was there, and he can see an embarrassed flush painting his ears. Steve just shrugs. It is what it is, he’ll get over it like he always does. Jonathan relaxes a bit. “I want to get a job so I can take her on dates that are more than just driving out to the quarry.” 

“Jonathan,” Joyce jumps in, “you can’t get a job. You’re grades are slipping as it is and you don’t have time–”

“Exactly! I don’t have time for a job right now. But if Steve starts watching Will after school and some weekends, I can get a job and keep my grades up and spend time with Nancy.”

She’s shaking her head, but Jonathan plows on before she can jump back into the fray.

“Billy Hargrove is a goddamn monster, Mom. He almost killed Steve! And we all know the kids would’ve found a way to get to the tunnels no matter what. Steve was beat to hell and still went with them.” Jonathan points at Steve’s face in emphasis, like a fucked up version of a pretty model showboating a new car. Except the model is the guy who stole his girlfriend, and the car is a has-been with a fucked up brain and no future.

“And last year,” Jonathan continues, “Nancy and I would be dead if he didn’t come back for us. After everything that happened between us, he had no reason to turn around. Hell, I’m not sure I would’ve.”

He doesn’t know Jonathan Byers well, but Steve knows for a fact Jonathan would’ve faced death to save him– to save anyone. It’s not even a question.

Joyce still doesn’t seem convinced. “Everything that happened last year is exactly what I’m worried about, Jonathan.”

“It’s my fault, not his!” Jonathan shouts. “It’s my fault he got sucked into this mess, it’s my fault Nancy left him, and it’s my fault he broke the camera!” Color drains from his face. Steve freezes, staring at him. 

Steve still hasn’t told anyone why he broke the camera– none of them have talked about it, and he never planned to bring it up. Ultimately he’s thankful that the pictures exist, since it provided the only clue to Barb’s death and the Upside-Down. 

But he doesn’t understand why Jonathan took the pictures. And it doesn’t change the fact Steve closes his blinds every night.

“What do you mean, your fault?” Joyce asks, out of sorts. 

He stammers a bit, looking to Steve for help. Steve doesn’t want to have this conversation at all, let alone in front of Jonathan’s entire family. He glares back at Jonathan, tersely shaking his head once.

Lie.

He gets the gist, relief stark on Jonathan’s face. 

“Steve caught Nancy and I sneaking around when we were looking for Barb and Will,” Jonathan quickly recovers. “We didn’t want him poking around, so we let him think we were flirting. But some pictures I had taken of Nancy fell out of my bag, and Steve saw them. That’s why he broke my camera.

“We ran into him and his friends later while they were spraying up The Hawk. I didn’t know it was all Tommy Hagen’s idea, so I got in Steve’s face and I hit him first. He called me queer, and that’s shitty. But he apologized, saved our lives, and bought me a new camera. So–”

Jonathan turns to him and holds out his hand. It reminds Steve of his father, but also of Hopper, which he decides is a more apt comparison.

He reaches out and Jonathan grasps his hand firmly, shaking it up and down just once, yet continues to hold on. Forging a new pact for the future.

“Steve, I’m sorry about everything.” He seems genuine– eyes wet, shoulders set, and back straight. Steve tries to match his posture. He might not be as good with words as Jonathan, but he can at least show this moment is just as important to him. “But you helped protect the kids so we could save Will. And you saved Nancy and me. So– I trust you.”

Steve can’t handle this. It’s too early in the morning for heavy emotions and deep confessions, but Jonathan’s searching for forgiveness in the face of a former bully. Steve steps up to the plate and meets him halfway.

“I shouldn’t have broken your camera, I know how expensive they are and how much it meant to you. I was angry and I wasn’t thinking. And I, I umm–” 

Steve realizes he’s never really had to apologize to someone before. Sure he’s apologized to Nancy, but it seemed like a normal thing for guys to always apologize to their girlfriends. He’s apologized to Dustin, but that’s more like placating a rowdy toddler. 

This feels different, somehow bigger. Maybe it’s because Jonathan’s his own age, or someone his parents have programmed him to think is lesser than himself. Maybe it’s the deep regret that’s made itself a home in Steve’s stomach, rotting away at the memory of a vicious word spat haphazardly at a stranger.

“I’m sorry I called you queer. That’s fuc– I mean messed– up, and I’m sorry.” Steve sighs, running a nervous hand through his hair, less painful with the stitches removed. He almost misses the stinging sensation. “It’s something my dad says all the time and it was the first thing I thought of, and I hate that. I’m not my dad, I never want to be like him.”

Jonathan nods and pulls Steve forward into a hug, and when they separate Steve feels lighter. A heavy weight he hadn’t known about, removed from his shoulders with Jonathan’s help. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think Jonathan felt the same way by the smile on his face.

“Yeah!” Will shouts, unprompted and overly excited for the tone of this entire conversation. There’s a wide grin on his face when he holds up his hand to high-five Steve and cheers “welcome to the Bad Dads Club!”

Steve scoffs, shocked but completely delighted and confused at Will’s eager declaration. Joyce smacks her hand to her forehead and mutters something like jesus christ under her breath, while Jonathan barks out a laugh. 

He grabs his little brother by the shoulder and shakes him like a rag doll until Will breaks out into giggles. “Will,” Jonathan says, failing to keep a straight face, “remember when I explained the difference between family jokes and not-family jokes?”

Will’s smile fades slightly, red embarrassment splashing his cheeks as he quickly glances between Jonathan and Steve, realizing his social blunder. Jonathan squeezes his shoulder and gives him a sad, reassuring smile. But Steve won’t be the reason for the small frown tugging on Will’s lower lip.

Steve holds out his hand, palm up. He smiles at the kid, eyes alight with mischief. “Bad Dad’s Club,” Steve says, like it’s more than just a fucked up childhood and is instead forging a pact, binding them through one shitty commonality. 

Will returns his smile and high fives him, who then turns to his brother. Jonathan laughs again when he pulls Will in for a hug instead, shrugging at Steve.

Joyce’s gaze travels between the three boys standing in front of her, and Steve can see the moment she cracks.

Her stance has softened. Her lips are still pursed, her eyebrows only slightly furrowed, but her arms hang relaxed at her sides and she’s looking at Steve less like she wants to throw him out and more like she doesn’t know what to do with him.

“You get one week,” Joyce says sternly, pointing a finger in Steve’s face. He goes cross-eyed looking at it, but he can still see Will and Jonathan high-five. “One week of picking him up after school. I get done at Melvald’s at six, so you can bring him home at six-thirty.”

Before Steve can wholeheartedly agree, she rounds on Will and Jonathan next, who stand at attention, trying to stay serious through their own excitement. 

“You,” she points at Jonathan, “better keep your grades up if you’re getting a job.”

“And you,” she gestures to Will, “better have all of your homework done when you get home. If you can’t get it done at Steve’s house, then you don’t get to go.”

She backs away from them, taking a deep breath in and exhaling loudly. “Is all of that clear?”

Waves of yes’s pour from their mouths. Will wraps his arms around his mom’s waist and Jonathan lightly punches Steve’s shoulder. 

“Thank you, Ms. Byers,” Steve says as he turns to leave, “I’ll make sure you don’t regret this. Any of you.”

She sighs, a small sad smile on her face. “I really hope that’s true, Steve.”

On the drive home, he realizes she never mentioned the slip-up about his parents’ absence. He’s grateful for it. Talking with adults has never been his strong suit, and his conversations with each of the kids’ parents are starting to weigh on him. 

The Byers’ might not have as much money or means as the Harrington’s, but that doesn’t stop Joyce Byers from being a damn great mom. So he’s not surprised she took note of his own small mishaps. Maybe she’ll bring it up one day, maybe she won’t. All Steve cares about is that he finally has the opportunity to earn the trust of the fiercest parent he knows.

~~~

[florallylly]

steve harrington picking up the kids from hellfire while eddie munson watches through the stupid little window biting his nails he's so pathetic

[clarkegriffins]

the way a very unserious 6 little nuggets quote has all these anti's in a chokehold is unreal, i used to laugh but now it's getting ridiculous bc no one is having six kids, that was a j o k e, a silly babysitter joke for steve that even the netflix account joked about, no one is having 6 kids not even jopper, so like i have to watch the fandom go crazy over something that it's not even happenning jksgnkjsdngjksdngjk

[starrystevie]

something about eddie being obsessed with the stars. growing up in a place with no light pollution, just miles and miles of endless stars in the night sky. learning constellations and their stories, learning about planets and black holes, learning about the moon and her mysteries, learning whatever he can about the endless options of better worlds and galaxies that the infinite of space has to offer.

something about eddie moving to hawkins which is kind of in the middle of nowhere but there's still plenty of lights at night that make it hard to see all of his stars. he climbs on top of big rocks and trailer roofs and as high as he can go in that one oak tree behind mr. johnson's house because he wants to feel closer to the stars he can just barely see. he yearns for the moon, charts her phases and where she would be in the skies back home if he was still there and he can almost remember what it smelt like in the fields he laid in as he watched her travel amongst the stars.

something about eddie growing up, forgetting about his love for the stars, forgetting his love for the opportunities of space. he lives in new fantastical worlds of monsters and dragons that seem more tangible than his stars will ever be to him again. he grows up and feels like a falling star of his own, searching for a place to land while he burns up, burns out, fades to nothing. thinks he's a black hole, taking in more and more space junk until he feels so full of bad that he implodes on himself.

something about eddie finding the constellations he loves on a boy that he finds he loves even more. in his moles and freckles and dusting of spots, he finds orion on his shoulder and pegusus on the side of his neck. he finds corona borealis in his big brown eyes as they sparkle in the sunshine and cassiopeia as they shine in the moonlight. he sees the endless possibilities that space holds in the way that this boy makes him feel. he makes eddie unstoppable, a shooting star that's burning bright with no desire to fade away.

it's steve, he realizes one night as he hunts for hercules on the top of wayne's trailer. he's my stars.

[delta-piscium]

Eddie does become quite famous for his music and that means he sometimes has to go to these mind numbing events where people will sneer at him until they recognize who he is, then they’ll suddenly pretend they’re old friends, they’ll ask for concert tickets and backstage passes

he mostly hates them but whenever Steve is able to come he’s so god damn excited. Steve’s parents used to drag him along to their business events and even though it’s different industries it’s all the same. Steve knows these crowds, he grew up with them and they bring out the bitchiest upper middle class version of him, a Steve who has passive aggression and faux politeness down to an art

Eddie will watch on in delighted awe as his husband, all while smiling mildly and sipping wine, destroys people. just cuts into them and also making everything sound nice, innocuous. Most of them don’t even realize it’s happening they just suddenly find themselves gaping, searching for words, as they’re backed into a corner

and Steve will look at them, tilt his head and wait them out, but before they get the chance to backtrack he’ll hum, shrug and walk away, Eddie on his heel asking if he wants to get out of there, like right now? or maybe find a bathroom?

[oatmilk-vampire]

A steddie au but it's just the plot of Meet Cute (2022).

Steve, a young man grappling with suicidal thoughts, discovers that a tanning bed in a nail salon is a time machine. Traveling back 24 hours, he relives the best date night of his life over and over, only to decide that his date, Eddie, needs some fixing. Unaware that meddling with the past could ruin the future, Steve goes even further back in time to turn him into the perfect man and free from trauma -- even though he was already pretty perfect.

[lumaxramblings]

sometimes steve stans literally just make steve into jonathan. like literally they just give him steve's name

[your-stranger-halfblood-things]

I like bi Steve because Steve trying to impress girls is funny and him kissing boys is perfect for his role. We got the bi mom of the group

[morganbritton132]

The moment Steve said that he kissed someone named Tommy, people on Tiktok were like, who the fuck is that? But the girlies with the parents that went to Hawkins High pull out their mothers’ old yearbooks and start looking through the class roster. The problem is that there are at least two Tommys at the school when Steve was there and no one can decide which one looks like someone Steve would kiss.

[thestobingirlie]

steve’s faux-liberal parents are so real to me actually.

mrs h was so happy when she realised steve was attracted to men because she wanted a little gay boy son to carry around like a purse dog. she was devastated when his interests and sense of fashion didn’t miraculously change. (“but you’re gay now. everyone knows gays have good taste.” “….”)

(she still brags about having a gay son in her bookclub though. gay children are sooo in vogue. take that mandy and your adopted daughter.)

[dontcallmeeds]

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

CW: I cuss a lot in this one, I usually don’t warn for that, but I know some Tumblr fic readers want to be warned!! FINALLY PART 4 IS HERE DON’T COME TO MY HOUSE WITH PITCHFORKS LOVE YALL!!!

Steve blinks at the open box, Nancy’s hand on his shoulder trying to peer around and see for herself.

The piece was different, rougher. Nothing like the original trinkets left.

It was nearly black in color, peaks of silver coming through where it was hammered. It didn’t have one even edge, it looked like Steve could cut himself on it. But it was smooth when he ran a fingertip over the piece.

There was also a wire wrapped around the thinnest part of it, he took the wrapped wire between his thumb and index finger, feeling the curves of it.

Steve realizes he’s just been standing there, marveling at the rugged beauty of it, when Nancy nudges him with her shoulder.

“Wow, Steve, that’s not—“

“It’s not very me, is it?” Steve lightly chuckles, slipping it on to his right middle finger.

A perfect fit, per usual. He admires it, flipping his hand over to see where the wrapped part of it sits on the back of his finger.

It’s silly that something so small could have such an impact on you.

That ring, that gift Eddie had given to him, it opened everything in him.

Flayed him alive and displayed his most buried thoughts on his sleeve. Well, more so his hand.

Steve speed walks into his house, waving Nancy away, stating he needed time to think. The thing was, he wasn’t ready to unpack how he felt in front of his ex girlfriend.

But as the ring was forged, it forged something new in Steve that he wasn’t quite sure how to feel.

Something quite terrifying.

Steve Harrington had spent years not knowing who he was. Extra minutes spent looking himself over in the mirror, feeling like a robot. All the polos he still wore that his mother had bought him, the soft sweaters that truly brought out that babysitter everyone walked all over.

His fucking hair.

The hair was still…him. It was his identity for years. Steve wasn’t ready to give that up.

But something snapped.

Steve got out the trimmer that he never thought he’d use for anything other than…well, not the hair on his head. He knew he should call Robin or tell Nancy to come back, he thinks he heard her car finally pull out of his driveway, it wouldn’t take long.

But he didn’t need to be told no right now.

A shaky breath in, a look in the mirror and the trimmer is buzzing through the right side of his hair.

Steve feels the stray pieces fall onto his shoulders and onto the floor, it feels…good. Like weight plucked off his heavy fucking shoulders.

After the right side is done, he starts on the left side, now on a mission. Hair continues to fall onto his shoulders, the sink, the floor.

A few tears have rolled down Steve’s cheek, the wave of emotions hitting him all at once. Manic laughter bubbles out of him as he stands there after finishing, looking at the new image that he created over a ring.

But it wasn’t really the ring, he knew that. It was was the fact Eddie gave him something to help unlock the facade he had been keeping up for too long.

When Steve is considering going for the whole shebang, the doorbell rings and startles him out of his spell. He had felt like he was forgetting something, he just truly couldn’t remember what it—

“Steve? Honey?” Joyce’s warm voice rings out into the home after the creaky front door opens. He needed to fix that ages ago.

“Joyce, you can’t just burst into a man’s domain—“ he can practically hear the eye roll in Hopper’s voice.

“I’m up here,” Steve weakly calls out, sliding onto his bathroom floor. He hears the stairs creak as well, soft footsteps jogging up.

“Honey, did you forget we’re here for din—“ Joyce stops at the doorframe and slowly takes in the sight in front of her. She slowly lowers to his level, a look of sympathy heavy on her face.

“It was time for uh, a change, I guess,” Steve doesn’t meet her eyes, feeling embarrassed now for how crazy he must look.

“Change, change is good,” she offers, smiling and sweeping some hair off his cheek, “let’s clean this up and get some food in you. We brought Will and El, but we can have Jon come get them if—“

“No, it’s okay,” Steve clears his throat and starts to get up, his hair starting to make his neck itch. They clean in silence, he appreciates that she can always tell what he needs. Joyce Byers was always more of a mom than Steve’s own mother. Which is why he asks—

“Can I—can I trust you with something?”

[ickypuppi3]

childhood au except it’s baby billy who lives with his mom and neil’s not in the picture and steve’s the one who moves to california and the two of them are not friends because steve thinks billy’s weird and tells him as much when they first meet but billy just never drops the idea of them becoming friends because, well, he’s billy

and one of the first things steve tells billy is that he’s pretty and billy’s confused because he always thought being pretty was a good thing because his mama would always smile when people called her pretty but steve says it with a frown on his face like he’s annoyed before telling billy that he’s too pretty to be a boy and walking away

cue years of billy asking steve if he wants to come out to play and trying to show steve a flower he found or asking steve over to his house and rich kid steve thinking he’s too good for all that, that billy will screw his reputation up and also battling with this big crush he has on billy that he doesn’t actually know about himself until he gets older and goes through girl after girl after girl and still can’t get billy off of his mind

and then maybe they’re on speaking terms again at some point but billy’s kinda over steve now for obvious reasons but steve is absolutely head over heels for billy and eventually he tells billy as much and billy’s like.. why? and steve lists all the reasons he loves billy and the last one is that he’s pretty and billy kinda glares at him and is all oh yeah? like a girl? and steve’s all no, like billy

[florallylly]

stobin babysitting erica except it's the three of them creating the most popular girls in school