#steve harrington's mom

[lets-try-to-be-normal-otakus]

Oh, what a to-do to die today ... Pt 1?

Hii, thinking about continuing for myself, but if this gets enough love, I may post other parts. So much love to my fellow gremlins.

Trigger warnings for death and all the related shit to it (pun intended), child and domestic abuse, and alcoholism. No beta, we die like Ste- I mean Barb

Steve Harrington first died when he was 6.

He remembers running down the hall and wanting to ask his daddy about a new word he found in his book. His father had a heavy hand when it came to showing love. Long story short, he took a ‘tumble’ down the stairs. He remembers the smack, the weightless feeling before hearing the thud of his body repeatedly against the stairs. Everything felt like static, like fuzzy, cold, and light gray pressure simply bending his body in different directions. He was dead before he hit the floor.

He doesn’t remember much after that; he was aware that time passed, but it was just a black void to him.

There was a weightlessness to it.

Like he could just close his eyes and drift, so drift he did. The edges were fuzzy, and it felt like he was on the shore of a beach. He could feel the gentle morning sun on his skin and a cold breeze in the air. Distantly, he was aware of waves washing over eachother and the sound of foam popping quietly. It was a nice. Refreshing.

But it wasn’t entirely real, no. It was like there was a transparent element to it. He could feel it, like it was in his soul, but he couldn’t see it. Just imagine. Like when he went to the beach with his parents.

Parents.

He vaguely remembers his mom walking with him down a beach on the west coast and picking seashells in the early morning light. His dad would usually be in a business meeting.

Dad.

His dad... Dad? He was with his dad… previously… but the memory slipped through his gentle grasp like smoke.

He was alone. But he didn’t feel lonely. It was actually very peaceful.

Dad.

Dad.

Dad.

As his brain latched onto the memory of his father, he began to feel a tug in his tummy. It started small, like the gentle waves folding over each other close to him. The pull started to speed up, taking him by surprise. He didn’t want to leave, but the memory of his dad’s backhand was coming into focus too much. He was pulled, slipping away like the sand against the draw and recession of the waves. He felt like he was being pulled through a funnel - a siphon of sorts as feelings came rushing back. He struggled against it, but deep down knew there was no way of stopping it. He still tried.

Emotions and adrenaline spiked and started to saturate everything. The air was like ice daggers, spiking into his body as he felt like a cork pulled from one of mom’s wine bottles. His ears popped as he opened his eyes and fought to breathe. It was too much. It was not enough.

A loud sound banged around him, but everything felt muffled. He couldn’t breathe. His eyes shot up and found a ceiling above him, blurred with tears. There was a face in his view, but it was too blurry to make out. It seemed feminine, with brown hair and lightly tanned skin. Distantly, it felt like his mom.

With each breath, it pulled needles screaming and deep across his body, and he immediately became aware of his arms. They felt like white, painful static, and he wished it would stop. The beach he had been slowly drifting away, and he fought to go back, back to where it didn’t hurt. Back to where he felt safe. Back where he was at peace.

He felt blood rushing through him like a tidal wave as he was turned on his side and started heaving. None of it was enough. He couldn’t breathe in he couldn’t breathe out; it was all not enough and too much at the same time.

It was a short eternity before his breathing stopped hurting so much and his eyes began to clear. A hand was stroking his hair; it was too hot, but it soothed something inside him.

When he finished heaving, he noticed it was his mom’s voice and gentle hand stroking through his hair. He became acutely aware then that he had made a big, well, potty mess and felt stress and unease flood his system, beginning to choke him. Lingering in the air and separate from his accident was a sharp yet sickly sweet smell he couldn’t place.

The kind and gentle hand on his head was tugged away. Before he could properly mourn the loss, larger hands were running up and down his side. It was his doctor. Why was he here? Why was his mother crying? Was she worried?

“There, see! I told you all he needed was rest and a couple of comforters. Let the body do the healing.”

Everything was still a shock, and he couldn’t willingly move. His doctor waited outside with his father as his mother cleaned him up in the restroom. The two men were smiling to themselves, but his mother’s tears didn’t stop.

The doctor said he took a tumble down the stairs and must’ve hit his head on the wall. He said that if it happens again, Steve just needs rest and as much heat as he could have to warm him up again since he was so cold.

In actuality, his neck snapped on the third tumble down the stairs.

He had been dead for 5 hours before he woke up.

For the next week, his mother hardly let him out of her sight. When he asked her what happened, she says that he must’ve tipped down the stairs and hit his head. But there was something she wasn’t telling him. He could see it in her eyes. There was such a withdrawn mix of fear and worry, he ended up asking his mom if she was okay a lot of the time.

She started drinking more.

Richard blamed it on her “seeing things” or not being in the “right state of mind,” but Steve saw her, and her stare pierced everything. His father was wrong, but Steve didn’t know what to do.

His mother was looser with wine but slurred her words. Maybe she would tell him then?

“Mama, what had you so worried that night?” He asked, a year or so later.

“Hmm?” She hummed, and he watched as her head bobbed before leaning back on the couch.

“That night when I- when I fell down the stairs…”

She froze, and the hand on her wine glass became starch-white. She eventually rolled her head over to him despite the rigid movements. “You died.” She answered, plainly.

He felt like he was struck by lightning.

Her eyes were piercing; there was no doubt about her lucidity.

“What- what do you mean? I’m alive?” Why did it sound like a question?

“I mean that you died.” She said simply, like it wasn’t the most confusing answer. She continued on. “What I mean is that I saw Richard push you down the stairs. I don’t remember why, but the cuck did.” Another gulp of wine.

Her head moved until she was staring at the ceiling again. “You went down, down, down... You know, I still hear that sound when I close my eyes. My little baby just,” she made a vague, repetitive gesture, "and I knew that something was wrong.” Tears dotted her eyes as she looked back at him. “I was just hoping you’d be able to,” another gesture, “get back up.”

Her hand moved to her mouth. “You know, I touched your face, and, and some part of me just… knew.”

“Knew what?”

She looked back over at him, and with a broken voice, “That you had died. I don’t know how, I just knew. I checked your pulse and told myself I was hysterical, but… darling there was nothing there.” The tears in her eyes began to overbear and chose to fall.

“I tried telling Rich that we needed to go to the hospital, that something wasn’t right, but he-” she choked a little “- we had a pretty big fight about it. You know how it ended…” A gesture to her face.

Richard’s hand.

“I couldn’t let you go.” She drops her voice to a whisper and meets his teary eyes, “I just, I couldn’t let you be alone for one second. Because it was already too real.”

The back of his nose began to sting.

“I held you and cried, but your father wouldn’t listen.” A gasping breath. “And, and eventually – I laid down on the bed with you, and- and-” she pauses and shakes her head slightly in disbelief.

"And then you breathed.”

[hairmetal666]

Sadness and something a lot like anger throbs in Steve's chest. It doesn’t stop him, though. Now that he’s crossed the threshold, he might as well finish the job.

He starts with the desk drawers. Makes a slow and methodical search of them, even though he’s almost certain he won’t find anything of note within. The payoff will be in the meticulously kept filing cabinets, if it’s anywhere at all, but he’s trying to pace himself and stave off the disappointment of coming back empty handed.

The bottom drawer of the desk is locked, which is so stupidly cliché, Steve stuck a bobby pin in his pocket just in case. He picks the mechanism easily, but the drawer only holds a nearly empty bottle of gin, a box of cheap cigars, and a can of snuff. He takes the drawer out, checks for a false bottom or hidden back compartment, but it’s exactly what it looks like, mundane shit a rich man thinks he needs to be ashamed of.

Steve’s just pushed the drawer back into place when his mother’s soft voice pipes up from the hall, calling his name. He sits up fast, almost stumbles, heart shoved in his throat.

Seeing her standing there in her elegant white linen dress, diamond jewelry at her neck and wrist, tasteful pumps on her feet, catapults him back to that night. He freezes, swallowing convulsively, fear knocking reality askew.

She seems to understand, gives him a soft smile that, before these last few weeks, would’ve looked uncomfortable on her face. It relaxes his shoulders, but he still can’t quite breathe, his brain locked on a version of her that wanted him to go to a place to pray away the gay.

“Steve.” She takes a few steps into the room. “What are you looking for?”

Steve not Stephen. She’s been making an effort to use the name he prefers, the one he associates with the man he’s become and not the boy he was. This, more than anything, snaps him back to the present.

“If you tell me, I can probably help you find it.” Her smile is still soft, but there’s a wry twist there, something he’s coming to recognize as her witty, wicked sense of humor.

He has a tiny, short debate with himself, but—he wants to let her in, wants her help, wants to share something with his mom. She’ll know anything worthwhile, will be able to give context and answer questions.

“You know anything about Creel Pharmaceuticals?”

Chapter 21 out now!!

[solarmorrigan]

Desperate to know more about Steve's mom and Steve having OCD - ej mrbutchdyke/theysherobinbuckley

I'M SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER TO GET TO, but bless you (no christo) for asking about Steve's mom @theysherobinbuckley

(The OCD one was answered here)

This one started first with the idea that Steve learned his Mean Girl skills from his mom, which turned into the question "What if Steve and his mom used to be really close, but grew apart as Steve got older?" Following this came the idea that we have the usual setup: Steve's parents come home, find out he's been doing something they disapprove of, and kick him out. But instead of agreeing with his dad, or saying nothing, Steve's mom leaves with him

After that, it kind of spread into this whole story about Steve's mom actually trying to be a mom and trying to get to know her son again after realizing that he's gone out and had a whole life without her even noticing. And on the one hand, Steve is happy - there have been times over the last few years when he's been scared and alone and just really wanted his mom, and here she is! But on the other hand, he's pushing against the feeling that maybe it's too little, too late - where was she when he needed her? Why does she think she can just swoop in now and try to be a good mom?

I also named her Barbara because it just really suited her, and poor @azure7539arts (who is practically a co-creator of this character, at this point) has had to talk me out of renaming her on at least four separate occasions because I'm constantly worried she'll get mixed up with Barb Holland

It's something I'd really like to finish one day, but in the meantime, here's a bit of what I have written!

Barbara Harrington never wanted to be a mother. She never thought she was cut out for it – the caring, the mess, the noise. It’s not her. But that’s what you do, right? You meet a rich, handsome man, marry him, and secure your place in his life by popping out a kid. So that’s what she does. She marries Richard Harrington and gets pregnant (yes, in that order). She’s doted on during her pregnancy – by Richard, by family members, by the other elites of Hawkins. She’s radiant, she’s glowing (she’s miserable; pregnancy sucks). And then she gives birth to Steven. (And thank god it’s a boy on the first go around; Barbara has no doubt that Richard would have wanted to try again and again until he got the son he so clearly wanted, but she is most certainly Done With All That. No more pregnancy for her.) Barbara hires a nanny to care for Steven—little Steve—as soon as they get home, immediately and without shame. She isn’t too proud to admit that she has no idea what she’s doing when it comes to babies; she’d glanced through the new parenting books she’d been given during her baby shower and put them back down once her anxiety started mounting after the first five pages. In fact, if she were to tell the truth, she’s kind of terrified. He’s just so small. He’s completely helpless and defenseless and fucking small. She holds him and she’s afraid she’ll break him. (She’s afraid she won’t be enough.) But as Steve ages, something odd happens. He develops a personality. Like, who knew kids did that?

[bilbosmom-belladonna]

Hi!! I’m very curious about Breaking the Mold💕

Hello dear, thanks for asking! 💜💜

This one is a Steddie fic that's actually from the POV of Steve's mother— I'm kind of playing around with something that's half-flashback, half-internal dialog for it. Not sure yet if I'm happy with the formatting yet, might be too distracting? Idk, but it's gonna be an emotionally rough one eventually.

Here's a snippet:

Diane Harrington heard the sound of the door unlocking. She took a deep breath from her seat on the couch— back straight legs pressed together at the knee elbows down hands folded, don’t slouch girl, chin up now —and waited for her son to walk in the front door. She heard footsteps and the door closing, then the dull thunk of something hitting a wall and a laugh. A happy sigh, and then the soft, unmistakable sounds of kissing. Stephen wasn’t alone.

Thanks so much for asking!!!

[menaceadored]

saw someone mention at the end of season three, steve listing his mom as one of his references on his application to family video is proof that he doesn't have neglectful parents. personally, i favor the idea that steve has a complicated relationship with his mom

I like to imagine that he and his mother were very close when he was a child, practically inseparable, attached at the hip. His mother spoke to him not like he was her son, but her closest friend, her cherished confidant. Likely over sharing when it came to adult matters like issues in her marriage which unsurprisingly led to Steve's own appropriately negative feelings for his father.

Their relationship only started to dwindle when Steve became a teenager and started hanging out with kids like Tommy and Carol and taking on the role of 'King Steve'. He was going through a lot and his father, who never appreciated the bond between him and his mother, was putting a lot of pressure on him to prove himself 'as a man'. He still loved his mother, obviously, but she could tell he was pulling away, keeping secrets when he had previously told her everything, getting into trouble which was so unlike the sweet boy she had once confided in. So, for the next few years, they drift apart and get into petty arguments over nothing.

All the while, his parents' marriage only seems to be growing further apart as well. Steve wonders why they won't just get divorced and save them all the headache.

It's only after Nancy Wheeler gives Steve a thump on the head that turns him around that his mother starts to recognize him and they start talking again. It's not exactly the same as when he was a kid. Steve still has secrets he can't tell her. He's seen things now that he can't explain, doesn't even know where to begin. But he tells her about his breakup with Nancy, about Tommy ditching him for Billy Hargrove, about babysitting Dustin and the kids and how somehow he's almost happier now being friends with a bunch of 12 year olds than he ever was as 'King Steve'. They're talking and honestly, he's just happy to see his mother laugh like she used to.

It's after his graduation when he gets into a heated, semi-physical argument with his father, (disappointed he didn't get into any of the schools he'd planned for Steve to attend and convinced he's a failure, the first time his father has laid a hand on him), that he realizes that despite how unhappy she is in her marriage or his newly busted lip, his mother will never leave his father. But Steve can't find it in himself blame her.

He's always been able to read his mother so easily, like her emotions were his own and he could tell exactly what she was feeling just by being in the same house with her or from the pauses she took over the phone. So without explanation, he understands that in some strange, complicated way, his mother loves his father and always will no matter how he treats her. Or Steve. So she won't leave him and Steve would never convince her otherwise.

Still, at times he finds himself feeling incredibly angry with her, wants to yell, and scream, and beg her to stand up for herself. Stand up for him. But he never does, would never take his anger out on her in that way. Because for some reason, ever since he was a child, Steve has felt this strange responsibility for his mother. This need to shelter her and protect her feelings. And really, he doesn't think that she's the one to blame. So no, he never yells or shows anger towards his mother.

He calls her when she's on business trips and keeps her in the loop on what's going on in his life, tells her about his job at Scoops, his weird coworker Robin (who eventually becomes his best friend Robin), the kids, everything (besides Upside Down matters or anything he feels might upset her). And when both of his parents are in town he stays out of the house. Limits his interactions with his father to as little as possible and only spends time with his mother when the man isn't around. It works for them. It keeps their relationship intact.

Because as much as Steve feels a responsibility to protect his mother and her feelings, he also knows he needs her just as much and couldn't bare to lose her completely. So he compromises because a part of him fears that if his mother were forced to choose between him and his father-

So yeah, Steve lists his mom as a reference on his application to Family Video because his mom is well respected and could go on and on about how wonderful her son is and he loves her and trusts her. Their relationship is just complicated.

[crazybagelbitch]

for the morning crowd!

after a long and harrowing night, steve harrington has a long overdue conversation with his mother. a day later, he has a surprising conversation with chief hopper.

(steve continues to be haunted by supernatural hell and an eating disorder)

[worldsokayestbabysitter]

a little snippet that might one day turn into more. a kind of sequel to this

-----

Steve remembers holding his mamas hand every Sunday, the only day they consistently spent together when she was home. Remembers sitting in the pews, trying to keep his eyes open in the midday heat. Remembers looking down at his hand in hers, seeing that his was entirely engulfed by her painter’s hands. Felt like he could survive anything as long as his hand fit in his mom’s.

When he woke up in the hospital, for the third time, for the last time, after he swam his way to consciousness, his mom was at his bedside. And his hand was bigger than hers, his hand was calloused, cut to hell from where he fell running from the end of the world. Her hand was still soft. More wrinkles than he remembered, but still as unblemished. She was gripping his hand like her life depended on it, even in her sleep. Same deceptive strength.

Steve knows it's only been a week since he last saw her. Leaving again, but this time he was grateful. She would be safe.

It feels like it's been an eternity. Just the weight of his mom's hand has brought him back to himself. Time feels like it's passing again, every tick of the clock and every rise and fall of her shoulders rushing through him.

His mom is here. Her hand in his, asleep, but here.

He's alive. It all comes back to him in waves. They all survived, it's over. His mama's here, and it's over.

When she wakes up and sees Steve looking at her, she freezes. Looks at him in disbelief.

They don’t say anything, at first. What is there to say? Where do they even start?

Steve wants to say, where have you been. Steve wants to say, why are you here, just you, and not dad? He wants to say, I did it all without you, I survived without you, I went through hell and lost so much and you weren't there. He wants to say, thank god you were safe, he wants to say, why didn't you protect me?

But he waits for her to speak first, doesn't think he's able to if the dryness of his throat of is anything to go by.

"Oh Steve," she finally whispers. She runs her free hand through his hair and her eyes quickly fill with tears.

"My Steve, my baby, I'm sorry," she says. She could be apologizing for a million things, for leaving him, for the long business trips, for the wounds he's starting to feel, for the years he was left alone, for the horrors he's endured, for showing up now instead of then. She could be apologizing for all of it. And Steve knows he should be angry. Knows that some distant part of him is furious and that that white-hot rage will bubble up to the surface eventually, but his mom is holding his hand, her thumb gliding across his knuckles like they used to in church, and she's here.

"Mom-" Steve chokes out. It comes out rough, through the lump in his dry throat. His mom moves from the chair at his bedside to sit on the edge of the hospital bed, hand never leaving his.

"I know, I'm here, I'm sorry," she says, her voice still soft and wobbly. Tears have started to run freely down her face, and she does nothing to catch them. She leans over and grabs a glass of water, holds it as he takes tentative sips from the straw. When he leans away, she sets it aside, helps him sit up. That same angry relief bubbles up again. Here she is, being his mom, finally. He must have really come close to death this time, he thinks.

They stare at each other again, his mom's hand running through his hair. And it's been too long since he's studied his mom's face, because he can't tell what that emotion is.

"Steve, I-" she takes a breath, struggling to find words. So different from the woman who used to pick out her sentences carefully, used to enter conversations like they were battles. "I don't know what happened, to you or to Hawkins. I know it was bad, that whatever you went through was- that it was bad enough to put you here. There's been a crowd rotating through here and I can't get a straight answer from anyone. But whatever it was, I should have been here. I should have been here a long time ago, and I'm- I'll be sorry for it for the rest of my life. But I'm here now, If you'll have me."

A year ago, hell, a week ago, Steve would've scorned the idea of it, an apology. Forgiveness past the last minute.

But his mom is here. And she's holding his hand.

[morganbritton132]

My HC based on nothing is that Gareth’s mom was Steve’s piano teacher for years until he needed a more advanced one. So while Eddie is lamenting his big embarrassing crush on Steve “The Hair” Harrington, Gareth is silently sitting there cursed with the knowledge that’s Steve’s actually kinda nice.

Eddie grumbles about how Harrington is an insensitive asshole and Gareth knows that Steve gets teary-eyed when he can’t pick up a new piano piece of music fast enough. Eddie complains about Harrington’s perfect life and Gareth is forced to remember the fourteen piano recitals his mom took him to and how Steve’s parents were at two of them.

Eddie overhears Steve mention a demogorgon to Nancy Wheeler in the hallway and scoffs about how Steve knows nothing about D&D. Gareth is rudely reminded of the time Steve sat on his front porch waiting for his mom to pick him up and listened to Gareth ramble on about the new role playing game he just learned about. The meanest thing Steve said about it was, “No offense, that sounds like a nightmare. Math and public speaking, no thanks.”

[humanityinahandbag]

In my mind, Robin has to tag along on most of Steve's hangouts with Eddie. Eddie thinks it's a SteveandRobin thing but really it's because she's the only line of defense between Eddie and Steve.

She just keeps telling Eddie that he should be grateful. He doesn't get it but whatever.

The actual problem?

If Eddie does anything in the vicinity of Steve that's funny or sweet or, even more dangerous, is really nice and attentive to any random child, Steve suddenly gets a look in his eye that means Casual Hangs Can Include a Marriage License, Right?

On Halloween, helping Steve give out candy, Eddie made a little girls night when he saw she was dressed as a princess and actually bowed and once she and her dad were gone Steve put down the bowl and casually said, "After this we need to swing by City Hall real quick."

Thankfully Robin was there to spray him with a water bottle and throw a full sized Milky Way at his head.

Meanwhile Eddie's standing in the background confused as hell wondering why Steve keeps suggesting bureaucracy as a fun activity and why Robin and Steve are whisper-yelling at once another in the kitchen like it's not even legal and you haven't even asked him out yet! and I'm wooing him, Robin, where's your sense of romance? When you know you know! Did you see how he is with kids? And that's quitter talk honestly Robin, I'll break City Hall's doors down and you can sign the papers it can't be that hard.

[batbitten86]

elementary school teacher steve harrington who is married to rockstar eddie munson that is completely taken care of, he doesn’t need to have a job but loves teaching kids so much. he just wants to make sure these kids have a safe space because school was always his place to get away from his parents and eventually the empty house, so he uses all of the salary he gets from teaching and just puts it back into his classroom and the kids he teaches he just wants to make sure everyone feels special in his classroom. (and the kids think it’s a magic trick he’s able to get a real life ROCKSTAR to show up to his classroom to bring him flowers or lunch)

[luveline]

kbd —You gather the family consensus on a fifth baby. mom!reader x dad!Steve, 2k

The first baby you and Steve have is a ringer for him. She’s his copy down to the eyelashes, and she has his good heart. She’s a good sister, a beautiful daughter, and she’s a brilliant student. 

But growing up makes you curious.

“Mom, why are you in the bathroom again?” 

You laugh nervously. “What?” you ask, gaze on your hands. 

“You’ve been in here like ten times today! Are you okay?” 

She sound so, so cute when she’s suspicious. Her voice twists up and her concern feels too big. She knows it’s not normal to go to the bathroom this many times and she’s clearly not okay with this new development. 

She knocks the door hard. “Do you need me to get dad?” 

You open the door and pull her in quickly. She giggles, startled to be grabbed and put on the counter, her hair falling into her eyes the same wavy pattern as her dads. He’s got strong genes. Steve stamps the kids as Harrington’s, all except your Beth, who looks just like you. 

“Mom, what the heck is going on?” 

“I’m gonna ask you a huge question and you have to tell me your first answer. Don’t worry about anything else. Be honest, okay?” 

“Okay. You’re making me nervous.” 

You show her your pregnancy test. “You know what this means?” 

She wrinkles her nose. “Did you pee on that?” 

“I did. Babe, do you know what that means, though?” 

“You’re having another baby?” Avery guesses. You go quiet. She beams at you. “Wait! Wait, mom, are you having another baby?” 

“I don’t know yet.” One positive test and six negatives makes you think it was a mistake, but you’ve been pregnant four times before. You’re starting to feel like an expert. “If I did have another baby, what would you think?” 

She tips her head back. You put the test aside and take her smaller hands into yours. She’s so pretty, all your babies are beautiful, and they’re all so special, and maybe you do want another one. Is that crazy? 

You nibble your lip as Avery thinks. 

“Well, we need a bigger house.” 

You nod agreeably. “We do.” 

“I love being a big sister.” 

“You’re the best one there ever was.” 

Avery holds your hands back, still smiling. “Well, mommy, I think it’s good. Then I will have four sisters. That’s even more than Stacey K.” 

You look her dead in the eye, but it’s all love pouring between you both. “So if mommy wants to have another baby, that’s okay? You’d be happy?” 

Avery puckers for a kiss, which you give. You wrap your arms around her and push her head into your neck. “Have another baby if you want, mommy,” she says, laughing, “I love babies. Um, most of the time. More now you got us the sound machine.” 

“Avery… don’t tell anybody, okay? Can we keep this our secret? I don’t know if I’m gonna have another one yet. I need to make sure everyone’s happy first.” 

Avery pats your back. It’s adorable. “Sure, mommy.” 

You ask Beth, next. Stealing her away from her colouring sometime later that day, you pull your second eldest against your chest outside in the back yard and watch the clouds move in the sky as it changes from blue to carnation pink. “Bubby?” 

“Yeah?” Beth asks. 

“Can I ask you a secret question?” 

“Yes.” She looks away from the sky. “Why?” 

“Because I care about what you think, okay?” 

“I know.” 

You ask Beth if another baby would be too many. She says no. She says she needs a brother, maybe twins if you can manage it, but it’s fine if you can’t. You kiss her cheek and spend another ten minutes with her staring up at the changing colours.

The first test being positive rocked your world. You were happy, but shocked to find yourself grinning at the two pink lines, because you thought four was enough. There’s a few years between each of your girls and you’d never expect to be pregnant again so soon after the last —you and Steve had one good night a fortnight ago. Wren’s not even a year old. 

Why do you want another baby so badly? 

You kiss Beth again. You love your kids, and you finally, finally got that promotion at work, and you’d been thinking about moving anyway, because two of the girls are sharing a room. You didn’t bring it up in fear of upsetting your sentimental husband before it was necessary. All your babies grew up here. This is where you and Steve started your life, and it’s never perfect but it’s amazing, and he’ll not want to leave it. 

He would be much happier if you left to make room for another baby, though. 

If you ask Dove what she thinks, she’ll probably say yes and grumble, and then spill the secret, so you don’t ask, but you watch her carefully for a while when Steve demands you and Beth come back inside. 

You let Beth run off and sit down. 

“You’ll catch a bug,” he says, leaning over your seat at the kitchen table to kiss your cheek. “You’re already freezing.” 

“We were watching the sun go down.” 

“Watch from the window.” He squints at you, his arms wrapping around your front. “Something wrong?” 

“No.”

“Okay, liar.” He taps your chin until you lift it and kisses you soundly. “It’s a good thing you’re this beautiful. You wouldn’t get away with your shit if you weren’t.” 

“My shit.” 

He grins into another kiss. “Sorry,” he says, kissing you softly. “I’m kidding, I love you, don’t frown at me.” 

You entrap him for a skewiff hug. He couldn’t be more eager, nosing at your cheek, the baby and Dove giggling at something where they sit at the table eating skinny banana slices. 

“They’re like us,” Steve says, following your gaze, “best friends.” 

You push him away from you gently. “Shush. Don’t you have stuff to do?” 

“I bet you think so. But no, I don’t, I’ve done everything.” 

Four kids is a lot, and somehow you and Steve have gotten really, really good at being their parents. You have four healthy, happy girls, with all the food they could ever eat and more princess dresses than they could ever wear. Now it’s six thirty on a Saturday and all that’s left to do is watch some TV. 

Maybe you’re an idiot to mess this up. 

“I need to pee really badly, so watch the baby.” 

“Jerk,” you say. You do not need to be told to watch your own baby. 

He snickers as he leaves. 

It was the high of the test. That first positive test was just a shock, is all. Your life is perfect now, nothing needs to change, because Steve loves you more and more everyday, and you adore him —you’d do anything for him and your girls. You and Steve would treasure another baby, but some things aren’t meant to be. 

But– but you could have another one. So you’re not pregnant right now, so what? Steve would have another baby with you if you asked. He’d probably spin you around in circles and call you the best, sweetest woman alive. You could spend the next nine months on the couch and he’d still think that way. 

“Baby?” Steve calls. 

“What, dad?” Bethie asks. 

“Not you, baby. Mommy, can you come here?” 

Your system gets another shock. Shit, the bathroom. 

You grab Wren to her horror and Dove’s jealousy and chug her along to the bathroom. You could’ve left her in her high chair, but soft bananas are a scary task for an unsupervised baby who eats mash for every meal.

Steve’s waiting in the doorway. It’s a small bathroom, and you can see as quickly as he can the mess of pregnancy strip tests you left on top of the bathroom trash can. There’s two in his hand. 

“Steve, I was gonna tell you about it,” you say, frowning. 

He frowns back. “Yeah?” he asks. 

“Really. I mean, obviously I would have,” —you tell each other everything— “but I was trying to work out how I feel, and the girls too. Avery always wants more sisters and Beth said she wants a brother and–” You smile. “I know I said we were done having babies for a while, if ever again, I know that was me, but when I thought I was pregnant again I got this rush of happiness going through me like a wave.” You shift Wren and her frowning higher up your chest. She’s appeased by a quick kiss pressed to the top of her head. “I don’t know why but I think I really want another baby.” 

He leans against the doorway, his arms crossing, with a strange expression playing on his mouth. 

“You can probably tell. I took like, twenty tests,” you exaggerate, embarrassed by your impromptu speech. “I kept hoping they’d come up positive. I got one positive first and the rest were negative, so I guess it was just a fluke.” 

“Ohhh,” he says, smiling around it. “Oh, that makes more sense.” 

“What makes sense?” 

“I think they just needed a little more time to cook, honey. They’re all positive.” He isn’t good at hiding how happy he feels. “You really want another one?” 

He’s achingly hopeful. 

You close the gap between you to lean on him and check the tests. “It must be super early,” Steve murmurs. 

“Well, it was only two and a half weeks ago,” you murmur back, seeing the double pink lines for yourself. Both tests are positive. “The ones in there, they’re…” 

“They’re all positive. When was the last time you had your eyes tested?”

“It was dark in there,” you joke, not sure what to say, even as a crest of pure joy begins to rise through your entire body. Your hands hum. 

“You want another baby?” he asks, pulling you tightly against him. “Then let’s have another baby. Let’s do it. You can have everything you want.” 

You stare at him. 

He nods. “We can do it. Let’s have another baby.” 

Heat in your eyes, the barest line of tears in your waterline as you give him a one-armed hug. “You want to?” you ask. 

He breathes out by your ear. “That’s a dumb question. And it’s pretty good luck, right? I mean, we weren’t trying, I didn’t even know you wanted another one, so for it to catch…” He does that groaning pleased thing where he buries his nose against the side of your face. 

“I didn’t know until the test was in my hand.” 

He laughs happily into your skin before he pulls away. He kisses you, he kisses Wren, and he flicks your tummy gently. “Holy shit, that’s a lot of Harringtons.” 

You get another loving kiss for all your efforts. “Steve?” you ask, eyes still closed, his face hovering just an inch away from your own. 

“What, honey?” He says it like light of my life, angel, sweetheart, all the devotion you're used to. 

“We’re probably gonna have to move.” 

“Are you kidding? I already figured it all out. We’re gonna convert the attic.” 

You laugh as he dots a kiss against your cheek. “We are?” 

“I got a quote a couple of months ago, I figured if Beth and Avery got too picky we could give Avery a new room upstairs. But it’ll still work, don’t you think?” 

You finally descend into giggly happy tears and Steve pretends he’s immune, but you hear him sniffing as you stroke Wren's chubby cheek with your finger. “What do you think, sweetheart?” you ask softly. “Do you want a baby sister? How about a brother? What are you thinking?” 

She gurgles her own laugh. “Da,” she says, pointing at Steve like he’s funny. 

“Do I get to decide?” Steve asks her, gasping happily. 

Steve has a lot more to say about it all later that night when the kids are sleeping, baby Wren on his chest, just for an hour before you both sleep too. 

He starts with asking if you’re sure, which you are for now, then the scary stuff, because you got really exhausted last time and it’s not going to be easier. He talks so much and you just lay there, in awe, because he means what he told you. You can have everything you want. Steve’s gonna make sure of it. 

“I’ll get you some prenatals in the morning, okay?” he promises, stroking hearts into Wren’s sleeping back. 

You shift over the pillow to kiss his cheek. “Thanks, H. I love you.” 

“I love you so much I don’t think you get it,” he says, tipping his head your way.

But you do. It’s why five kids feels like a gift, and not a curse. You get how much he loves you. 

[blessyouhawkeye]

the thing about steve harrington is that he's one of the most compelling characters of all time. he starts the show an extremely popular jock and now he's got two friends: a girl he had a crush on that turned out to be a lesbian and a fourteen year old. the only fight he's ever won in his life was against a soviet spy. he keeps a bat full of nails in his car. he barely graduated high school. he beat up a racist. he's terrible at flirting. he has daddy issues. he spends an entire season wearing a little sailor outfit, hat included. and he's even bisexual

[theghostinyourwalls]

I can’t believe we’ve all been cropped out of these pictures

[buckwheeler]

Steve explaining celebrity gossip to Eddie in extensive detail, going off on long side tangents about different scandals relating to different celebs, chiming in with his own opinions and what they’re saying in the rags. Eddie listening so intently and reacting so expressively Steve stops and is like.. are you making fun of me? And Eddie’s like no! Come on, what did she do next? And Steve’s like :))) ok SO!

[munsonfamilyband]

I have no time right now to elaborate too deeply on this thought but I just had a brain worm and I need to write it down before I forget. Who knows, I may elaborate and make this a whole thing with dialogue tonight, we’ll see. TW for depictions of Steve’s injuries post s4, vomiting, gore(?)

Steve refuses medical treatment at the end of s4, they drop off Eddie and he hides in plain site until it’s time to take Dustin and Robin home.

They stop at Dustin’s first, both he and Robin getting out to get Claudia Hugs (I just know she gives INCREDIBLE hugs). He drops Robin off at home with her promising to keep her walkie on their frequency. And then he goes home alone.

He tries to shower, it hurts his feet and back too much. He tries to change the “bandage” but just gently tugging almost makes him black out from pain. So he collapses on his bed and passes out.

Days go by, he’s trying to act normal, like he isn’t always running a fever and his sides are itching and starting to smell under the cologne he practically bathes in. It works for a few days at least, but Claudia gets suspicious by day 3 post earthquake when Steve shows up for lunch with flushed cheeks. 2 days later he doesn’t show up.

She drives over alone, Dustin is at the Wheeler’s, and she lets herself in with the key Steve gave her and Dustin after last summer. She calls his name, doesn’t get an answer but something smells off. She’s a nurse, she recognizes the scent of disease.

She hurries upstairs and finds Steve in bed, only wearing boxers and the filthy scrap of cloth wrapped around his stomach. He’s sweating and has vomited on himself at least twice, recently too. She immediately knows that he is what smells, she can see the pus and blood on his abdomen. He’s delirious, mumbling to himself and part of her wants to shut down and cry, to go cradle this boy, her son in all ways but blood, but she can’t. She steels herself and walks to his bedside to feel his forehead, almost recoiling from how hot his skin is.

As she keeps checking him over, she grabs the phone on his bedside table and calls 911, cradling the phone between her ear and shoulder to keep working. When the operator answers she explains who she is, where she is and what’s happening.

It’s a blur after that until she’s sitting in the hospital waiting room and she realizes that 1. her shirt and her hands reek of Steve’s blood, and 2. she’s completely alone in the waiting room. Swallowing her tears, Claudia goes over to the payphone and fishes out some coins to call the Buckely’s. Robin’s father picks up but quickly hands it over when Claudia mentions Steve.

She will never forget the choked off sound of pure distress Robin makes when she hears what’s happening.

Hours pass, Robin had arrived shortly after the call and her and Claudia have been curled up together in the waiting room every since. They haven’t called anyone else, haven’t even thought about it, too worried about Steve. Later, Claudia will remember the other kids who adore Steve, Hopper who treats Steve like a son. But in that moment, still not knowing if her boy is okay, she can’t.

Finally, a doctor steps out, clearly fresh from surgery, to speak with them. She explains that Steve had a very severe infection in multiple wounds, especially the ones on his side. They had to debride the wounds, which is what took so long. He was lucky that she found him when he did and that he hadn’t picked up any truly terrible bacteria. He hadn’t gone septic, thankfully, but he was going to be on seriously strong antibiotics for a while. She explained that he was in the ICU and they aren’t supposed to let anyone but family see him.

Claudia wanted to scream and sob and go find the Harringtons and get them to come see their son, but before she even says anything Robin explains that Steve’s parents had all but disowned him and her and Claudia were both in his emergency contacts, not his parents.

The doctor lets them see him. They have to wear face masks and gloves, but they can see him. Claudia had never seen him look so small. And there, in that ICU room, her and Robin both broke and started crying. That was how Jim Hopper found them when he arrived shortly after, the nurses having called him. He’s wearing a mask and gloves but his eyes are wild and scared. He nearly falls over when he sees Steve.

Steve is unconscious for almost two weeks, though the first four or five days or so were due to sedatives - the doctor wanted him to rest and let the antibiotics work. After he was taken off the sedatives he was moved out of the ICU, to a regular room where other people could visit. The kids came and decorated his room, even brought something Eddie had “commissioned” from Will (it looked like Steve ripping one of those creepy things from that alien movie apart, which she really didn’t get). Joyce brought him the quilt from her couch that he always enjoyed at movie nights and Robin came in every other day with his shampoo and conditioner to wash his hair for him (on days she didn’t come to wash his hair, she would come do something else with him. One day Claudia walked in on her painting his nails and her heart felt like it was melting).

The day he finally woke up was the first day Robin hadn’t been able to come. Her parents had forced her to take a break and get some sleep, so Claudia was there on her own just reading a book. She was so engrossed in it that she dropped it in shock when she heard the person on the bed in front of her make noise. Her eyes instantly went to Steve and she could see him scrunching up his face and groaning.

Claudia was by his side in a heartbeat, gently grabbing his hand and brushing a hand over his cheek, speaking softly to let him know she was there. His eyes slowly squinted open, clearly struggling to get the energy to move at all. Their eyes locked and his mouth twitched, like he wanted to smile at her. Then, as she was watching him with tears in her eyes, he opened his mouth and spoke for the first time in weeks.

“Mom….”

[space-invading-pigeon]

Steve Harrington's hero is his mother, who is kind and fierce and also off the rails crazy when she's pissed.

Steve's mom flushes his dad's heart medication if he doesn't speak to her with respect.

Steve's mom once put a body builder in the ICU because he called her baby boy a bastard child.

Steve's mom taught him how to knit and showered her only son in so much affection that in the one year she was traveling with his father, Steve was practically starved for affection.

Steve's mom offered to legally adopt Robin after the mall fire.

Steve's mom is the only lawyer/civilian to know what happened each time the Upside Down reared its ugly head.

Steve's mom arm has a standing Girl's Night with Wayne Munson (they watch football, drink, and gush over their teenage sons).

Steve's mom hugged Eddie when she was officially introduced to him and promised that she would treat him like a son for as long as he treated her baby right.

Steve's mom attacked Henry Creel during the final showdown and may have severed one of his arms; she doesn't quite remember but she does know that that Wheeler girl is twice as scared of her now.