#the party learns asl for steve

[cinnamoncitric]

It all starts with Robin.

In truth, if one might get technical, it starts with Billy Hargrove. Then, in due time, it restarts with Russian spies and a fortress underneath a mall. But neither of the parties was there for the result, so: in all the ways that matter, which is to say, in all the ways that help, it starts with Robin.

In all things Steve Harrington, there are two authorities other than the man himself, and, though he has known him longer, she doesn't think Dustin has noticed. Steve himself doesn't like to talk about it, has only ever opened up to her on the subject under scrutiny and prodding. But avoidance doesn't change the fact: Steve's hearing has suffered.

He tells her this exactly once, both sitting side by side on the bed in his room. He says it looking down, ashamed, one hand tightly pulling at his hair, the other holding Robin's in a tight knuckled grip. His voice is small. He does his best to suffocate the anguish and the fear that flood it when he says, What if it gets worse?

There's no reason to believe it will, for now. At least, that's what the doctor tells them once she bullies Steve into a visit. As long as there are no other injuries, no other blows to the head, he isn't in danger.

But the thing is, there might be. That's just the life they lead – never knowing if the danger is truly over. So Robin sits her ass down and picks up a book on sign language because she knows he'd never do it on his own.

Come on, she tells him, months of secret classes in Indy later. I'll teach you. We can just use it to talk in secret in front of everyone whenever we want to.

Which is, of course, not how it goes down. They go maybe a month into sneaking awkward signs behind everyone's back until Dustin gets wind of it. And when child prodigy Dustin Henderson decides he wants in, there's not much they can do to stop him. And he gets all the other genius gremlins to do it, too. Imagine how useful it would be to communicate without alerting demogorgons, he tells them, when Steve explains he doesn't want to talk about the real reason for it. They all figure it out anyway.

Mike learns it like he'd much rather not. His only argument for doing it is that it might be good for his college application and that Nancy took an interest in it and is now forcing him to learn with her as "sibling bonding."

Will is shy, Lucas is earnest, El is curious. By some point, all of them pick it up. All the older kids, all of the adults – Hopper, Joyce, Murray, Claudia Henderson – and Steve feels like he could cry. They all took the time and effort to learn a whole different language, just for him.

He does cry, and it's all because of one Max Mayfield.

Hey, loser, she calls out one day when the two of them are waiting for the others, searching for him with her cane so she can stand in his direction. Are you looking at me?

Steve twists so that's she's perfectly in his line of view and then confirms.

Good, Max says in sign with a shit-eating grin, pose triumphant, Guess what I fucking learned how to do.

Just like that, there are tears streaming down his face. He tries his best to control his breathing while Max goes on.

Lucas showed me, she continues in sign. It was a pain in the ass because he had to keep moving my hands himself every time I got it wrong, but I wasn't about to let you guys have one over me.

When he doesn't answer, when he can't answer due to the huge lump stuck on his throat and the tears streaming silently down his face, she pauses. Then starts again, this time out loud, Hey, you know you have to speak to the blind girl, though, right? I can't see your hands.

Steve laughs wetly. Shut up. Language, Mayfield.

She laughs at the unintentional pun. Yeah, language. Oh, man. Are you crying?

Shut up, Steve says again. I'm gonna hug you now, okay?

She huffs. Sure, if it's to get it out of your system.

[steddieas-shegoes]

Request:hard of hearing Steve who realizes that the party are doing their best to accommodate him by learning ASL, using subtitles, etc and he is overwhelmed with joy about that bc nobody else seems to be doing it. Robin, Jonathan, Nancy, Eddie, Argyle & Wayne go to ASL classes with Steve. And just being supported the whole time

MY LOVE! This one's a bit on the shorter side because the struggle is real with words today. I still feel like it gets the emotions across that Steve feels about the party loving him and supporting him, which is what's most important. That post-vacation depression is hitting me so so hard. Enjoy! - Mickala ❤️

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The hearing in his left ear went first. It wasn’t a slow and steady loss of hearing so much as one day he could hear fine, the next sounded like water was blocking it, and the next he couldn’t hear at all.

No doctor could explain what happened, and they’d assumed it was just a delayed reaction to the head trauma he’s experienced.

They recommended he prepare for hearing loss in his other ear.

They said it so casually, like it was fine and something easy to handle. Like he wasn’t panicking at the fact that he wouldn’t be able to hear anything.

He started learning sign language, late nights sitting with Robin as she worked through VHS tapes from the library with him and Eddie.

He didn’t tell anyone else at first, didn’t want to scare them or make them feel like they had to treat him differently.

But they noticed.

They saw the way he turned a certain way when they were talking, leaning his head subtly so his right ear was facing towards conversations.

They saw his hands moving in fluid patterns when he thought they weren’t looking. El was the one who pointed it out, her own limited experience with sign language just enough to figure out he was practicing basic sentences.

They saw how he kept touching his left ear, like if he touched it, maybe his hearing would come back.

So they went to Robin, all of them, begging her to teach them sign language, begging her to keep it a secret from him.

But even Robin didn’t really know much, and all she knew was self taught, so they struggled after a few lessons.

Eventually, Steve had to tell them.

He could tell some of his hearing in his right ear was going, though at least it was happening much slower.

He sat them all down, Eddie next to him holding his hand, Robin on the other side with an unreadable expression on her face.

And when they all already knew, he felt Eddie squeeze his hand, felt tears run down his cheeks without his permission as everyone surrounded him in a group hug.

Within a week, they all signed up for ASL classes in Indy, Eddie and Nancy driving everyone, everyone chipping in for gas even though Eddie offered to pay for it.

As if that wasn’t overwhelming enough, knowing his chosen family all loved him enough to learn an entire language just to be able to communicate with him, they all started figuring out subtitles for movie nights.

Dustin, Eddie, and Jeff figured out a system that let Steve feel the actual note changes of Eddie’s guitar instead of just the same vibrations through the whole song.

They kept a whiteboard in every room, called it Steve Sharades (“for the alliteration!”), and used it as a message board when they weren’t sure of the signs for certain words or phrases.

He was thankful for that when he woke up one morning to near silence.

Just a slight buzzing in his right ear.

When Eddie said good morning, he only knew because he read his lips.

He cried, he felt lost, scared, alone.

But only for a little while.

His family had been preparing for this, had taught themselves how to still give Steve as much of “normal” as they could.

That night was dinner with Wayne, who had been warned about this possibly happening, and probably got a warning from Eddie while Steve was in the shower earlier.

When they arrived at his trailer, he pulled Steve into a hug, arms tightening until he could barely breathe.

He could feel Wayne’s heartbeat against his chest, felt ihs hands on his back, wide and strong, holding him together.

When he pulled away, he started signing as he spoke so Steve could read his hands or his lips.

All okay, son?

Steve sobbed, but nodded.

Wayne had learned sign language, too.

Steve turned to Eddie to hug him, knew he was the one responsible for teaching Wayne secretly.

Steve told them both he loved them, showed them in every way he could, too.

Just like they showed him.

[hairstevington]

Daily Drabble, 10/5/23

Prompt: “Quiet”

(Deaf!Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson)

A/N: Hello all! For those who don’t know, I went to a Deaf school and am fluent in ASL. When writing ASL in written English, you use all capitals. I hope you enjoy!!

The first few times Steve got beat up, he was left with a ringing in his ears for a while. Then, the ringing became constant. Then, the Russians happened.

The ringing stopped. It was quiet.

He didn’t want to tell anyone, and he wasn’t sure why. At first he just acted like everything was fine. He tried to read lips and nodded when people told him things. Whenever he misunderstood something, his friends chalked it up to him being an idiot as always.

Robin and Steve worked together, so it was basically impossible to hide it from her. It became their secret. She helped him at Family Video with customers, covered for him, made sure he always got to do the tasks that didn’t require hearing or listening to other people.

Dustin noticed next, and he convinced Steve to let the others know. They communicated through writing a lot, until the party decided they could all learn sign language together. Like a code, they told Steve. Max and El were excited at the prospect of writing letters, too.

Thank God Steve was out of school, so he didn’t have to worry about accommodations.

One night, Steve went to pick Dustin, Mike, and Lucas from Hellfire, and that’s when he ran into Eddie.

Steve knew he was saying something snarky, but he couldn’t tell what since it was so dark.

DEAF, Steve signed. He pointed at his ear to clarify. Eddie raised his eyebrows.

THAT HAPPEN WHEN? Eddie signed back. Steve stumbled backwards.

YOU SIGN?! Eddie nodded.

MOM DEAF TOO, he explained. He shrugged. DEAD NOW. Steve awkwardly stifled a laugh at how blunt Eddie had delivered the news. Thankfully he didn’t seem offended.

HAPPEN LAST-YEAR, Steve explained. NICE MEET YOU.

Eddie smiled. NICE MEET YOU TOO.

_____________

Check out my Masterlist for other works!! ❤️🤟

[steveshairychest]

Steve knows he's losing his hearing, but he doesn't want to worry anyone, doesn't want to be a burden, so he doesn't say anything. If the party notice him saying 'Can you repeat that?' more often and staring at their lips, they don't say anything, they just happily oblige.

No one in the party questions him about it, but he notices little changes, like turning to face Steve when talking to him, turning the subtitles on without asking during movie nights, he's even noticed a few of them using asl in conversation with him but he's still learning so he doesn't always catch on to what they're saying.

The fact they are putting in the effort to not exclude Steve makes him want to cry. He didn't even have to ask them.

All of them are aware of Steve's stubbornness and inability to ask for help, so they just give him the support he needs because they know that he'll open up when he's ready.

[emitowrites]

Everywhere, Everything

I just wanted to save Eddie from the fate that Duffer bros gave him at the end of S4, but somehow over the weekend and into the beginning of this week I've written 25k for the world in total??? So, that's a thing that's happened I guess...

It's 24k words, you can read it here.

Featuring Audhd Eddie (who has powers!), HOH Steve, synesthesia, and (eventually) the party learning ASL through DnD.

Here's the summary:

The first time it happens, Eddie doesn’t really even realise it. He’s dying in Dustin’s arms, he’s in pain, and then suddenly he’s under the tarp, in the boathouse, jumping out with a broken bottle in his hand, shaking as he holds Steve Fucking Harrington up against the wall. It has to be a dream. It can’t have happened. It wasn’t real. But it was real, and the next go around unravels in exactly the same way. This time, he remembers the vents, they patch them up before he plays guitar, but it doesn’t help. He dies in Dustin’s arms, wakes up and he’s got Steve pushed to the wall before he can even blink.

If you read it, please let me know what you think 😆

[swan-of-sunrise]

Hawkeye (Part II)

Summary: Clint reaches out to (Y/N) for help and after a visit with the physically and mentally taxed archer, she takes it upon herself to meet Hawkeye’s #1 fan and impart a little wisdom onto Clint’s young partner.

Pairing: Steve Rogers X Fem!Reader

Word Count: 4.1k

Warnings/Disclaimers: None

A/N: This week's chapter is a little longer because (a) I'm not sure I'll have Part III finished by next Thursday and (b) You guys deserve it!! There's a surprise character that'll pop up in the second half of this chapter and if you've seen Spider-Man: No Way Home, then I think you'll know who it is lol thank you for reading, I hope you all enjoy!

Hawkeye (Part II) December 21st, 2024 Apartment of Moira Brandon, East Village (Previous Chapter)

Out of all the Avengers she’d been introduced to during that fateful party at the Avengers Tower so many years ago, (Y/N) always had a secret soft spot for Clint Barton; he was equal parts kind and sarcastic, quickly noting the anxiety she’d been desperately trying to mask from the moment she arrived and taking the time to get to know her while simultaneously directing playful jabs at his fellow teammates. Their first meeting and team-up in the subsequent conflict with Ultron coupled with Natasha’s endless stories from their days of working together at S.H.I.E.L.D. cemented (Y/N)’s unbreakable trust in the archer, and it was that trust that led her to an average-looking East Village apartment building only four days before Christmas with a priceless and top-secret piece of S.W.O.R.D. technology tucked away in her messenger bag.

“Thanks for coming on such short notice, (Y/L/N),” Clint smiled as he ushered her into the temporary safe house, checking up and down the hall before locking the door and leading her into the cozy living room. “See any of those idiot Tracksuits tailing you?”

(Y/N) shrugged her winter coat off and draped it over the back of the couch with a humorless chuckle. “Nope, but I almost wish I had; I could’ve used a good laugh or two after that horrendous traffic jam on the Brooklyn Bridge.” She folded her pink scarf in half and tossed it on top of her coat, meeting Clint’s eyes with a sardonic smirk beginning to spread across her face. “Wouldn’t you know, some dumb-ass archer decided to impale a Pym Particle-infused arrow into the Manhattan Bridge and create commute hell for anyone traveling in or out of Brooklyn?”

Rolling his eyes, Clint flopped down onto the well-worn couch and sighed in exasperation; he looked exhausted, with darkened circles under his eyes and a noticeable cut on his forehead. “Still a smart-ass, I see. For your information, I shot a Pym Particle-infused arrow at a regular arrow and then it impaled itself into the bridge.”

“Well, either way, I thought you’d like to know that Scott got his ass chewed out by Hank for that little stunt,” She replied in amusement and sat herself down on the couch beside him, taking a moment to adjust her sweater over her small baby bump before rummaging through her messenger bag. “Apparently, Hank’s not too fond of his life’s work being used for – and I quote – ‘stupid shit you see on the eleven o’clock news.’”

The archer scoffed at that. “I once saw the guy use Pym Particles to enlarge a goddamn chicken sandwich, but whatever.”

(Y/N) laughed as she withdrew a small metal case and handed it over to Clint. “Back-up hearing aid, as requested; my coworker said that this is one of the best on the market, so you should be well-covered if yours ends up breaking again.” He nodded in thanks and slipped the case into his pocket. Her former teammate’s recent hearing loss as a result of years of work as a S.H.I.E.L.D. spy, Avenger and vigilante inspired her to seek out Brooklyn College’s underfunded but resilient disability resource center; she studied ASL and learned enough to not only begin teaching Steve and Carina, but to also pre-film her lectures for any hard of hearing student who decided to enroll in her Introduction to American Popular Culture course. “And I looked into that socialite guy for you…” Activating the transparent S.W.O.R.D. tablet – a parting gift from Nick Fury before he traveled up to the organization’s newly-built space station – (Y/N) allowed it to scan her handprint and read off the information she’d collected. “Jack Duquesne, born into the obscenely-wealthy Duquesne family that’s apparently descended from European aristocracy. Since he’s seemingly never worked a day in his life, he’s had enough free time to become an expert swordsman and accrue a pretty impressive sword collection; is that what he was doing at that black market auction the other night?”

Clint nodded as he studied the images on the tablet’s screen. “He wanted to add the Ronin’s sword to his collection; according to Kate, he ran off with it after the Tracksuits crashed the auction, and then he almost took my head off with it when we broke into her mom’s penthouse this morning.” When (Y/N) thoughtfully tilted her head to the side, his frown deepened. “What?”

“When I did a little more digging, I found out that Duquesne is listed as the CEO of Sloan Limited. It’s a shell company, one that launders money for none other than-”

“The Tracksuit Mafia…” The archer exhaled and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and rubbing a hand over his forehead. “Kate thinks that Jack Duquesne killed his uncle Armand. At first, I thought the idea of him becoming her stepfather someday was clouding her judgement but it’s looking like her instincts might’ve been right.”

Taking note of the stiffness in his movements and the weary tone of his voice, (Y/N) tucked the tablet back into her messenger bag as she gave him a sympathetic smile. “None of what I found out really helped you, did it?”

“It helped, (Y/L/N), it really did…” Clint hastily reassured her. “But I’m no closer to being able to go home for Christmas. I’ve got the suit and the sword, but Maya Lopez and the Tracksuits still have me and Kate connected to the Ronin and there’s a good chance that they’ve got Laura’s Rolex; I can’t leave until I track it down and figure out a way to stop the Tracksuits from targeting Kate, and I’ve gotta do all that before Kingpin gets involved.” He sat back and offered her a small smile. “The Barton Family Christmas hit a little speed-bump, as you can tell, so how’s the Rogers-(Y/L/N) Family Christmas going so far?”

“Well, Carina helped us decorate cookies and gingerbread houses for the vets down at the VA hospital yesterday, and then she decided that our living room wall could use a thick coat of frosting as well.” Clint burst into laughter and (Y/N) couldn’t help but join him. “Steve’s convinced that she’s got the makings of an artist, but I just think she likes to keep us on our toes. And this little gumball…” Beaming, she rubbed a hand across her bump. “Moved for the first time this morning.”

“That’s amazing! Boy or girl?”

“We don’t know yet, but we’re gonna open the envelope my doctor sealed for us together on Christmas Day and find out.” Memories of her first pregnancy and the overwhelming loneliness she struggled with unwittingly came to the forefront of her mind, but she forced herself to ignore them as she continued. “I’ve never really been one for big gender reveals, but after Carina’s…shall we say, unconventional birth and everything we’ve been through since, I just wanted this pregnancy to be special for us.”

A look of understanding crossed Clint’s bruised face, as he was one of the few Avengers who could empathize with desiring balance between a normal family life and the superhero life they’d been thrust into, but he merely smirked and jokingly replied, “Well, if you’re still thinking of baby names, I’ve always thought that Clint Rogers-(Y/L/N) had a nice ring to it.”

(Y/N) snorted in amusement. “Oh, really? You know, I’ve heard the same exact thing about Sam Rogers-(Y/L/N), James Bucky Rogers-(Y/L/N), Bruce Rogers-(Y/L/N), Thor Rogers-(Y/L/N), Korg Rogers-(Y/L/N) and Rocket Rogers-(Y/L/N).”

“I’m not usually one to judge, but I’ll totally judge you if you name your kid after a talking raccoon or a big pile of rocks.” When his chuckles died down, the archer’s blue-grey eyes softened as they looked between her face and the bump she was unconsciously cradling. “I’m really happy for you guys, and I know…I know that Nat and Tony would be, too.”

After flashing him a thankful smile, (Y/N) leaned her elbow on the back of the couch and rested her temple against the palm of her hand. “So, what’s this Kate Bishop like?”

“A pain in my ass,” Clint bluntly replied and when she lightly scoffed at his answer, he crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m serious! That kid’s cocky, reckless and she talks way too much…but I can’t deny that she’s a damn good archer and her instincts are sharp.” His brow arched as a thoughtful expression crossed his injured features. “You know, she reminds me a little of you, actually; she put that suit on to protect innocent people from the Tracksuits without a single thought for her own safety, just like how you volunteered to help an Air Force vet and a couple of wanted Avengers save the world from Hydra without a single thought for your own safety.”

(Y/N), detecting a hint of concern in her friend’s tone of voice, nodded in understanding. “You’re worried about her.”

Clint nodded. “Damn right I am. You were twenty-seven when you helped Steve, Nat and Sam stop Project Insight, and Kate’s only twenty-two; you understood the risks of getting involved in this sort of life, but Kate…she’s got blinders on. I tried to make her understand that I’m not a role model, that I’m not someone that people should look up to and that this life I’ve led for the past twenty years isn’t a game but like I already told you, she’s cocky and reckless.”

“She doesn’t know about the Ronin, does she?” When Clint shook his head, (Y/N) bit her lip and carefully contemplated her next words before speaking. “Maybe the reason you can’t get through to her is because you haven’t shown her the real you and she can sense that you’re hiding something from her; if you open up to her now, then you might be able to stop her from getting too deep into all this.” He shrugged his shoulder, but she could see that she hadn’t convinced him to confide in his reluctant partner; she glanced down at her wristwatch and hummed to herself. “Well, I should probably head out now if I want to beat the commute traffic to Brooklyn…”

“Yeah, and I should give Laura and the kids a call before I pass out from exhaustion.” Clint helped her to her feet and gave her a fond smile as she pulled her coat and scarf back on. “It’s been good seeing you, (Y/L/N), and I really appreciate your help. Tell Steve that I said hi and that he should totally name his second-born after one of his oldest and coolest friends, okay?”

“Sure thing, Hawkeye,” (Y/N) chuckled, slinging the strap of her messenger bag over her shoulder as they walked over to the apartment’s front door and giving her friend a hug, careful of his bruised and battle-worn limbs as she did. “Good luck, Clint. You’re going to fix this and you’re going to make it home for your Barton Family Christmas and on Christmas Day, we’ll give you guys a call to let you know if it’s a boy or a girl.”

“Aye aye, Captain.” With a smile and a teasing salute, Clint opened the door and watched her head towards the building’s elevator before retreating into the temporary safe house.

(Y/N) stepped into the elevator and after the door slid closed, the uneasy feeling that had begun to form when the topic of Kate Bishop came up only seemed to deepen as the elevator descended. It was foolish to further embroil herself in Clint’s struggle against the Tracksuits; not only was she entering her pregnancy’s second trimester but if a powerful man like Kingpin caught wind that she was involved, it could put Steve’s secret life in jeopardy and their family’s safety at risk. But it was Clint’s comparison of Kate to (Y/N) that compelled her to pull the S.W.O.R.D. tablet out of her messenger bag and research the young archer’s cell phone number.

“I sure hope that I’m doing the right thing, Nat,” She murmured under her breath as she worked. “For Kate and for Clint’s sakes…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, (Y/N) was seated at one of the rickety metal tables outside Greenwich Village’s own Joe’s Pizza, patiently waiting for the twenty-two-year-old to work through her star-struck awe while she enjoyed a slice of pizza and scratched the young archer’s rescue Golden Retriever behind his ear.

“Holy shit, I can’t believe I’ve met two Avengers in less than a week! Is this, like, some sort of a superhero test? Or a trial period or somethin’? I mean, I’ve only been in four-ish fights so far…or wait, was it five? I don’t know, I can’t really remember ‘cause I’m pretty much running on caffeine and adrenaline at this point,” Kate nervously chuckled, a little out of breath as she finally stopped rambling and attempted to rearrange her excited features into a nonchalant smile. “…So, um, what can I do for you, Ms. (Y/L/N)?”

“Please, just call me (Y/N).” Smiling, (Y/N) took another bite of her pizza slice and used it to point at Kate. “I’ve heard a lot about you from our mutual friend, so I wanted to meet you for myself.”

The young archer’s brows raised almost comically. “R-Really? Wow, that’s really…was it all good things you heard?”

“Mm-hmm, and I also saw the video of you rescuing this good boy on the news.” The one-eyed Golden Retriever nuzzled his face against her lap and perked up when she tore her slice of pizza in half, wolfing it down in record time once she offered it to him. “He’s lucky that someone as skilled as you came along when you did.” After watching the dog enjoy his chunk of pizza, she looked back up at Kate and sobered as her eyes fixated on the steri-strips that closed the lacerations that were scattered across her youthful face. “Actually, I asked you to meet me here because I wanted to talk to you about this case you’re working with Clint.”

Kate slumped in her seat, a dejected frown beginning to form on her injured face while she took a halfhearted bite of her pepperoni pizza slice. “You think I should stay home and let Clint handle it, don’t you? That’s what my mom thinks, too; she didn’t say anything about it to me, but I know she thinks I’m crazy for doing this. I mean, I’m just a civilian and Clint’s a freaking Avenger, so I guess I see why it’s nuts that I’m helping him out, but I…I can’t just sit back when I know that I can help.”

Smiling a little to herself, (Y/N) dabbed at her lips with a napkin and shook her head. “Kate, I’m the last person on the planet who’d ever tell you to stay home and ignore the instinct to help. I was just a civilian when I helped Steve, Nat and Sam take down Hydra – an unpublished historical-fiction novelist with a part-time job at the V.A., who just so happened to be one of only two people in D.C. that a couple of wanted Avengers could trust. They tried their hardest to make me stay home and out of danger but I refused, because I knew that I could help them. I had to help, no matter what, and nothing they’d say could change my mind.”

“So, you understand why I’m still helping Clint?” The young archer’s expression brightened and she sat up in her seat. “That’s great!” When (Y/N) didn’t immediately answer, her head tilted to the side in confusion. “…Isn’t it?”

“You and I are a lot alike and because I see so much of myself in you, I wanted to tell you what I wish someone had told me ten years ago, when I took my first steps into the life of an Avenger.” (Y/N)’s fingers caressed the content Golden Retriever’s fur, taking small comfort in his calming presence as she continued. “When you choose to spend your life trying to help people, there’s going to be consequences you’ll have to face. Some of the consequences won’t come as a surprise – the fights and battles have taken a physical and mental toll on me, for example, and I’ll have to live with their effects on my body and on my mind for the rest of my life – but others will. From the moment it began, my entire career’s been called into question; you see, people assume that my success is due to my long-time association with the Avengers and not the writing skills I’ve worked my ass off developing and perfecting. I lost any chance at anonymity or a private life when I announced my engagement to Steve Rogers. I became estranged from my family, because they didn’t approve of my relationship or my association with the Avengers. I went through the joy of befriending some of the kindest and most misunderstood people in the world, and then I was forced to mourn them in a way that no one but my fellow Avengers could ever understand; the world lost Iron Man, Black Widow, Black Panther and the Vision, but I lost Tony, Nat, T’Challa and Vis.”

Kate bowed her head and stared down at the discarded pizza crust on her plate. “And you lost Steve, too.”

(Y/N) nodded mutely, careful to keep up the ruse that Steve Rogers died in the Battle of Earth and wasn’t currently wrapping Christmas gifts with their fifteen-month old daughter in their Brooklyn home. “When you face the threats that Clint and I have faced, you have to accept that there’s going to be things that you lose along the way. I don’t tell you any of this to dissuade you, Kate, far from it; I’ve always believed that if you feel that you can help, then it’s your moral obligation to do so.” She reached across the table and rested a comforting hand atop Kate’s, giving her a small smile when her eyes finally met hers. “But it’s important that you know that this life isn’t easy, and it’s only fair that you hear it from one of the only Avengers who stumbled into this life the way you have. Do you understand?”

Kate nodded, and the brief silence that filled the air as (Y/N) finished her slice of pizza was broken by a timid question. “Do you know who the Ronin is?”

“…I know who they used to be,” (Y/N) carefully replied. “But if you want to know more about the Ronin, then you’ll have to ask Clint.”

“Urgh, I knew you’d say something cryptic like that. Hey, what’re Clint’s favorite Christmas movies and does he have any strong opinions about ugly Christmas sweaters?”

After (Y/N) helped Kate plan out the perfect mini-Christmas party for a homesick Clint, she bid the young archer and her energetic Golden Retriever goodbye and watched them both stroll down the sidewalk with a fond smile on her face. It was clear to her that Kate’s heart was in the right place, and that perhaps she was the perfect person to help Clint move on from the Ronin as well as resolve the ongoing conflict with the Tracksuits. I just hope they’ll both stay safe, she thought as she anxiously bit her lower lip and stroked her small baby bump, her mind preoccupied with a myriad of the worst possible outcomes to the archers’ partnership.

“Here you go, Ms. (Y/L/N): one large chicken and olive pizza to go,” The young worker’s sudden appearance shook (Y/N) out of her heavy thoughts and after setting the pizza box down, he started to bus the table with a small smile on his face. “Need any packets of Parmesan cheese or red pepper flakes?”

“No, thank you, I-” (Y/N) cut herself off when her eyes caught sight of a familiar well-worn paperback sticking out of the teenager’s back pocket and she felt herself begin to grin. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen a copy of For Queen and Country with its original cover art. How’re you enjoying it?”

He nodded enthusiastically. “It’s one of my favorite books!” The young worker’s gaze briefly met hers as a light blush dusted his cheeks; there was a brief flash of grief in his brown eyes – a deep sort of grief that looked entirely out of place in the eyes of a teenager – but it soon vanished when a bashful expression graced his features. “I’ve been a fan for a pretty long time, Ms. (Y/L/N), and I was actually workin’ up the courage to come out here and ask you for your autograph. I don’t wanna bug you or overstep-”

“Of course I’ll autograph your copy!” (Y/N)’s smile widened as he stammered out a brief thanks and scrambled to hand her the paperback and his server’s pen. “Who should I make it out to?”

“Peter, Peter Parker.” Again, (Y/N) was struck by the strange emotion that flashed across his face, but what gave her pause was the sudden familiarity that his name brought her; she couldn’t put her finger on it, but something about the teenager’s name tugged at the far reaches of her mind. Doing her best to shrug the unsettled feeling off, she jotted down a brief greeting and signed her name before blowing on the drying ink and handing the book and pen back with a smile. “Thanks a lot, Ms. (Y/L/N)! It was good seein’ you agai-um, sorry, I think my manager’s callin’ me, happy holidays!”

Peter Parker, who’d abruptly turned as white as a sheet, shoved his book and pen into his pocket and scooped up the dirty dishes before practically sprinting back inside. (Y/N)’s brow arched at his odd shift in behavior, but gathered up her pizza box and strode down the sidewalk to where she’d been lucky enough to park her yellow Volkswagen Bug. After securing the pizza in the car’s front trunk (or ‘frunk,’ as Sam liked to jokingly call it), she carefully climbed into the driver’s seat and waited a moment for the baby to settle down before dialing Steve’s cell phone number.

“Hey, sunshine! How was your visit with Clint?”

“Productive, for the most part; he has an idea of who the middle-man between Kingpin and the Tracksuits is, but he’s still not sure how to stop them from targeting him and his new friend Kate or uncovering Laura’s past. I also had a quick chat with Kate over lunch, which is why I’m bringing home a chicken and olive pizza from Joe’s; you should also know that your offspring conned me into buying it.”

Steve chuckled. “Oh, they did, huh?”

“Mm-hmm, and you should count yourself lucky that it was only pizza; at four months pregnant with Cari, I was craving Flamin’ Hot Cheetos dipped in vanilla ice cream,” (Y/N) snickered as her husband made a sound of disgust on the other end of the call. “Oh, and the strangest thing happened as I was leaving! Do we know a Peter Parker from anywhere?”

“…I don’t think so, but the name sounds awfully familiar.”

“Right? There’s something strange about it but I can’t put my finger on-” A recognizable babbling in the background of the call caused her to stifle a giggle. “Someone’s feeling chatty today, aren’t they?”

“I think that last episode of Sesame Street might’ve riled her up a bit; you know how much she loves when the Count makes an appearance,” Her husband remarked before calling out, “Cari, did you wanna talk to Mama? Mama’s on the phone right now.”

The gibberish grew louder as the infant toddled over and happily exclaimed into the phone. “Mama!”

“Hi, lemon drop! I’ll be home really soon, okay? Mama loves you!” (Y/N) smiled to herself, listening to their daughter’s incoherent mumbling grow faint as Steve regained control of the cell phone. “I should be home in a half an hour or so, depending on how backed up the bridge is.”

“Fingers crossed that all the city’s archers decide to leave the Brooklyn Bridge un-impaled for the afternoon commute.” Steve joked. “You can tell me all about Clint and his new partner over pizza and my famous green smoothies. I love you, sunshine.”

She gave her phone an exaggerated air-kiss that made Steve huff out a quiet laugh. “I love you too, sweetheart, and I’ll see you soon.”

After hanging up the call and tucking her cell phone into her messenger bag, (Y/N) started the car’s engine and turned up the radio, the local station’s Christmas playlist already playing through the speakers. “Okay, gumball, your daddy promised to make us a smoothie, so let’s get this show on the road.”

Pulling away from the curb, (Y/N) hummed along to the upbeat Elton John track in the hopes that the music would distract from the unsettling feeling beginning to take form in the pit of her stomach, but the tune wasn’t enough to make her shake the suspicion that someone was watching her from afar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Who do you guys think was watching (Y/N)?? You'll have to stay tuned to find out! Thank you all so much for reading and commenting! I’ve created a Spotify playlist inspired by this series, and I’ll be updating it every time I upload a new chapter. Enjoy!

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ziGMhEsAw833GQ9eV44nR?si=6dfead09c76848d5 

Hawkeye (Part III)

Stumblin’ In Book VII: “Superhero Snapshots” Masterlist 

Tagging:  @mrs-obrien​​​​​ @lahoete​​​​​ @awkward117 @cminr @natdrunk​​​​ @momc95​​​​​ @savedbystyle​​​​​ @miraculouscloud @awkwardnesshabitat​​​​​ @marinettepotterandplagg​​​​​ @mangosandmimosas @supersouthy @benakenalove​​​​​ @brooke0297​​​​​ @hufflepeople​​​​​ @becausewelie​​​​​ @outoftheregular​​​​​​ @junipermurdock​​​​​ @ladydmalfoy @mads-weasley​​​​​ @username23345@crist1216​​​​​ @capswife​​​​​ @lilmschild​​​​​ @avngrsinitiative @crowleysqueenofhell​​​​​ @y-napotat​​​ @mary1raven​​​​​ @groovyqueer​​​​​ @ljej95​​​​​ @innersublimefury​​​ @prettysbliss​​​​​​  

[hersterical]

We all know that Steve and Robin are both fluent in Italian and Robin learns ASL and then teaches Steve so they have two secret languages to gossip and talk crap in.

But what about the fact that Argyle, who can’t keep a secret to save his life, is fluent in Spanish so he can understand the general idea of what they say in Italian? And what about Dustin and Will who are both passable in ASL and are teaching the other Party members at an impressive rate?

Obviously Robin and Steve are thrilled at these developments, but they need a way to communicate just between the two of them (as all best friends do). How are they going to talk about hot girls in front of the others? How are they supposed to commentate on relationship drama in the group in real time? (Does Mike know he’s in love with Will yet? No, but I think Max and El are beginning to suspect.) How are they supposed to keep Operation Fettuccine a secret until the big reveal? (They throw a going away party for themselves but they don’t tell anyone why until the very end of the night. They explain that they’re going to Italy for the summer and then run out the door into Steve’s already packed car before anyone can ask any questions.)

The solution, my friends, is so simple and yet, so brilliant. Together, Steve and Robin learn Italian Sign Language

[sarahmadisonxoxo]

The rumors were that the Munson’s were poor. No one of wealth would ever be caught living in a trailer outside the city limits. There was some truth in that. Wayne Munson never accepted a dime from his brothers schemes. Stealing and lying to afford his way into the elites good graces.  Rumors were that Eddie had to come beg at Wayne’s crumbling doorstep for a place to sleep. People assumed that Eddie’s parents had gotten caught up in some legal mess - not because they knew anything about them- just assuming the worst of them because of the belief they were poor.  It was nothing but pure prejudice that tainted the Munson name.  Eddie’s parents got off free with their crimes. Perfect crimes that offered a young Eddie a home that easily would have put the Harringtons or Wheelers to shame. Marble floors imported from Italy. Endless rooms and hallways for a child to get lost playing in.  What no one ever knew was that Eddie ran away from the world he’d grown up in. Accepting a leaky roof and tight corners over being expected to perform Infront of other people like a seal.��  He’d never fit in with that sort of life anyway. Rich enough to afford everything except freedom.  Wayne didn’t care that he wanted long hair. Didn’t care that he fell in love with pretty boys, and dreamed of being the one getting swept off his feet instead. He could blast Metallica and dance around the living room. Most importantly he wasn’t expected to wear a tux... well ever.  There had only been one time he didn’t completely hate it. One of the many extravagant parties his dad was throwing. Dom Perignon spraying from fountains like it was water. Predictably stale conversations about stock and wealth creation. Women dressed in gowns that could buy Wayne’s trailer several times over. The most ridiculous affair, salvaged only by the most angelic face he’d ever seen.  A man who’s name to this day he couldn’t remember getting. Not from the lack of trying. His Adonis was deaf.  In the moment’s Eddie had been trying to introduce himself, the man never faced him. Before any sort of anger could bubble in his chest he’d noted another guest of the party coming and signing something to him.  If there had ever been a moment he’d regretted not paying attention in school it was that one. The prestigious grade school he’d attended as a child had spent a lot of time teaching ASL as well as several other languages of communication. Being no older than sixteen at the time Eddie immediately lost his nerve.  He’d eventually come to learn ASL. Wanting to be able to formally greet the beauty next time he saw him, but that time never came. The beautiful boy with honey eyes was never to be seen again.  That along with finding that he didn’t care for the caged life of someone of wealth had him begging at Wayne’s door.  It could have been the best thing that happened to him. Leaving his home and moving half across the country to live with his uncle in a one bedroom trailer.  One that was again quickly made better when he once again came face to face with Adonis, his name is Steve, outside of a video store. 

[wheremadnesslies]

Imagine Kali learning asl for hoh Steve when he doesn't want to wear his hearing aid. Her learning the signs for when he should take it off and let the world be silent before he gets a migraine.

Imagine the party watching as Kali, this girl they don't know other than she ran a gang and that there's no way she's good for Steve, watching her treat Steve softly. Placing her hand on his arm and taking his hearing aid, putting in her own bag.

They watch as Steve smiles at her like she's every sweet and precious thing wrapped into one. Watch as he so easily guides her away from hallucinations. Watch as she lets him hold her tight while the hallucinations fade.

They watch as they live taking care of each other and loving each other and wonder why they ever thought she was bad.

[r0binscript]

robin who gets anxious over the concerning amount of head trauma steve has endured and makes them both learn ASL. they pick up on it fairly quickly and start having conversations without anyone knowing what they’re saying. it’s pretty fun. the rest of the party start picking up some signs and start asking robin and steve to teach them, eventually they hold a “class” to teach everyone they know because steves hearing starts to go.

[starlightshadowsworld]

https://www.tumblr.com/starlightshadowsworld/722607362837446656/okay-kinda-random-but-do-you-have-any-fic

Answering to this—I should’ve been specific but I love the work you do with stranger things and maybe you have any old fics you’ve read? i understand you probably don’t read as much anymore but it’s worth a shot haha

Aw thank you.

Sure!

Here are some of my favs.

Will preface by saying they are Steve centric stories.

Most are completed but I've noted which aren't.

Tried to give a bit of a variety though I did get a wee bit carried away 😅.

.

The boy who listened by CrystalDragonette.

Short story about how Steve notices little things. And Gareth of all people giving him a chance to say his piece.

And than using said info to completely fuck with Eddie.

Also by them, Steve vists the Byers (and threatens a child).

Pretty self explanatory, a lil one shot about Steve visiting the Byers and encountering Angela.

.

A Hedge of Brier Rose's by APuckish_Wit

The group make a plan to rescue Max and defeat Vecna for good.

Steve ends up sacrificing himself.... But all hope is not lost.

You might want tissues for this.

.

with no cross to bear (these words just come out) by hitlikeahammer

Eddie has decided that Steve deserves all the love and recognition he deserves and is going to make sure he gets it.

Aka Eddie loves steve and wants everyone to know how awesome steve is.

.

You made us feel like we could fly by Caroline_is_not_here

The one in which multiple head traumas lead Steve to go deaf.

A fic about him managing that, learning ASL and falling for the Deaf schools music teacher.

.

Just Close Your Eyes ( the sun is going down) by httphimbo

Not completed.

Stranger things X hunger games AU

Where Steve volunteers for Dustin and isn't sure if the mysterious Eddie, the tribute from District 3 can be trusted or not.

.

The Fruity Four Beat 1983 To Death With A Nail Bat by TheKidReadingInTheCorner

Robin, Steve, Eddie and Nancy are all bought back to 1983, the day before Will goes missing.

Armed with this knowledge earlier, they go to kick ass, adopt a lab kid and save as many people as they can.

It is fucking chaos, it's amazing and a sequel is in the works called The Skittle Six Bodyslam 1984 Into Another Dimension (Literally).

.

off the beaten path by Pukner

Steve (finally after years of repression) comes out as Bi. And figures that hey Eddie is cute, and he has that bandana in his pocket so he must also be queer.

Except Eddie has that bandana for aesthetic purposes, he thinks he's straight.

Cue Steve and Eddie flirting and neither of them realising the others intentions.

Part 1 of the off the script series there's 2 other entries, no boys allowed and here be dragons.

Funniest shit I've ever read even with the oh... Oh no..

.

Now it's your Turn Baby by datfangirlman

Not completed.

Eddie doesn't believes Steve's changed. No matter how much the party insist he has.

So they make a bet.

For Eddie to be Steve's friend for a month to see if Steve isn't a jerk anymore.

This has unforseen consequences when Steve develops feelings for Eddie and vice versa.

It's like a train wreck you can't stop staring at it.

.

The Fallen King and the King of the Freaks by Knight_of_Tartarus

Not completed.

Season 2, Steve having to deal with everything and Eddie gets the great idea to help the former King.

Aka Hellfire adopts Steve.

.

How to rehabilitate a jock in four months by towardthesun

Not completed.

Essentially the above two put together. Except hellfire aren't as... Welcoming.

Steve's at rock bottom and Eddie decides to run an experiment by inviting Steve into hellfire. Striking a deal with them that he can get Steve to change in 4 months.

The group don't like him and think hell never change so they (begrudgingly) agree... Except they start to actually like him.

... And Steve has no knowledge of this deal.

Another delightful train wreck.

And if I may be so bold, my own fics My Emergency Phone call

A fic based on the Noah Kahan song Dial Drunk.

Where Steve gets into trouble and his real family comes through for him

And The new Hopper

Stranger things X The black phone

Not completed

Where Vance Hopper ends up staying at his uncles in Hawkins, and finds that one of his old friends has been their all along.

Finney and Steve are the same person, they reunite and it's just fun.

Both are by me, SparkyIceblaze.

Hope they are enjoyable, lemme know if you need a link if one doesn't show up.

[frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe]

Here are some of my steddie headcannons (not to be confused with my other post(s) about collective steddie fanon). i will be adding to this

Steve is/becomes hard of hearing; i like to think he is disappointed in himself about needing a hearing aide for some reason but either robin or eddie help him over his feelings and he decides to get one

to the above: robin immediately learns and starts teaching steve ASL and eddie comes to her later asking her to teach him also

eddie is at least partially hispanic/latinx (i lean towards hispanic). this comes from a comment i saw one day that Uncle Wayne is “tio shaped” and i LOVE that!!! haven’t been able to stop thinking about it

since eddie is at least partially hispanic/latinx he knows spanish and i LOVE the idea of him either sweet talking or just saying the absolute filthiest stuff to steve in spanish and steve gets robin to help him learn spanish in secret (just for a bit at least) so he can know what eddie’s been saying to him

for steve’s bi-awakening, i like one of the kids asking “wait, can you not like both?” and steve’s just like.. “ok now hold on”; like, will comes out to el after coming out to steve and is explaining it to her that he likes boys, not girls and that’s where el goes “why can’t you like both” will: “i’m sure you can, and that there are people who do, i just am someone who only likes boys.” steve: 🤯

eddie is a v touchy person and steve is touch starved

eddie is uncut 👀

from @thebabyghoulx: Eddie refuses to let steve give him back his battle vest because “it looks better on you anyways” so steve makes eddie a new one, paying attention to eddie’s favorite bands to get the patches and pins right (and also adds some of steve’s favorites to it too) (READ steve harrington’s six-step guide to getting the guy by oaseas (@oaseas-ao3 here on tumblr) for a fic just like this!!!!!!!)

I 100% subscribe to Eddie’s full name being Theodore (Theodore > Teddy > Eddie pipeline)

to the above: once they start dating, Steve finds out and starts calling Eddie ‘Teddy’ because he thinks it’s a cute pet name and if the party asks, that’s all it is (“Because he’s cute and cuddly like a teddy bear, Henderson.”). Eddie doesn’t want anyone to know his full name. He’s perfectly fine with people thinking his real name is Edward.

Steve calling Eddie “Bambi” ❤️😭🥰

Eddie catching Steve singing to himself, but nothing he’s ever heard before; eddie finds out that Steve is singing his own songs/tunes. Eventually, Eddie convinces steve to start writing out his songs and helps compose the music for Steve

To the above: Steve’s middle name is Joseph and decides to start performing his music at open mic nights as “Djo”

[voidpacifist]

steddie headcanons that are keeping me awake at midnight

steve and eddie never formally met until after chrissy died. they really only knew each other through a culmination of rumors and gossip, so both of them felt like colossal idiots when they got to know one another and just realized, oh, this is actually a really cool guy who i wanna get to know better once all of this is over

which means, of course, that eddie lives after the bat attack. he has to deal with new and unknown prospects like chronic pain and literal battle flashbacks but hey! he has his friend steve harrington who can relate on both fronts

it's how the two of them start hanging out more – both of them wanna make sure the other is being safe and doing self care and shit

eddie's love language isn't just gift giving – its handmade gifts. lots of sewing or homemade enamel pins. he of course makes a bunch for the whole party after vecnas defeat to commemorate in their own special, sacred way that they did it. they won. but he also makes a bunch more for just steve, and steve doest realize how special it is until robin is over one day and is just like

"you have a whole crate of eddies weird patches and pins and shit."

"yeah, so what?"

"steve...literally nobody else has as much as you do."

which then leads to steve exercising his own personal love language on eddie, which to me is quality time. steves an event kind of guy, and even when he pretends it annoys him, he drives eddie everywhere. new appointment for some medication for the nerves in his legs and left arm? no biggie. a cool movie just came out? name the date and time. this band you really love is coming to a town nearby? cool, let's hop to it

it's almost scary how at the drop of a hat, he's at eddies beck and call. it gets to a point where eddie has to remind steve that he has a life outside of driving eddie and the kids to places. he also really just doesn't want his boyfr best friend burnt out

eddies not a terrible cook by a long shot, he's just never had a big kitchen to work with before, so when he sees steves kitchen? he's all hands on deck trying to make the best fucking food he can think of

i adore the headcanon that steve is italian and an incredible chef as much as the next steve truther. but i also love the headcanon that eddie has mexican roots. put that together with him being good at cooking? oooh baby, is steve in for a treat

neither he nor steve are bilingual, but they'd both like to learn the languages of their respective heritages. if/when steves hearing starts going caput, they also start taking asl classes together (I imagine robin and nancy tag along with them to said classes. it's like they're all in school together again minus the drama and ridiculous social expectations)

eddie taking the time to learn more about basketball and hair and "jock" things because he sees how invested steve is in them >>

also steve venturing into new music and style horizons because he loves how confident he feels when he doesn't give a fuck about looking "normal," and eddie melting into a puddle because punk steve is so. fucking. hot. >>

steve putting stickers on eddies mobility aids if he uses any post vecna. also eddie doing the same to steve's hearing aids/glasses case, etc.

decorations during holidays being just simple ribbons and tinsel since the christmas lights are just...nope. eddie and steve buy a huge wreath for steves front door

steve and nancy teaching eddie some self defense with a baseball bat

eddie and nancy teaching steve how to do eyeliner

movie nights galore, and once a month going to see a new musical in indianapolis or chicago or whichever other big city is close enough to them to access without incurring time off of work or a massive dent in their budgets

going to see hawkins high performances too, because mike wheeler became a fucking theater kid

everyone knows theyre dating before they do, or nobody knows and neither do they. there is nothing smooth about how they finally formally label it, they both just kinda realize it one day

it's during truth or dare and everyone's zooted out of their minds and eddie and steve are dared to play seven minutes in heaven. nancy dares them. because if anyone's gonna pick up on it first, it's nancy

steve is actually the one to convince eddie that they need a cat, especially since steve found the little fucker in a ditch off the road sick and malnourished. guess what eddie names it

(it's not a hard guess. the cats name is ozzy)

cat dads. and then fish dads, because eddie is too high maintenance himself to take care of an animal that needs much more than feeding and occasional supervision, so he finds a fish at the pet store and scares the shit out of steve with it when he gets home from a family video shift

one movie steve and eddie both equally adore besides rocky horror is the addams family. eddies gomez to steves morticia

(this is all I can think of for now)

[heyitsme1040]

The Silence [s.h]

summary : Steve's dealt with a lot of head trauma over the years of handling the Upside Down. He's been in some kind of fight every year, and by the end of it has yet another concussion. Losing his hearing took longer than he realized, but at least he's learned to deal with it.

pairings : Steve Harrington & the Party (s4), Steve Harrington & Eddie Munson

warnings : depictions of violence (series accurate injuries) - if I missed any please let me know

word count : 3.7k

AO3 (x)

a/n : I do not know sign language, but I have friends that are fluent in ASL. I got them to sign the words for me, and did my best to describe the way the signing looked. I am not claiming the description of the signed words are accurate, but I did my best to be as accurate as possible.

It was a gradual thing, losing one’s hearing. For Steve Harrington, he didn’t realize it was happening at first. 

After his fight with Jonathan, Steve was certain he had a concussion. The pressure in his head wouldn’t go away, everything was too bright, and his ears were ringing. It wasn’t until a month after his first encounter with the Upside Down and his injuries were healed that he realized the constant ringing in his ears wasn’t going away. He had to really focus on the things people were saying, otherwise he’d only hear the high pitched static noise that wasn’t letting up. He wasn’t too concerned, most days if he missed some comment said to him he could vaguely agree with a smile and the person would move on. After he received a test with an ‘F’ circled at the top, he realized he needed to focus more on what his teachers were saying. It was a few minor things, so he wasn’t concerned. 

It was almost a full year with the ringing in his ears that Steve thought he’d finally found a “new normal” living with the noise. He knew he was seen as the jock that never really knew much, so when someone asked him a question that he didn’t hear nobody questioned the blank stare he gave them. He managed to catch enough of what the teachers were saying so that he was consistently getting tests back with a ‘C’ graded onto the paper. He found that sometimes music would drown away the ringing in his ears, so he replaced the reason he couldn’t hear what people were saying with the noise of a party. He did whatever he could to regain some sense of normalcy. That was how he met Billy. At a Halloween party, not entirely certain what the younger guy was saying. The only things he heard that night was the obnoxious music, and Nancy yelling at him about how he’s bullshit. That was when things really changed.

The others were going back to the lab and Steve had to protect the kids. Right now that meant getting Billy away from the Byers’ house, and keeping Billy away from Max and Lucas specifically. As soon as Steve punched Billy, he knew he wasn’t going to win this fight either. That didn’t matter, he just had to protect the kids. He managed to duck from Billy’s first punch and get a few punches in, but before he could react a plate was being smashed across his face. The ringing got louder for a second as he stumbled away, then Billy threw him to the ground and was above him, landing punch after punch before Steve slipped away into the silence of unconsciousness. When he woke up to Max driving, he knew there was something wrong when he heard silence and muffled noises that he realized was the kids’ speaking. His head was exploding with pain, but he had to help the kids. Once the kids were safe he could worry about why he couldn’t hear. In the tunnels, he felt rather than heard the pounding of feet from the demodogs rushing towards them, getting everyone out as fast as he could. Not able to get Dustin out in time, Steve wrapped himself around the boy, feeling the way his chest rumbled with the other’s scream of fear. Shocked by the demodogs ignoring them and running around them, Steve helped Dustin out of the tunnel and into safety. With the monsters having run past them, they knew the gate was being closed, and that they managed to give their friends more time to close it. Their second encounter with the Upside Down was finished and, to Steve’s relief, all the kids were safe.

As the months went on, the silence stayed. Steve was tired of how frustrating the constant silence was. When he realized his hearing would never improve and he would only be able to hear muffled noises like his head was always submerged in water, Steve finally chose to seek out answers. He drove to the library early one day, grateful that the beginning of summer caused it to be devoid of others. After spending an entire day surrounded by books about head trauma and types of hearing loss, Steve understood what had happened to him. He’d suffered a couple concussions from sports, but the ones he had since dealing with the Upside Down were so bad they damaged some part of his inner ear. The first concussion started the damage, but he’s pretty sure the fight with Billy is what caused the damage to get as bad as it was. With the ringing turning into a silence, Steve was certain he was now dealing with tinnitus. He also managed to figure out it wasn’t exactly silence he was experiencing, rather such a low static noise that sometimes let up into something he could only describe as a pressure in his ears. He could get medical help, but nothing would truly get his hearing back. Doctors would only be able to make the constant buzz of static be drowned out by something else. Realizing that he would never be able to hear properly again was devastating, but finding out that any more head trauma would cause him to lose what little, muffled noises he could hear is what crushed the hope Steve didn’t realize he was holding out for. With a frustrated sigh, Steve put the books away where he’d grabbed them and sought out a few to bring home. 

Steve spent the first month of Summer in his room, reading the books he kept getting from the library. He sat in front of the mirror focusing on the shapes his mouth made as he ran through the exercises the speech therapy books had. He was slowly getting better at lip reading; when one of the kids would talk to him, he was able to make out more of the words than when he was focusing on what they were saying before his hearing loss got this bad. As he got better at lip reading, Steve decided to start practicing sign language. He practiced the motions in front of his mirror and began lining up the movements with how he was pronouncing the words, and was slowly becoming more fluent in the two. Whenever he was talking with someone, he would sign the words he was saying while keeping his hands by his side where nobody would realize what he was doing. He found the movements helped him think of what he was saying. It was after that first month of summer his parents cut him off and he had to apply for jobs. The only perk to working at Scoops Ahoy was he could practice his lip reading on customers, and they tended to point at whatever flavor of ice cream they wanted. The biggest downside to working at Scoops Ahoy was how fast Robin spoke, so he couldn’t figure out what she was saying, unless it was her calling him a “Dingus” for not knowing how to respond. 

Steve couldn’t believe he was facing a new gate to the Upside Down underneath where he’d been working. What was worse was the fact it was Russians that opened the gate, and they’d just been caught. Needing to protect the kids once again, Steve made sure Dustin and Erica had the chance to escape before he was unable to keep the door closed and fell to the floor alongside Robin. He could hear the muted noises of Russians yelling at them, so he started rambling. He was aware that what he was saying must’ve been nonsense, but he needed to make sure they focused on him and not Robin. Steve knew it was the right choice, because they dragged him away from Robin and were yelling what he had to assume were questions at him. He spat out that he didn’t know and he wouldn’t tell them anything, which led to him getting a punch to the side of the head. No matter what they would say, Steve just yelled he wouldn’t say anything. Steve lost track of how many times he was hit, barely realizing the muffled voices were now gone as he watched their mouths move. The last thing Steve thought before being hit into unconsciousness was how dreadful the silence would be. 

Steve was grateful he’d started learning to read lips when he did, but there was only so much he could understand. After shifts alongside Robin at Family Video, Steve found himself dropping her off at home and going back to the library once again. He started reading books about kinesics, learning how to fully understand people’s body language and expressions. Trying his best to figure out what was happening around him when the others were talking. He started practicing figuring out social cues by watching movies, and he was finding it easy enough to tell what was happening in them. He wasn’t certain what was going on, but he could tell when the characters were happy, upset, or trying to express something wasn’t going to work. When everyone decided they should all have a movie night, Steve could figure out enough to say if he liked it or not, but he never expressed a strong opinion. Everyone else just nodded when he said whether or not he liked the movie, then would turn back to the conversation they were having about it.

Communicating got easier as he understood body language better, but he still only responded when he saw the person was talking to him. There were times he was rewinding tapes, and Robin would throw a wadded piece of paper at him. When he’d ask what she said, she’d just chuckle while fondly rolling her eyes and repeat what she’d just said. When Steve was able to make out what was said, nothing ever seemed amiss to the other. With practice, Steve found the silence was no longer unwelcome, but still isolating. He found himself grateful that he didn’t have to deal with all the kids’ excited shouting following the end of a campaign. The silence was something he’d become used to and took little solace in. He enjoyed watching how others reacted to things. He had always struggled with expressing his thoughts, and was glad the kids didn’t have that same issue with how animated they could be when speaking. 

Steve won’t lie, he zoned out while Dustin was talking to Eddie. He tried to catch up, seeing Dustin form the words “Upside Down” and realizing they were explaining it all. Steve mentions how all the other times they’d had El to help, but she wasn’t there now, and the more he explains the more he realizes he’s not helping. Dustin tries to recover how they’re going to be fine while giving Steve a hard look. The more they try to figure out everything with Vecna, why Joyce isn’t answering their calls, and how to keep Max from dying the more Steve realizes it’s better he let the kids take the lead on explaining. The few times he does say something he thinks will help, everyone just looks at him like people did in high school. He was just a dense jock that was trying his best but ultimately got in the way. He knew this time he was just going to be the protector once again, so he let himself get lost in his head again. In the end he, Nancy, and Robin were able to distract Vecna physically while Eleven managed to defeat him. Steve watched as the kids all cheered their victory at getting rid of the Upside Down for good.

It was finally summer once again, and Vecna was really gone. With no looming threats, the Byers moved back to Hawkins and Steve found himself offering his house to host the Hellfire Club’s meetings. 

“Alright, you guys can set up wherever, help yourselves to anything you want, and if anyone needs anything I’m going to be upstairs in my room,” Steve announced once everyone arrived. 

On his way upstairs he watched everyone break into their own conversations as they set up. He was glad that the kids were able to still play their favorite game after everything they’d dealt with over the years, and that they still found ways to act like the kids they are. He left his door open so if anyone needed him he’d see them come upstairs, and sat on his bed while grabbing his copy of White Noise by Don DeLilo. He settled against his headboard and continued where he left off. It didn’t take long for him to get lost in the words, enjoying the escape from his own thoughts. Captivated by the story, Steve didn’t see Eddie walk up the stairs, or realize he was in his room until there was a hand placed on his shoulder. Steve jumped from the unexpected contact and hit his head against the wall. 

“What’s up?” Steve asked as he held his finger spread, tilting his middle fingers toward him, and rotating his hands in an outward movement. He was still so rattled by Eddie having surprised him, he didn’t even realize he was freely signing as he spoke. 

Eddie froze, seeing Steve sign as he spoke. 

At the lack of response, Steve worried, “Is everyone okay?” His hands once again moved. First, he held his left hand in a fist while his right hand made a thumbs-up facing the side going in a circle movement before stopping with his index finger held up. He followed that motion with his right hand making a circle, then putting his thumb between his index and middle finger with his ring finger and pinky tucked down into half a fist. 

“They’re fine,” Eddie reassured while pointing his right hand at Steve then turning his hand away from both of them, spreading his fingers and tapping his thumb to his chest twice in a shaking motion. 

Steve looked excited as his brain recognized what Eddie was signing to him, but the excitement was short-lived. He didn’t understand why Eddie was signing to him. 

“You know sign language?” Steve was bewildered. 

“So do you,” Eddie smirked, continuing to sign what he was saying.

“Why are you signing?”

“Because you were? You asked me ‘what’s up’ and signed it. You kept signing, so I signed back.”

“I didn’t sign–” Steve glanced at his hands and cut himself off. He was clearly signing and not just subtly doing so by his sides. “Okay, I was signing.”

Eddie couldn’t hold back the fond chuckle any longer. “How long have you known how to sign?”

“Two years. I started learning after the second time we dealt with the Upside Down. Why do you know sign language?”

“Uncle Wayne started teaching me it when I first moved in. I didn’t really, y’know, speak for the first few years living here.”

Steve nodded. He understood learning it out of silence, the only difference was the kind of silence. 

“Why did you learn it?” Eddie asked softly. 

“The silence. I was upset and the silence was terrifying so I found a way to fill it,” Steve spoke, staring at the floor. 

“The silence?” Confusion filled Eddie’s words. 

Steve didn’t respond, still looking at the floor. Eddie carefully walked towards where Steve sat on the bed and sat where they could face each other. Steve glanced over as he felt the bed dip next to him, brows furrowing in question. 

“The silence?” Eddie repeated. 

Steve nodded. “I don’t hear anymore,” he said faintly enough that Eddie wouldn’t have caught it if Steve wasn't still signing. “Too much head trauma, caused tinnitus, so I don’t hear. It’s just…silence.”

Steve couldn’t decipher the look Eddie gave him at that. Feeling self-conscious, Steve curled in on himself slightly.

“Did you need me?” Steve asked, hoping to distract Eddie from wherever his thoughts were.

“Not really, we’re halfway through the session and I was going to see if you wanted food or anything. I was just checking in, it was so quiet up here we thought you’d fallen asleep,” Eddie explained. 

Steve shrugged, “How long has it been?”

“About two hours. If you want us to leave we can–”

“No! I didn’t mean like that, plus the kids are crashing here tonight anyways. I was just focused and didn’t realize how much time it’d been already.”

Eddie nodded, then reached across the bed to where Steve had dropped his book. Steve watched as Eddie’s face lit up, head falling back as his shoulders shook with laughter. Once he’d calmed down enough to maintain eye contact, Steve tilted his head in confusion. 

“Funny choice for a book you’ve got here, Harrington,” Eddie flashed the cover to him. “Choosing to read White Noise?”

It took a moment for what Eddie was implying to fully register in Steve’s brain, but when it did his body shook with laughter. 

“I didn’t even realize,” Steve gasped out between fits of laughter.

Eddie nudged his side and motioned through the door toward the top of the stairs. Looking where the other implied, Steve spotted Dustin peeking from the stair railing. Dustin tried to duck out of sight, but Steve already caught him. 

“Alright, Henderson, come here,” Steve called out to the boy.

Steve had to hold in more laughter as he saw Dustin’s hat and eyes appear above the banister once again, looking upset he was caught. Finally, he started to approach Steve’s room. 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Dustin rushed out once he was in the room. 

“What?” Steve didn’t catch what was said due to how fast Dustin spoke. 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Dustin repeated, slower and exaggerated.

“Say anything about what?”

“About your hearing, Steve. Why didn’t you tell anyone that–tell me that something was wrong? I’m sure everyone would have been willing to do something. We could have all learned sign language, or found some movies that had subtitles, or at least made sure we had your attention when we wanted to talk to you.”

“What are you–”

“I was coming up here to bring Eddie back down for the rest of the session. But I saw you guys signing, and then heard you explain that you didn’t hear. I’m sorry we didn’t realize, Steve.”

That was the moment Steve realized he didn’t have to be alone in the silence. He would do anything for the others, be there for them in any way he could. It just never occurred to him that they would be willing to be there for him.

“I didn’t think about it. It just kind of happened, and one day I realized it was happening. Then it got worse, and the Upside Down came back again, then at that point I was used to it,” Steve walked toward Dustin. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Steve hugged Dustin, hoping to reassure him however he could. 

Dustin hugged Steve back, and buried his face into Steve’s chest. When they pulled away, Eddie clapped them on their shoulders and made his way back downstairs. 

“I’m really sorry,” Steve admitted. “It never occurred to me to mention it.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Dustin said. “I honestly had no idea. None of us did.”

“Don’t worry, none of you could have known. Now, go back downstairs and play your little nerd game,” Steve took Dustin’s hat off and ruffled his hair.

Dustin didn’t even complain, he just looked up at Steve with a smile and hurried downstairs. 

It was the week after Eddie and Dustin found out about Steve’s hearing loss. Steve and Eddie informed the older teens, Hopper, and Joyce about Steve’s situation while Dustin told the other kids. Hopper and Joyce convinced Steve to go to a doctor about it finally, with the help of Eddie signing what they were saying. The doctor confirmed that Steve had lost ninety-percent of his hearing, and that due to the severity of his condition while going unchecked for years meant there was nothing they could do to help him regain any hearing. 

The kids were all shocked, but wanted to figure out a way to make things easier for Steve. That was how Steve found his living room full of people slowly trying to figure out sign language. Steve and Eddie created an agreement in how everyone would learn. Eddie taught the kids while Steve taught the adults, and Steve taught Eddie curse words in exchange for their agreement.

Steve couldn’t believe how accepting and concerned everyone was. The way that Hopper and Joyce insisted he go to the doctor, then reassuring him after it was announced there wasn’t anything that could be done. The kids were so eager to learn how to sign just so they could include him in conversations and make keeping up with what was being said easier for him. Robin hugging him and apologizing for all the times she was frustrated with him when she thought he just wasn’t paying attention. Jonathan repeating how sorry he was for starting it and Steve admitting he deserved to lose that fight for what he said when Will was missing. Nancy found out everything she could about sign language and started to learn some before everyone decided to so she could help interpret for him if Eddie wasn’t with them. Eddie spent more time just hanging out with Steve and talking, and eventually convinced Steve to sit with his back against an amp while he played guitar so Steve could feel the music. There was wonder and shock in Steve’s eyes before he laughed in excitement at being able to enjoy music again. 

Steve was overwhelmed by how much the group cared about him. He was grateful for this group of people he found himself a part of. These people who would be willing to do anything for him, just like he was willing to do for them. He no longer found the silence lonely with so many people in it.

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©heyitsme1040 If you find this post on any platform under a username different than heyitsme1040 it is not their work.

[unclewaynemunson]

Christmas ‘94

The 2nd of 4 drabbles that follow the fruity four over Christmases  through the years (can be read as stand-alones) | pt1 | pt3 | pt4 | AO3 link

He who never expected to have big family meals

'Henderson!'

Dustin let his bag fall onto the ground with a loud thump to properly launch himself into Steve's open arms. He was still a full head smaller than Steve, still had the same bright smile; the only difference was that he was wearing a ridiculous Christmas hat over his curls instead of one of his trusty caps.

'I missed you, man, you're the last one to arrive!'

Steve took the boy's bag and carried it into the hall, where he added it to the pile of suitcases and bags that was already there.

It would be cramped, with the whole party in the modest house he and Eddie shared with Nancy and Robin, but they'd make it work. Steve much rather had all their rooms filled with suitcases and laughter than the cold emptiness that reminded him of Christmas in his parents' house.

Last summer, Dustin and his friends had all graduated college, and now all of them were here, reunited again, about to spend a whole week with the older party members and to start the new year together.

The kitchen with the rainbow-colored table in the middle (a piece of furniture Robin had insisted on getting) was crowded and carried the scents of at least eight different dishes all merging together. Steve watched how Dustin immediately got tackled to the ground with the force of Eddie, Lucas, Mike, Will, Max, El and Erica all launching onto him with excited screams.

Feels like old times already, Robin signed at Steve from across the room. He grinned back at her. He was lucky that she had been completely engrossed by the ASL minor in her linguistics program around the same time his hearing got bad enough that he started missing half of the conversations taking place around him. He had been even luckier that she was patient enough to pass her knowledge on to him (even though he was hopeless at it, at first) and to everyone else in the party. And he had been luckiest that she'd chosen to make sign language her specialization and was now a professional interpreter on whom he could always rely, wherever they were. The technology for hearing aids was rapidly improving, but in all honesty, nothing would ever be able to beat his awesome wife.

'Children, Steve made his signature pumpkin soup, who wants some?' Nancy asked, causing the big tangle of limbs on the floor to unfold while Mike grumbled something to his older sister about how she should finally stop calling them “children.”

'So how is it going with our very own little genius?' Eddie asked Dustin, who was seated between him and Steve; he shot Steve a quick wink over the boy's head.

'We got our funding,' Dustin answered, unable to keep the proud undertone from his voice.

'Yes! I knew you would,' Steve exclaimed, full of excitement. 'Your mom wouldn't shut up about how well your thesis was received. Just don't pull another Demogorgon out of that lab of yours, please.'

Dustin scoffed. 'It's not about that kind of electromagnetism, Steve, I told you that, many times.'

As the evening progressed, Steve happily listened to the cacophony of voices around him, tuning in and out of the various conversations all while making sure that everyone got enough food and drinks. It wasn't easy for him to follow all of it, especially with all those loud voices merging together, and he had learned a long time ago that trying to keep up all the time would only be draining his energy and eventually make things worse. So instead of worrying about missing anything, he sat back and enjoyed the happy faces around him, while concentrating on the voices closest to him and relying on Robin providing some subtitles for him every now and then. He would make sure to get enough one-on-one time with all the kids over the next week to make up for what he was missing at chaotic dinners like this one.

He couldn't believe how much the kids had grown; he had seen most of them back in Hawkins over the summer, but it still got to him sometimes. They were all starting their careers, settling down, planning their futures... But now, at Christmas, they were all here, in Indianapolis. They really were like an actual family, with how they circled back to each other whenever they had something to celebrate.

'How are things going with the foundation?' Max, who was seated on Steve's other side, asked him while they were all stuffing their already completely filled bellies with a last round of desserts.

She and Lucas were finally going steady again, after years of being on-again, off-again in college. Steve couldn't even keep count of the amount of phone calls he'd had with both of them whenever they needed him for advice or to vent. He was actually proud of the way they had always handled things, never hurting each other more than they needed to when they had some stuff to figure out, giving each other space to grow up and explore new parts of themselves, all while never really losing that bond between the two of them that was persistent enough to make sure that they'd never lose sight of each other completely.

Max's question made him beam with pride. That was still an overwhelmingly new feeling for him – it had taken him much longer than his friends to figure out what he actually wanted to do with his life, but now that he had, he couldn't imagine ever doing anything else. He had quit his string of slightly boring retail jobs and started his foundation for queer youth in the Indianapolis region almost two years ago, using the money from his parents that had once been meant for him to go to college. He tried not to think about how that had been the final straw for his parents, how it had damaged his relationship with them beyond repair, and instead thought about all the things he had accomplished with his foundation so far: he gave lots of classroom talks around the city and the surrounding area, raising awareness and teaching kids about tolerance and the many different forms that love could take. And in every classroom he visited, he'd see two or three pairs of eyes stare at him like he was some angel bringing them news of a miracle. He didn't think that that clear visibility of how he was helping those kids would ever get old. And now, two years in, the amount of child psychologists in the area who knew to find him was rapidly increasing, so he also took more and more queer children with mental health issues under his wing. He was even vaguely considering expanding to family therapy, even though the idea of getting an actual degree for that was still holding him back.

He told Max all about what he'd been up to lately, and she looked genuinely impressed with it, which made him even prouder.

'Have you heard anything from your parents?' Eddie asked after everyone had finally finished eating – Lucas had been the last to drop his spoon with a huge sigh, gaining himself a pat on his belly from Max – and Steve and Eddie were now setting the huge pile of dirty dishes aside on the kitchen counter.

Steve shrugged. 'Nothing.' He knew that he didn't need to add anything, that Eddie would immediately know the whole world that was behind that single word: how his parents had refused to acknowledge Eddie as Steve's boyfriend eight years ago, how the last time he actually talked to them was when they had scolded him for using his college money on something they called bullshit, how Steve had actually sent them an invitation to their shared wedding with Robin and Nancy last year, a final olive branch that he was desperately hoping they'd take – how they hadn't ever acknowledged receiving it, how they had stayed radio silent on the big day and ever since... Steve wondered why he was even still hoping for them to reach out to him on days like this. They had made it more than clear, time and time again, that they didn't want anything to do with him anymore.

Eddie squeezed him in his shoulder, then seemed to decide that that wouldn't suffice and pulled him in for a tight hug.

Steve was grateful that Eddie didn't say anything, that he simply held him, ran his fingers through Steve's hair in a comforting motion. It was all he really needed.

After a while, he pulled back from Eddie's embrace and looked over Eddie's shoulder, to the people who were still seated around their table, chattering and laughing, with rosy cheeks from the huge dinner they'd had.

His mind wandered back to the family dinners he used to have during Christmases years ago, mostly in fancy hotel rooms in countries far away from home. Those had all been cold and distant.

Some days, it hurt more than others that his parents were still stubbornly refusing to be a part of his life. But today, surrounded by people who loved him so fiercely and unconditionally, who always showed up for him, he found that he didn't miss them at all. He had the most perfect family meal right here.

[haikyuul-kid]

steve and eddie learning how to live with their different disabilities. stevie is losing his hearing and they’re learning asl together while eddie can’t move the way he used to so they do some renovations on their home so that he can get to everything he needs.

note: the party also helps and they also specifically make adjustments to steve and eddie’s home for max since she spends so much time with them