#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.

[thebridgetonarnia]

I wanna talk about Hard of Hearing Steve Harrington! I posted a version of this on twitter but wanted to edit and expand it slightly here. so please enjoy some HoH!Steve finding community through his and Eddie's deaf daughter.

Steve and Eddie weirdly have Richard Harrington to thank for their daughter. One of his mistress's had a child who was born deaf.

Richard wanted nothing to do with this child, or the girl's mother. He scoffed at the woman who just wanted some help, and told her "It looks like all his children are broken, and Harrington's demand perfection."

So this young woman - younger than Steve is at the time - who is alone in the world puts the child up for adoption, and as next of kin, Steve gets a call, asking about a child.

He and Eddie immediately say yes, of course they'll take the child. They'd been thinking about children for a long time, but they hadn't been so lucky in that department. Steve's half sister, as it happens, needs a home, because their good for nothing sperm donor of a father abandoned them both. So they will raise her, as their own, and she will never be made to feel othered, or lesser than. They name her Hope.

Steve has been wearing hearing aides for years now, he and Eddie had thought idly about learning sign language over the years, but they've never been able to commit. It always gets pushed to the side for other things, and Steve hears well enough anyway with his aides.

But with Hope? They buy all the books, and take lessons with Robin at the community college, because she's going to need it to communicate with the world.

Steve picks it up quickly, and he and Eddie watch as their infant toddler picks up language and can communicate with them. It's really a sight to see.

The guy who teaches the class is a CODA, child of deaf adults, and he puts them on to the Deaf community in the city, urges them to make sure their kid grows up with people like her.

So once again, they dive head first into the community, because Steve and Eddie would rather die than make Hope feel isolated. They take Hope to kid friendly Deaf events, they meet Deaf adults, and slowly as Steve talks to other Deaf people, he realizes that something just clicks for him.

Something had slotted out of place inside of him the second his hearing started to go, when he started to feel like he wasn't built for the world around him anymore, and people started to treat him differently for wearing hearing aides so young.

Eddie and the Party have always made him feel comfortable, they always make sure they look at him when they speak to him, never tell him never mind, or I'll tell you late when he misses anything. But even with all that support, he sometimes still feels like an outsider. But that off-balanced thing slides right back into place when he's at Deaf events with Hope because these people understand him so fundamentally.

Steve makes friends - outside of their little found family - actual friends who see him for who he is, not for what he lacks.

He wears his hearing aides less and less, and sign gets used in their home more and more, even when Hope isn't around. He starts to identify as Deaf. It feels like when he started dating Eddie, like the world opened up to him.

He's so so grateful to his father for the first time in his life because his affair brought Hope into their lives, and she is the best thing that ever happened to him and Eddie, and she gave Steve a community of people that made him feel comfortable in the world again.

And when Steve finds the Deaf Queer community? Well that just feels like coming home.

[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.

[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

[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​​​​​​  

[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.

[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)

[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

[biillyhargroves]

okay let’s talk about deaf/hoh billy headcanons!

he lost his hearing due to an injury from, you guessed it, his piece of shit father. without supports, he full on faked-it-til-he-made-it, relying on reading lips and visual cues until max came along and figured out that the reason he often ignored her or failed to answer her questions or engage with her was because he genuinely couldn’t hear her. she immediately checked out asl books from the library. billy was resistant at first, but liked having a clear way to communicate with someone. he also liked that sign gave them a way to communicate that neil couldn’t understand, so he and max could easily let each other know to stay out of a room/go outside/get in the car when things looked like they were getting bad. max is the only who signs with him. (that is, until steve comes along and insists on turning off his voice to sign with billy and max so that he can learn and best accommodate billy.) (of course, in an au where billy and argyle were besties in california, you know argyle would learn, too.) (eddie would, too, let’s be real.) (heather nails down basic signs so that she can ask billy if he’s okay or he can tell her when he wants to leave a party; she’s not the best at it but she tries her damndest because that’s her bestie and she wants him to feel supported.)

he purposefully turns off or removes his hearing aids when speaking with people that annoy him. he stares at them while he does it so that they know it’s deliberate. he most often does this jason, whose reaction is to talk louder for some reason, as if that will help, getting redder and redder in the face when billy says, “what what was that? can’t hear you.” when he really wants to piss jason off, he’ll only reply in sign, knowing that jason has no idea what he’s saying and probably thinks billy’s casting some kind demonic curse on him tbh.

he hates when people talk to others, like max or steve, instead of himself, like waiters asking max or steve for his order. there’s always an edge of pity or condescension to it. his friends hate it just as much as he does. he’s deaf — not stupid. max is snarky about it. immediately, “i don’t know, ask him.” steve mocks the person to billy in sign, letting them think that he’s asking what billy wants before turning around like, “he says he’ll have a burger. and also that you can go fuck yourself.” while billy gives them the most innocent smile.

he gets easily overwhelmed in crowds. he likes being around others to an extent, but keeping up with all the extra noise and distractions drains him quickly. he’ll often sign to steve or eddie or heather (or whichever designated hearing friend he’s brought with him) when he wants to leave. they’ve all mastered the irish goodbye. oftentimes all four of them will ditch the party together to go somewhere quiet and chill.

robin is fluent in asl, and she and billy hit it off right away, partly because they can easily communicate with each other and partly because they are essentially the same person in two different bodies. prepare for trouble and make it double (thoughts & prayers to steve harrington). steve loves that he can learn from them but also always accuses them of talking about him behind his back. (which they do. but it’s literally all about how much they love him. they put on tough exteriors but they’re both big softies at heart.)

he likes to blast his music as loud as possible so that he can feel it. eddie loves to hang with him for this reason alone — billy is the one person who will always tell him to crank it up, and up, and up. he spends a lot of time with corroded coffin, even jams with them sometimes. eddie nicknamed him beethoven because of the whole deaf musician vibe.

when he was younger and struggled to communicate with hearing classmates, he read voraciously to occupy himself. he is literally the most well read person in the group, and he will pull out random and obscure literary references at all times.

he knows that he’s gained dustin’s approval when dustin starts learning sign specifically to tell billy that if he hurts steve, he’s a dead man. billy respects this and promises that steve is safe with him. satisfied, dustin immediately starts badgering billy to teach him dirty words and swears in sign. billy, of course, obliges.

i have so many more but this is long enough for now!!

the idea of deaf/hoh billy has my whole heart. more at 11.

[crookedtidalwaves]

steve harrington has nonverbal autistic swag. happens more when he’s tired and he’s almost always tired. sometimes writing takes too much effort too. he and robin and dustin learn asl together. the rest of the party learns for him ofc and it has the added bonus of being another secret, nonverbal language (morse code being the first) they have