#which is why Jonathan goes to check on Nancy????

[emblazons]

That “did Jonathan lie” poll proving that following subtext / non-explicit storytelling and forgetting entire canon events for the sake of headcanons is an issue across the whole entire fandom because W H A T

We literally see Steve RUN INTO JONATHAN before he WALKS OUT THE DOOR. He didn’t tell Jonathan a damn thing and they literally show us that? Plus Jonathan was already of the opinion that Steve and Nancy were happy /he had no chance because of seeing them dancing earlier + kissing at school—he was just trying to support what he THOUGHT Nancy wanted just like his brother does with Mike in S4. Be serious

[ladykailitha]

Paper Hearts Part 1

Remember how my posting schedule was going to be based on strictly vibes from now on? Yeah this is why. I have three chapters of this completed and only two of most everything else because I hurt my right wrist on Wednesday evening (I think I overextended my elbow and it fucked up the tendons in my wrist, because I've done that before on my arm and it feels like that).

So instead of getting more work done on stuff that is literally paragraphs away from the end of the chapter I'm having to tap into my backlog. Which is what it's for. But it is annoying.

I am also aware it's nearly May, but my muse was never one for sense.

Summary: Hawkins High is selling paper hearts to help raise for senior prom. $3 for red romantic hearts and $1 for pink friendship hearts. Steve hasn't dated anyone since the horrific breakup with Nancy on Halloween and so he decides that he's going to send pink hearts to senior girls who wouldn't normally get any hearts at all. When Eddie hears about this he can't help be intrigued. It goes against his very well curated Munson Doctrine. But as events keep throwing them together, Eddie learns there is more to King Steve then meets the eye.

Also a note: the use of the other's last name when it's their point of view is deliberate. As they get to know each other more, the more first names get used.

****

Steve was staring at the huge sign with a sense of dread. In big pink and white letters on a red background screamed the words:

PAPER HEARTS FOR YOUR VALENTINE $1 FOR PINK FRIENDSHIP HEARTS $3 FOR RED ROMANTIC HEARTS ALL PROCEEDS GO TO CLASS OF 1985 SENIOR BALL

Valentine’s Day. That time of year for lovers and romantics. That used to be him. But not since Nancy broke his heart by breaking up with him for Jonathan Byers.

There would be no paper hearts in locker this year. Not even pink ones. Nancy had well and truly blown up his life and she got to walk away scott free.

He didn’t know what to do anymore. He pinched his nosed and rubbed the end. He wasn’t going to cry in the middle of the fucking main hall of Hawkins High.

Just before he was about to start moving again someone shoulder checked him, sending back to the floor and all his stuff sprawling around it like some fucked flower.

“Watch it, Harrington!” the voice growled as whoever it was sped off down the hall.

Steve didn’t even bother looking to see who it was. It could have been anyone these days. His former friends. Billy and his ilk. Hell, even the nerds and geeks got in on the action lately.

He knelt down to start cleaning it up when someone else kicked his books toward the lockers. He managed to get most of it picked up when he reached for the last notebook. Someone stepped on his hand and ground down, hurting Steve and ripping the cover off the notebook, crinkling the first couple of pages.

He shoved it into his bag and cradled his hand to his chest. He looked at his watch and sighed. Lunch was nearly over and he hadn’t even made it to the cafeteria yet.

There was nothing for it, he had to get to his next class. He walked into the class room just as the bell rang, but instead of heading for his usual spot near the front he made for the back of the class. There were always a few empty seats around Munson. The guy was terrifying on a good day.

And Steve hoped it was a good day.

****

Eddie made to class on time by the skin of his teeth. He slid through door just as the bell rang above his head. He was about to lope over to his usual spot in the back when he stopped dead in his tracks.

He looked up at the front at the deliberately left open seat and back at the seat next to his with a raised eyebrow. He wisely said nothing as he flopped into the torture device known as the chesk. Dair? Whatever the hell it was called where some unspeakable horror thought to combine a desk and a chair.

Eddie glanced sidelong at his new companion. The recently deposed king of Hawkins High sat slumped in his chesk, head down, just staring at its surface as if held the meaning to life the universe and everything.

Which if Harrington asked him, he would have been told forty-two.

He pulled out his notebook and noticed that Harrington did not do the same. Curiouser and curiouser. He pulled out a pencil and settled in to avoid falling to sleep today.

He was taking notes and doing the assignment like he was supposed to when about half way through class the teacher called out to him.

“Mr. Harrington!” she shrieked. “If you are going to be sitting in the back, please have the decency to pay attention in class!”

A couple of kids snickered.

“You were talking about how the Fool is used to lighten the absolutely horrific scene above him of Lady Macbeth as she tries to get blood out of her gown,” he muttered, scratching his cheek with his left hand.

That was when the teacher and Eddie noticed the same thing at the same time.

Harrington was cradling his right hand to his chest.

“Mr. Harrington is there something wrong with your right hand?”

“I accidentally hurt it during lunch,” he said with wince.

The teacher tapped her foot and crossed her arms. “And why didn’t you see the nurse?”

“It happened right before class,” Harrington muttered, “and I didn’t want to be late.”

The teacher huffed and shook her head. “I will give you note for your next teacher, but you will see the nurse after class, am I understood?”

He nodded.

“Mr. Munson,” she cried out, shrill. “If you’ll share your notes with Mr. Harrington after class so he does not fall behind.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He continued to keep an eye on Harrington throughout the whole class but whenever their English teacher tried to catch him out, she would fail every time.

When the bell rang Eddie started shoving his stuff into his backpack. “You sure you even need my notes, Harrington? That was pretty impressive shit you pulled out of your ass today.”

Harrington just shrugged. “Just because I was paying attention doesn’t mean it won’t bleed out of my ears with all the algebra and chemistry stuff I have later.”

Eddie winced in sympathy. “Yeah, I hear that. What’s your locker number and I’ll just slip a copy of my notes in the slots.”

“323B.”

“They got you on a lower locker?” he asked with a grimace. “That’s jacked up. Even Mr. Super Senior here got a top locker. Does the secretary hate you or some shit?”

Again Harrington shrugged. “I’ve got to go. I’ll catch you later.”

Eddie folded his arms at looked at him. “You’re not going to the nurse’s station, are you?”

This time it was Harrington who winced.

“That’s what I thought,” he huffed. “I’m walking you to said nurse’s station because it could be broken and if you don’t get that looked at, you’ll be in more than just a world of hurt, man. You could fuck up your hand for life and you wouldn’t be able to anything in that hand ever again.”

Steve’s eyes went wide as all color drained from his face.

“Shit.”

Eddie grabbed both of their backpacks and headed for the door. “Yeah, shit.”

Harrington hurried to catch up, hand still cradled to his chest.

“How did you know that could happen to my hand?” he asked softly.

Eddie eyed him sidelong, but the kid wasn’t being an ass. In fact he would say Harrington was being earnest.

“My uncle works at the machinist plant up the road,” Eddie explained. “One of his buddies broke his hand on the machine and refused to get it looked at. Guess how well that worked?”

“Was it the plant’s fault?” Harrington asked. Eddie cocked his head to the side. “That you uncle’s friend got hurt?”

Eddie reared his head back in shock that Harrington would even ask.

“No, man,” he said shaking his head. “He was goofing off, being a dick. Uncle Wayne always said that if you knock on every door asking for the devil, one day he’s gonna answer.”

“What happens when the devil comes looking for you?” Harrington muttered to himself and Eddie couldn’t help but wonder what this kid had seen.

Because he knows haunted. And Harrington looks like he has an attic full of ghosts.

Once they got to the nurse’s station Eddie waited for him. When the other boy came out he asked how it went.

“She says it doesn’t feel broken,” he huffed. “But that if it doesn’t improve over the weekend after icing at least three times a day, to come back on Monday and she’ll order an x-ray.”

Eddie nodded. “Right. See you around, Harrington.”

He had barely turned around when Harrington called out to him. “Wait!”

Eddie turned back around to have a piece of paper shoved into his hand. “I got the nurse to excuse us both.”

And before he could even reply the other boy was tearing off down the hall as if the devil himself was chasing him.

And after that comment he’d heard, Eddie couldn’t be sure he wasn’t.

****

Steve was curled up on his bed, icing his hand, staring up at the ceiling, and wondering where the fuck his life had gone so wrong.

Okay so he could answer that one, actually. Demogorgon ate his girlfriend’s best friend while in his backyard. While him and said girlfriend were having sex for the first time.

Yeah... that was all kinds of fucked up.

He still couldn’t believe that Nancy sided with Jonathan about him taking pictures of their first time.

So now Valentine’s Day was two week away and he was dateless, friendless, and unpopular. He wished he could just be called a loner. But a loner was cool and Steve wasn’t even that anymore.

He just had to make until the end of may and then he could graduate, leaving this town in his rearview mirror for good.

Steve knew that he would have to struggle through this fucking holiday and Senior prom then it would be smooth sailing from there.

He had all this money that he would normally spend on his girlfriends, but now he didn’t even have that. He supposed he could blow it all on beer and weed and then he could enjoy the weekend for a change.

Steve sat up suddenly, the ice pack falling from his hand to hit the floor with sploosh!

Now that was an idea.

He still had one thing in the school that was nonpareil and that was gossip. In fact, it was easier to hear all the dirty little secrets because no one cared if he was standing there.

A smile spread over his face.

That could actually work. It would be a great way to spend his allowance and it would be fun.

He got up and put the ice pack back in the freezer. He couldn’t do anything about it right then but once his hand was better he would formulate his little plan.

Steve was suddenly excited for the first time since he dropped Dustin off at the middle school’s Snow Ball.

He was going to make this holiday fun even if he had to manufacture the fun himself.

****

Eddie was pissed. A little at himself, but mostly at how Harrington was being treated.

He had to sit through lunch and listen a bunch of stupid jocks brag about stomping on Harrington’s hand when he was trying to pick up his stuff off the floor in the hallway yesterday.

They had been hoping for an actual break, but the asshole thought he’d only bruised it.

The reason Eddie was a little mad at himself for this was because he was the one that had shoulder checked Harrington. He had only been trying to get the guy out of his daze. Not send his shit flying.

And then to have someone deliberately stepping on his hand. Fuck. Not even Hagan ever went that far.

Stev–Harrington didn’t deserve that kind of bullying. No one did.

But he could see the twisted sort of appeal, though. And fuck if that didn’t make his stomach turn.

To see the deposed king and want to mock that? Want to dig the hurt in as deep as he could? To drive home the lesson that popularity was fleeting and that existence was a curse?

Yeah, Eddie could see the appeal.

But he wouldn’t. He might make fun of literally everyone and everything but his own interests, but to make turn that into actual cruelty? That was were he drew the line in the sand.

He went home feeling sick to his stomach. And of course Wayne picked up on it immediately.

He jutted his chin at the chicken and rice on Eddie plate that he had only merely pushed around with his fork.

“What’s got you so twisted around the bend?”

Eddie put his fork down and hid his mouth with his clasped hands, elbows on the table.

“I fucked up today,” he murmured. “I didn’t mean for it to go as it did.”

“What did you do?”

So Eddie told him. “I wasn’t trying to hurt him, but he got hurt anyway.”

“That does sound pretty bad,” Wayne agreed. “And as you say, you were trying to help only for it to go very awry. And since you didn’t about it until after the fact you couldn’t apologize and that’s what’s eating you up inside.”

Eddie nodded around his fists, his lower lip quivering.

“You’ll just have to find a way to apologize on Monday,” Wayne said wisely.

Eddie sighed. It was the best he could do. It wasn’t as though he could call the guy up or show up at his house. The first because he didn’t have the guy’s number and the second because he’d get the cops called on him so fast by the neighbors.

It would just have to wait until Monday.

****

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

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[eds6ngel]

another idea: reader going over to robin and vickie’s with steve for dinner one night, robin talks to reader about how good reader is for steve, little bonding moment with robin, and reader starts to feel deeper love, then fluff with steve and maybe a reciprocation of feelings? I think that’s it for now, but you don’t have to do any of them! thank you so much for writing the series, its soooo good and I can’t wait for any spin-offs!

hi my love!! i started off with this one as it goes in the order i'd like to tackle my asks in! i changed it up slightly (not too much), so i hope you enjoy!! ♡

warnings: dad!steve. singledad!steve. 90s!au. fem!reader. use of y/n. swearing. kissing. a lil bit of making out. allusions to sex. pet names. food mentions. r is mentioned as unlabeled (so you can assign the label according to your identity!!) r being an ally. fluff. comfort. love confessions!! [2.3k].

full 'when i kissed the teacher' masterlist.

“Babe?” Steve asks you, currently attending to the dishes piled in the sink from your beautiful handmade soup the two of you had for lunch. Alena was currently staying with Jonathan and Nancy, having a sleepover with her friend Ashley, which meant you had the place to yourselves.

“Uh huh?” you reply, not tearing your eyes away from the very intriguing book about the psychology of the human mind.

“You’re accepting, right?”

The question draws you away from the paperback, looking behind you to where Steve was scrubbing away at a green bowl, placing it neatly on the drying rack. “Yeah, I would say I am. Why?” The question seemed out of the blue, almost unordinary for him. It’s not like you had an issue with said question, it was just the timing that was confusing.

“Just… I really hope she doesn’t kill me for this,” Steve mumbles to himself, just loud enough for you to catch the tail end of, “You know Robin, she’s uh… She’s a lesbian, had a girlfriend for nine years. That’s okay with you… right?”

You smile, “Of course it’s okay. It’s more than okay. People can love whoever they want to love.” You were very passionate about this topic. You hadn’t particularly labeled your own sexuality, but you were striving for the ones that didn’t fit into the heteronormative society to have as many rights as you did. You frankly thought it was stupid that they didn’t already, and that as long as relationships are consensual and healthy, anybody of age should be allowed to love and potentially have sex with whoever they wanted.

Steve sighs out, chuckling lightly, “Oh thank God. I was so scared for a second.”

“Babe, if I didn’t support gay people, I shouldn’t even be deserving of your time. Besides… I’ve been to a few protests in my life,” you smirk, quickly looking back down at your book to leave Steve standing there in shock.

“You’ve been to protests?”

“Mhmm,” you hum, “College is a wild ride babe. You end up doing things you never thought you would ever do.”

“Huh… Anyway,” he shakes his running thoughts off, “I was asking because I was wondering if you’d like to go on a double date with them. You know, me and you, Robin and her girlfriend Vickie, that sort of thing?”

“Of course!” you happily agree, “When were you thinking?”

“Well, I’ll have to check with the girls, but since Alena isn’t back until tomorrow evening, I was thinking we could grab lunch somewhere tomorrow afternoon?”

“That sounds great babe! I’m totally down.”

He puts the final dish on the rack, walking up behind you and placing a tender kiss on the crown of your head, “Great, let me just give them a call, see if they’re down too.”

“There’s nothing good on this menu,” Robin whines, “You couldn’t have chosen a better restaurant, Steve?”

The four of you were squeezed into a booth of a small sandwich shop on the outskirts of Hawkins. Steve had his hand on your thigh as he scanned through the menu to the right of you, Robin and Vickie sat opposite.

Steve scoffs, “Just because you’re an extremely fussy eater, Robin. Everyone else here seems to be fine with the menu. The menu’s good, isn’t it, babe?” His question holds a slight waver of uncertainty, his best friend making his insecurities come out.

You take a quick look up at Robin over the top of your menu, smirking away as you pretend to cringe, “Well…”

Steve’s eyes open wide as he thinks he made the biggest mistake of his life, you having to quickly put a reassuring hand on your shoulder to calm him down, “I’m only kidding babe, it’s wonderful.”

“Well, according to someone it isn’t,” he narrows his eyes at Robin, her sticking her tongue out at him. You and Vickie give each other a look, as if you were both mothers parenting your immature children.

The waiter soon comes, Robin ordering a plain chicken sandwich, as suspected, Steve a ham and cheese toastie, Vickie a cheese and salad sandwich, and you deciding on a pulled pork sandwich.

“So,” you begin to start the conversation back up, “I’ve heard the two of you have been together for nine years. That’s incredible!”

Vickie holds Robin’s hand in hers on top of the table, the other leaning against her cheek, “Yeah. Almost at the nine year anniversary. You know, it took Robin two years to ask me out. She had a crush on me since the start of ‘86, took her until the Spring of ‘88 to make a move. We were both just blubbering messes up until that point. She finally asked me out, we had our first date, and then the rest is history I suppose.”

“So, just like me and Steve,” you giggle, Steve squeezing your thigh as he smiles down at you, Robin noticing how in love her best friend looks. “Always the whole mutual pining game, huh?”

“Apparently so. After the earthquake happened here a decade ago, we had to help out at the school for anyone affected,” Vickie explains, “Well, Robin and I got put on making PB&J’s, and I got so rambly and nervous in her presence that I buttered both pieces of bread with peanut butter.”

“Yeah, I was sorting clothes, watching the two of you be all cutesy and shit from across the room.”

Robin lets her mouth hang open, “You were watching that day?”

Steve nods with a grin on his face, “Uh, yeah? My best friend talking to her crush who she wouldn’t shut up about for months? And the two of you laughing and getting along? Of course I was watching.”

Vickie sighs happily, “I’m trying to think of some questions to ask the two of you, but I think we know every detail of your relationship.”

Robin raises her eyebrows with a smirk next to her girlfriend, “Oh yeah. Every goddamn time we saw him. ‘She called me handsome.’ ‘She’s just so pretty.’ ‘What am I supposed to do?’ Over and over again. It was constant reassurance, trying to encourage him to ask you out.”

“Just to let you know though,” Vickie points at you, “We did not encourage him to kiss you and therefore lose your job. We take absolutely no responsibility in that.”

You brush her off with a wave of your hand, “I mean, it didn’t end up so bad in the end. I mean, no insult to Hawkins or anything—”

“Babe,” Steve interrupts you, “We’ve all grown up here. You can insult this place however you like.”

“I don’t like to be rude though honey, you know that!” you laugh as Steve presses a kiss to your cheek, Robin and Vickie giving each other a knowing look, “Okay, fine. Just to preface, I loved the kids I taught, okay? Nothing wrong on their part. Just… some of the teachers were extremely mean in the staff room, some parents were just absolutely awful and the place itself was just… I dunno, something felt off.”

“Yeah, because it’s a piece of shit,” Robin truthfully states, Vickie jabbing her lightly in the ribs, Robin letting out an “Ow!”

You giggle, “Yeah, it kind of is, I guess. At least in comparison to Ernie Pyle. I suppose parents take their kids education a lot more seriously there. The student population is mostly made up of ethnic minorities from disadvantaged backgrounds, so the parents want to give their kids what they never had growing up. Plus, I think it’s around 90% of the teachers already have at least three years of prior teaching experience. It’s one of the reasons they took me on actually.”

“Well, I’m glad you got your happy ending. Perfect relationship and a perfect job,” Vickie points out, “Seems like a total win.”

“Yeah,” you look up at Steve lovingly, “It was.”

You had all enjoyed your meals, no matter how adventurous your selections were. Before you all got ready to leave, Steve excused himself to the bathroom, Robin sipping the final bits of her strawberry milkshake. “I’ve never seen dingus so in love before. I imagine you must get fed up with how much he says it.”

But, that’s the thing: he’d never said it. You weren’t gonna critique him on that, you were happy to take things as slow as possible, but there was that lingering thought in the back of your mind that maybe he wasn’t as in love as you were. And you didn’t want to scare him off by saying those three words if he didn’t feel that confident in the relationship yet.

“Actually, he hasn’t said it yet…” you let out.

“What?”

“Are you kidding?”

The two girls sit there in shock as you shrug it off. “No, you have to be lying,” Robin says, “Dingus has been in love with you since… well, forever!“

“Yeah, my love’s not kidding,” Vickie adds on, “I’m pretty sure he told us after you two did the Christmas Fayre together.”

“Probably even alluded to it before that.” Robin looks you in the eye, “You do love him, don’t you?”

You nod, “Of course I love him, Robin! I just don’t want to say it, and then he doesn’t feel the same—“

“Y/N, I’m telling you,” Vickie interrupts you, “He is 100% definitely in love with you. I know that for a fact. We both do.”

Robin nods, making you lean back in your chair and pinch the bridge of your nose, “Why won’t he say it then?”

“Y/N,” Robin starts, “The first girl Steve ever said ‘I love you’ to was Nancy Wheeler two weeks into their relationship, and they broke up a year later. The second was Alena’s mother who walked out when her daughter was a few months old, leaving Steve alone with a child to raise by himself. I think he’s just scared to say it in case you leave, since that’s all he knows.”

Vickie nods along, “But, if you say it first… I think that he might calm down a little. Realise that you are the one taking initiative.”

“Just say it…” Robin says softly, “What else have you got left to lose?”

But, you could have a lot to lose. What if he was just saying it to Robin and Vickie and doesn’t properly mean it? What if you tell him and he doesn’t reciprocate? You’d lose your whole relationship.

You have no time to think as Steve re-appears, reaching for his denim jacket the other side of you, “Right, we ready to go?”

Robin and Vickie smile at you, giving you a look as they begin to stand, collecting their belongings as the four of you head out the main entrance of the shop.

After bidding farewell to Robin and Vickie, Steve drove you back home, him having to clean the house for when Alena got home, and you having to prepare resources for your class tomorrow.

He pulls up to your apartment complex, leading you to the entrance as always, like the gentlemen he is.

You grab his hand, Steve noticing that it was slightly shaking wrapped around his, “Um… Steve? I just want to say something before you go.”

He simply stares back, you taking it as a sign to continue talking. You let out a breath. It was now or never.

“I understand that you’ve been wanting to take this entire thing slowly, and I get that. But, I just want to reassure you that I am in this for the long run. I love how you treat me, and care for me. I love the dates you take me on, they are so varied. I love how kind, and caring, and slightly stupid you can be sometimes. And I guess what I’m trying to say is that… I love you.”

You can audibly hear how his breath hitches in his throat, your brain instantly taking that as a mistake, “But, don’t feel as if you need to reciprocate or anything, because I don’t want to pressure you into doing that. I just needed to let it out—”

Your rambling is stopped by Steve’s lips crashing into yours. You can’t help but let the slight moan slip from your mouth as he deepens the kiss, your hands wrapped around his shoulders as he cups your cheeks. Before the kiss can escalate, Steve pulls apart from you, leaning his forehead against yours as he whispers back, “I love you too,” a goofy smile gracing his features. “Shit, I was just so scared to say anything in case it made you leave, as that’s what usually happens whenever I say those words—”

It’s now your time to interrupt him with a giggle, “I know baby, Robin kind of told me everything.”

He shakes his head, “God, I hate her. Always revealing secrets about me.”

“Damn,” you huff, “Maybe I should hang out with her more, get more juicy details about you.”

He leans back, raising his eyebrows at you, “Absolutely not. I’ve revealed way too much of my life to her.”

You both laugh, “You’re an idiot, Steve Harrington.”

“I love you too, Y/N L/N,” he replies, leaning in to kiss you once again. You melt into the kiss, Steve swiping his tongue across your lips, asking for permission to which you accept, opening your mouth and letting his tongue slip in, the lingering taste of his sandwich invading your senses. The two of you moan, you pulling back to catch your breath, realising the two of you were technically stood directly next to a busy road. “Amy’s out with her boyfriend today… So, I have the apartment to myself…”

Steve looks down at his watch, before turning his gaze back to you, smirking and seductively replying, “I think we have time.”

i hope you enjoyed!! i will get to the rest of your asks (and everybody else's) tomorrow and during the course of next week!! ♡

taglist: @livsters @bakugouswh0r3 @nix-rose @ihatepeanutss @cats00089 @suitelif3 @clincallyonline17 @crowssixof @starkeylover @eris-rose-86 @frostandflamesfanfic

[jo-harrington]

Eddie Universe (A Modern!Steddie Story)

Summary: After Eddie falls off the face of the Earth, Steve goes to do a wellness check, only to find that Eddie has spent the last few days binge watching a kids show.

Word Count: 2.9k

Pairing: Eddie Munson and Steve Harrington, implied future Eddie/Steve (Steddie)

Warnings/Themes: Beginnings of Crushes/EARLY EARLY Friends to Lovers, Unrequited Feelings, Minor Confessions, References to TV (Steven Universe), Implied bisexual Eddie and Steve (talking about giant women)

Note: This is a belated birthday gift to one of my great fandom loves @br0ck-eddie. Thank you to @deathbecomesthem for doing an early read through and @dr-aculaaa for inspiring me (and essentially having writing credits on this) with our little talk about Steven Universe and how Eddie and Steve would relate to these characters immensely. And everyone talks about Bubbline!Steddie...why not a little SU love?

This is my first time writing Steddie, even if it is in this sweet crush way, but that's kind of my style. And even if you don't want to read it as Steddie I think it still holds up to them as characters. And it's just a cute thing about loving Steven Universe and loving Eddie Munson; who could say no to that?

You can find my masterlist here.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

---

It wasn't like Eddie to go radio silent.

In fact, it wasn't like Eddie to go silent. Period.

That was one of the best--or maybe worst--things about Eddie Munson. He was always making some kind of noise, literally and metaphorically.

Always playing his music too loud, always making some big announcement, always first to make a comment, always coming to his friends' defenses, always calling them out on their shit to.

Always, always, always.

That's why, when he suddenly stopped answering group texts, and he broke a pretty impressive snapchat streak, and he wasn't sending tiktoks, or even--unfathomably--cruising around town with his windows down and volume up, Steve knew something had to be up with him.

Well, ok, everyone was worried.

But he wasn't skipping classes, and he hadn't canceled band practice or Hellfire Club. So Eddie must have been alright...right?

Steve just wasn't convinced.

Which was why he'd made the trek across town to Forest Hills to check on his, and everyone else's, favorite metalhead after work.

He stood awkwardly on the stoop before knocking.

The van was parked outside, which was a good sign, but there was no music or other evidence of disruption, which wasn't.

He debated, for a moment, leaving to grab pizza or snacks or something--show Eddie that he was they were all thinking of him--but then would that look like he was inviting himself to stay?

Would Eddie even want him there?

Would this be a surprise? An intrusion?

He should have just texted first, or called. Yeah they were friends. and they were getting closer--"joint custody" of Dustin would do that--but...Eddie was definitely closer to Jonathan and Robin...hell, even closer to Nancy, than to Steve.

"Fuck it," he took a breath, reached out, and knocked on the door.

There was a muffled "oh shit" and a bump and crash, and then Steve took a step back as the door swung outwards and revealed the freak in question.

"Oh hey Harrington, thought you were the pizza guy," he grinned crookedly and then his expression morphed into something...nervous. "What's up? Is uh...everything ok?"

"Yeah, no," Steve shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back onto his heels. "I...you haven't really been active in the group chat for a few days, wanted to come over and make sure everything was alright."

Eddie's eyes went wide and he slapped his hands over the pockets of his jeans.

"Shit, have I really?" he asked as he pulled out his phone.

"Yeah."

"Guess I thought I answered and never actually did--Fuck." Eddie's thumb slid over the screen several times as messages flashed by at an unreadable pace.

"Hey, it's ok!" Steve tried to assuage his guilt. "Nothing really going on except memes and fart jokes."

"Well those are my specialty so I'm really missing out on an opportunity for comedy gold." He huffed and shoved his phone into his back pocket and then ran a hand over his mouth. "I'm watching this show that Henderson keeps talking about at lunch. And it's silly but it's really addictive."

"Oh yeah?"

"Put an episode on as background noise and I ended up staying up til 2am the other night. Didn't even finish my homework."

"If you're not careful you're gonna end up failing again Munson," Steve joked.

"Ha, ha, very funny, but I seriously think I might," Eddie snarked.

"Which show?" Steve asked curiously.

"You're gonna laugh. It's this kids cartoon show...Steven Universe."

Steve recognized the name immediately; Dustin had been chatting everyone's ear off about the show for years. It was one of those things that none of the other kids really latched onto the way he did, and he was always a little desperate for someone else to get into it.

Fitting that his new role model was the one who finally did.

"Nice!" Steve nodded his head in approval. "Listen, I mean...he got me playing Pokemon Go with him a few years ago, walking in the woods and everything. And I still play every now and then. So if anyone's gonna judge it's not me."

"What?" Eddie scoffed good-naturedly. "King Steve playing P-Go? Never would've guessed."

Steve was going to throw a teasing insult right back when another car pulled up right behind his; he awkwardly shuffled to the side of the stoop as the delivery driver ran out of the car and up the steps with a massive pizza box.

"Hey, your dinner's here, I should leave you to it--"

"You could stay if you want," Eddie offered; his brows jumped up expectantly, suddenly hidden by his bangs. "Got an extra-large pepperoni that I'm definitely gonna make myself sick trying to eat it all. Catch a few episodes of Steven Universe? That way you can impress good ole' Dusty next time you see him; I'm sure it'd make his day."

And the thing was, the no was right there on his lips.

The excuses.

He didn't want to intrude on Eddie's night, he had other places to be, he really wasn't interested in watching the show.

But that's all they would be: excuses.

He was Eddie's friend and friends watched TV. Did he really want to go back home and maybe have dinner with his mom, if she was even home? He and Eddie never got to hang out alone; it would be fine.

"You know what? Sure."

---

So for the next however-many-hours pizza was devoured and sodas chugged and laughter shared as Steve and Eddie watched a silly little cartoon.

Except, and Steve was quick to find out, it wasn't just a silly little cartoon.

"Ok," Eddie announced around a mouthful of food as he clicked through the landing page of the show to get to some desired episode. "We can't watch everything, so I might as well show you the greatest hits and give you the rundown verbally."

"Greatest hits?" Steve asked incredulously. "Listen, Ed, I can't stay here all night."

"No, the episodes are only 10 minutes long," he explained. "That's why it's so addictive. You're just like...one more, ok one more, and the next thing you know it's been 6 hours."

Wouldn't you know it, 6 hours is exactly what it was in the end...

But those hours were full of Crystal Gems and Together Breakfasts and a journey of love and friendship and self discovery as they watched episode after episode and Eddie narrated all of the events in between in the ways only Eddie knew how.

And Steve was just mesmerized.

By all of it.

Especially Including Eddie.

It was not hard to be mesmerized by him, actually; once again, he was always loud, always Eddie. More often than not, you'd watch him and say something along the lines of "what the fuck?" All while laughing and carving a larger space in your heart for him.

Getting to see him on his own like this though, in a space where he was comfortable enough to let you witness the quiet and contemplative parts of him, it was something else.

It started with Greg.

"Almost like I'm looking into your future here Ed," Steve laughed as Steven's father and his long hair and his guitar and his van popped up on screen.

"Alright, you're laughing but seriously, why wouldn't I wanna be like Greg," Eddie told him. "He might seem like...I dunno, a deadbeat or something. But he's always there for Steven and he tries his best. He reminds me of my uncle Wayne a lot."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Honestly the best guy I know. The best guy a lot of people we know, know."

"Does that make you Steven, then? Because there's only one Steve in this room and it isn't you."

"Laugh it up, wise guy," Eddie shoved him to the side.

And then the music.

"I'm surprised you haven't broken out your guitar or something," Steve noted as Eddie hummed along to the theme song at the start of every episode and sang his own little rendition as he went to grab more soda from the kitchen. And Steve had to give it to him, all of the music was sweet and catchy, but Eddie's whole identity was music and he was acting pretty tame about it.

"I wanted to finish watching the whole series before I started fucking around with my guitar," he told Steve. "Might do some kind of medley or something with the guys. I dunno if they'd be into it and honestly they don't have a choice, if I'm gonna write it. It's gonna be metal as fuck."

"Well, don't forget to invite me to that show," Steve laughed. They both went silent for a second and Steve felt his cheeks get hot. "Uh...and Dustin. And everyone else. I think it would be fun."

"Yeah..." Eddie cleared his throat. "Yeah for sure."

And then just...about Steven.

"I do." Eddie announced suddenly and quietly at the end of Lion 3: Straight to Video, after Sadie and Steven watched Rose's message to Steven in the back of the Big Donut.

"You do what?" Steve questioned, discreetly rubbing his eye to prevent a tear from falling.

"I do see a lot of myself in Steven," Eddie continued, voice void of emotion. That emptiness was what made Steve turn to actually look at him, to see the wetness of Eddie's own eyes increase tenfold in a matter of seconds.

"Steven's mom died, left him alone to figure out all the harsh realities of the world for himself. And yeah he has his family and friends but...I dunno...it's not the same. Shit, I mean...I don't know what my life is like and I'm grown. Steven's just a kid...I just...yeah. Watching this I guess has been a really personal thing."

Steve felt his stomach drop. He knew a lot about Eddie--some truths from Eddie's own mouth, some things through the grapevine, some just rumors from his own days as Chief Douchebag at Hawkins High--but hearing the vulnerability...seeing it...it was different.

And Steve's heart ached a little bit, not to hear it all, but for Eddie to trust him with these feelings? With this confession?

He was about to open his mouth and thank Eddie for sharing that, but Eddie went ahead and started the next episode and the moment was gone.

---

Then there was just the inherent sense of love that just emanated through the entirety of the show that just made everything, dare Steve admit, click.

At first it was silly as they watched the Giant Woman episode.

"Who wouldn't want to see a Giant Woman?" Eddie joked as Steven sang.

"No seriously," Steve laughed along with him. "You know what, I know that I've dated a lot of short girls but I think a Giant Woman could pick me up and throw me and I would thank her."

Eddie punched him in the arm good-naturedly.

"You get it Harrington. You get it."

Every time the gems would fuse, Eddie and Steve would both gasp along with him. "A giant woman!" Complete with stars in their eyes and a joke about a crush they had growing up, and on and on.

And yeah sure, that's not what Steven meant whenever he saw one of the fusions, but Eddie and Steve were both icky young men with crude, lewd senses of humor. It was no more harm than a fart joke or humping an inanimate object.

What could you expect?

But then...Connie.

It was sweet, her and Steven. Their friendship, their determination to help one another, protect one another.

Their crushes on each other.

To Steve, they were like Max and Lucas over the years. They just tugged at your heartstrings, made you go awwww.

But then the episode Alone Together. And dancing on the beach. And Stevonnie.

"Woah," he scooted up to the edge of the couch. "They fused!"

"I know!" Eddie bounced in the seat beside him, beyond excited. "I know! Look at them. Steve, if I'm lying I'm dying, the episodes with Stevonnie are the best fucking episodes."

And that got the conversation going about fusion.

Because Steve thought Stevonnie was the dumbest name.

"Well what do you expect them to be called?" Eddie scoffed. "She's human, and he's not just a gem, he's Steven...they're not like...Con-va-nite or something."

"Stevonnie, that's like...if you called Nancy and Jonathan...Nance-a-than or something," Steve argued.

"Obviously they're Jancy," Eddie stated matter-of-factly. "There's an art to naming things Harrington."

"It sounds like you've already thought about this."

"Maybe I haven't, maybe I have. A magician never reveals his tricks. But fusion is cool."

"Alright, smart guy," Steve crossed his arms over his chest. "And what would Robin and I be? If we fused."

"Ok, ok," Eddie adjusted himself on the couch. "I'm torn between Rove...or Stobin. I'm leaning Stobin. And your weapon would be a whip made of the tape from VHS's or something."

"Seriously?" Steve screeched. "I think Stobin would have a cooler weapon than that."

That's how it went for a few minutes, mashing up all of their friends and creating fake fusion names for them and their weapons of choice.

And every moment Steve sort of dreaded the inevitable.

Dreaded wasn't the right word exactly.

Anticipated? Looked forward to?

Because fine. Yeah. Maybe he had a little bit of a crush on Eddie.

There. He said it.

It was just...alright weird was not the right thing to say. But yeah, weird. They had been...had they been enemies? He'd never thought of Eddie as anything more than a nuisance at one point. Yeah he had that hot metal guy thing going all through school, but how could there be any sort of romantic feelings there when there was so much adversity before?

How could Steve say that Eddie, the guy who pissed his name on the snow on the windshield of Steve's car once, was actually attractive? And cool. And funny. And in what world would Eddie say that Steve, the guy who once gave him an atomic wedgie on his birthday, was someone he wanted to go out with?

But from whatever they had been before, they'd slowly bridged the gap. Became better people, more tolerant people. Acquaintances, then friends, and now...yeah, Steve maybe had a crush on Eddie. And it was hard to tell but...

"How about us?" Steve finally asked. "Edeve. Edven. Steedie."

"Steddie," Eddie said confidently, looking Steve dead in the eye. No hesitation...maybe a bit of a blush dusting his cheeks but in the glow of the tv it was hard to tell. "We'd obviously be Steddie."

...maybe the feeling was mutual.

---

Eddie and Steve watched in relative silence for the rest of the evening.

A companionable silence, a comfortable one.

No more talk of fusions or giant women or Steddie.

Just Steve's questions about certain things he hadn't seen yet, in episodes they'd skipped, and Eddie's explanations.

Eventually, they caught up to where Eddie had left off when Steve arrived, and continued to binge without any skipping.

Time passed.

And a pointed *ding* from his phone finally pulled Steve's eyes away from being glued to the TV.

A text.

Rob: You forgot to pick me up, where the fuck are you?

"Shit," he cursed and saw the time. Well-passed closing time at the store.

Steve typed frantically.

You still need a ride?

The response was immediate.

Rob: If it isn't too much to ask for a lowly peasant like me, your highness-ness.

He typed a quick On my way! and looked over at Eddie, about to announce his fuck-up and apologize for leaving so abruptly.

But his eyes softened when he saw Eddie's head was tilted back, mouth open cutely and gurgling in a slight snore; his heart skipped a beat and butterflies erupted in his stomach.

Ok, it was a crush for sure.

He debated waking Eddie up and then decided against it. He simply hit pause to stop the show from getting too far and then made his getaway.

He crept across the living room, shoes in hand so he wouldn't wake Eddie on his way out, and made a mental note to text Eddie first thing in the morning.

It wasn't until he was pulling the door shut behind him that he heard Eddie's sleepy, muffled voice call out.

"Oh Steven!" Steve let the door creak open again as he ducked his head in to bid his farewells. Only for Eddie, with one eye peeped open and a cheesy grin spreading across his mouth, to beat him to it. "There's one more thing I forgot to mention."

Steve's words got caught in his throat and he felt himself blush as he anticipated the next words to come out of Eddie's mouth. Words that he'd just heard Garnet say just a few episodes ago.

"I love you, bye."

[mrs-steve-harrington]

Stoncy Secret Santa 2023 Masterpost

Thanks again to everyone who joined in our Stoncy discord server's Secret Santa gift exchange! I'm so excited to see what everyone's made. Hope to see everyone back again for the next one!

(Didn't want the post to be too awfully long, but the rest of the works are below the read more)

edit: the original post was missing a link, please reblog this one <3

[Stoncy] I Love This Curse On Our House by nomadicwolf for spydee

Summary:

The lives of Jonathan Byers, Nancy Wheeler, and Steve Harrington change forever when Steve runs back into the Byers' house to stand with them against the Demogorgon. After that, they keep finding their way back to that house for the good the bad and everything in between. 5+1 at the Byers House.

[Stoncy] Selfless, Faultless, Prideless by CrumbScuddler for quirkily

Summary:

A disgraced knight, a still-mourning royal, and a stablehand who's taken up painting want what they can't have. Steve Harrington fights for it, but like usual, gets absolutely pummeled. And Jonathan is there to piece him back together because it's what Nancy would have wanted.

[Stoncy] here in your big blue world by quirkily for staccatoswings

Summary:

It’s warm with three bodies in the bed. Jon and Steve are equally stiff on either side of her, which is a little absurd. Jon is quite literally her long-term boyfriend. He at least shouldn’t be acting like he’s worried about touching her. Nancy shifts a little onto her side and they both instantly copy her, keeping the same distance between them all. Honestly. It’s a little ridiculous. Nancy tries to ignore it, wondering if they’d made a mistake inviting Steve to share the bed with them. No weirder than inviting him to share their anniversary with them, she thinks wryly.

[Stoncy] Lovely Weather For a Couch Ride Together With You by gala_apples for pterawaters

Summary:

After a comedy of errors, as Robin would say, Steve finally gets the last laugh in his quest to get Nancy and Jonathan for his own.

[Stoncy] End of beggining by nattythefreak for nargatexe

Summary:

A short scene in which Steve comes to the double date arranged in the fourth season, but instead of coming with Tammy Thompson… he comes with a bouquet of flowers.

[Stancy] A New Normal by wolfish_willow for StevetheHouseWife

Summary:

The conversation between Steve and Nancy at the Byers' house goes a little differently and they don't break up. But she doesn't break things off with Jonathan, either.

[Stancy] Happy. Truly Happy. by StevetheHouseWife for wolfish_willow

Summary:

“He’s your best friend.” Robin nearly groans out loud, “I know, and he’s the worst. I mean, talk about pretentious? Such a prude. You were right. He really does still hold you cheating against you.” Nancy stares at her silently for a long moment, “Why are… you lying about that?” she asks and Robin swallows.

[Stoncy] lie down next to me and let us fall asleep by madman_with_a_warehouse for thewritingfreak19

Summary:

5 universes where Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan sleep next to each other for the first time + 1 universe where they've been doing it for years.

[Stoncy] every road past the graveyard by spydee for AcornScorn

Summary:

Monster hunting trio meet again in 90s New York, when Stancy follow a vampire into an alley. After whatever confrontation you imagine, they talk. (Art and an accompanying ficlet.)

[Stoncy] Sleepless Nights by AcornScorn for nattythefreak

Summary:

Steve looked over at Jonathan. He looked tired. "I guess you haven't had much sleep either since the drive back, huh?" Jonathan shrugged, smiling wryly. "Pretty obvious?" "Coming over at three in the morning just to check on Nancy was a bit of a giveaway." Jonathan scoffed, looking away. "...it wasn't just to check on her, you know." Steve glanced over at him, surprised to hear that. "Really? What, don't make me think Jonathan Byers would come and check on me of all people." Jonathan comes to check on his two crushes late one night.

[Stoncy] Stronger Together by brutacrispina for madman_with_a_warehouse

Summary:

Jonathan, Nancy, Steve and Robin go monster hunting. Feelings surface.

[Stoncy] To Run The Dog by pterawaters for gala_apples

Summary:

Newlyweds Nancy and Steve notice a hot guy running his dog through their neighborhood every day. At first they just like to watch him, but eventually they have to admit to themselves and each other that they're crushing. Badly. So when the dog gets loose in the neighborhood and Steve manages to catch him, it's the perfect way to meet their neighbor and get on his good side.

[Stoncy] Art of karaoke night by staccatoswings for brutacrispina

[Stoncy] Art of Stoncy under mistletoe by nargatexe for nomadicwolf

[inlovewithrain]

do you think we'll be in love forever?

tw: mentioned sex

steve and eddie are famous actors and played a couple in a TV show when they were teens. (think jackie and michael from that 70s show)

of course everybody loved them due to their chemistry on screen, and when the show ended, everyone still continued to ship their actors together, despite them never meeting up out of set.

this all leads up to steve's 20th birthday, which marks the 5th year anniversary of the pilot of their show. eddie is, as always, invited to a dinner and small party. (but, he never shows up, even when the show was still rolling.)

so, steve gets the shock of his life when eddie shows up to his party/dinner. eddie recognizes a lot of people, including a lot of people from the show. nancy, robin, hopper, joyce, jonathan, vickie, even the kids, who eddie hadn't seen in two years.

immediately, he starts feeling guilty. this is a family. his family. the people he'd seen everyday for four years of his life. the best four years of his life. and what did eddie do? he just left them, ignored them and moved on with his life.

however, they still welcome him despite his nervousness, and after a while, eddie can feel the awkwardness wear off as he became more comfortable around them again, and desperately tried to ignore the way steve was staring at him the entire time.

at the end, as everyone was leaving, steve stopped eddie.

"hey, could i talk to you?" steve asked, clutching eddie's wrist.

"oh, sure." eddie said, stepping aside as mike rolled his eyes and slammed the door behind him, leaving the two of them alone.

"i- i missed you. you kind of just ignored me." steve said finally, staring up into eddie's eyes.

"fuck, i'm so sorry. i- i just, i didn't know you guys still hung out, and i didn't know it was a small dinner, i don't like parties-" eddie began, stumbling on his words as steve shook his head.

"no, before that." steve whispered, breaking eye contact to look at his socked feet as eddie let out a noise of confusion.

"what-"

"when we slept together." steve said, a tad bit loud as eddie practically reeled back like he'd been shot.

"you remember that?!" eddie screeched as steve sent him a glare.

"of course i remember that." steve snapped. "and i didn't expect to wake up alone with just a note."

"hey, i had to go get ready for the award ceremony! aftercare doesn't extend in the morning if it's a one night stand!"

"it's called ettiquette, eddie! when you take someone's virginity, it's just a code to maybe check in on them in the morning! and then.. and then you just stopped talking to us! you were all nice to us at the ceremony and then boom, we never heard from you again."

that sends eddie reeling because there's no way that the most mind-blowing sex of his life was also when he took steve harrington's virginity. the same man that he still dreams about, both having him in his life and having him riding his dick, depending on the day.

instantly, eddie bursts to explain, apologizing rapidly as steve hangs his head low, and eddie's fingers brush against his chin and pull his head up gently, to reveal steve crying.

"why are you crying, baby?" eddie whispers as steve cries harder, clinging onto eddie like a koala, as eddie grabs steve's thighs and carries him towards the couch, when steve murmurs something about going upstairs.

eddie wills himself not to get hard at the duality of that sentence, carrying steve and setting down on his bed, before wrapping him in the blankets.

"stay." steve mumbled, gripping eddie's hand tightly. "please, eds."

eddie grumbles before getting in the bed, and steve immediately launches himself on eddie, nuzzling his head on eddie's shirt, and eddie goes silent, threading steve's hair with his fingers as steve falls asleep.

when eddie wakes up, steve is practically straddling him and his entire body goes stiff as steve lets out a soft yawn, eyes fluttering open.

"hi, eds." he said, rubbing his eyes. "shit- sorry."

"no!" eddie says quickly, gripping steve's hips to keep him in place, causing them to both freeze up. "oh god."

"eddie?" steve asks innocently, warm hands slipping under his shirt and resting on eddie's sides. "you want me on your lap?"

"shit, i'm so sorry-" eddie raced, hyperaware of steve rubbing his thighs together, throwing his head back as he bit his lip and crossed his legs on eddie's thighs, slowly rocking on it.

"eddie, mm, p-please." steve begged, hands slipping out of under eddie's shirt and slowly moving towards eddie's crotch.

the day ended with steve's throat raspy from screaming eddie's name, and eddie ended up with a backache from thrusting and slamming into steve.

luckily, in the end, eddie finally felt loved back in his pseudo-family that he'd refound, and the entire world practically screamed when steve and eddie revealed their relationship.

[apomaro-mellow]

Dimension Hopping 4

Steve's routine was this: get up, get some coffee, go to work, sit at a desk for 8 hours, go home, go to sleep, repeat. On occasion, he got breaks, like checking the mail. And sometimes there was even something interesting there. But not even a wedding invitation from an old ex-girlfriend was going to change his schedule.

He didn't even know why Nancy wanted him to come? Was it guilt? Well, after all these years, Steve didn't need pity. He wasn't going to wallow while everyone else gave the new couple their well wishes. He was simply having a drink, in his house, alone, while looking at old photo albums, definitely not wallowing. He spent probably longer than normal looking at a photo of the old gang. Nancy and Jonathan, the high school sweethearts soon to be newly weds, looking in love even back then.

His best friend Robin, who finally had to part ways after working together for years when she got a great job offer in California. That was what kicked Steve in the pants to get out of Indiana and move to New York. And Eddie, who surprised them all by actually graduating and leaving town to make music. Last Steve had heard, he was in the news for setting a stadium on fire. Robin was the only one he regularly kept up with, the others falling by the wayside. Who knew if someone like Eddie would even answer his calls.

He was a few fingers into some whiskey when the phone started to ring. Looking at the clock, it was definitely late for any sort of calls. Steve finished his drink and went to bed, letting it ring.

When he got up, he checked it and Eddie's voice sounded on the other end.

"Hey, Harrington! Long time no see! I got Big Wheel's wedding invite and figured we could show up together! Call me back!"

It was so out of the blue that Steve had to replay it again just to make sure he heard it right. And sure enough, playing it three times didn't change the message. Unsure of how to respond, he decided to just leave it for now. In the years apart, he forgot that one of Eddie's biggest traits was his persistence. He was getting calls every single day, asking him to make the trip together.

Honestly, Steve didn't know why he was ignoring him. He could've said that he was completely uninterested in going, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to do it. One of Eddie's other significant traits, was his spontaneity.

Which explained why he showed up to Steve's office out of the blue Monday morning.

He looked like he stepped right off stage, jeans ripped to shreds, tank top showing off the tattoos up and down his arms, sunglasses indoors, wavy hair sticking out like he just finished head banging. He looked just as exuberant as he did on Graduation Day.

"You are a hard man to get a hold of, Harrington", he said, taking off the sunglasses, ignoring the confused looks of the other office workers.

"What are you doing here?", Steve hurriedly pulled him into his office and shut the door.

"Uh, wedding? This Saturday? The Big Wheel and Jon-Jon? Or should I start call her Mrs. Byers now?"

"Eddie, I'm not going", Steve said.

"That's funny, I don't remember giving you an option."

"I can't go. I didn't put in a vacation request and I don't have a good suit ready, and it's just weird. It's Nancy, man. You know how things ended with us."

Eddie nodded, almost sagely. "That's why we're going to stop the wedding."

"Yeah. You are going to burst through those chapel doors and say 'I object!'", Eddie pointed a finger to the ceiling. "And Nancy will run into your arms. It'll be like the ending of the Graduate."

Steve raised a brow. "I think you forgot how the rest of that movie goes."

"Regardless, I'm not letting you get out of this. So let's go. C'mon boy! You wanna go out? You want outside?", Eddie patted his legs like he was talking to a dog.

Steve rolled his eyes, grinning despite himself. "Alright, I'll go. But why did you come now? We have a whole week before we need to hop on a plane."

"No can do, Steve-o. I'm on the no-fly list."

Steve froze. "Then how are we getting to Indiana?"

Eddie's answer came in the form of introducing Steve to his tour bus.

"You're driving this thing?"

"Yep. And don't worry about the tux. I got one for us both." Eddie opened up the doors and walked in.

"What about the rest of my clothes? It's gonna take us a week at least to get back to Hawkins."

"You can wear some of my stuff", Eddie said, shutting the door behind Steve and starting up the bus.

Steve picked up a stray article of clothing, so shredded it looked like a dog had gotten to it. "I think I'll passSHit!" He stumbled and fell into a table as the bus took off.

"And awaaaay we go!", Eddie exclaimed.

-------------

Perhaps, belatedly, Steve phoned into work, telling them he was taking his personal and vacation days now. That should cover him until next Monday. Eddie had already gassed up and the bus was stocked with snacks, so he was taking them out of the city no problem. Well, as little of a problem as it could be with a vehicle this huge.

Steve went to the back to find something to change into, thankfully finding a t-shirt and some jeans that were only ripped in the thigh.

"These can't be yours, you still got the legs of a french fry", he said as he pulled them on and zipped them up.

"Some of the other guys have been in this bus too ya know", Eddie said, checking him out from the rearview mirror. He focused a little too much on Steve's ass and had to swerve to avoid a minivan.

Steve fell into the fridge. "Have you driven this thing before?"

"Ehhhh like once or twice when our driver got twisted with us at a party. But I'm no stranger to big vehicles. You know that."

"A van's a lot different than a bus." Steve ran a hand through his hair and sat down behind the driver's seat. "I'm not going to break up Nancy's wedding. She doesn't deserve that. And neither does Jonathan."

"Then why weren't you planning to go and celebrate with them?", Eddie asked.

"...Because it's...it's complicated, you know that."

"I know you and Nancy broke up and less than a week later she was dating Jonathan. And I know it wasn't easy on you, even though it acted like it was no big deal."

"Yeah, well, that's life."

"Doesn't mean it's fair."

"Alright, please tell me your tour bed is clean."

"Gonna me my groupie tonight, Stevie? Ow!", he shouted when Steve flicked him.

"I'm taking a nap. Wake me when you get tired so we can trade off."

Hours later, when the sun had set, Eddie did wake him up, but not to trade places.

"I found this awesome diner, you've gotta come and see!"

"How long have I been out?"

"I figured if we're here, we gotta see if it's the real deal, ya know? KFC acts like they're the authority on chicken in this state but you always need to see for yourself."

Steve was instantly awake, something like dread building up in him as he grabbed Eddie's shirt collar. "Eddie...what state are we in?"

"Kentucky, duh."

"....Why are we in Kentucky?" It had been some time since he looked at a map but New York to Indiana was pretty much a straight shot east. The detour south made no sense.

"You're asking the wrong question. What you should be asking is, is the Colonel lobbying to keep down other chicken restaurants."

Damn Steve's traitorous stomach, growling when Eddie mentioned chicken again. So they ate, in a random Kentucky chicken place that had nothing to do with KFC.

"Verdict?", Steve asked after the meal.

"I think the Colonel's afraid of war", Eddie said, all seriousness.

"No more detour's, okay?"

"Stevie, baby, angel, darling-"

"You remember I'm not a groupie, right?"

"You're in my tour bus, wearing my clothes, you've already slept in my bed."

"All of that is circumstantial. What isn't is the fact that you're obviously trying to prolong this trip and I don't know why."

Eddie wiped the grease off his mouth and hands. "I think you could use the break. When was the last time you got out of the city?"

Steve had no answer. And Eddie knew it.

And so the next day they found themselves at the World's Biggest Rubberband Ball.

"Actually, it's just A rubber band ball", Eddie clarified when Steve complained about the size. It was about the size of a watermelon.

"Well what's the point if it's not huge?"

"The point is, it was on the way to Dollywood, which is the whole reason we're in Tennessee."

Steve crossed his arms. "Really? I thought it was so you could make a 'ten I see' joke."

"The thought crossed my mind", Eddie grinned. "But you're an eleven, baby."

---------------------

Steve was honestly surprised that Eddie didn't get stopped more, but somehow wearing sunglasses and a hat worked. He totally blew his cover in a Missouri diner though, just because he couldn't resist the siren call of the jukebox.

Eddie was halfway through some flapjacks while Steve had gotten steak and eggs when a certain song came on. Steve's head hung as he remembered with perfect clarity the night he heard this song. At Robin's graduation party, her parents had turned in and the rest of them had turned up. And somehow he, Eddie, and Robin, got through a drunken rendition of I Like It by DeBarge.

Thank god Jonathan also had been too drunk to record it. But apparently Eddie remembered it well because he got to his feet and started to sing like he was serenading the whole diner.

"🎵My every thought it you, the things you dOoOoOo, seem so satisfying to me, I must confess it girl~"

He had a syrup bottle in his hand as he pointed to some random woman who was somehow charmed. Someone definitely had their phone out and Steve was sure they knew who Eddie was. He had little time to think about Eddie's socials blowing up when the man turned toward him.

"🎵I like the way you comb your hair. And I like those stylish clothes you wear..."

Even though it was a performance in front of strangers, it all felt very pointed, much more than it had ten years ago. Eddie grabbed Steve's hand like he meant for him to stand but Steve shook his head. Eddie acquiesced and released him, continuing to sing and groove to the other patrons.

----------------------

Steve got his chance to reply to Eddie's call to sing the next night when they decided to have dinner at the bar across the street from the RV park. It just so happened to be karaoke night and Eddie loved performing for a crowd, even if the chance of anyone knowing him was small. A couple of people asked for selfies after he did a much harder rendition of 25 or 6 to 4.

He clearly didn't expect Steve to go up, looking like he was ready to call it a night just as Steve stood and went to the stage. He looked Eddie in the eye as the first beats of Whitney Houston's I'm Your Baby Tonight started to play.

The days they had spent traveling had old feelings bubbling up. Things Steve had tried his best to forget because he could never act on them. But maybe things could be better the second time around.

"🎵Whatever you want from me, I'm giving you everything. I'm your baby tonight. You're giving me ecstasy, you are my fantasy. I'm your baby tonight."

Eddie watched Steve like he had the answers of the universe. When the song ended and Steve stepped off the stage, Eddie grabbed him and pulled him outside. He pushed him against the wall of the bar and kissed him breathless.

"You're my baby", Eddie confirmed when he truly was out of breath.

"I'm yours. Your baby", Steve whined as he chased his lips.

"Do you-", Eddie panted against his mouth. "Do you remember?"

"I remember I could've been doing this for years. Why does this keep happening? Why are we forgetting now?" Steve paused as the rest of the memories caught up with him.

"I don't know...it's like we have whole lives here, but now I remember the other ones too", Eddie said. "How many times have we fallen in love?"

"At least three times", Steve smiled, arms looped loose around Eddie's neck.

"Sooo, feeling better about this wedding?"

"Yeah, especially since I have a date", Steve teased.

Part 6

Tag Team

@goodolefashionedloverboi @xjessicafaithx @newtstabber

[eriquin]

The Trolley Problem, part 43

Nancy and Jonathan go report some suspicious events. Hopper takes notes.

(master post)

Nancy was nervous about going into the police station, even though it had been her idea. She didn’t know how this was supposed to work. Jonathan had explained a little bit more about the things that had been happening, but now she had to pretend that she was more worried about what happened to Barb’s house than about not getting to see Barb. Maybe it was going to be a little bit of both. Either way, she followed along as Jonathan walked her to the precinct and held the door open for her. 

The place was busy, and there was a lady on the phone at the front desk. She held her finger up at them as she finished up the phone call and wrote down some notes. Then they waited a little longer while she got up and brought the note to someone else. But once she came back, she asked them what they needed.

“We’re here to report a robbery? Or maybe just a break-in?” Nancy said. 

“Well, which was it?” the lady asked.

Nancy bit her lip. “I don’t know. It wasn’t my house. It was the Hollands, but they weren’t home. We just went by to try to find them, but the house was all trashed.” 

“Uh-huh,” she said. “The Hollands, you say? What’s the address?” 

Nancy rattled off Barb’s home addressed, then glanced towards the office with all the blinds drawn. There were loud voices behind the door, like an argument was going on. “It’s just, Barb was supposed to be in the hospital, but when we went, they said she wasn’t there anymore, so we went to her house and no one was home.”

The receptionist raised her eyebrows at her. “And how did you get in?” 

She frowned. “Barb is my best friend. I know where their spare key is.” 

The receptionist hummed and wrote this down. “All right, well, I’ll try to find a patrol to send. We’re very busy, you know.” 

“Busy?” Nancy let her frustration creep into her voice. “A whole family is missing and you’re just busy?” 

“Like I said, we’ll look into it.” 

There was more shouting from inside the closed office. It wasn’t clear enough to hear, but the door opened and the police chief stepped out. He wasn’t the one shouting, but he did loudly say, “We are searching the woods, Tom.” He took a quick glance around the room. He asked the receptionist, “Flo, can you get me the report from the Holloway place?” Then, he gave Nancy a longer look, recognition dawning on him. “You were there, weren’t you?” 

Nancy nodded. “At Heather’s party, yeah. I’m friends with Barb. She broke her wrist—”

“In the woods, right.” He rubbed his chin. 

Another man came out of the office right behind Chief Hopper. His gray hair was mussed, his shirt was rumpled, and he looked like he hadn’t slept well. “Are you Heather’s friend?” he asked. “Do you know what happened to her? Where did she go?” He sounded more and more frantic with each word.

“Tom, calm down,” Chief Hopper said to him. “Give me a second to find out why she’s here.”

Flo came back with a folder of papers and put the note from Nancy’s report on top. “She says her friend’s house has been robbed,” she said, handing it to him. 

“Barb’s house,” Nancy said. “The hospital said she wasn’t there anymore and I can’t find her or her parents.”

Hopper looked surprised for just a second. He tamped it down with a scowl and turned back to Tom, who had to have been Heather’s dad. They argued for a minute, mostly with Tom shouting over Hopper and Hopper trying to calm him down. The gist of it was, Hopper’s cops were already searching the woods, but they thought that Heather might be hiding from them.

“The longer this goes on, though, the less I think that,” said Hopper. “We’re calling in volunteers to search the woods, starting from your house. I need you to go home and check if she’s come back. Once we’ve got the search party ready, you’re welcome to join us.” 

“This is ridiculous,” Tom said. “My daughter is not hiding in the woods. Something happened to her.’

“And we need to keep searching to find out what,” said Hopper, “and I still need you to go home. Has your wife made it back yet?” 

“She’s on the next plane,” Tom said. He rubbed his forehead.“There was only one seat available on the morning flight.” 

“She’ll want to hear all of this from you,” Hopper said. “I’ll be by as soon as I can. I have to go see Kurt’s parents, too. They want the same answers you do.”

Tom continued to grumble, but he left, saying something about getting his coworkers to help search. Nancy glanced at Jonathan. He leaned in closer and whispered, “That could’ve been my mom, if Will had disappeared.” She nodded at him.

Hopper went back to his office, but called for Nancy and Jonathan to follow him. “Now, tell me what’s going on with Barb Holland,” he said. 

They sat down, and Nancy told him the short version of being turned away at the hospital. She explained that she went to check on their house and what they’d found there. “I just don’t get where else she would’ve gone,” she said. “She was shaken up, but she only had a broken arm. Her parents were with her last night. I thought... I don’t know what I thought. But something happened in that house.”

Hopper nodded. “I’ll send someone to check out the house and find out what happened at the hospital,” he said. “There’s a lot going on out there. Two kids missing last night, plus what happened to your friend out there. I remember her yelling about having seen their bodies. Do you think that’s possible?”

Nancy felt the words catch in her throat. “She said she saw a monster,” she said. “That’s why the doctors thought she was in shock.”

“And what do you think she saw?” 

She pinched her lips together and shook her head. “I’m not sure,” she said. “I wasn’t there. Maybe... Maybe I should’ve been.” 

“Well, I had another officer go to talk to the other girl,” Hopper said. He picked up the stack of notes and looked at the top one. “What was her name again?”

“Robin,” Nancy said. “She and Barb used to be friends, like, ages ago. I kind of pushed them to reconnect at that party.” 

“Mmmhmmm,” Hopper said. He glanced at Jonathan. “And were you at the party, too?”

“No, I was watching my little brother,” he said. 

Hopper glanced between the two of them. “So, how are you involved now?” 

“Our brothers are friends. Nancy needed a ride to the hospital from school.” He shrugged. “I have a car. That’s it.” 

“Is that so?” Hopper stroked his mustache a little. He watched them for a long moment, seemingly deep in thought, and Nancy shifted a little in her seat. “Is there anything else either of you would like to tell me? Either of you?”

Something about the way he phrased that was very open ended. She looked at Jonathan, who looked back at her and gave her a little shrug. “No,” she said. “No, nothing I can think of.” 

The chief nodded and stood up. “All right, then,” he said. “I’ve got to get to work on this, and everything else. I’ll tell you now, it’s most likely that there’s something medical going on with Miss Holland, and her parents took her to a specialist or something. We’ll find her, since we still have to interview her anyway, but she’s probably fine.”

“What about her house?” Nancy asked. “It was trashed.”

“Yeah, that might be an opportunistic burglary,” Hopper said. “We’ll look into that, too.” He got up and opened the door for them.

“Will you call us? I mean, me? If you find something?” 

Hopper sighed. “I’ll try to have someone call you,” he said. “Meantime, you kids go straight home. And stay out of the woods, unless it’s with the search party. You hear me?”

“Yes, of course,” Jonathan said. “We’ll be careful.” He put his arm around Nancy to herd her out of the station. She could feel Hopper’s eyes on her the whole way out.

Once they were back in the car, she said, “I don’t think he believed us.”

“Maybe because we were lying?” he said. “I mean, he’s the chief of police. Steve said he got involved in this before, investigating everything. He’s not stupid.” 

“I know that, but... Well, what were we supposed to do? We can’t just tell him, right?” 

“Not yet. It’s too risky. Even with the pictures... He wouldn’t believe the time travel thing.”

“I don’t believe the time travel thing!” Nancy said, louder than she intended to. “And the psychic girl thing? Like, no way.”

He smirked as he turned down Main Street. “I saw her float stuff with her mind. She’s real. And you’ve got to admit that Steve has been weird for the past few weeks. Like, the whole school has noticed it.”

“Yeah, but... Wait, weeks?” She turned in her seat. “How long ago did this start for him?” 

Jonathan shrugged. “A while, I think. Like, mid-October at least.”

“Oh my God,” she said. She slapped the dash in frustration. “He asked me if I ever thought about the future. He said he had a dream about me fighting monsters shooting monsters with a shotgun. Freaking weeks ago. I thought he was being a flirt, and that I’d fucked it up because he stopped talking to me after that. He was... Oh my God.” 

He pulled into a parking spot in front of Melvald’s. He stared out the window for a second, deep in thought. “He asked me if Will played sports,” he said. “Holy crap, he was trying to figure out how to talk to me, wasn’t he? Or maybe to Will and the kids.” 

“Because we were involved in this,” she said. “Because he was trying to figure out if we knew anything, or if it was just him.” She looked up at the store. “Were we stopping for a reason?” 

“I was going to check on my mom,” he said. “See what time she’s going to be home. Also there’s a store a few doors down that sells, like, hunting gear? I, uh, might go pick up some stuff.”

“What, like a shotgun?” 

He shrugged helplessly. “I mean, there’s a monster out there. Might as well.”

She thought about it for a second, then nodded. “Okay,” she said as she unbuckled and started getting out of the car. “You know what? Okay. This might as well happen. Steve had some vision of me shooting monsters, so why not?”

Jonathan followed her. “I guess? I mean...” 

He stopped suddenly and looked up the street. Nancy followed his eyes to see three white vans coming up the road. They had blue lettering on the side that said ‘Hawkins Power and Light’ on the side. The two of them watched as the vans drove by in a line, almost eerily in sync.

“Well, that’s not suspicious at all,” Jonathan said. 

“Yeah,” Nancy said. “Fuck it. Let’s get a gun.”

Taglist: @neonfruitbowl

[strangertheories]

the people in your ask box giving their reasons for not liking ronance is like. yes, you do you, but they are literally proving your point because what is it about a random f/f ship existing that makes people wanna argue against it ??? but yeah the anti ronance tag is truly a wild place.

This response is quite long, hence the read more! I kinda got off track and it goes into a discussion of canon vs headcanon and speaks a bit about Byler too.

If I were to be generous to Ronance antis, I think a lot of people are frustrated that there is a new canon bisexual character who's been introduced to the show but a lot of the fandom are ignoring her for a headcanon. And in general, members of this fandom and Ronance shippers are quite harsh against Rovickie and I don't think they'd be as harsh if it was an m/f pairing. Because it's the only canon gay pairing so far (I know it hasn't happened yet but it clearly will), people are expecting it to be this perfect romance like Jopper or Lumax but in eight minutes of screen time which is just impossible.

However, I think turning this defensiveness of people who ship Ronance is a bit unfair. So far, Vickie is just not an established character; she's barely had any screen time and she exists only to be Robin's girlfriend. At the moment, it feels a bit like pandering/fan service (although a lot of people make that criticism in bad faith because they view queer relationships as inherently woke or political which is bullshit). I can see the potential in the pairing and I guarantee I'll love them by the end of S5, but I've just not seen them interact as much. I am allowed to think that without it being problematic; just because a queer ship is canon representation doesn't mean I have to like it.

I also think it's quite obvious a lot of people in this fandom haven't had any fandom experiences before. A very frequent response I get to shipping Ronance that I don't respond to (because I can't be bothered to reply every time) is that Nancy canonically likes Jonathan and that Robin canonically likes Vickie. Or that there's no proof that Nancy's gay.

The thing is, I'm not shipping Ronance because I think they're going to canonically get together, I ship them because I like their dynamic both hypothetically and in many on screen interactions they had. I just prefer rivals to lovers than two very similar girls (I know talking a lot doesn't make them the same person but it's all we've really seen of Vickie so far) getting together. When I ship a ship, it's not because it's the most canon, it's because it's the best dynamic.

I see this response to people who ship pairings like Will and Lucas where people will get annoyed because they act like Will hypothetically liking someone other than Mike is erasure which is so odd because I doubt anyone shipping that pairing actually thinks it will be canon, they just think it would be an interesting pairing to explore.

Or how when people try to convince you to ship Byler, they try to convince you why it'll be canon and not why it'll be good (I'm not talking about responding to Byler antis who tell you that it won't happen or talking to fellow Byler shippers, Byler proof and analysis is very valuable). This also applies in reverse when an anon tried to prove that Byler won't be canon...in response to me saying I like friends to lovers.

TL;DR: I'm not gonna ship Rovickie over Ronance just because it's the canon queer relationship. I ship based on whatever pairing is the most interesting to me instead of which one is the most attainable. I understand that lots of people like it and I'm cool with that, but sending me long asks explaining that Rovickie/Jancy are canon isn't going to change my mind on Ronance.

Also a lot of Ronance antis are Nancy antis and that's a whole thing that I've responded to before (check my post index under the Ronance section and go to Ronance and boy drama or the follow up or just click the words there).

[thestrangestthing89]

Part 1 of 2:

Jonathan lying isn't just about Nancy which is why I don't think it's going to ruin that relationship when it's revealed. He's also lying to his family and at the moment, Argyle is the only one who knows what's going on with him and why. He doesn't want to leave his family and makes a comparison to his father abandoning them when he talks about this with Argyle. From the start of the series it's made clear that Jonathan is protective of Will in a way that their father never was. He takes care of him and gives him good advice and is mainly the reason why Will is so kind-hearted despite having gone through so much trauma. He has Jonathan to talk to and Jonathan is always emotionally available to him. He plays a role in Will's life that blends older brother with father figure. He had to grow up too fast and help take care of him and pay the bills because their own father left and couldn't handle it.

So when Will goes missing and Jonathan realizes that he never checked on him the night before he feels guilty. And we see this through a scene with Joyce and Jonathan when they are putting a Missing ad together for Will. He's upset and blames himself. Realistically it wouldn't have made a difference of course. If Jonathan had noticed the night before Will still would have been in the upside-down. The most this would have done was start a search a few hours earlier but since we know of the supernatural element, that may not have made much of a difference. We see Jonathan is clearly feeling guilty about this - he's upset and he apologizes to Will when they find him. Which leads to season 2 and his annoyance about Bob. Bob is taking the role of father here that Jonathan has had for years. While we don't see too much interaction between the three of them, we do see that Will is more accepting of Bob in their lives where Jonathan is just tolerant. Will accepts a ride to school and listens to his advice and he sticks up for Bob when him and Jonathan are talking. Now it's important to note here that Bobs advice isn't good and it ends up unintentionally harming Will, but this is mainly because Bob doesn't have all the information about what's going on with Will. We see Jonathan give Will good advice again when he tells him about Zombie Boy and all the bullying. Jonathan is the one who takes care of Will the way he needs to be taken care of. Jonathans isn't getting replaced - Will still needs him. At the end of the season we see more guilt from Jonathan. When they are back at the Byers house after they escape the lab. Will is unconscious and Jonathan is apologizing for not having been there for him. Even though Joyce, Hopper, Mike and Bob were there for Will, he still feels guilty for not having been there himself. So of course when they are talking to Will in the shed it's Jonathan, Joyce, and Mike talking to him and telling him stories - they are the people who know him best. But it's important to note here that it's Mike who first gets through to Will and not Jonathan. Mike's story about meeting Will is kindergarten is the thing that gets Will communicating to them in morse code and it's Mike who realizes that Will is trying to sacrifice himself and it's Mike who comes up with a plan to fix it. Not Jonathan (this is important in part 2). In the scene at the end where they are de-possessing Will, it is clear that Jonathan is distraught over watching Will be in pain. It's so awful for him he can't even watch. It's been made very clear through all of this that Jonathan loves Will and will do anything to protect him. He feels responsible for him. Season 3 is the first time we don't see interaction between the two without the whole group around them. Will is distracted by his problems with Mike and Jonathan is distracted by his job and fighting with Nancy. This fight with Nancy is significant because they both are correct and only part of it gets resolved. It's still a loose thread. Because while Nancy is discussing how it's humiliating to work in a place like that, Jonathan is trying to explain to her that he can't afford to complain about it because he has to help pay the bills. It's a problem many working class women face and a problem Nancy can't relate to - complaining about getting harassed at work is a privilege. Plenty of working class women have to grin and bear the abuse at work because they have bills to pay. There is no way Joyce hasn't experienced this. So while Jonathan can't relate to the way that Nancy's treated - he immediately gains respect by being male - Nancy can't understand why he doesn't say anything and it's because his family depends on him. Nancy is upper middle class and had that job for the experience not for money. She still relies on her father for that and can. Jonathan later apologizes to Nancy but it's not for this fight. It's because he doubted that she was right about the rats and the case.

This fight is still unresolved and it's why Jonathan doesn't tell her about college. Now the reason he doesn't apply to college is about Will, but him not telling Nancy is because of this fight. They usually communicate well with each other but here is the first time they aren't on the same page and it's because they can't relate to each other. They have different experiences and they don't know how to explain it to each other. This doesn't have to be a big deal. Most couples aren't going to have the same exact upbringing and experiences, but they are young and don't know how to discuss it. So we have season 4 and Jonathan emotionally checking out for the first time. He's not there for Will when Will is struggling with his identity and he's avoiding his family. He can't tell them he won't go to college because he feels like he's abandoning them which will then lead to them feeling guilty. It's another difficult conversation he's avoiding. He does apologize to Will for not being there at the end of the season and it's clear Will still needs him. But after all the drama of season 4 - the shoot out at the house, the burying the dead agent, helping find El and escaping, and trying to help her help Max - Jonathan has to be feeling even more reluctant to leave. Because what would have happened to Will and Mike in the house when they were attacked if Jonathan wasn't there? Nancy even thanks him for being there because she knows he is the reason they got to Hawkins safely. They all need Jonathan and rely on him.

More in Part 2

[an-honest-puck]

I have watched Pray Don't Be Fickle far too many times than is normal (thanks @personinthepalace for sharing the whole scene lol) and I simply cannot get over how incredible Jonathan's voice is- like, the tone of his voice?? so crisp and clear it's amazing

(also, I love rewatching it and watching everyone reacting to him lol)

the fact that it's Harry who first summons him and names him Reverend Jon

Nancy suggesting a silly summoning spell to give Jonathan time to get on stage

the musicians in the background looking at Jon, waiting for him to cue them

Nancy double checking that he's coming and Harry trying not to break as he watches Jon walk on

ok no but hold on, the pure delight on Nancy's face when she realises that Jon's actually going to get on there and sing is so wonderful and lowkey kinda heartwarming?? idk, she's just so hyped for this moment y'all, it's hard not to get swept up in the excitement ya dig?? lol

not Jon Oscar starting his cameo with a pun XDD

"I sense someone has become something jarred!" - Oscar

Charlie: Our headmistress has been turned into a pickle! We need you to reverse that. Oscar: Of course. Well, my children, there's only one way to do that of course. Charlie: Of course- Oscar, breaking half way through this sentence: Which I fear is through song.

Nancy absolutely setting Jon up for a big dramatic song and of course the kicker: "Why don't you take... centre stage?"

listen, I know Nancy literally gestured for him to be centre stage, but that still doesn't explain why he starts this song kneeling pfffff- fr who knows, but it's a bloody power move if I ever did see one

speaking of brilliant moves, shoutout to Charlie for inviting everyone in the cast on the stage to be a part of this iconic moment 😌

Oscar: Uhh. My children, I must say, I'm disappointed that tonight is the only show my parents are watching.

Almost everyone else in the cast: *breaking*

Oscar: But here we go.

the band and Jonathan being perfectly timed on that opening chord and note??? wtf is this improv magic????? /amazed

I'm sorry but even from that very first line "When you've been turned" his tone is so crisp and so strong my god

also, I can't tell if rhyming 'jarred' with an alternate pronunciation of 'prepared' (i.e. 'preparred') is lazy or lazy enough to be genius XD

I adore Lauren and Nancy's all the little interjections in the first few lines and Jon including them in the song XD

Jon: When you've been turned into something jarred Lauren: Sing it, Reverend! Jon: You must be prepared, be preparred Nancy: It's just you! Jon: It's just me it's a solo, that's unfortunate Nancy (literally just as Jonathan has goe up to the two Henrys and Shields looks like he's about to help him lol): Don't try and pass it, Jon! Jon: But do not worry, things are gonna turn out great!

the knowing laugh of the audience when Jonathan sings "Pray, don't be fickle..." (because how else are you gonna rhyme 'pickle' ya dig?? XD)

but fr tho, Jono vocally popped off on the chorus!!!!!!!

also can we spare a moment to appreciate the way he physically embraces this song?? he's not dancing, but he absolutely nails the 'possessed by the music' acting direction of the scene and I friggin love it!!!!!

(the man is surprisingly light on his feet I would love to see him tap - Charlie says he was a great tap dancer back in their LAMDA days lol)

gotta love the musicians changing the rhythm of the song on him - to be fair, they are keeping in the gospel style of shifting the rhythm lol

and in true improv style, Jono incorporating that into the song XD

"A different kind of rhythm has started / And I know that we're all gonna see the change!" - Oscar

(yo how did he hit that note on 'change'?!!?!?)

and then of course he pops off lyrically and vocally

yo I legit have to record it here because this bit of lyrical improv is Showstopper level!!!!

A different kind of rhythm has started And I know that we're all gonna see the change! Magic's here and the lord is upon us So don't be fearful, now don't be enraged!

his vocal interjections in the second chorus!!!!! the way he becomes a choir director and gets everyone to do the chorus again because no one actually knew how the chorus went, least of all him!!! XD

and then he gets back on his knees and it's all over for us bitches /affectionate because it's me, I'm bitches XD

the way he signals for the music to stop is so fckn cool omg

THE RUN HE HITS ON 'PRAY' ADFSAKHDJFKSLAHLDJSK 😩😩😩😩😩😩😩

(Nancy in the background looking so proud!!!!!!!!!!!!)

THE TIMING OF THE BAND TO COME BACK IN WITH THE MUSIC ASDFHADSFJLKAFHLJK 😩😩😩😩😩😩😩

again with the badass stop-the-music signal?!?!?! we get it you're a fkcn bombass vocalist AND you're musically trained goddang- /jk

and to top it all off: a pitch perfect exit featuring a Shields flourish to end

in conclusion: Mischief, give the people what they want and let Jonathan Sayer sing more in your future productions!!!!!!!

[faithfulcat111]

I’m one of those people who like collecting any possible lore for things I’ve been hyper-fixated on for this long. You do not want to know some of the things I’ve done for other fandoms that never got actually shared. So labour-intensive, so worth it. But one of the things that I have been doing for Stranger Things is reading through the various comics and books that were released in addition to the show. In all honesty, I think the comics are a little higher grade than the books. Mainly because they really capture the feel of the show way better. Also, I don’t have any plans to read the things regarding Brenner or the other numbers comic or book-wise. Sorry, that stuff just isn’t interesting to me. I much prefer the dynamics for our main characters we do have than looking for other characters outside the show. 

Anyway, I’ll be going through the comics I do have and doing an analysis on what they contribute to the overall lore and characterization of these characters. Some will be fairly short. Some have quite a bit more to them. The first one is The Other Side which is Will’s POV from being in the Upside-Down in Season 1. (I do put some images from the comics in, they are at the bottom but use caution cause they are very horrific).

First off, the monster never drags Will into the Upside-Down. He slips into it himself when the light goes all bright like we see at the beginning of the first episode. The Demogorgan never even makes it into the shed, which is where I get the basis of my undying belief that all the Byers have powers and this is Will’s main one pre-Mind Flayer. Also, he shoots the Demogorgan twice. Which is why he doesn’t have the gun when we first see him talking to Joyce. He already used up his ammo of two shots. 

He hears the search party that first day they are out, that was right about the time he figured out something is wrong (time is a little screwy so roll with it) and he speaks to his mom on the phone and through his walkie to the phone. Later, with the lights in the cabinet, he takes his mom’s instructions so seriously. He is literally blinking and the lights are fading in and out at the same time. Once the alphabet is on the wall, he touches the letters to light them up. Will does use the alphabet at a couple of other points with no response so no one was likely home. 

He does hear Lonnie briefly post-funeral, but Lonnie cannot hear him at all. Will breaks a chair at this point. He also finds one of the two hunters that Callahan mentioned to Hopper in the show as being missing. So poor Will has to watch someone die.

Shortly after that, he hears Jonathan. This actually happens while Nancy is in the Upside-Down too, so both Will and Nancy can hear Jonathan calling out. Will chooses to distract the monster which lets Nancy get out. This is when Will finally goes to Castle Byers. While Will spent a lot of time running around, trying to get away from the monster, he kept going back home. He doesn’t go to Castle Byers till that last night because going without food in that toxic world is finally catching up to him and he is starting to seriously hallucinate at this point. Even when he gets out, he still keeps hallucinating he is back in the Upside-Down even as he is speaking to his family and friends. The graphics here are seriously creepy and it really adds to why Will really wasn’t explaining well what he was seeing in season 2. It gives the impression that he seriously thought he was hallucinating the whole time, not sliding back into the Upside-Down. 

This is more of an overall bit because I said I would have to check it. So, Jonathan’s ability to hear people in the Upside-Down. There are only three times that Will and Jonathan are in the same place that I can tell. The first time is the first instance of Will trying to talk through the phone. Jonathan was there with Joyce at the phone. But Will was back in his bedroom on his walkie. Also, he stops at a point because the Demogorgan comes into the room (this is when Will ends up using the second shot) so while Will can hear Jonathan, he doesn’t say a word back because the monster is right there. The second time is that it is implied that Will was hiding in the graveyard around the time of his funeral (of course we see nothing but the generic words of a funeral, so could be someone else who happened to die around the same time). Will doesn’t say anything then though. And later when Will hears Jonathan calling for Nancy. Will is silent here as well, using rocks to distract the Demogorgan and lure it away. By the time he circles back to the spot, Will sees the portal close from his side long before he gets close to the tree. 

Go read this one if you read none of the others, it is so good.

Will's hallucinations:

[kurokoros]

TW: mentioning of SA (please ignore if you are uncomfortable)

I'm sorry to even ask this, but I just saw multiple people claim Steve sa'ed Nancy in s1 because he didn't have her consent. And then they claim Steve used having sex with Nancy as like a revenge porn thing because he apparently filmed them having sex. I know the last part isn't true but it's been a while since I watched s1 and you seem to know a lot about Steve's character. I always thought the sex scene in s1 was consensual, if Nancy would have said stop Steve would have complied. Those claims come mostly from Jonathan stans who have a vendetta against Steve, so idk how true that is. I also know Steve was supposed to go that way, but the Duffers decided not to go through in the actual show.

Ever since s4 Jonathan and Steve stans are at war with each other, always bringing up stuff from past seasons while the characters have evolved and apologized for their mistakes. I know some fans hold the camera incident over Jonathan's head, but to claim Steve was actually worse because he basically assaulted Nancy is just gross. They also say Steve's a creep because he climbed up to Nancy's window to check on her. I mean idk about that, he was her boyfriend after all and he was concerned about her well-being after Barb disappeared. Obviously I'm a Steve girl so maybe I'm a bit biased but those claims I just read were really gross and I feel like objectively speaking not true at all.

Anon, you sent me this while I was at work and I spent the rest of my shift seething over this ask, so thanks for that lmao

ANYWAY. Anyone who thinks Steve assaulted Nancy in S1 a) has not actually watched the show b) has purposely misinterpreted their scenes to make Steve look worse, or c) lacks media comprehension skills, because the idea that Steve was being creepy towards Nancy in S1 is just... blatantly untrue? Regardless of if that's how Steve was written in an earlier draft of the season, that's not remotely what happened in the final draft we see in the episodes.

Again, it's blatantly untrue.

In the three scenes where Steve and Nancy are shown making out, the first two both end as soon as Nancy very seriously tells him to stop. Steve stops when she tells him to. SA interpretation immediately disproven. It's also worth noting that all of those make out scenes are only allowed to happen because Nancy agrees to them. Steve puts a "hey, let's make out in the bathroom" note in Nancy's locker... and she goes to the bathroom to make out with him. Steve asks her to meet him outside of school "to study (make out)" and Nancy agrees, and later lets him into her room "to study"--and when she makes it clear she's not interested in having sex with him at that time (AKA when Nancy says she's not like those sluts he usually dates) Steve backs off and then just... helps her study for her chemistry test.

And in the sex scene in question: Nancy wears a new bra to Steve's house, as noted by Barb; Nancy goes up to Steve's bedroom with him and tells her bff/ride to leave without her; and after telling him to turn around so she can change, which Steve does, she gets his attention again before taking her top off. Additionally, when Barb is being murdered in the Upside Down and Nancy sort of hears her screaming from the flip-side and gets distracted, Steve stops and asks if something is wrong, to which Nancy says no and initiates another kiss.

Everything in the sex scene and surrounding the sex scene says that Nancy initiated it and that Steve stops when he's told to (and even takes notice when his partner is distracted/not into it). Obviously, people can initiate sex and then change their mind and want to stop, but that's not what was presented on screen.

The revenge porn thing is just a lie and I don't know who pulled that out of their ass or why.

Steve sneaking onto Nancy's roof (and not, you know, actually breaking into her room) is just a common thing from the 80s and not actually a problem. They're dating. Boyfriends and girlfriends used to sneak into each others room when technology wasn't as easily accessible as it is now. It's a non-issue.

If anything, I'd say the Duffers did a really mediocre job rewriting parts of the season from the rapey-Steve draft to the non-rapey-Steve draft, because I'll never get over how weird Nancy's vibes were post-sex scene, particularly the whole "You can talk to me/I'm fine" scene between Nancy and Karen. But that's just a result of lazy editing and not some kind of subtext that actually Steve sexually assaulted Nancy.

TLDR: I think I've seen the post you're referring to in this ask and that person is just a dumbass looking for excuses to hate Steve.

[shopcat]

my thing is that i like nancy i think her grief is compelling and the fact that she’s a teenage girl in a small town who has had to be responsible for so much shit is a lot to deal with. like her parents are pretty checked out when her best friend went missing nobody listened to her and then when she found out she died she had to hide the fact that she knew she has spent the past 3 years feeling like it’s her fault she’s dead. and she’s so career oriented and she doesn’t want to turn into her parents and i think that she like needs to feel in control of everything all the time or things will get fucked. but then they make her say that even while she was with steve she was sort of waiting around for jonathan or be an asshole to robin for no reason and never apologize when she hurts people like i don’t think she’s a villain i think she’s just got flaws when it comes to relationships bc she doesn’t have very good examples of them but when you make a character who’s flawed never own up to her mistakes it just gets frustrating to watch. which is i think why next season we need less nancy relationship drama and more her dealing with her trauma and healing and also maybe some wheeler sibling moments bc they never talk to each other in canon. also stop making steve pine over her bc they literally have opposing ideas of what they want from life we have known this since s1 he needs to get a boyfriend!! that’s all sorry it was a lot thank u peace and love on planet earth

i agree with all as well <3 i think it's good to like complex characters with flaws instead of using those flaws as a way to pin them up and i know this all always snowballs cuz i bring up steve but i still find it weird how people can take the care and nuance to approach every single action he does with a kindness because we like him but characters u don't like (who aren't like actually horrible cunts like b*lly) don't deserve the same care and like i'm NOT saying everyone write dissertations OR bring up how different it is because i know i know but the core of it remains still from my pov tbh!!! but honestly i just prefer to not talk about nancy at all beyond everything that's already been said LOL like i just don't really care not that i mind but i wouldn't bring it up myself or anything. i don't despise her i hate her around steve but i am looking forward to seeing her in st5 and where her character goes <3

[eddiemuns0nl0ver]

Don't Let Go

Steve x Wheeler 

Emma Wheeler is Nancy's fraternal Twin. 

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

Hawkins Indiana was a safe place. At least it was when you had Nancy Wheeler as a sister. Sort of. 

Avoiding her at all cost. Emma Wheeler was in love with Steve Harrington. She knew she shouldn't but she couldn't help it. She even confided with Nancy about the crush you had on him. But she still went after him. Almost like a jab to you, after you heard from Barb about Nancy and Steve, you lost all respect for her. You didn't try talking to her anymore. (Switch to first person POV)

I couldn't. I felt betrayed, I started hanging out with Mike and his party. I grew to love each of them and even started playing DND with them(after teaching me how to play). Emma helped play in the last game before Will went missing. The morning afterwards Mom got a call from Joyce asking if shes seen Will but he left a little after 8:00pm. I looked over at Mike who already had a frown on his face, I excused myself to go to my room, which I had to share with Nancy. I Heard footsteps following me and a soft knock on the door. "I don't want to talk to you Nancy" I said as I checked my book bag to make sure I had everything for school today.

"Emma, how long are you gonna stay mad at me." I scoffed as I got up to open the door with my bag around my shoulder. 

"How long were you seeing Steve before I found out?" I ask softly. 

"Not long, a month maybe"

"Nance! I told you that I liked him long before you two even started seeing each other. That goes against the girl code. You of all people should know that!" 

"Emma it's not my fault he likes me and not you! You need to grow up and realize that you don't have to like everything I do, but that doesn't mean I don't get to pursue what I want" She yelled at me. 

"Go to hell" you whispered to your twin sister. 

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

Pretending to like Nancy in front of everyone at school was a lot easier than most think. As I walk with Tommy H. Carol, Steve, Barb and of course Nancy, they gossiped about anything and everything, besides Barb. We both share a look after hearing Steve mutter something about Jonathan being pathetic for his brother going missing. 

"Shut the fuck Steve" I say loud enough for everyone in the group to hear as I store off to go talk to Jonathan. 

"Hey Jonny" I say softly. "Still no luck?" 

"No, but we'll find him." He said sadly.

"If you need anything, just ask. I love your family like my own" I smile at him as he returns it. I looked over to see Nancy walking towards us. "Imma walk to class, bye Jonny. I love you". 

"Love you too, Emma". As I walked away I heard Steve call me a bitch. I stopped for a second looking directly in his eyes. "Fuck you Steve".

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

During English I got pulled out of class by an officer and then got taken to the middle school to talk about Wills disappearance. I saw Mike stand up and run to me. I threw my arms around him murmuring that we were going to find him and that he was going to be okay. "All do respect Chief but why am I here?" I ask.

"You were one of the last people to see him before he went missing" he responded. I looked down, zoning out.

"Okay, okay, okay. one at a time, all right?" Hopper points at Mike. "You. You said he takes what?" I tuned back in not liking the look Hopper was giving Mike.

"Mirkwood"

"Mirkwood?"

"Yeah" Mike states as if its the most obvious answer.

"Have you heard of Mirkwood?" Hopper looks over to Callahan.

"Sounds made up to me" he responds with.

Lucas shoots up, "No! Its from the Lord of the Rings"

Dustin looks at Lucas in disbelief, "Its from The Hobbit"

"Who cares!" Lucas yelled at Dustin

"He asked!" He yelled back at Lucas.

"He asked" Dustin mocked him. 

"Shut up guys!" I said loudly.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey! What did I just say? Shut up! One at a god-damn time. Michael, speak"

"Mirkwood, its a real road. It's just the name that we made up. It's where Cornwallis and Kerley meet, we can show you if you want" He said.

"No, you guys are going straight home after school." Hopper says. All the boys protest as I look at them, still wondering what I have to do with all of this. "No, After school you guys go straight home, that includes you Emma. No biking around looking for your friend, no investigating, no nonsense. This isn't some Lord of the Rings book."

"Hobbit" Dustin interjects.

"Shut up" Lucas screams.

"Guys stop" I whisper.

"Stop it! Do I make myself clear? Do I make myself clear?" the chief asks. The party grumbles.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

"We should be helping look for him Mom!" I said. It was now the next morning while eating breakfast.

"Emma, we have been over this, the chief says,"

"I don't care what the chief says" Mike interrupted.

"Michael!"

"we have to do something, Will could be in danger!" I yelled, looking over at Mike with a small smile.

"Even more reason to stay". My mother says. 

"Mom!" Mike yells.

"End of discussion" Mom yells looking at both Mike and I.

"So, Barb and I are going to study at her house tonight, is that alright?" Nancy asks quietly. I glare at her knowing she just wants to see Steve.

"No thats not alright." She answers back.

"What? Why not!" Nancy said, annoyed.

"Why do you think? Am I speaking Chinese in this house? Until we know Will is safe, no one is leaving"

"Thats such bullshit!" Nancy yells.

"Language!" My dad finally saying something in the conversation.

"So were under house arrest because Mike and Emmas friends decided to get lost on their way home!"

"Nancy!" I screamed at her just as Mike screamed, "How is this Wills fault!". Looking over at us she sees both of us glaring at her.

"Nancy take that back." mom says gently.

"She just wants to see Steve!" Mike says, smiling at me.

"Who's Steve?" My mom asks.

"Her boyfriend" I state glaring at Nancy again.

"You're such a douchebag Emma!" 

"You're the one who stabbed my back!"

"Language" My dad yells again.

"Thats what your worried about! Not the fact that Nancy broke my trust and went after the one person I ever told her about! That is bullshit. You not worrying about your own relationship with your own god-damn sister is such bullshit. Fuck that, its more than bullshit. I wish I wasn't your fucking sister!" I screamed, before storming

to the basement.

[satelliteddie]

grapejuice - e.m.

pairing: eddie munson x fem!reader

summary: a nervous eddie tries his best to buy you flowers and wine for the first time, but can’t seem to get it right

content warnings: implied sex (but no details), neck kisses, first time saying I love you to each other <3

word count: 3.7k

author’s notes: had to write in some eddie and wayne interactions bc we were ROBBED of them; anyways, enjoy xx

Yesterday, it finally came, a sunny afternoon

I was on my way to buy some flowers for you

Thought that we could hide away in a corner of the heath

There's never been someone who's so perfect for me

Eddie is way out of his element. I don’t even know which flowers she would like. His brain is running in circles as he stares at the endless rows of floral arrangements. Half of these flowers look like weeds to him, while the other half seems like they were artificially dyed. Eddie knows you���better than he knows anyone, but when he looks at these flowers, it seems like everything he once knew goes out the window.

“Did you need some help?” A Bradley’s Big Buy employee asks. She wipes her hands on her apron and smiles at Eddie.

“Uh,” Eddie stutters. He focuses his attention on her employee badge, “Stacy, is it? I don’t even know where to begin.”

“Okay,” Stacy sighs, pressing her lips together. “Are these for a girlfriend?” Eddie nods in response, his whole body is itchy. He wants to go home and forget this entire thing. You’ve told him time and time again that you don’t need material things. However, Eddie knows you like flowers; you and Nancy always gush over the ones Jonathan sends her. You would never tell him, but you always hoped Eddie would pick up on how much you wanted to get flowers from him. Eddie had tried to get you a fancy arrangement for your first official date; he even went to a florist for them…but he panicked and told the clerk they were for a funeral and ran out of the store before he could pick any out. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to get you flowers, he did. It killed him that he wasn’t good at this couple-type stuff. So here he was, in a discount supermarket picking out week old flowers. They weren’t a personalized arrangement by any means, but it was better than nothing. “Does she have a favorite color?” Stacy suggests, as she picks up a few bouquets from the buckets on the wall

“She loves all orange and pink tones, whenever there’s a pretty sunset she always says: ‘that’s it, that’s my favorite color’. It’s one of my favorite things—” Eddie coughs and stops his rambling when he notices Stacy watching him closely. “Sorry I don’t know why I told you all of that, I’m out of my element here.”

Stacy grabs two clusters of flowers from the selection; one set of pastel pink and red colored roses and the other a mix of orange and yellow flowers with all different shaped petals. “Listen,” Stacy whispers. “I don’t know you, and I don’t know your girlfriend, but no matter what you get she’ll be happy with them—it’s the thought that counts. However, if you want to guarantee she’s more than happy, I would go with these.” She passes the two bundles to Eddie, “you can even take them out of the plastic, mix the two together and put them in a vase. She’ll never know you got them from Bradley’s.” Eddie thanks her profusely before checking out of the store. His arms ache from carrying all the bags to the van. Pasta, check. Sauce, check. Cheese, check. Random vegetables that Nancy told him would elevate the sauce, check. Wine, check. Flowers, check. Eddie went through his mental checklist a half a dozen times in his mind hoping he remembered everything. Eddie tried his best to contain his nerves as he drove from the store back home. This would be the first time he actually cooked for you; every day for the last four months, Eddie had wanted to cook for you and treat you like royalty. He was so disgustingly in love with you that he would do anything for you…yet every time he tried to wine and dine you something went amiss. He burnt the chicken the last time, undercooked the burgers the time before, and somehow overcooked a salad before that. This time would be different, he knew it would be. The last times he tried, he wasn’t sure that he was in love with you, but this time? Eddie was in love with you. Tonight he would tell you and make it official, but he needed everything to go right first. Eddie shuffles inside the trailer with the groceries and tosses them onto the counter.

“Your girl coming over tonight?” Eddie’s Uncle Wayne asks while looking over the top of his coffee mug. “Has to be the only reason you would willingly go food shopping. Haven’t helped me in years.”

“C’mon, Wayne. Now isn’t the time for this,” Eddie pulls out all of his purchases from the plastic bags. “You told me you wouldn’t be home, by the way.” Eddie points at his uncle from the kitchen. Wayne rocks back and forth in the recliner that sits in the far side of the living room. Eddie continues to take out the penne pasta, pasta sauce, red wine, vegetables, and other ingredients from the bag and lays them out on the counter. He goes through his mental checklist again and smiles down at his purchases. I remembered it all.

“You making penne vodka?” Wayne asks, moving from his seat into the kitchen. He pushes around Eddie’s collection, taking in all the ingredients. Eddie nods, while his mind races thinking about how you always order penne alla vodka when you go to Enzo’s with your family. “You bought the wrong wine, Son.”

“What?” Eddie blinks harshly at his uncle. “It’s wine, how can it be wrong?”

“You bought a cheap red wine, it’s way too acidic. You need a white wine like a Chardonnay or something.”

“First of all how do you, of all people, know that? Second, shit, shit, shit!” Eddie curses, grabbing at the roots of his hair. “What am I gonna do? She’s gonna be here any minute!”

“Look, I have an old bottle of white in the closet. It’s cheap and pretty much grapejuice, but it could work for you kids.”  Wayne crouches down as he digs in the pantry looking for a bottle of wine. “I got it as a work gift, so it can’t be that bad.” He turns the label to Eddie and passes the bottle to him. Eddie releases his breath and puts the wine onto the countertop next to the pasta. He nods in appreciation at his uncle and Wayne smirks at him, “glad I was home now, huh?”

“Dick,” Eddie mutters while Wayne ruffles a hand through Eddie’s hair on his way out of the trailer.

But I got over it and I said

"Give me somethin' old and red"

I pay for it more than I did back then

There's just no gettin' through

Without you

A bottle of rouge

Just me and you

You puff out your cheeks as you put your car into park in front of the Munson trailer. I can do this, just a normal date with my boyfriend. You think as you check your makeup one last time in the rearview mirror. No, it’s not just a date. I’m gonna tell him I love him. Your devil's advocate practically screams. After another minute, you stand from your car and walk up the front steps of the trailer. Raising a fist to the door, you knock against the window pane. Muffled steps come from inside and before you know it a disheveled Eddie whips open the door. “My girl,” he smiles. “You look, God you look amazing.”

You glance down at your sundress and Keds (a favorite combination of Eddie’s), your cheeks burn from his words as you look up at him. “Hi, Eds.” Eddie runs his fingers down your arms and clasps his hands with yours. The smile on his face continues to grow as he pulls you inside his home. “Hi, sweetheart.” Eddie moves his hands from yours and plants them on the sides of your neck, bringing his mouth down to yours. He can’t help but smile into the kiss, his teeth gently scraping your lips. His smile is infectious as you break the kiss, “what’s got you all smiley today?” You ask in between giggles, Eddie continues to pepper kisses all across your face.

“I just–” he shakes his head, “I just missed you.” You can tell he’s lying, but you don’t push him. The two of you step into the kitchen and you notice the small dish towels all over the tile floor. “Uh Eddie?” You ask as you step over the mess on the floor, “what happened here?”

“We’re having pasta so I got red wine, which I now realize is wrong, thanks to Wayne,” Eddie rambles on as he picks up the towels and tosses them into the sink. He gently nudges you back from the mess as he picks up the broken shards of glass, “So Wayne gave me another bottle, but then I- I dropped it.” He shakes his head staring at the ground, “I messed it up again.”

“Eds–” you reach for him, but he doesn’t let you pass the threshold of the kitchen. Just in case the broken glass dares to touch you, Eddie steps towards you, his sneakers crunching against the shards near his feet.

“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry I ruined it,” Eddie’s eyes are closed again as he runs his hands through his hair in frustration. “I can’t ever get it right. I just get so nervous, I don’t know how to do this.”

“Hey,” you bend down, trying to meet his eyes that are now focused on the floor. You run your fingers over his curls and tuck them behind his ear, “I’m so over all those white wines anyways”

“Yeah?” He asks, slowly opening his eyes. The deep brown shade of his eyes seems to be even warmer tonight as he looks right into your eyes.

“Yeah, besides I bought wine today,” you reach into your tote on your shoulder. “Figuring you wouldn’t have a clue how to pair wine.” You tease as you place the bottle on the counter behind the two of you.

“God, I love you,” the words slip from Eddie’s mouth before he can stop them.

“What?”

Sittin' in the garden, I'm a couple glasses in

I was tryna count up all the places we've been

You're always there, so don't overthink

I'm so over whites and pinks

“Nothing,” Eddie states, moving back to the kitchen. He rushes over to sweep up the rest of his mess. He turns his attention to the cooked pasta as he drains it into the strainer placed in the sink.

“Eddie–” you try to get him to look back at you.

“I didn’t say anything, nope. Nothing. I’m drunk. Yep, drunk,” Eddie rambles on. You stand behind him as he tosses the pasta in the sauce warming on the stove top.

“Fine,” you huff. “I’ll let it go, for now.” You smile at him and Eddie returns it. He nods in a silent ‘thank you’. You had a feeling that Eddie did love you, but hearing the words directly from him struck you right in the center of your chest. This night meant a lot to him and you could tell his word-vomit just threw him totally off his game. You swallow your pride, knowing you’ll bring the conversation up later and pretend it didn’t happen. “So what’s on the menu?”

“Penne alla Eddie,” he grins as he moves around the pasta, sauce, and vegetables in the pan.

You chuckle at his corny nature, “Alla Eddie? Never heard of it.”

“Yes, that's because I only make it for very special occasions.” Eddie comments as you slip into a stool behind the breakfast bar. Eddie has the sleeves of a button up shirt (presumably one of Wayne’s), rolled up to his elbows, his dark wash jeans are cleaner than you’ve ever seen them and his white sneakers have definitely been scrubbed. His fingers are tapping against his thigh to a song you can’t place, but you know it’s his nervous tick. This is a special occasion. You smile at your boyfriend and the time and effort he took to make tonight special for you both. Eddie continues to cook while you two make small talk about work, Hellfire, and how ridiculous Robin and Steve look in their new Family Video uniforms. Eventually, Eddie finishes with the pasta and flicks off the stove.

“Alright sweetheart,” he smiles at you. “I’m gonna need you to stay here for five minutes. And promise me you won’t peek outside.” Eddie knows how much you hate surprises, but this time you let it go and promise you won’t look. You keep your eyes fixed on the counter, as you hear Eddie shuffling back and forth from the small kitchen to the front door. After a few minutes, Eddie tips your chin up to meet his eye line. You raise your eyebrows at him, “ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” he smiles and places a quick kiss on your lips. “C’mon.” Eddie pulls you from the stool in the kitchen, out the front door. You’re confused for only a moment before you notice the elaborate set up. Just a few steps outside of the trailer, Eddie has a wooden picnic table (that he for sure ‘borrowed’ from the communal portion of the trailer park), covered with a sheet and decorated with small tea light candles and flowers. You contain your gasp as you take in the entire scene. He cooked for me and did all of this? Eddie leads you to the table and holds your hand as you take a seat on the wooden bench. Eddie jogs around the other side and sits directly in front of you. There’s two plates of pasta made up for both of you, but you can’t even focus on it as your eyes stay fixed on the flowers. The flowers. In the center of the table sits a perfect bouquet of orange, yellow, pink and red flowers that bring the entire scene together. He bought those for me?

“Is this okay?” Eddie breaks the silence and you pull your focus back to him. He continues, “I know it’s not Enzo’s, but—are you crying?” He stops dead in his tracks. Did he read this all wrong?

“No,” you sniffle trying to hide your emotions. Eddie smiles at your lie, but you continue: “This all just, it’s too much Eds. You didn’t have to do all of this.”

“Yes, I did.” The crease between his eyebrows deepens, “you deserve so much more than this.” He reaches across the table and grabs your hand. His silver rings are cool against your skin, and cause goosebumps as he moves them back and forth over your knuckles. “I know you would never ask for this, or- or even say you like it…so I really hope I’m not getting this all wrong, but I just wanted to show you how much I care about you. About us.” Eddie emphasizes, his hands still fidgeting with yours.

“Eddie, you show me everyday,” you frown at him. You would hate for Eddie to be so worried about the material things in your relationship, when that’s not what you care most about. He releases your hand and pours the wine you brought into the glasses in front of you.

“I wanted to,” Eddie blushes, his head tilted.

“Well,” you smirk at him. “In that case, can we eat? I’m starving.” Eddie’s mushy exterior cracks, bringing forward the ‘normal’ Eddie as he lets go of your hand to grab a fork.

“Thank God you said something first,” he shoves the fork into his plate of pasta. “I didn’t want to be un-gentleman-like.”

I pay for it more than I did back then

There's just no gettin' through

Without you

A bottle of rouge

Just me and you

1982

Just me and you

There's just no gettin' through

The grape juice blues

There’s only a ¼ of the bottle of wine left on the table, two empty bowls where the pasta once was, the candles have been burnt out, and the perfect flowers still sitting in the center. The two of you have moved to the same side of the bench, swapping stories from high school and the time before you knew one another. Eddie throws his head back in a laugh, nearly falling off the picnic bench. “There’s no way,” he choked out in between laughs. “There’s no way you broke Harrington’s nose.”

“It was an accident, but it's true!” You practically yell, swatting his arm. “Do you really think so little of me?” Eddie swings his arm over your shoulders, pulling you tight to his side. He plants a kiss on your temple, “no, I think the world of you. I just also thought more of Harrington.” Your giggles die down when you look at Eddie, who’s already looking at you.

“Hi beautiful,” he smiles, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear.

“Hi handsome,” you kiss his jawline causing Eddie to crack into another smile.

“Alright I can do this,” Eddie comments more so to himself than you. You glance up at Eddie through your lashes and give his hand a tight squeeze in yours. “Y'know I went to the store today completely clueless about what flowers I should get you?” Your eyes move from his face to the collection of flowers set in the center of the table. “I was so lost, but then Stacy—”

“Stacy?” You lean up with an eyebrow raised.

“Irrelevant,” he dismisses your teasing. “She asked me what your favorite color was. And instead of giving her a simple answer like orange, yellow, red…I went on this tangent about how much you love sunsets. This poor girl was just trying to do her job and there I was talking about you.” You press another kiss to his jaw, encouraging Eddie to keep talking. “I’m just so overwhelmed by the idea that you’re mine that I have to make sure everyone knows. I love how you always look at the sky and try to find constellations. I love how you always make us stop to watch the sunset. I love how you wear outfits I casually mention I like. I love how you let me ramble on about D&D even though you don’t have a clue what’s going on,” he smirks into your hair. “I love how you bring wine because you knew I’d mess up. I love how you don’t care if our dates are here or out somewhere.” Eddie releases a big sigh into your neck before lifting his head up to look at you. He brings his hands up to the sides of your face, brushing his ring-clad fingers over your cheeks. “I love all of that stuff because I love you.” You both don’t say anything for a moment, Eddie’s confession hanging in the air. The crickets around the trailer park crip to fill the silence, but the longer you don’t say anything the longer Eddie grows restless. “Look you don’t...Fuck. You don’t have to say anything,” Eddie releases your hand and wipes his palms on his jeans. “I just wanted you to know.”

“Eddie,” you grab his wrist and trace his veins with your finger tips. “I was so nervous coming over here tonight because I wanted to tell you that I love you too. I nearly passed out climbing the three steps into the trailer.” A smile creeps onto Eddie’s face as you continue to talk, “I don’t know how long I’ve loved you, but it feels like I always have. Like it’s always been just me and you. I love you, Eddie.” His brown eyes seem clearer than ever when he reaches up and pulls your face to his. His lips catch yours effortlessly in a messy, love-filled kiss.

“Say it again,” Eddie smiles against your mouth.

“I love y—”, you are cut off Eddie’s giddy kisses again. His hands run over your sides prompting you to straddle him on the bench. “Eddie,” you giggle as he continues to kiss all over your skin. He doesn’t leave an inch of your face and neck untouched. “Baby,” you finally get his attention with a pet name.

“Yes, my love.” He answers, his mouth plump from kisses.

“Can we go inside?”

“Fuck yes,” Eddie hops up from the bench, practically dragging you with him. You both make it to the front door before you pull away from him. Quickly you hop down the stairs grabbing your array of flowers in their vase. “My flowers,” you smile back at him. Eddie’s eyes never leave you and they practically sparkle as he watches you carefully bring them inside. You set the flowers on the counter, Eddie close behind you as he plants a kiss on your collar bone. “Thank you,” he mumbles against your skin.

“Why are you thanking me?” You ask him, turning around to face Eddie properly.

“I know you heard me say that I loved you before, but you waited until I did my whole, huh…speech?” He says as if it’s more of a question. You wrap your arms around his torso and kiss his chest. Eddie rests his chin on top of your head as you both stand in the kitchen.

“How many times did you practice it?”

“So many times,” Eddie grins into your hair. “Wayne started giving me pointers. He told me to leave out the fact that ‘I love the noises you make when we—’”

Eddie is cut off by you muffling his mouth with your hand. “You did not tell Wayne that,” your eyes are wide while you release his mouth.

“Nah I didn’t, but I would love to hear those noises now…” Eddie's hands trail down your sides as he lifts you. You wrap your legs around his waist, letting him carry you to his bedroom. “Don’t press your luck, Munson.”

“Eh,” Eddie shrugs under your arms, the smile on his lips never wavering. “I’m feeling pretty lucky today.”

✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩

I’m such a sucker for the “say it again”-trope I’ll literally punch a whole thru my wall <3 anyways, I didn’t know how to end this so my apologies, but I love Eddie :””

next in the series: as it was - s.h. (coming saturday!)

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