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ladykailitha · 1 year ago

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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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stranger-feathers · 7 months ago

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The Byler miscommunication in Season 4, and why I find it so interesting

This is a continuation/inspired by what I said in this post, you can think of it as a preview of this.

Miscommunication plots are usually hated in fiction, and it's easy to understand why. They're often trite and uninteresting, only existing by chance and contrivances to create pointless conflict. We all have seen that scene where a character walks in or out, at the exact wrong moment, and ends up making up a completely outlandish scenario, or completely misinterprets someone's intention while we're left sighing and hoping for the end. It's annoying, everyone hates it, but we all live with it regardless. You may then ask : why do I like the miscommunication conflict used in ST4 so much if I normally hate them ?

At its core, it is a miscommunication conflict, there's no real denying it. Mike and Will are somehow both convinced the other doesn't care anymore, despite the audience knowing that this assumption doesn't make much sense. The interesting part though is why they end up thinking so. Buckle up, and let me tell you a story of why this conflict was actually very well done on the part of the writers.

1) Backstory : Mike & Will's relationship before the conflict (S2 and before)

Mike and Will are presented as a special pair from the beginning of the show, I don't think this needs to be demonstrated here (there are countless analysis that have done so better than I ever could). During Season 2, we are shown a Mike who is constantly looking out for Will, and reaching out in ways that others do not. He tries to call the Byers' house to check up on Will when he misses school, and, most importantly, he's the only one who actually goes there to find Will when calling does not work. Put a pin on that, Mike going to see Will when calling fails will come back. This motif of Mike reaching out to Will is so fundamental that it is highlighted as being the very way they became friends. They were both alone and Mike reached out : "And I just walked up to you and… I asked. I asked if you wanted to be my friend."

(he's such a sweetie pie sometimes).

Mike is the leader of the group, and it really shows in this tendency to initiate things. It's easy to realise that, early in the series (and presumably before as well), Mike makes the plans to hang out. The writers use the D&D games to showcase that fact : they happen at his house, and he is the DM. He prepares them for weeks and clearly puts efforts into them, all so his friends can have fun with him. He initiates things and expect others to answer present : that's simply how he prefers to communicate. But what does that have to do with Will ?

Will as a character is reached out to in a lot of his interactions. The plot of Season 1 is heavily focused on reaching out to Will stuck in the Upside Down, be that with Joyce's lights or with El's powers (the talkies and the void both). Here, Joyce and El are allies in communication, and El particularly so where Mike is concerned. Put a pin on those two, they'll also come back (less positively unfortunately). However, Will as a character rarely initiate interactions. Will seems to strugle with opening up if the people around him don't make an active effort to reach out, which is why we so often see Jonathan and Mike actively asking him if he's okay and initiating their scenes. That's why Mike is such a good fit for Will : he knows how to coax him out of his shell and reach out, which Will treasures immensely.

The other side of the coin then is : why does Mike treasure Will ?

Will seems to be one of the rare characters to react positively to Mike being vulnerable, and one of the rare characters Mike opens up to in the first place. After all, most of his overtures of closeness with Nancy are rebuffed, his relationship with his mother is in an awkward middle ground between apparent care and lack of good worded communication, his friendship with Lucas tends toward confrontation in early seasons... Mike apparently struggles with expressing himself and his vulnerable emotions fully. Or well, he would, if it wasn't for Will, or so the show implies.

If we take the crazy together scene as an example of their usual friendship (which is up for debate, but I usually assume it to be the case), Mike feels comfortable enough with Will to calmly express his feelings towards El and her death, and they manage to meet each other in the middle, ending the scene with the mutual declaration that they'll go crazy together. This is a question initiated by Mike : Will is simply the one answering it. However, this exchange still puts Will in a pretty restricted and cherished category for Mike : someone who answers positively to Mike's overtures of closeness and vulnerability.

Interestingly enough, Mike asserts in that scene that El would understand too : after all, she's the one who understood him in Season 1, when Will was unreachable. Sadly, we see that understanding diminish with time, leaving Mike more and more isolated : two examples that come to mind would be the "blank makes you crazy" scene (where El fails to answer Mike correctly) and the complete shutdown of his attempt to empathise about being bullied during their Season 4 fight. (This is mostly a tangent, but it fits the overall theme of this analysis so I'll let it stay here)

Will answering positively to Mike's reaching out is also the one thing Mike chooses to highlight about their dynamic during Will's possesion, proving how deeply appreciated Will's answers are : "And you said yes. You said yes."

As Mike says : "It was the best thing I've ever done". Letting himself be vulnerable with Will, and Will reacting positively, was the best thing ever for 13 year-old Mike.

Do note that I'm French and the French version is specifically "[you saying yes] was the best thing that ever happened to me", which supports my point here even better. That probably colors my perception of this scene, but the underlying idea is still there in English in my opinion.

And Will rewards Mike being vulnerable again by responding extremely positively : he starts tapping in Morse code, an answer to Mike's desperate reaching out.

Now that we've layed out the ground work for how they work at their best, let's see what happens when this dynamic falls apart.

2) The big conflict : Season 3's fallout

It's summer of 1985, and Mike spends most of his time making out with El. He seemingly stopped reaching out to Will, or at the very least, doesn't do it half as much as he used to. Will, feeling left behind, decides to be the one to reach out this time : he plans a D&D game, the same way Mike used to do. This is Will attempting to clumsily replace Mike in their usual dynamic : if Mike doesn't want to initiate things anymore, then Will will try to do it instead. He quite literally replaces Mike's role as the DM (aka the initiator and planner in D&D), but the game still happens at Mike's : this is, after all, Will's way to reach out to Mike specifically. The others are never really accused of leaving Will behind, and rightly so since they seem to have kept up with him much better.

Unfortunately for Will, that plan does not go smoothly at all. Freshly-broken-up-with Mike is not in the headspace to answer positively to Will's reaching out, and they end up fighting, presumably for the first time in a long time (or ever) if Mike's surprise is anything to go by. Mike digs his grave more and more before realising that he truly fucked up, and decides to try to fix things by, you guessed it, reaching out to Will. He bikes to Will's house under the pouring rain, profusely apologises (not that Will actually hears it, but the intent is there), and keeps looking for Will until he finally finds him at Castle Byers. Unfortunately for Mike, this is too little too late : we never get to see Will's answer, nor do we know what Mike did to apologise once he found him. The conflict is slipped under the rug rather than resolved (as Lucas' discussion with Will in the next episode highlights). What Will learns from this interaction is that reaching out to Mike when Mike fails to do so isn't a solution : it simply seems to make things even worse.

Fast forward to the end of the season, and Will uses D&D to get this point across : "I'll just use yours when I come back. I mean, if we still wanna play." Whatever happens next, Will leaves it to Mike to reach out.

Mike reaches out to Will one last timen before he leaves : "What if you want to join another party ?" And Will answers the exact thing Mike wanted to hear : "Not possible." Both of them end up seemingly on the same page : back to their usual dynamic, smiling brightly at each other with an unsaid promise that things won't change. Unfortunately, things do change, and not for the better.

3) Post-conflict : THE miscommunication (Season 4)

It's March of 1986, and Mike is on a plane to California. We know from the first episode that Mike and El sent each other letters, but we have no information on the communication between Will and Mike. Then comes their first meeting on screen and it is more than awkward.

Will is prepared for a big hug, yet Mike is keeping his distance for unknown reasons. It's obvious something happened on Mike's side between their last conversation and this, but what it exactly is is left up to our imagination for now.

The start of an answer is given in their fight at Rink-O-Mania : "[Mike] called maybe a couple of times [...] meanwhile [El] has like a book of letters from [him]". Whatever happened on Mike's side isn't a one time thing, but a continuous issue in communication between them. Mike seemingly doesn't want to reach out to Will anymore, leaving Will hurt and feeling abandoned by one of his favourite persons. (Jonathan's behaviour in California also does not help remedy that fact, since he has never been as distant from Will as he is this season)

However, a few episodes later, we are given a very strange piece of information by Dustin : "Joyce has this telemarketer job, she's always on the phone. Mike won't stop whining about it." Now why would Mike whine about the phone, if he barely even called Will ? It's not like Mike was calling El, we established both at the end of Season 3 and at the start of Season 4 that they communicate by letters (as Will confirms) and talkies. A plausible conclusion for those two pieces of information is then that Mike did reach out to Will more than Will thought, but just couldn't get through. (this is the conclusion I use in this analysis, even if it has not been confirmed to be the case)

But wait, remember that pin about what Mike does when phone calls don't work to reach Will ? He goes directly to his house. A shame that the Byers moved to the other side of the country then, wouldn't you say ? Mike is therefore left to stew in his hurt feelings, convinced that Will doesn't want to answer like he used to. With that, Mike loses one of the rare persons that he can be fully honest to (and as we've established, El's understanding of Mike is also looking worse and worse as time passes).

The move is an obstacle to the very premise of their communication, and that's what makes it a great conflict. Will feels like Mike doesn't want to reach out anymore, and Mike feels like Will doesn't want to answer. This isn't a conflict that exists in spite of the characters, but because of them.

Speaking of external obstacles to communication, remember that pin we put on Joyce and El being allies in communication ? Well, it's certainly not the case anymore. Here, Joyce is the obstacle that prevents Will from answering Mike's calls. And El is the obstacle that prevents Mike from reaching out by letters. As he puts it himself, "[El] has a book of letters from [him] because she's [his] girlfriend". And Will, who obviously isn't Mike's girlfriend, doesn't need letters.

And with those informations, we can now reconstruct what happened on Mike's first day in California.

Mike is feeling out of touch with Will ("I feel like I lost you") and is therefore awkward as hell. This makes Will think Mike doesn't want to talk to him anymore ("you're not interested in anything I have to say"), which means Will doesn't answer the way Mike wants ("you were rolling your eyes, you were moping, you were barely talking"), which leads to their fight. That whole day at its core is Mike failling to initiate correctly, which makes Will freak out and answer incorrectly : this is them not being on the same wavelength anymore, and a clear indication that their usual dynamic has been deeply disturbed by the last few months (or year, because as Joyce says, we're all time travelers, but especially if you're gay pining for your best friend).

Another very interesting detail to me is the implication that, while Will clearly still cares about Mike, wanting a big hug at the airport, we hear very little about Will's own attempts at reaching out. Mike points out the same thing when they fight : "Well maybe [Will] should've reached out more. Why am I the bad guy ?". And he isn't wrong per se. Will could/should have reached out more. But given their previous conflict in Season 3, and their history of communication before that, Will didn't feel comfortable reaching out. He tried last summer, and it ended up blowing up in his face : once bitten, twice shy. He's waiting for Mike to make the first move, even if that means not communicating at all. Will won't let himself ask more of Mike than Mike is willing to give him, or so he tries to convince himself as a deeply ashamed gay teen in the 80s (he does still get pissy about being the third wheel, which is understandable). It's a very juicy and dramatic series of events, but it still manages to feel very organic to me, and deeply in character. Will is more than understandable, despite being somewhat in the wrong and unknowingly self-sabotaging. Another interesting part is that Will himself does seem to come to the conclusion that he wasn't being entirely reasonable. When Mike comes to apologise, Will attempts an apology as well (quickly shut down by Mike though), because Mike's words made him recontectualise the situation.

In that same apology, they manage to make the first step towards fixing their relationship. Now that the situation allows it, they go back to the exact dynamic that worked out so well for them before : Mike initiates and seeks Will out with an overture of friendship, and Will answers gratefully (even grabbing his painting, the very proof of his love and understanding of Mike).

Later down the line, Will covertly apologises for not reaching out more : "if [I] was mean to you, or if [I] seemed like [I] was pushing you away, it's probably because [I'm] scared of losing you". Since this comes from his speech about the painting, Will's name isn't on those words, but it's still progress for Will to admit and word it aloud, even if it's only to himself.

Besides, feelings don't always need to be said (as they put it themselves "I didn't say it." "You didn't have to"). The painting itself is proof enough for Mike that Will thought about him despite the distance. Mike really needed to know that, more than he needed an apology. Will finds the right answer to reasure Mike in the van scene, and they truly fix their friendship there (for now at least, since Mike has yet to realise Will broke their other rule of communication : "friends don't lie").

This plot is very dear to my heart because both of them have fucked up and hurt each other (and themselves) without meaning to. They acted out of carefully built familiarity with the other's behaviour (but also informed by their unresolved fight) even when the situation itself didn't allow their usual communication to work. That's why it blows up in their face, leading to the Rink-O-Mania fight. But this deep familiarity is also why they're so quick to build their relationship back up, seemingly stronger than ever. This is miscommunication done right folks, take notes.

#byler #stranger things #stranger things analysis #will byers #mike wheeler #stranger things character analysis #Wow this was a doozy to write #anyway they're the pookiest ever and I love them #I love it when my childhood friends act like childhood friends who know each other deeply #especially when that's exactly what bites them in the ass #tagging Byler even if it's not technically romantic #I'm sure everyone on that tag will enjoy this regardless #I hope this is as entertaining to read as it was for me to write #my analysis

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judyjudybaboodee · 2 months ago

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Part 2 of this:

taglist !! - @spaghettisquashpasta @starlockheart @bimboliciousdulce

After about half an hour of Steve and Robin running around the hotel looking for someone with a puppy who was willing to be photographed (taking an alarmingly long time due to the majority of them being fans) Robin was back to trying to write an acceptable paragraph.

Eddie leaned over her shoulder, squinting at the screen. “You gonna open with like… a Shakespeare quote? Or something flirty? Oh! Do a haiku.”

Robin shoved his face away with her palm.

“No. This is a real paragraph. A full ten sentences. No fluff. No clichés. I’m going full earn your attention mode.”

Jonathan sipped his soda. “Wow. You’re down bad.”

Robin didn’t even deny it. “You didn’t see her. She called me a rockstar like it was a mild inconvenience. It was hot.”

Steve looked massively amused. “I’ve never seen you like this.”

Nancy leaned forward, eyeing the screen. “Okay, but remember - she’s clearly not impressed by fame. Don't come on too strong. Keep it real.”

“I AM keeping it real,” Robin snapped, then immediately deleted an entire sentence that started with "As the world’s most famous lesbian," and tried again.

She could sing to a stadium of seventy thousand people, but THIS was actual pressure.

Subject: A Compelling Case for You to Go Out With Me

Hi. Okay, full disclosure, I have no idea what kind of paragraph you’re expecting, but here goes. My name is Robin Buckley (but you knew that), and apparently I’ve been famous long enough to forget what it feels like to be a little flustered. You did that. Not by screaming or crying or doing anything dramatic, but by not doing any of that. You just... treated me like a person. Which was weirdly rare. And kind of amazing. And it made me want to know everything about you. Like why a corporate lawyer is slinging espresso shots like it’s a side quest in some chaotic video game. Or what kind of music you actually listen to. Or whether you’d let me buy you dinner that isn’t made of oat milk and burnt croissants. So this is me, trying. Attached: VIP tickets, a backstage pass, and, per modern courtship rituals, a photo of me holding a puppy I met exactly 4.5 minutes ago. Hope this earns me a reply."

She read it aloud dramatically while the others provided real-time reactions like a live studio audience.

“Awwww wait this is so cute!” Steve cooed as he looked over it.

Nancy grabbed the laptop, scanned it, and gave a crisp nod. “Solid structure. Charismatic. Slightly chaotic. Very you.”

Eddie clutched his chest. “I’m rooting for you like it’s The Bachelor.”

Jonathan just nodded sagely. “Godspeed.”

Robin hit send before she could second guess it, then fell backward on the bed with a groan.

“What if she thinks it’s cringe?”

“She won’t,” Steve said confidently.

”I'm pretty sure she will," Jonathan mutters with an eyeroll, only to get smacked in the head by Steve.

Robin closed her eyes. “I don’t even know her last name.”

“You will,” Eddie grinned.

---

The reply didn’t come that night.

Or the next morning.

Robin spent most of the pre-show hours alternating between refreshing her inbox and yelling at Steve for checking her inbox when she went to the bathroom.

“I just wanted to see if she answered!” he defended, caught red-handed with the laptop on his chest like it had always been his.

“She didn’t. You’d know. The earth would’ve shifted.”

The show itself was electric. Robin poured all her energy into it — strutting, howling into the mic like her heart wasn’t somewhere behind a coffee counter in a smudged apron. The crowd lost their minds when she climbed up on Eddie’s amp and screamed the final verse of Freaklight, locking eyes with Steve in that old routine of feeding off each other’s chaos.

But when the lights went down and the adrenaline faded, the inbox was still quiet.

Until.

Backstage. Lights dimmed. Everyone post-show sweaty and high on endorphins. Nancy was in logistics mode, juggling calls. Jonathan had already vanished to smoke something questionably legal. Steve was face-deep in a post-show burrito. And Robin’s phone buzzed.

New Email: 1 Unread

From: Y/N \[REDACTED]@gmail.com

Subject: Re: A Compelling Case

---

Hi Robin. Paragraph was solid. You made your case. I liked the bit about modern courtship rituals, and the puppy pic gets bonus points for audacity. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious, so here’s my counteroffer: meet me tomorrow morning. 8AM. Same coffee shop. You bring your best version of “normal human person.” I’ll bring a plan. If you’re late, I’m pretending I don’t know you. Deal?

— Y/N

---

Robin let out a noise so loud and victorious it made Steve choke on his burrito.

“She SAID YES!”

Nancy blinked up from her planner. “What? Like… to the date?”

“Yes! Coffee shop. 8AM. She told me to act normal.”

“You?” Eddie laughed. “Normal? You’re gonna combust.”

But Robin didn’t care.

She was already digging through her bag for something presentable to wear in the morning, humming a slow, off-key version of a love song she hadn’t even written yet. The kind that wasn’t for a stadium. The kind that started in a quiet corner of a coffee shop with a girl who didn’t care about fame.

And for the first time in a long time, Robin felt it.

The thrill of the unknown. Of maybe. Of what if.

She couldn’t wait.

#platonic soulmates stobin #platonic stobin #robin buckley #robin buckley x female reader #robin buckley x reader #robin buckley x y/n #robin buckley x you #stobin #singer au #stranger things #eddie munson #steddie #well steddie but in an underlying already established relationship way

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eds6ngel · 2 years ago

Note

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

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x fem!reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington fanfiction #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington comfort #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington blurb #steve harrington one shot #steve harrington oneshot #steve harrington drabble #dad!steve harrington #singledad!steve harrington #stranger things #eds6ngel

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apomaro-mellow · 2 years ago

Text

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

#apo writes #stranger things #fanfiction #steddie

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strangertheories · 2 years ago

Note

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).

#stranger things #ronance #byler #nancy wheeler #robin buckley #fandom #anti rovickie #<- not trying to be more explaining why i personally like ronance more #anti jancy #again im not against the ship im just explaining that i don't automatically ship what's canon

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faithfulcat111 · 2 years ago

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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:

#st comic analysis #faith talks #stranger things comics

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satelliteddie · 3 years ago

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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!)

✭ masterlist ✭ requests

#eddie munson #eddie munson stranger things #eddie munson x you #eddie munson writing #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x yn #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson one shot #eddie munson fic #eddie munson fics #st x harrys house #Grapejuice

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thestrangestthing89 · 2 years ago

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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. Jonathan's 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 Max and the Hawkins group - 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

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annemriex · 3 years ago

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I see a lot of posts a lot of posts about how much people hated Steve in season 1 and how he’s a completely different and better person from season 2 onwards but I don’t agree. I genuinely loved Steve and could resonate with his actions in season 1 from my first viewing of the show and so I made a list to show that he’s not as terrible or different as a lot of people say.

Steve invites Nancy to his house because his parents aren’t home. Nancy interprets this as a party and invites Barb to come with her. I’d like to argue to this was not the case. 1. There is only the five of them total at the house which suggests Steve really asked Nancy on a double date not to a party. 2. Steve is known as the Keg King of Hawkins high before being dethroned by Billy in season 2 at Tina’s party. This shows that when Steve actually throws a party it looks a lot like Tina’s. Not a group of 5 teens sitting at the pool with no music and a couple of beers.

So Steve although shocked that Barb is here never questions it he’s just happy that Nancy agreed to come and hang out and I’m fact although he’s quite awkward and clearly doesn’t know how to interact with Barb he always makes an effort to include her even when she clearly hates being there and him.

The next day when Nancy is asking if anyone saw Barb leave and Tommy and Carol are being nasty not really giving her a proper answer Steve tells them to knock it off and to answer the question seriously.

After the police get involved and they are going to phone all the parents all Steve asks is that Nancy not mention that they were drinking beer because Barb wasn’t even drinking any of them. I know a lot of people think that’s really harsh and selfish but honestly what scared 16 year old wouldn’t ask for their underage drinking to be told to the police when it wasn’t relevant to what the police are asking? He’s not saying don’t say she was at mine or anything, he wants to help just not to drop himself in shit at the same time.

Then Nicole tells them that Jonathan took pictures of his girlfriend in her underwear through his bedroom window. I honestly don’t think any of that fight at the school was that bad, maybe he shouldn’t have broke the camera but honestly if I was a braver person, I would in that situation. In fact I might have even went to the police for stalking instead.

Then he later wants to check on his girlfriend who’s friend has just gone missing because she didn’t feel comfortable leaving the house. So he’s worried and wants to make sure she’s okay, he climbs up to her bedroom window (a pre agreed form of entry) to knock and ask how she is but he sees her cuddling the man who he just confronted for taking unwanted pictures of her in her underwear. He then understandably thinks she’s been cheating on him.

His friends (I want to stress he wasn’t actually the one to do it) spray paint about Nancy on the movie theatre. Nancy appears again with Jonathan and is angry about the spray paint when she realised why he’s angry she get goes “you came by last night.” And doesn’t say “I wondered if Jonathan’s pictures had any sighting of Barb and he was comforting me when we couldn’t find any.” He then gets angry and lashes out at Jonathan which a lot said was out of line of course it was but how would you be without any of the context the show gave you of Nancy and Jonathan’s side of things?

After having like 10-15 minutes to calm down after the fight Steve feels regret about how far he took things and seeing that Tommy and Carol have no regret what’s so ever he instantly decides he wants to be better and if they don’t want to then he’ll move on without them.

He then goes to Jonathan’s house to apologise not to look good in front of Nancy as he didn’t know she was there. In fact it honestly would have reignited my rage in his shoes that she was still with Jonathan after all that but he just admits that he was wrong and he’s only there to say sorry.

Steve bought Jonathan a new camera for Christmas but gave it to Nancy to pass on as he didn’t want Jonathan to reject it just because it was from him.

Timelines might be slightly wrong I didn’t check what order events happen in the show it’s just been stuck in my head for days and I had to get it out

#not Nancy wheeler friendly #not Jonathan Byers friendly #tagging not friendly just to be safe #steve harrington #meta post #stranger things #stranger things meta #Steve harrington meta #stranger things season 1 #long post

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dontfeeltoohot · 3 years ago

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OMG could we have more of snz kink Steve & allergic Eddie??? That was glorious. Esp if he starts teasing Steve omg

Ok, this is kind of a sequel to this fic that I wrote. I hope you all enjoy! I've had a lot of inspiration the past few days, especially with these two boys, so send a prompt! I'll be trying to get to them all, and make the most out of my last four weeks being on LOA from work.

Enjoy friends!

+ + +

After the Friday the 13th incident (as Steve has so nicely dubbed it in his mind), he pays more attention to Eddie and the small sniffles he makes out of nowhere, or the random sneezes he stifles. He'd been too preoccupied with the literal end of the world before to really be paying attention to anything but keeping people safe. Now though, he's able to shift some of his focus to the newest member of their weird little clan that's been through so much together.

He's been trying to keep it as subtle and secretive as possible, the guy knows his crush is already obvious, if Robins raised eyebrows and smirks are anything to go off of when he and Munson are together. And yeah, the guitarist is gay and doesn't care who knows, but Steve isn't, and he's worried that the other man might reject him. Eddie isn't anything like Steve had imagined in his mind, and for that he's grateful. The doe-eyed man has somehow wormed his way into Steve's life, and the nineteen year old doesn't have any intentions of that changing.

The most interesting thing Steve has noticed is that Eddie is a generally sneezy person. He assumes that's why he keeps the black bandana in the back left pocket of his pants. Steve's been keeping a mental list of the things he's noticed the curly haired man seems to be sensitive to, which has more than he'd first envisioned.

Cleaning supplies (or at least Lysol), freshly cut grass, some kind of perfume Nancy wears, and as of late, he's noticed Eddie's been scrubbing his nose more when they've been in Henderson's house for a movie night or to pick him up and say hello to his mom. Steve can only guess it's the twenty thousand cats the woman owns.

Tonight he, Eddie, Robin, Nancy, and Jonathan are going to some diner down in east Hawkins to get some food and then maybe see a movie or look around the shops. As Steve tries on different shirts with his jeans, he has to remind himself this isn't a date. It's not like Eddie's going to care what he wears, but even still, he takes an embarrassingly long time switching shirts before he finally goes with a white undershirt, his dark green sweatshirt that has a navy stripe across the chest, and his new navy Members Only jacket.

Stepping outside, the bitter November air hits him, but he brushes it away, much preferring this to the hot muggy Summer that Hawkins always experiences. He's supposed to pick up Eddie at 5, and it's already 4:46, so he books it to his BMW and speeds off, trying not to imagine all the things he and Eddie could do if they were dating.

+ + +

A knock on the door makes Eddie look up from where he's standing in front of the small bathroom mirror, making sure his hair is tamed. Checking himself one last time quickly, the eccentric man heads to where the person is still knocking. He yanks the door open abruptly, smirking when Harrington jumps, putting a hand to his chest.

"Jesus Munson!"

"Hey babe, just have to grab my jacket and we'll be good to go," he lets Steve step inside while he heads to the back room of the trailer, grabbing his leather jacket and vest. As he ambles back up front, Eddie leans into the bathroom and grabs a couple of tissues, wiping his nose as he comes back to the other man, half shrugging his jacket on and half still rubbing at his nose.

"You good?" Steve gestures to the tissues and he nods, sniffling involuntarily.

"Yeah, my allergies have just been bothering me today. Must be from all the rain the past couple of days, always kicks up the shit from the leaves and stuff," he explains, watching Steve closely.

That's the thing. Eddie is starting to think that maybe Steve is into him, with how much they flirt, but there also seems to be a tendency for Steve to glance over more often when Eddie's allergies start acting up. The campaign leader isn't sure if Harrington is worried, annoyed, or disgusted. But with the way he's caught his eyes lingering for a few seconds after, it tells Eddie that it might be an entirely different reaction all together. So tonight, he's going to test this theory out.

Steve's eyes dart around as he explains to the man, but he doesn't seem grossed out by it at all. He doesn't seem to display any kind of emotion, so Eddie lets it drop for now and opens the front door.

"After you, King Harrington."

"Man, that stopped when I left high school," Steve huffs out, rolling his eyes.

Eddie smirks, loving how up in arms Harrington gets sometimes about such simple little teases. As he locks up, the guitarist sniffles a few times, scrunching his face a little at the intense smell of the outdoors. Clearing his throat, he follows to the car, getting in and shivering.

Steve starts the mix tape Eddie's made for him, and a burst of warmth spreads through the seniors chest, making him feel a little fuzzy. Steve still had his mix tape, and more importantly, he seemed to actually enjoy it. Score one for Munson. As Iron Maiden plays, Steve beats his fingers on the steering wheel in time with the drums and Eddie thinks he might actually melt right inside Harrington's car, a puddle of goo.

His thoughts are cut off when a tickle starts to gently make itself known inside his head. His nose twitches a little, dimples appearing as he contorts his face to try and make the feeling go away. No such luck. The second he pulls out his trusty black bandana, he can see Steve shift from the corner of his eye. Eddie rubs the material against his nose for what feels like the twentieth time today, trying to either rub the itchy feeling away, or get it to crest. Either way, it’s taking longer than he’d like. Finally, after almost twenty more seconds of scrubbing at his twitching, runny nose, the guitarist's eyebrows knit together and the tickle ramps up.

“hih’GXxt! ih’NKhht! h’nGXT’uh! …hih’ktschh! Jesus, sorry.”

The last one sneaks up on him and he barely has time to aim it into the bandana that’s now on its way back to his pocket. Glancing over, Eddie smirks a little, seeing the ex-lifeguard white knuckling his steering wheel.

“You okay Harrington? Sorry if that was gross,” he plays it off, brushing his long curls away from his face.

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry,” the guy clears his throat and stares forward. “Just surprised me, is all. I was zoned out to the music.” His cheeks are dusted pink and he licks his lips.

“Right, okay,” Eddie drawls, wondering if this sudden confidence in his theory should be tampered down. But if his theory is wrong…the worst that can happen is an awkward laugh about it. And any kind of laughing with Harrington, even awkward, is a win in his books.

Steve looks over, raising an eyebrow. “What’s with the sarcasm?”

“No idea what you’re talking about, babe.”

It’s the second time he’s said it tonight, and well worth it for how bright the red blush is on Steve’s cheeks. He leans closer to the driver seat, sniffling innocently. He thinks he sees his hands tighten on the wheel. Eddie stays leaning a little closer on the armrest in between them for the rest of the ride, a few more sniffles escaping from him.

Oh yeah, tonight’s going to be fun.

+++

The second he steps out of his car, he lets out a breath and puts his hand to his face, swiping downward. Whatever tension between them that’s been building for a while; the teasing and nicknames and smirking, coupled with Eddie’s allergies are going to be the death of him. He’s fought monsters from a literal other dimension and lived, but Eddie Munson in his car with his big brown eyes, his snark and his allergies? Yeah, this is his last night on earth. Jesus.

Opening his eyes, Steve tries not to jump a foot in the air. Eddie is standing right there, maybe half a foot away, looking at him curiously.

“Are we going in or are we going to stand out here while everyone else orders,” the older boy nods towards the windows of the diner, where their friends can be seen sitting in a large booth.

“Sorry, sorry,” Steve manages to throw a smile at him, then beelines it inside. Jonathan and Nancy are on one side of the booth, so Eddie and Steve squish in next to Robin on the opposite side.

“Lucky I’m tiny, huh?” Eddie jokes as he looks at the laminated menu. Steve snorts, even if it’s true- the guy is tiny, but not in the weak and pitiful way, just in the lanky, hot way. Biting his lap at the thought, Steve forces himself to focus on the menu and not the fact Munson’s shoulder is brushing his own. As the group talks, Steve feels the weight shift against his shoulder, and glances over.

Eddie’s rubbing at his nose subtly with his knuckles, and from here, having just barely an inch on the guitarist height wise, Steve’s just barely able to see his nostrils twitch against his hand. And oh shit, it hasn’t connected in his mind that this could be happening with them so close to each other until just right now. Eddie sniffles again, his eyes starting to flutter shut. A moment later he’s bringing his arm up to his face, pressing his nose and mouth into the crook of it. Steve loses all of the air in his lungs as the curly haired man turns away from Robin and closer to him, close enough his elbow is actually touching Steve’s arm.

“h’gKXt! hih’kKGX’uh! ih’Kkt’uh!”

Steve watches with rapt attention, not even noticing the others who; mercifully, are still talking, too engrossed in their conversation. Eddie slowly brings his arm down, then looks up at Steve, his already large eyes somehow bigger, and he blinks.

“Sorry,” he sniffles a little obnoxiously, but Steve finds it endearing- even like this Eddie has to add some kind of dramatics. “They snuck up on me,” the man adds, finally reaching for his bandana.

Feeling like he’s been electrocuted, Steve notices Eddie’s free hand; the one that’s not currently rubbing his nose in slight desperation, moves closer to his.

“It’s uhm….you’re fine,” he croaks out, face feeling hot. Eddie smirks, he fucking smirks, and Steve’s eyes widen just slightly, body stiffening.

“You know.”

“Oh, I know Harrington. I’ve been trying to figure it out for a while, but I think this confirms it,” Eddie’s tone is teasing and quiet, but he doesn’t sound grossed out or disgusted.

Watching him with eyes still big, Steve swallows, licks his lips, then smiles when Eddie gives him one of his dramatic, over the top, crowding your space looks. It crumbles quickly though, eyebrows knitting together again, and Steve suddenly has a front row seat to Eddie Munson trying to fight off another fit of allergic sneezes. The man doesn’t bring his arm up with time, doesn’t even bother with his bandana. Instead, the guitarist simply lowers his head, just enough though that Steve can still watch.

“eh’GKxt!! ihKXxt! hhH! h’ihGKt’uhew!”

Steve squirms just barely, the last sneeze as close to an un-stifled sneeze as he’s ever heard from him. The last part goes higher pitched, more vocal. Eddie rubs his nose against his bandana roughly; Steve can see how he’s rubbing the cloth in little circles, obviously trying to work out the tickle.

“Bless you!” Robin chimes in and Eddie smirks at Steve behind his bandana, then turns to Buckley.

“Tha’gks. I uh…I might need to take a rain check actually, my allergies are bothering me,” his voice is anything but embarrassed, and Steve feels someone knock their foot against his. Steve nods, giving a sympathetic look, though not feeling sympathetic in the least.

“I’m going to take him back, but you guys enjoy, okay?”

A round of ‘feel better’s ring out from the other three, and soon the two are walking back to the car in silence, aside from the more frequent sniffles from Eddie. When they’re both in, Steve looks at him again. His eyes are a little red, but it’s his nose, his damn perfect nose, that looks like it needs attention. It’s runny and twitching and so very obviously allergic, and Steve is frozen, just staring.

“You know Harri’gton, I’d be somewhat inclined to kiss you, if you asked…” he trails off, giving Steve the most cocky yet innocent look he thinks he’s ever seen in his life.

God, kissing Eddie Munson. Four months ago that would have sounded like a nightmare. Now…..now he’s leaning forward, pressing his lips against Eddie’s, moaning quietly when the curly haired man nips at his lips. He pulls back abruptly, and Steve once again feels like he’s won the lottery, when he gets to watch Eddie now, unrestrained and obviously irritated. He scrubs at his nose, rubbing it upwards against his palm, creasing the bridge in a way Steve squirms at.

“Dohhn’t cream your pants y-yet H-hh! Harrihhh-gKT! hih’ngKT! h’NXt! Harington. F-fuhhck…”

Eddie’s nose is back in his bandana, being rubbed and wiped.

“My place?”

“God yes.”

#my fic #strthi #st #em #sh #snzsteve #asks #answered

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stranger-marauders · 3 years ago

Text

unbreakable

fifteen: drunk, stoned, and stupid

chapter summary: Kate processes the night’s events after she goes back home. After Steve finds Nancy and Jonathan in her room, he only knows one place to go.

chapter warnings: language, alcohol and drug use, implied cheating kind of?

word count: 2.9k

series masterlist | masterlist

KATE HAD ASKED Jonathan to drive her home after everything that happened.

While she didn't want to be alone for the night, she almost didn't want to invade on Nancy's privacy. Besides, she hadn't been home all day, and she was already worried about what her father would say to her about that.

That's why it shocked her when her father wasn't home again for the night once again. She didn't know if he was out at the bar getting his free Schlitz on Veteran's day or if he had to stay late to close out the Will Byers investigation before the weekend, but she couldn't think of a time where Hopper hadn't come back two nights in a row, the only sign of life currently being that he was passed out on the couch that morning.

When she went inside the trailer, she found that everything except her room was a total disaster. At first glance of the seemingly destroyed trailer, she went to her room, checking to make sure her notebook was still tucked carefully under her bed frame. When she found it there again, she held it in her hand, flopping down in her bed to write again. The rest of the trailer was now her father's problem, not hers.

As she wrote this time, she found herself getting lost, almost losing sense of everything else around her. That was something that seemed to happen whenever she'd felt a lot at once, whenever everything else in the world became too overwhelming—everything seemed to flow much easier whenever she wasn't stuck in her own head. Whenever her left hand started to get tired, she started to flip through the pages, reading through some of her old work.

The other notebooks she had were from when she was younger. She had about two or three other ones, mostly filled with nonsense. The older she got, the less the things she wrote read like diary entries, more like solid stories. She had those notebooks hidden under her bed as well, stuck between the mattress and the bed frame. She couldn't explain why she'd done that: she told herself that those things were private for now, and she didn't want anyone to read them until she had prepared her work to be put out there (not to mention that some of the things she wrote were embarrassing when she was younger, not to mention that they were most definitely about Steve, even if she didn't think so at the time).

She jumped at the sound of the phone ringing in the living room. She walked out, looking at the clock—it was just past midnight, which was a little late for anyone to be calling. She thought that it could've been her father, maybe Jonathan or Nancy checking up on her. She didn't think too much about it before she picked up the phone.

She hadn't even had an opportunity to greet them before the person on the other end of the line spoke. "Please tell me this is Kathy."

She stifled a laugh. "It's me."

"Jesus Christ," he said, almost exhaling the words. His voice was brittle. "Where... Where've you been? I've been looking for you all day."

"Out," she said, not feeling the need to explain herself. "Why does it—wait a sec, have you been crying?"

Steve cleared his throat. "Uh... no."

Kate sighed. He also sounded trashed. "Aw, no, Steve, what happened?"

He took a shaky breath, hesitating to speak. "I'm coming to get you, okay?"

She chuckled. "Absolutely not, you sound like absolute shit. Just—" She sighed. "Just stay put. I'll get there as soon as possible, just—"

"No, no, no! There's no way in hell that I'm... I'm letting you walk, okay? It's... It's freezing, and I would be an... an absolute dick if I made you walk in this. Your dad would kill me. Just... Just stay there. I'll see you in ten." Before she could protest (especially to the ten minutes when it took fifteen to get to the trailer from his place), he hung up the phone, and Kate quickly started to try to put back together her disaster of a trailer. She didn't even want to know what had possessed her father to tear the trailer apart the way he had, but she did what she could to straighten up in the few minutes before Steve showed up, hopefully with him and his car in one piece.

Whenever he finally walked through the door, Kate found that Steve probably wouldn't notice the rest of the mess in the trailer—he wasn't exactly in stellar condition. His face had been somewhat blotchy, not to mention the fact that his hair had been messed up from how many times he'd presumably run his fingers through it. He was so trashed now that he hadn't cared about anything like that, which was what worried her more than anything.

Before she could say anything to her, he immediately engulfed her into a hug, his voice breaking slightly as he spoke. "I thought something happened to you."

"Hey, I... I'm okay."

"Yeah? Don't... Don't ever do that to me again," he said. Was he crying? "I thought you were gone. I was so worried..."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she said, pulling away from him to look at his face again. "I won't do it again."

He nodded, running his hands through his hair again. God, he was a mess.

"Steve...," she said, her heart starting to sink. "Did you drive here? Seriously, I didn't mind walking—"

"I wasn't drinking, I—"

"Getting stoned is just as bad!" she shouted at him. Kate sighed—she couldn't yell at him right now. It wasn't fair. "I'm not letting you go home like this." When she stepped closer to him, she scrunched her nose in disgust. "And just so you know, I can smell the booze, too."

Steve sighed defeatedly in response.

"What happened?"

He looked down to the ground, avoiding her eyes. "I... I—"

"Steve," she said, grabbing his hand. The gesture made him snap toward her again. Whenever she met his red and puffy eyes, she sighed, dragging him into the kitchen after her.

"What... What are you doing?" he asked, leaning against the counter.

"I'm getting you some water and chips," she said, pulling a glass from a cabinet and turning on the tap. She handed him a glass of water, then moving to grab some Pringles from another cabinet. Whenever she held the can in her hands, taking a chip for herself, she watched him carefully investigate the glass. "Drink it. Now."

Steve held his hand up in surrender, finishing the glass as quickly as possible before setting it on the counter, clearing his throat and taking the can from her. "Th–Thanks."

She sighed again, motioning for him to follow her. "All right, come on."

Kate had finally coaxed Steve into her room, getting him comfortable enough to hopefully make him explain what had happened to him. At first, Kate thought it was a result of a Friday night with Tommy, but his reasoning as to why he'd gotten crossfaded alone at his house was much worse.

Steve had told her he'd tried to go and talk to Nancy after she'd blown him off earlier that day. All he'd wanted was to check on her, make sure everything was okay. He'd climbed up the side of the Wheelers' house to get to Nancy's bedroom window only to find Jonathan with her in her bed together. After that, he'd dropped Tommy and Carol back off at his house, and at that point, he'd given up on trying to find Kate. Naturally, all that left was for Steve to get completely trashed on his own. That, on top of the other dozens of times he'd called her that day, was why Steve had been trying to get ahold of Kate so hard within the past couple of hours.

Kate hadn't really known what to say.

In a way, she was disappointed in Nancy, almost mad at her. She had taken advantage of Steve, or at least made it seem like she had. Nancy had been so lucky to have Steve care about her so much. It seemed cruel that Nancy would hook Steve in the first place just to get rid of him so quickly, that she could do that. Kate hated that Nancy had had Jonathan in her room so late on a Friday night, in her bed, but she also knew, hoped that there was more to the story—the three of them, while not close at all before the events of that week, certainly not before the events of that day, were now bonded for life after what they'd seen. Kate thought she would never see Bambi the same again (even though it was already tainted for her anyway), and she certainly knew that Nancy had had it worse than herself.

Of course, Steve didn't know about any of that.

She thought about telling Steve. God, she had told Steve everything since before she could remember, and hiding something like this from him now seemed like a sin. She also knew that right now, though, it would only make things worse. She hadn't seen Steve in such a fragile state in long time, and she didn't plan on adding to his pain. Right now, he needed her, and she was okay with that.

"You know, I really liked Nancy," Steve said, looking out Kate's window.

He had been leaning against Kate on her bed, letting her play with his hair as they sat with each other. Usually, Steve had been the one to comfort her, not the other way around. They were always at his house, mostly because it was so much nicer than her place, that and his parents were never home. At first, Kate feared she wouldn't be able to find anything for him, but luckily for her, she'd finally found some old clothes of his in a drawer from the last time he'd come over to her house. She'd put the clothes that he'd been wearing in the washer, trying to get the booze and pot smell out of them before his parents came home the next day. Now, though, she only thought about the present—she knew Steve had to be extremely out of it to let her touch his hair.

"I know," Kate said, frowning slightly. "You know, his brother's funeral was today. Nancy and Jonathan's brothers were, like, best friends, so maybe they were just talking? She was probably just, like... I don't know, comforting him or something." She paused. "Like me and you."

Steve shook his head. "They seemed pretty close."

She almost laughed at the thought. You and I are pretty close.

He sighed, slouching into her more. He didn't want to move. "It's fine, Kathy, really. I just wish it wasn't Nancy. She just... She seemed different, you know?"

Kate sighed, nodding slightly. "Yeah."

As much as Kate didn't want to admit it to herself, she could tell that Steve was so hurt by her. She hadn't thought him capable of it before, but she wondered now if her best friend was starting to fall in love with Nancy Wheeler.

Even if she thought she could read him well, Kate had no idea that his mind was currently running at a hundred miles an hour, his head starting to hurt because of how many things he'd been feeling at once.

Steve didn't know why he was so hung up on Nancy. Kate had been there, holding him after he'd shown up to her house absolutely wasted. He thought about all the times Kate had been there for him when no one else was, even when she shouldn't have been there. Even now, after she'd rightfully ignored him, she had immediately taken him in and tried to sober him up.

His heart hurt almost as much as his head did, but it wasn't over Nancy. He tried to scream at himself to stop, to push it all away. He knew he wasn't allowed to feel this way, he couldn't feel this way, but he couldn't stop himself. He closed his eyes, trying not to think about the fact that his back was pressed against her chest, her hands in his hair. He could hardly focus, even though it was just Kate. Every time he closed his eyes now, all he could think about was her smile, her laugh when she tried to hide whenever he made a stupid joke. He thought about the drip of sarcasm in all of her remarks, her kindness, even if she like to act as if she were cold-hearted. He thought about all the times when she'd made him feel like the best person in the world, even if he didn't deserve it in the slightest: only Kate could do that, even if so many others tried to. He thought about all of the feelings he'd locked deep somewhere far away, suddenly emerging yet familiarity striking him at the same time.

It almost drove him crazy.

Steve had stayed over at the trailer.

He'd almost forgotten where he was, waking up in Kate's bed. His pants clung to him, his skin clammy. At one point, he'd even pulled his shirt off of himself in the middle of the night, it being on the floor and still soaked with sweat. He was almost embarrassed that Kate had had to deal with him all night—he still looked like a wreck. He reached over to the other side of the bed only to find it empty. Whenever he realized she wasn't still in bed, he sat up, scanning the room for her. He found the clothes he'd been wearing the day before on Kate's desk, folded neatly in a stack.

He walked over to the desk carefully, trying not to make any sudden sounds. He jumped when he heard a clang from the kitchen, immediately followed by a soft, "goddammit." He listened closely as she continued to wash dishes, softly humming the song "Love of My Life."

What a dork. He figured she probably had headphones over her ears, not paying attention to anything around her. She must've thought he was still asleep. Otherwise, she wouldn't have dared make a sound, especially not humming, singing, or anything of the sort. Steve had always thought it was funny when she did that: hummed or sang softly when she thought she was alone. It was the only time he actually got to hear her for real. Every other time she liked to act like she was completely tone-deaf (while not the best singer, she certainly wasn't as bad as she pretended to be).

He shook his head, trying not to smile. Steve pulled the freshly washed shirt from the day before over his head, walking out of Kate's room to find her drying the last dish she'd washed before putting it away.

At first, he watched her carefully. She did, in fact, have headphones over her ears, the music playing so loudly that he could place where she was in the song. She was still wearing what he could only assume were her pajamas, which consisted of a pair of old pair of flannel pants and an old t-shirt (both of which he could only assume were his). Her hair was tied back in a low bun, assumably to prevent it from getting wet from dish water. She still hummed slightly, her attention more focused on the coffee she was now pouring for herself. When she connected the pot back to the machine, turning to reach her freshly-poured cup of coffee before she turned to lean on the counter.

Steve had almost forgotten he was watching her until she'd finally noticed him, jumping back and sending her black coffee sloshing in the cup. Once she had realized it was him, not some weird tree-wall monster trying to kill her, her body relaxed, and she leaned back on the kitchen counter as she took a sip of her coffee after pulling her headphones off of her ears and leaving them to hang around her neck. "Good morning, princess."

He gave her an unreadable expression. "Morning."

"You know, I'm impressed you're awake right now."

"Was I that bad?"

"Yeah," Kate said, stifling a laugh. "But it's okay, I guess. I'm… I'm glad you came. It's not good for anyone to be alone like that."

He sighed, wiping his face. "Yeah."

She shrugged awkwardly after taking another sip of coffee. "Whatever. Shit happens. Life goes on." Whenever he didn't reply, she rubbed her nose. "Trust me, you'll find a girl better than her before Thanksgiving."

He forced a smile, pressing his lips together. "Yeah." Whenever she didn't say anything else, he sighed, looking to the door. "Well, hey, thanks for letting me stay. Thanks for my clothes, too, but I should, uh… I should probably get going. Before my parents get home. Make sure everything's in order."

That was a lie.

"Yeah," Kate said, looking to the ground absently. "Yeah, I have to go to work soon anyway."

That was another lie.

After grabbing his things and putting on the shoes, he walked out the door. "See you later."

Kate sighed, hurrying to finish her coffee so she could get ready before Jonathan and Nancy came for her again. She was in for a long one.

next chapter

taglist:

@thatsonezesty13 @cece5 @thepowerstoner @alovelytardis @coolchick333 @stand-tall-pineapple @littlet-holmes @guichu @cinderellacauseshebroke @blackbirddaredevil23 @mads-weasley

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x hopper!reader #stranger things #steve harrington headcanon #steve harrington x oc #steve harrington series #steve harrington stranger things

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777cherry-blossom777 · 3 years ago

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The fruity four go on a week-long holiday to Fiji (part 2)

11. Robin insists that they go to every restaurant the hotel has and guilt-trips Steve into paying for it all (he falls for it every time).

12. Nancy brings an empty bag for laundry, insists that there will be no swimming in the last day, and folds all her clothes. The other three all just chuck their stuff in the suitcase when they have to go.

13. Steve always wakes up first but never goes down to the buffet without Eddie or else he gets sad. Nancy wakes up second and then Robin a few minutes later. They will 100% go down to the buffet without the boys because Eddie is still sleeping and come back up and go on and on about how good it was until Steve is fuming. Eddie wakes up last and whines about having to get up until Steve uses his mother voice and forces him to go down to the buffet with him.

14. Both Eddie and Steve are scared of airplanes but are hell-bent on making sure the other doesn’t find out. Robin and Nancy are both aware of this and think it’s hilarious when they’re both gripping each other’s hands so hard it must be painful.

15. Robin probably screamed when she flushed the toilet on the airplane bc it’s so loud why Nancy why is it so loud?!

16. Robin went through an airplane phase at some point in middle school and thinks airplanes are very cool. She does not think airports are very cool and was really pissed about how long it took.

17. Nancy loves holidays (even when she ends up half-babysitting Robin) and makes sure that absolutely everything is in order with all their papers (including getting Eddie and Robin a passport since they don’t have one).

18. Steve, Eddie, and Robin all get the little kid bags that they give out and order from the kids menu on the airplane. Nancy gets the fancy magazines with the jewellery in them and shows Eddie who then spends the rest of the flight looking at each page and deciding which one out of them would wear it best.

19. Steve calls Hawkins every day to check on the kids. The others all say hi but it’s mostly just Steve making sure that Jonathan and Argyle (who decided not to come) are taking care of the kids.

20. When they have to home Robin and Steve are both very jet-lagged and Nancy and Eddie have to make sure they’re up for work.

#stranger things #stranger things 4 #eddie munson #steddie #steve harrington #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #ronance #fruity four #fruity four headcanons #stranger things headcanons

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berrymoos · 3 years ago

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ooh, sad idea. Nancy and Jonathan both feel bad about regressing because of their issues, like what happened to Barb and Jonathan’s…everything. So the two of them start out seeing Robin and Max and the others get small, and they wish they could do that too, they help the little ones and wish they could join in. So one day they’re hanging out and start chatting and it becomes venting and then they’re both so small and scared, they don’t know what to do, and when Steve comes to check on them he just knows and takes such good care of them. They’re such sweet littles and they deserve all the hugs, even if they have trouble believing they do.

ohhhh my god ゜・．（ｉДｉ）｡：ﾟ watching their friends slipping into their smallspace, letting their worries get pushed to the backs of their minds so they can relax is a sweet sight to them, & they love being able to help steve with caregiving ... but they can't help but wish that they could be small too, that they could put their anxieties at rest, let themselves get doted on for a little while. but they can't. they're not allowed to (as they've convinced themselves :[)

aaaugh imagining them venting to each other and as their voices get more and more wobbly & their vision starts to blur, they suddenly stop. everything goes quiet. they look at each other with big, glossy eyes, & nancy mumbles,

"jonathan ... i– i think m little."

"...me too."

and instead of feeling happy that they finally regressed, excited that they can experience what it's like to feel small, everything feels big, scary - and they start crying. they're not even supposed to be small! (which is just not true!!) why is it so scary?

steve just so happened to be over that day to hang out with them as well, but had left the room to do something - like his parents called (what a shocker 😐) - so when he gets that feeling that someone is crying & he hears the telltale sniffles from the kitchen, he ends that call SO QUICK, zooms to them, & upon seeing nancy failing to wipe her tears away & jonny gripping the collar of his shirt, trying to get his breathing controlled, he knows in a heartbeat what's going on

“woah, hey, c'mere...” he pulls them both on his lap, managing to rock them at the same time, rubbing their backs with his hands while they cry into his collarbone. “shhh, it's alright, i'm here, you're safe ... breathe with me; in four, hold four, out four...”

after a while steve gets the two to stop crying so hard, but they're still hiccuping, so he keeps them on his lap. “can you tell me what that was all about, hm? it’s okay if you can’t or don’t want to.”

neither of them speak for a beat ... then nancy's bottom lip starts wobbling again: “n-not ‘posed to be little, stebe ... itsa no-no...”

jonny whines & hides his face in steve's collarbone again. oh. that's the problem.

“being little isn't a no-no! you two have been through so much these past years; if anything, you deserve to be little for a while.”

steve sits on the bed with them for a while, never once moving them from his lap even though his legs have long since fallen asleep, steadily rubbing their backs, reassuring the two that it is okay to be little, there's nothing wrong with needing to be small for a few hours at a time and anybody who says otherwise (including their mean brains) are dead wrong, coaxing them into playing with the toys max & robin typically leave at his house by engaging into their games (which really is simply fiddling with the toys)

“ooo, what is that toy, nancy? a puppy? do you know their name? it IS mr. snuggles! robin must've told you, hm?”

“hey, jonny! y’know max has a little racetrack lying around here somewhere for those cars. you wanna help me find it? c’mon, let’s go get it!”

at one point steve manages to get mr. snuggles to referee a few races between all three of them with the cars! nancy was the winner, but jonny came a very close second. steve was in dead last, unfortunately .. not that he was actually trying to beat either of them o(>ω <)o his goal was getting the two little ones to allow themselves to be little, to have fun, to relax

at the end of the day, when the three of them are cuddled in his bed, watching a movie as they share a huge bowl of ice cream after splashing in the pool for a few hours, he thinks he did a pretty good job

but when nancy & jonathan come up to him the next day while he cooks breakfast, having slept overnight & now in a more mature mindset to tell him thank you, then tentatively add how they wouldn't mind doing all of yesterday over again (of course, without the crying), steve knows he did a good job

#this trio man :(( they make me feel things!!#this took so long to answer too hskfjsjdh (-ω-；) my bad my bad #🧸．berry n friends <3 #stranger things agere #fandom agere #sfw agere #agere asks #agere concept

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belovedharringrove · 3 years ago

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so a while back i officially reached 100 followers on here and, as a way of thanking all you wonderful human beings, i decided to make a post rating some stranger things characters based on how they would react if asked their sexuality and if they support the lgbtq+ community. y’know, a 100 follower celebration post. so here it is! i apologize if it’s short and i’ll probably make a part 2 if enough people ask for it and suggest new characters. enjoy!

billy hargrove

2/10

slapped me for hanging out with steve?

ouch, bestie

doesn’t have a sexuality

probably because he hates everyone

for good reason tbh

not an ally 😭

ouch, bestie pt. 2

told me to be ashamed of myself???

calling the cops on u, sir

would’ve given him a lower rating but it amused me how i annoyed him so much he decided to stop talking to me.

didn’t stop me from bothering him some more tho lol

steve harrington

8/10

kinda sus how he told me it’s obvious he’s straight

like ok, sir

it’s just a question

is an ally 🎉

got kinda defensive towards the end there tho

watch ur tone with me

but still, it was probably bc he has a homophobic dad or something

i’m not gonna punch u for supporting the community, babes

and i’m definitely not gonna slap you for hanging out with me *side eyes billy*

tommy hagan

6/10

poor boy is confused

says he’s straight but then says he has no interest in women

pls make it make sense

lost points for not even being an ally

legit said he doesn’t care about us, like???

ouch, bestie pt. 3

bestie was so quick to tell me no too, like

damn ok, chill

not inviting him to my birthday party, that’s for sure 😤

eddie munson

9/10

why was steve cheating on me with nancy at the beginning? 🤨

made me repeat myself which is totally not cool

said he’s straight which is totally okay but i at least thought he would be pan tbh

the steddie/mungrove/harringroveson shippers are not gonna like this

can already hear the hellcheer fandom throwing a party in the bg tho

lost points for hesitating to tell me he’s an ally

can’t be too mad at him tho bc he did check up on me after steve? cheated on me? with nancy wheeler???? which was very sweet of him

i am kissing u on the forehead rn, edward munson

jonathan byers

9/10

*whispers* he’s a little confused

says he’s gay but likes me?

he understands himself and that’s what matters

short and sweet and straight to the point

wasted no time and i appreciate that

the short responses made me sad tho

lost a point bc he asked me out on a date after this

like bestie, i thought u were gay

don’t confuse me

argyle

1/10

i am brocken 💔❤️‍🩹⛓❤️‍🔥

this one hurt me

i was rooting for u, we were all rooting for u

thought he was doubting and still exploring which is 100% cool

but then bestie goes and says he’s not an ally?

and then bestie has the nerves, the gall, the audacity and the balls to ask me why i’m mad?

sir

SIR

don’t play with me

tried to get me to smoke with him afterwards and got all sad when i said no

he made me sad too so now we’re even

nancy wheeler

5/10

how did she know where to find me?

worstie is in her stalker era

made. me. repeat. myself.

not cool.

worstie rlly said “gay rights but for me only”

was very quick about it too

after that she asked me to stop calling her bestie because it made her uncomfortable

when i said yes she just walked away from me

i thought we were gonna study together 😢

robin buckley

what/10

why do they always make me repeat myself?

i thought she was a lesbian. what.

depends on who?? asks? the question???

so did she really tell steve that she’s a lesbian just to keep him away from her? i am so sorry, stevie baby

but did she really go around thinking that i thought that gay people don’t exist?

you heard it here first, folks. gay people aren’t real, they’re actually robots made by the government to spy on us and turn the frogs gay.

side note but what the fuck kinda projects are these teachers giving

how about neither, bestie

carol perkins

6/10

made me explain myself

a bisexual queen

date me then pls

i mean what? 😳

apparently learned from nancy, little miss “gay rights for me and only me”

gets one more point than nancy bc she apologized for not being an ally

although now that i think about it, she probably apologized just so i would giver her a ride

she would do that

barbara holland

11/10

told me to go away and then asked to be friends

confusing

was straightforward which i always appreciate

didn’t plan on asking her if she was in love with nancy, it really just slipped, but tbh i’m glad i did bc the tea is piping hot

she and tommy need to start a “in love with my best friend but live in a homophobic town so need to hide my feelings for them” club tbh

is an ally 😍

she said gay rights for everyone

r.i.p barb, i knew you were my favorite character in season 1 for a reason

tag list: @iwigyousub

#billy hargrove #steve harrington #eddie munson #tommy hagan #jonathan byers #argyle #nancy wheeler #robin buckley #carol perkins #barbara holland #100 followers celebration

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