#will and dustin hold a special place in my heart

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Okay, no more spoilers after this. . .DUSTIN'S LETTER TO WILL:

[juniperskye]

I Can’t Be Your Friend.

Sneak Peek: Eddie and you do something that alters the state of your friendship. You realize that being his friend hurts too much now. **The events of season 4 did NOT happen** Bold are Eddie’s thoughts; Italics are reader’s thoughts.

Eddie Munson x Fem Reader

Angst/Fluff/implied Smut

Word count: 2473

REQUESTS ARE OPEN - not edited - please be kind. Feedback is welcome if it's constructive!

Warnings: My blog is 18+, minors DNI, implied smut, drug use (marijuana), explicit language, idiots in love, Steve’s absent parents, mention of underage drinking. Let me know if I missed any!

That being said I do not own the characters portrayed in this story.

Tonight was going to be amazing! Steve had invited everyone over for a summer kickoff party, there would be pizza, swimming, beer, and good company. Robin and you had gotten to Steve’s early to help set things up, pizzas were on the way, and you were just waiting for everyone to show up now.

First to arrive was Nancy, she had driven over with Mike, Lucas, Max, and Dustin. They had come bounding in with arms full of chips and soda, piling them recklessly on the coffee table. The younger kids were arguing about who got the bathroom first to change.

You couldn’t help but laugh and roll your eyes as you made your way to the door, letting in the next group. You had assumed it would be Johnathan, Argyle, and the rest of the kids, but instead, Eddie was standing in the doorway.

“Hey Eds!” You smiled.

“Hey! How’s my best girl?” Eddie pulled you into his arms and lifted you slightly as he spun you around. “I’ve missed you dude.”

“I’m good Eds. I’ve missed you too!” Your heart clenched slightly as he placed you back on your feet.

Your relationship with Eddie had always been like this. You were best friends, but sometimes, things were done or said that seemed a bit more than friendly. You’d stayed more nights with Eddie this last year than you did in your own home. Robin had pestered you about the status of your relationship with him to which you’d always reply; “We’re just friends, he doesn’t see me that way”.

“So, I know the kids are here, but I brought a little something special for us. I figured we could go to the van, take a few hits then come back in.” Eddie said wagging a joint in front of you.

“Eddie!” You hissed, covering the joint. “You can’t just pull that out. But yes, give me fifteen minutes.”

Eddie tucked the joint back into his jacket pocket and watched as you made your way over to Steve, Nancy, and Robin. Robin gave you a knowing look and you brushed her off. You were all catching up for a bit, laughing at the nonsense the kids were getting up to. Eddie was the one to open the door for Jonathan, Argyle, El, and Will. As they all walked in, Eddie came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist and rested his chin on your head.

“You ready?” Eddie whispered.

You nodded and let him lead you outside to his van. Climbing in the back, you made yourself comfortable amongst the pile of blankets and pillows, all the while, Eddie lit the joint and placed it to his lips. After a few quick puffs and one long drag, Eddie passed it to you. The two of you passed the joint back and forth for a bit before it was nearly gone.

“Do you want the last hit?” Eddie asked.

“Nah it’s cool, you take it.” You leaned your head back.

“We could always share it.” Eddie said with a sly smirk.

“Okay.” You blushed.

Eddie took a long drag, holding it in as he moved towards you. He brought his lips to yours, only separated by a few millimeters. Your lips parted in a gasp, and he blew the smoke into your mouth. You inhaled sharply, allowing the smoke in. Your mind felt hazy, and you were starting to wonder if it was the weed or the lack of space between Eddie and you. Eddie met your eyes and pulled back slightly, clearing his throat.

What the hell was happening?

The two of you made your way back into the house and took turns changing into your bathing suits. You rushed outside and went to sit on the steps of the pool with Robin and Nancy. Each of whom gave you a pointed look.

Eddie made a stop in the kitchen to grab you a coke and an orange soda for himself, he then made his way outside. He sat the two cans in front of where you were sitting with the girls, the next thing you knew he was jumping into the pool, splashing the three of you, eliciting screeches from you three.

He surfaced and swam over to you, settling himself between your legs which were dangling off the step. His chest pressed against yours as he reached behind you to grab his soda. Your breath was caught in your throat.

Had he always been this beautiful?

Who were you kidding. Of course he had.

The night went on like this. The kids swimming, playing a ridiculous game of Marco-Polo, Steve grilling hamburgers and hotdogs, Eddie treating you like far more than a friend.

Now you were all crammed in Steve’s living room, some movie playing in the background. You couldn’t remember the name of it because you were far too distracted. When you had come into the living room, all the good seats had been taken, and instead of letting you sit on the floor, Eddie had pulled you into his lap and wrapped his arms around your middle.

You had been sitting like this for about half an hour before he made the suggestion.

“Do you want to go back to my place?”

This typically wouldn’t have sounded like a line, but given everything that had occurred today, you couldn’t help but feel like his words held deeper meaning.

“Okay.”

He led you into the trailer, just like any other time you’d been here, only this time there was a tension hanging over you.

More like sexual tension.

Jesus, get a hold of yourself.

Entering Eddie’s room brought forth a wave of anticipation, you couldn’t help but feel like something was about to happen. Eddie walked over to you and handed you one of his Iron Maiden shirts and a pair of his boxers.

It’s now or never.

You locked your eyes on Eddie’s as you slowly removed your tank top and shorts, leaving you clad in only your bathing suit. Eddie took a sharp breath and pulled his shirt over his head. Up until now things felt as though they’d been moving in slow motion, then all of a sudden things switched to fast forward.

Eddie lunged towards you and locked his lips onto your own, your hands finding his curls, his finding the ties to your swimsuit. His lips tasted like orange soda and nicotine, he was addicting, and you knew you’d never be able to give this up.

Eddie woke up and glanced over to see your naked form curled up in his bed. He couldn’t believe it, the two of you had taken that leap, this would change everything between you.

This could change everything.

I can’t afford to lose her.

You stirred awake, noticing your lack of clothing, and taking note of the discarded clothing on the floor.

So that really did happen.

This could change everything!

“Hey.” Eddie said quietly.

“Hey.” You blushed.

You sat up holding the sheet to your chest and turning to meet Eddie’s gaze. Something was off about his expression, he seemed somber, and you were terrified to find out why.

“So, uh…” Eddie turned, breaking eye contact. “We should just forget this ever happened; you know. So, it doesn’t fuck up our friendship.”

Please say you don’t want to forget about it.

Of course he doesn’t want me.

“Oh, uh, yeah. I guess you’re right.”

Of course she doesn’t want me.

You stood and quickly began pulling your clothes on and gathering your things. There was this loud ringing in your ears and you’re sure Edie was calling your name, but all you knew was you needed to get out of there.

You were halfway home before the ringing stopped.

How could you be so stupid.

Then the tears started. Not only had your heart been broken by the man you loved, but you also lost the one person you’d want to hold you while you cried.

“Dude what is up with you? You’ve been super weird since Steve’s summer kick-off party.” Robin pestered.

“Yeah she’s right, plus Eddie’s been extra bitchy, which usually only happens when you haven’t seen one another in a while. I thought for sure you guys were gonna hookup that night.” Steve ranted.

Your face turned a bright shade of red and you let your gaze fall to your lap. You knew you weren’t exactly being discreet with your avoidance of Eddie, but you didn’t’ think they’d call you out directly.

“Holy shit! You two had sex!” Robin shouted, smacking you on the arm.

“Ow! Yes, we did. And it ruined everything. The next morning, he suggested we just forget it ever happened.”

“What? No way, Eddie’s head over heels for you. What happened?” Steve asked.

You explained to Steve and Robin the events of the night and they both concluded that it made no sense. They were both convinced Eddie was in love with you.

This was when Steve and Robin came up with their plan. They would get you and Eddie together before summer ended.

“Steve, this isn’t working. She is declining every invite to hangout; she has gone as far as driving over and leaving if she sees the van, and even calling everyone to be sure if Eddie was invited.” Robin said throwing herself on the couch in defeat.

“That’s it! We will invite her over for a movie night, just the three of us. Then after she’s here, you go to the other room and call Eddie and invite him over. That way nobody will be able to tell her that he’s invited because he wasn’t.” Steve explained.

“Hey guys!” You called entering Steve’s house.

“Hey! How have you been? We haven’t seen you in a while.” Robin pulled you into a hug.

“Sorry about that, I just…I can’t bring myself to face him yet. I’ll get over it, I just need time.” You said.

Steve came in, greeting you and pulling you to the living room to help him pick a movie. He threw a wink over his shoulder to Robin. She rolled her eyes and made her way to Steve’s dad’s office ready to make the call. When she came to the living room she played it off as a trip to the bathroom.

Things were going well, they felt like old times, save for the hole in your chest in the shape of one, Eddie Munson.

Speaking of which.

“Hey guys!” Eddie greeted, entering the house.

“Guys, what the hell.” You said threw gritted teeth.

They both looked at you with guilty eyes. You shook your head and told them you needed to go. Grabbing your bag you went for the door. It took everything in you to not look at him.

“Hey, where are you going?” Eddie called after you, following you outside. “I haven’t seen you in weeks. You’re dodging my calls, your canceling plans, you’re literally leaving as I showed up to hang out.”

“Eddie, I can’t do this right now. I need to go.”

“So what? That’s it?” He had never sounded so defeated.

“Eddie, I…”

“Is this because of that night? C’mon you’re my best friend, you’re just gonna throw that all away?” He grasped your hand in his own.

“That’s the problem Eddie, I can’t be your friend anymore. Everything is different now.” You shook your head, pulled your hand from his grasp, and took off walking back home.

Eddie walked back into the house and immediately receive a slap to the back of the head from Robin. She and Steve proceeded to explain to Eddie how he had messed the whole thing up and how him suggesting you just “forget it ever happened” had led you to believe that he didn’t care about you.

Initially he didn’t believe them that you had feelings for him, but after they literally spelled it out for him, he realized what an idiot he had been.

“I’m gonna need your help.”

The plan had been a pretty difficult one, Eddie needed Robin and Steve to convince you to come over again for an end of summer bash and after the last time, he was sure you’d say no.

Robin had explained to you that after your conversation with Eddie, that he definitely wouldn’t be coming. She told you that she asked him, and he had declined. It was then that you agreed, but not without a pang of guilt filling your chest. You couldn’t stand the thought of hurting Eddie. The look on his face when you told him you couldn’t be his friend had been haunting you.

The day came and you drove over to Steve’s, shocked that the only car in the driveway had been his. You parked and let yourself in.

“Steve? Where is everyone?”

“Hey! I’m in my room, and they’re on their way I figured you could come early so I could see how you were doing.” Steve said.

You walked into his room and noticed he was seemingly searching for something, he was scrambling around his room, swiftly moving to his dresser as you made yourself comfortable on his bed. You looked over at him just in time to see a mess of curls enter and Steve pulling the door closed. You heard the lock click and the distinct sound of a chair being pushed against the knob.

“What the hell is this?”

“I needed to find a way to talk to you and you’ve been avoiding me.”

“Eddie, let me out.”

“Not until we talk. Look I fucked up that night, I suggested that we forget about it and that was stupid.” He exclaimed.

“Eds, look, I just need time…these feelings will go away eventually. I don’t want to lose you as a friend, but how am I supposed to be around you when I’ve tasted your kiss and will never get to experience that again?”

“I don’t want your feelings to go away. Truth is, I only suggested it because I thought there was no way you could love me back.” Eddie explained.

“You love me?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Eddie pulled you into a gentle kiss, wrapping his arms around your waist. You let your fingers get tangled in his hair. There were whispered apologies between kisses and you two only broke apart when the two of you needed air.

“How would you like to go get some dinner?” Eddie asked.

“I would love that!” You replied.

With that, Eddie walked over to the bedroom door and began knocking, shouting to Steve that he was safe to let you guys out. His knocks sped up the longer it took for Steve to release you both.

“Harrington, hurry up! I gotta take my girlfriend on our first date!”

[just-my-latest-hyperfixation]

oh hello, I am here for my first beloved hype fic: someone who cares! prompt: "do you remember when we first met?"

I'll leave the rest to you and your gigantic, perfect brain <333

Lex!! 😍 Thank you so much for all your support and for giving this little universe so much love. These two were the starting point of my Steddie obsession AND of my fanfic journey, and they'll always hold a special place in my heart. Hope you'll enjoy their wedding day!

Perfect, somehow

Rated: G

Words: 986

Tags: No UD AU; Modern AU, Steve is Dustin’s dad; Established relationship; Wedding day; Eddie Munson is a sweetheart; Steve Harrington needs a hug

Notes: Set in the same universe as Someone who cares

Steve is staring out at the rain and the soggy decorations dangling sadly from the branches of the apple tree when he hears the bedroom door open.

“Hey Robs,” he sighs, fiddling with the flimsy zipper of the dry cleaner bag. “Do you think it’s too late to reschedule the whole thing? I know Eddie will be disappointed, but-” 

“Disappointed?” says a voice behind him. A very familiar, very male voice that is distinctly not Robin’s. “I think the word you’re looking for is fucking livid, honey.” 

“What the fuck?” Steve yelps, whirling around so suddenly he nearly topples. “I told Dustin to get Robin!” 

Eddie shrugs - or at least Steve thinks he does. It’s a bit hard to say with only his head poking into the room, the rest of him still hidden behind the half-open door. “She’s downstairs talking to the caterer. Can I come in or what? Dustin said, and I quote, Dad looks like he’s about to puke on his ugly-ass shoes.” 

Steve’s gaze flicks down to his tan leather slippers. He bought them especially for today, to have something to go with his cream suit. 

“It’s bad luck to see each other before the ceremony,” he mutters. 

“Yeah right,” Eddie snorts and steps into the room. The mumble of voices from downstairs dims as he shuts the door behind him. “Except from what you just said, you’d rather not have a ceremony at all.” 

“That’s not true,” Steve blurts. “Of course I wanna- … oh shit, you look amazing.” 

Eddie smiles - the boyish and dimpled one that was one of the first things Steve fell in love with - playing with the lapels of his suit jacket. Black, just like his shirt and tie and pants. His hair has been tamed into a braid, the first stubborn strands already escaping and curling around his face. 

“Thanks,” he says, black leather shoes nervously scuffing on the bedroom floor. “You only get married once, huh? If you still wanna. Marry me, that is.” 

Steve groans. The dry cleaner bag, still clutched in his clammy hands, crinkles as he flops down on the bed. 

“Of course I wanna marry you. I wanna marry you so fucking badly, you have no idea!” 

Eddie’s brow wrinkles. “Then what’s the problem?” 

“What’s the problem?” Steve blurts, gesturing frantically at the curtain of rain behind the windowpane. “I wanted this to be perfect, and now? Weather forecast says it won’t stop raining until tomorrow, and even if it did, the yard’s a fucking mud field. And as if that wasn’t enough, the fucking dry cleaner ruined my suit jacket.” 

He unzips the bag, shaking the mess inside at Eddie’s face. Those pretty brown eyes grow large. 

“Whoa,” Eddie mutters. “Please tell me you demanded your money back.” 

Steve doesn't reply, just continues to stare at him with the same glum expression. Eddie’s eyes go soft and he huffs a laugh. 

“Hey,” he says, plucking the bag from Steve’s hands and tossing it over a chair. Then, he plops down on the mattress beside him, knee to knee, and links their fingers. “Do you remember when we first met?” 

“Huh?” Steve blinks. “Yes, of course, why do you-” 

“I was one failed rent payment away from sleeping on the curb,” Eddie interrupts him, smile wide and happy. “The power company had cut me off weeks ago, and besides, I had pawned my laptop, so I hand wrote my application for that job you'd posted. Not that I thought I'd get it, but I was sort of grasping at straws, y’know?” 

His smile is warm and fond when he looks at Steve.

“That apartment building of yours was so fucking fancy. And then you barged out of that stupid, pompous penthouse and I thought shit, not only is he filthy rich, he's also disgustingly hot on top? Gimme a break, that's just unfair.” 

Steve scoffs, heat prickling at the base of his neck. “C'mon now, I was a mess. My father was breathing down my back at work, I felt like I was failing as a dad. The bags under my eyes were probably reaching my knees.” 

Eddie laughs, loud and carefree and Steve loves him. Loves him so fucking much, wants to spend the rest of his life listening to that laugh. Still can't believe he'll get to. 

“Okay, one: you looked like a fucking dream, baby. And two: I think we can agree we both weren't in the best of places, each in his own way. Right?” 

Steve scoffs. “Yeah, agreed.” 

Eddie's fingers squeeze his, the touch warm and familiar. The shape of his hand. The warm metal of his rings. Skulls and crosses, and the plain silver one Steve gave him on the day he proposed to him. “And still here we are, huh?” 

Steve takes a moment to let this sink in. Here they are. The man he loves and him, with the family they chose downstairs, ready to build a future together. 

“Yeah,” he breathes. “Here we are, I guess.” 

“So, what d’you say?” Eddie hums, lifting their entwined hands to kiss Steve’s knuckles. “You wanna get married?” 

Steve can't help it, he laughs. “Hell yeah, let's do it.” 

“Yesss,” Eddie cheers, jumping off the bed and punching at the air. “Let's fucking go!” 

Then, he starts unlacing his shoes. He's taken off his socks and is rolling up his pants before Steve finds his words again. 

“Erm, Eddie? What are you doing?” 

Eddie, just in the process of shrugging out of his suit jacket, shoots him a toothy grin. “What we do best, love. I'm making it work.”

They say their vows ankle-deep in mud, with the wind blowing rain under their umbrella and ruining their hair. It's nothing like Steve ever imagined his wedding day to be. It's all he never knew he wanted. 

And damn if that isn't its own kind of perfect. 

More celebration ficlets!

[rogueddie]

Make A Wish T | 654 words Prompt for @steddielovemonth: Love is making a birthday extra special

For as long as Steve can remember, Valentines has always been emphasized to him as a special day. A day full of love, and joy, and connection. A day where he could tell anyone that he loves them, even Tommy, and no one would give him so much as a glance.

It's been a while since he's been able to properly celebrate the day though. With the Upside Down, the constant fear that it would come back, that people would get hurt again, always buzzing in the back of his head...

Well, it never felt right.

But, now that it's finally and truly over? He's excited to celebrate. He has his soulmate, the best friend that he could ever wish for and loves with all his heart... and he might have a boyfriend.

"You will have a boyfriend," Robin corrects. "He's been flirting with you for months. If he doesn't make a move first, he'll be stumbling over himself to say yes."

She's right.

He rushes to agree to the date when Steve asks, stuttering in his hurry. But, instead of asking Steve what he has planned, he asks if he can surprise Steve.

"I was thinking about asking you, but... I don't know, I got too nervous, I guess. But it's a good idea, so..."

"Sure, yeah. It'll be nice to be on this end for once."

When Eddie picks him up, he insists that Steve sit in the back of the van so he can't see anything before they arrive.

He climbs over the seats when they do arrive, blindfolding him.

"This way, mind your step, just a little further..." Eddie mumbles, gently leading Steve. "Ok. You ready?"

"Yeah."

When he pulls the blindfold off, there's a burst of noise and color.

They're at the Byers new place. It's covered in decorations, confetti in the air, and everyone stood around cheering.

The banner has a bubbly, colorful, "happy birthday!" drawn on.

"Happy birthday," El says, the first to step up. She holds up a present. "I am very happy to know you."

"Oh. Thanks, El. But, uh..." He glances around, until finally finding Eddie tucked in a corner. "How did you know that today is my birthday?"

"Overheard some old flame of yours one time," Eddie explains. "She was convinced that you two were meant to be, entirely because you were born on valentine's day."

"Seriously?"

"Right?"

"Steve!" Dustin calls, waving him towards the kitchen. "Nevermind that! Come on, we made a cake! And there's presents, but we should do cake first!"

The kids, as it turns out, really did make the kids themselves. It's not bad either, especially after melted chocolate and whip cream is poured over it, almost drowning it.

The gifts from the kids are all homemade.

Steve is sure that they're the best gifts he's ever received.

"Happy birthday," Robin whispers, as she hugs him goodbye. "And good luck, yeah?"

"Won't need it," he whispers back. "This night is too perfect for it to fail now."

He decides to wait until they pull up outside his house. Then, if it works out? They can go inside. If it fails? Easy exit.

But, as soon as they pull up, Eddie beats him to the punch.

"Hey," he starts, nervous. "I hope you enjoyed today and-"

"I did. Really, it was amazing. Thanks, Ed. It means a lot, more than you can imagine."

"It was nothing. It's... I don't want to ruin that if you don't- I won't take it bad, is what I mean. I just think you should know, uh... you're so loved. By, uh, me."

"You love me?"

"Yeah, Steve. I really do, so much."

"I love you too."

"Really?"

"Yeah, dumbass. I asked you on a date."

"... oh, fuck, you did."

Steve laughs, reaching over to grab his collar and drag him into a kiss.

It really is the perfect end to the perfect day.

[shybunnie20]

The Decorative Divide

Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

(sort of) enemies to friends

★My Masterlist

Summary: Dustin and Suzie request that you and Eddie work together to organize a special dinner for them.

Author's Note: This has been collecting dust in my drafts for a year but I didn’t want to abandon it.

Kind of angsty with a happy ending, no use of y/n, Eddie and Reader are around 28 since Dustin and Suzie are 23, implied that Reader is single, self-indulgent mentions of midwestern food, not polished & was proofread to an extent.

Word Count: 2.8k

Warnings: bickering, both Eddie & Reader have quite an attitude and get a little mean, self-deprecation, instance of fainting, includes swearing

As a close family friend, you’ve had the privilege of knowing Dustin for years. Despite living two towns over from Hawkins, you often babysat him once you were old enough to be responsible, given your age gap.

Alongside your friendship with Dustin, you have also come to know Suzie. Dustin and Suzie met during their summer at Camp Know Where. Dustin and Suzie's love has stood the test of time. As young adults who have graduated college and built a life together, they have reached a significant milestone in their relationship.

To celebrate their joyous engagement, the pair has decided to host a casual dinner at their place and they’ve called on you to help. While you would typically be thrilled to take on the task of planning such an event for them, there's a catch. You’re co-planning it with Eddie Munson.

Dustin has spoken highly of Eddie over the years, but your brief encounters with him have left you with a different impression. Contrary to the caring, creative, and devoted individual Dustin has described, you see him as loud—bordering on obnoxious—and overly sure of himself.

When you were first introduced, he showed no interest in getting to know you beyond your face and first name. He appeared closed off and cynical, by the way he shook your hand. You felt as though he’d already decided who you were and what you were about just by looking you once over.

While it was rather impolite, it didn’t bother you all that much at the time. You wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt since some people take time to open up. Even so, you were disinterested in engaging with someone so dismissive. The indifference toward each other’s existence was mutual.

Dustin saw this party as an opportunity for you to get to know Eddie better. To the best of your ability, you’ve mentally braced yourself for the likelihood that he doesn’t have a clue about organizing a dinner party. By his looks and demeanor alone, it seems obvious that he hasn’t had many opportunities to even attend one.

Maybe you’re being a bit unfair, relying on assumptions, but you have to have a backup plan in case it’s your intuition guiding you, not your cold judgment.

Having arrived not long ago, you’ve been in the small kitchen of the couple’s apartment for about ten minutes, busily preparing the space. You search the cupboards and retrieve the items you need, like a cutting board and casserole dish.

Your heart stammers when the front door slams shut, the reverberation shaking the thin walls. Just as you were starting to worry that Eddie might not show up at all, he has, albeit with a pulse-stopping entrance. You’re relieved he’s here, despite the mini heart attack he’s just given you.

There’s a brief silence as he moves through the living room toward your direction. Shortly thereafter, you wince at the distinct squeak of each sneaker as he steps onto the linoleum floor of the kitchen.

With an air of nonchalance, Eddie is holding a heavy paper bag of groceries, appearing unfazed by the fact that he’s fifteen minutes late.

Rising slowly from your squatted position in front of the counter cabinet, you release a subtle huff. Glancing down at your watch before directing it at him, you remark, “Jesus, where the hell have you been? Dustin said you’d be here at 4:30.”

“Well, you see, I had this stupidly long list I had to tend to first,” Eddie retorts as he carelessly plops the bag onto the island that separates the two of you. A glass jar at the bottom of the bag clicks against the granite upon contact.

“Of course, you waited until the last minute to go to the store,” You suppress an eye-roll, but the tone of your voice carries the same effect as if you’d done one. Removing the items off of the top of the bag and working your way further in, you mentally check off the list. Tater tots, ground beef, canned green beans, pudding mix, Cool Whip, Snickers… “You forgot the apples,” As you near the bottom of the bag, you glance up at him before withdrawing the one remaining item.

“Nah,” Eddie gestures to the medium-sized jar you’re holding while wearing a confused expression. “Just got that instead.”

“I specifically wrote down one bag of apples. Why the hell did you get applesauce?” You hold it out to the side while you question him, the tension in your body language growing increasingly rigid.

“I figured it would make your job easier. Now you don’t have to waste your time mashing whole-ass apples. Duh?” Eddie pulls a stool out from under the lip of the island and perches himself on it. Oblivious to your irritated stare, he begins to fiddle with the stack of paper napkins that he blindly threw into the shopping cart, neglecting to grab regular white and instead carelessly opting for ugly patterned ones.

“Why on earth would I be mashing-” you begin, pinching the bridge of your nose between your thumb and index finger. “This is useless to me!” You set the jar down a bit harder than necessary, causing it to thud rather than clink like it had before. “If I’d known you were gonna bring me baby food, then I would’ve just gone to the store myself.”

“How was I supposed to know what you need apples for? Nobody told me shit.”

“You don’t need to be told anything, all you had to do was follow the list,” you round the island and snatch up your car keys and purse. “Don’t burn the place to the ground while I’m gone, please?” You storm out of the kitchen, muttering to yourself all the way to your car.

You have to drive halfway across town and back before you can even start properly preparing dinner, which is beyond frustrating because now you’re even more behind schedule. Once you arrive back at Dustin and Suzie’s apartment, Eddie is lounging on the couch tossing a baseball in the air, not having been tasked with anything since you left.

You put him on the job of tossing together the Snickers salad. It’s just three ingredients, there’s no reason he shouldn’t be able to handle that. All he has to do is mix Cool Whip with chunks of apple and Snickers—it’s not rocket science.

You’ve been so focused on browning the beef for the hotdish that you haven’t been checking in on him. When you finally look over your shoulder to do so, you notice that Eddie is chopping the apples and Snickers bars into rather large chunks. “Eddie-”

“Oh my god, what?” he snaps, setting the knife down noisily and turning to you. “What’s your problem now?”

“You have to cut those smaller, or else all of our friends are going to choke and die. We’re celebrating an engagement, not planning a mass funeral.”

Eddie’s head throbs with how hard his eyes roll back. He bites his tongue and shakes his head. “As you wish, Your Highness,” he mutters sarcastically. Albeit loudly, he does as you asked and dices the pieces. Under his breath, he adds, “Royal pain in the ass, if you ask me.”

As you finish up the main course and put it into the oven, Eddie is in the dining room on a short step ladder hanging up streamers. You step into the room to inspect and it’s immediately evident how crooked they are. The sound of your sigh prompts him to drop his head and take a tense breath, his arms still outstretched above him.

You stand there, arms crossed, eyeing him from below. “It’s not straight. You’ve gotta go up by like three inches on the left. Are you even trying to make this look good?”

“I am, actually!” Eddie barks, dropping the side of the streamer he was holding. It floats to the floor, only attached to the wall on one end. He backs down the ladder and turns to face you. “Just because I'm not obsessed with every little fucking detail like you doesn’t mean I'm not trying. If you stopped being a control freak for five minutes, you’d see that it’s fine the way it is.”

You scoff, your crossed arms tightening. “Control freak? I just want everything to look nice. Is that a crime?”

“No, it’s not. But you’re nitpicking and micromanaging every fucking thing I do.”

You jut out your chin as you speak, standing your ground. “It’s a special night. If it were my dinner, I’d want everything to be perfect.”

“Yeah? I bet. Except it isn’t yours. Who would even propose to you anyway? You’d probably tell them exactly how to do that too,” Eddie pauses, his gaze hard and fixed on you, watching for a shift in your expression that’ll indicate whether you’re even listening to him. “If you want it done a certain way then just do it your damn self.”

“At this rate, that’s the only choice I have. Move then.” You motion for Eddie to step out of the way, and he promptly stomps out of the room. Before you can climb up the ladder in his place, the phone rings. You answer, and it’s Suzie.

She adds a few more tasks to your already extensive list, leaving you feeling utterly overwhelmed with the level of upset you’re already at. Despite how much your head is spinning, you’re adamant that you won’t ask Eddie for help. You’re convinced that he’ll just continue to half-ass everything all while hurling insults at you.

After you promise Suzie that everything will be taken care of in an upbeat tone, you hang up and suppress the frustrated tears pricking your eyes. You return to the streamers and bend over to retrieve the abandoned string. The weight of exhaustion sets in as you climb the ladder, determined to see the job through.

Your palms feel clammy and the thought of holding the sharp thumbtack makes you nervous, but you push the worry away. Persevering, you reach high above your head and try to position the streamer even with the opposite end. You have to lean on your tiptoes a bit, and that’s when the light-headedness swarms. You’re not taking deep enough breaths, and your balance begins to waver.

You’ve been so dead set on ensuring that everything goes smoothly tonight that you’ve neglected to take proper care of yourself. Just as you’re securing the streamer to the wall, you lose your balance entirely.

Amidst patting himself down for his pack of cigarettes, Eddie’s attention is abruptly stolen by the loud thump in the dining room. “What the fuck was-” he peeks into the dining room and he spots you lying on the floor. “Oh, shit,” Eddie rushes over and drops to his knees beside you, his features etched with concern. “Are you okay?” At first, he’s unsure of what he should do. But when he sees that you’re attempting to sit up, he hesitantly guides you. “Did you hit your head?” Once you’re seated upright, Eddie leans in to inspect the back of your skull, as if expecting to find a cartoonish goose egg.

“I don’t know, but I’m fine,” you groggily dismiss his concern, adjusting your position so that you can slouch against the fall. “I just missed a step, that’s all.”

“When was the last time you ate or drank anything?” His brown eyes are wide and shining with concern at your drained appearance. “Say the word and I’ll bring whatever you need.”

“I said I’m fine,” you insist, tears brimming in your eyes as you pull your knees up to your chest. “I just- this dinner is so important for them. If I can’t give them a simple party then-” You try to take a deep breath but it stutters—a tearful hiccup. “You were right. I’ll never have my own party like this. I guess I just want to give them a night I can only dream of.”

Eddie’s frown deepens as he looks down, picking at his cuticles. He’s kicking himself for the hurtful comment he made earlier. At the time, he didn’t realize how deeply that would cut you; he hit you where it hurts. Right now, he wants to reach out, hold your hand, and apologize. Eddie wants to tell you that you’re doing a good job.

You should be taking care of yourself instead of piling all of the pressure onto yourself to satisfy Dustin and Suzie’s requests. He wants to express that, but he can’t. Not after what he said.

In the awkward silence, a humorless laugh escapes you, your embarrassment palpable for exposing the vulnerable side of yourself to him. Harshly, you swipe at your tears, a sting following soon after. Both of you jolt at the timer ringing in the kitchen. You squint through your tear-blurred vision at the clock on the wall. “Fuck, it’s almost 6:30 already.”

You rise unsteadily to your feet, leaving Eddie uncertain, unsure of what to say or if he should even offer to give you a hand at this point. As you fix your hair and try to even out your breaths, you steel yourself for what’s to come. You head back into the kitchen, slipping seamlessly back into work mode.

Eddie gets to his feet a few beats later, but his movements are slow and cautious as he follows, almost as if he’s afraid to intrude. Sheepishly, he enters the room. You’re taking the casserole out of the oven and gathering plates and flatware rather hastily. Despite there being plenty of time and no need to rush, you’re still being hard on yourself.

Twisting the silver bracelet on his wrist, Eddie steps closer to the island. “What can I do to help?” he asks softly, almost cowardly. “I’ll do it the right way this time, I promise.”

You pause. He was right twice over; you were being a control freak, bossing him around. With far less frustration and impatience, you look at him. Though, there’s still a hint of hurt and weakness in your voice. “Would you mind setting the table? I’ll be there in a sec.”

Eddie nods eagerly, a relieved grin tugging at the corners of his lips. He’s grateful that you’re letting him participate even though he’s fucked everything up so far. He gathers the plates and silverware and carries them to the dining table, setting down a plate in front of each chair.

However, he stops in his tracks, realizing that he doesn’t know how to formally set a table. Lost in thought, he mentally searches for the information that he doesn’t have archived, not knowing where the fork and spoon are supposed to be placed.

You enter the room and tilt your head at his trance-like state. “Daydreaming?” You quip, your voice playful and carried with softness, a far cry from the previous tenseness.

“No, I uh- ” Eddie starts, then looks over at you. “Where do you want me to put these?” He holds up his fistful of the silverware.

“Wherever you think is best,” You reply, offering him a small grin—the warmest he’s ever seen on you.

A warmth spreads in his chest and the apples of his cheeks go rosy. He breaks eye contact and murmurs, “Okay, cool.”

When Dustin and Suzie return home, they’re ecstatic with how the place looks. During dinner, everyone is seated around the table—Mike, Lucas, Max, you and Eddie, Steve, and Robin.

Amidst the intermingling conversations, Eddie rises from his seat and clinks his cutlery against his drinking glass. Voices fade off and all eyes turn to him. His gaze sweeps around the table, a kind smile playing on his lips.

He clears his throat, rolls his shoulders back, and raises his glass. “To the happy couple,” Eddie begins, his voice carrying easily through the small room. “And to this little lady beside me, who worked so hard to make tonight as great as it is.”

You shy away when he winks at you. The chorus of agreement and praise overtakes your senses. When you chance a look at him, his focus hasn’t shifted. He’s still looking down at you, but this time with a dazzling smile. Your eyes meet, and for a moment, everything stills.

In his chocolate gaze, you see something different—no longer disinterest, but instead, gratitude and genuine admiration. Raising your glass, you join the collective toast. Dustin mouths “thank you” from across the table, and you nod in acknowledgment.

As Eddie sits back down, you bump his shoulder with your own. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

He snorts and gives you a playful look. “Sure you could’ve.”

“Well, I’m glad I didn’t have to,” You say sincerely, tilting your glass toward him.

He responds by tapping his glass against yours, a silent acknowledgment of the forced collaboration. If it weren’t for that, he might have never gotten the chance to uncover your dedication and selflessness. The swirling warmth in his belly sparks curiosity about what other qualities he might admire in you.

One thing is for certain, Eddie is eager to find out.

★My Masterlist

[jadeylovesmarvelxo]

The Only One

Steve Harrington x Reader.

Summary; I was watching Stranger Things earlier and the part where Nancy is in the trance that Vecna has her under and all I can think about is writing a similar story with the reader (like it's you it happens to instead of Nancy) and Steve freaking out.

You've been sleeping together for a while, it's just casual to him at least but you're falling for him but don't want to tell him, especially with all the shit going on in The Upside Down and Hawkins and with Steve and Nancy kinda connecting again.

Steve realises when he thinks he's going to lose you that he loves you and not Nancy and he confesses he loves you just as Vecna's hold on you breaks.

Warnings; Angst with a happy ending. 18+ minors dni

I don't give anyone permission to copy, reuse or repost my work.

❤️

The relationship between you and Steve had started a few months ago, both of you growing closer since July 4th last year.

The first night you slept together was a combination of Steve bemoaning a string of bad dates he had went on with a girl called Demi and you wanting to forget all the nightmares surrounding July 4th for a little while.

Then it snowballed to meeting up regularly, sneaking around during your shifts together at Family Video.

Honestly, the sex was mind blowing and the more you lost yourself in Steve, talking to each other until the early morning, getting to know him the more you fell for him.

Yet you kept quiet even as the new threat plaguing Hawkins was in full force.

It was no time to confess feelings, not now.

The new threat, Vecna. It drew Nancy and Steve together again, the unresolved tension hung in the air and you could only watch your stomach sinking as Steve gazed at Nancy.

He still loved her. He would never love you and it broke your heart.

Nancy dove right after Steve as fast as you did when he was pulled under water by the vines and into The Upside Down.

You saw the looks as she tended to his wounds after the demo bat attack, the way he reached for her when earthquakes rocked the Upside Down.

Every interaction tore your heart in two and yet you couldn't say a thing because no one knew about you and Steve.

Let's face it even if they did it's not like you could compare to Nancy. She was the first girl Steve loved, she was special.

You were just an outlet to him. Even if sometimes you thought that his feelings for you were deepening it was most likely wishful thinking on your part.

It didn't matter though, not now. Not when you had a possible brewing apocalypse to help stop.

So you pushed your broken heart aside.

❤️

You didn't know what happened. One minute you were climbing the rope made of bedsheets that Dustin had fashioned to help aid your way out of The Upside Down.

The next minute everything changed and you were falling through the air into nothingness, hearing the faint echoes of Steve calling your name fading away.

When you finally landed after what feels like hours, you're at the mall standing up shakily as fireworks burst around you.

Anna your friend who died last year near the mall, flayed just like all the other poor souls who had lost their life is currently walking towards you with a soft smile on her features.

Memories from last summer flood through you, how she died.

She was heading to the mall to pick you up from your shift at the small boutique clothing store but unbeknownst to her you were with the Scoop Troop at the time when you were meant to be finishing your shift and meeting her.

On the way there she had met Billy and it was too late for her, she had joined the flayed.

Guilt filled you up inside because you hadn't told her what had been going on with Billy, no matter if she thought it crazy or unbelievable if she knew what was really going on in Hawkins then she wouldn't have been out in the first place.

You were with Dustin, Erica, Robin and Steve at the time, pulled into the Scoop Troops mission to decode a translation that Dustin had heard on the radio.

You were friends with Robin and she reached out for your help in decoding the saying as both of you learnt many languages.

Everything after that was a blur, investigating that delivery company, being trapped in the lift that plunged down to the depths of Starcourt mall, being captured by Russians, Steve taking a beating for you and Robin...

Helping Dustin's friend El from Billy and that horrifying monster from trying to kill her, it was terrifying, your heart hammering in your chest as you were introduced to the horrors of living in Hawkins.

Another dimension of sorts right under your feet.

Anna walks over to you and your frozen on the spot. When Anna was confirmed to be part of the many people that died as the part of the Flayed, you were inconsolable.

The guilt plagued you, survivors guilt the counsellor had told you when you spoke about Anna to her briefly.

"Why didn't you mention what was happening? You knew what was going on in Hawkins with Billy, that monster and yet and not once did you mention anything to me?"

The words eat away at you and tears roll down your cheeks because you could have said something, found Anna and warned her once you escaped from the Russians but you didn't.

Between being drugged by the Russians, to escaping them and then all the shit that followed everything was focused on the absolute nightmare you and the rest of the Scoop Troop found yourself in.

But what if you had managed to find Anna somehow? It was irrational as there was no time but your mind constantly clung to the what ifs?

"There was no time, I'm so sorry, I wish I could have found some way to save you. Every day I think of what I could have done...I"

The smile from her face slips and anger flashes across her features.

"Lies! You could have but you didn't! You'd rather run around with Steve Harrington!

I bet you're so happy right now that his attention is all on you, sleeping with him to dull the fact that you're a bad friend, the guilt eating away at you"

Sobs escape your lips and you shake your head desperate for her to understand but she grips your arms tight, shaking you.

The smile is back but it's eerie, it makes your stomach bottom out.

"No matter, you'll die soon too, you all will" the voice that speaks isn't Anna this time. No, this voice sends chills down your spine and Anna morphs into a thing of nightmares.

The evil that killed Chrissy, Jordan and Freddie. Who had cursed Max.

Vecna.

✨

❤️

You're someplace new now, surrounded by the bodies of people, children, teens and adults blooded and dead on the floor.

Fear pulses through you as you run through the halls. There's a sinking feeling inside you that this is where El was kept and experimented on, the others like her.

Sadness aches deep in your bones. What happened here?

Growls fill the air and fear roots you to the spot as Vecna approaches and calls your name.

No matter where you run it's no use because he will find you, even as you try desperately to move the boards blocking off the door you know it's no use.

Still, every instinct in you compels you to fight, to escape.

Vines snake their way up your jeans and tighten around your skin before you can stop it.

They wrap around your legs and your arms to keep you in place.

Vecna walks slowly towards you, and your heart pounds in your chest.

"It's time for me to show you who I am. What is coming. You can't escape it. Victory will be mine" his fingers latch onto your face and visions flash through your mind.

Vecna was Henry , Victor Creels, son, he was the cause of the physiological torture of his family, of his mother and sisters deaths.

Brenner found Henry at the hospital when the power overwhelmed him, fabricating that Henry died in a coma when in reality he became Brenners first test subject.

001

Then there's flashes of things, all of it leading up to a fight of powers between El and 001 after he murdered all the others like El, the doctors and scientists.

El refusing to join him to rid the world of mankind.

Then she sees how he became Vecna, how he first ended up in The Upside Down, his hatred for humans, thirst for revenge palpable.

Then the vision changes.

Death, screaming, blood everywhere. The bodies of your parents, of Robin and Steve lay dead as monsters ravage Hawkins.

This is Vecna's endgame. To open the gates between Hawkins and The Upside Down for good. To unleash hell.

Steves voice is calling to you. You hear it barely at first but it grows stronger.

I love you.

It must be a trick, a torture method of Vecna's because you know that isn't true. Steve doesn't love you.

At that moment the thrall you are under breaks and you are back in The Upside Down with Steve gasping for breath and shaking from what you have seen.

❤️

At the very second you were under Vecna's curse in The Upside Down, Steve had gestured for you to go next to climb the rope and get out of the hell scape you were in but when you don't respond he turns to you in confusion.

Your eyes are rolling to the back of your head, your body twitching and it feels like there is ice in his veins as realises that Vecna has invaded your mind.

The curse. Pure fear shoots through him and he swears his heart almost stops and he rushes to you, shaking you and shouting your name.

Confused voices echo from above as he sees Dustin, Nancy and Eddie peer down at you and him in worry.

"Get tapes, anything you can! Now!" he yells at them as he begs you to snap out of the trance.

"Please, please sweetheart"

Were you going to die? The thought of your body broken, limbs bent in unnatural angles, just gone... almost breaks him.

The thought of not seeing you smile, hearing you giggle at his lame jokes or curling up beside him, head rested on his chest terrifies him.

"Baby, please. Can you hear me?" he begs but it's like talking to a brick wall. You don't respond just stay under the trance and Steve just for a few seconds feels numb with agony.

Quickly he snaps out of it. No, he will reach you and you'll be fine he tells himself even when it feels like he can't breathe and dread and panic clouds his mind.

He can hear the faint sounds from up in Eddie's trailer and he shouts for the others to hurry.

There has to be something in the Munson trailer to use, some tape that Munson has that possibly includes your favourite song.

As he thinks of this he knows it's a long shot because your musical tastes and Eddie's were worlds apart.

You sang along to Blondie or Madonna, danced around your room to Duran Duran and The Beatles, tapes of Journey, AC/DC, would Munson have something of them?

He knows your favourite song though, it comes to him as he remembers you singing it in his car when he picked you and Robin up one day.

Crazy for you- Madonna. Frantically he shouts to the others to find the tape with Crazy for You on it, even though he knows deep down Munson won't have anything like it.

Time is running out and he's desperate, begs you to wake.

"I can't lose you, sweetheart. Come back to me please come back to me"

It's then he realized something that he's known deep down for a while and yet never fully accepted until now.

Nancy and him could never work, not again. They were too different, yeah they needed to clear the air between them, many things were left unresolved but there was no going back.

He didn't want Nancy back because he had moved on. Over the last few months, he had slowly fallen in love with you.

It was you who he wanted to be with. It was you who he loved.

"I love you, sweetheart, come back to me. I love you" he calls to you.

He startles as you come out of your trance and he catches you before you drop to the ground.

Relief floods through him and he cradles you to his chest. Did you hear his confession? What had happened when you were under Vecna's spell?

"Steve" you choke out as tears run down your cheek and he wipes them away tenderly.

"I'm here honey, I'm here"

❤️

Somehow Steve had managed to get you and him out of the Upside Down and when you woke up to Nancy and Max kneeling next to you the vision Vecna showed you comes to the forefront.

"What happened?" Nancy asks kindly and you recall everything that occurred, leaving nothing out.

Everything Vecna showed you. Including the vision that would haunt your dreams.

"All I could see was death everywhere, cracks along Hawkins splitting the town in half, monsters and darkness and my parents were dead... Robin and... Steve" he is at you at once and his hand entwines with yours.

"It was what would happen if Vecna won, if Max died and the gates opened. Hell would follow, death. We can't let that happen" you say and your voice goes stronger, fiercer.

It was time to save Hawkins, save Max and avenge Chrissy, Jordan and Freddies death.

❤️

A few days had passed since Vecna's defeat, The Upside Down being gone for good.

Eddie was recovering in hospital, Hopper miraculously back from the dead had taken on the role of sheriff and cleared Eddie of any involvement in Chrissy, Jordan and Freddie's deaths.

Max was recovering in hospital as well, she almost didn't make it when she was under Vecna's curse but somehow, by some miracle El's powers had come back and even in California she helped Max.

All of you banded together to weaken Vecna but El delivered the killing blow that destroyed the mind flyer and The Upside for good.

Now she was back along with Hopper, Joyce, Murray, Jonathan and Will.

Also, their friend Argyle who you liked immediately, the guy knew how to chill out.

There's a light tapping on your window and you peer up and giggle at what you see.

Steve was perched outside your window, flowers in hand and you smile as you open the window and let him inside.

"You could just use the front door you know" he shrugs, looking nervous.

"Where's the fun in that? He jokes and sits down, I spoke to Nancy, was long overdue. Cleared up some things"

Was he here to tell you he was back together with Nancy? You want so desperately to tell him you love him but what would be the point?

It would just add to his confusion, make him feel guilty he didn't return your feelings and you didn't want that.

His expression is tender and he stares down at you.

"Are you and Nancy together again?" you blurt out and he softens and shakes his head.

"No honey we aren't" This wasn't what you expected to hear.

"I don't understand. You still love her?" he settles beside you on the bed.

"We talked a lot. Both of us realised we would never work. I don't love Nancy, she's the past sweetheart. We both agreed that"

He hands you the flowers and something akin to hope blooms in your chest.

"I didn't see any of this coming you know? Getting to know you better, us being together. I didn't expect to fall in love with you but I did"

He loved you. What you heard wasn't a trick. He truly loved you.

"When I thought I was going to lose you I told you, I don't know if you even heard me" he murmurs and you take his hands on yours feeling giddy.

"I heard. Shit, I thought it was some torture trick from Vecna and all along it really was you?" his lips press to your forehead.

"I'm sorry it took so long for me to realise sweetheart, sorry you thought I still loved Nancy when it's you I want, only you sweetheart"

Gently you touch his cheek, wincing as you gaze at the scar around his throat, the scar made by the Demobats tail.

"Does it still hurt?" you ask worriedly and he nods as you press a tender kiss near it.

"Sometimes, not now though" his arms wrap around you and he pulls you onto his knee.

"I love you, Steve, so much. I've been wanting to tell you for so long" he smiles as his head rests on top of yours.

"How about a date tomorrow? A chance to spoil my girl, dinner and a movie?" you agree to this and the joy in the air is palpable, you would discuss paying half for the date tomorrow even if Steve would argue against it.

For now, you just let the glow of happiness fill you.

"It's a date"

❤️

[ashwhowrites]

eddie x bestfriend! reader where eddie gets a new girlfriend to make the reader jealous because he really likes her. So he starts to bring his gf around hellfire and the reader and her get along really well. But it’s only because she’s eddie’s bestfriend and wants to support him even though she’s in love with him. Anyways, eddie gets upset that they’re getting along and realizes that he’s jus theming an asshole and should tell the reader how he feels so he breaks up with his gf and she completely understand, and then him and the reader have a heart to heart, happy ending please!!!

I love this!

⚠️angst for the start! I changed it just a tad bit because I don't like the idea of a girl being used :)

Eddie had feelings for his best friend, Y/N for months. But he was always too chicken to make the move. He couldn't lose her if she rejected him.

So he thought, why not make her jealous? See if she has a reaction. A reaction that would tell him everything he needed.

Eddie had the perfect girl in mind. At the mechanic shop he worked out, there was a female coworker around his age that recently moved to the school. He begged her throughout their whole shift.

"please Alex, just for a little while? I just want to see if she'll get jealous" he begged.

"is this the girl you've been talking about since you started here?" She questioned

Eddie blushed and nodded.

"fine. Only because I know you really like her"

Y/N smiled as she walked into the lunch room, heading for her usual spot next to Eddie. She went to place her tray down when Eddie stopped her.

"sorry Y/N, Alex is going to sit there today" he said, smiling.

Watching her closely, searching her face for a reaction.

"oh, who's Alex?" She squeaked out.

"my girlfriend"

The huge smile on his face made her heart sink. She bit her lip and nodded

"oh wow! Okay. No problem" she politely sat across from where Alex would be, sitting next to Dustin.

Eddie deflated slightly. She didn't look bothered at all.

"hi guys!" Alex waved as she took her seat. Her brown eyes quickly searched the table for the mystery girl.

Alex was taken back, she was gorgeous. She could easily see why Eddie was so smitten with her

"you must be Alex! It's so nice to meet you" Y/N said, holding out her hand. Her eyes looked over Alex. She was breathtaking. Dark hair and brown eyes. She had tattoos up her arms and nose pierced. Definitely Eddie's type.

Alex smiled at her pointlessness. Shaking the girls soft hand. Eddie watched the interaction closely. His body deflating even more.

~~

"Great. She looked perfectly fine" Eddie sighed as he sat in his throne chair.

"I'm sure she was caught off guard. She probably didn't have enough time to have a reaction" Alex explained.

The two went quiet when Y/N walked into the hellfire room

"oh Alex! You play?" She questioned. She was the only girl Eddie knew that played, that's what made her special.

Alex smirked, the tone in her voice went higher pitched.

"oh no! I just wanted to see Eddie in action." She flirted, her hand landing on his knee, turning her head to smile at him.

Eddie looked at Alex confused, she knew how to play? Why did she lie?

"oh okay" Y/N smiled. Pulling out a chair and sitting on the other side of Eddie. Once again across from Alex.

Alex leaned up and whispered into Eddie's ear

"you have her on the line now. Follow my lead"

Eddie nodded, eyes looking over to Y/N who quickly looked away. Waiting for the rest of the group to show up.

~~

This was the worst hellfire experience of her life. Eddie spent the whole camping with Alex on his lap. Teaching her the way of the game.

Y/N tried not to be jealous. He was single. He was allowed to teach his girlfriend how to play. She tried to ignore their big smiles and her giggles as she cheered.

As the group cleaned up and headed out of the doors. Y/N was left behind with the couple.

"she's good isn't she?" Eddie asked, nodding his head to Alex, who still was on his lap.

"oh yeah! Alex you were amazing for a beginner. I wish I was that good when I started" Y/N smiled.

Alex felt herself smiling. This girl was like a ball of sunshine. She felt a tad guilty trying to make this girl jealous. But if it ends with Eddie and her finally together, then it was worth it.

Y/N excused herself and walked out the door.

"WAIT I'M YOUR RIDE!" Eddie shouted after her

"It's okay. I can catch a ride with Chrissy. Alex gets the hellfire ice cream welcome right? I don't want to intrude on the date" Y/N said softly as she closed the door behind her. Blinking back her tears. Wanting to ignore the images of them sharing ice cream and kissing all night.

"the what?" Alex asked confused

"I may have told her when someone new joins I take them out for ice cream as an excuse to take her out" Eddie blushed

"and now she thinks we have an ice cream date. She's so adorable Eddie" Alex sighed

"I know but she obviously likes you so just great" Eddie huffed out, standing up.

"she likes me Eddie because she thinks you like me. It's in her eyes, she's jealous. She likes you Eddie." Alex explained

"if she's jealous why won't she say anything?"

"Eddie. She doesn't want to upset you. She thinks we are actually together. Is she really the type of girl to ruin a relationship just to get what she wants?" Alex questioned. She already knew the answer but it needed to connect in Eddie's head.

"no she wouldn't" Eddie sighed

"don't give up. It's working" she smiled

~~

Eddie and Alex kept their fake relationship going for a few months.

Alex and Y/N actually were becoming really good friends. Alex easily learning Y/N's body language.

Prom was around the corner and Eddie's final plan was set.

"you ready to ask her?" Alex asked as she handed Eddie the flowers

"what if she says no? What if we have this all wrong?" Eddie panicked. Rejection was still a 50/50 chance.

"Eddie listen to me. I've spent months with this girl. She's in love with you. She talks about you all the time. She purposely gives me details of things you like so I can do them for you. She wouldn't try that hard to make your relationship work with another girl if she didn't care. She wants you to be happy and she's fine even if it's with another girl. I'm a girl, I know this. So man up and ask your damn girl to prom!" Alex snapped. Pushing Eddie out of the van as Y/N was walking past.

Alex quickly hid in the backseat

"woah Eddie. What's up?" Y/n laughed as Eddie practically jumped out of his van

"I have a question for you" he breathed out, handing her the flowers

She took them confused

"look I've had this crush on you for so long. I've been in love with you just as long. I adore the way you talk. The way you laugh. How amazing you play dnd. You brighten up every single day of my life and I want to ask you, if you'd be my date to prom? How would that sound to you?" He breathed out. Anxiety filling his body.

He watched as she closed her eyes. Tears filling them quickly. He looked at her worried as she smashed the flowers in his chest

"sounds good to me Eddie. She'll love it" she choked out, smiling fast.

"wait what?" He questioned out loud. She was walking away towards her car and he watched her confused

"go after her idiot!" Alex said through the window.

Eddie looked over at her, confusion still in his eyes

"EDDIE GO!" She screamed.

Eddie jumped into action, throwing the flowers on the ground and running after Y/N and yanking her arm back. Turning her around.

She stood there with tears falling down her cheeks

"why are you crying gorgeous? Don't cry or I'll cry" He spoke softly. Wiping her tears with his thumbs

"Eddie I can't do this. I'm sorry" she cried. Shaking her head as she sobbed harder.

"do what? I don't understand"

"I can't keep acting like I'm okay with you and Alex. I know it's wrong but fuck I hate seeing how happy you are. It hurts so bad. And now you are taking her to prom, and I just always dreamed of you asking me. And I'm selfish. I shouldn't be telling you any of this because Alex is amazing and sh-" Eddie cut off her rambling with his lips.

Wrapping his arm around her waist and cupping her jaw. Kissing her passionately. She kissed back. Tangling her hands in his hair as she pushed herself against him.

Once she realized what she was doing she shoved him off of her. Eddie stumbled over his feet at the action

"Eddie! Oh my god we shouldn't have done that"

She just helped Eddie cheat on his girlfriend

"Alex and I aren't together. It wasn't real" he spoke fast. He needed her to understand right away.

"what?" She was confused

"Alex works at the mechanic shop. I asked her to pretend to be my girlfriend to make you jealous. I was asking you to prom. Not asking if it was good enough to ask her. It's always been you and no one else. I'm sorry I didn't just tell you. I was scared. Scared you wouldn't li-" this time she cut him off. Smashing her lips back on his.

He hummed as she threw herself in his arms. Holding her tightly as he kissed her back.

She pulled back with a smile

"I love you too and I'd love to go to prom"

Eddie silently cheered in his head.

Eddie finally got his girl

Tags!

@bmunson86 @mxcheese @ladymunson @michaelfuckinglangdon @z0mbie-blah @biittersweet @mirrorsstuff @slightlyvicked @micheledawn1975@ago-godance@magnificantmermaid

[morganbritton132]

tbh whenever i think about ur tiktok saga i think about how erica’s a senator and how to everyone else in the party she’s literally their baby sister?? like she’s the youngest of all the kids and was in grade school for ALLLL of the upside down stuff, and like yes. she is now a full blown adult with a VERY important job and a lot of power and influence. but in my heart of hearts i think that steve has seen her as “the baby” for so long that by the time she’s an adult and making moves it’s just. she’s still the youngest of the pack, forever the baby sister, only holly comes close to competing except holly wasn’t involved in any of the stuff and so is family but not Party. and i just think about eddie filming steve getting all excited and cleaning their house and baking with captions like “the baby is coming to visit and mama bear cannot wait” and the thought of like. their fans’ curiousity and confusion around WHO is this person who steve is so excited to see??? what baby??? and then the absolute anarchy that follows eddie posting a video of US senator erica sinclair petting ozzy in her pantsuit with a caption like “the og baby & the oz baby”

Steve is proud of all of the kids but there is a special place in his heart for The Scoops Troop. You spend all night in a funky Russian elevator and you’re bonded for life, and that’s just how it is. Steve always knew that Dustin and Erica were going to accomplish everything that they set their minds to, but he is so ridiculously proud to see it happen.

It’s kind of embarrassing sometimes.

They don’t even live in Indiana anymore, but Steve will still stick one of her signs in their front yard. He films her political ads when they air on tv and then play them for people. Steve’s not very political but he does watch Erica’s debates and the only person tearing apart her opponents more than him is Erica.

Erica started her career as a Republican but switched parties when her values (and competency) no longer aligned with the shambles that is the Republican party. Everybody was saying that she was not going to win her re-election, but Steve never doubted it and Erica won.

Sometimes one of those smear campaign websites will run an article about how Erica can’t keep her assistants and it’ll use a picture of Erica out to lunch with Steve. In the photo, he’s holding her briefcase, her files, her sunglasses, and her coffee while she looks for something in her purse.

Erica’s just like ????? “That’s my dad.”

Erica still to this day refers to Steve as the only bitch she’s ever respected.

I absolutely love the idea of Eddie filming Steve be all excited that their kid is coming home for the first time in FOUR months and then later it’s Steve full picking US Senator Erica Sinclair off the ground to hug her and then Steve is getting her ice cream because he does uphold his promise as best he can.

[laundrybiscuits]

(young man what do you wanna be tag | Ch1-2 on AO3)

“Hey, did you and Jonathan tell Will to ask me about—” Steve glances around like the world’s worst spy, and leans close even though they’re the only living souls in the trailer. “About gay things?”

“Uh,” Eddie says. “No? Wait, Jonathan might’ve.”

Steve pushes both his hands through his hair. “Why would you do that! Shit!”

“Again, I did nothing in this scenario,” says Eddie. “I’m pretty sure this one specific thing is not my fault.”

“He asked me about our relationship,” says Steve. “He wanted gay advice.”

Eddie swallows down his first impulse, which is to demand to know whether Eddie’s advice isn’t good enough for Will all of a sudden. “Okay,” he says instead. “What did you tell him?”

“I don’t know! I quit giving Dustin advice on girls, like, years ago! By the time I was Will’s age, I was pretty busy fucking up the only serious relationship I ever had.”

“Sure, maybe, but you can’t think about age that way. It’s like…” Eddie tilts his head. “For a lot of us, there’s a—a late start, right? It’s like a whole different time scale, because we gotta figure ourselves out first. We don’t get the manual to all this shit, so we either waste our time chasing some kind of picket fence life that we don’t actually want, or we just make it up from scratch.”

“Right, cool, okay,” says Steve. “I didn’t say anything like that. I told him to keep his chin up. I—think I called him slugger.”

Eddie pats him on the shoulder sympathetically, definitely not feeling at all vindicated about the fact that he’s clearly winning at gay mentorship. “Could be worse. What did the littlest Byers say?”

“He’s taller than Jonathan now,” says Steve.

“So not the point, sweetheart.” Eddie rolls his eyes. “C’mon, how’d it go?”

“Shit, I don’t know.” Steve huffs out a breath and pushes his hand through his hair. “Not good, I don’t think. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing with that kid. He just wanted to know how I figured stuff out, and like—why I wouldn’t just go with girls.”

“Yeah, uh, on that note,” says Eddie. “Is this a new development? Like.”

He pauses, trying to figure out the exact right arrangement of words.

“Like…” he says, slowly. “I’m just wondering, you know, why it hasn’t come up before. I mean, you already know about me, everybody knows about me. Is it—”

Did you not want me to think—

Did you not want—

“Pretty new, I guess,” says Steve. He lies back, arms folded behind his head, taking up more than his fair share of Eddie’s bed. Eddie climbs over him and takes his usual place tucked up against the wall, keeping a careful distance.

Steve’s parents are leaving again tomorrow, so this might be the last time for a while. It’s not like they won’t be seeing each other all the time; at this point, they’re so tangled up in each other’s lives that it’s not so unusual for them to hang out every day for weeks without even trying.

But it might be the last time for a while that they lie here like this, in a shadowy space where the line between thoughts and words gets slippery enough to cross. Eddie tries real hard not to think of it as anything special; it’s just his stupid fucking heart running away with him, the way it always does.

“Okay,” says Eddie.

After a while, he says, “Goodnight.” Steve doesn’t answer.

———

“Eddie!” Robin hollers from across the store. “We’re enemies now!”

“Okay!” he yells back. “Why?”

“Why do you think, asshole!”

This is getting unsustainable, so Eddie wanders over to the counter where Robin’s cashing out.

“Is it because I’m giving you a ride home out of the goodness of my heart? Unconventional, but I respect that.”

She chucks a balled-up receipt at his head. “Steve, dumbass.”

“Whoa, whoa,” he says, ducking out of the way and holding up his hands like he’s trying to soothe a spooked horse. “I dunno what he told you, but I didn’t do anything to him.”

“Exactly,” snaps Robin.

“Robin,” he whines, switching tactics. “C’mon, don’t be pissed at me. You know you’re my favorite lesbian in the whole wide world. You’re the cheese in my burger, the fries in my shake. My wretched soul cannot bear the weight of your scorn.”

He can tell she’s still trying to be mad, but the corner of her mouth is twitching, so he drapes himself over the counter and wails, “Milady Robin! Say only that you can forgive my dark and unworthy deeds, whatever they may be, or I shall perish right here in this fine establishment.”

“You really don’t know what you did, huh,” she sighs. “God, you’re the worst.”

Eddie peeks up at her through his hair. “Planning to enlighten me any time soon? Or are we going straight to pistols at dawn?”

“We are going to be driving me home,” says Robin. “And we’re going through Taco Bell on the way. We’re still gonna be enemies, but you can purchase a temporary peace treaty for the low, low price of two chalupas and a large Sprite.”

———

“Hey, Harrington, why’s Robin mad at me?”

“Mad at—? Oh. Uh, I think she misunderstood some stuff.”

Eddie groans. “Is this about the fake dating thing again?”

Steve looks a little pained. “Maybe?”

“Byers needs to go his own way! Call it another—lonely day, or—you know what I mean. Buckley can’t take in every wounded baby bunny that stumbles across her path.”

“I don’t think that’s what’s happening.”

“Sure, okay. So, do I need to defend my honor by finding Will a boyfriend or something?” Eddie pauses. “I realize that sounds like an insane scheme, but consider this: it’s still better than Operation Happy Ending, so I’m standing by it.”

“Not cool, man,” calls Argyle from the floor. Eddie has a theory that Argyle likes lying down on the floor because he’s tall. It’s not a very well-developed theory.

“No, no, I’m fully on board with the name,” Eddie assures him. “Baller name. You hit it out of the park on that one, dude.”

“Righteous,” says Argyle. “Appreciate the support.”

“The idea still sucks,” says Eddie. “But that is one hundred percent the fault of Jonathan Byers, and you remain the utterly blameless light of my life.”

A sudden thought strikes him, and he sits up, dislodging Steve’s hand in his hair.

“Hang on, Steve—did you ever actually tell Will that we’re not dating?”

“What? Yeah, of course.” Steve frowns. “Uh, probably? Man, I don’t really remember.”

Eddie shoots him a squinty look, and Steve holds his hands up. “Dude, I don’t know! I wasn’t trying to lie to the kid, there was a lot going on. Don’t know why he didn’t go ask Argyle instead.”

“Oh, he totally did, my bro,” says Argyle. “I think he’s, like, doing the rounds. I just told him not to worry about a thing and let the Lady Fate lead the way. I dunno if he was ready to embrace the Lady, though. He didn't really seem to get it.”

“Fucking great.” Steve leans back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. “Between the three of us, maybe he’ll get some kind of actual goddamn life lesson or whatever.”

“Fuck you, I am an amazing Gandalf. I mean mentor,” says Eddie. "Wait, shit. Does that mean Byers has been getting most of his actual gay advice from me? Holy shit, we can't let that happen. I'm like—the worst possible future for that kid. Steve, you gotta go back and try again."

He smacks Steve's shoulder. "Go back and tell him some real stuff! And tell him we're not dating, or he'll think he has to settle for the first loser that threatens him with a broken bottle!"

"Wait, is that—you don't actually think that, do you?"

"I mean, I'd like to say nobody will ever threaten him with a broken bottle, but Lady Fate works in mysterious ways. And frankly, given his whole…" Eddie waves a diffident hand. "Penchant for sniffing out trouble like a bloodhound after a T-bone, he's definitely going to wind up on the wrong end of a bar fight at least once or twice."

He pauses. "Don't tell Jon I said that, he'll wig out."

"Okay, but like—you know you're not—a loser, right?"

Steve touches Eddie’s back, a warm brush of fingers, and Eddie shrugs uncomfortably. "Just a figure of speech, Harrington. Don't worry your pretty little head about my ego, I'm doing great."

"Hell yeah you are," says Argyle. "Great as Gandalf."

Eddie is like 90% sure Argyle doesn't actually know who Gandalf is, but he appreciates the gesture.

"Thanks, dude," he says, poking Argyle’s head with his foot affectionately. "You're a great Gandalf too. The most Gandalferous."

"Can everyone stop saying Gandalf please," says Steve, so obviously Eddie has to bellow "Gandalf Gandalf Gandalf" right in his ear until Steve puts him in a headlock.

It's a pretty good afternoon.

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Did someone want more goofy Steve, or was that just in my head? Either way! Hope you enjoy it!

Steve had been so serious when he first met him officially and not just what Eddie heard through the rumor mill. Of course, they had met when Eddie was framed by murder by an interdimensional deformed octopus monster, so of course, he was serious. He didn't think Steve could be so fucking goofy.

It was the first evening that he was hanging out with Steve and Robin since everything happened. Everyone was mostly healed, physically, at least. Steve had invited him over for dinner and a movie. He couldn't resist seeing him again. He was told to just walk in, so he did just that and walked all the way into the kitchen. Robin was sitting at the island while Steve was making dinner. The radio was playing softly in the background.

"Hey, Teddy," Steve said.

"It's Eddie," he said.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Steve replied with a goofy smile.

Eddie narrowed his eyes at Steve while Robin scoffed as she looked through a magazine. Suddenly, the song turned to a Bob Seger song: Old Time Rock & Roll. Robin groaned as Steve hollered. He turned off the stove, turned up the radio, and grabbed a wooden spoon. To Eddie's surprise, he hopped up on the island and started singing along.

"Would you watch the magazine?!" Robin yelled.

To Eddie's delight, he ignored Robin, causing her to move to the other side of the kitchen. He couldn't help but cheer for Steve with a wide grin on his face. Eddie pulled out his wallet and slipped a dollar into his belt as the song ended.

"For your good service, my liege," Eddie said.

"A dollar, Munson?" Steve scoffed as he pocketed the money. "I think my ass is worth more than a dollar."

Eddie held out his hand and helped Steve down from the table. Robin was hiding her face behind her magazine and muttering something that Eddie couldn't quite make out. The next time Eddie witnessed his goofiness was at a get-together at Steve's place with the party. It was Dustin who was eager to show him.

"Can we show Eddie our handshake?" Dustin asked eagerly.

"You two have a secret handshake?" Eddie asked, trying not to feel jealous.

Steve grinned and proceeded to show him. It was a spectacular goofy sight that ended with Steve being stabbed. There was fucking swordfighting. The thing that really amazed him was Steve’s goofy laugh. His mouth was wide open, and his eyes were closed as he laughed hard. He looked stupidly cute, and it made his heart beat faster. Once Dustin was pleased with his reaction, he left. Eddie pouted.

"I wish we had a special handshake," Eddie said.

"Oh, you do? Well, we can fix that," Steve said with a smirk.

He reached out and took his hand in his, holding it softly as he rubbed circles into his skin with his thumb. Eddie blushed.

"You're just holding my hand, man," Eddie replied.

"Oh, I am? How silly of me," Steve said and let go. "I'll stop."

Eddie was disappointed in himself as Steve walked out of the room. He did seem to enjoy the sight of Steve walking away from him. The next time they hung out, it was without anyone else. For some reason, Eddie was nervous about that. They were watching a movie and filling up on popcorn. Eddie was trying to focus on the movie and not let the fact that Steve was practically pressed up against him overwhelm his senses. Eddie yawned and stretched, his shirt raising up.

"Oh, that's cool," Steve said, looking at him.

"What?" Eddie asked.

Steve pressed his finger to the skin of his hip. Oh, yeah, he had forgotten about his new dragon tattoo. Eddie shivered against Steve’s touch and laughed.

"Oh, are you ticklish?" Steve asked.

"What? No!" Eddie scoffed. "Metalheads are not ticklish."

Steve grinned and pounced on him, his nails digging into his side. Eddie giggled as Steve’s hands inadvertently pushed his shirt up as they tickled him. Suddenly, Steve’s face was a lot closer to his.

"What was that about you not being ticklish?" Steve asked.

"Okay, okay, I'm ticklish," Eddie grinned.

"Hmm, knew it," Steve replied.

Their faces were even closer now, Steve’s hands were pressed against his skin. His whole body was tingling. Steve moved forward, and at the last second, Eddie turned his head. Steve’s kiss landed on his cheek. Eddie Munson wasn't like that. . . Or was he? Eddie cleared his throat, and Steve quickly climbed off of him.

"I'll go get you some water," Steve said.

Eddie sat up and watched Steve walk away. His shoulds were slumped in disappointment. Why did Eddie feel like an idiot? It wasn't his fault that he wasn't into men. They didn't hang out for a while after that, and it caused Eddie to miss him terribly. Weeks went by, and still Eddie hadn't heard from him. He decided to take charge and call him up to invite him to the Hideout to watch him play.

"You want me there?" Steve asked.

"Of course, I want you there," Eddie said. "And just come as you are. There's not a thing about you that I would change."

"Okay," Steve said. "I'll be there with bells on."

Eddie snorted with laughter. Of course, when Steve did show up to the Hideout that night, he really did come with a string of bells around his neck. Eddie nearly died laughing. He never played so hard for anyone in his life. He flashed Steve with a sweaty grin and started unloading the instruments into his van. He was out back when he heard Steve jingling behind him. He knew Steve was going to do something, but he didn't expect him to wrap his arms around his waist, pick him up, and spin him around. Eddie shrieked with laughter.

"You were great, man," Steve said once he set him down. "I'm going to see if Frank needs help."

Eddie watched him jingle off with a smile. When he turned around, Jeff and Gareth were standing right in front of him. He yelped.

"What?" Eddie asked.

"I didn't know you were dating Steve Harrington," Gareth said.

"I'm not dating Steve," Eddie said, scoffing. "And I like women."

"You know you can like both, right?" Jeff asked with narrowed eyes.

"Pardon?" Eddie asked.

"You can like men and women," Gareth said.

"It's called being bisexual," Jeff said.

"Oh," Eddie said as he thought about it, and suddenly everything fell into place. "Oh my God! I like Steve!"

"Yeah, we know," Gareth rolled his eyes.

"You knew?" Eddie asked.

"You were being fairly obvious," Jeff said.

"If you knew, why didn't you tell me?" Eddie asked.

"Because we thought you knew!" They said together.

Eddie stared at them, and they stared back expectantly.

"Well, are you going to do something about Steve?" Gareth asked.

"Oh, right!" Eddie exclaimed and took off.

He ran back into the bar where Frank told him that Steve was in the bathroom. He didn't even think about it before skidding into the bathroom. Lucky Steve was only washing his hands. Eddie made sure no one was in the bathroom before locking the door.

"What's going on, Eddie?" Steve asked.

"I just figured out something about myself, and I wanted to tell you," Eddie said excitedly. "I'm bisexual!"

"That's great, man. Thanks for telling me," Steve said.

"I should have realized that night when you tried to kiss me, but I was so stupid, and I'm sorry, but I know now that I like men, and that I like you. I like you, Steve," Eddie said and moved to kiss him.

"I have a boyfriend," Steve blurted out.

"Oh," Eddie said. "Of course. That makes sense. I waited too long. I'm going to go. Bye!"

"Wait, Eddie!" Steve exclaimed, but Eddie ran out the door and far away from him.

Eddie lay in bed later that night, feeling extremely sorry for himself. Of course, he would miss his only chance. That was just the kind of luck he had. He sniffled as he buried his face into his pillow. It was stupid. It's completely stupid. He ignored the knock at the front door. It was probably just someone coming to mess with him. The front door opened and closed. Footsteps sounded down the hallway, and Eddie tensed up. The bedroom door was pushed open, and Steve entered. Eddie quickly turned away from him to hide his tears. Steve pounced onto the bed next to him but Eddie still refused to look at him.

"I broke up with him," Steve said.

"You didn't have to do that," Eddie said.

"No, but I did. We both knew going in that it wasn't serious and that we were both trying to get over someone," Steve said. "I still wasn't over you. I was going to tell you that and that before anything could happen with us that I needed to end it with him, but then you ran off."

"Shit, I keep fucking things up, don't I?" Eddie asked turning around.

"Oh, baby," Steve said, cupping his face and wiping away his tears. "That's not true at all. Let's get you to the bathroom and get you cleaned up."

Steve pulled Eddie out of bed and dragged him into his bathroom. He cleaned the snot first and then used a wet rag to wipe his face clean. Eddie sighed as he did it. Steve dropped the rag and placed a kiss on his cheek. Eddie turned his cheek and kissed his lips. Steve sighed against his mouth, placing his hands on his hips. Steve grinned as he used his fingers to tickle Eddie's sides. Eddie laughed against his mouth and pulled away.

"Steve!" Eddie exclaimed.

"Sorry, couldn't resist," Steve said, flashing him a cheeky grin.

"You dork!" Eddie exclaimed.

"Yeah, but I'm your dork," Steve grinned.

Eddie laughed and wrapped his arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Steve Harrington was an absolute dork, and he was all Eddie's.

[veemunson86]

It's okay to run sometimes

Love of my life (chapter 2)

Pt. 1

This one is just straight up sad angst. I have the first few chapters on my wattpad and will have most of them transfered here today!

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

It's been 3 days since Eddie's death, and everyone was hurting. With everything that happened in Hawkins, nobody was doing okay. Morning sickness had been horrible, and it was hard without him by your side to help you.

Dustin hadn't left your side since you went home. You were currently spilling out whatever you had eaten that morning, in the toilet.  Dustin held your hair back and rubbed your back "want some water or anything??" He asked." Yeah that would be great?" Your voice sounded hoarse from the endless crying over the last 3 days.

Dustin walked in with a glass of water and sat next to you. He had been so strong, it was all too much and he finally broke. Tears spilled from his eyes, running down his cheeks in a heavy stream.

"Why did he Have to go back? We had a plan!" He cried out in frustration. "This should he him here with you right now. Why didn't he just run?! " He asked through the tears. You hugged him and rested your head on his arm ." I don't know kid.. I don't know.." you cried softly.

The day of Eddie's memorial was the hardest yet. You had been in the same clothes, curled up in bed, or on the couch for about a week now. You brought yourself to shower and get ready. You wore a knee length black dress, and wore your hair up in a ponytail. Everyone he was close with agreed to hold it at skull rock, one of his favorite places to be. Everyone was told he was hurt during the earthquake, only the group of you knew what really happened.

Everyone sat and spoke of their favorite memories with Eddie, and you knew it was time to make the speech they asked you to prepare.

His uncle looked at you with a reassuring smile.

You stood up and cleared your throat ." Hi uhm.. hi everyone, and thank you all so much for coming. Eddie munson was.. he.. Eddie munson was a very special person to anyone who got to truly know him. He could light up a room with his smile. Everyone knew that. And I hope our child gets that from him, that smile, his ability to see the good in every situation.

Most people say, If you could have one more moment with the person you love, they would say everything they didn't have a chance to. But for me.. I would tell him.. it's okay to run away sometimes..it's okay to be afraid. You don't always have to be strong. Everyone has a breaking point. You don't always have to be the person everyone sees you as. Eddie was just a few weeks shy of being 21. Eddie would be a father, the best father, and it breaks my heart-" you sobbed and covered your mouth. " it breaks My heart that our child will never have a chance to meet their amazing father. They would have been absolutely spoiled. Eddie always talked about having a family, far away from Hawkins, and I wanted that for us. But life got in the way of that dream." His uncle hugged you tightly, and you sobbed softly into his shoulder.

'So Eddie.. baby if you can hear this, I love you. We all love you so so much." You excused yourself and quickly went out to your car and just let out all of the built up emotion. You looked down at the ring he gave you that day, and closed your eyes, thinking about what your lives would have been like with this baby.

* holding her for the first time*

Eddie had tears in his eyes as he held his perfect baby girl in his arms. "Oh my god she's so tiny." He chuckled through the tears. He placed a kiss on her head and rocked her "hi babygirl.. I'm your daddy. And that beautiful woman right there is your mommy. We love you so so much."

* coming home*

"Okay sweetheart, here we are. Home." He smiled over at you as you held your newborn daughter in your arms. "This is where you will grow up. Where you'll make messes, and probably break alot of stuff, but that's okay. " he picked her up and walked around the house with her. He walked to the kitchen. "This is where we will have our breakfast and dinner together, and where your mommy will burn most of it." He whispered ." Hey!" You giggled" I'm not that bad of a cook." You giggled. He chuckled and held her" that's what she's thinks." He whispered and held her.

He then walked to her nursery. "This is your room . This is where you will get to play with your toys, and where I will play guitar for you every night to get you to sleep." He smiled and walked around the room before walking to your shared bedroom. "This is a very very special room. This is the room where me and mommy will give you another sibling one day." He said cheekily" Eddie oh My god! " you laughed "what? She's a baby, she won't remember." He chuckled and held her. "This is also where you can come and sleep with mommy and daddy when you get bad dreams. We will have a spot right here for you in the middle, where we can protect you against everything."

*first words and steps*

"Come to daddy babygirl, come on you're so close." He said encouragingly at his year 4 month old daughter. She had learned to stand, but not yet walk. It was definitely a work in progress. He kissed her head "oh well, maybe next time baby" he said as she fell flat on her butt yet again, getting frustrated with herself. You walked in the door from work with a smile as you saw your two favorite people. "Hey babe, how was work?" He asked, walking over and kissing you softly. You kiss back and smiled, gasping when you saw your daughter.

She was up and slowly making her first steps to where Eddie stood. "D-daaada!" She squealed.  Eddie teared up and picked her up in his arms, kissing her cheek. "That's right sweetheart, it's daddy" he kissed her head and held her close.

You were pulled from your thoughts by Steve and Dustin getting in your car since you were their ride. This was gonna be hard.

Tags:

[bvtbxtch]

Jack O'Lantern Kiss | Eddie Munson

Day One of Kinktober

Summary: Carving pumpkins with your best friend Eddie leads to confessions you may or may not have always wanted to hear.

Pairings: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader, brief mention of Eddie Munson x Chrissy Cunningham

wc: ~2k

Content Warnings: fluffy fluff fluff, unrequited love, allusions to smut, hickies. This story takes place in an au where the upside down is not a thing. Although this is a pretty tame story, my blog is 18+ so Minors DNI.

A special thank you to my love and collab partner @darknesseddiem. I am so thankful to know you. Here's to an amazing October!

It was your favorite time of the year. The unforgiving Hawkins summer had ended its assault and the fiery leaves crunch underneath your boots and you can finally have an excuse to curl up with your favorite metalhead and read books all day. You had been best friends with Eddie Munson since 10th grade math (when he was in 11th grade) where you helped him figure out how to find x in beginner algebra equations. You immediately fell head over heels for him, but when he began dating Chrissy Cunningham, you learned how to stoke the fire in your heart to embers. Eddie and you continued to get closer throughout high school. Chrissy never made a fuss and you felt like a constant plus one in their little universe. Eddie was the first one to give you a swooping hug after walking the stage (about 20 minutes after he did). You both had dreams to leave sleepy Hawkins and find yourselves in some big city where you could cheer each other on from your shared apartment. You never imagined Eddie not being in your life; you knew he was your soulmate. It wasn’t until this past August that you considered it might be as more than friends.

-

Eddie called you at 3 in the morning on August 12th. You jolted up, body dusted in a light sheen of sweat from the near 30 degree night. You reached for the receiver and held it to your ear with a groggy hello. You were met with a small sniffle. You knew it was your Eddie. 

“Ed? What’s wrong?” You immediately were shaken from your sleepy daze.

“She… she-” Eddie cut himself off with a pitiful sob. You let out a long sigh and hung up the phone with a soft ‘I’ll be right there, Eddie’. 

The drive to Forest Hills Trailer Park was usually 15 minutes. You were there in 5. You had never heard Eddie cry before, and never expected to hear him cry that hard. You spent the night petting his head and hearing him weep into your body. Three years he had spent loving Chrissy Cunningam, when she had fallen out of love with him a while ago (if she had ever truly loved him at all). 

Since that night, you and Eddie had been inseparable - the impossibly close bond getting closer. You barely knew what your own bedroom looked like as you were almost constantly sleeping at Eddie’s trailer, him being too upset to sleep alone. You watched movies, went to hellfire ‘alumni’ meetings (Eddie called them that but you knew it was just a way for him to make sure that Mike and Dustin were running the club properly), and watched any and all Corroded Coffin gigs you could get to. Hugs became more frequent and Eddie would use any excuse to hold your hand. He was touch starved, and you could tell he was taking this out on you. But why would he not, you were his best friend, and even though you knew that’s where your relationship drew a line, you liked melting into Eddie’s arms or smiling at his forehead kisses. 

-

October brought more scary movies and smoke sessions around the bonfire in Steve Harrington’s backyard. As the month wrapped up, like the weather, Eddie got colder. You knew that Halloween was going to be the first holiday without Chrissy and he was feeling it. You still grabbed his hand and gave him small smiles, but you often got glassy brown puppy dog eyes matched with a small smile. You wanted to take this pain away for him and had just the idea. 

You fiddled with the old lock on Eddie’s trailer door, fumbling the grocery bag in your hands and careful not to step on the two bright orange pumpkins that stand on the concrete steps. You knew you had minimal time to prepare this surprise until Eddie was back from the body shop. You wiggle the knob one more time before it gives and you spill inside the homey space. You drop the bag on the kitchen counter and hastily grab the pumpkins from the step. 15 minutes later, you had flyers sprawled across the counter, the pumpkins sitting neatly on them, adorned with different carving tools and sharpies around them. In small bowls on the stove, Eddie’s favorite snacks: cheese balls, M&Ms, skittles and a bag of cool ranch Doritos. You startle at the door slamming open and stomps of Eddie's feet on the linoleum. You get up from the couch and greet him at the door.

“Hey sweetheart… what’s this??” Eddie’s frown turns upwards when he lays his eyes on your set up in his kitchen. He wraps you in a tight hug.

“Just something that I thought would cheer you up” you muffle your words into his chest. You look up at his chocolate eyes. “I know Halloween is your favorite, so thought we could start the festivities.” His eyes glass over, tears threatening to spill. “No, no Eddie, please don’t cry” You reach your hands up to cup his face. 

“No, sweetheart. These are good tears. Thank you for thinking of me.” He grabs your wrists to lower your hands and he kisses you on the cheek. “I’m gonna go change out of these dirty coveralls and then we can get this party started” The boy’s lopsided smile returned before he pushed away from you and trotted down the small hallway to his room. You made your way back into the kitchen, leaning against the counter with a dumbstruck smile on your face and butterflies threatening to erupt in your stomach. Your cheek burned where Eddie had kissed you and you raised your hand to trace over the spot. You wanted this feeling to last forever. You are pulled out of your trance when Eddie meets you in the kitchen, his hands trapping you against the counter. You smile up at the boy and your heart takes a tumble. Eddie had put his hair back in a low bun and you thought you were going to pass out from how good he looked, how close he was. His lips look so plump and his cheeks a perfect blush to give his alabaster skin some color. Your best friend was perfect. You smile back up at him.

“Well, since you set all of this up, the least I can do is make us some hot chocolate.” The boy quips. When you nod and smile in agreement, he grabs your hips and sits you up on the counter. You watch him in content while he putters around his kitchen. He passes you your favorite tomato soup mug full of steaming hot chocolate. He sips at his mug, eyes never leaving yours. You could feel tension growing so thick it could be cut with a knife - but what kind of tension? You were unsure. 

-

You spent the next two hours throwing pumpkin seeds at each other across the kitchen while Eddie’s new Black Sabbath cassette played in the background. Two faces full of shy adoration and a room full of giggles. You finally turned your pumpkin towards Eddie to show him your final design - a simple outline of a black cat and a bat stares back at Eddie. Eddie reveals his own pumpkin to show two skeletons holding hands. 

“Well that doesn’t look like a scary pumpkin at all” you tease. Eddie throws a handful of skittles at you. Both of you Erupt into a fit of giggles as you both grab handfuls of snacks that you can find and toss them at each other. Eddie lunges at you in an attempt to halt the food war. His hands wrap tightly around your waist and your laughter gets caught in your throat. Your smile falls as the tension finally feels like it is going to snap. You can see Eddie studying your eyes for any sort of discomfort. Although he finds some hesitation, he knows you feel safe - that you want him to be there with you. It’s the most devotion he has honestly felt in almost a year. Chrissy never looked at him the way you do; but if he was being honest with himself, he didn’t look at Chrissy the way he looks at you either. His eyes flicker to your lips as he licks his.

“Eddie,” you whisper. You feel as if all of the air around you has become thick, unable to breathe it in. The curly haired boy inches his face closer to yours, foreheads resting on each other. His breath fans lightly at your face and you can tell Eddie is feeling the same way as you. You nudge your nose against his as a silent plea for him to come closer. He obliges and presses his lips softly to yours. 

You felt electricity jolt down your spine, goosebumps riddled your body. This is what you have wanted for longer than you would like to admit. Eddie’s hands migrate up your back to cradle your face. His long fingers find purchase in your hair while his thumbs rub circles onto your cheeks. You pull yourself away to look at the boy.

“Eddie… please don’t do this because you miss her…” you whimpered. You couldn’t handle this being a one and done situation. You had gotten a taste of what it would be like to have Eddie as yours and you would rather die than give that up now. 

“Sweetheart… I… I have been so stupid. I should have broken up with Chrissy long before she broke up with me…” Your eyes search Eddie’s and all you can feel is warmth. He’s telling the truth.

“Eddie, why??”

“Because I’m in love with you… and I have been for a while” Eddie lets out a chuckle while tears threaten to spill over his lashes again. Your heart felt like it was going to burst out of your chest and you couldn’t help the ear splitting grin growing on your face. “I thought that being with Chrissy was supposed to be… right. But it way you all along. I tried to forget my feelings for you because I fooled myself into thinking that I was in love with her… But these past few months…” Eddie trailed as he studies every detail of your face; waiting for you to tell him to fuck off, or to push him away, but you keep him pleasantly waiting.

“I’ve been in love with you for a long time, Eddie. I just tried to push it down, I wanted you to be happy” 

You barely have time to finish your sentence and Eddie’s lips are back on yours. His move in sync with yours like you were made for each other. You lift your chin up to grant Eddie access to deepen the kiss. His tongue swipes over your bottom lip and you let out a content moan as his tongue enters your mouth. He pushes you backwards so you are again trapped between his body and the counter, pushing you up to resume your previous position. Eddie moves his kisses to the side of your mouth, then trails them down your jawbone to the pulsepoint behind your ear. He can feel your breath hitch when he sucks down to form a beautiful indigo bruise on your neck. He can’t help but smile against your body. He wants to devour you whole, leave you nothing but a gasping mess underneath him. His hands run up your sides, desperate to feel more of you. You break the kiss to help Eddie discard your shirt. His hands were magnetic - they now needed to be a permanent fixture on your body. His eyes fixed on your skin with such adoration your head spun. your own hands track up his torso to his neck to pull him back into you. As your lips reconnect, Eddie’s hands move south to the tops of your thighs. His hands find purchase at the apex of your hips and he feels you shudder against his mouth. The anticipation of feeling him where you want him the most was killing you. But Eddie pulls away from you suddenly, his eyes lower and he grabs for your shirt that had been discarded on the floor haphazardly.

Your brows furrow in confusion while you search his face for hesitation. Your heart begins to beat wildly… Was this just a joke? A heat of the moment type deal? You could feel beads of salty tears dot your waterline. 

“Eddie… Did I do something wrong?” Eddie looked at you with golden eyes full of passion. He wriggles your T-shirt over your head and holds your cheek in his hand.

“No, but I did something wrong. I don’t want this to feel like just a stupid hook up. I want to do this right because you deserve it. I love you, doll, and I want you to be my girl. I want to take you on dates and buy you flowers. I want to make you laugh and dress up nice for you because you deserve it.” You can feel your smile growing wickedly across your face.

“Okay, Eddie. I like the sound of that” you giggle.

“So what do you say? Wanna be my girl and make this official so we can take this to the bedroom?”

“Eddie… I thought you’d never ask.”

Taglist: @kirstinjayjay @ali-r3n @eddies-acousticguitar @sluggzillaa @hideoutside @tlclick73 @brinleighsstuff @poofyloofy @aol19 @filth-fiction-archive @anxiousobserver @vintagehellfire @mmunson86 @sadbitchfangirl @emma77645

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[augustjustice]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers! Spread the self-love 💞

Thank you so much for this, buddy! 💕Such a sweet, fun ask.

you wanna feel how it feels (let's exchange the experience)

This is my latest baby the Steddie bodyswap fic, and even though it's far from finished, it's really a situation where I've let myself just indulge in what in my heart of hearts I really wanted to write, which is always a great time.

Living Dead Boy

Also recent, this one got pretty experimental for me, as it's more of a sort of horror second person prose poem from Steve's point of view. I enjoyed getting to explore some of the tropes and meta narrative's here, and was glad it came together as well as it did, as I really wasn't certain I would be able to pull it off at first!

Got You By My Side

This is very quintessential 'Steve takes care of Eddie and also sort of asks him out in the hospital after the bats' fic and is canon to me lol. I always like writing kind of semi-canon adjacent stuff, and I thought I was able to tap into the boys' voices and banter pretty well here.

Got Your Mother in a Whirl (She's Not Sure If You're a Boy or a Girl)

This is the first Stranger Things fic I ever started writing, way back in Season 2! I didn't end up picking it back up until Season 4 started, but I remain pretty proud of how it turned out. No romance in this one beyond implied hints, this fic is very much just a story of Stevie exploring his gender identity as someone who is genderfluid, and then eventually she comes out to Dustin who is able to offer lots of support and brotherly love. This fic began long before I realized I had some complex gender feelingsTM myself, so it holds a special place in my heart. I also really got to emphasize one of my favorite aspects of Stranger Things in it as well--close friendships, particularly the one between Steve and Dustin.

The Rules of Engagement

This fic is from my Nygmobblepot days, and I played around with things I often don't in fic here, like established relationship. I really enjoyed writing these characters as middle aged in a post-canon future, and with this one I felt like I did a nice job of balancing sentimentality and fluff alongside the more vitriolic aspects of these characters' temperaments. Ultimately, I think of this one as a love story about two people choosing to be together and make it work despite their flaws, and there's not much that's more romantic than that it my eyes.

[corrodedseraphine]

wherever I am | one shot

pairing: eddie munson x fem!reader

based on my second (!!!) request from @phantypurple, thank you dear, I hope you won't be dissappointed! this time insead a long story I present you some short scenes, hope that's okay

request: Eddie x reader. They haven't met yet, but they keep bumping into eachother constantly by luck. (Going to grocery shopping and she is there, going to the music store and he is there, etc) and they both feel really attracted to the other but they don't interact until CC just forces them cause they can't stand the pinning anymore and then it's cute and fluff.

3 002 words

The one shot is also avaliable on ao3

eddie munson masterlist | general masterlist

1990

The first thing Eddie did as soon as he fully recovered was to become employed in the mechanic's shop of one of Hopper's friends. After a few years of hard work, Eddie was appreciated, because when Mr. Smith retired it was Young Munson who became the new owner of the place. Thanks to this, you were able to afford to buy an apartment together. When everything was ready you organized a housewarming party, thus together with those closest to you you were now sitting in the large living room celebrating the new beginning of your future together.

"I'd like to ask for everyone's attention!" Eddie exclaimed, standing in the middle of the room. At the sound of these words, Dustin quickly ran to another room and returned from it with a huge cardboard box wrapped in gift paper, which he handed to Eddie. "This is a small gift, for our beautiful new start, dear." he said, placing the box in your lap. It was suspiciously light.

"What is it?" you asked curiously.

"Unpack it and you'll find out." he showed his boyish smile.

So you started unpacking. In the large cardboard box was...a smaller one. In the smaller one was an even smaller carton, and so on endlessly. With amusement you unpacked step by step, until finally you reached the smallest item. The item at the sight of which took your breath away and the laughter and conversation throughout the living room quieted. Almost no one expected something like this.  Your hands were shaking as you opened the small velvet box that contained the ring. You didn't even notice when Eddie got down on one knee in front of you, watching your reaction carefully. He slowly took it from you and began to speak.

"As I said...this is our new beginning together. I have always known that you are special. Something has always been drawing us to each other, I don't know what it was but I'm damn grateful for every moment that fate put you in my path. Without hesitation you followed me to hell. You never left my side, and I hope you know that I would have done the same for you." His voice was slowly breaking, and tears were flowing from his eyes however, he was still smiling. "I love you. I love you more than anything in my life, and I want you to always remember that. I don't know what the future holds for us, but I know that together we can handle anything. The last few years have shown me that a trip to Mordor will be like a damn trip to Disneyland for us." he laughed. "Together we are unbreakable. So now, in the presence of our family I want to ask, will you make me the happiest man in the world and become my wife?"

"Yes!" the world around you was spinning. Your heart was beating so loudly that it drowned out the applause of the rest. Seconds later you were kneeling on the floor next to him as he gently slid the ring onto your finger.

"I love you Eddie. I love you so damn much," you hugged him and cried into the bend of his neck repeating those words again and again.

"I love you too, sweetheart. I always will." he muttered into your hair embracing you and stroking your back.  When you separated from each other it was time for congratulations. Everyone hugged you in turn telling you how happy they were with your happiness. Wayne also couldn't hold back tears when he said he welcomed you to the family.

"Does that mean I'm going to be your best man?" asked an excited Dustin.

"And why should it be you?" asked Mike.

"Yeah! I was the one who helped packing the ring!" interjected Lucas.

"But I was the one who came up with the idea to pack it like that!" exclaimed Dustin.

"You seem to forget that it was me and Steve who helped him pick the ring." added Will high-fiving Steve.

"That's enough of this pointless argument, gentlemen!" suddenly Gareth got up from his seat and walked over to Eddie putting his arm around him. "Everyone knows that if anyone is to be best man it will be me," he said.

"And why is that?" Dustin was shocked.

"Because if it weren't for me, the thing between them would never have happened." he smirked

"What is he talking about?" you asked curiously.

"Dude, for real? Now?" Eddie groaned.

"Time to face the truth my friend." Jeff added with a laugh.

"Honey, before I say anything I would like to remind you that the offer was accepted by you, you were aware of your actions and returns are not accepted." He said looking and kissed you wanting to soften your heart. "Sit down. It's story time." He sighed.

January 1986

Mondays were never one of Eddie's favorite days, but the delivery of supplies at the music store always made them bearable.

"Hi Dave!" he shouted toward the owner as he walked inside, letting in the cold air behind him.

"Shut the damn door boy!" the man replied. Dave was a good friend of Wayne's. One of very few. This friendship did not bother Eddie one bit, on the contrary. A friendly discount on all new tapes was something awesome for him.

"Oh, yes, shit, sorry."

"You're earlier today." he said pulling out a big box from under the counter, at the sight of which Eddie's eyes lit up.

"I couldn't miss it!" The boy immediately dived into it, looking intently at the small plastic packages.

"You know the deal. You're the first person to look through them, but you put them all nicely in their place."

"Sure thing." Eddie smiled broadly and at a slow speed began unpacking the contents of the carton and laying everything out in its proper places. Fully absorbed in his task, he paid no attention to what was going on around him, so he flinched slightly when he felt someone tapping him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, sir." He turned quickly toward your voice. When he saw you he stopped moving. You looked really beautiful, your nose and cheeks red from the cold added to your charm. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but I'm looking for the store manager." You said trying to mask your stress and sound in control and professional. His attention, however, did not escape the slight tremor of your words and your slightly too fast breathing. He noticed something about you that didn't allow him to simply look away. You must have been new in town, because he was sure you would have definitely attracted his attention before. Besides, he didn't think anyone had ever addressed to him as Sir. Hardly anyone called him by his first name let alone this.

"Are you looking for him because...?" he asked grinning as a plan popped into his head.

"I saw a sign in the window saying you were looking for employees. I just moved to Hawkins and I am interested in a job offer. Here's my resume." You said holding out a piece of paper in front of you.

"This is your lucky day! You're talking to a manager himself!" he said enthusiastically, smiling wider.

"Not true!" Dave's voice came to you as Eddie reached out to take the resume from your hands. Seeing the other man's reaction, you stepped back confused. "This punk doesn't even work here." he continued. Eddie just rolled his eyes and went back to his previous activity, trying to hear what you were talking about. For some reason, he wasn't able to focus on the music anymore, and his gaze wandered to the small wooden table where you and Dave were sitting. He suspected that he would be here much more often from now on. 

A few days later, Eddie and Wayne went out shopping. In the parking lot in front of the store, he noticed a rather familiar figure. Maybe not exactly familiar, but certainly the one he had thought about very often since meeting her at the music store. With a bag slung over your shoulder, you quickly entered the store, and they followed your footsteps. Still looking around between the shelves, Eddie couldn't focus on what his uncle was saying. Finally somewhere in the chemistry aisle he spotted you and stopped to observe what you were doing.

"Are you even listening to me son?" asked an irritated Wayne when Eddie, stopping, bumped into him. "What the hell are you looking at?" followed his nephew's gaze. You stubbornly tried to reach the laundry detergent from the top shelf by jumping up.

Unfortunately, it had no effect. Resigned, you put one foot on the lowest shelf. "Go help the girl before she knocks over the whole thing on herself, not stare!"  With a quick step, he moved towards you, seeing the rack slowly starting to wobble. "Hey, let me help you." He said quickly standing next to you and reaching for the detergent. He was close enough that he could easily smell your perfume, not at all surprised that he liked it.

"Thank you, Eddie." you said, smiling shyly.

"Wait-do you know my name?" he asked shocked.

"I've heard a little about you," you said.

"I'm betting that the things you heard were not among the best..." he rolled his eyes.

"Just because I heard them doesn't mean I believe them." You shrugged your shoulders. "Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome, help you with anything else?" he didn't know what but something inside didn't want to let you go at any cost.

"I think I can handle it. Have a good day, Eddie!" you said goodbye and, together with your purchases, you moved ahead.

To young Munson slowly began to get the meaning of your words. You had heard about him. People probably started warning you about the local freak the very first day your foot stepped on Hawkins land. But you didn't care. He still had a chance. But a chance for what actually? He didn't know himself.

"She looks nice." Wayne's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, she does." he whispered still not taking his eyes off you.

"What's her name?"

"Oh, shit..."

You were everywhere. He had to let someone go across the crosswalk? It was you. The girl who accidentally bumped into him while walking in the woods when he was going to his regular selling spot? Of course it was you. He no longer counted the number of times you stood behind each other in line at the store or passed each other on the street. Wherever he was, you were there, too. For the moment, he was able to recognize you in the biggest crowd. Even without seeing you yet, he felt your presence, felt this strange attraction and a moment later he always found a face he couldn't stop thinking about. Still, he did not know your name. Of course, he thought about it many times. He applied all sorts of names to you, wondering which one fit best, hoping that one day he would finally not have to make them up.

"Hey, loverboy!" Gareth threw a drumstick at him.

"What?" he asked, shaking it off.

"Thinking about the mysterious stranger again?" laughed Jeff. "Shut up," he muttered.

"For five minutes we've been talking to you about a new song and you're somewhere else! We'll never get beyond the Hideout with this attitude."

"Stop being dramatic and play!" Eddie growled while grabbing his guitar. The rest immediately returned to their instruments harmonizing with the guitar. Before the song was over something else caught his attention. Suddenly, a jacket in a color he knew well appeared on the porch of the house across the street. He squinted his eyes wanting to take a closer look when you turned. Your gaze immediately met his. You smiled broadly while waving in his direction, and he immediately stopped playing to wave you back.

"Who the hell are you waving at?" asked Gareth, annoyed by the sudden pause.

"And you're smiling so stupidly." Simon added.

"That's her..." Eddie said quietly still smiling. He watched as you got into the car and slowly drove off from under the house.

"You have a crush on Mrs. Hunson's granddaughter?" Mrs. Hunson was the owner of the house across the street and the only person in the neighborhood who tolerated the band's rehearsals in Gareth's garage. Maybe it was because her husband was a big metal fan, or maybe because she was deaf in one ear and the noise didn't bother her that much.

"Do you... uh- Do you know what her name is?" he asked scratching the back of his neck.

"Dude! You've been drooling over her for over a month now and you don't even know her name?" the situation was hilarious to the rest of the band.

"Why don't you be a good friend and finally tell me?" Munson bit back.

"And just so you know, I'll help you! But not like this." A sinister smile crept onto Emerson's face.

"And what way?"

"You'll find out in your own time. Now play!" 

The crowd at the Hideout was not the largest, as always. That's why when he noticed you sitting alone at one of the tables surprise and excitement mixed into one. This had to be a sign. Since you even found yourself here and sat there watching him with a smile on your lips it had to mean something. Fate had put you on your path too many times to just leave it at that. For the first time in his life, he couldn't wait to get off the stage. Unfortunately, there were still a few songs ahead of them. Feeling a surge of positive energy, he began to pull out all his aces from his sleeve. The sight of you giggling fueled him even more, he showed off as much as he could when the performance finally came to an end. Applauding loudly you got up from the table walking towards him. He didn't know if his heart was beating so hard from fatigue or because of you.

"Hi," you greeted.

"Hi!" he replied enthusiastically.

"You were great!"

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." there was a moment of awkward silence between the two of you as you stood like that and looked at each other.

"And uh... I got your note," you said reaching into your pocket.

"My note?" he asked puzzled.

"Yes, the one you left in the letterbox?" seeing his surprise you looked even more confused than he was. Eddie quickly took the paper from your hand and opened it. 

I have a strange feeling that wherever I am you are there too, just as if fate  wanted to tell us something. How about the first non-accidental meeting?  The Hideout. 8pm on Tuesday. - Eddie

Oh shit. Shitshitshitshit. So that was Gareth's great plan to help him. To trick him and bring you here. But you didn't know that. And since you came here it meant that you wanted to meet him. That you wanted to get to know him better. Missing such an opportunity would be a sin, wouldn't it? He took a deep breath.

"I'm glad you came." he said handing you back the card. "Would you like a drink?"

"With pleasure."

"So... first question. What's your name?" he asked smiling shyly as you sat down.

"Oh, right." You laughed and introduced yourself.

Very quickly you found a common language. Eddie told you a little more about the band, you told what brought you to Hawkins. The fact that you had to stay here for the next few years made him very happy. It meant a great amount of time to get to know each other better. And that's exactly what happened. From that day on, with each date you discovered something new about each other, more reasons that made you both begin to understand why fate pushed you in each other's direction. Every moment you spent together seemed appropriate. It is known that there were ups and downs, but you always coped with it. Your friendship quickly turned into a relationship that exploded into the truest love. You were made for each other, written in the stars. You were inseparable, and your love became unbreakable. 

"Wait, what?!" you exclaimed. "You want to tell me that the note I've always carried with me in my wallet from is from Gareth? Are you kidding me?"

"Hey, you're being mean!" Emerson indignantly replied. "After all, it worked! You couldn't stop admiring that gesture for years!"

"Because I thought Eddie did it!" you were shocked. How did he manage to keep it a secret all these years?

"It's a good thing Gareth didn't have to propose for him too." Robin said amused by the situation, causing the rest to laugh.

"No one else has the right to propose to her!" exclaimed Eddie coming up to you. "'Baby are you mad at me? I beg you not to be." he put his hands on your shoulders watching your reaction. "I had to lie then, because I was afraid it would be a one-in-a-million chance to keep you with me."

"Why didn't you tell for all these years?" you asked.

"I have no idea. I'm really sorry. But I want to remind you that for real I don't take returns." He kissed you on the forehead. "You are grounded with me. Forever now." he added trying to fake a tone of voice like a villain.

"You are impossible." You sighed hugging him. If you had found out in a different situation maybe you would have actually been a little angry. However, today you were able to forgive him a lot. Thinking about how interesting the rest of your life would be by his side, you couldn't stop smiling. Your silly boy. Your hero. Your Eddie. And soon - your husband.

taglist: @i-me-mine

[chrisbitchtree]

It may be my birthday, but I have a little gift for you all instead! Enjoy!

***

Billy knows that Steve’s love for him is unconditional, just like his love for Steve is. He also knows that Steve doesn’t need big shiny tokens of Billy’s affection to feel that love.

He likes simple things. Home cooked dinners, massages, Billy’s hand knitted scarves for Christmas every year, all carefully tucked away in their own special drawer when not in use.

That never stops Billy from trying to do the most possible every year for Steve’s birthday. Take, for example, Steve’s 21st, the last birthday before they moved out of Hawkins, heading west, when Billy planned a massive scavenger hunt that took Steve to all their special places, or his 25th, when Billy had convinced him he’d tone down the birthday plans for once, only to have Robin and Dustin fly in from New York, where they were both going to school at the time, for the occasion. They’d went to a Dodgers game, then to dinner and a karaoke bar, and had the time of their lives.

This year, Billy was planning to bigger than ever, literally, with a chocolate cake comprised of ten small tiers. Three months ago, Billy had bought a ring, planning to ask Steve a question on his 30th birthday that he should have asked him long ago. They’ve talked about taking the next step together plenty of times, but it’s just never happened, so Billy’s taking his chance now.

The plan is to construct such a ridiculous cake that Steve’ll think that’s the big surprise, and he’ll never see the proposal coming. The idea to put the ring in the cake comes later, when Billy thinks of his childhood birthdays, his mom baking coins into the cake for him to find.

What’s stopping him from wrapping the ring in tinfoil and baking it into the top tier? It turns out nothing is, so he does it, proud of his genius when all the layers come out perfectly. You’d never be able to tell that there was an engagement ring in one of them.

That becomes a problem when Billy loses track of which layer has the ring in it. He’s sure it’s the one cooling next to the sink, but it could also be the one cooling on the table, or one of the ones on the coffee table.

He finally decides it has to be the one next to the stove. It has to be. He’s sure of it after lifting them all, trying to detect the little bit of added weight.

He frosts the cake, pleased with how perfectly straight it is, then he showers and gets dressed. Steve unfortunately works on his birthday this year, so Billy picks him up and they head to the restaurant from there.

He tries to act normal through dinner, but his palms are sweating and his heart is beating fast from a combination of nerves about proposing and fear that the ring isn’t in the top layer.

Thankfully Steve doesn’t seem to notice, focusing instead on the delicious mashed potatoes and the couple at the next table who may or may not be breaking up right in front of them. It’s a welcome distraction.

They get home, refrigerating the leftovers, and Billy pulls out the cake. Steve oohs and ahhs at the height of it before blowing out the candles and giving Billy a kiss of thanks.

Billy serves Steve the topmost layer and himself the one below and waits. And waits some more. Waits until Steve finishes the whole small layer.

Either Steve’s playing it really cool right now or Billy’s royally fucked things up. He looks at Steve’s empty plate, then at the remaining eight layers.

Before he can think of what to do, Steve speaks, taking Billy’s hand in his own. “Thank you so much, babe. I know every year I tell you not to do anything big and every year you don’t listen, and I should know that by now, but you somehow still manage to surprise me. You’re the best partner that a man could ever ask for.”

Oh god, Steve’s now slipping down onto the floor on one knee, still holding onto Billy’s hand.

“You’re kind, funny, compassionate, and incredibly thoughtful. We’ve been to hell and back and I’m so glad we’ve been through each other’s sides by all of it. I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else.”

Now he’s reaching into his pocket. Oh no, this couldn’t be going any worse. But it also couldn’t be going any better. Steve wants to marry him! He wants to spend his life with Billy!

“Billy, will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?”

Billy nods, tears springing to his eyes as Steve slips the beautiful black band onto Billy’s finger. Then, the laughter starts as Steve stands up and kisses him. He giggles helplessly against Steve’s lips.

Steve pulls back and looks at Billy questioningly, a smile on his face. “What’s so funny, babe?”

Billy just laughs harder, having to take a couple minutes to compose himself before he can respond. Finally, he can speak. “Soooo, I really fucked things up today. There’s a ring for you somewhere in that cake, wrapped in tinfoil. I thought it would be such a great surprise to have you find it in your piece of cake. But then I lost track of what layer it’s in. I was going to have our friends over tomorrow to celebrate our engagement and eat the rest of the cake, but now the plan’s all ruined because I’m an idiot.”

Steve laughs, pulling Billy into a hug and kissing his cheek. “You’re not an idiot, babe. That was incredibly sweet of you, and I can definitely say I’m still surprised! Can you grab me one of the shish-kabob skewers from the kitchen.”

Billy’s confused, but does what he says, returning quickly with it.

Steve takes it from him and starts sliding it down through the layers, and fuck, why didn’t Billy think of that? It doesn’t take him long at all to find it, and they carefully lift the layers on top of the one it’s hiding in before cutting it out.

And now they each have a ring, a symbol of their love for each other, and a funny story to tell to boot. In retrospect, this night couldn’t have gone any better if Billy had tried.

[stevie-petey]

i just wanted to say that I finished reading “come home” (i stayed up until 5am 😭 thats how hooked i was!!!) and i just wanna say i am truly and genuinely fascinated by your ability to give life and personality to the reader in such manner! you make her so captivating and at the same time so human and REAL. If I were to point out some of my favorite things from season 3, it would be this order:

bug and steve’s flirting making people (mostly robin and dustin) around them gag. their sweet words towards one another made me giddy the entire time!!

bug and steve’s fights! even the slightest disagreements were so good because they felt real! they felt like hey, this is actually two teenagers trying to navigate their way through a dangerous situation which NO TEENAGER HAS TO.

bug and hopper’s relationship. although life didnt give them enough time to interact and have a proper father-daughter relationship, just know that when he praised bug for the first time and was tender towards her I was bawling!

the way bug praises the party. she sees them as her younger siblings and they love her as well :( it just warms my heart!

and the list is even longer but this is what I have so far! thank you so much for choosing writing as a way to express yourself. I am blessed whenever I read anything by you but especially “come home”.

thank youuuu <3333

bug and the party hold such a special place in my heart shes the older sibling they all needed throughout the show :’)) they have such a unique dynamic its so fun to write

and bugs flirting with steve was a BLAST !!! i waited so long to write everyones reactions to them and it finally paid off <333 season 4 will be a little less cutesy though unfortunately, so get ready for some angst ‼️‼️