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#the stobin lavender marriage fic

dreamofbecoming · 10 months

Text

more stobin nonsense from your resident trash goblin. feat. shitty harrington parents, lavender marriage, full party found family shenanigans, steddie flirting, steve&will bonding, and a severe lack of dialogue tags

rating: t wc: 5k ao3

“I knew it!”

Steve sighs. Listen, he knew the minute he opened his mouth that this was coming. There was always a zero percent chance Dustin was ever gonna let him get out the whole thing before bursting in with this exact interruption, but that doesn’t make it less annoying. If the little shithead would just let him finish--

"I knew you were perfect together, I can't believe you didn't tell us you were dating! How long have you been a thing? I have money to collect! Can I be your best man? Never mind, obviously I'm gonna be your best man. You so owe me for not telling me sooner! I cannot believe-"

"Henderson!"

"What?"

"We're not together like that."

In fairness, Dustin is not the only one to give them an incredulous look for that one.

"Steve. You literally just announced you and Robin are getting married. What is even the point of pretending you're not in love anymore? What are you still trying to prove? Just admit I was right the whole time!"

Steve pinches the bridge of his nose and forces himself to take a deep breath, instead of wringing Dustin's weird little boneless neck. It's not his fault, he reminds himself. They haven't gotten to the second part of the announcement, so his assumptions are natural.

Now, it is Henderson's fault that they haven't managed to say the rest of what they came here to say, so maybe he can keep blaming him after all.

"Do you remember when we sat down and we asked you guys to let us say everything we were gonna say without interrupting?"

"Uh, yeah dude, it was like ten minutes ago. We're not stupid."

"Has it occurred to you that maybe we weren't done saying everything we were gonna say, considering I was halfway through a sentence when you jumped in?"

"I mean, I guess, but like, it's pretty obvious where you're going with this, Steve. You're not a complicated guy, no offense. Now, where did we land on the best man issue?"

Nancy must see the offense very much taken on his face, because before he can open his mouth and say something probably horrifically rude that would feel amazing in the moment and which he would immediately regret, she jumps to his rescue.

"Dustin, you're being very rude. Steve and Robin came here to talk to us, and we promised to listen. Let them finish."

It's nice of her to back Steve up, considering how weird this conversation must be for her. Hopefully it gets less awkward soon.

Henderson grumbles mutinously, but years of dealing with first Mike and then the rest of the little dickheads have left Nancy's control ironclad, and he waves sarcastically for Steve to continue.

This kid is spending too much time with Eddie, the attitude is getting out of hand.

"Right. Thanks, Nance. As I was saying, Robin and I are getting married, yes. But not because we're in love. I mean, I love her, obviously, but as a friend. Only a friend. Or, well, I guess a friend and soon a...friend...wife? Frife? Wend? You guys get it."

"We very much don't." Alright, well, fine, add Max to the shitlist.

He looks over at Robin, hoping for help, but she's stiff as a board and trembling all over.

He doesn't want to be the one to say the words for her. They agreed together to tell everyone the truth, it was her idea even, but the last thing he wants to do is steal that moment from her.

Maybe he can just…talk around it, until she feels up to it. And if not, he’ll just tell them his part of it and call it good.

“We’re getting lavender married.”

Okay, so that’s probably not like. A normal way to say that or whatever. Robin just used that term like fifty times last night, alright? She was really excited about the article she just read about it, something about how it was a thing in, like, olden times or whatever, and now it’s coming back because Reagan is a fucking tool, Steve’s not sure, he was only kind of listening. Regardless, now it’s stuck in his head. Sue him or whatever, geez.

Anyway, he isn’t sure how many people in this room will actually understand what that means, but Nancy’s mouth drops open in a perfect little O the way it only does when she’s genuinely surprised by something, and there’s a tiny gasp from over by the table that he thinks might have come from Will, and Max mutters to herself “Oh shit, that explains so much,” so it’s not none of them, which helps. No pitchforks yet, at least.

Jonathan is eyeing him speculatively, and Argyle is offering him an enthusiastic thumbs up, which is nice.

Unfortunately, the other boys and El are giving him blank, expectant stares, and Erica is eyeing him with both confusion and annoyance, so it looks like he still has some explaining to do.

“What the hell does your color scheme have to do with this? I’m not helping plan the wedding, dude, I don’t care that much.”

Steve mumbles a “Language,” on reflex, but his heart isn’t in it. This is somehow more nerve-wracking than evil Russians.

“Mike, that’s not what it means. Now shut up and listen, or I’ll tell Mom how that red sock ended up in her load of white delicates.”

“Oh come on, she’ll kill me!” When all he gets in return is a single raised eyebrow, he groans and slumps further into his seat, glaring at Steve.

“Right. Okay. So basically, last night, my parents--”

“I’m a lesbian!”

There’s a beat of dead silence, which in this group is more unsettling than just about anything else.

Steve keeps his eyes on Robin, who looks just about as shocked at her own outburst as everyone else in the room. He takes her hand, squeezing gently until she unfreezes a little and looks back over at him. She looks terrified, and it breaks his heart a little.

“You okay, babe?” He keeps his voice low, murmuring just loud enough for her to hear. He knows this moment is the opposite of private, but she needs him to pretend for a second, so that’s what he’s gonna do.

She nods, a little jerkily, but she grips his hand back and intentionally evens out her breathing. She’s so fucking brave. He would burn the world down for Robin Buckley, and he doesn’t care who knows it.

He can’t believe she’s willing to do this for him, but he’s so grateful he feels like he’s choking on it.

“Henderdork will literally never shut up and let you live it down if we do this and he doesn’t know the truth. Not even for a single second for the rest of forever, and I, for one, am not putting up with that shit until death or legal marriage reforms do us part, Dingus.”

It was a solid point last night when they came up with the plan, curled on her bed while she stroked his hair and generously pretended he hadn’t soaked the shoulder of her shirt with his sobs, all his worldly possessions packed into a duffel on her bedroom floor, but he knows her insistence was more about knowing how much he hates lying to the kids than it was about protecting herself from irritating teenagers.

He doesn’t think there’s enough room on the whole planet to hold all the love he feels for her, even if you count the Upside Down and any other weirdo dimensions floating around out there waiting to ruin his day.

“I’m okay, bubba. Don’t let go?” Her hand is shaking in his, but he just squeezes harder.

“Never.” He turns back to the room, eyes hard as he scans the faces of their family for any hostility. He wouldn’t have agreed to this part of the plan if he thought any of them would be a problem, but he’s not taking anything for granted with Robbie’s safety. Not now, not ever. "Everyone's gonna be cool about that, right?"

"Of course we are, right, guys?" From the pained grunt that follows her words, Steve assumes Max has dug her elbow into Mike's ribs.

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

"I suppose this makes you slightly less lame, Buckley. It's definitely better than when I thought you liked this loser." Wow, okay, thank you Erica.

"Yeah totally! Thanks for trusting us, Robin." Lucas is a sweetheart, he really is. He's also glancing surreptitiously at Will while he nods enthusiastically, who is still staring open-mouthed at Robin with wide, shiny eyes.

"Yes, thank you for trusting us, Robin." Nancy is smiling kindly, but she's got that glint in her eye that Steve knows means she just came up with more questions and is waiting for the right moment to strike. Fair enough, at least she's letting Robs have her moment first.

He finally drags his eyes back to Dustin, who he doesn't really want to admit, even to himself, he's a little worried about. Not that he'll be shitty about it, necessarily, but there's nothing that brings out Henderson's bitchy side like being wrong, and he's been so fucking wrong this entire time. It's bound to upset him.

And maybe Steve will never say this out loud where the other kids might hear, but the truth is that Dustin's opinion matters to him more than just about everyone else's. Dustin was the first person in the whole world who saw Steve, the real Steve, and decided he was worth keeping around. If Henderson can't accept this part of Robin, it means he can't accept this part of Steve, and if that happens...if that happens Steve isn't sure he'll be able to come back from it.

So he's...not worried, okay? Worried is not the right word. Anxious, maybe. Concerned.

Okay fine fuck off he's worried.

Dustin...looks like he's about to cry. Shit.

"Did you think you couldn't trust me?" His voice is so small. Steve doesn't think he's ever heard it so small. It feels wrong. Henderson's voice should fill every room he's in, always. "You didn't have to lie. You could have told me the truth."

Aw, fuck.

"Buddy,--"

"It's not that simple, little man."

Steve whips back around to look at Robin. Are you sure you’re up for this? She purses her lips and narrows her eyes. Yeah, Dingus, this is my mess. Let me clean it up. Put the lance down, White Knight. Well, alright then. He waves for her to continue, ignoring the looks the others always shoot them when they do their silent conversation thing. Not his fault they can’t read each other as well, it’s not like it’s hard.

"Before today, Steve was the only person in the world who knew about me. And honestly, I don't know if I would have told him if we weren't both coming off torture and truth serum. I've worked hard to hide it my whole life, baby Dingus, that's not an easy thing to stop doing. It's scary."

"But we're your friends. We're your family! We saved the world together! You should trust your family, right?"

Aw, jeez. Steve forgets, sometimes, how young they are. They've been through horrific supernatural trauma, but they're still the kind of kids who think life is a story with a happy ending, like their little dragon game.

"Yeah, bud, you should, but it's not always that easy. There can be really serious consequences for telling the wrong person. Like, last night my parents found out I'm bisexual by accident and now I...well. Now I don't have parents anymore." Oof, okay, little blunter than he meant to be, but Robbie's getting anxious again so he has to take the focus back.

There's an eruption of sound, as every voice in the Party starts shouting all at once, turning the Wheeler's basement into Steve's own personal migraine generator.

"Did they kick you out?"

"You're bisexual?!"

"What's bisexual?"

"They can't just do that!"

"Does this mean we have to find somewhere else for Hellfire nights?"

That last one earns Erica several Looks, but she doesn't flinch. "What? I'm just being practical."

He wishes Eddie was here. The gremlins actually listen to him, unlike Steve, on account of as their Hellfire DM, he has leverage they care about to threaten them with. Well, most of them, but it's definitely a help when he's around.

Sadly he and Wayne are at some kind of Munson family reunion down in West Virginia this week, so Steve is gonna have to do this whole spiel over again when he gets back. He and Robin thought about waiting until he got back and the whole Party could be together, but the kids would definitely notice him not living in Loch Nora anymore pretty much immediately. And Steve hates the idea of telling him over the phone, so double coming out/engagement announcement it is.

"Alright, Jesus Christ, enough! One at a goddamn time, you animals."

He looks back at Dustin, who's definitely crying now. "Yeah, buddy, they kicked me out, but I'm okay. I'm staying with the Buckleys for now, and Rob and I have been saving up to move in together soon anyway, so all this did is move up our timeline. I'm safe and I'm fine, okay? I promise."

Dustin plasters himself to Steve's front, squeezing like he's worried Steve is going to shatter into pieces and he can hold him together by sheer force of will. It's very sweet, even if it's crushing his lungs a little.

"I'm sorry you felt like you couldn't tell me." The words are muffled in Steve's chest, he's not sure anyone else heard him.

"Aw, kid, it's okay. I trust you, alright? Always. You die, I die, remember? I was just...figuring my shit out, that's all."

"Your parents are mouthbreathers." Steve chuckles a little at the mutinous glare on El's face, not pausing his hand where he's stroking Dustin's hair.

"You're not wrong, Supergirl. But it's fine, honestly. They've always been dicks, I've been planning to move out for a long time. They just...gave me the final push, is all." He's definitely leaving out the part where he broke down sobbing in Robbie's bed last night, asking her over and over why he was so broken that his own parents couldn't love him, but the kids don't need to hear that part of the story.

"Does this have something to do with your whirlwind engagement?" There she is, ace reporter Nancy Wheeler. Observant as always.

"Yeah, pretty much. They disinherited me, but they're still legally my next of kin."

"And Dingus has had far too much head trauma for me to trust he's not gonna end up back in the hospital for something at some point, and the last thing we need is Mr. and Mrs. von Child Neglect getting that call. And I was just reading about gay men and women who are marrying each other so they can have someone allowed in to see in them in the hospital, because of the virus, you know? And I thought, hey that's not a half bad idea! We're gonna be living together anyway, and it's not like I'm marrying anyone else, and it'll be good for both of us to have someone who knows about, y'know, monsters and all that jazz, to do our power of attorney stuff, so, voila! Mr. and Mrs. Bucklington!"

"We are not changing our name to Bucklington."

"Well Harringley is worse, so suck it up, buttercup."

"I'm not interested in keeping the Harrington name, Bobs, I'd rather just be a Buckley."

"Aw, bubba, you're gonna make me cry!"

"You should both become Hendersons! Then we'd really be brothers!"

Steve erupts into laughter, the tension effectively broken by Dustin's wide, toothy grin. "What d'ya say, Bobbie? Steve and Robin Henderson?"

"Would we get access to Claudia's lasagna recipe? Because if so, I'm behind this plan one hundred percent.”

"By 'we' you do mean me, right? Because I love you more than life, Bobs, but I'm not letting you anywhere near a casserole dish. I've learned that lesson."

"It was one time!"

"It took me three days to get all the cheese off the ceiling! There's still a stain!"

"Well good! Ceiling grease stains can be the Harrington's problem now, anyway. They deserve it!"

Argyle is nodding sagely from on top of the incredibly deflated bean bag he's sharing with Jonathan. "I do like Bucklington, it makes you sound like a fancy butler. But family is important, brochachos, and so is lasagna. I vote Henderson."

This spurs impassioned arguments from all corners, which Steve is more than happy to relax into the couch cushions and let wash over him.

There's a light, bubbly feeling in his chest. For the first time since his dad walked in unannounced yesterday, interrupting his phone call with Robin at the worst possible moment, the knot of fear and grief in his stomach starts to loosen.

Robin smiles at him, and he grins helplessly back. Who needs parents when he's got a soulmate? They're together, they're safe, they're surrounded by their family. Steve holds Dustin tighter to his side and lets himself feel loved.

He takes advantage of a lull in the Last Name Wars to get out the last of the speech he'd planned. "Anyway, we decided to tell all of you the truth when we came up with this plan last night, because we do trust you and we didn't want to lie to you, and also because we knew you shitheads would never shut up about us being in love if we didn't and that sounded awful."

He laughs delightedly at the chorus of indignant outbursts this gets him before continuing.

"It's really important that you don't tell anyone outside the Party the truth, alright? We're gonna tell Eddie when he gets back, and we might tell Joyce and Hop eventually, but that needs to be our choice to do. You can't do it for us, and you absolutely can't tell anyone else. The whole point of this is to keep us safe by keeping people from finding out the truth, okay?"

El looks vaguely uncomfortable, but not upset. "Will you tell my Dad soon?"

Steve glances at Robbie, who's looking anxious again, and then over at Will. His shoulders are tense, hunched up around his ears, and he's staring intently at the table in front of him.

Steve isn't sure if anyone else knows what he thinks he knows about Will, but he's pretty sure he recognizes the specific flavor of isolation he can see Will struggling with sometimes, and he's definitely sure he recognizes the looks Will shoots at Mike whenever Wheeler isn't looking. Tommy used to look at him like that.

Either way, he knows the kind of fear the kid must be suffering, just like he knows how terrifying today was for Robin. For Steve, the worst case scenario has already happened, so he has a lot less left to lose. He can afford to smooth the way a little, to test the waters and make sure they're safe for everyone else.

It's not that different from his normal role in this group anyway, just a different kind of monster. He's always been good at taking hits so the others don't have to-- this is just another threat to step in front of.

"Tell you what, Ellie, I'll talk to Hop and Joyce this weekend, that way you won't have to keep secrets from him for too long. I'll just tell him about me, though, at first, okay? That way we'll know if it's safe for Robbie." Or anyone else, he doesn't say.

Jonathan hears it, at the very least, and shoots him a look that's equal parts surprised and grateful. Maybe Will has someone else in his corner after all, then.

El nods happily, satisfied with that.

Before anyone else can jump in, there's a clattering on the basement stairs. None of them have time to tense up too badly before the door bursts open and Eddie comes tumbling through it in a flurry of dark curls and frayed denim.

"Fear not, my wayward wastrels, for I have returned from far off lands, bearing tidings and the promise of libations!"

Steve only recognizes, like, four of those words, but seeing Eddie gives him the same happy, fizzy feeling in his gut that it always does these days, so he grins.

"You're back early, Eds, everything ok?"

Eddie blinks at him, then around the room, looking surprised to see it so packed.

"Yeah, my cousin Clarence accidentally broke my MeeMaw's pasture fencing and set all the goats loose in the hills, and if we stuck around we were gonna have to help round them back up, so Wayne and I snuck out early. I was coming to invite the gremlins out for pizza to tell you all about it, but this is more people than I was expecting. Y'all having a family meeting? Without little old moi?"

Steve valiantly suppresses the shiver that the twang in Eddie's voice triggers. Steve's not sure if Eddie notices the way his accent gets stronger when he's been talking to family, but he's had to work very hard to make sure he doesn't notice the way it affects Steve.

Steve has barely tested the flirting waters with Eddie since admitting his crush to Robin, he's definitely not jumping right in with 'It makes me tingly all over when you start talking with a drawl, wanna call me darlin' and see what happens?'

Luckily Bobbie notices his inner struggle and comes to his rescue.

"It was kind of a time sensitive issue- not a life or death one! Or like. Not a monster one, anyway. But shit went down last night and we needed to brief everyone before the geek squad figured out something was funky and came beating down the door. Steve wanted to tell you in person so we were gonna wait til you got back, but here you are!"

Eddie's looking at Robin with an amused smile on his face, one eyebrow raised and his lips quirked in a lopsided grin that is, frankly, unreasonably attractive. "Here I am indeed, my fair Lady of Feathers. So what's the scoop?"

He plops down next to Jonathan and Argyle on the beanbags, nearly sending them all toppling before Argyle hooks both of them around the waists and drags them practically into his lap.

Steve is not seething with jealousy. He's not.

A half a dozen voices chime out all at once.

"Robin's gay!"

"Steve's homeless."

"Robin and Steve are getting married!"

“Purple married.”

“It’s lavender, dummy.”

“Lavender’s a kind of purple!”

"They're gonna be Hendersons!"

"No they aren't, weirdo, they're gonna be Buckleys."

"Bucklington is clearly the superior choice, even if Argyle was right about the butler thing."

“Bucklington my ass, y’all dumb as hell if you think Mom and Dad aren’t gonna try and make him a Sinclair after this.”

"Mama and Papa Harrington didn't like that Stevie boy has double the love to give. Totally bogus. Bi bros for life, man."

"I still call Steve's best man!"

Eddie blinks a little when everyone quiets down, looking vaguely shellshocked. "That was. A lot of information to get in thirty seconds."

And, listen, Steve is like, 97% sure Eddie's cool. More than cool, even. He moves that bandana to the same pocket every time he changes his jeans, no matter what outfit he's wearing. There's no way that's an accident. But if Steve is being totally honest, which he's trying to do more these days, at least inside his own brain, this is maybe not the way he'd have chosen to come out to his crush. It's somehow way more nerve-wracking when he didn't even get to say it himself.

Oh well, it's out there now. It's fine, probably.

Still, there’s a definite feeling of relief when Eddie turns that megawatt grin on him again.

"Man, I wish I'd known there were other queers in Hawkins, I might have listened sooner when Henderson told me how cool you guys were!"

Steve laughs, only a little hysterically. "Dude, if you thought you were the only one, what the hell have you been wearing that hanky for? Who are you hoping will see it?"

It's a little gratifying to see Eddie go flaming tomato red in seconds. "I am not talking about that in mixed company, Steven. There are children here!"

"Ugh, we're literally teenagers."

"Tiny baby infants! If you're so curious, you can ask me again later."

"Promise?" Steve can't stop himself from grinning wolfishly.

Eddie tugs his hair in front of his face to hide, and the frantic little giggle and the quiet "Oh my god," he lets out both sound more than a little strangled. Steve's having the time of his life right now.

"Gross." Ugh, rude. He glares at Robin for ruining his fun. She sticks her tongue out at him.

Before they can devolve into the inevitable slapfight, Nancy cuts in again.

"Alright, unless anyone else has anything to share in private, I think we should take Eddie's suggestion and get something to eat." Good thinking, Nance. "To celebrate the happy couple, of course," she adds with a smirk. Yeah, that makes more sense.

"Onward then, my noble companions, to pizza and to paradise!" Eddie vaults off the beanbag, sending Jonathan and Argyle tumbling. Argyle laughs and accepts Eddie's hand up, while Jonathan just rolls his eyes good-naturedly.

Eddie slings an arm around Robin's shoulders as they head for the basement door. "So, Birdie, what's this I hear about a wedding? I need context."

As the kids go thundering up the stairs, arguing about who gets to drive in which car, Steve lingers. He noticed Will hanging back from the others, and now they're the last ones left, Will still slowly packing up the pens and notebooks he seems to carry around with him everywhere. Jonathan is hovering anxiously in the doorway, so Steve sends him a nod and waves him off. He's got this.

"You ready to go, kid?"

Will fidgets with the zipper on his bag for another few seconds before looking up at Steve through his, frankly tragic, fringe. "I'm sorry your parents suck."

"Yeah, man, me too." Steve shoots him a wry little smile. "It's alright though, sometimes we're better off without them. I've got plenty of family here that love me, I'll survive without Richard and Diane."

Will studies him for a minute. Steve's not sure what he's looking for, but he hopes he finds it.

"That's what Jonathan says about Lonnie." Steve nods, trying not to wince at the memory of the things he spat at Jonathan that day in '83 when everything changed. "I used to think it was my fault he left, but Jonathan says he was just a bastard, and it's better he's gone anyway."

"I didn't know Lonnie," he's careful not to say your dad, "but from what I've heard, Jonathan's probably right. And he's definitely right that it's not your fault."

"Like it's not your fault your parents kicked you out?"

"Yeah, exactly like that. If it was my fault, that would mean I did something wrong. The only thing I did was exist, and be different than they thought I would be. If they can't love the kid they had, then they shouldn't have had a kid at all. That's their problem, not mine. There's nothing wrong with me."

It doesn't matter if he heard all of these things from Robin first, if he's still trying to learn to believe them. Will needs to hear them like they're true, the same way Steve does.

"Are you sure?" Will's voice is trembling now. He's looking at the floor, but Steve can tell there are tears coming. "How can you be sure this is how you're supposed to be? Wouldn't you rather be normal?"

Oh, kid. "I mean, yeah, maybe it would be easier if I only liked girls, but I don't. I tried for a long time to pretend that I did, but it didn't make it true. And yeah, part of me wants to hate myself, because that's what they taught me to think, and I still kinda wish doing that would make them love me, but it won't. But honestly, you wanna know the biggest thing?" Will nods.

"I can't hate that part of myself without hating Robin, and there's no universe where I could hate Robin. Robin's perfect. She's the best person in the world, and she's gay, so being gay can't be bad. It's impossible. So whenever that voice in my head starts saying shitty things to me, I just think about how much I love Robin and tell it to shut up."

There's a beat where Will seems to be absorbing this.

"How did you know it would be safe? To tell us the truth?"

"I didn't."

Will stares at him in shock.

"Not a hundred percent, anyway. I was pretty sure, but it's never a guarantee with stuff like this, you know? But the other option was never telling anyone, and that...it gets tiring, you know? Always having to hide. Always having to check yourself. Lying when people ask the wrong questions. It wears you down. And I've fought monsters with you guys. I've been tortured by spies with you guys. If I can't trust this group to have my back, I can't trust anyone, can I? And I didn't want to live a life of not trusting anyone. I didn't want Bobbie to live a life like that. So, we took a chance. And it paid off, because all of you are the people we thought you were, and we were right to trust you. But it was a leap of faith, dude. It always is."

"What if I'm not ready?" Fucking shit, this kid. He's been through more than any of them, except maybe El, and he's still so goddamn brave. Steve would have crumpled like a tin can in his place.

"Then you're not ready. It's not a test, Will. There's no right or wrong answers. But I will say that every single person out there loves you, and they'll keep loving you no matter what you do. They're not like my parents, or Lonnie. Our friends aren't broken inside the way they are. Their love isn't conditional. You won't chase them away. You couldn't if you tried."

Will lets out a shaky breath, clearly fighting back tears. Steve leans against the table and keeps his head down, offering the kid the illusion of privacy while he pulls himself together. After a few minutes he speaks up again.

"You ready to go, you think?"

Will nods. He goes to walk past Steve to the stairs before hesitating and, to Steve's surprise, wrapping his gangly arms around him in an awkward hug.

"Thanks, Steve," he mumbles into Steve's shoulder.

Steve runs a hand down his back uncertainly. "Anytime, kid."

He keeps his arm around Will's shoulders tentative, but when the kid doesn't shrug him off or move away, he lets it settle more firmly, tugging him closer.

“Come on Baby Byers, let's go get some pizza. You think I can milk the disownment thing to get Eddie to pay for extra toppings?"

Will snorts. "I think Eddie would pay for as many toppings as you want as long as you do that little eyelash thing at him again."

Steve throws his head back and laughs, long and loud from his belly. Yeah, it's gonna be a good night.

my head hurts too much to keep writing this but please know that the pizza parlor engagement party involves plenty of arguing about roles in the wedding party, resulting in MOH erica/best man dustin (scoops troop babeyy), flower girl team lumax (max demanded the role bc her wheelchair means she can carry extra baskets of petals, and lucas will be pushing the chair so her hands are free. he's just excited to be there.) nancy/el bridesmaids and byler groomsmen (mike grumbles and groans but he's secretly thrilled). jonathan does the pictures and it turns out argyle got ordained back in cali as a joke so he officiates. eddie plays crimson and clover for robin’s wedding march. there’s a bit of a kerfuffle when claudia and the sinclairs both try to claim steve as their son, but after someone makes the argument that charles and sue have two kids to carry their name while claudia only has one, they end up hyphenating and becoming the buckley-hendersons. yes, claudia cries. yes, they get the lasagna recipe.

(at the pizza place, eddie asks what his role will be and steve says he doesn't know yet, but he'll save him a dance regardless. eddie has to hide in the bathroom to stop blushing.)

488 notes · View notes

findafight · 10 months

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Severely neglected component of modernish rockstar Eddie fics is Robin deciding to become an internet hater for Eddie. Like she finds out Eddie is semi/famous and is like "oh, you know what'll be hilarious?" And makes a twitter account dedicated to dissing him. You cannot convince me she wouldn't. Eddie knows she runs the account (it's not even negative it's just to rag on him. Tweets like "Eddie Munson seems like the kind of guy who would tell his friend he'll get her dr pepper and then get some bullshit knockoff. What the hell is a peppo" and "Eddie Munson has probably gotten so distracted by his SO that he walked into a wall and then was still so distracted said SO thought he was concussed." Or "Jeff is actually the best member of CC Eddie probably walked on cafeteria tables in HS" And of course "everybody says I hate on Eddie too much but they don't know he woke his SOs bff up just to ask if there was any peppo left. Twice.") But he can't do anything about it. It's a bit of a meme, because the account never says anything actually mean about Eddie, or his music. Just. Bizarre hypotheticals. (They are not hypothetical)

People are like "how do you feel about EddieMunsonh8r at twitter dot com"

And he has to grit his teeth and say people can have their own opinions about him, ignoring the fact that Robin was literally sitting beside him poking him when she tweeted earlier that day about him wiggling his fingers and saying he'd like to have a little morsel (in reference to cheezies).

When asked why she does it she just says "to keep him humble. And also it's funny to see if people believe he would do this stuff."

Gareth proposes one of them make an account like that about Steve, semi famous stuntman who's doing some more acting now, and the next day Robin tweets "CC seems like the kid of guys who'd make a fake hater account about Steve and use actually silly billy things he does as content" (Jeff tattled)(Eddie groaned)(Steve and Robin cackled)

#robin Buckley #eddie munson #steve Harrington #steddie #stobin #honestly most steddie fics lack robin absolutely razzing on eddie #eddie being famous? she has apublic forum for teasing him.#tbh to me famous eddie is a vehicle for robin being funny (esp if qpr lavender marriage stobin)#rockstar eddie munson #platonic stobin #finda's rambles #finda writes stuff #not really but kinda #stranger things #actually. robin would do this either way if eddie was famous or not #she just more reach and influence if eddie is famous

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unfinishedslurs · 1 year

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soulmarks (stobin)

Robin is born with bruises on her knees.

Her parents tell the story all the time. We were so worried, they say, but the doctors told us it was normal. Her soulmate must have just been learning to walk. That poor boy must have been quite the adventurer, the bruises never ceased!

As she gets older, the odd marks keep showing up. On her hips, her arms, her shins. She’s sure she’s leaving her fair share of marks on them, too. They’re clumsy, both of them.

When she’s eight, a set of fingers are clear around her wrist. Her parents look at each other sadly and murmur about things Robin doesn’t quite understand.

They ask her to tell them if she ever gets a mark like that again. None ever appear. Their relief is obvious.

Her mother sits her down. “When you meet your soulmate,” she tells Robin, “make sure he knows he is always welcome in our home.”

Robin thought it would be obvious. What’s hers is theirs, after all, and vise versa. Two halves of the same soul.

As she gets older, the idea rakes at her. Make sure he knows, her mother said. He is always welcome.

She doesn’t know if it would be the same, if her soulmate was a girl. They have to be. After all, Robin is realizing, there’s no way her soulmate is a boy.

When she’s fifteen, bruises appear on her face and knuckles and her mother shrieks at the sight of her. Robin just sits, quietly reeling. Girls don’t get in fights like this, she thinks numbly. Girls don’t…

That evening, three gashes scar across her body. Somehow she already knows they’ll be permanent. She cries herself to sleep.

She keeps her head down, and barely even hears about the fight Steve Harrington got into with Jonathan Byers. It doesn't matter. She’s got bigger concerns than Steve Harrington.

Things are quiet for the next year. Hardly any bruises, which makes her happy and upset in equal measure. She doesn’t know why the universe would do this to her. Why would it give her someone she can never fall in love with? Maybe the universe is homophobic, she thinks, but doesn’t laugh. It sure fucking feels like it.

She tries to leave less bruises on them, too, as an avoidance technique. It doesn’t work. She’s got soccer practice, and marching band, and she runs into a pole when a pretty girl smiles at her across the street. Dammit.

November comes back around, and with it, new marks.

They’re awful.

It starts out with a couple of scratches that look similar to the three from last year that she still wears. Then her mom has to watch, horrified, as new bruises appear on her face. When she pulls her shirt up, they’re on her ribs. Worse than they’ve ever been.

She pretends to be too sick to go to school for the two days it takes for them to fade, to avoid the questions and the gossip. Last year was bad enough, after someone started a rumor her soulmate was in a gang.

Something that doesn’t fade is the thin scar along her hairline. She pulls her hair down to cover it, and swears quietly at whoever the universe decided to gift her.

(She worries about them all the time.)

#soulmarks au #robin buckley #stobin as platonic soulmates #stranger things fanfic #HI i'm alive I’ve been writing and also trying to finish up my stobin lavender marriage fic #I swear I’m in the last sprint and then I’ll have a FINISHEDslurs work #there’s not enough stobin literal soulmates works out there #here’s my plan on how to fix that-

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pacinglikeghosts · 3 months

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just to see you (in another life)

ronance + lavender marriage stobin | future fic/second chance romance | 6.5k words

After all they’d been through—fifteen years of space, a summer of confusing emotions, and a spring break of nightmares—there was still a part of Robin that, just like Nancy, longed for what could have been. A chance to have a life where they stayed together, settled down, and attempted to share in the life Steve and Robin had. A life that Nancy thought she’d despise.

“Would you be willing to consider it?” Nancy blurted out as they stopped at the end of the street. “I mean, the two of us. Would you be open to trying again? Even if it was just a one time thing while we’re both here.”

Robin’s face softened, buried in her jacket. “Yeah,” she nodded, her voice cracking ever so slightly. “Yeah, definitely.”

The year is 2001, and fifteen years after closing up the Upside Down and packing up her life, Nancy Wheeler gets a letter in the mail with no return address. Inside the letter is an invitation to her class reunion, and a personalized note:

Nance: I know you don’t want to come back, but everyone else will be there. Come see your family and say hi to us. We miss you. She misses you.

as always, layout credits to bunivys!

read it here!

#im backkkkkkk #did you miss me #im excited for this one #6.5k words of nancys avoidant tendencies and second chance romance #and lavender marriage stobin! and stonathan if you squint!#whats not to love #stranger things #nancy wheeler #robin buckley #ronance #nancy x robin #steve harrington #melodicchaos fics #as a reminder love ronance hate the current standing of st cast okay? perfect

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sapphirecobalt-1 · 1 year

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https://archiveofourown.org/works/46804651/chapters/117889981

Title: I’ve said too much, I haven’t said enough

Chapters: 1/?

Word count: ~7,222

Fandom: Stranger Things

Ships: Steve Harrington & Robin Buckley, Eddie Munson/Steve Harrington

Tags: adhd Eddie, autistic Robin, adhd Robin, deaf Steve, queer platonic steve & Robin, lavender married Steve & Robin, disabled Steve Harrington, disabled Max Mayfield, disabled Chrissy Cunningham, character study, AU - Canon Divergent, AU - Summer Camp, oh my god they were camp counselors, angst, angst with a happy ending, not beta read we die like Billy, tags will be updated as the story progresses

Summary:

It's 1987, and Vecna's been six feet under for over a year.

But even as our heroes try to move on, the havoc Vecna wreaked still haunts them.

Some things just refuse to be buried.

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withacapitalp · 1 year

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Hello beloved mutual...I'd like to hear about your lavender marriage fic (great minds think alike) and/or Steve's mom dies fic!!

Ahhhhhh the lavender marriage fic.... this one is actually kind of sad? Well bittersweet. Anyways post season four Steve and Robin are both struggling in their own ways. Steve is having this weird 'I almost had something with a guy who is now dead' emotion and Robin is having a 'this is the second time my best friend almost died right in front of me' emotion. So one night while they're drunk she shares that and she's like Steve if they put you in the hospital, I wouldn't even get to see you. And Steve suggests they get married

It's a joke, and then it isn't. It actually makes so much sense to both of them. So at graduation in the parking lot after the ceremony, Steve proposes. Robin knew this was going to happen, the rest didn't. Cue everyone inserting their opinions, getting mad, disagreements, and eventually, understanding. But TLDR Robin and Steve are kind of codependent, Steve is grieving a three day love affair that never got to become anything real, and they decide the best way to heal each other is with a marriage

I'm also going to talk about the Steve's Mom dies fic, because it hurts me so good. It's in my A New Perspective series, but not for a while. Basically Steve's parents get into a car accident because his dad was driving drunk, his mom dies but his dad lives, and Steve has to navigate planning her funeral while also trying to figure out how he feels about it all given that he and his mom used to be really close and it feels like one day she just randomly stopped caring. Everyone is trying to help him in their own ways, and eventually by the end of the fic he's moving in with the Byers, so up till this fic he's still at home.

I will state point blank that this fic is literally just self therapy for me having to do something incredibly incredibly similar LMAO

TY for the ask!! I have snippets of both of these if anyone is interested :OOOO

#wip tag game #Steve harrington #robin buckley #stobin #platonic stobin #codependent stobin #aka my FAVROITE trope #let these besties be just a shade too close #steddie #Eddie munson #a new perspective series #oh I really should make a master list LMAO #ANYWAYS #I need to see what your lavender marriage fic is now #Liam speaks up

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steddieunderdogfics · 1 month

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For fics with colors in the title: Lavender Overload by Mr_Flamingo! It's technically mostly about Steve & Robin, but Eddie's there too and it's just such a sweet story <3 (Lavender is a color right? Surely??)

Lavender Overload by Mr_Flamingo

@unfinishedslurs

Rating: Mature

22,487 words, 1/1 chapters

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Tags: lavender marriage, Marriage of Convenience, Gay Steve Harrington, Coming Out, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, but no actual homophobia in the fic, the domino effect ft. Steve coming out, and every teenager in the vicinity realizing smth about themselves, Steve becomes an unwilling gay mentor, steve: pls ask anyone else I’m as clueless as you are, the party: but Steve what other older gay friend will answer our awkward, and increasingly invasive questions, robin and eddie: Am I A Fucking Joke To You, this is a stobin love letter, bc i love them

Summary:

Four months after he comes out on the floor of the Family Video bathroom, Robin sits him down on his bed. “Okay, I’m gonna suggest something completely insane, but I’ve actually put a lot of thought and research into it and I need you to hear me out.” Steve squints suspiciously at her, but shrugs agreeably. “Yeah, okay.” “We should get married.”

Thanks for the rec!

This rec is a part of Challenge Monday. The challenge this week was Fics with colors in the title!

Know a fic that deserves extra love? Submit through our asks or the submission box!

#challenge monday #steddie #steddie fic recs #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve x eddie #stranger things #Fake marriage #fluff #getting together

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qprstobin · 10 months

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okay so here's my 'yes and' to your anon about stobin having platonic kids together, I have a half-formed plot in my brain about a healthy version of lavender marriage, like just them saying "fuck it" and marrying each other in the mid 90s because They Are Each Other's Person! in a completely non-romantic/non-sexual way, like – we are going to get a home loan together, and we are going to share health insurance, and you are going to be the cosigner on all my legal documents and by god if I'm dying in a hospital I want YOU, MY PERSON to be the one who's allowed spousal-level access to my records (my best friend and I have a pact to do this if anything ever happens to her husband 😭)

Queer Platonic Stobin my beloved <33333

Okay but no this is exactly how I picture Stobin in the future! This is what I mean when I talk about qpr Stobin! Every time a fic is like "Steve is sad Robin is moving away for school" like no silly he is going to go with her! They are going to spend the rest of their lives together! This includes major life decisions, and after a while it just makes sense for them to get married, especially for the opportunities that open up for them wrt all the stuff you said with insurance, loans, and the like!

If you end up and do write this please let me know! Love me some lavender marriage Stobin (though admittedly a tiny bit confused about what you mean by healthy version of it? do you mean they just aren't doing it to beard or st lol). That's also really sweet of you and your bestie!

#asks #cranberrymoons #like for real tho like qpr qpr qpr #it just makes sense for them!#they already do everything together!#qpr stobin #platonic stobin #stobin #steve #robin

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stobinesque · 10 months

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Hi! Can you explain what your Semiotics Verse is? Eee! 🖤

Yes!! I feel like I always end up talking about it in gesture but haven't, like, info-dumped about the series as a whole ever. It was originally borne out of dual fic ideas after finishing season 4. The first one was "what if Robin coming out was Steve's gay awakening?" (which became phryctoria) and what was supposed to be an entirely separate fic idea of a 5 + 1 Steve flagging fic. Except then my rat bastard of a brain was like "what if those two things exist in the same universe and what if you write a whole series exploring queer culture and signifiers and give all of the fic titles in the main series titles based on different kinds of semaphore/telecomms/cryptographic systems" because I'm an insane person with worms for brains.

Wayfinder (my Lucas POV s4 fix-it) is technically a part of the same universe, but won't be a part of the "main" series. I had already wanted to do a season 4 rewrite that treated Lucas and Erica with more respect than the show ever lends them, and for the main 'verse I needed to work out how closely I was or wasn't hewing to canon, so Wayfinder will basically establish where the universe is diverging from canon while allowing me to focus on Lucas, my best boy. I may end up writing bits and pieces of that Season 4 rewrite from other POVs eventually, because I'm planning to change a lot about how the events of Vol 2 go, and only some of those things will really be visible from a Lucas POV, but Wayfinder is my baby.

The series as a whole will mostly be Steve-centric, with a heavy Stobin focus, along with some Steddie. A lot of stuff post-flag the play is still a little up in the air and is constantly changing, but the idea is that the series as a whole will explore queer culture and community in Indianapolis + found family dynamics.

Series features (things in italics subject to change):

Will and Steve gay bonding

potential byler?

Slutty!Steve

leather

AIDS Activist + Sex shop worker & Sex Educator + Queer Youth shelter volunteer Steve (the boy is doing too much)

They're [Steddie] switches, bitches! (in both sense of the word)

awkward Rockie flirting

Smithie!Robin

an epistolary Stobin fic

NoHo Pride

Robin & Nancy east coast bonding

Lavender marriage/queerplatonic Stobin

so many OCs

Steddie + Rockie and/or Ronance duplex living

Steve's six little nuggets [exact kid count subject to change]

The 90s

queer intimacy + non-monogamy

info-dumping about queer history

no seriously i have an annotated bibliography planned and a whole Notion database of research

demiromantic lesbian Nancy Wheeler

Edancy bonding

Steve and Robin Share A Gender

#semiotics 'verse #is what i'm thinking about like at least 50% of the time #read writes #tag game

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oh-stars · 2 months

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I just posted a lavender marriage stobin fic for stobin month, and suddenly my first lavender marriage fic for this month is getting attention again. No connection! Funny how that works

#lavender marriage stobin #my beloveds #stobin month 2024

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dreamofbecoming · 10 months

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me: reading over my witcher wips will surely trigger some new inspiration so i can update them

the new stranger things ficlet hacking at the door to my brain with an axe like this is the shining: :D

#stobin lavender marriage/coming out to the party combo platter anyone?#it comes with fries #it does NOT come with a new chapter of my geraskier potions fic apparently because i’m trash and i belong in the trash can #personal #my writing

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findafight · 1 year

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Nebs' Stranger Things Fic Masterlist

I'm finally making a masterlist for my fics/headcanons! hazzah! with brief descriptions) Compiling this I have realized I have written a LOT of stuff?? holy doodles. tumblr fics under the readmore (eventually I'll put them on ao3)

My Writing tag: Finda writes stuff

Ao3 Fics

Robin and Steve's Epic Platonic Soulmate Mixtape WIP. Robin and Steve become friends just after s1, friendship shenanigans as wells as Upside Down s2 (so far) ensues. RaSEPSM tag

Tennessee Ham and Strawberry Jam Complete. Sue Sinclair and Claudia Henderson childhood best friends + Goodbye Earl fic. Standalone but in same series/universe as RaSEPSM

You Don't Fool Me Complete. Steddie, Steve thinks they're dating, Eddie is a bit confused.

Visions of the Things to Be Complete Steddie. Eddie loves M*A*S*H. turns out, Steve also loves it. Eddie's a bit pissed about that.

Starfish on the Beach WIP platonic stobin, steddie. Steve dies instead of Eddie s5 fic, based on my own post

Tumblr Fics

Steddie Focused fics

Stobjargyle and Corroded Coffin au (tag)

Steve's mixtape of government banned songs

Demiro Steve

Addams!Steve (I will def continue this one of these days)

Rockstar Eddie and ~homosexual~ rumours

Human Steve and Spn Human Steve (tags)

Miraculous Au (tag)

Eddie Tweets AU (tag, only one post but will have more)

Baby Eddies checklist to get steve to fall in love with him

BNF Steve ramble

Stobin Focused Fics

Studio Era stobin lavender marraige au (lavender's blue au tag )

Upsidedown death Timetravel au (eventually will continue)

demiromantic steve

QPR stobin in their 40's

Best Hugs

Swimmer Steve au (tag) (possibly stonathan? idk yet tho)

Pjo au (tag)

Post Starcourt haha

Venom!Stobin (tag)

Steve is Seven au

Stobin post order66 au original post (that I'll eventually expand) Dustin realizes Robin and Steve are jedi. Stobin help train Dustin and Eddie is here now

Telepathic Stobin concept

Soulmate Words au snippet

Dream team Steve au prologue p1 (Steve is drafted to the NBA fic with qpr lavender marriage stobin

Misc posts

Steve dragging everyone's taste

Gay Jonathan Byers

Big Brother Steve (tag) original post

He picked up the bat

unrequited Byler p1 (part 2 eventually)

Erica Sinclair post StarCourt

Afterschool care steve

One sided ronance (for Nancy)

Steve doesn't want to be his mum

Bad timeline no Upside Down stancy

#stranger things #steddie #stobin #finda writes stuff #I'll try to keep this update oof

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schrijverr · 10 months

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For the asks game, F and M! Ty!! -xo, @steddierthings

Thank you so muc for the ask! <3

F: Share a snippet from one of your favourite dialogue scenes you've written and explain why you're proud of it.

I'm pretty proud of the convo between Eddie and Steve in chapter 3 of I Found Myself a Cheerleader:

“Unless-” Eddie starts, eyes wide as if he can’t believe it. “Unless they are true.”

“Don’t tell anyone,” Steve whispers, preparing to run should Eddie make a move in his direction that he doesn’t like.

He can’t believe this is where his day has gone.

“Shit, man,” Eddie whistles. “Course not. I didn’t know you were family.”

It takes a moment, before the euphemism lands. Steve knows that Eddie has similar rumors following him, but the guy never confirmed them. A smart move. Yet here he is admitting it Steve, extending a hand of solidarity.

Steve allows a small smile to grace his face and he does some jazz hands. “Surprise.”

Eddie laughs at the action and agrees: “It’s certainly is. I never would have guessed. You’re good, man.”

I loved getting to use that euphemism and the little realization moment for Eddie as well as that bit of fear followed by acceptance for Steve. I like writing about queer shit, so getting to add all of that while it still felt like a realiatic conversation felt really good :D

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you'd care to share?

God, I have like way too many, it's embarrassing lmao, I have this note on my phone filled with ideas that I'll probably never write and are just collecting dust (if anyone is interested in me sharing them, send an ask or something).

But currently I'm playing with two stobin fics that I might write. One is a post-canon lavender marriage verse where they escape to the big city together, leaving everyone behind as they try to heal and cope with everything that has happened as they build a life together. And two is an archaeology AU from Robin's POV where she has an enemies-to-friends arc while Steve just wants to be buddies that is truly an excuse for me to talk about archaeology, because archaeology is fun xp

#rr asks #this was so fun to answer #thank you so much <3

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smithsibsceo · 10 months

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I have a headcanon that Steve and Robin get platonically married for the benefits and adopt a bunch of kids/cats/dogs (as well as the gang) whilst also going out on double dates with their respective partners

YES YES YES!!! i LOVE lavender-marriage stobin in fics its such a fun dynamic to read <333 definitely one of my favourite hcs

#miz talks #ash <33

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steddieunderdogfics · 6 months

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Hello! I’d love to submit this wonderful fic: Lavender Overload by Mr_Flamingo!

( https://archiveofourown.org/works/49912645 )

Thanks for creating this blog! I think it’s really cool :D

Lavender Overload by Mr_Flamingo

@unfinishedslurs

Rating: Mature

22,487 words, 1/1 chapters