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strangersteddierthings · 1 year

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Bad News First, Eddie

Part One 🦇 Part Two🦇Part Three🦇FInal Part

This was getting longer than both Steve and Wayne's parts combined, so I'm gonna break it into 2 parts. Posting part 1 now, and part 2 should be up within a day. Thank you everyone for the wonderful replies/reblogs. I screenshot them cause they keep me going haha.

Trigger Warning: Child abuse referenced, as well as one scene of a child being slapped. Use of slurs in a derogatory manner.

Bad news first, Eddie thinks to himself as he swings the trash can lid turned shield, this is a fuckton of bats. Good news, Dustin is safe.

The bats are overwhelming but he's holding his own. He can do this. He can buy them more time. He's done running away from the things that scare him.

Bad news, Eddie thinks, watching Dustin sob above him, I'm gonna die here.

Eddie dies. He knows this because all the hurt stops. The world has faded into itself, dimming to a blackness deeper than Eddie's ever known.

The afterlife is a bit disappointing if he's honest. He's not sure what he was expecting, but it wasn't nothing. Endless, unfathomable nothing.

He kinda hoped he'd see his mom or something, but that's delusional. If the afterlife was heaven or hell, he wouldn't end up in the one his mom went to, that's for sure. Too many sins under his belt for that.

Death is pretty boring though.

Time is impossible to track. He's tried a few times, counting seconds to make minutes but that's so boring he loses his train of thought. Ends up humming some tune or another before repeating the process.

The day he finds himself humming a Wham! song has Eddie a little panicked. He doesn't listen to Top 40 stations. He spent a good deal of time avoiding learning any Wham! songs, actually, so now that he's somehow gotten one such in his head...

This has got to be capital H Hell.

Well. Everyone in town thought he was on the road straight to it. Laugh it up, Hawkins. You were right. The Freak went straight down.

Eddie misses Wayne. He can't remember the last thing he'd said to him. When did he last tell his uncle he loved him? Wayne knew it though. He had to know it. They didn't say it out loud but they didn't need to. Right?

In the distance, Eddie sees something. A light? He's not sure what it is but it's something new. Something different.

The light leads him back into the Upside Down. The bats are swarming and he just crashed the bike- fuck fuck fuck, run. Run, Eddie, get the fuck out of here!

He's screaming at himself to run but instead his body stops. Turns. Pulls the shield and spear from his back and screams at the bats.

Eddie rips himself back, away. Crumples to the ground, folding into himself. Not that. Anything but that again.

A soft humming sound. Gentle, warm.

Loving.

Eddie unfolds himself to see what it is.

His mom smiles down at him, reaches out to ruffle his hair as she hums. Eddie knows the danger has passed and he is safe now because Mamma only hums that when it's safe.

"There's my handsome boy," she moves the hand from his hair to boop the tip of his nose. "How about we play a little game, hmm? The floor is lava!"

She scoops him up and plops him on the kitchen table. There is a crunching sound beneath her feet as she moves. Lava sounds an awful lot like Dad's broken beer bottles but if Mamma wants to play pretend then Eddie can do that for her.

His mother is beautiful. The most beautiful woman in the world. He takes after her in a lot of ways. Matching curly locks, the same face scrunch when they're angry, their noses, big brown doe eyes. Eddie even shares her voice, just a different pitch. The point is, Eddie's mom is beautiful and he's got enough ego left at four years old to think of himself as beautiful, too.

The problem, then, is that Eddie makes the mistake of saying it in front of his Dad. 'As pretty as Mamma,' he'd said. They'd, he and Mamma that is, were sitting crosslegged on the floor in the living room. Dad had been in the kitchen, Eddie could hear him puttering about. Mamma had booped his nose and called him the best looking kid in all of America.

Eddie nodded fiercly, "yeah! As pretty at Mamma."

It used to be a fuzzy memory, what happens next. A flurry of movement and shouting. Now he's witnessing it with terrible clarity. His dad's hand curling around his upper arm and yanking him into the air, crushing hard enough to bruise. His dad's shouting at him. He remembers not remembering the words but now they hit him like the slap his dad delivered to his face. "No son of mine is going to be a fuckin' fag, thinkin' he's some pretty little girl. Is that what you want, you little shit? To be a little girl?"

"Stop it! Stop it! Let him go, he didn't mean anything like that!" he hears his Mamma plead but his Dad won't stop shaking him and screaming. He bursts into tears because it hurts and he's confused and his Dad's never hit him before- "Hit me! Hit me! If you're gonna hit someone, hit me!"

Eddie gets tossed aside. He lands on back and sees as his Dad does exactly as his Mamma demanded. Eddie's never been so scared in his life, he can't watch. He scampers down the hall as fast as he can and crawls under his bed to hide.

If Eddie had to guess, that's the memory that ingrained his need to run.

He's reliving his memories. He's a little embarrassed how long it takes him to figure that out. They say your life flashes before your eyes when you die. They don't tell you that the quote flash unquote takes a really fuckin' long time. Like, you know, your whole life long time.

It's so strange to witness, too. Like he's both watching the memories as an outsider, but also through his own eyes. He has both the knowledge that he had when he died, and also no experience beyond what he's seeing in the memory.

He watches his Dad beat his Mamma, beat him, but also watches his Dad push him on the swings and slow dance around the kitchen with his Mamma. And that's the worst part, he thinks. That his Dad could have been an awesome one. If he'd stayed sober like he kept promising. He didn't though, couldn't. Hell, maybe it's even a wouldn't. He watchs Wyatt fucking Munson pick beer and drugs over him and his Mamma time and time again.

Couldn't even put them down long enough to be there when Mamma got sick.

Eddie is seven. He's just had his head shaved, bald as his Mamma now. He regrets doing it as soon as he sees his Mamma's smile falter when Uncle Wayne drops him off at the hospital.

"We match, Mamma," Eddie says shyly, eyes downcast. "I wanted to match..."

"Oh, baby, come here," and she's scooping him into a hug, genuinly smiling again, "I love that we match. So long as it was your decision to cut your hair."

Eddie realizes now why her smile had faltered. She thought Dad had shaved his head against his will, probably because long hair was for woman, as he liked to say. Eddie in the memory didn't know that, though, so he just cuddles closer and says, "Yeah. Uncle Wayne did it for me, so it would be nice and even, he said. Wanna hear what we did in school today?"

There is something looming at the edges of his vision. Eddie can't seem to make whatever it is come into focus. It's not a memory because those always focus. It's something else. Something new.

His dad teaches him to hot wire a car. Makes him learn how to pick the lock on car doors and handcuffs. When he sees how easily Eddie took to lockpicking, he makes him learn other locks, too.

Eddie misses out on school because his dad can't be bother to enroll him and Eddie doesn't know how to do it himself. He's too scared to, anyway. Afraid his dad will start swinging and won't stop until he's dead.

When Eddie is eleven, a lot happens. It was a pivitol age for him. He got his first crush (a boy named Jimmy) and a first kiss (a boy named Jeramiah). Eddie also ends up in the hospital because his Dad caught him kissing Jeramiah.

It's not his Dad that picks him up from the hospital, though.

Eleven is the age he is the day his Uncle Wayne moves him to Hawkins, Indiana.

He's also eleven the first time he hears Black Sabbath.

Eddie is also eleven years old when he decides that he wants good news delivered last. To end with something good.

He relives becoming himself.

Catching up in school because he's not stupid, but falling behind because he is kinda dumb (schoolwork never seemed as imporant as hanging out with friends, or starting a band, or playing dungeons and dragon, or any other number of things).

The relief he feels the first time he meets another person like him, learns there's another word besides faggot for what he is. Gay. The immense pleasure of feeling truly seen the first time he says that out loud to someone (it's his best friend, Jeff) "Bad news, Jeff. You might hate me for this. Good news, I'm gay."

Good, good news. Jeff doesn't hate him!

There's a fear that Wayne might be like his Dad regarding all this, so he can't tell him; won't tell him.

But then Wayne comes home unexpectedly when Eddie is a freshman and catches him with another boy's tongue in his mouth. Eddie has a panic attack that winds up with him in the hospital.

He remembers the paralizing fear when Wayne came to pick him up upon his release. Eddie had walked to the pickup numb and afraid. He climbed in, buckled the seatbelt, and waited for the worst.

Wayne climbed in and started the pickup but didn't put it in gear. Instead, he spoke, "Life is gonna be rough for you, boy. Rougher than it should be."

Eddie cannot make words form to reply. Can't do anything but shake.

"Eddie," Wayne says and he feels the seat move as Wayne shifts to turn towards him, "the bad news is, life is gonna be rough, but the good news? Living under my roof isn't. Won't be. Eddie, my boy, I love you. And nothing, absolutely nothing, will change that."

Eddie breaks, like a puppet with its strings cut, sags in the seat and sobs. Never, never had Eddie ever bothered to entertain the idea that this might be Wayne's response.

Eddie is a sophomore the first time he notices Steve Harrington. It's fucking awful. It's also amazing.

Because noticing Steve Harrington means noticing Steve Harrington. He's immidiately popular because he's good looking and good at sports.

Eddie's not gonna claim to know Steve, he doesn't. There's just these little clues that King Steve isn't a default jerk. For one, Steve doesn't partake in bullying. He stays silent. Lets it happen.

But Eddie's also been witness to two times when Stever did step in; both times when it was escalating to be a phycical altercation.

"Hey, Tommy, don't," Steve had said, not quite stepping between Tommy and the other kid, but enough to be within Tommy's line of sight. "The game is tomorrow. You throw that punch and your hand is gonna hurt like a bitch through the whole game. And I swear to God if we lose this game because you can't handle it-" Steve didn't finish the sentence, didn't have to. Tommy lowered his arm and scoffed. Walked away mutter about how the kid wasn't worth it anyway.

The other time, it had been Jeff he'd defended. Jeff hadn't even been doing anything. Just stumbled into some asshole from the basketball team and knocked him over. Eddie had been the one who'd shoved Jeff (because Jeff was teasing him) and he was ready to place himself in the way when Steve had beat him to it.

"Fucking relax, it was an accident," Steve stood face to face with Roger. Eddie and Jeff just stared at the back of Steve's head. "It's not Jeff's fault that barely tapping you knocked you down like a house of cards. Right, Jeff?"

Eddie and Jeff blinked at each other in a sort of stunned silence because since when does King Steve know either of their names? Steve turned to look over his shoulder, one eyebrow raised. Jeff stammered out, "R-right. It was an accident. Sorry, man."

"See, he's even sorry."

Eddie reached out, wrapped his hand around Jeff's wrist, and tugged him away. He could not stay here and witness anymore of Hero Steve or he was going to embarrass himself infront of the entire cafeteria in the worst way possible.

That was the tipping point for Eddie. When he finally had to admit he wasn't just noticing Steve Harrington. He had a full blown crush on the dude.

Fuck.

Watching his memories play, Eddie realizes he spent far too much time in high school trying to get Steve's attention. Bumping into him on purpose, being antagonistic to his friends just get a response, or trying his best to use Jedi mind powers to make teachers pair them together for projects in the rare few classes they shared (this never worked; teachers liked Steve too much and hated Eddie).

Steve changes between junior and senior year and still doesn't notice Eddie. Eddie's kinda bitter about it.

Then Steve graduates, but doesn't leave. He's always hanging around, bothering the freshman Eddie's taken under his wing. He's not jealous that Dustin Henderson thinks Steve hung the moon. He's not. (he is).

Anyway, the bad news. Steve graduates but doesn't leave and Eddie can't get over his stupid crush. Good news, he and Steve share a mutual friend in one obnoxiously lovable freshman, so that's like one step closer to Eddie being Steve's friend, right?

The thing that's looming finally comes into view when his most recent memories come up. Or, more accurately, it -she- makes herself seen.

He's holding a broken bottle to Steve's neck demanding to know what he's doing here and then the scene pulls away from him until he's watching himself threaten Steve. The memory moves in slow motion.

"Eddie?"

He screams because Jesus H Christ nothing else in the afterlife has ever spoken to him.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to scare you," she says. Eddie can see her now. She doesn't look like either an angel or a demon. She just looks like a regular person, a girl with shoulder length brown hair, wearing jeans and a yellow shirt that looks too big for her.

"Uh, it's fine?" Eddie says, because what else is he going to say? "Who're.. who are- what are you?"

"I am Eleven. It has been difficult to reach you, Eddie. Had to try, though."

"What?"

Eleven nods, like someone has said something he can't hear. There is a long pause before she speaks again. "Do you want to wake up, Eddie?"

"What do you mean wake up?" Eddie feels like he might start having a panic attack.

"I am not good with words. Not delicate, Mike would say," Eleven says, "so I will be frank. You are alive. Can be alive. Doctor Owens says you retreated into yourself. To protect yourself. But it's safe now. It is all safe. The Upside Down cannot hurt you again."

Eddie feels the panic set in almost instantly at those words. The memory explodes into black and the girl vanishes.

The more Eleven shows up, the more aware of other things Eddie becomes. Occasionally the sound of conversation drifts in but it's far away, muffled. He can taste food on his tongue that he had not eaten. Feel a brush get stuck in his hair.

They don't really talk, he and Eleven. She takes her queues from him and since he's got no idea what's happening he doesn't know what queues to give.

"So, you're not here to like... send me on, or something?" He asks. They're sitting cross-legged in front of each other. Eddie in the outfit he died in and Eleven in shorts, a crop top, and an oversized jacket.

"Where would I send you?"

"Y'know. Like... Hell or wherever."

Eleven is silent a long time before she says, "I don't want to send you anywhere. I want to bring you back."

Back. He can go back? That doesn't seem right. That doesn't seem like it should be an option. "You mean like, back to Hawkins?"

"Eventually."

Eddie's not sure what to make of that. Is he gonna be a ghost? Because if it's Hell or being a ghost, the latter sounds infinity more fun. Plus, as a ghost he could probably check in on Wayne.

"Alright. You win, Eleven. Take me back."

Eleven stands up immediately, offering a hand to help Eddie up. "You have to want it."

"Want to be a ghost?"

"No. You have to want to be alive."

That makes sense, Eddie supposes. Wanting to be alive is probably what makes ghosts be able to like, be ghosts. "OK. OK. I can do this." He does a full body shake, dancing from one foot to another to pump himself up. "Alive. Alive. I want that. I want to live. I want to see my uncle again. Want to give Hawkins a big fuck you for thinking I'd end up in Hell. I want to see Jeff and Gareth! I want to haunt the fuck out of Dustin Henderson for trying to follow me! I want to know if Robin, Steve, and Nancy won! I want to know if they made Vecna pay!"

He is yelling by the end of it, and Eleven is beaming at him like she's proud of him.

"Yes! Yes! Now, wake up!"

Eddie does wake up. Sort of. He's already awake, sitting in what appears to be someone's living room. He blinks several times before exhaustion washes over him and he sags back into the chair he's sitting in. "Wh-" he tried to speak but his vocal chords don't seem to want to work.

"Holy shit." A voice says off to his side. It's vaguely familiar. Like a distant memory. "Call Owens! Call Owens right fucking now!"

Bad news is this. He's been stuck in his own head for several years. His fucking body has been moving around without him yet the amount of physical therapy he has to do is torture. Fucking Owens won't let him contact anyone until he gets the all clear from his new therapist. Oh, and his uncle believes he's dead.

Good news is this. He's alive.

#steddie #eddie munson #my fic #child abuse mention #eddies really going through it guys

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louloulemons-posts · 8 months

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Rainy Days and Lattes

Steve Harrington X Fem!Reader

Summary : Steve goes to get a treat for him and Robin and ends up meeting you.

Word Count : 0.6k

Warnings : Pure fluff, not proofread, 4am writing 🫶🏻, steve is a cutie, just a cute little meet cute drabble, autumn-y rainy days (i am ready for the ber months) no use of y/n, fem pronouns, reader calls steve pretty.

A/N : Guys I don’t know how it happened but we hit 700 followers?!?! I am in shock! Thank you all so much for the love and support it means so much to me 🤍

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Steve had gone on his break, planning on fetching himself and Robin some warm drinks and sweet treats. He headed into the cafe at the end of the block.

It was quiet today, the autumn weather rolling in fast. Leaves turning from green to yellows and oranges, it was beautiful. Although it was damp, drizzling rain fell on him, speeding up to get out of it. Pushing the door open, a small bell jingled above him.

There were a few people sat inside : an older couple, a woman deeply interested in her book, a man and his daughter and two teenagers who were giggling away. Steve smiled, he enjoyed people watching.

Looking up at the boards and the glass cabinets he thought about what to get for Robin - probably opting for the sweetest thing they had.

“Hi, can I help you?” a voice spoke from the counter. Looking up he met your gaze, god you were beautiful. “Uh .. Hi, can I get um,” be cool man, relax, relax.

“Can I please get a hazelnut hot chocolate and a latte please,” he spoke, finally getting his words out. “Sure, is it to drink now?” you smiled.

“Take out please.” He was scared to meet your gaze again, worried he’d be tongue tied and embarrass himself.

He didn’t do as well with girls now as he used too, and well you were probably the most beautiful person he’d ever laid eyes on.

“Okidoki, anything else?” you asked, taking his order into the register. “What’s the sweetest cake you have?” he asked.

“Maybe the brownies? or the millionaires shortbread, they’re both filled with caramel,” you explained, whilst pointing them out in the cabinet.

“Could I get one of each?”

“Sure,” you smiled at him again - secretly hoping he’d meet your gaze, cause gosh he was so pretty. “Okay thats $8.65 all together.” After exchanging cash and change you spoke again, “You can wait here or I’ll bring your things over.”

“I’ll wait,” he spoke gently, “Are you new here?” he asked. He’d been here before a few times and never seen you. “Not really. I don’t normally work this shift it’s all, and if I do I’m normally making cakes out the back,” you told him.

He hummed and nodded as he did so. “You come in here a lot?”

“Me and my friend take it in turns, we work at Family Video down the street.”

“Ah I see,” you nodded as you frothed some milk for the latte.

“I might start asking her if I can come here everytime we’re on together,” he spoke up.

“Oh yeah why’s that?” you asked, mouth curving into a slight smile. “Well there’s this really beautiful barista I’d like to see again.”

You nodded, pouring the hot drink into a cup. “Right, and if that barista was completely flattered because such a pretty boy wanted to see her again?”

“He’d ask her out, ask to see her out of this awful uniform.”

Huffing a laugh, you slid his cakes over the counter, turning to finish off his drinks.

“Well she’d be interested, can I take your name for her?”

“It’s Steve.”

“Steve,” you repeated, a smile now consuming your lips. “Mhm, that’s me.”

“I’ll let her know,” you spoke over your shoulder. Sliding the cups into sleeves and placing them in a cup holder so he wouldn’t hurt himself, you handed them over.

“Well it was nice meeting you Steve.”

“You too, have a good day.” You watched him walk out the shop, giving you a goofy smile and carry on his way.

Looking down at his latte cup he noticed some scribbles on the side. Moving as quickly as he could he headed back to work, passing Robin the cakes, to decide which she wanted and her hot choc.

He slid the sleeve off the cup and couldn’t help grinning, it was a number and a name. Your number and name. “God Dingus, you finally get your game back,” Robin teased from beside him.

“Maybe,” he shrugged, smiling as he took as sip of what may have been the best coffee of his life.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Thank you so much for reading! Please leave any requests 🤍

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cutesyscreenname · 1 year

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A Cowboy Like Me : Chapter 2

What Must It Be Like

Chapter 1

Series summary:

I've had some tricks up my sleeve

Takes one to know one

You're a cowboy like me

Javier Peña is a playboy, sleeping his way across Bogotá, never settling down. And he's used to being the only one. What happens when he meets his match? A friendly challenge between friends couldn't hurt, could it? Unless that friend is you...

Chapter Summary: Javier thinks over everything that happened at the bar as he and Steve get you home. He shouldn't be feeling like this...

Pairing: Javi Peña x f reader

Rating: 18+ minors DNI

Word Count: 3k

Warnings: drinking, hangover, language, angst 😉

Notes: So this is turning into a much longer endeavor than originally intended 😂 I thought it would only be a few parts but I capped this bad boy at 3k and we only made it halfway to where I thought we would. The next one will likely be even longer so hopefully y'all are down for it.

Here is the song mentioned at the end (there's no canon for it but I feel like Javi would have a few records from the 70's he brought from home and Santana would be one of them):

And the full playlist:

What must it be like to grow up that beautiful?

With your hair falling into place like dominoes

My mind turns your life into folklore

I can't dare to dream about you anymore

From the moment your eyes closed until you reached the parking lot of your shared apartment building there was no sound but the dull rumble of the engine and a gentle crooning over the radio.

Javier leaned his dark curls against the headrest, staring straight ahead but seeing nothing in front of him.

Steve’s eyes flickered over to his friend with concern but he held his tongue. The man was a million miles away, gears turning so quickly behind his eyes Steve swore he could hear the faint sound of metal scraping over itself in a desperate grind.

A cowboy. Like him.

I do what Javi does.

I'll prove it to you.

I hear it every time I try to sleep.

You're declarations float around Javier's mind in a jumble, a record that someone keeps lifting and dropping the needle onto at random.

You were a tricky one, no doubt about it. It’s why he liked you, why he wanted your friendship. Smart but not pretentious, guarded yet forgiving, sure footed but still a little reckless, and the biggest heart that you thought no one could see. Maybe they couldn’t, but he could.

He had imagined your romances before; tentative coffee dates, sweet kisses shared in taxis, most of your suitors left disappointed aside the select few who manage to be invited up for a night cap.

He had supposed not even these lucky finalists would prove to meet the standard for dating you longer than a week, a month tops, nor should they. The man you would keep long enough to mention, to bring to drinks, to invite for dinner at Steve and Connie’s, he couldn’t build such a human in his mind’s eye.

Javier had posited all of this and a million other things but none of his thoughts matched what you had just divulged.

Entertaining my companions.

Like Javi does.

The evening in review plays on the projector screen of his hippocampus.

Quick like a bunny, sweetheart, or I won't tip ya.

Even though it was for the sake of a deprecating joke, you’d never called him sweetheart before that night. It made his ears burn and he’d practically bolted to the bar to hide the involuntary flush sure to be staining his cheeks.

Pinche mocosa, he’d thought to himself, the smallest smile tugging at his lips. The smart little mouth on her.

Later in the evening you’d groaned when Javi appeared with three tequila shots in hand.

‘Come on, we don’t have to be at the office tomorrow. Plus, Steve is a better conversationalist when I’m drunk.’

With a ‘good point' from you and ‘fuck you both’ from Steve the three of you licked salt from your hands, kicked back the poison, and pressed your teeth into limes like sucking venom from a snake bite.

His gaze couldn’t help but linger on the way your flat tongue slid across the skin between your thumb and forefinger to collect the salt crystals, his breath hitching when your lips rolled over the edge of the citrus rind as you sucked the juice from it’s flesh.

A deer in the headlights, he’d been snapped from his reverie by the man across from him.

‘Ooooo-wee. I’m switchin’ to beer after this. Someone’s gotta get you two geniuses back home later.’

‘Awww, thanks dad.’ You’d said ruffling Steve’s hair.

After your glass had emptied and refilled once and then twice more, Steve started poking the bear to amuse himself, going after the way the drink colored your words with a heavy Texas twang.

Javier relished in it, your lilting voice drawing him in like a moth to a porch light. It felt nostalgic, like the polaroid of his mamá that rested between the pages of the book on his nightstand; intimate, like a secret piece of you, buried beneath the Gulf Coast clay, awaiting your return home.

Ever the co-conspirator, you followed his lead to help him land a crude joke. Not his finest, but enough to make you laugh which was plenty for him. Then something shifted.

‘Oh it’s what they ALL say, I hear ‘em every time I try to sleep at my place.’

You’d tormented the man about his noise level before. Hell, just that morning you'd been playfully ribbing him for it. It’s not like Javier tried to keep it down. He could hear the creak of your wicker ceiling fan when he lay in his own bed chasing sleep.

The paper thin walls between you concealed nothing. Sometimes Javier swore he could hear you thinking too hard on the other side of the studs and drywall. So it stood to reason that no matter what he did to dampen the lewd soundtrack you’d hear it, and if he couldn’t shield you from it he figured it was moot to even try.

The tone in your voice tonight, though, it was different. Still playful, still antagonistic, but there was a rough undercurrent slipping through. If it weren’t for Steve’s uncanny knack for levity, Javi might have gotten caught in the undertow.

‘Girl’s out to catch Escobar all on her lonesome.’

A solid deflection but you spurred on.

I do like Javi does.

A cowboy.

Like me.

I’ll prove it.

His mind was reeling, trying to amend the portrait of you in his mind. It felt impossible. You must have been fucking with them. He was really feeling the alcohol, more intoxicated than he’d been in a long while. He was reading it wrong. Back to the script. Back to the game.

‘I don’t fuckin believe you, cariño.’

If you thought he wouldn’t call your bluff you had another thing coming. With all the cool and confidence he could muster, Javier dug his heels in even more.

‘In fact I think you’re home every night. Ear pressed to my fuckin wall, apparently.’

Yup. That would do the trick. The point goes to Agent Peña. But no-

A wave of anger flashed across your eyes, making Javier’s throat run dry.

I’ll prove it to you.

If his mind had been racing before, it short circuited when you took two of your delicate fingers and pressed them to the exposed skin of his chest. He couldn’t fight the shiver that ran through his body so he just hoped you hadn’t noticed it.

And then you- God. Fuck.

You reached up and tapped his cheek gently with your hand, your determined gaze softening just so as you peered up at him. He almost leaned into the touch. Get yourself together, Peña. She doesn’t see you like that. Goddamn tequila - una idea estúpida. He turned away from you, trying to collect his thoughts, but in his periphery he could see you were on the move.

Too sloshed to walk without stumbling, you’d swayed dangerously when you stood in pursuit of another drink. Acting on instinct, Javier had placed his steady, calloused hands around your waist. The warmth of your skin through your t-shirt seemed to creep up his fingers and send a searing current down his spine.

His hands stay curled around you for what feels like an eternity and he wonders when you’ll slap them away. To anyone that asked he’d say he had kept hold on you because he couldn't let you fall over. Really, though, he couldn’t let go if he’d tried, a man electrified, hands locked in place on the raw, exposed wire of your form.

He'd flashed a pleading look to Steve and nearly collapsed when the man took you by the hand, breaking the circuit.

He trailed behind as Murphy helped you to the car with a strong arm around your shoulders, taking the opportunity to run his hands over his face, trying to calibrate his thoughts. He sealed himself in the front passenger seat and slipped into silent thought as you slid your eyes closed.

The next sound Javi took note of was his friend’s voice.

“Jav- we’re here, man.” His tone was gentle and Javi couldn’t tell if he appreciated the care or resented what bordered on sounding like pity.

“Let’s get you both upstairs, be good to sleep it off a little.”

Javier nods, not moving at first as Steve glances at the back seat where you lay, still lost in slumber.

The man in the driver’s seat reaches back and gives you a firm shake, calling your name a handful of times before sighing.

“I’m gonna need your help getting her upstairs, bud.” Yup that was definitely pity, Javier decided.

Not wanting to prove the man right, whatever he was thinking, Javi exited the car briskly and opened the back door on the side opposite your head. Lifting your calves from the where they hung over the edge of the seat, he hooked his hands beneath the crooks of your knees and pulled you to the threshold.

When he chanced a quick look at your face he took note of how soft, how peaceful you looked. Would you even remember the night's events in the morning?

Steve moved to help but didn’t get the chance as Javier steeled himself and swiftly maneuvered you, first sitting you upright in the seat before lifting to carry you in front of him. One arm beneath your legs, the other supporting your back, and your head slumped drowsily into his shoulder, he steeled his expression and started toward the apartment wordlessly, Steve hustling to catch up and help with the door.

“Can you tell where her keys are at?”

Javi sighed as they reached the landing. Your warmth pressed into his torso and he found himself torn between wanting to hold you tighter, to soak it in, and needing to get as far from you as possible.

“Well her pockets are clearly empty, so I’m guessing she keeps ‘em next to her cash. Not sure about you, Murphy, but I’m not lookin’ to cop a feel of an unconscious woman.”

It was the smart move, keeping your pockets empty and stashing the necessities in your bra, but it was a hindrance at this moment.

“Yeah that’s a game of go fish no one would be pleased with. Alright. She can crash with me and Connie.” Javi gave a quick nod to acknowledge his friend and turned you both toward the Murphys' door.

The lock turned almost silently under Steve’s careful movements but the hushed entry proved unnecessary when they walked in to see his beautiful wife, Connie, standing at the kitchen counter.

“Hey gang.” Her voice was soft and warm, gently welcoming the three of you in as though it was home to you and Javier as well. “She okay?”

“Yeah, honey. Just can’t find her keys and-“

“Say no more.” She waves off the explanation.

As Javier settles you onto the couch, Steve steps into the kitchen to speak with her quietly.

“What are you doin’ up, baby?”

She matched his hushed tone, just low enough to evade Javi’s range of hearing.

“Well when I woke up a bit ago and you weren’t here I figured drinks ran late. I’m about to put the kettle on, I thought at least one of you could use some tea and aspirin.”

“Let’s skip the tea and leave her some aspirin. Javi’s in no shape for company. I’ll tell you later.”

She nodded while Steve went to fill a glass with water for you.

As if on cue, “Not that I don’t enjoy seeing you, Connie, but I’m gonna head out.”

He finished pulling a blanket over your limp frame, slowly turning toward them with apologetic eyes.

“ No worries, Javi. I’m on my way back to bed anyway. Thanks for helping Steve get her inside.” Her knowing smile had him feeling uneasy.

“Anytime.” He replied softly. He and Steve exchanged quick nods and Javier slipped from their dwelling to his own. He locked the door behind him and leaned against it with an exhausted sigh.

What was he even thinking? Why should he be bothered? There was no good reason.

You were his friend, perhaps his best friend, and he had learned a surprising fact about you. That was all. He had no right to be anything but slightly surprised, maybe amused.

He didn’t worry for your safety, he’d seen you take down grown men twice your size on the job. You could handle yourself, no problem.

And so what if you were chasing away your demons? Lord knows he does the same. Columbia was vast and humid. The underbelly of the drug trade held the country in its bloody grip, pressing in on you from all directions. The assignment was full of uncertainty and it left Javier so lonely in the silence of his government issued abode.

He would do anything to fill the empty spaces, to stave off the cold tendrils that would pull at the walls of his chest when he lied awake, freefalling through the dark skies of his mind until morning. He could never fault you for doing the same.

Slumping into the worn sofa, his eyes shut slowly. Nothing is wrong. I drank too much and I'm being dramatic. She doesn't even think of me that way. It's not a big deal.

Still, as the weight of the day sank into his bones, sleep beckoning softly, his mind drifted to your faint sigh as you had nuzzled into his neck in your sleep while Steve unlocked his front door. When he opened his eyes again it was morning.

You awoke with a low groan, a sharp pain throbbing a wild cumbia rhythm behind your eyes. What happened last night?

You cracked open one eye cautiously, then the other, thankful to find the room somewhat dim around you. Only the small lamp across the room from you was on, blinds and curtains muffling the sunlight that tried to peek through the window behind you.

Eyes adjusting quickly, you recognized the comfortable sight of the Murphys’ living room. It was the same exact layout as yours, but Connie’s warm touch made all the difference. The soft decorative pillows, kitschy knick knacks, and framed candid photos transformed the small unit into something that felt like a home.

Okay I'm on Murphy’s sofa. So- Your gaze finds the full glass of water and bottle of aspirin on the coffee table. The puzzle pieces begin to fit together quickly. Just as you start to recall what happened the night before, what you had said, Steve slipped out of his bedroom and noticed you stirring.

“Heyyy good morning. How ya feel?” Thankfully he kept his tone low, guessing the answer to his own question.

“I’ve been better.” You croak, sitting up gingerly.

“I thought that might be the case. You see the Aspirin? Connie made sure to close the curtains for ya.”

“Yes thank you.” You tap two pills into your palm and kick them back with a healthy glug of water. “Is there a chance I could have some-“

“Already on it.” Steve was moving to fill the coffee maker with water before you asked.

“Where is that angel you tricked into marrying you?”

“At the clinic, unfortunately. Somebody called in sick and they’re so shorthanded as it is. She said to give you her best and inform you that you’d better come for dinner soon.”

You raised your eyebrows as Steve raised his hands in surrender. “Don’t shoot the messenger, kid. I’m just quotin’. You know she won’t take no for an answer.”

You chuckled in reply.

Once your mugs were filled with rich black liquid, Steve placed them on the table in front of you, taking a seat on the sofa. You both sipped in silence for a few moments before you decided to break the ice.

“So…last night. Um. Did I-“ You did not want to ask but you needed confirmation. “Did I basically tell y’all all about my sex life in no uncertain terms?” You wince when you hear the words out loud.

“Well, my friend, in no uncertain terms… you said that Javi’s lady friends are so loud you can’t sleep so you conduct your own ah – activities – in other venues, namely the homes of your own dates.”

You groaned loudly and covered your face with your hands. It wasn’t a dream. You’d definitely made a tequila shaped mistake and said the in-your-head thing out loud.

“Do ya wanna hear the rest or should I just leave it be?”

“There’s MORE?” You didn’t want to ruminate, better to rip the band-aid off. “Let’s hear it.”

“Okay. So that, and then I guess Javi thought you were kiddin’ so he tried to push your buttons and you said somethin’ about provin’ it to him.”

The confirmation was all you needed, the words flooding back to you all at once.

Ear pressed to my fuckin’ wall apparently.

Ah yes, the anger. You were remembering quickly. Pendejo. Why wouldn’t he believe that about you? You weren't a delicate flower, some witless debutante in need of safekeeping. You were his friend and his fucking equal. Of course rubbing his nose in it seemed appealing, especially after so many drinks.

Polishing off the contents of your mug, you placed it on the table and stood, crossing to the door.

“I think I should go back to mine. I just-“

“Yeah. No. I get it.”

“Thanks for not diving for my keys, by the way. And ya know…everything else.” You smiled weakly at the man on the sofa.

“Yeah we, uh, figured that wouldn’t work out well. For all involved.” He chuckled. “As for the rest, anytime, kid. You know that.”

You nod and open the door. “I’ll call Connie soon.”

“Oh believe me, if you don’t she’ll be at your doorstep. She knows where ya live.”

You smiled, shaking your head. “Bye Murphy.”

Once alone in your apartment, you stripped off your jeans and t-shirt, collapsing on your bed as you vowed to shower after another round of sleep.

You could hear the faint sound of Javier’s record player, the muffled melody lulling you into relaxation.

I am just a mirage

Oh, I am just a mirage

When you look at me

Through your crystal glass you will see

That I am now your past

But you give your love to me

In your life I wasn’t meant to be.

Oh I am just a mirage

Just a mirage fading away like water

The faint guitar licks pull you towards sleep like a receding tide carrying you out to sea. Even as you sink into slumber, you almost swear you can hear Javi thinking too hard on the other side of the paper thin wall.

Let me know if y'all wanna be on the tag list! I'll have one going as long as Tumblr cooperates 😂

@heythere-mel

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once-upon-an-imagine · 2 years

Text

One Of Us - Eddie Munson & Steve Harrington

A/N: omg! I was able to complete this story! I really hope you guys like it cause it turned out to be really long but I liked how it turned out xD

Requests - Anonymous asked: i need more steddie x reader comfort plssss maybe when like the reader doesn’t feel good enough for them so she leaves them and theyre like ‘i know for a fact she didnt stop loving us’ and they somehow find out that she’s been beating herself up abt it and having breakdowns and really in need of them but she can’t go to them bc she doesn’t deserve them and just a lot of angst to the reader but comfort in the end??sorry this is long!!

- theweirdone2468 submitted: Hiiii!! I was wondering could you do steddie x reader where reader is/was always quiet growing up and has abandonment issues and easily left out and reader starts feeling left out and doesn’t know how to tell them. Basically angst to fluff please I love your writing!!!!

Warning: polyamorous!relationship (SteddiexReader); reader is feeling insecure and left out; mentions of sex; this is really angsty and super long; I think that’s it, but please let me know if I missed anything

Disclaimer: I don’t own Stranger Things :) gif isn’t mine :D

Your name: submit What is this?

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

One Of Us

One of us is crying, one of us is lying In a lonely bed... staring at the ceiling Wishing she was somewhere else instead One of us is lonely, one of us is only... waiting for a call Sorry for herself, feeling stupid, feeling small Wishing she had never left at all

“Good morning, Buster” you smiled when you felt your dog getting on your bed and waking you up.

You opened your eyes and saw the beautiful Bernese mountain dog looking at you and you scratched the back of his ear. You remembered the day you and Eddie brought him home. You found him wandering the streets by himself and you didn’t have the heart to leave him there. So you brought him back home with you and begged Steve to let you keep him. Which wasn’t really that hard since he put up that act of ‘I-don’t-want-a-dog’ that was over as soon as he saw Buster’s eyes and now he was the one who spoiled him the most.

“Where are your dads?” you asked, sitting up. And then you saw a note on Eddie’s side of the bed. “Oh, right” you sighed, opening the letter, letting you know that Steve had to go to work early and Eddie was planning some big campaign, so he needed Dustin’s help.

You didn’t really mind it. But always asked them to wake you up before they left to say goodbye. You knew they wanted to let you sleep in on your day off, but you still missed them. You felt like you had been seeing less of them in the past few weeks. Either your work schedule would cross with Steve’s or Eddie’s campaign or new job after school, or they would come home really late when you were already asleep, or leave before you got up. You were still trying to get into the routine now that you have been in your new apartment for a few months, which is why all of you were working more. You loved your new apartment and you knew they did too, but you still couldn’t help but miss them.

At least, since it was your day off, that meant you could take their lunch and have some time with each one of them. And, your anniversary was coming up soon in a couple of days and you three will spend the entire weekend together. You smiled to yourself, getting up from the bed and bringing Buster with you.

“Come on, boy. We have a big day ahead of us!” you said, excitedly as Buster followed you around the apartment.

After finishing your chores and making lunch for your two boys, you put each of them in the lunchboxes you got them. Even if they were a bit childish, you knew Steve loved his green Ninja Turtles lunchbox, and Eddie loved his Scooby Doo lunchbox so much he even threatened everyone in Hellfire if they made fun of it.

You headed out the door with Buster by your side. You knew Eddie and Steve hated the fact that you were his favorite. No matter how much the two of them spoiled him since he was a puppy (even if they loved to deny it) if you were to make him choose, you were certain Buster would run to you. Because you had. Eddie tried endless times to get him to go over to him instead, but he went to you. Every single time.

You drove Steve’s car, thankful that they took Eddie’s van since you were, as Steve liked to say ‘a hazard’ driving a car that big, and you headed over to Hawkins High first. You walked out of the car and were immediately surrounded by Dustin, Mike, Will, and Lucas. Mostly because they loved Buster.

“Hey, (Y/N)!” Dustin greeted you, happily as they approached you both and the other three did the same.

“Hi, guys, how are you?” you smiled at them as Lucas and Will knelt down to pet Buster.

“Hi, buddy!” Lucas said, happily as Buster started licking his face. He loved the kids almost as much as you and your boyfriends did.

“Have you guys seen Eddie? I brought his lunch for him” you smiled.

“Oh, yeah, he’s supposed to meet us in like ten minutes to go over something about the campaign” Dustin told you.

“He said something about handling a deal on the… benches like off campus or something” Mike said.

“Oh, yeah, I know where that is” you told them. “Thanks, guys! I’ll see you around” you smiled as you started walking to the spot where you knew Eddie handled most of his deals. “Come on, boy” you said, going with Buster.

You stopped when you heard someone laughing—someone who wasn’t Eddie. You stepped closer and saw Chrissy Cunningham sitting on one side of the table as Eddie dramatically fell to the floor and then got up, making her laugh.

"On the good news, flattery works with me so… 25% discount off your purchase, lovely lady” you heard him say with a smile.

You trusted Eddie wholeheartedly. Steve as well. But there were just a few moments where you couldn’t help but let your insecurities get the best of you. They were both really handsome men. You knew that. So, it didn’t help when perfect people, like Chrissy Cunningham, got their attention and he made her laugh the way he was doing it now. You knew Eddie and he did whatever he could to make people comfortable around him, and that’s probably what he was doing. But you hated the fact that sometimes it made an ugly feeling grow inside of you. One that always told you that they could do so much better than you. You tried to bury them deep inside. And you would think that it wouldn’t happen as much since you have been together for so long, living together and all. But you still had a bit of trouble controlling these feelings sometimes. You couldn't really help it. Everyone in your life had left at some point. Steve and Eddie were the people that had shown you what love really was. So you were constantly terrified that it would happen with them too. You were snapped out of your thoughts when Buster barked loudly when he saw one of his dads.

“Shit” you muttered. “Buster!”

“Is someone there?” you heard Chrissy ask, worriedly.

“Princess?” you heard Eddie walking towards you. “What are you doing here?” he smiled.

“S-sorry” you said, trying to calm Buster down. “We didn’t mean to scare you” you smiled looking at Chrissy.

“Oh, hello, (Y/N)” she smiled kindly at you. “Who is this cutie?” she asked excitedly when she saw Buster.

“Oh, this is my boy, Buster” Eddie said, grabbing him from you. He was going to walk over to Chrissy but Buster barked louder, startling her and running back towards you.

“Buster!” you said, kneeling down to pet him.

“Hey! We don’t do that!” Eddie scowled him. “Sorry, he’s usually really friendly” he apologized.

“That’s okay” Chrissy said, still a little nervous, and sat back down.

“Sorry” you said. “We were just um-” you said, putting Eddie’s lunchbox up. “Bringing your lunch” you said, smiling at Eddie.

“Oh shit!” Eddie said, realizing he completely forgot. “I’m so sorry, princess! I swear I’ll just be five minutes-”

“Oh, I can come back later-”

“N-no, don’t be silly. I know you two have to go to class soon” you said, handing Eddie his lunchbox, making his smile fall completely.

“But… we always have lunch together on your day off” he frowned. “I’m sorry I forgot, love, I swear-”

“No, love, it’s okay” you smiled at him. “We have some errands to run” you said, pointing at Buster. “And we also have to go give Steve his lunch” you insisted. “It’s okay, really, you have things to do” you told him.

“You sure?” he asked, still not convinced.

“Yeah, love” you insisted. “We should uh- get going” you told him. “B-bye, Chrissy” you waved at the cheerleader.

“Bye, it was so good to see you” she waved politely. It really didn’t help that she was so sweet.

“Hey” Eddie said, pulling you away a little. “Are you sure everything’s okay? I can be free in like five minutes-”

“Eddie, it’s fine, love” you insisted. “I know you still have to meet up with the guys to talk about the campaign” you told him.

Eddie sighed, still unconvinced but he did forget and it was his fault that his time with you was now cut short. He loved your lunches together. Especially fighting over who got the best post-it by Steve. But he thought maybe you were really running errands and he actually had to talk about the campaign with Dustin and some of the other guys.

“Okay” he gave up. “See you tonight? I’ll make it up to you, okay?” he smiled.

“You don’t have to make it up to me, love” you smiled but he leaned down to kiss you quickly on the lips and then the cheek and then the forehead.

“Too late. I’m doing it anyways” he said, making you giggle. “See you later, man” he said, kneeling down to pat Buster and kissing his head. “You take care of her, okay?” he said, before getting up. “I love you” he said, kissing your forehead again.

“Love you too” you smiled before walking away with Buster and Eddie went back to Chrissy. “Let’s go, boy” you told your partner walking back to the car.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Second stop, Family Video. You parked your car and opened the door for Buster to walk out with you. You put his leash on him, knowing that you had to keep him closer in busier places. You stopped right outside the door when a group of girls walked out of the store.

“I told you he was working today!” you heard one of them laugh with the rest. “He is so cute!”

“I think he’s into you” you heard another one tell the third friend as they walked the other way.

You looked inside and saw Steve leaning over the counter talking to two other girls. Again, you knew this was a regular occurrence. Your boyfriend was stupidly handsome and girls literally came in just to see him. But you trusted him. With your entire heart. It just made you feel uneasy sometimes when pretty girls basically threw themselves at your boyfriends. You knew Chrissy wasn’t throwing herself at Eddie. She had a boyfriend, as much of a jerk as he was, and she knew Eddie was with you and Steve. But sometimes, the girls that flirted with Steve didn’t know that. So, the ugly feeling tended to come back when that happened. Like now. You entered the store and saw the two girls laughing, a little too hard, at something that Steve was saying. And once again, your furry little friend gave you away.

“Uh, sorry, we don’t allow pets in here” Steve said before looking your way, but then he saw you. “Oh hey, sweetheart!” he said, smiling brightly at you. You noticed the two girls’ smiles drop and them glaring at you as Steve walked over to you, completely leaving them unattended, and gave you a kiss on your forehead. “Buster!” he said, kneeling down excitedly and petting him.

“Love, you have customers” you reminded him and he got up again.

“Right” he said, looking back at the girls. “Just one minute, okay?” he said, running over to the counter. You started walking around the store and browsing through the movies to get one for tonight. “Hello there, pretty lady” Steve said, appearing at the end of the hall you were currently in.

“Hi, love” you smiled at him.

“You’re here early” he frowned.

“Oh, yeah um… Eddie was busy so, we didn’t get to have lunch together” you explained, and then you saw his expression change. “What?”

“Shit, I’m sorry, sunshine” he told you. “Keith called this morning and he’s gonna be here in like ten minutes for a meeting so-”

“Oh” you said, feeling a little disappointed again. But it wasn’t Steve’s fault. Just like it wasn’t Eddie’s fault. They were just busy. “It’s okay, we just came over to bring you your lunch” you said, handing him his lunchbox. “We have some errands to run” you told him.

“I’m really sorry, sweetheart-”

“No, don’t be silly, love” you smiled. “I know you’re busy, and plus, I don’t think Keith would be happy to find Buster here” you insisted. “We’ll see you later tonight?” you smiled.

“Yes! I promise I’ll make it up to you, okay?”

“You don’t have to do that” you told him.

“Still going to” he said, giving you a peck on the lips. “I’m taking your favorite movie and we can all watch it tonight, okay?”

“But it’s your turn to-”

“Doesn’t matter” he insisted, grabbing the movie he knew you were going to reach for and smiling at you. “Okay?”

“Okay” you nodded, smiling at him. Steve leaned in to kiss you again when the bell of the door opening was heard again. “Shit, I have to go” he said, pulling away. “I’m sorry, love” he said, kissing your forehead. “I’ll see you tonight, alright? I love you” he smiled.

“I love you too” you said as he walked back to the counter to help the new guests. Girls again.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

The days went by just the same. You barely saw them around. Even that day when both told you they’d make it up to you they came home when you were already asleep. It was now Thursday night and you were once again by yourself, making dinner, waiting for Steve and Eddie to come home. You thought you might finally get some time with them tonight and you had the weekend ahead which was reserved for just the three of you.

Including Friday, since Eddie didn’t have school because of some teacher conference so you and Steve asked for the day off. You were excited and you couldn't wait to have them all to yourself for three whole days. You missed them so much. And you were certain they missed you too. You heard Buster barking and running to the door and you heard Eddie’s van coming from outside, since it could be heard for like three blocks away, really. They were home.

“Hey, buddy” you heard Eddie coming through the door. “Hi, princess” he said, coming over to you as Steve greeted Buster.

“Hi, love” you smiled and then turned to Steve.

“Hey, sunshine” he said, kissing your forehead.

“Dinner’s almost ready” you told them, but your smile dropped when you noticed them share a look. “What?”

“Love, we’re going to Jonathan’s tonight, remember?” Steve said, frowning.

“Yeah, Argyle’s in town and we had this guys night planned with the kids and all-”

“Oh, right” you said, remembering when they told you about it a couple of days ago. You still couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. It was the first night in all week you had seen them. But at least you had the entire weekend ahead of you. “I guess I forgot” you smiled at them.

“Do you want us to stay?” Steve asked, wrapping his arms around your waist.

“No, don’t be silly” you insisted, smiling at them. “You guys go have fun, I’ll just watch a movie and go to bed early snuggling with Buster” you told them.

“Lucky Buster” Eddie said, pulling you from Steve, making you laugh a little.

“We’ll make it up to you on Sunday, love” Steve said smiling at you.

You froze a little and looked up at him and then Eddie with a frown on your face.

“Sunday?” you asked, confused.

“Yeah, I have to work all day tomorrow” he said as if it was obvious, walking over to your bedroom to get changed.

“And we’re using the free day to move forward in our campaign” Eddie told you, following Steve.

Your heart felt like it broke into a million pieces. Did they honestly forget? Maybe they were just messing with you and this was part of a surprise they would have for your anniversary.

“Wait, so you’re going to be busy all day tomorrow?” you asked, following them.

“Yeah” they shrugged as if it was nothing.

“W-what about Saturday?” you asked, thinking maybe they just forgot about tomorrow.

“Well, since we’re playing D&D all day tomorrow, the band is practicing on Saturday” Eddie explained as he changed.

“Yeah, and Keith asked me to come in the morning to train a new guy starting at Family Video” Steve said proudly.

You tried your best to smile since this meant he was getting more responsibilities and on his way to maybe becoming shift manager, but your heart ached horribly. They really just forgot all about your plans.

“S-so you’re going to be busy all weekend?” you asked, trying your best to not have your voice break.

“Not Sunday” Eddie replied. “We promise, Sunday is all yours, princess. Whatever you want” he said, quickly kissing your head and going over to get his keys. “Let’s go, Steve, we’re gonna be late!”

“But-”

“Sorry, sunshine” Steve said, mimicking Eddie’s actions. “We’ll make it up to you, okay? Promise!”

“I just-”

“Bye Buster” Steve said, patting him at the entrance.

“Take care of our girl, okay?” Eddie said as they left the apartment, closing the door behind them.

As soon as you heard Eddie’s van start again, you let the tears fall down your face. You couldn’t believe this was happening. They literally forgot your anniversary. Both of them. You ran over to the kitchen and grabbed the phone to call the two people that knew about your insecurities eating away at you. You heard it ring a couple of times before Nancy answered.

“Hello?”

“Nancy?” you asked, with your voice betraying you a little.

“(Y/N)? What’s wrong, are you okay?”

“Um… not really” you admitted. “Could you… maybe come over? Is Robin with you?”

“Yeah, of course, do you need us to bring anything?”

“No, I had actually made dinner for Steve and Eddie but they-”

“Ugh, let me guess, boys night? Mike made me drive him” she said, sounding annoyed.

“Yeah” you said, quietly.

“Okay, honey, hold on, we’ll be right there, okay?” she said. You could hear Robin in the background, grabbing whatever they needed. You could only nod before the line went dead and you sat on the floor. Buster was instantly by your side and you hugged him tightly to you.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

On Friday afternoon, Eddie walked inside your apartment earlier than he thought he would. The guys at Hellfire were better at the campaign than he anticipated and they managed to complete it early. He would be more upset if it didn’t mean that he got to come home to you and that Steve would be out soon. He was even able to pick up some of your favorite brownies and pastries from a bakery you loved down the street.

“Hey princess, I’m home!” he called when he entered the empty apartment. He frowned, confused, and started looking around. You were always home by the time he got there, and if you weren’t, at least Buster would be home. “Buster? C’mere buddy!” he called whistling, thinking he was just being a little shit and not wanting to leave your side like he usually did.

He walked over to the kitchen but found it empty. He then went to your bedroom to see if maybe the two of you were taking a nap, but nobody was there. He was certain that you’d be out of work by now. He went over to the kitchen and grab the phone to call your work. But he got even more confused when Jonathan told him that you had taken the day off and the rest of the weekend as well. So, he decided to call Steve.

“What’s wrong, love?” Steve asked as soon as he heard Eddie’s worried voice.

“(Y/N) is not home and neither is Buster!” he said, panicking.

“What do you mean they’re not home? She should be out of work by now and Buster should be home!”

“I called her job, Jonathan said she asked for the day off! And the whole weekend!”

“What? Do you think she wasn’t feeling good and didn’t tell us?”

“But then she would be here! With Buster!” Eddie said, worriedly.

“Okay, love calm down. I will be home in ten minutes and we’ll figure this out, okay? Maybe she’s over at Nancy’s or Robin’s. Robin’s off today too!”

“No! I’m not staying here, I’ll pick you up and we’ll go to Wheeler’s!”

“Eddie-”

“I’ll be there in five minutes!”

Eddie and Steve were now driving around town, over to Nancy’s house. That was their first thought.

“Eddie, love, I know you’re worried, but you need to calm down! You’re driving like a mad man!”

“Why aren’t you more worried, Steve? She is nowhere to be found! She didn’t go to work and she took Buster with her!”

“What do you mean she took Buster with her-?”

“She doesn’t do that unless she’s going to visit either one of us!” he told him. “She always tells us when she has the day off and what she's doing! And she’s always home when we get there, Steve!”

“Eddie, calm down. I’m sure she has an explanation for this, okay? Maybe she’s having girls' night with Nancy and Robin and just forgot to tell us and she brought Buster because she hates leaving him alone-”

“She took some stuff with her” Eddie said all of the sudden.

“W-what?” Steve asked, feeling his heart drop. “What do you mean? What did she take?”

“Just some clothes and her toothbrush” Eddie told him. “Her pillow was also gone” he said, gripping the steering wheel tightly. “You don’t think she-” he sighed. “You don’t think she would leave, right?”

“Eddie-” Steve said, feeling a huge pain in his heart. He knew that Eddie always feared that either you or he would leave. Just like his parents did. “Of course, not! She would never do that!”

“I just-” he said as he parked outside of Nancy’s house. “I know for a fact she didn’t just stop loving us! But… why would she do something like this-?”

“Eddie, listen to me” Steve said, grabbing his hands. “She wouldn’t just leave, okay?” he assured him. “We both know that. I know that you’re worried, but I swear that this will all have an explanation, okay?” he said, placing one of his hands on Eddie’s cheek as a few tears rolled down his cheek.

“Okay” he whispered, nodding.

“I love you” Steve smiled, giving him a peck on the lips.

“I love you too” he said, trying to smile back.

“Let’s go get our girl, okay?” Steve said as they both got out of the car.

The two of them walked over and Steve knocked on the door. He was surprised when it was Robin who answered.

“Hey, dingus” she smiled at Steve. “Dingus number two” she said, turning to Eddie. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey, Rob, is (Y/N) here?” Steve asked.

“No” she replied as if it was obvious. “Isn’t she with you?”

“Hey, Robin who was at the door?” Nancy asked, coming over and looking at the two boys standing at the entrance of her house. “Steve? Eddie? What are you guys doing here?”

“We’re looking for (Y/N)” Eddie told her. “Do you know where she is?”

“What are you talking about? She’s supposed to be with you” Nancy asked confused.

“What?” Steve asked, starting to get worried.

“Didn’t you spend all day together?” Robin asked just as confused as Nancy.

“What do you mean?” Eddie asked.

“Oh my God! She was right. You two actually forgot!” Nancy asked, getting upset.

“Forget what? Wheeler!” Eddie complained.

“Eddie, calm down” Steve said, grabbing his hand. “What are you girls talking about?”

“What day is today?” Robin asked them.

“Friday?” Eddie said as if it was obvious.

“Not the day of the week, you dingus! What date is today?” she repeated. And then, they saw the two boys pale and look at each other.

“Holy shit!” they muttered at the same time.

“Fuck! We both forgot our anniversary” Eddie said, feeling horrible.

“We had plans for the whole weekend together” Steve added. “How could we both forget?”

“Wait, but that still doesn’t explain why she’s gone” Eddie told them. “I mean, why didn’t she tell us? And when she’s angry she just stops talking to us but she doesn’t leave” he said.

The two boys noticed the girls sharing a look nervously.

“What?” Steve asked and they turned to look at him. They were certain that they knew something and weren’t telling them. “Robin!” he tried. He knew Nancy could take it to the grave, but Robin was a terrible liar.

“Well-”

“It’s not our place to say” Nancy interrupted her.

“Wheeler! We’re dying here!” Eddie begged.

“Nance, please, what are you two hiding from us? Is there something that we have to know?”

“Look… have you… have you noticed anything about her, lately?”

“What do you mean?”

“Has she been acting differently?”

“Different how? Look we’re really worried here okay? She’s not home! And she took Buster!” Eddie said, desperate. “Just tell us for fucks sake!”

“Alright, look” Nancy started. “She was really upset last night and she asked us to come over” she started explaining. “She said she’s been feeling a bit… neglected lately” she told them.

“What? Why?” Steve asked, feeling even worse.

“Well, you guys have been working a lot lately and so has she and she just said that it has been a long time since the three of you spent some time together so she was really looking forward to this weekend and you two idiots didn’t even remember!”

“Also how she feels insecure when you two flirt with other girls” Robin added.

“Robin!” Nancy widened her eyes at her.

“What? We don’t flirt with other girls!” Eddie asked, upset.

“Look” Nancy sighed. “You know that she has always struggled with being left out of things and people leaving her, right? She didn’t grow up in the best home-” she started.

“Yes, we know” Eddie snapped a little. “But we have made everything to let her know how much we love her! So we don’t really appreciate you accusing us of-”

“Eddie, love, calm down” Steve said, grabbing his hand again. “Nance, you know we would never intentionally make her feel that way-”

“I know” she nodded. “But she mentioned that lately, she started feeling a little… self-conscious about… some things” she explained. “A couple of situations, I guess, just added up and I guess you two forgetting your anniversary just made it even more real” she told them.

“Made what more real?!”

“She doesn’t feel important to you anymore!” Nancy blurted out, hating the hurt look on the boys.

“You have to be fucking kidding me!” Eddie muttered before he just walked away from everyone and back to his van.

“Look, we obviously fucked up, big time” Steve said brushing a hand through his hair.

“You think?” Robin told him and he glared at her.

“But we didn’t mean to! Of course, she’s important to us! She’s the most important thing in our lives!” he insisted.

“We tried to tell her that” Nancy told him. “We told her you wouldn’t forget your anniversary and you probably were just planning a surprise for her” she said.

“Did she say anything about today to you? Where she might go or something? I know she doesn’t have many places to go but… we thought she would be here” he tried.

“Sorry, Steve. She didn’t mention any of that. We just thought she’d stay home and maybe talk to you guys about it” Nancy told him.

“Okay” he said, sadly. “Please if you hear from her or if she comes here-”

“We’ll let you know, promise” Nancy assured him.

“Thanks” he said. “We have the walkie-talkie Henderson gave us so just use the channel okay?”

“Okay” Robin nodded. “Hey, Steve, she’s gonna be fine. Maybe she just needed some time to herself” she suggested.

“Yeah, maybe” Steve smiled sadly before walking over to Eddie who was now hitting and kicking his car. “Eddie, love stop!”

“No! We fucked up, Steve! We let her down! We did the one thing we promised her we’d never do!”

“Eddie, we’re gonna fix this!”

“How? We don’t even know where she is!” he said, with tears streaming down his face.

“Hold on” Steve sighed, going over to the front and grabbing the walkie-talkie. “Henderson!”

“Steve?”

“Yes, Henderson, we need a favor! We need you, Wheeler, Sinclair, Byers, El, Max, anyone to tell us if you have seen (Y/N)!”

“What? What do you mean? Is she missing?”

“Look, I don’t have time to explain, we just need to find her! Please just help me!”

“Alright, hold on, let me ask if someone’s seen her” he responded.

“Thanks, man” he replied, going back to Eddie.

“It’s getting darker, Steve-!”

“We’re going to find her. And then we’re going to apologize and we’ll make this up to her and fix this. And, Buster is with her, and we know he takes care of her. It’s gonna be okay, love, I promise! Let’s just… go to some of her favorite places okay?”

“Okay” Eddie nodded and Steve took the keys out of his hand.

“I’ll drive, love” he smiled, kissing his forehead. “Let’s go!”

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

The two of them had been driving around for a while to all of the places they knew you loved, but no such luck. Until Eddie heard Dustin’s voice again.

“Hey, Steve!”

“Dustin! What do you have, man?”

“Eddie! So, none of the guys have seen her, but Max mentioned something about seeing Steve’s car in the trailer park” he said, as the two of them looked at each other confused.

“Are you sure? Is Red there with you?”

The two of them heard a ruckus on the other side and then Max’s voice came up.

“Hey! Yes, I thought it was weird, but it was parked right outside your old trailer” she explained. “I didn’t see if she was in there, but you guys can try- shut up, Dustin! I’m busy here!”

“Okay, that’s great! Thanks, so much, Max! If you see her or if she gets in touch with you, please let us know!” Steve said, grabbing the radio from Eddie.

“You guys fucked up, huh?”

“We don’t have time for this, Red! Bye!” Eddie said, turning the radio off as Steve turned around and drove as fast as he could to the trailer park. “Okay, there it is! That’s your car!” Eddie pointed at the old trailer where the three of you lived and they noticed the lights were on.

Eddie didn’t even wait for Steve to stop the car to jump out and started running towards the trailer, Steve close behind him, pulling him back.

“Eddie, slow down, love” he said as they stopped in front of a window.

They looked inside and saw you asleep on your old couch. It had been a few months since the three of you moved into your new apartment but everything still looked the same, only emptier. You were wearing one of Steve’s old basketball t-shirts and one of Eddie’s sweaters on top and your favorite movie was playing on the TV. They slowly walked over to the door and walked inside. As soon as they did, Buster launched at them barking furiously and making them jump back a little, Eddie stepping in front of Steve.

“Hey! Dude, what the hell? It’s us! Your fathers!” he complained as Buster calmed down but kept growling at them, standing in front of you, not letting them walk through.

“Buster” Steve said, kneeling down, only managing to make him bark again, louder this time and waking you up.

“Buster, what’s going on?” you asked, still asleep and opening your eyes and then you noticed your two boyfriends standing there. “Oh” you said, sitting up. “Hi” you smiled weakly at them. “Buster, c’mere boy!” you said, patting the spot next to you since he kept growling at Steve and Eddie. He instantly turned around and ran towards you, resting his head on your lap.

“Princess!” Eddie said, walking closer to you and sitting on the ground in front of you and Buster, Steve, following him. The two of them wanted to cry when they saw your red eyes and puffy cheeks. They could tell you had been crying, which is probably why Buster didn’t want them anywhere near you. “Love, we have been looking everywhere for you!”

“We are so sorry, sunshine!” Steve said, trying to hold your hand but Buster barked at him.

“Busty, that’s enough” you scowled at him in a soft tone and scratched his ear. “What are you guys doing here?” you asked, quietly, looking down at your lap.

“What are we-? Love, we have been looking everywhere for you! I got home and you and Buster weren’t there!” Eddie started.

“I’m sorry” you murmured. “I fell asleep. I was going to be back by dinner-”

“No, sweetheart, that’s not the point” Steve said, scootching a little closer and trying to grab your hand again but looking at Buster. When he didn’t do anything, he grabbed your hand and Eddie grabbed the other one. “We are so sorry!”

“We are the worst boyfriends in the world!”

“That’s not true” you said, looking up at them.

“Yes, it is!” Eddie argued. “We both forgot our anniversary!”

“And also… we went to look for you at Nancy’s and she and Robin told us that you talked with them last night” he said, making you pull away from them. You put your legs up on the couch and placed your hands on top of them. “Why didn’t you talk to us?”

“I’m sorry” you said, feeling your throat tightening a little.

“Princess, we’re not mad at you” Eddie said, sitting closer to you and placing his hand on your knee. “We just want to know how you’re feeling and what to do to make it better” he said.

“It’s just stupid. That’s why I didn’t want to say anything” you insisted.

“It’s not stupid” Steve said, placing his hand on your other knee. “It made you run away from us-”

“No, I didn’t run away, I would never do that!” you said with a couple of tears falling down your cheeks. “I just… I don’t know” you admitted.

“Talk to us, love” Eddie said, trying to contain his own tears. “Please” he said, squeezing his grip on your knee.

“It’s just…” you sighed. “Things have been changing a lot” you started. “And I know it’s good things because you’re moving up in your job” you said, looking at Steve. “And you got a new job and your band is getting more gigs and your D&D campaign and all” you told Eddie. “But I just… I missed you. I missed how things were when we wre still living here, which is why… I came here” you told them. “Ever since we moved into our new apartment, I feel like I barely see you. You’re always gone when I wake up and I fall asleep before you come home” you told them. “And this past week I couldn’t have lunch with either of you and you got to spend last night together and…” you said, crying a little more. “Y-you forgot about our weekend-”

“We know, and we are so sorry, love” Eddie said, holding your hand again and Steve did the same.

“We feel horrible about that, we didn’t mean to, sweetheart-”

“I know” you nodded. “I know you didn’t mean to, it’s just…” you sighed, looking at Buster and scratching his ear. “You didn’t seem to miss me as much as I missed you and I just thought… I don’t know” you said, with a few tears falling down your cheeks again.

“Princess, of course, we miss you” Eddie said, getting up and sitting down next to you, Buster, growling a little when he was moved away from you.

“Tell us what else is going through your pretty mind, sweetheart” Steve said, sitting on your other side and kissing your forehead.

“It’s nothing” you said, resting your head on his shoulder and holding Eddie’s hand.

“Love” Eddie said, bringing your hand to his lips.

“It was just a lot this week, I guess” you said, quietly. “Look, I love you guys, so much and I know you love me too, I do, but… it’s just… sometimes it’s hard” you admitted.

“What is?” Steve asked.

“Well, it’s just…” you sighed again and got up. “You have to promise me you won’t freak out and let me talk” you told them. “Okay?”

“Okay” Steve nodded.

“Promise” Eddie agreed.

“Sometimes it’s just hard because you two are just… like… so perfect it’s infuriating, okay? And I just don’t get why you would want to be with me-”

“What-?”

“How can-?”

“You promised” you said, throwing them a look and they closed their mouths. “I know that you two love me, okay, I do! I just… sometimes I don’t get why, okay? I mean, my own family didn’t want me! Every person I dated before you just… left me for someone better and sometimes I’m just scared that you two are going to realize that and… do the same thing” you said, sadly. “Like… this week, on my day off when I went to give you two your lunch I…” you sighed and looked at Eddie. “You were talking with Chrissy and she was laughing a lot and I know you were just being nice to her but… she’s so pretty and nice and I just… I don’t know!” you said, turning to Steve. “And then I went over to Family Video and this group of girls came out talking about how handsome you were and that you were probably into one of them and I know that’s not true but sometimes it bothers me that girls practically throw themselves at you. Even in front of me! Pretty girls, who are also taller than me! Why is everyone taller than me?” you complained. “I know I’m overthinking and that’s why I didn’t want to say anything! Because I trust you two, I just sometimes feel like it’s only a matter of time before you-”

“Okay, no” Steve said, getting up as well. “That’s enough, don’t even finish that sentence” he said, grabbing your hands and pulling you to him. “Come here, sunshine” he said, sitting back down and pulling you between him and Eddie. “Listen to me” he said softly as Eddie wrapped his arms around you. “First of all, this is our fault, okay? We forgot our anniversary and we didn’t notice that you were feeling left out and we are so sorry” he started. “We know what you have gone through in your life and when we started dating, we promised you that we would always make you feel loved, because we love you and we miss you and we need you so much” he said, with his voice breaking a little. “We failed you, and I am so sorry that you have been feeling this way. You have no idea how scared we were today when we couldn't find you. I was trying my best to not freak out but I have never been more scared in my life. And I know that we have been saying this all week and we fucked up but we will make it up to you. There is nobody in this world that we love more than you, and there is absolutely no one that we would rather be with” he said, grabbing your hands in his. Tears kept falling down your cheeks and Eddie kept placing soft kisses on your head.

“R-really?” you smiled a little.

“Yes, princess” Eddie said, turning you a little so you can look at him now. “Everything Steve said is true. You are our favorite person in the world. If anything, we’re the ones who don’t deserve you” he told you.

“That’s not true-”

“Yes, it is. Look at everything you do for us, you always bring us our lunch in our cool lunchboxes” he continued. “You read Lord of the Rings to me every time I’m sick. You help me with my campaigns sometimes. You always listen to the music I want to listen to. And you help me when I get knots in my hair-”

“That goes for both of us” Steve added, making you smile a little.

“You plan movie nights with the kids. You come to all of my shows” Eddie kept on listing.

“You do everything for us, sweetheart” Steve told you.

“You have the most amazing heart of anybody I know” Eddie added. “Buster if proof of that” he said, making Buster bark at the sound of his name and you chuckled a little. “Which is probably why he loves you the most” he said.

“You had a whole weekend planned for us and we were just stupid enough to forget it” Steve said, apologetically.

“We love you so much” Eddie said, pulling you closer. “There is nobody in this world better for us than you” he insisted. “We are so sorry-”

“It’s okay” you told them. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner” you said. “I just… didn’t really know how and I didn’t want you to think that it was your fault or that I didn’t trust you because I do” you told them.

“We know, love” Steve said, kissing your cheek. “We still can be a little more cautious about that” he assured you.

“Yes, because we also hate it when a guy flirts with you so we know how it feels” Eddie added.

“That doesn’t happen” you laughed.

“Yes, it does” Eddie argued. “The fact that you don’t even notice just makes you more adorable, but it does, love” he said, kissing your other cheek.

“We are so sorry, sweetheart” Steve repeated. “And we promise to make more time with you, okay?”

“Really?”

“Yeah” Eddie said. “We can have a night a week that it’s just reserved for the three of us” he suggested before Buster barked loudly. “Four of us” he corrected, making you laugh.

“I’d like that” you smiled.

“We have like a board with a calendar at the shop with all the schedules, maybe we can have one in the kitchen to plan around it, and that way none of us will forget important dates” he proposed.

“Yes! I like that idea!” Eddie said, excitedly. “I’m canceling band practice tomorrow” he said.

“Yes, and I’m telling Keith I can’t make it to work-”

“No, guys, you don’t have to do that-”

“Yes, we do” Steve assured you. “We’re going to have the whole weekend just for the three of us. And we’re gonna do anything you want, okay?” he said, hugging you tighter and giving you a peck on the lips.

“We can start by getting your favorite take-out and watching your favorite movies tonight” Eddie said, giving you another kiss.

“That sounds wonderful” you smiled shyly at them.

“Let’s go home then” Steve said, kissing your forehead and then Eddie’s when he got up. “Come on, buddy” he said, snapping his fingers at Buster.

A few hours later, after a lovely dinner and a very heated session of make-up sex where the two of them kept proving to you how sorry they were, you were in your absolute favorite place in the world. Steve’s head was lying on your legs, almost asleep as you ran your fingers through his hair and you rested against Eddie’s chest while he ran his fingers through your hair. You were watching one of your favorite movies with Buster asleep on the floor after Steve basically fed him whatever he asked for. You turned to look at Eddie to see if he had fallen asleep and he smiled down at you.

“What?” he asked, kissing your forehead.

“Nothing” you smiled. “I’m sorry I scared you today” you told him and he lowered your hand to grab your free one.

“It’s okay, princess. At least Buster was taking care of you” he said, making you smile.

“I love you” you said, giving him a peck on the lips.

“Me too” he smiled back at you.

“Me three” Steve said, opening his eyes and looking up at you so you leaned down to kiss him as well.

The End

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

A/N hope you liked it :D let me know what you think! :)

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aloneinthehellfire · 4 months

Text

Chapter Twelve: Down The Rabbit Hole

Gates Of Hell Masterlist

Word Count: 11k (the struggle was real)

Warnings: swearing, mentions of death, horror, gore

[A/N: immensely shocked at myself for finishing this chapter but ultimately that means there are some reallyyyy good bits and some that… I hate the ending but I wrote it five different ways and this is just word vomit now. We will be back with more GOH after the new year but until then, I hope everyone has a good festive period <;3]

Down The Rabbit Hole

White walls. Red blood. Green Eyes.

The same nightmare crept up on you again, raising your heart rate and jolting you awake. This time hadn’t been any clearer than the last, no matter how hard you tried to look for more clues, to escape. But it ended the same it always did; with those glowing green eyes.

You blink against the darkness, hearing soft snores and breathing in the space around you. Everyone else was sleeping, only Joyce and Hopper not to be seen. They must be on patrol.

When you look to your right, you notice a familiar head of hair in the cot beside you, facing the wall with steady breaths. Part of you wanted to wake him then, pull him into all of your spiraling thoughts. But that was selfish.

Holding your breath, you make as little sound as possible as you slip out of the bed, containing a wince when a pain shoots up your ankle. An unfriendly reminder of your fate. You hadn’t bothered taking your sneakers off when you slept, part of you worrying that something would have you rushing out of bed at a moment’s notice.

Thankfully, the door was quiet as you closed it behind you, taking a deep breath in an empty room. New maps were sprawled across the table now, different markings. Places Hopper was going to search in a dangerous setting all because you had a theory.

It was all too much to be thinking about now. Rather than stay, you head up a few measly steps and exit the ‘bunker’, finding yourself back in what you assumed to be a control room. The room was cast in a red light, the source held behind a long panel of glass.

The gate, while terrifying, was also strangely beautiful. It looked alive, if anything, thrumming in calm bursts of crimson lights, a few white particles scattering the air in front of it. You thought it almost looked peaceful as you leaned with your arms against a metal railing, noting the door that would lead you to the gate on a lower level.

What would be the last thing you saw? It was useless pretending like the virus wasn’t constantly in your mind. If you were to turn, where would it be? Would it hurt? Would you hurt someone? How would you avoid that?

You remembered how Holloway was barely human. You also recalled his momentary lapse of weakness, a glimmer of the man you once called a teacher. Did that mean he was still in there, in no control of his own body? And, if that were to happen to you, could you really live with yourself if you killed the ones you loved?

A heavy thought for an April morning.

The creak of the door caught your attention. You glance over to see the boy you survived four days with closing the door behind him, running a hand through his hair. Even with a bed-head, he might be the most godly guy you’ve seen.

“Sorry. Was I loud?” You wince but he’s quick to dismiss it.

“No, no. I… I tried falling asleep but, uh, haven’t managed to do that in a while, you know?”

You merely nod, returning your attention back to the gate as he joins you, mirroring your own stance.

Steve takes a long look at the gate in front of him. This was the very thing that started all his problems, ruined his life. Although, he supposed he was already doing that himself before he could redeem that part he had kept hidden away. And that wasn’t until the gate had spewed out a grey faceless monster. Funny, how he could be grateful for an alternate dimension when it was the birth of an apocalypse on the town he called home.

His eyes eventually shift to yours, his gaze softening. You looked tired, worn from everything you’ve been through over the past four days. He can tell you didn’t sleep much either. He could also tell you were overthinking something in the way your tongue was pressed against your bottom lip.

“Are you okay?”

You meet his stare and he almost feels himself melting. He had followed you out here for a reason, and now he was paying the price of nerves attacking him. He really hoped you couldn’t notice the red he felt creeping up his neck against the already rouge light.

“I wish someone would have dragged me into this sooner.” You sigh and he looks surprised. “I get my dad was just trying to protect me but… I can’t help thinking how different everything would be if someone just told me. Maybe… maybe I wouldn’t have been in detention in the first place.”

“Maybe.” He agrees quietly, fidgeting with his hands, “I’m glad you were, though.”

Your eyes flash towards his with a confused scrunch of your brows. “Why?”

“I don’t know what I would have done if I had to go through this alone.” He admits, avoiding your eyes by turning back to face the window. “It was nice, having someone there. Even if we, uh, hate eachother.”

You let out a small laugh, shaking your head slightly. “Well, for what it’s worth, I’m kinda glad you were there, too. Even, yeah, even if we are sworn enemies.”

“Y/n.”

He finally looks at you and you patiently wait for whatever he has to say. The longer it takes, the stranger you feel, like a growing pit of anticipation, both good and bad. You watch as he struggles with the words, like he couldn’t choose or he genuinely didn’t know what to say, his lips forming them in small twitches but never speaking.

“I don’t hate you.”

You didn’t realise how close you were until you felt his shoulder brush against yours as he shifted to lean on one arm, looking at you, expecting a response.

“I…” You try, searching his eyes for some kind of hint that this was all a joke. But it was genuine. So genuine, you found yourself lost in his gaze, fighting the idea that you never wanted to leave it. “You don’t?”

“I thought I did.” He says, his voice merely a whisper. “But I meant what I said. I’m glad you were there at the beginning of all this. And… and I’m glad it was you.”

The sudden flutter in your chest was crumpled by the hand of anxiety, pulling you back down to earth, burning the incriminating evidence on your ankle as to why that hope you felt would never be. Timing was a cruel mistress.

“Steve…” You start, but he is already closer now, close enough to make you look at him.

“I don’t want us to hate eachother.” He says, and he meant it with every heartbeat in his chest, “I don’t… I don’t even know why it’s like this. The last four days just proved that I don’t have a single reason to hate you, Y/n. And… and I don’t want to pretend anymore.”

“I…” You hoped if you started talking, the words would just follow. But instead, they stay stuck in your throat in the same way your eyes never wavered from his brown ones. Those little gold flecks shone bright at you. You couldn’t do this to him.

“Do you hate me?” He asks, rearing himself closer. You catch his eyes dart to your lips and you hold your breath, your fingers unintentionally moving to his hand.

That delicious tingle of contact brushed against him, racing his heart across his body until he felt like it was over the moon, that painfully sweet anticipation of your lips against his…

But you pull your head away from his, your eyes squeezed shut.

“We can’t.” You whisper out, so quiet he thought he misheard you. He hoped he had, but he was so focused on your lips he knew each word as they left your mouth.

“Why?” Steve frowns softly, reaching out to take your hand in his, and you don’t snatch it away.

“Y/n… we don’t have to keep playing that stupid game high school made up for us. Okay? High school practically doesn’t even exist anymore-”

“There’s too many complications.” Your voice is strained, like you didn’t want to say it.

“Like what?” He looks at you for an answer, but you can’t meet his eyes. “Give me one good reason why, and I’ll go. Just don’t lie to me.”

“We haven’t spoken in years, Steve.” You finally look up at him and he can see the tears already pooling. “Not as friends, at least. I’m glad I got to see the real Steve Harrington, even if it was just a few days, but… but that’s not enough time to really know eachother. You don’t know me.”

“It doesn’t change how I feel.” He says and you so badly wanted to grab him and kiss him until all the pain went away, all your issues and burdens, the entire world if nothing at all. But you can’t. What if you committed to this and it all blew up in your face? What if it ended quicker than it began?

“I’m sorry.” You finally say, stepping back and wiping a tear. He doesn’t let you go. “Steve-”

“You claim I don’t know you. That I haven’t had enough time to.” He starts, concern marking his eyes. “But right now, I know you’re hiding something from me.”

Steve can’t believe that his past self was so adamant on hating you, returning your unkind favours with his own, battling out who could make the other’s life a living hell. It took an actual living hell to realise he was wrong. Without the distraction of high school, he was forced to admit his feelings. To himself. To you. The whole world was burning, but his biggest fear was that you wouldn’t like him the same way he has liked you all this time.

“Just tell me.” He pleads. “Y/n-”

“One of those things got me.” You finally blurt and he blinks, shaking his head.

“I don’t-”

“The demodog. At school.” You begin, gulping back the fear. It was time you admitted it to yourself. “When it was dragging me away… I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”

“What are you trying to say?” He asks, but he already knows the answer. He wants you to prove him wrong, tell a different fate.

“It bit me.” The words were heavy as they tumbled from your lips, hitting the air with a cold smack. “And I’m pretty sure I’m gonna turn into one of those things out there.”

Steve doesn’t speak, doesn’t move- breathe. It would have been funny to see Steve buffering if you hadn’t just admitted your death sentence.

“No.” He says plainly and you shut your eyes. “No, that’s not- no.”

Rather than speak, you slowly reach down and pull up the leg of your jeans, revealing the damned mark to him once and for all. His skin was getting paler as he followed the black veins snaking along your skin, like growing vines.

“No, that’s not poss-” He stops himself with a deep breath, stepping back and resting his hands on his head. “If it was- you would have turned by now if it was true. The others didn’t take that long, right? It’s not…”

“I don’t know how it works. I thought… maybe, it wasn’t affecting me. But the veins… look just like the ones they have. I… I don’t know how long I have left.”

“We’ll find something.” He suddenly says with a hardened face and posture. “A cure. There’s gotta be a way out of it.”

“I don’t think there is one.” You say, cutting him off when he tries to speak. “We don’t even know how long this virus takes, or if it affects people differently- we don’t have the time.”

“Maybe El knows something.” He suggests, but even he knew it was a long shot. He just couldn’t believe he had been laying in that bed figuring out how to tell you his feelings, thinking the worst you could say was that you didn’t feel the same way.

“You can’t tell anyone.” You’re quiet, shifting on your leg with your head low. Steve can’t believe what he’s hearing.

“What- you… you expect me to just pretend like everything’s fine?” He exasperates, scrunching his face when you don’t respond. “No, Y/n, don’t- don’t just spring that on me and expect me not to help you.”

“They’re leaving today.” You finally speak, looking up at him with sad eyes. “They’ll head out to the school, go through a gate and try to survive while finding unknown evidence of my theory. If I’m wrong, then it was all for nothing. They could get hurt, or- or worse. And if I’m right… then what? How do we know they’ll be able to fight it? All of this while the kids are going to be listening in on every breath and every step, Joyce is gonna be wondering what to do if Hop never comes back, Jonathan- Mike is going to be scared for his life knowing his sister is down there. And then El… everyone already has so much weighing them down, so many things to be afraid of. I don’t even know if this bite is gonna do anything but I want them going in with clear heads, not constantly worrying about me.”

“Not even Robin?” He challenges, coming closer again. “Your dad?”

“Robin will be fine.” You say, convincing yourself. “And Hop… I can’t think about that right now.”

“Y/n-”

“No.” You snap, taking a deep breath when you realise how loud the word had slipped from your mouth. “Sorry. I just… even if I did tell him… what is he gonna do? What the hell are any of us gonna do? There isn’t a cure, or- or a way out. Either it’s fine and it doesn’t happen, or I’m gonna become one of those things. And… and I can’t become one of them. I can’t let my dad, you, anyone, watch me become one of those things.”

When you blink, a single tear catches and trails down your face. Steve places his hand on your cheek, gently wiping it away with his hand and you’re surprised by the contact, but you don’t pull away. He brings his other hand up until he’s cupping your face, a pained expression painting his own.

“I’m not letting that happen to you.” He whispers and you instinctively hold on to his arms.

Before you could utter another word, the startling creak of the lab door on the other side of the room catches your attention just as it’s thrown open, revealing wide eyes of the adults catching you in a moment.

Steve practically jumps away from you, assuming what he hoped was a casual pose and you tighten your lips.

Joyce is suppressing a smile, clocking Hopper’s hardened stare as his eyes flicker between you both.

“Hi, kids.” She smiles.

“Hey.” You respond, ignoring Steve’s flushed look. “How was the patrol?”

“I’m moving your beds.” Hopper states and Joyce rolls her eyes.

“He’s kidding.” She says as she steers him away from you both and towards the bunker door.

“He’s not.” Hopper grumbles but eventually gives in with a sigh. “We’re about to get everyone up and ready, we’ll need you both for this meeting.”

“We’ll be there.” You nod and he lets out another sigh.

“Come on.” Joyce teases, opening the door and stepping through.

Before Hopper followed, he paused with one hand holding the metal door open. “Oh, and Steve?”

“Yes, sir?” Steve suddenly straightens and your eyes widen in amusement.

“Three feet away from my daughter.”

“Yes, sir.” He takes a big step back away from you and Hopper hums in approval, finally shutting the door behind him.

Despite the tension still lingering in the air, almost-kisses and heartbreaking-declarations, you started to laugh.

“What?” Steve frowns, the tips of his ears bright red.

“Nothing.” You giggle still, shaking your head in disbelief. “Never thought my dad would ever be worried about me and Steve Harrington. It’s… god, it’s funny.”

“He’s scary when he’s like that.” Steve mutters and you have to walk away before you laugh any harder. “Where are you going?”

“To this meeting before Hop comes back and asks for your head on a stick.”

With that, his eyes widen and he clears his throat, nodding viciously.

“Yep, yep, one hundred percent with you there.” And he steps forward before pausing.

“What is it?” You raise your eyebrow and he scans the floor between you, making you groan. “Are you seriously staying three feet away from me right now?”

“He could be watching.” He whispers and you roll your eyes.

“God, you’re such a coward.”

“Better a coward than thrown in jail for the rest of my life.”

“He can’t do that- oh for god’s sake.” You move quicker than he can react and place your hand on his shoulders. He tenses and you smile. “See? No one’s coming to arrest you.”

He lets out a chuckle, looking down at you like you were water in the Sahara, before his face drops to a serious tone.

“You have to tell him, Y/n.”

You let your hands fall back by your side and bite your bottom lip. “I know. But I can’t. Not yet.”

“What on god’s horribly disfigured earth were you doing this morning with Harrington?” Robin persists with a low voice and you shoot her a warning look.

You and Steve had returned to the sleepy gazes of your friends, some still trailing in while rubbing their eyes, others didn’t even look like they had woken up yet. Regardless, Hopper’s voice was demanding, and you had shuffled your way over to Robin so you could focus. If you were standing beside Steve, the apocalypse wouldn’t be the first thing on your mind.

“Can we not talk about it here?” You hiss, aware of the ears around you that could pick up on the conversation.

“Fine.” Robin widens her eyes mockingly. “You wanna keep it on the down low, got it. Tell your boyfriend that first.”

She nods her head in Steve’s direction and when you look over, a blush creeps across his cheeks and he’s averting his eyes, making your heart flutter.

“Not my boyfriend.” You almost forget to correct, folding your arms and redirecting your gaze back to Joyce.

“El will be by the gate, ready to connect with Hopper and try to find whatever is causing these gates to open.” Joyce smiles at the young girl beside her. “As for everyone else, we’ll need people on radios at all times. Patrol will be done periodically as usual.”

“I got the radios sorted.” Dustin smiles, motioning to the pile on the table.

Steve takes a glance down before his stomach twists. How many times had he tried contacting Dustin before his heart couldn’t take it anymore? Too many.

“The plan is for us to be down there an hour at most. It will let us cover the area surrounding the school and if we don’t find anything when our time is up, we’re getting out and we’re coming back here for a new course of action.” Hopper states and Nancy nods beside him, mentally capturing the map in her mind with the intention of scripting their movements in the limited time period.

“And if you do find something?” Mike asks and Hopper furrows his brows.

“We’re not planning on getting close enough to say hello.” He replies lowly, “But I know El will have eyes on us the whole time.”

The girl in question is nodding her head, face stoic and ready for her duties.

“We’ll head off in two hours. Until then, let’s make sure we have everything we need and take some time to prepare.”

And by that, he meant to prepare mentally. Nancy looked ready but her eyes kept darting to where Jonathan sat, already staring back at her. You supposed there must have been some friction when she decided to follow Hopper into the Upside Down. And in a mere two hours, a lovers quarrel would be the last thing to worry about.

“Y/n.” Hopper calls and you snap out of your thoughts, looking up. “You okay to do the patrol shift?”

“Yeah.” You nod, turning to Robin.

She was already walking away, her hands held up in silent protest and you understood her decision.

You absent-mindedly start looking to where Steve was standing, his arms crossed, back against a wall as Dustin chatted his ear off. The idea of being alone with him before all of this was excruciating, a thought that would never have crossed your mind. Now you were willing, and very happily so, to be spending time with him. He’s changed a lot from the King Steve you’ve grown to hate. He’s much more like that boy you met in middle school.

Hopper clears his throat and you realise you’ve been staring too long, returning your attention back to your father.

“I could-” You start but he’s already got other plans.

“Billy.” He calls over, summoning the boy by his side. “I need you and Y/n to patrol. Nothing long, just a quick check around the lab to make sure nothing has gotten in before we head out.”

“Sounds like fun.” Billy shrugs, throwing a smirk your way and you almost roll your eyes.

Content with his decision, Hopper gave a smile that said ‘that should keep you occupied’ and headed back to Joyce, probably to boast about how well he handled the Steve situation.

“Shall we?” Billy gestures to the weapons and you let out a sigh.

“Why not.” You say, throwing a look over your shoulder to where Robin was stifling a laugh. You pull a face at her before reaching the table, grabbing a knife.

“Last I remember, you were a pretty great shot.” Billy suggested, eyeing the shotgun. You knew he was genuine in his suggestion, but the thought of holding one again sent a chill down your spine. The shotgun didn’t save you last time.

“Like Hopper said, it’s just a quick tour of the lab.” You dismiss, smiling. “We better get it over with so you can prepare.”

“Right.” He chuckles, slinging the shotgun strap onto his shoulder. “Let’s go.”

Steve watches in disdain as you leave with Billy, falling into easy conversation like the guy wasn’t a horrible human being. Part of him wanted to walk over and smack that smug look off his face but he was also fully aware of Hopper’s stare on him.

With a sigh, he re-immerses himself back into Dustin’s explanation on the notebooks he discovered in the control room upstairs.

“Most of it was pretty unintelligible. People need to learn how to write, or what’s the point?” He rambles, waving the book in the air. “I mean, the only words I could figure out were ‘green’ and numbers attached to experiments. Will’s much better at reading cursive than I am, so he’s getting information whenever he has time. Do you think they were doing other experiments here?”

“Are your radios gonna work?” Steve questions and Dustin looks in exasperation.

“You’re not even gonna attempt to be interested?” He complains and Steve pinches the bridge of his nose.

“We need to be focusing on this mission, not what some whack-job scientist scribbled in his diary.” He sighs. “So, radios. Are we sure they’ll even reach them?”

“Uh… duh. Or we wouldn’t be doing it.”

Steve resists the groan bubbling in his throat. “Well, it hasn’t been very useful so far.”

“What do you mean?” He looks up at him inquisitively, clutching his radio in his right hand.

Shifting uncomfortably, Steve lowers his head and purses his lips.

“Nothing, man, I’m just… I’m not convinced the radios work properly.”

“Why?” He pesters once more and Steve sighs.

“I tried reaching you.” He admits and the young boy’s eyes widen. “Like five times. And I know you’ve got that thing on you all the damn time. There’s gotta be a reason why it wasn’t reaching, or maybe you were just ignoring me.”

“I would never ignore you.” Dustin states matter-of-factly, shrugging. “And it wouldn’t have worked because I’ve been stuck in this bunker for hours on end, the frequency doesn’t reach this far down. I don’t think it’s built for stuff like that.”

“Oh.” Is all Steve can say.

“I would’ve answered if not.” Dustin assures and Steve slowly nods, swiping the bottle from the table beside him. “Plus, you should be thankful it never reached.”

“I should?” Steve raises an eyebrow, taking a sip of water.

“You would never have a girlfriend right now if I answered.”

Steve almost spat out his water, choking when the minimal requirement of swallowing said water went horribly awry.

“Knew it.” Dustin laughs.

“She’s not- we’re not-” Steve stumbles over his words, thankful everyone is too consumed in their own tasks to take notice. “Shut up, Henderson.”

The boy just laughs, content in his observation just as Nancy wanders over, picking up one of Dustin’s radios.

“Hey, this gonna work?” She asks and Dustin’s face drops.

“Why must everybody question me?” He grumbles, walking away without answering her question.

Nancy looks dumbfounded, turning to Steve. “Something I said?”

“I don’t know, that kid’s a ticking time bomb, anything could set him off.” He sighs, rubbing a hand down his face. “But, I wouldn’t worry about the radios. Henderson knows what he’s doing.”

She slowly nods, looking down at the object in question and Steve is unsure of what to say to her. They hadn’t talked since… well, not since they broke up. He wasn’t even sure if he was fully over her, or their relationship to be specific. It was the first time he really felt connected to someone. Until she started pulling away and leaving him to stare at himself for hours on end in that mirror of conscience.

“You guys are pretty close now, huh?” She queries, raising her head to meet his eyes and he clears his throat.

“Uh, yeah.” He nods, moving away from the wall and straightening up, wondering what to do with his hands. How did he used to stand? “He’s a little shit, but he’s pretty cool. Like having a little brother.”

“Right.” She chuckles under her breath. “But, um… that’s not what I meant.”

“What did you…” Steve began before it finally clicked and he tightens his lips, wincing. “Did everyone see us come in together?”

“I think most of them saw you follow her outside, actually.” She offers a smile and he starts to laugh awkwardly.

“It’s not- we’re… we’re just friends. I think. I actually don’t know if we’re even that right now. We’re not- that’s not…” He rambles, wiping his hands on his jeans. Was it always hot in here, why did he feel so hot? “Acquaintances.”

“Sure.” Nancy says knowingly, setting the radio back down. “I’m just… surprised. Last I knew, you hated her.”

Her smile drops when his face does, avoiding her eyes. She starts to shake her head.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to-”

“No, no. You’re right, I… I did hate her.” Steve shrugs, “The more I think about it, though… the more I wonder if I ever had any reason to.”

“You mean other than freshman year?” She asks and his eyes shoot up. “I don’t remember anything else-”

“What about freshman year?” Steve interjects and her brows scrunch.

“You don’t remember?” Her eyes widen when he shakes his head, letting out a breath. “Wow. Sorry, I didn’t realise- it was the biggest gossip. I wasn’t even in high school yet but everyone in my class talked about it.”

“About what?”

“The date.” She says it was a historic event. “All I heard was you guys went to Lover’s Lake, she tried… well, she tried something, and then got all upset because you turned her down. I remember Carol saying that Y/n took it so bad she tried turning everyone on you, using it to get closer to guys?”

Steve wasn’t sure if his memory was truly terrible, or if he shouldn’t be believing any of it. He couldn’t recall ‘the date’, or Lover’s Lake. Not even the part where you apparently came onto him and he rejected you? That made no sense.

“That didn’t happen.” He frowns, mostly muttering to himself.

“I wasn’t there.” Nancy tightens her lips sympathetically, “And I know now that anything Carol says can be a complete lie. But it’s the only thing I can think of. You guys never fought in middle school.”

“Nancy!” Mike’s voice carries across the room and she looks over her shoulder.

“Look, I should…” She motions to her brother, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He dismisses with a forced smile. Nancy knows him better than that, but she also knows she’s on borrowed time to see Mike before she leaves, so she starts moving away from him. “Hey.”

She looks back expectantly.

“Good luck. Just in case I don’t get a chance to say it later.”

With a smile, she finally turns away and joins her brother and his friends, leaving Steve to stand with his thoughts, and wonder just how much of his life he had lost in those battles.

Everything was pretty quiet in the lab. There hadn’t been one ominous sound, not even an echo of a snarl. The only noise came from the soft thumps of footsteps between friends.

You wondered what Steve was doing now.

No, you tell yourself, stop it.

Whenever your thoughts drifted to Steve, they were automatically met with a wake up call from the sore curse on your ankle, feeding into the long list of reasons you couldn’t be closer to him. Your life had gotten spectacularly more complicated and, as a result, shorter than anticipated. You hoped you would at least feel when it was happening. Maybe then you’d have a chance to stop yourself before it was too late.

Billy lets out a yawn beside you, peering through a door that was slightly ajar before returning with no evidence of a monster in sight.

“So.” You look up to the boy beside you, welcoming a distraction. “Haven’t talked to you in a while.”

You can see his eyes retract from you, looking almost… sheepish. He must have been expecting this conversation.

“Yeah…” Billy coughs, rolling his shoulders. “Sorry about that. I was busy.”

“Hm.” You nod with a smile, tilting your head. “I can imagine how busy it must have been. How many missed calls was it? 7?”

“9.” He responds quickly before immediately clocking the trap you sent for him. “Shit.”

“Not too busy to see them, then?” You comment with a smirk. You weren’t upset about it.

Truthfully, you weren’t really close friends. More… friendly acquaintances. But he did just suddenly drop off the face of your earth and never explained himself. Avoiding you wherever possible, watching your calls ring through with no intention of picking up. You gave up after 9 days. That was enough to be satisfied you had tried your best.

“Okay, yeah, you got me.” He chuckles, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I don’t have a good reason for it, either.”

“It’s whatever.” You shrug when he raises an eyebrow. “Come on, we were just partners on a project, you didn’t stand me up at our wedding or anything.”

“Always figured you wanted something more.” He jokes with that smirk of his. You simply roll your eyes.

“In your dreams.”

“Every night, princess.”

“God.” You grimace, laughing. “You’re such a creep when you call me that. My dad’s the chief of police. And it definitely doesn’t suit me.”

“That’s what makes it so funny.”

“Whatever.” You roll your eyes and he chuckles to himself.

“How about I make it up to you later?” Billy nudges your shoulder and you laugh.

“Not necessary.”

“Nah, come on. We’ll go wherever you want.”

“If I recall, aren’t you about to go on a dangerous mission?” You try to keep it light-hearted and he shrugs.

“When I get back.”

“Okay,” You nod slowly, curious. “And where in Hawkins are we gonna go? Considering everything is a pile of rubble.”

“The chief said something about Illinois.” He recalls as he holds a door open for you, “How about I buy you a drink there?”

You laugh. “No specific place. Just Illinois.”

“Yeah.”

“We’re barely 19.”

“That’s not what it says on my ID.” He pretends to act shocked and you laugh, shaking your head. “So, what’d you say?”

“You get back from the Upside Down… and I’ll think about it.”

He clicks his tongue with a grin, shaking his head. “That’s fair. I deserve that.”

“Just focus on finding monsters.” You playfully push him away from you, ignoring that jolt of anxiety you feel when you notice a flickering lightbulb in a passing corridor.

“So, when we go for drinks.” Billy smirks, “Is Harrington gonna mind?”

You almost trip up. “Why would Steve care?”

“Look, I don’t wanna get in the middle of stuff.” Billy says and you’re slightly surprised. After all, he wasn’t known for his quiet and respectful nature at school. Your hesitancy must have shown on your face because he shrugs. “High school’s almost over, and I’m not looking for those assholes to be my ‘glory days’ or whatever. We all gotta grow up sometime.”

“And the thing that happened last year?” You suggest, “I don’t know what happened, but everyone seems pretty pissed with you.”

“It was a mistake.” His eyes darken, jaw tight and set as he looks ahead. “I was just sick of people ordering me around all the fucking time, you know?”

You go to answer when something starts echoing your way. It sounded like… scratches?

“The hell is that?” Billy frowns, shotgun slipping off his shoulder and into his hands. Your heart starts to race.

“Probably nothing.” You shake your head, and then the noise starts up again. Except this time, it’s a pounding of noises, harsh banging that had you stumbling back.

“Nothing is making a shit ton of noise right now.” Billy breathes out harshly, stepping in front of you.

He’s already moving toward the noise before you could offer any more dismissals and you have to follow, your knuckles paler from the tightened grip of the knife in your fist.

Your heart leaps into your throat, choking a gasp from your mouth when you reach a set of double doors, leading down the very hallway that you had discovered yesterday. The one that apparently wasn’t just in your nightmares.

“Billy.” You hold a hand out, stopping him from charging forward. “We should get back-up.”

“It’s fine, probably just another demodog.” He raises his shotgun, ignoring your protests.

Something suddenly snarls behind you and you both spin around, finding nothing under the furiously flickering lights. The banging noise starts again, in the same space you both stared at.

“Shit, it’s following us.” Billy curses, grabbing your arm and pulling you behind him. “That hallway leads to the other side of the lab. It’ll get us closer to the bunker.”

“Are you sure?” You glance over your shoulder, an unsettling feeling burying into your gut.

“Trust me, we’ve been using it for days now.”

His retreating footsteps weren’t giving you much choice as another snarl bites the air, forcing you to bump open one of the double doors and back yourself into the hallway.

And then the banging starts again. Except it’s behind you.

You both freeze, turning once again to the singular door at the end of the hallway, a snarl vibrating through the wood of it.

The door you had walked through swung itself closed with a loud bang.

Spinning around with no intention of being here any longer, you reach out and pull the handle towards you.

It didn’t budge.

You grab the other handle in your spare hand and pull harder, the doors rattling under your force, but never opening.

“Billy!” You yell, but he’s already pushing against the doors, eyes wide. “It’s locked! How is it locked?!”

“Shit!” He hisses, turning to ram his shoulder against it for extra strength, but he couldn’t keep it up forever.

And then the pounding against the door gets louder, more violent. He is using every bit of his strength to break through, but it’s not working.

“Shit, shit, shit!” He yells out, driving his boot down on the doors hard. It was just as successful as before.

The air is cut silent and you freeze, breathing heavy as you raise your head, meeting Billy’s eyes. He’s looking behind you, trying to figure out what was going on. But you knew. You’ve been here before.

“Billy.” You divert his attention with pleading eyes. “Go back to the bunker.”

“The fuck I will.” He protests, frowning.

Knowing you needed a solid reason, you put on your best front and nod at him. “Get back-up.”

His eyes keep darting between you and the door, a scowl masking whatever fear swam in his gaze.

“You don’t have any other choice.” You say and he lets out a frustrated sigh, nodding.

“Do not die.” Billy warns, jogging backwards before breaking out into a run, back through the winding hallways.

And you were left alone, slowly turning back to the door, waiting for your nightmare to begin again.

Steve was brooding. There wasn’t any other way to put it. Pouting, maybe. Like a child that had been left behind.

Right now, you were roaming the halls with Billy Hargrove, probably discussing that ‘moment’ you apparently had. He wondered if you would tell him about the bite, trust Billy like you trusted Steve. Part of him felt bitter about that thought.

He feels a shadow approach him and turns around from where he was standing at the window to the gate.

“Does something perplex thee?” Robin mocks with a posh British accent, earning a glare. She drops the act. “Damn, you do be perplexing.”

“No, I’m not.” He scrunches his face, glancing back at the portal to hell. “Wait, what does perplex mean?”

“The American education system has failed you, my friend.” She rests a hand on his shoulder, curving her head to meet his eyes. “There something you wanna tell me?”

“I mean, I did miss a lot of school.” He admits with a shrug and she whacks his arm. “Ow!”

“I meant about her, dingus!” She flails an arm out, her voice louder than anticipated.

“Shh! Jesus Christ.” His eyes are wide and Robin is resisting the grin ever-growing dimples on her face. “No. No, I’m not…”

She raises an eyebrow and he feels a blush creeping up his neck.

“Y/n and I are just friends.” He states sternly and she smirks.

“I never said I was talking about Y/n.” She points out and by this point, he’s beetroot red.

“Fine.” He whispers out. It was admit it or forever be haunted by it. “I… mightlikeher.”

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Robin prompts, holding a hand to her ear.

Steve grits his teeth. “I… might… likeher.”

“One more time.”

“Robin!”

“Okay, jeez.” Robin laughs, shaking her head. “You didn’t even need to say it out loud, you’re so obvious.”

“No, I’m not.”

“I’ve seen monkeys act more normal than you.”

“Yeah well, maybe monkeys can act normal because the monkeys they like actually like them back.”

Robin stares blankly. “You lost me.”

“I… I told her this morning. Kind of. Well…”

She raises a brow. “You either did or you didn’t.”

“There was a…” He waves his hand in the air, eyes squinting. “Moment.”

“And was this, uh… moment, inside or outside of your head?” Robin accuses and he slumps against the metal railing.

“Why am I even talking to you?” Steve mutters and Robin snorts.

“Because your only other friend is a child.” She laughs, quietening when she catches his glare. “Okay, okay, sorry. I’m just curious, that’s all. One minute you guys are literally yelling at eachother across a cafeteria and the next you’re sneaking off and sneaking glances and being all… mushy.”

“Horrible word choice.” Steve cringes.

“And Y/n won’t spill anything. In fact, she’s been distracted and kind of distant so naturally, I’ve come to the source.”

“She…” He isn’t sure how to finish his explanation. It wasn’t his place to tell her. If anyone should, it should be you. But he knew you would avoid the topic forever if you could. “I don’t know. Nothing’s happening between us, if that’s what you’re asking.”

She detects that tone of disappointment in his voice and her entire demeanour changes.

“It’s really hard liking someone when you don’t even know if you can be together.” She says quietly and Steve turns his head to her. She rests her hands against the railing, staring down at them. “Especially when it’s literally only one thing. And that thing is usually the most crucial part.”

Steve thinks about this for a moment, catching his reflection against the glass. The most crucial part to your relationship was, as it has been for the last four days, survival in its simplest form. But you might have this virus and Steve can’t change that. You might not survive.

“You just have to figure out if it’s worth trying anyway.” Robin smiles sadly at him. “Jump into the deep end. Sink or swim.”

Steve couldn’t decide. Was it better for him to lay it all out on the table, tell you how he really feels, give it a shot? Or is it going to be easier for him to just forget this ever happened? It was a horrible thing, to decide how you could live best after someone was sentenced to death.

“What do you think I should do?” He asks and she looks a little surprised, her mouth parting. And then she smiles.

“Well, it should really be your decision. But... if you really want my opinion...” She meets his eyes and tilts her head. “I happen to remember you’re a really good swimmer.”

Steve couldn't help but smile at that, standing beside a girl who might have the potential to be the friend he always needed.

A loud echo drums against the control room walls, snapping their heads to the sound. Steve frowns while Robin’s eyes widen.

“What was that?” She whispers out.

Steve’s arms begin to trail goosebumps along the skin as he pushes away from the window.

“I don’t know.” He replies truthfully, straining his ears for another clue.

“Maybe they’re on their way back and dropped something.” Robin suggests, and Steve wants to believe it’s true.

Until a hot blare of screeching sirens suddenly rings out above them, red lights spinning around the room in crimson shadows. They immediately clamp their hands over their ears, groaning at the ear-piercing sound.

Hopper finds his way out of the bunker, holding two shotguns and a hard stare. He had snapped into action as soon as he heard the distant warning bells.

“What happened?!” He shouts over the noise, but the duo shake their heads.

The door bursts open and a red-faced Billy stumbles in, panting as he tries to catch his breath.

Steve’s heart drops when he sees he’s alone, and Hopper immediately strides over to him.

“Where’s Y/n?!” He demands, and Billy stumbles over his words. “I can’t hear you!”

“She’s trapped and something’s in there with her!” Billy yells, and Steve’s blood runs cold.

Hopper immediately turns, chucking a shotgun toward Steve and the boy luckily manages to catch it.

“You two, with me!” He orders, turning to Robin. “Grab the others and figure out what’s going on with the sirens!”

She quickly nods and scrambles to get into the bunker as Steve and Hopper follow Billy out, wasting no time.

They didn’t know what to expect, and they didn’t care. Steve prayed they made it in time.

You stand there, pressed up against your locked exit as the door shudders from the impact behind, rattling the hinges with each force of a beating.

You weren’t going to wake up this time.

You scan the floor for what you remember seeing, Robin’s bracelet. It was different this time, like it hadn’t happened yet.

The door shatters into splinters and you almost stop breathing, a loud piercing sound of nails against the chalkboard.

Claws.

It was the first you saw in the darkness, and then a fog of breath.

Everything plunged into chaos.

The sirens start blaring and you wince against the sudden noise, clamping your hands over your ears. The lights were flickering out of control, leaving you dazed and disoriented. You struggled to keep your eyes on the door, knowing one moment of distraction would be your demise.

Something was breathing heavy, a dim silhouette growing until its head almost struggled to fit inside the doorframe. Then you saw it.

Green glowing eyes.

And it finally stepped forward, knocking the air out of your lungs as your eyes pricked with tears.

“Y/n?” A voice calls out, and for a mere second you thought you were free.

Until you realise that voice was echoing from the wrong direction.

The monster stops moving and you can just see a figure behind it at the end of the hallway, their soft features looking around with a frown. And then she sees it.

Robin finally sees the monster.

Her eyes widen in terror as the thing turns towards her, snarling, flexing its claws.

“NO!” You scream, and your best friend tries to run.

She doesn’t make it.

The monster hooks its claws into her back and she lets out a blood-curdling scream. You cry out, raising your knife and charging forward. One swift hand throws you back and you thump onto the floor, coughing for oxygen.

You try to scramble to your feet again, save her, kill it. But you’re too late.

Her screams suddenly stop and you watch as it rips into her, slicing through flesh like it was paper, your knife slipping from your grip as everything around you feels like it has stopped. You couldn’t even feel your own heartbeat anymore.

One motion from the creature’s claw and something is flung from the vicious actions, landing at your feet.

A glint of metal in a woven circle.

Her bracelet.

You let out a strangled cry, falling back to the ground. It stops, breathing heavily, and slowly turning back towards you.

It was similar to a demogorgon’s body, pale and unnatural. But much bigger. And this one had a face.

Two green eyes that stretched along each side, like they had been pulled back.

A long, gaping mouth, slots of sharp teeth slowly pushing through the gums.

Its arms were long and lanky, sharp claws scratching against the walls as it creeps closer to you, smearing red against the white. Robin’s blood. Robin’s blood.

Tears are streaming down your face as you try to scramble away, knowing there was no escape. It had murdered Robin- god - in cold blood right in front of you, and now it was going to kill you. Part of you didn’t have the fight left.

One terrifyingly high pitched roar escapes its mouth as it raises an ugly claw.

Your eyes squeeze shut, trying to imagine your family, Sara. Robin. Steve. You couldn’t let your last memory be that ugly face.

The sound of smashing glass had your eyes flying open in an instant, rattling sounds of a shotgun fire above you. You look with tear stained cheeks at the monster stumbling away from you into a run, startled by the attack.

Not before it sent another cold shiver down your spine with one look in its endless green eyes, clicking its tongue.

It had vanished down the hallway by the time Steve had managed to break through one of the doors. It was almost like it had opened by itself, never been locked. Nothing like how Billy had described it to be.

“Y/n?!” He yells, fear coating his entire body when he notices something further down the hallway. So much blood.

“Steve?”

Your small voice turns him to where you’re curled up in the corner, eyes wide and gleaming with the tears that hadn’t already fallen.

“Thank god.” He breathes in relief, meeting you on the floor and capturing you in a hug, wincing at the way you were shaking. “Are you okay? Did it hurt you?”

“No-“ A sob is caught in your throat and he pulls back, searching your eyes. “It… it got her. She’s-“

“Who?” Steve asks, his brows furrowed as bile rises in his throat.

Your eyes drift back down that hallway. He turns his head to see Hopper already walking over to the body, kneeling beside it. You suddenly scramble to your feet, startling him.

“Y/n-“

“It killed Robin.” You finally say and he starts to shake his head.

“No.” He frowns, placing himself in front of you. “Y/n, look at me. That’s impossible. I was just with her. She’s safe.”

“She came looking for me.” Your mind was distracted, a heavy weight pushing against your chest as you avoided his eyes, “I didn’t get there fast enough, I could’ve- it killed her right in front of me…”

Steve looks at Hopper in exasperation as the man raises his head, shaking it. Steve looks down at the body, actually taking time to take in what remained.

“Why didn’t I stop it…” You’re still whispering to yourself, searching the ground for the weapon you abandoned. “I have to kill it. I have to-“

“Wait, stop.” Steve’s hand flies out to grab your arm, but you yank it away.

“She’s dead, and it’s my fault.” You still mutter, swiping the knife from the floor again. This wasn’t normal, the reaction you were heaving. Where was the screaming, the crying? Your best friend is dead.

“No, look-“

You ignore him, gripping the knife and trying to charge forward, but Steve grabs both of your arms now and you start to struggle. “Get off me! I have to-“

“Hey! Hey, it’s not her! Look, it’s not her!” Steve yells at you and you stop to finally look at the body, breathing hard and frowning.

There was so much blood splattered around, gashes of flesh against the cold floor. But none of it belonged to Robin. Because it had never been Robin.

The same dark and bony figure you had seen take your form days ago was led there, its hands a dead giveaway. A shapeshifter.

“It's not…” You blink back tears, shoulders dropping in defeat, and you feel someone gently taking the knife out of your hand.

“Just another shapeshifter. Y/n, look at me…” Steve gently places a hand on your check, guiding your eyes to look at him. “She’s okay. Robin’s okay. You’re okay.”

A tear trickles down and he pulls you into a hug again. Except this time, you surrender to it completely and hold onto him like a lifeline, sobbing into his shoulder with all the tears that were physically causing you pain to hold back.

Steve can’t believe this happened again. He left you, again. Anytime you weren’t in his sights, the universe had to find some way to mock him.

“You’re okay.” He whispers, into your hair, his own eyes falling shut.

Alarms were still blaring out of control when you finally left those hallways, the repetitive noise drilling a headache into your mind.

When the door bursts open, Dustin gasps and Robin turns from where she had been hitting random buttons in an attempt to get the noise to stop.

“Oh, thank god, you’re-”

Her words were cut off when you almost flew at her, pulling her into an unexpected hug.

“You’re alive.” You whisper quietly and she frowns.

“Of course I am.” She shakes her head as you pull away, noticing the trails tears had left down your cheeks. “What happened?”

“A shapeshifter.” You sigh and her face drops.

“And… it looked like me?” She theorised, her lips tightening when you nod. Wordless, she pulls you in for another hug, squeezing her eyes shut.

“You found a way to get this thing to shut off?” Hopper asks, his raised voice sounding like a normal volume over the shrill sounds of sirens.

“I’ve looked everywhere, there’s no instructions or even a manual for this thing!” Dustin exasperates, flinging a bunch of notebooks everywhere. “All I got is this weird countdown!”

Hopper frowns, gently moving him aside to stare down at a screen implanted into the control room panels, staring at red numbers that were counting down from 7:00, assuming it had started much earlier before he arrived.

They had already lost 10 seconds before he finally turned back around, and you noticed the pale look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” You question, stepping forward.

“It's not safe here anymore. We need to leave.” He says, looking between the confused expressions in the room. “Now!”

“It's a lockdown.” Dustin whispers out in realisation, mouth dropping open.

“What does that mean?” He frowns, finding himself looking at where Billy was peering down at the ticking clock.

“It means if we don’t get out of here soon, we’ll all be dog food.” He grunts, quickly moving to where Hopper was flinging open the bunker door, already shouting for everyone to abort the mission.

“Shit.” Steve spits, making sure you were already descending the stairs before he grabbed Dustin’s arm. “Come on, go, go.”

Everything was chaos. Groups were scrambling to collect different items, hastily shoving them into backpacks. Hopper didn’t need to say much to get them motivated, just his horrified look and a mention of an explosion to have them scrambling around to pack as much as they could before the time was up.

You hadn’t come with much, just one of Steve’s old backpacks still filled with various supplies. So, you make sure the kids are moving as quickly as they could, taking on different tasks, afraid of what will happen if you’re not out of the building when that clock hits zero.

“We need to go, now!” Hopper shouts and everyone drops whatever was in their hands, knowing if it wasn’t packed, it wouldn’t be coming with them. “Kids, follow Joyce! Billy, Nancy, Jonathan, go ahead!”

The trio in question nod their heads, arming their weapons and running up the stairs, Joyce just behind them. Hopper directs Mike and Will to follow, his head darting around for the other four.

“Guys!” You yell at Lucas and Max, pointing. “Go, quick!”

“Where’s El?!” Max worries out loud and you’re spinning around.

“I saw her head up already!” Dustin shouts as he runs past. You and Hopper share a similar nod of relief and you slip your backpack on.

“Let’s go!” Hopper yells again and you grab Robin's arm, knowing Steve would be following.

The increase of volume was as if you had walked into a room filled with high-pitched shrieking, wincing as Robin clamps her hands over her ears. She’s running through the door, Dustin and Steve beside her when you sneak a glance at the clock.

4:54

You were gonna make it.

As you turn on your heel to begin running, your eyes catch the window, processing something that almost tripped you over. The gate wasn’t as red as it had once been.

Dust was pouring out, flooding the railings with a sea of black. You shivered, deciding to run and leave it. It would simply be a pile of rubble in a few minutes.

But the distant screaming struck your spine and you found a girl struggling against its pull, taking shape to wrap around her body and tug her back towards the gate. Your eyes drift to where the door below the railing you stood on was wide open, like someone had run out. Someone who spent more time with the gate than anyone else.

El.

Steve glances over his shoulder and skids to a stop, steadying the shotgun that threatened to slip from his shoulder. The others kept charging ahead and he barely waited for you to appear before he began running back the way he came, one hand on the doorframe when he reached the control room.

“Y/n-”

You weren’t there. Shit. Why weren’t you there?

“Steve! Where are you guys?! Over!” Dustin’s voice blared through the radio strapped to his hip and his hand hovered over it, debating.

He couldn’t leave you behind again.

The first time he let you go, you were bitten by a demodog which could now be the very reason you wouldn��t survive. The second had you kidnapped and traumatised, a distant look in your eye that made him worry a hell of a lot more than he should be. The third you just disappeared, battling some unbeatable creature he had thought killed you. And now, a fourth time, that ungodly creature with glowing green eyes..

He wouldn’t let that happen a fifth.

“Henderson, listen to me. Get out of the building. Make sure everyone is out, don’t let anyone turn back.” He says into the radio, a hit of silence before Dustin’s voice comes blaring through again.

“And you’ll be out soon, right?”

Steve lowers his head, looking over at the countdown.

4:32.

“Yeah, we’ll be out soon.” He says, but his heart wasn’t in it, no vindication of truth in his words.

He straps the radio back on his hip, knowing if he talks too much he might feel the guilt of leaving Dustin. He could get you out in 2 minutes. Right? He checks his watch, making a mental note of the time. He wanted to track how long it took to find you. It was 9:28am right now.

If he could find you. Steve’s eyes scan the window of the gate, squinting at a blurry black shape. He’s been wondering if he needs glasses for a while now.

And then he sees you, leaning over the railing, screaming. His eyes dart to where he can just see El being dragged through the gate, heart leaping into his throat.

He didn’t expect you to push away and start running further down, closer to the entrance, further from him.

“Y/n!” He shouts out as he almost flies down the steps and out the door before his conscience could convince him otherwise.

He keeps shouting your name, and you keep ignoring it, trailing further and further down, your footsteps harsh against the metal staircase.

You didn’t have a weapon, no chance for survival. But you couldn’t leave her. You couldn’t watch her die. Not another sister. Not your sister. Not again.

It was stupid, reckless, suicidal what you were doing. No doubt as to why your friends were screaming for you to stop. But was it really a risk when you’re already so close to death?

It wasn’t just the bite, it was the veins, a black substance stretching around the wound. It was already too late for you, just like the other townsfolk plagued by the creatures ripping you all apart. You could have just sat and cried about it, helplessly ranted to your friends, to Hopper. To Steve. But what good would that do?

You hated yourself, but even that small miniscule part of you that still had faith was powering you to do something right for once.

To run into the wonderland of your nightmares alone.

Because who would ever follow you down the rabbit hole?

The difference between metal and rocky ground almost threw you off, ignoring that hiss of pain in your ankle. It was loud down here for a different reason, a thrumming of sound emitting from the gate in front of you. It was huge, taking up entirely too much space. And the dust was retreating through it, your sister already vanished.

How long has it been since the countdown? Probably too long for you to turn back, find another way. There were other gates, but this one was right here. El needed you.

Charging forward, you reach your hands out and pull apart the seams of the gate, pushing through what felt like some sort of unpleasant membrane. You tried not to think too much of it, driving yourself forward with what little will you had left.

The air felt thicker, white specks floating aimlessly around you as you drag yourself through the gate, wondering if it ever ended. Your foot catches on something and you fall forward, letting out a groan when you barely manage to bring your hands out in front of you in time.

You take in a breath, reaching out for the walls of the gate. Your eyes slowly open.

Everything was so dark in here. The sky, the ground, even the flashes of red lightning through the dark clouds. You push yourself to your feet, frowning as you take in your surroundings. If this version of Hawkins was meant to reflect your own, why were you outside?

“El?” You call out, frowning. You didn’t see any dust.

Something spits behind you and you spin around in a stumble, face dropping. The gate was towering over you once again, plastered to a wall of vines the same size as the lab you were just in. You look at your feet, gasping.

This was a flipped version of Hawkins. Except, somehow, you were standing in the ruins of a lab that once was. Like something destroyed it.

“El?!” You yell out, searching the dim blue for a girl, or at least a sign. You turn back around, feeling helpless.

The gate starts physically breathing, beaming a brighter red and casting your shadow behind you. You slowly back away. The humming of it grew louder, the vines it lay on slithering around it in unchoreographed patterns.

Something breaks through and you search the ground for a weapon, panicking. When it almost reaches you, you grab a rock and get ready to swing.

“Hey, woah, hey! Stop!” Steve yells out and you drop it, eyes widening, “Jesus, you could kill somebody with that!”

You blink, slowly shaking your head. “No, no, no, no, no…”

He frowns at you, quickly looking down at his watch. It just turned 9:30am, “Fuck, okay, we have just over two minutes to get the hell out before god knows what happens.”

“You’re not meant to be here.” You say, still shaking your head. “Steve! Why the hell did you follow me?!”

“Like I was gonna leave you?!” He gawks, gesturing to the gate. “What else was I meant to do?!”

“Get the hell out of the lab!” You exasperate. He shouldn’t have come with you. This was a death trap, he had to know it.

“We still have time-”

“I need to find El, you should leave before you run out of time.” You point to the gate but he’s much more stubborn than you think.

“I’m not leaving unless you’re coming with me.” He says sternly and you could almost scream.

“Steve, you’re literally wasting one of those minutes arguing with me, we can’t-”

“It’s fine, it’s still two…” Steve frowns, glaring at his watch. The hand hadn’t budged from the six. He looks a little closer, holding it to his ear. It wasn’t ticking. “What the…”

“What?”

“My watch stopped working.” He says and you scrunch your face. “No, I only just replaced the batteries, Dustin borrowed it and fixed it while we were gone, I…”

You stare at him. “So you don’t know how much time is left?”

He shakes his head vigorously. “I-“

A loud rumble shakes the floor and you automatically reach out to Steve, his hands grabbing your waist as you try to balance.

“What the hell was that?” You breathe out, and you both turn to the gate, something behind it growing brighter and brighter. “Steve…”

He squints against it. It looked like something was getting closer. Then, as he stares down at his suspiciously broken watch, his stomach drops. You were out of time.

“Run.” He breathes helplessly, not bothering to wait for your response before grabbing your hand and pulling you with him.

Steve desperately searches the area for some shelter, any kind of cover. He was standing in what looked like debris, a giant piece of… the lab? Whatever it was, it looked sturdy enough for him to pull you behind it.

He ducked his head down just as a giant blast of fire spat out of the gate, feeling the heat of it in the air as he held you tight. The shock left a ringing in his ear, his only reminder that he was still alive being the way you grasped his hand tight.

You move first, peering out over the slab of concrete and hissing when your hand accidentally makes contact with the burning stone. Everything around you was either burnt or burning, small flames dancing along the ground and chasing after screeching vines.

The lab had exploded, you realise, shoulders dropping. It was gone. And it took the gate with it, only a large crack against the surface left in its demise.

You turn to see Steve already standing beside you, taking in the scene just as you had, his hard stare softening into defeat. There was no going back.

“What now?” You whisper, afraid if you say it any louder the realisation of what you had done would come crashing down, taking away that last remaining piece of sanity with its tide.

“I…” Steve frowns, slowly meeting your eyes. He didn’t have a plan this time, no positives to share. You were both stuck in an alternate dimension, your exit blown to smithereens. “I don’t know.”

Four days ago, you had both survived the beginning of the apocalypse despite mutual hatred in every bone. It was purely a strategic pairing, unbeknownst to how much you’d learn.

Four days later, and there was a new beginning lurking in the air, staring at one another and holding hands like it was the only salvation.

This is it, Steve thinks, his eyes searching your own worried glaze of hue, sink or swim.

Chapter Thirteen: Three Weeks Later ->

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latelyanobsession · 1 year

Note

Hii! Could you please do H and R for billy? I adore those posts omg im dreading the time when all of the letters are taken 😭

thanks so much babe! 🥰 i love writing these, and luckily there's 26 letters in the alphabet, so we still have some time.

H - Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it, and what are they like?)

I would say that at least initially, Billy is not fond of hugs. He tolerates them but he gets this rather confused look on his face anytime you come up and wrap yourself around him. It's like he doesn't know what he should do with himself. Should he hug you back? Are you gonna stop hugging him? Are you gonna hang on him like a leech? He just has no clue. So he kinda awkwardly wraps one arm around you and gives you this little half-assed pat on the back, like someone would give to a puppy or a little kid. He gives you this tight-lipped smile, with eyes that almost say "are ya happy now?" He didn't grow up in a huggy-type family, so for him, this is totally foreign.

Most likely as things move along and he learns to expect hugs from you and grows more comfortable with it he'll settle into it. He'll do things like throw his arms open ahead of time if he sees you walking towards him, he may sigh in annoyance, but still wrap you up and give you a small kiss to boot depending on how much of a brat he wants to be for the day. If he sees you talking with your friends, he may hang back but then walk up and sling his arm over your shoulder and pull you in as they leave. He definitely starts initiating contact more frequently the longer that you two stay together.

On nights when things are tough, it may be hard for you to gauge how much you're allowed to touch him. You don't want to overwhelm him because he seems so upset, but increasingly he'll reach for you, grabbing at your hands and curling himself up in your arms.

R - Remember (Favorite memory with you?)

His favorite memory is when you made him laugh so hard that he cried. It's probably pretty sappy of him to have this be his favorite memory with you, but Billy doesn't have a whole lot of bright shining happy memories so when a good one appears, he really wishes he could jar it up so he could keep it and look at it on repeat whenever he wanted.

The pair of you were fighting actually, and it was reaching the point in the argument where someone was just a breath away from saying something that would probably be regretted when you belched right in his face. The argument ended right there. With you trying to hide your face and stay mad at him, and Billy doubling over with laughter. You ended up laughing with him and giving yourself hiccups, which only made him laugh harder, tears coming out of his eyes.

By the end of it, neither of you two even remembered what you were fighting about in the first place.

H - Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

Billy is pretty damn well-groomed, the boy doesn't have that mirror and vanity in his room for nothing. Overall he takes pretty good care of his appearance year-round, but once summer comes then he especially pulls out all the stops. This boy is a Californian after all, he thrives in the sunshine.

I would say that he definitely has a beauty/haircare routine, that may or may not be as extensive as Steve Harrington's. He shaves his face and likes to keep his budding lil mustache well-shaped. Everything you see outwardly he carefully crafts because Billy wants his appearance to do a lot of heavy lifting for him. He wants people to think he looks good, he looks fit, and he looks sexy. So he does everything he can for that.

Does the carpet match the drapes? Yeah pretty close, most blondes tend to have pubic hair that is slightly darker than the hair on their head though. So of the times he's au natural he'd probably be medium brown, chestnut-colored. I would say Billy's typical mode of operation though is to trim down or shave completely. I'm not certain if waxing was available or trendy in the 80s but it was probably just as expensive as it is today, so any 'manscaping' Billy does is probably all undertaken at home and on a budget. Nothing that a bottle of Nair can't fix...

R - Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

I truly believe that Billy is a big-time experimenter. If he sees some odd article mentioned on a porn rag cover in a gas station, he will full-on stop and read it like it's the Sunday Times. If he overhears about some great position or little move that Dick Mackey is spilling about while the guys are talking in the locker room after basketball practice, he's gonna listen. He wants to know, he wants to learn. If there's potential to learn new tricks and feel good at the same time, Billy is sold sold sold.

When Billy hits 18 he definitely visits the adult novelty shops and video stores. Lets his eyes wander and takes it all in. Maybe buys himself a little starter set with handcuffs and a blindfold to use on his partner. Maybe for them to use on him if he's feeling really generous.

In terms of risk, I think Billy is a conditional risk taker, but above all Billy is much more impulsive than he is risky. His propensity to do impulsive and at times stupid things can then turn the situations he and his partner partake in into risky ones. For example, hurriedly finding a supply closet on school grounds but then completely forgetting to lock the door. Or pulling onto the shoulder of the highway for a hot second but then getting wrapped up in the moment and leaving the car door open. Billy has a tendency to think only in terms of "this'll be great if we..." and then all other parts or the logistics are completely gone from his mind. So there may be a time when he's definitely been caught or interrupted to a full stop.

Billy may seek out some risks on purpose like messing around in the school library or study hall. But in those instances, his play is much lighter and teasing. Or he'll just focus on his partner's pleasure, making the payoff more likely and the risk of being caught at least slightly lower than if you both fully participated.

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multiversefanfics · 8 months

Text

Boyfriend

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader

Warnings: cussing, brief sadness, making out, fingering, oral

Summary: Nat doesn’t like your boyfriend and feels as though she’d be a better fit than him.

A/N: MINORS DNI I’ve had this idea for a bit and I’m hoping no one else has done this and if they have please let me know. but this is based on the song “Boyfriend” by Dove Cameron

Natasha has liked you for a very long time now, it was obvious to everyone but you. You were oblivious to her looks, the way she would physically get close to you, the slight touches, the cute pet names, Nat would literally follow you around like a lost puppy but you assumed that was just your dynamic, you didn’t think anything of it, especially feelings. She used to leave huge hints, you didn’t pick up on those either. No, you weren’t slow you just couldn’t imagine Natasha liking you, the way you liked her when you first met. She was distant at first almost cold and you thought she was the most gorgeous woman you laid your eyes on and in your head, it seemed like she made it very clear that you two were just friends, but that was far from the truth. Nat liked you too, she just didn’t know how to express her feelings and you two had just met it definitely would’ve been too soon to tell you that she liked you. Natasha’s feelings never left if anything they got stronger, she found it hard to be around you sometimes due to you getting a boyfriend, it was harder having to listen to you go on and on about him. She wanted to tell you her feelings but the night that she wanted to you brought your boyfriend to Tony’s party. You wore a long tight sapphire silk dress with a slit on the side that stopped right below your hip with an open back exposing the beautifully detailed tattoo that took up your entire back, that same tattoo that Natasha wished she could trace with her fingers while you two were cuddled up, she shook those thoughts away and went back to trying to help you find a dress for Tony’s next party. You came out in a short emerald green dress, she thought the color looked amazing against your skin tone but you didn’t like how short it was, you went back into the dressing room then returned minutes later with a longer, red sparkly dress once again this dress had a slit but it was on your front right thigh pretty high up but not exposing anything. Natasha couldn’t help but stare in awe at your beauty, if she wasn’t in love before she definitely is now. “Nat?” She snapped out of the trance she was in “That looks great, that’s my favorite. What do you think?” You looked at yourself in the mirror turning to the side a bit trying to see every angle possible. “You don’t think the slit is too high?” You looked at Natasha through the mirror as she shook her head “You look amazing.” You blushed a little then went back into the dressing room to change into your regular clothes, you came back out "Your turn." Nat shook her head "I have a dress at the compound" She smiled weakly at you but you were too excited about your dress to notice. You two went up to pay for the dress and made your way back to the compound.

Finally, it was time for the party, you finished up your makeup while your boyfriend impatiently waited for you in the common area with Bucky, Sam, Steve, Tony, and Nat the others were already at the party "She better come down here looking better than me since she's taking so long." Nat rolled her eyes while the boys stayed quiet, well except for Tony who as we all know can never keep his comments to himself "Trust me, she will." Your boyfriend looked over at Tony and rolled his eyes turning his attention back to the stairs where you were now coming down "Alright, I'm ready." You smiled at your friends but your smile fell when your eyes landed on your boyfriend who still had that impatient look on his face. You ignored it and smiled once more "Alright, let's go!" Sam exclaimed clapping his hands together. You all followed Sam out the door and you all made your journey to the party. Some were already dancing others were mingling and drinking. You pulled your boyfriend to the dance floor and started dancing to the upbeat music, you were having fun but your boyfriend couldn't be less interested to be there, he just wanted to be seen but the millions of rich businessmen that were there. "I'm gonna go get us a drink, be right back." He kissed your cheek and disappeared into the crowd. Nat was in the corner watching your every movement, she desperately wanted to walk over there, take you into her arms, and hold you close to make sure nothing ever gets to harm you. "You got a little bit of drool right there." Her head snapped in the direction where the voice came from, it was Sam, Nat rolled her eyes "She deserves better." Sam nodded and leaned against the wall "That's for her to find out." Nat shook her head "I could be a better boyfriend than him." She walked away to a side room to cool off for a bit. It's been 20 minutes since your boyfriend went to get the drinks, you looked around but couldn't find him, you felt the tears well up in your eyes and decided to walk to a different room to gather yourself when you walked in you saw Natasha "Oh, sorry I didn't know you were in here." Your voice was weak, you couldn't hide the tears especially not from Nat. "Oh, sweetheart, what happened?" She walked towards you pulling you into her arms hugging you, rubbing your back gently. "He left me on the dance floor." You sniffled and pulled back, she looked at your face bringing her thumbs up to wipe your tears away, you smiled leaning into her hands "Thank you, Nat I don't know what I'd do without you."

Nat kissed your forehead whispering against your skin "I can't believe we're finally alone, I can't believe I almost went home." You frowned and looked at Nat "You almost went home?" She nodded and pulled you to the little couch that was in the room "What are the chances? Everyone's dancing and he's not with you." You were taken aback by the sudden forwardness of Nat, even though she's always been like this, you were just too stubborn to notice. "What am I gonna do? Not grab your wrist?" Nat was now dangerously close to your face with her hand on your wrist, you got butterflies in your stomach all those feelings came crashing back. "Nat.." She leaned over and whispered in your ear "I could be a better boyfriend than him, I could do the shit that he never did." She brushed her lips against your earlobe which sent shivers down your spine, you swallowed hard looking at her from the corner of your eye "Up all night I won't quit" She placed a small kiss below your ear, whispering one more time "Think I'm gonna steal you from him, plus all my clothes would fit." You let out a small moan, tilting your head a bit. "Nat... What are you doing?" She looked up at you and cupped your cheeks "I could be a better boyfriend than him, if I could give you some advice, I would leave with me tonight." Your eyes flickered from her lips to her eyes and nodded slightly, she pressed her lips to yours. Hungry. Desperate. She wanted to do this for as long as she's known you, you wanted it too but you were too oblivious to what Nat was trying to do or say. The two of you pulled back breathlessly, she leaned her forehead against yours. “I love you, Y/N.” Your eyes were wide and you stared at her for a bit, then smiled “I love you too” She took her chance and kissed you again this time passionately, you didn’t care that you two were at a party surrounded by millionaires and your closest friends, not to mention your boyfriend was still out there but once again you didn’t care. You wanted to be with Nat, every minute of every day, you yearned to be with her. All the times you and your boyfriend would ‘make love’ as he would say, you were thinking of Natasha, that’s probably why you actually had orgasms. Her hands wandered aimlessly all over your body but stopped why by the slit in your dress, you bit her bottom lip gently to let her know it was okay, and her small, soft hand found its way under your dress and placed it on your hip, rubbing small circles with her thumb, that’s when she noticed. You’re not wearing panties, she smirked against your lips then left small kisses down your jaw to your neck, you tilted your head back giving her more access to do what she’s always wanted to do. Her hand slowly moved from your hip to your throbbing wet core “Oh darling, you’re already wet for me” She nibbled lightly on your neck, while you let out soft moans, trying to contain yourself from being too loud. Nat slid her fingers between your wet folds, immediately finding your clit, something your boyfriend never found, she began rubbing small circles against it, the sounds of your moans were music to her ears, she never thought that she’d love the melody of your moans, especially knowing that you were moaning because of her.

She pulled her fingers back, sucking on them lightly while she moved between your thighs she looked up at you and smirked “Ladies first, baby I insist.” she pulled your dress up slightly, spreading your legs apart, she smiled to herself taking in all of your beauty. "You are so beautiful." You smiled watching her head dip down between your thighs, you took a deep breath, relaxing. Natasha guided the tip of her tongue from top to bottom then back up with a flat tongue, you threw your head back moaning a little louder than before. "Fuck, Nat." She took that as a sign to really put in work, her tongue found its way back to your clit softly sucking, she swirled her tongue trying to gather all of your juices, she moaned against your skin when you bucked your hips up moaning out her name, by now you felt as though everyone heard you but as before you didn't care. Natasha knew what she was doing you never expected that but you weren't complaining at all, you ran your fingers through her hair gripping it slightly which caused her to moan as well. "Oh, fuck Nat please don't stop." She did exactly what you said and didn't stop, she started sucking on your clit once more, your legs started to shake, and you couldn't help but release everything you had in you on her face, she smiled and sucked a couple more times, you started squeezing your thighs a bit but not too hard, you arched your back pushing Nat's head away, both of you out of breath you smiled at each other. You grabbed her face and brought her to you, kissing her deeply tasting yourself on her lips "That was amazing, Nat." She looked into your eyes "You taste amazing, Y/N" You two stared at each other for a bit. "Well, isn't this just great?" You both looked at the doorway and there he was, your boyfriend standing there staring at you two along with the rest of your friends. You quickly pulled your dress down and stood up "At least she gave me a real orgasm." Your arms are now crossed over your chest he chuckled and took a step towards you, towering over you "She can't possibly be better than me. She will never be me and trust me sweetheart you'll be back." He reached his hand up to caress your cheek but just before he makes contact Bucky grips him by the back of his suit jacket and pulls him out of the room. You let out the breath you didn't know you were holding in looking at the rest of your friends they all were smiling and started a slow clap which made you and Natasha blush "You guys are losers." You all shared a laugh "At least we waited until you were done to let him storm in." Tony chirped, giving you a wink. You smiled and nodded at him "We appreciate it." Nat came up to your side wrapping her arm around your waist you kissed her temple, pulling her closer to you. "It's about time y'all did something, we were growing impatient, by the way, Steve you owe me 20 bucks." You watched as they all exchanged money, you rolled your eyes and pulled Nat into a kiss, giggling at all the cheers from them. You all went back to the party dancing and having fun for the rest of the night.

A/N: This is my first time writing with Natasha, I hope I wrote her well. I do love a soft Nat though!

Main Masterlist - Natasha Romanoff Masterlist

Tags: @megamindsecretlair

#natasha romanoff #avengers #natasha x reader #natasha x y/n

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corrodedseraphine · 10 months

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timezone | #2 so fuck what I'm dreaming, this fame has no meaning

pairing: eddie munson x fem!reader (mentions of her having long hair and bigger thighs), chrissy cunningham x robin buckley

chapter summary: Keeping his promise, Eddie heads to sunny California immediately after his second tour to find his friends and, more importantly, the girl who hasn't left his heart despite being out of touch for about three years. Full of hope, he ends up at a bar with a strangely familiar name. The evening turns out to be full of surprises, not just for him.

the story is also avaliable on ao3

previous chapter | masterlist | eddie munson masterlist | general masterlist

songs that I used here: BABY SAID and TIMEZONE by Måneskin

as always, thank you @i-me-mine for help and support, if not for you most of my works wouldn't be published 🥺

I can't count how many times I've changed something here, when I wrote the chapter, everything seemed to look good, but now I have extremely mixed feelings about it. I will be happy if you like it, but I will also understand if you don't, thank you for reading anyway ♥

"How can I help?" a middle-aged woman asked, smiling warmly. If someone had told Eddie a few years ago that he would find himself in this place as he is now he would have laughed at them. Looking around, he felt definitely out of place. The fact that he could now afford to be here still seemed like a bizarre dream.

"We, uh- We are looking for an engagement ring." he said, smiling shyly.

"The most beautiful one you have!" Gareth added patting Eddie on the back. All day long he couldn't stop being happy that he was the one Eddie had asked for help.

They had just finished their second tour which meant a few months off and then hard work on the new album. When the others heard that Eddie's next destination was now California, they joined their friend in renting a big house by the beach together, as was appropriate for rock stars, taking Chrissy with them, who got the exclusive use of the entire basement where she set up a small apartment. The Corroded Coffin boys were also clued into Chrissy's plan right after Eddie agreed to it, and they didn't mind for her to tag along.

"What size?" she asked.

"What?" asked Eddie still lost in thought.

"What size of a ring?"

"Oh! I-I don't know…" he scratched the back of his neck nervously, when he felt a metal necklace under his fingers, he got an idea - quickly unfastened it and handed it to the woman. "Like this one."

"Of course." she nodded.

Although the jewelry store wasn't very big the selection they had was overwhelming. Wanting to choose the most perfect one for you they spent more than two hours there. Fortunately, the shop assistant proved to have the patience of an angel.

Typical for a Saturday night, the beach bar was packed to the brim, and fortunately most people were at tables outside sipping colorful drinks. A few people accosted them for an autograph as they walked toward the bar, and when they finally got there, despite the fact that he was standing with his back to them, they immediately recognized the best-styled hair in the room.

"Am I dreaming or is King Steve standing right in front of me?" shouted Gareth teasingly.

"Yeah, it's me don't cream your pants" Steve turned around with a wide smile on his lips and smoothly jumped over the bar. "Good to see you, assholes." he said and greeted everyone with a hug and a pat on the back.

"Well, well, well…" said Eddie smirking. "I knew it was some weirdo who had to call the bar Upside Down," said Eddie.

"I didn't miss you actually." Harrington laughed while hugging his friend.

"I know you did. Missed ya too, big boy."

"Dude this is really yours? All yours?" asked Jeff in disbelief.

"Yup. You should see it from the beach side, I think you'll find a lot of female fans there." He winked at him insisting on the counter. Without waiting any longer Gareth, Jeff and Simon rushed to the outside of the bar.

"So, what brings you here?" asked Steve returning behind the bar.

"The tour just finished…" sighed Eddie. "I think you know what brings me here."

Steve pressed his lips together with a thin line and just nodded.

"Can I get you a drink first? You might need it." he offered. "On the house."

"What's your suggestion?" Eddie leaned against the counter with his elbows.

"I'd say the demobat will appeal to you, but I'm afraid it will be so good it might kill you."

"Charming as always, Harrington." laughed Eddie. "Interesting name by the way."

"I think you'll like the rest of it, too." he replied, slipping him a drink card.

He was right. In addition to demobat, there was demodog, and demogorgon. Although his favorites were in the "specials" category at the bottom of the card. Dusty-bun, Mad Max, amERICA, Will the Wise, Eleven, Sinclair Ranger and Mike the Paladin brought a wide smile to Eddie's face. "Damn, I miss these shitheads." he said.

"Me too. But I'll never admit it to them. Never in my life." Steve shook his head.

"Same here. One Dusty-bun, please." he said in a super-sweet voice.

"Great choice."

Steve silently prepared two same drinks and sat down opposite Eddie when a short brunette ran up to them.

"Babe! Quickly! I need my good luck kiss before we go on stage!" she said and leaned across the bar. Steve eagerly approached her and brought their lips together.

"You will be amazing, honey, as always." he said as they pulled away from each other. Eddie watched them with a goofy grin, and grunted significantly, drawing the two's attention back to himself.

"Aren't you going to introduce your old buddy?" he asked accusingly.

"Oh, I know you. You are this infamous Eddie Munson." the girl replied crossing her arms over her chest and measuring him from top to bottom. Steve snorted seeing her reaction. "I am Layla." She extended her hand toward him.

"Eddie." He replied grabbing it uncertainly. The note of hostility in her voice surprised him more than a little, but he decided not to worry too much about it for now.

"Are you ready?" asked Steve as the girl walked away toward the small stage.

"For what?" he asked puzzled. In response, his friend only nodded in the direction Eddie was about to look.

He wasn't ready. He definitely wasn't ready to see the love of his life walking onto the stage. You stood by the still-off microphone saying something to the boy who was tuning his guitar. Steve's girlfriend took her place behind the drums, and the other, tall blonde girl grabbed the bass. A second boy stood by the keyboard.

Feeling his heart speed up second by second, he didn't take his eyes off you. You were wearing slightly ripped denim shorts and a T-shirt with the logo of your favorite band with a cut-out neckline. Your hair was much longer than he remembered, tied up in two braids. You looked stunning. As soon as you started the show, his mind blew up. You sang in duet with the guitarist, having the time of your life out there. And Eddie couldn't get out of his awe and surprise that this was the same person who just a few years ago avoided being in the spotlight like a fire.

What's your thoughts about religion? Are you close to your mother? Tell me 'bout your dream vacation And all of your ex lovers Tell me now What's that look on your face? She puts her hand on my lips, begging "Please, end this conversation"

Baby said "When you're talking, I go dead" "Shut your mouth, give me your head" I know you really want to Baby said "Let me taste your silhouette" "You can talk between my legs" I know you really want to

He enjoyed it until he started listening to the conversation of two men sitting at the bar next to him.

"I would love to talk between her legs." laughed one of them. Eddie violently turned his head toward him to see the blond man devouring you with his eyes.

"Dude she could crush you with those thighs. She'd have to lose a few pounds first." the other parsed.

"You don't know what's good."

Eddie involuntarily clenched his fist, not knowing which one he should punch first, the one who drooled at the sight of his girlfriend or the one who criticized your look. Steve watched with amusement as he sent them murderous glances, but made no comment. Despite the fact that it was his friend, and he would probably follow him to hell a second time if he had to, he partly thought Eddie deserved a little suffering.

At the same time…

The music in the club was playing loud enough that Chrissy could clearly hear every word of the song. She stood in front of the building nervously rubbing her hands trying to motivate herself to finally go inside. She had been standing there for the past twenty minutes, every now and then changing her mind about whether she should be there at all. In New York she was categorically forbidden to appear in such places, her old manager would have had a heart attack if anyone had seen her around. Now, after breaking her contract and moving to a slightly smaller agency, her manager has made it clear that Chrissy's comfort is most important, showing her support in every way. As long as she acted sensibly and took care of herself, no prohibitions threatened her.

Taking a deep breath, she took two steps forward only to give up moments later and start backing away, bumping into someone along the way.

"Shit, sorry!" the girl shouted and they both turned in one another's direction.

"N-no it's me who's sorry!" she replied raising her eyes to look at her face. "Oh my god, Robin? Robin Buckley?" she asked smiling.

"Chrissy! What a meeting!" she laughed nervously.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to the party." Not expecting such a reunion, Robin definitely didn't know how to behave in Chrissy's company. She felt uncomfortable.

"Right, silly me." The blonde rolled her eyes while knocking lightly on her forehead.

"How about you? Are you waiting for someone?"

"No, I came here alone. My new manager said I should come over here, meet more people like me, but all in all I've never been alone at a party in my life, in high school you know, then at every party Eddie or Gareth or Jeff or Simon was with me, so now I'm standing like an idiot and have been trying to get in for twenty minutes. Actually I don't know why I'm telling you all this, oh my God, you probably think I'm stupid." A waterfall of words came out of her mouth uncontrollably, Robin's presence made her feel nervous, but on the other hand, a part of her wanted their paths to just go like that.

"Chrissy…" began Robin scratching the back of your neck. Despite the fact that the girl standing in front of her was considered the most beautiful woman in the states, and more than once Robin had caught herself looking at covers with her for too long, she also believed that right now an embarrassed and flushed Chrissy looked incredibly cute, which took her even more out of her mind. She knew she shouldn't think like that. Hell, she shouldn't even be talking to her. "You know, uhm, you know this is a gay club, right?"

"Yeah, I know." sending her a meaningful look.

"Oh." Buckley replied looking even more confused. Chrissy Cunningham who was sitting in the first row in church every Sunday, dating the handsomest boys in Hawkins, Eddie Munson's girlfriend, was standing here now saying that in this place she would find people like herself? Not daring to ask for an explanation, she merely nodded and an awkward silence fell between them.

"Maybe…can we go inside and have a drink together? Talk about old times and catch up on current ones?" the blonde finally asked with hope in her voice, to which the other agreed after a moment's thought.

When they went inside Chrissy looked in disbelief at all the people inside. People who were brave enough to be themselves. Disbelief quickly turned into delight when she realized that she wasn't alone and that it wasn't that there was anything wrong with her. The words she had heard in church about people like this, people like her, went through her mind. All those years she had spent in fear of herself, of how much she had sinned with her mere thoughts about Lucy, the assistant captain of the cheerleaders. All those years in which she forced herself into relationships with boys she didn't like one bit, who made her sick when their hand tried to wander under her short cheer uniform skirt.

The hell the pastor was scaring her with no longer impressed her. She had survived hell in 1986 and now she was sure she was a million times stronger than she used to be.

She grew more and more excited as she saw those people enjoying themselves on the dance floor, as two girls not far from her whispered sweet nothings in each other's ears and carelessly showed tenderness. Would she someday be able to experience this too?

Sitting down at the bar, they each ordered a drink initially sitting in silence glancing in each other's direction from time to time. With one more glance and a sip of alcohol through a colorful straw, they both burst out laughing, nodding to each other at the strangeness of the whole situation. Taking the initiative, Chrissy began to ask her about her college, then Robin listened curiously about a recent fashion show where Chrissy was the lead model. As time went on, the conversation got smoother and smoother, the girls became more and more comfortable in each other's company, joking more often and not holding back their tongues. It turned out that Robin makes great parodies of high school teachers, making Chrissy laugh to tears in the process.

A few drinks later, they were both starting to feel a gentle buzz in their heads. Not knowing why, for most of the evening, instead of focusing on what she should be doing, Chrissy couldn't take her eyes off Robin's wildly gesticulating hands and the sparkle in her eye that she noticed when she laughed at her jokes every time. Unfortunately, she also noticed the moment when the sparkle was extinguished and the smile disappeared immediately when a tall black-haired girl, looking a bit older, approached them.

"Hi!" she came up smiling. Robin left her without replying by taking a straw to her mouth and pretending to be busy drinking. The tension between them was palpable. "Can we talk outside?" Still no answer. "Robin, can you stop acting like a child?" That was it, the crack of the dam inside Buckley was nearly audible as she set her drink down on the countertop.

"Oh, sorry, since when is not wanting to talk to the girl who cheated on me childish behavior?" she replied crossing her arms over her chest.

"Come on, I just want to talk!"

"But I don't want to talk to you," she said.

"Do you want to sit here miserably alone the rest of the evening getting drunk?"

"Excuse me." grunted Chrissy. "Robin is not alone here, and it just so happens that we were having a great time before you showed up here." She stood beside her intertwining their fingers. When Robin felt Chrissy's small hand in hers she almost had a heart attack looking at everything with shock. Only when the girl squeezed her hand giving the sign to play along she shook herself and smiled.

"Oh, yes, sorry." she said quickly. "Chrissy, this is Diana, Diana, this is Chrissy." she introduced them to each other.

Diana measured her ex-girlfriend's new companion from top to bottom, feeling out of rhythm. "I didn't know you had a taste for blondes." she said raising an eyebrow. Looking at the petite, gorgeous and adorable blonde who was her complete opposite feeling jelaous.

"Oh she does! We've known each other since high school, we were already crazy about each other! Unfortunately, in a small backward town we couldn't enjoy it like we do here." Taking a step forward Chrissy's hand moved to Robin's waist, gently hugging her.

"W-what? you never said anything..." Diana turned to Robin, but when she didn't manage to say anything, Chrissy continued on, seeing how her lie brought that one out of her groove.

"Our break-up was very hard, and I'm not surprised that Robbie didn't mention anything." Robbie? Oh god why is it so hot in here and why is my heart beating so fast? Calm down Buckley, you don't like at all how she held your hand just now. For God's sake, you don't like at all how she is hugging you! Being too busy talking to herself in her mind she simply let Chrissy continue. "Fortunately, we have found each other again, and this time I have no intention of letting her go. Now, if you'll excuse me, I want to go dancing with my girlfriend." Without waiting for an answer she dragged Robin to the dance floor.

"Holy shit, Cunningham, what was that?" she breathed out.

"I just wanted to help, she didn't look like she was going to leave you alone." Chrissy shrugged her shoulders. "Now don't just stand there, dance," she said.

"I'm so stressed right now, I think my body has forgotten how to move."

"Silly." She giggled and took Robin's hands placing them on her waist as she began to move her hips in rhythm and after a moment threw her arms around her neck. In Robin's head, the internal conversation with herself turned into a non-stop scream of panic. "Try to follow me. She's still looking at us."

The truth was that Robin had long forgotten about Diana. Her entire thoughts were occupied by the little blonde swaying her hips in front of her and how she shouldn't feel such overwhelming pleasure. She wanted to kill all the butterflies she felt in her stomach.

When she finally joined the dance she tried not to notice that they were getting closer and closer with every step. Somewhere near the end of the song there was no visible break between them, together with the fading melody they stopped moving however they did not let go of each other's embrace. Breathing heavily, their faces also began to move closer together. Robin's brain, which just a moment ago was trying to control the situation, shut down and let her lips taste the sweet gloss on Chrissy's mouth, who quickly responded by dipping one of her hands into Buckley's short, slightly sweaty hair. The kiss was interrupted by an uncontrollable smile that crept onto Cunningham's lips. Robin snapped out of her magic trance and with difficulty swallowed when she realized what had happened. Seeing Chrissy leaning into her side again she stepped back slightly.

"Chrissy-we shouldn't." She said stopping her by the shoulders.

"Didn't you like it?" she asked disappointedly.

"It's not like that! Liked it very much, but- something I don't understand. What about Eddie?"

"Oh." Only now she remembered everything. She was so fascinated by the evening and Robin's meeting that she completely forgot about some other important things in her life. "It's not what you think! Eddie And I- Damn." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Will you let me explain? Please. Let's go to my place and I'll tell you everything you want to know. Please." She wasn't sure where such sudden desperation had come from, but the kiss had awakened a whole new feeling in her toward Robin. She definitely didn't want it to end with just one. She wanted to be close to her, much closer than she would have expected.

"Okay, let's go."

"You were a wonderful audience, as always!" shouted the guitarist into the microphone. "Today, however, before finishing, we wanted to present you with one more song. The latest work of our wonderful and lovely y/n" he nodded in your direction, at which you sent a small kiss in his direction. Eddie did his best to ignore the sting of jealousy he felt upon seeing this little interaction and began clapping with the others.

You're wearing my old clothes, but you, you wear it better And every time I see your face, the moon should be jealous And I keep talking to the wall 'til he's a friend of mine I call you every hour just to tell you that I'm losing my mind

Now I know you're sleeping Where I'm supposed to be in Wish I could've stayed

Eddie has had many moments in his life when he felt he was running out of oxygen and suddenly the whole weight of the world was falling on his head. Now it was additionally joined by a burning sensation. He had the feeling that the small box he kept in the inside pocket of his leather jacket was burning a hole in the material, and then in his skin and heart. He knew the words perfectly well, remembered the circumstances under which he said them because he replayed the scene in his head night after night.

Only thing that keeps us apart Is seven thousand miles, running like a mad dog Only thing that keeps us apart Is a different timezone So fuck what I'm dreaming, this fame has no meaning I'm coming home Only thing that keeps us apart Is a different timezone

Tomorrow I got another plane, I'm not gonna take it Instead, I'm gonna fly straight to you, I paid double for the tickets And I don't give a shit about the contracts that I signed And they can say whatever, we'll be making love, I'm fucking you tonight

Now I know you're sleeping Where I'm supposed to be in Wish I could've stayed

Despite the fact that you sang again in duet with the guitarist for Eddie there was only your voice with which you sent strong emotions that crept into his body tightening around his heart. It was as if these emotions turned into vines and trapped him in a strong grip from which he could not escape.

So fuck what I'm dreaming, this fame has no meaning I'm coming home Only thing that keeps us apart Is a different timezone

Without thinking much as soon as you finished the song and received thunderous applause he moved straight towards you. You stood with your back to him talking to Layla, who immediately noticed him and squinted her eyes watching his every forward step. Seeing your friend's strange look, you turned around to see what was causing it.

The world stopped. When your eyes met he smiled showing dimples in his cheeks, at the sight of which you were reminded of your beginnings.

"I swear I could live in them." You said laughing and kissing his entire face. "I love your dimples, I love your smile, I love you, Eddie Munson." That was the first time you confessed your love for him. When it occurred to you what you had done you opened your eyes wide and saw his smile become even wider. "That's good, because I love you too." he replied and kissed you passionately. "I have no intention of stopping, ever."

You didn't believe you would ever meet again. You didn't believe that you would ever again be close to the person for whom you were dying of longing. Now he was standing in front of you. Your Eddie. As an unconditional first reaction, a smile also appeared on your lips.

Unfortunately, you quickly came back to earth. This was not your Eddie. He hadn't been yours for a long time. He was hers. Suddenly all the people surrounding you in the bar were gone, you felt alone again, scared and hurt, surrounded by silence and emptiness. The heart that you had been trying to patch together for years had again turned into a dandelion whose parts were blown away by the wind to all parts of the world, so that nothing would be able to put them back together again. Again you felt liters of tears gathering in your eyes exactly as you did on the day when it was revealed that the new favorite couple in show business is the rebellious Eddie Munson and his complete opposite the charming and beautiful Chrissy Cunningham. The same Chrissy he assured you was just a friend and you had nothing to worry about. The same Chrissy he once had a crush on, but apparently that was in the past. The same Chrissy who, to Eddie, was supposed to be like Steve to you, the sibling you didn't have.

Without thinking twice, you turned on your heel and with a quick step walked out of the bar towards the beach. Of course, he moved right behind you when he felt a firm grip on his wrist and nails digging into it.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Layla exclaimed looking him straight in the eyes. "I won't let you close to her, not after what you did."

"You don't understand, let me go!" he said trying to break free.

"And what would your girlfriend say about it, hm? What would your little supermodel girlfriend say about it?"

"Fuck- just let me go! Let me explain it to her, you don't fucking understand!" Eddie was becoming more and more desperate. He understood why Layla was so protective of you, apparently you had to tell her everything, but neither you nor she knew the truth because you never gave him a chance to justify himself.

"Baby let them talk." Steve suddenly squeezed through the crowd. "It's been years, just let them talk."

"Really Steve? Are you fucking serious? Do you want to go through all this again? Do you want to let him destroy her like he did right after he left? Do you want her to lock herself in her room again for months and push us all away? She's barely learned to enjoy life and you want to let him destroy it again!"

"Listen-" said Eddie finally releasing his wrist. "I know what you're all thinking, and I can assure you that you're damn wrong, all of you! And I can explain it all to you but for heaven's sake let me talk to her first!"

Layla looked at Steve, who sent her a pleading look. She rolled her eyes and without a word squeezed between them walking away towards the bar clearly annoyed. Eddie turned to leave however felt Steve's hand tighten on his shoulder.

"Now you listen." he said with a serious face. "You're my friend and I believe you want to fix things and there's some strange explanation for all this. But I swear that if you break her heart again I won't even defend you when Layla wants to scratch your eyes out."

"I don't want to hurt her, I want to explain everything and make things right, you have to believe me, I love her, damn it Steve, I never stopped loving her."

Harrington just nodded his head and let him go. Quickly running outside, he looked around hoping that he would still be able to find you somewhere. After a while he spotted your silhouette sitting by the shore. He pulled off his shoes and socks and grabbed them in his hand to walk barefoot towards you and sit down next to you. Your knees were pulled up to your chin and your feet dipped into the soft sand. The murmur of the waves perfectly punctuated the sounds of the music and people in the distance. Their sound was soothing, it was easy for him to imagine that the beach, especially during sunsets was your favorite place. You fit perfectly there, and he had the fondest hope that someday he, too, would have a chance to fit back into the picture right by your side.

"What do you want Eddie?" you asked without taking your eyes off the water.

"I- I want to talk, to explain." he said quietly watching a small smile full of pain appear on your face.

"Explain what? That you were just waiting to get away from me and finally fall into the arms of your dream girl?"

"She is not- y/n I beg you, let me explain it all," he said.

"No. I don't want to hear it." you said rising, he did so as well. "I'm not going to listen to lies about how you loved me, and that's not at all what I think."

"What? you think I didn't love you?"

"You could only seem to have loved me since in your head it was Chrissy all the time anyway." The bitterness in your voice made him sick.

"Stop it. Fucking stop it." he said clenching his jaw. You could blame him for all the evils of the world, but to suggest that he never loved you was an overstatement. "Just listen to me, for the first time in three years listen to me and just start talking after that." he said.

"And what would you like to hear from me?! You heard the last song, didn't you? Would you like to hear that I wrote it thinking about you? You don't even know how many nights I wasted crying into my pillow and dreaming of those words coming out of your mouth! I agreed to this fucking break so that we could enjoy something new, but I didn't expect that I couldn't enjoy anything without you, I loved you so damn much Eddie. That's why I let you go completely and let you enjoy the life you always dreamed of. I'd a million times rather think about you fucking some random groupies on a tour bus every night than less than three months after our breakup to find out that the rising rock star is madly in love with super model Chrissy fucking Cunningham! You always said that my insecurities had no basis, that I shouldn't worry about the fact that you once had a crush on her, you kept telling me that she was just a fucking friend I definitely didn't need to worry about, and it turned out that as soon as you got rid of me from your life you immediately flew to her! Three years, it's been three fucking years and I still can't get over it! I hate that you have moved on and are living the best possible scenario. I hate that this scenario doesn't include me." You were fuming. Your glazed eyes looked at him with hatred. His sadness-filled eyes that you used to adore looking into so much. The full, pink lips that you loved so much to kiss and feel all over your body. The neck into which you cuddled your face after a hard day and kissed the wet paths on it. The pain you felt was increased the moment your attention was caught by the necklace hanging on it. Without thinking, you moved closer and pulled it out from under the collar of his shirt. He still had it. You looked at the pick and the ring in shock.

"y/n…" when his hand touched your cheek you flinched.

"You don't deserve to wear this." Anger darkened you completely, you tightened your fist around the necklace with all your strength and ripped it off.

"What the hell?" he asked shocked. He watched in disbelief as you threw the most precious thing in his entire life straight into the sand. He immediately crouched down to pick it up and put it safely in his pocket. His heart was breaking in half, feeling how he could not control his tears he quickly stood up walking straight towards you. At the last moment he managed to grab your hand.

"Don't touch me! Don't come near me because I can't stand it Eddie. If I let in one more time I will never be able to let you out again and that will kill me. You have your dream life, your dream girl, you don't need me, sometimes I think you never needed me." You said trying to break free.

"Don't say that! Don't you dare say that I never needed you! That I didn't love you! I loved you, I love you and I will love you for the rest of my fucking life!"

Before you had time to react in any way he pulled you to him and kissed you. The kiss had the taste of salty tears, but you weren't sure if they were yours or his. Despite the hatred you felt, you couldn't help how you surrendered to the moment by kissing him back. Your heart completely took over.

The moment didn't last long, though, as it was interrupted by a flash from the camera. Frightened, not knowing what was happening, you jumped away from him and looked in the direction from which the light appeared for the second time.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" shouted Eddie furiously walking towards the paparazzi. "You fuking piece of shit!" he sped up his stride. He felt like rushing at the paparazzi with his fists and then throwing the camera straight into the ocean. Unfortunately, the man turned out to be much faster and ran away. When he turned around, you were gone.

"Holy shit, you live here?" Robin looked with open mouth at the beautiful house with the ocean behind it.

"Yeah, with the boys, they gave me the whole basement so I could set up my own little apartment there, sharing a bathroom with four guys could be tough," laughed Chrissy. "Do you want to go inside?"

"Can we…Can we stay outside? I can't believe you have an ocean behind the house."

"Sure, let's go." she said and grabbed Robin's hand, leading her to the back of the house, where they sat on a wooden garden swing.

"This place is just like from a movie." commented Robin trying not to think about the fact that even though they had already sat down they were still holding hands.

"So, you wanna know the truth?" asked Chrissy uncertainly changing the subject. Robin nodded in response. "When I got the contract in New York, I thought I was winning my life, that I would finally be happy, finally all my dreams were coming true…" she sighed. "But I was quickly brought back down to earth. It turned out that my manager was homophobic, so I never dared to tell her the truth about myself."

"I'm so sorry…" Buckley squeezed her hand, to which she responded with a warm smile.

"The real nightmare began when they came up with an brilliant plan to promote me through a relationship with a sleazy fashion designer who was twenty years older. I didn't know what to do, so in a panic I lied that I had a boyfriend, and that's how I found myself in Eddie's apartment begging him for help. This was the first person I came out to and at that moment I thought I was going to die of nerves, I was wrecked and scared, and Eddie wasn't even shocked. He immediately understood and tried to calm me down. Then I proposed the whole plan with a pretend relationship. I needed someone reliable, and Eddie seemed perfect for that. We both ran away from Hawkins to start a new life in New York, the world immediately believed it, I didn't even know when we became the most recognizable couple in America and our careers just exploded."

Robin connected the dots in her head, everything the blonde said sounded crazy, but without knowing why she believed her. "I'm really glad you were able to get away from it all." she said quietly.

"If it weren't for Eddie my life would still look like a horror, I'll never be able to make it up to him…"

"He is a great friend." commented Robin, knowing that if she were in such a situation Steve would have done exactly the same thing. However, this did not stop the unpleasant feeling.

"I know what you're thinking and I feel terrible about it." Chrissy said, turning her head away. "I hate that by doing this to save myself I destroyed what Eddie had with y/n. She stopped talking to him, didn't respond to his letters, when Eddie agreed to the plan he said that the condition was that I would tell her everything, and I really wanted to do it as soon as possible! I was ready at any time to tell her the whole truth, but she didn't even give a chance to explain."

"Oh my God…" Robin bent her head back looking at the stars. She remembered what the first few months were like when Eddie and Chrissy's relationship became "offcial." You locked yourself in your room, went out only for classes and completely shut yourself off from people. Robin could hear the sounds of quiet sobs echoing around your apartment almost every night, but when she offered to be by your side at those times you just shooed her out of the room. You could have saved so much suffering if only you had given him a chance to explain. One little conversation a few years ago and things would look different now.

"You know, y/n is my best friend and in a way I understand her attitude. When we found out, we were all shocked, after all, everyone remembered that these two were madly in love with each other. Do you know about their arrangement? About the break?"

"I know, and I think you also know why we ended up in California after their tour ended," he said.

"I wish she'd let him explain it, everything would have looked completely different, and we wouldn't look so bad here now," she said.

"Maybe it could all be fixed? Maybe we could try to look good? When we moved here I broke my contract with that agency, I am now in a new one, which is not as well-known, but here they take care of me. My new manager knows everything and said that Eddie and I can end this whole pretending thing, but the label that handles Corroded Coffin isn't thrilled with the idea, so we're still in this, but Eddie is working on how to finally convince them to let us end it." she looked at her with hope in her eyes. They were so light and shiny under the gentle light of the moon and the stars. Robin's heart was melting.

She really wanted to believe that this had a chance of working, but she also knew that unless you let them tell you the truth nothing would be fully right.

The two sat in silence lost in thought as Chrissy moved closer to Robin.

"I'm sorry." she said quietly, resting her head on her shoulder.

"For how I was in high school. That I let Jason and his half-brains laugh at you. You didn't deserve it. I'd like to meet you under better conditions than the end of the world and struggling to survive."

"That's in the past, we can forget about it." she replied sincerely. Sitting now with Chrissy cuddled in her arms, she was able to forgive everything.

"I know it's crazy, but I feel like I'd like to try." Chrissy said quietly.

"Try what?" Robin pulled away sending her a surprised look.

"Us." As their eyes met, the world began to spin anew. Getting into a relationship with Chrissy was risky, they still didn't really know each other very well, but there was something, some invisible force that drew them to each other.

"How about a date when it will all be cleared out?" Buckley couldn't help herself, did that make her a bad friend? Now that she knew the truth she didn't feel as bad about it as she did at first.

"I would love to!" the excited blonde threw her arms around her neck pulling her close. When she pulled away, they were still close together. Sending nervous smiles in each other's direction once again, they began to move closer together. The gentle brushing of their lips was a hopeful sign. Before they could continue, though, they heard curses and the clink of keys. Intrigued, they went with the sound to see a furious Eddie who, with shaking hands, could not hit the door with his keys.

"Fucking bullshit!" he shouted banging his fist against it.

"Eddie? What happened?" asked Chrissy seeing the state her friend was in. Instead of at her, his eyes focused on Robin standing two steps away.

"Buckley? What are you doing here?" he asked puzzled.

"We, uh…" the girl didn't know what to say.

"I met Robin at the club and invited her here, I hope it's not a problem?" interjected Chrissy. "Give me the Keys." she said and opened the door. The three of them went inside. Eddie aggressively pulled off his shoes and threw his jacket into the closet with all his strength, but the jacket flew out of it a second later, and from the inside pocket of the jacket a small box that had been weighing him down all the way home.

"I was ready to fall to my fucking knees the moment I saw her." he said seeing the girls look at it in shock. After a moment, Robin picked it up and opened, showing the ring. "She thinks I never loved her. She thinks she has meant nothing to me all this time." his voice began to crack. "She hates me and didn't even give me a chance to explain it all. On top of that, that fucking paparazzi, I swear I'll kill the shithead as soon as I see him!" he walked toward the couch and sat down heavily on it, pulling a broken necklace from his pocket and placing it on the glass coffee table.

Chrissy looked at him with horrified eyes, she knew like no one else that Eddie cared about it like it was the most precious thing in whole world.

She approached slowly and knelt by the table taking it in her hands. Looking at her friend whose cheeks were streaming with tears, she couldn't help the guilt that had awakened in her. It was her fault, it was because of her that Eddie was losing the love of his life. "She said I didn't deserve to wear it." he said quietly. "She ripped it right off my neck." His voice was small, weak and helpless. "I love her so much, I never stopped Robin, you have to believe me." it was painful for him to have to keep assuring others of his love for you at every step, because no one wanted to believe him.

"I believe you." she said, sitting down next to him. "I know everything, Chrissy told me everything."

"She did?"

"Yeah, and now that I know everything, I want to help you. I'll try to convince y/n to give you a chance to explain everything."

"Thank you." he said hugging her tightly to himself.

"But now I should go, I don't want y/n to be alone today, I think you understand?"

"Of course, thank you Rob." he replied while wiping away tears.

"I'll call you a cab." offered Chrissy.

While they waited for the cab the girls exchanged phone numbers, Robin leaving promised to call as soon as she returns to the apartment. She also received a kiss on the cheek from Chrissy as a goodbye, which revived the butterflies in her stomach.

When she entered the apartment she noticed that the door to your room was ajar, peeking in there she noticed that you were asleep. Not wanting to wake you up, she just called the number she got earlier, toold them that she didn't talk to you because you had fallen asleep and went to bed herself as well, wondering how to clean up the mess you all found yourselves in.

taglist: @i-me-mine @phantypurple @tlclick73 @greatpizzascissorstaco @alanamarie @hiscrimsonangel

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imfinereallyy · 1 year

Text

The Long Con, pt. 2

Access pt. 1 here. I've also decided to start posting this on ao3 as well, which you can find here.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Steve had met Robin during one of the lowest parts of his life. After leaving Boston and everything he knew behind, Steve hopped from place to place for a few weeks. Working odd jobs just to get from one place to the next. Eventually, he landed himself in Vegas. It had felt far enough from home where he would avoid being found, but also less obvious than a place like LA.

Steve had a lot of vices in his past life, sex, money, and women, but gambling wasn't one of them. So if someone was following the trail of his bad habits, Vegas wouldn't even cross their mind.

Steve began working at a bar on the strip when he arrived. It was a fancy place, wasn't part of a casino, and stood out independently. The Bearpoppy Lounge. It was the type of place where everyone wore suits and Gucci belts. Wealth was not only flaunted but required. It reminded Steve of the places his parents used to take him to impress business partners.

Robin had been his trainer for the bar, and well, she had absolutely hated him at first. Steve hadn't been able to figure out why. He was incredibly charming, and women usually fell at his feet. Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but people usually drew to him. It had been a shock to the system when the first thing Robin had said to him was,

"I give you two days before you quit."

"What?" Steve asked in shock. Surely, she couldn't have been serious. "Do I not even get your name? Or, I don't know, a hello?" Steve thought he should reel in the snark. It wouldn't help his situation to let out his bitchy side. He just wasn't used to it. The lack of immediate trust he got from strangers. Most people would find that mentality naive, but Steve was raised to be enticing.

"My name is Robin, like it says on my name tag if you had bothered to read it. And I don't usually bother with introductions. I know the pretty boy type; trust me, it doesn't last." Robin wiped down glasses at the bar and didn't look up as she spoke.

Steve was resisting the urge to blow up on her. He couldn't prove her right. He had to lay on the charm thick.

Steve took in Robin's appearance before answering. She was pretty. Short dirty blonde hair cut to her chin with pink at the ends. Light freckles decorated Robin's face, which defined her already high cheekbones. She was tall, almost as tall as him, but she held herself awkwardly, like she didn't know what to do with her limbs. Robin would be easy to charm. Beautiful, so he wouldn't have to lie, and insecure so he could work her. "Well, if pretty girls like you can make it this far, I don't see why I can't." Steve leaned his body against the counter and appraised Robin up and down.

Robin snorted, "Oh god, you can't be serious. Please don't tell me the next thing you're gonna say is how you 'got lost in my beautiful blue orbs' like we were in some cheesy fanfiction."

Steve's mask fumbled a bit. "Orbs? What? Eyes can't be orbs. Then you'd have to see all the way around? Right? Wait—" Steve spiraled for a minute. Robin threw him off his rhythm.

Robin's face cracked slightly at Steve's confusion before she sighed deeply. "Look, I'm going to be, uh, straight, with you." Robin paused as she had a sort of inside joke with herself. "I don't like you."

Ouch. "Ouch."

Robin pushed on, "Look, it's not about you personally. It's about, ya know, what you represent. Like you came in here with no experience, no background, and just charmed your way into this job. Now I have to spend two weeks training you, only for you to stay a month tops. Guys, girls, and everything between, like you only come to work here for two things. Fortune and fame. They come to find a rich spouse or try to catch the eye of someone with a business card and a one-way ticket to Hollywood. And listen, it works. Most of you guys get what you want. Any other bar on the strip, I would tell you to quit while you're ahead. Big names come in here, though. And most of you get what you want. And if you don't? Well, you usually break and go back home to Mommy and Daddy. You all leave me high and dry and training another person. The worst offenders of all are the pretty boys. They come in here, lay on the charm, making assumptions about me, try to sleep with me, and when I don't give them what they want, they turn on me. So, sorry if I don't think we will get along."

Steve felt something inside him snap, "You know, for someone who hates people making assumptions about others, you really are assuming a lot about me." Robin looked taken aback by the bitchy attitude. Steve pressed on, "And I don't want that, Robin: fortune and fame. I mean, a little fortune would be nice, but who doesn't want that? And did you think that there was a reason I had to charm my way into this job? You said it yourself I have no experience! How will I ever gain that if I don't have the job to try it in the first place? And for your information Robin, there is no way I am running back to Mommy and Daddy. I think I'd rather take my chances with the streets, thank you very much."

Robin opened her mouth to speak, but Steve cut her off.

"Also, if you aren't into me, that's fine. I wouldn't make you uncomfortable for it. I'm not everyone's type; I can deal with that." Steve crossed his arms, emphasizing his point to her.

Robin swallowed, a bit of shame crept onto her face. "Sorry."

Steve sighed, "It's fine."

"No, it's not. I didn't give you the chance to fuck up first. I should at least give you that. And I get it, you know. Not going back to the parents."

The tension left Steve, "Yeah?"

"Yea, it's actually for the reason you're not my type. "

"Huh?"

Robin giggled but then looked hesitant. "I'm pretty sure the only kind of person you aren't the type for shares something in common with me. I'm a lesbian, dude. "

Steve took in the way Robin shrunk on herself even more and decided to share one tiny secret with her; even though he shouldn't be in the business of giving away his secrets. "It's okay. I'm safe. I'm not going to tell anyone. We share the same secret."

It was Robin's turn to say, "Yeah?"

Steve smiled at her, "Oh yeah. I, too, love the ladies, Robin."

Robin giggle-screeched. "Dingus!"

Steve warmed at the pet name. "But I also like the dudes. And everything in between."

Robin's smile softened, "Thanks for telling me."

Steve waved his hand in the air. "Yeah, yeah. Are you actually going to do your job and train me?"

"And just when I was starting to like you. Welcome to hell then; I'll be your guide." Despite her words, Robin's tone held an ease that wasn't there earlier.

Steve knew she'd be tough to crack, but he knew it would be worth it.

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

It was weird; it was Robin who gave him the idea. When they first met, he thought she would have been the judgemental type. Well, he wasn't far off from that, but she was surprisingly morally loose when it came to illegal activity.

"You know that man would have done anything to get in your pants, right?" Robin nodded toward the guy who just left the bar to go sit back with his buddies. He was in his late forties, and pretty fit for his age. He had introduced himself as Clark; which either the dude had the world's most bland name, or he was using Clark Clent as a pseudonym to cover the fact he was flirting with a man when Mr. Clark was clearly married (at least the shiny gold band said so). Steve hadn't been interested, though. For one, he wasn't looking to get attached to anyone (although Robin was starting to make that look difficult). Secondly, Steve had learned the hard way that being a queer person, no matter the day in age, wasn't always safe.

Especially with married men.

"And so what, Buckley? I don't think I have anything to gain from a married man looking to bang some random bartender, who, by the way, he doesn't even know likes other men?" Steve throws his towel over his shoulder and turns towards Robin.

"But you are into men." Robin deadpans.

"Okay, true, but not the point. Hey, wait, how does he even know I like men?"

Robin shrugs, "Same way that I did, like seeks like my hairy friend. However, I suppose we aren't exactly the same. Since I am only interested in the ladies. Oh wait—does that make us more alike since we both like women, and you liking men makes us less alike? But that's gay, so that makes us—"

"Robin, you didn't even know. I had to tell you. After you yelled at me."

"Sorry!" She cringed.

Steve sighed, "Besides, still nothing to gain from sleeping with him. Besides, the dude's name is Clark."

Robin snorted, "That's rich coming from you, James."

Steve was not lost on the irony that he and Clark were both using fake names.

"I'm not exactly sure you're getting to an actual point Robs."

Robin put her hands in front of her as if she was surrendering. "Okay, hear me out. The dude clearly has money and really wants to sleep with you. Heck, a lot of people come in who want to sleep with you. Men, women, everything in between, and everything outside of it. These people want you, Steve, which I don't understand, but they do. These very rich people want to sleep with you. And you, a very poor bartender who frankly is terrible at his job, could use that to his advantage."

Steve just stared at her.

"You do get what I am saying, right?"

"Yes Robin, I get what you're saying. You want me to prostitute myself to our customers."

"I believe the proper term is sex workers; you can be offended by not offensive."

"Robin." Steve whisper yelled.

"Oh, c'mon! It isn't the worst idea. You like money, and you like sex. I'm not really seeing a downside. I mean, it's your body, so you get to do what you want with it. But I wouldn't judge you if it was this. I mean you don't have to sleep with them even! Swindle them for their money; I know you're a charmer. You might not even have to go as far as sex. I mean, unless you want to. Again, your body, my dude."

"Why do you even want me to do this? Shouldn't you want me to stay on a legal path? Be the voice of reason? Isn't that what this whole nerdy good girl thing you got going for?" Steve returned to the bar while he spoke and started preparing a drink. Although he was protesting and acting offended by the idea, it wasn't actually a terrible proposition. Steve had done worse for less, and he had a lot of respect for those in the industry. It was just, he didn't get why Robin was pushing it. It was Steve's instinct to be mistrustful. People didn't offer things to him, especially very illegal ones, unless they wanted to gain something or get something against him.

"No, I don't want to be your pimp. Can't a girl offer some life advice to her helpless coworker? Besides, I'd be a hypocrite if I told you not to earn money illegally. Considering my side-gigs." Robin walked around the bar to stand directly in front of Steve. She placed her elbows on the wood and her head in her hands. She looked sincere, and that's when it hit Steve.

"First off, we are coming back to the side-gig thing—"

"We most definitely are not." Robin quipped.

"Second, I think I get it now. You're worried about me. We're friends, and you're worried about me."

"Take it back."

"No, no. You, Robin Buckley, care about me."

Robin shuttered, "We are not friends, James. And I am not worried. I simply became too invested in your pathetic life; my apologies." She started to lean back from the bar but Steve put the drink down and caught her by her elbows.

"If you admit we're friends, and that you're worried about me, I'll think about your idea." Steve gave her elbows a light squeeze.

Robin caved instantaneously, "Fine, you dingus! We're friends. I care about you! Despite my best efforts, your stupid face and jokes are incredibly endearing, and you always cheer me up on bad days. And every day here is a bad day. And I'm worried about you because you look like you're going to run every five seconds, and every time it's a shitty tip night, you deep sigh. And dammit, you're the only person I like here, and if you go at this point, so do I."

Steve felt himself blink back tears. Robin, in all her rambling glory, had managed to give him one of the best speeches he's ever heard. Steve hadn't had anyone care about him like this in, well, ever. It was a welcomed devastation.

Steve tugged her into a bone-crushing hug. Their stomachs pressed against the bar, the wood digging into their hips. "I'm gonna do it."

"Yea? You really don't have to. We can figure something else out. I would teach you how to hack, but I don't think you'd be very good at it." Robin let out a wet laugh.

Steve let her go and shrugged. "Nah, it's a good idea. And honestly sounds like a bit of fun. Swindling the wealthy into giving to the poor. Well, giving to me. But I count as poor currently."

Robin smiled, "Only if you're sure, dingus."

"I am. Now—" Steve pushed the drink with a bar business card that he wrote his name and number on underneath. "—go take this to money bags over there."

Robin grabs the card and throws it at him. "You can't give your real name and number, dummy. For now, I'm gonna give him my side gig number until you can get your own. All we need is a name." She grabbed a new card and wrote down the digits.

Steve took the pen from her and looked around the bar for inspiration. He jotted down the first thing that came to mind. "Here ya go."

Robin looked down and choked on a laugh. "You can't be serious."

"Deadly."

Robin rolled her eyes one last time before picking up the drink. "We will think of a better one later. But I guess for now; I'll deliver this to your first client, Cherry."

Steve knew then, and there he and Robin were for life.

________

Boston, Massachusetts

It was at this moment Steve was trying to picture how Robin would react to how majorly he fucked up. Considering she had already warned him about the dangers of Tommy Hagan's friendship, Steve didn't have to think too hard. Robin had always been good at that, calling him on his bullshit before it even happened. Steve could hear her voice in his head saying,

This is what happens when you play with fire Dingus.

Steve wondered if he'd ever get to hear her voice in person again.

"What kind of deal?" Steve asked before throwing himself to the wolves. Though he was sure his life was on the line, he couldn't just say yes to whatever Eddie asked. He didn't want to die, but he also had to consider that there were people he cared about in this world. Steve wouldn't put them at risk, even if it meant his own well-being.

In retrospect, he should have reevaluated the list of people he cared about, considering one was the reason he was here in the first place.

Eddie leaned back against the booth, stretched his arms across the back of it, and let out a dark chuckle. "Well, for starters, I'm going to need that bag back. That's the easy part. Considering it's mine anyway. Although, it does seem a bit light there. Why is that sweetness?"

Steve could feel himself go pale. God, Tommy had fucked fucked him. He was starting to consider that it was even a setup. He didn't peg Hagan for being that smart, though. "It's only half. Tommy took the other half with him when I met up with him. I'm so supposed to keep the other half safe for a few weeks, then bring it to him."

Eddie raised his eyebrows, "Pretty forthcoming, aren't we? Thought I'd have to push a bit more to break ya. Now I'm not sure if I even want to offer you the rest of the deal. Don't particularly like working with snitches."

Steve tried not to let out a frustrated growl. Charm, he had to charm Eddie. He was making it hard for Steve. "I'm not a snitch; I just don't see the point in covering for someone who obviously fucked me."

Eddie put his hands up in mock surrender, "Woah there, sweetness. Didn't mean to touch a nerve. I'm only having a bit of fun. You'll let me have my fun, won't you? Considering you made me stop my hard work in the middle of the day to deal with you?" Although Eddie smiled as he spoke, Steve could tell he wasn't happy. Steve decided to be smart and stay silent. "Now tell me, where and when did you meet him? And when and where were you meeting up again?"

Steve gritted his teeth, "What's the rest of the deal?"

"What's that?" Eddie ticked his head to the side.

"I'm not going to tell you anything else if I don't know what I'm getting out of it or what I need to do to get to the finish line. So, What's the rest of the deal?"

"You're a clever one, aren't you? I'm not surprised, actually, considering the sort of bravery it takes to steal from me." Steve noted in his head that Eddie said bravery and not stupidity. He tucked it away for later. "Fine, considering you've been forthcoming so far, I'll be kind and lay all the cards on the table. On one condition."

Steve gave up on being charming. He knew it was getting him nowhere. "Deal for a deal? Seems a bit convoluted, don't ya think?"

"Ooo, bitchy and knows big words? Full of surprises. I promise you this one is an easy one. Should you choose the right path, no harm will come your way Padalin. Well, none that you don't ask for, at least." A wicked grin spread across Eddie's face.

"Get to the point."

"You know I'd have a man's head at this point for that kind of talk. Fortunately bitchy looks good on you. Anyway, the condition is this. Tell me your name, sweetness. I think it's rude that I gave you my name and I don't have yours."

"Well I didn't ask for yours and like you said earlier, I don't think introductions were necessary."

Eddie gave Steve an unamused eyebrow; his patience was wearing thin.

Steve was buying time, he wasn't sure what name to give him. He wasn't stupid; he couldn't exactly give him his real name. He couldn't just tell him, Steve. For one, he was in Boston. A slip of the first name means a slip of the last. And besides coming back to Boston in the first place, that would be the absolute dumbest thing he'd ever do if he were to let that slip. Steve was well aware the Harrington name hadn't grown kinder over the years.

The other reason was if he were to give him his real name, Eddie would suddenly have access to his entire life in an instant. His story, his crimes, his weaknesses. Steve was sure that Eddie had his very own Robin, although he doubted they were any good since Steve had the best, but even a raccoon with access to Google could find him.

So Steve had to think. What name could he give him? He thought about the hundreds of alias he had over the years. Some of them are more thought out than others. Like Mark Odom, who was a sales rep just down on his luck at the horse tracks and just needed a bit of insider information for a win. He had a family to feed, after all.

Or there was the ones with less background, like Cherry, who didn't even have a last name. He was just a good disguise for Steve when he wanted to swindle money out of higher-profile men.

Those aliases, no matter the depths of their stories, were too used, too frequented, too recent. They had a history that could be traced. Steve thought of possibly starting a whole new alias for Eddie. But those took time. A quick lie in the moment was easy, but Steve had a deep feeling nothing about his interactions with Eddie would be quick.

Eddie looked at him expectantly, waiting. It had only been a few seconds since Steve had last spoke, but between the two of them, it felt like hours. It felt as though Steve was losing the game and fast.

An idea sprung on Steve suddenly. An old name he used once. It was a name thrust upon him more like, but he had only used it once. He was sure Eddie would catch onto it being fake, but Steve hoped that the man's affinity for nicknames let it slide.

"Angel. The name is Angel."

"Angel." Eddie deadpanned. "Angel, what? No last name?"

"No last name." Steve shook his head.

Eddie rubbed a hand down his face, "That's what you're going with? You really expect me to believe that?"

"It's all you're gonna get."

Eddie stared at Steve momentarily before a playful smile edged at his lips. "Alright, I'll bite. Angel, it is, for now. Just don't expect the truth to stay hidden for long. You see, I always get my way in the end. Okay, Angel?" Eddie's eyes penetrated Steve's, and silence again hung in the air.

"Okay." Steve believed Eddie. He secretly hoped he wouldn't be around the man long enough to see how quickly he got his way.

"Good. Now here's the deal Angel." Eddie emphasized Steve's name in mockery. "You give me the half you have under the table. That's been established so far. Then you are going to help me get the rest of the money back and get me a little chat with your good pal Hagan."

Steve opened his mouth to protest the idea of him and Tommy being good pals, but shut it before he could make the situation for himself worse. Probably better for himself to not push his luck.

"That's the easy part," Eddie continued. He leaned forward, taking his arms off the back of the shredded booth, and used his hand to grip Steve's chin. The grip was firm but not painful as he pulled Steve forward. It was as if he was trying to prove a point, trying to prove that Eddie was the one in control, prove that he didn't want to hurt Steve, just put him in his place. "The hard part of the deal is this. You see, it's not easy to steal from me. And yet, here you are. You've made it much further than others have. And that is a skill not many possess. And right now, I could use that."

Steve visibly swallowed. He was trying not to let this man get to him. It felt impossible with Eddie's hand on him and their proximity. It had been so long since Steve had been this close to someone, so intimately, without the illusion of the game. Sure, there was an imminent threat over Steve's head, but he couldn't shut off the part of his brain that kind of liked it. Steve had to push away the desire to breathe in all that was Eddie. Steve decided to blame these uncontrollable thoughts on the fact he hadn't gotten laid since Seattle over a month ago.

Not because he felt attracted to the man who was actively threatening him. That would be insane.

"How do you suppose I do that?" Steve licked his lips and didn't break eye contact with Eddie.

"I have a list. A list of people who have wronged me. Who has stolen from me, in one form or another? Usually, I'd have them taken care of, but I don't think they deserve such an easy out. I think I need to make a statement. I think they should be given exactly what they've taken. They bit the hand that fed them after all." Eddie squeezed Steve's chin lightly. It once again caused no pain, but it grounded Steve. Sent a silent reminder of who was in control.

"Big believer in karma, then? Wouldn't have taken you for the type." Steve pushed out a weak laugh. Eddie stared at him a moment before releasing him, sitting back into his original position.

Eddie's lip tilted slightly, "Maybe I am. Do we have a deal?"

Steve snorted, "That's it? You're not going to tell me more? No reason why, no, what do I need to do? Kind of feels like I'm getting the shit end of the stick here."

In the corner of his eye, Steve saw one of Eddie's men move when he raised his voice. It made Steve stop abruptly, shrinking back into his seat. Eddie waved his henchman to stand down. "No, you don't get more. And beggers can't be choosers, can they?"

" 'Suppose not."

"Good boy. Now, do we have a deal?" Eddie stuck his hand out for Steve to shake.

Steve had to suppress his reaction once again. Eddie had to be testing him at this point. Good boy would be seared into his brain forever. A brand of how dangerous this man was to him.!Steve looked down at the rough, veiny hands. "On one condition."

Eddie barked out a laugh, "You know you really like pushing your luck, Angel. It's like you have a deathwish. You aren't exactly in the position to make demands, hasn't that been clear? You're lucky you are so goddamn interesting. So, once again, I'll bite."

"I get to veto someone, no questions asked, if I don't want to do it." Steve thought about how many enemies he had here in Boston. How many people he had no desire to run into? He needed to make sure most, if not all of them, never crossed paths with him again. Steve knew it was a long shot to ask of this. It defeated the whole purpose of helping Eddie if he was allowed to say no. They both knew this. And yet, Steve held out hope.

Eddie hummed to himself for a moment before answering. "You get one."

Steve whipped his head towards Eddie in shock. "What?"

"I'll give you one veto. No questions asked. But that's it. Once you use it, it's gone."

Steve knew when to not look a gift horse in the mouth. "Okay, deal." Steve stuck his hand out for Eddie to grab. Steve tried not to shutter when Eddie's warm hand engulfed his own. The smoothness of his rings and the callouses on his palms contradicted each other and send a delicious thrill down Steve's spine.

Yeah, Steve was fucked.

"Deal, Angel." Eddie slid out of the booth, and his men made to follow him. "Now, if I am correct, you're currently staying at the rundown motel on 3rd? Well, Ben here—" Eddie gestured to the eager henchman from earlier "—will follow you to the motel to collect your things. Then he's going to take you to the room I paid for you at the Palace Hotel. Where he, and a rotation of other people, will be standing guard outside your door 24/7."

"What? Don't trust me?" Steve tried to lighten the apparent tension.

"Oh, not in the slightest, Angel. Trust you just about as much as I can throw you." Eddie slid dark sunglasses on before walking up to the door. "Looking forward to chatting again. I think this will be a good thing for us both, sweetheart."

Eddie walked out without looking back, taking most of his men with him. Ben stayed behind, glaring daggers at Steve's head.

Steve couldn't help but feel a shift in the tide; he would be returning to this moment for the rest of his life. He knew there was no coming back from this, and even if there was, Robin would kill him anyway.

Steve looked down at his milkshake, it was fucking melted.

***

has it been a month since I posted the first part? Yes. Yes it has. Please don't murder me. It has been hectic, I got a new job which means I work two now and I got sick. I finally had some time to start working on this. I also wanted to actually plan this out, make an outline, since yes you guessed it…

it’s going to be a long fic.

As you can tell these parts are really long, so I’m thinking about just posting on ao3, and maybe putting previews on here. Unless you guys want it also fully here. Let me know! :)

I’m so excited for this thank you all for your patience. You can access part one here and ao3 here.

also if I tagged you and you didn’t want to be tagged let me know! some reblogs seemed interested in a part 2 but didn’t mention it specifically but I tried to tag you if I could!

tag list:

@zaphodkilledthespeedforce @a-new-kind-of-blue @hexdbog @krayzee11 @heaven428 @ppunkpuppyy @stxcrossed186 @grtwdsmwhr @pheonixashtree @plasticcrotches @sillysparrow @enterprizing @vi-an-te @minimal23 @romances-sans-paroles @whalesharksart @gregre369 @lollydo@imagayfuck @stevesworldxx @renaissan-vvitch @aroseandherthorns @impeachy @aellafreya @smailaway @cmackz93 @lawrence-b-shaggoth @cata-t0n1c @kylizzles @exo-l4life @shucks-yuckyuck @swaghettoni @goosesister @chaotiovingdreamer @inmoonywetrust @tis-the-smallest-fry @croatoan-like-its-hot @escapingthereality @absurdityaddiction @kit-means-death @anzelsilverr @aziazure @alienthings @obsessivereaderchick @lets-try-to-be-normal-otakus @toobusytobebored @samgelina-jolie

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lavendermunson · 5 months

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ribbon - steve harrington

day 4 of leia's christmas tree farm

cw max has a tiny accident. er/hospital setting. one use of y/n. grey!reader (she is mer’s sister, it can be half sister too). steve calls max his sister. they all moved to seattle for some reason

a/n i had a very different idea for this but it didn’t work out, i hope you like this i came up with at the very last minute

“What do we have here?” Doctor Torres approaches Max, she whines as the pain in her arm only gets worse. “A broken wrist, how did this happen?”

“An accident on the sleigh ride,” Steve says, “Although I’m sure she was just being rebellious”

“I told you I had to beat Mike” Max groans, feeling the doctor’s hands on her as a resident comes back with an X-ray sheet.

The resident is all glammed up. Red lips, red shoes. The lab coat covered her black dress and most of her figure. She looks absolutely beautiful and Steve can feel himself drooling over her.

The thing that makes his knees buckle, is the big red ribbon on her head.

“Looks half fine, just broken. I’ll get someone to put a cast on you and you are free to go” She smiles at Max, who is only focused on her pain going away soon or she’ll start complaining again.

“I can do it!” you say, your sweet voice piercing Steve’s ears.

“But we have to go to our party!”

“I’ll tell Mer to take me, she’s still in surgery,” you say, approaching the patient’s chart to check some things before calling an intern to help. “I will do this quickly, Max. Don’t worry”

As you leave to get all prepared, one of your interns comes to Max’s room. Waiting for you to help the little girl as soon as possible.

“Hey,” Steve calls the intern. “What’s the pretty doctor’s name? The one with the red ribbon?”

“Can you not? I'm working!” he says, slightly annoyed.

"Yeah, Steve. Keep it in your pants" Max says, making fun of Steve's flushed face.

You come back to the room, while a nurse helps you with everything you need to get Max a cast.

“Are you close relatives with the patient?” you ask Steve, looking at him. His eyes get lost in yours, on how they shine under these big and creepy hospital lights.

“Yeah, I’m her brother”

“Alright, then you can stay and fill this form for me please” Steve takes the chart out of your hands and you help Max to sit down. You start teaching your intern and guiding him through the process.

Steve can only get lost on you. The way every one of your words comes out so soft as your cherry-colored lips move. He glanced at your chest, his cheeks go red when his eyes make contact with your cleavage. He looks away, this is not the place for that, he says to himself.

The blue disposable gloves cover your manicured hands but he sees your gold, delicate bracelet fall from your wrist. He makes a mental note not to mention it until you’re done, Max comes first rather than some casual flirt.

“We are done! How are you feeling?”

“I feel better, thank you,” Max says, a smile finally showing on her face. You mirror her excitement and relief, with a big smile on your face too.

And Steve, he wants to fall on his knees and ask you to marry him right now. He notices how you talk to your intern, to the nurses, and to other people walking by. Your bubbly personality has him captive, he just stares and stares until you are gone.

As the intern takes the chart from Steve's hands and disappears he gets lost in his thoughts.

“Steve! Look, her bracelet” Max screams, calling for the older boy as she gets up. And finds your gold bracelet on the floor “Go get her, something good has to come out of this” she encourages him. Steve runs away from the ER as fast as he can. Looking for the big red ribbon on your head.

“Hey, you okay? Do you need something?” A doctor, much taller and older than him stops him on his way.

“I’m okay i just-“ he tries to ease his breath “Do you know the doctor with the red ribbon? I think she is a resident here”

“Oh, little Grey?” The man makes fun of him, looking how desperate he looks. Steve only wants to know your name, maybe get introduced to you, damn. Why is this so difficult?

“Grey! Yeah, I think” he murmurs, looking around for you. “So you know her”

“I do, I'm pretty close with her sister. Do you need anything from her?“ He looks at Steve and laughs again. He doesn’t look worried or sick, he looks like he just got up on a cloud.

“I just want to get her this” he holds the piece of gold in his hand “It fell when she was taking care of my sister”

“Oh! The ladies are in a rush today, they have Christmas ladies’ night” Steve’s face is pale, from being in love to running for the pretty girl in a space of minutes. He was having a normal day and then all turned upside down “But I'm sure you can catch them in the parking lot, I don't know. I hope you do”

He nods, getting ready to run again. “Thank you…”

“Derek, Derek Shepherd”

“I’m Steve Harrington. I owe you one!” his voice echoes in the empty hallway, He runs towards the stairs because the elevator would take so much time.

You got this, all those years of basketball should work now. But they don’t, Steve is slightly older and slower. As much as he hates to admit. But he makes his way to the parking lot, searching for your ribbon again, and when he finds it, he finds you. His heart skips a beat.

“Hey! You were with my sister earlier I just wanted to give you this” Steve says as you turn to face him, blushing as your eyes meet his.

“Oh! you are so kind, thank you so much” You smile. “My sister gave it to me, if I were to lose it I swear she’d kill me!”

“Looks like I saved your life today, you were so kind to Max- my sister. I’m the one who should thank you” he glances at your hand while carefully holding your bracelet between his fingers, a dash of anticipation in his eyes.

“Don’t thank me. It’s part of my job and I love to help”

"Can I?"

"Please"

You get closer to him, and he can feel his hands shake. Your scent invades his nose, soft remnants of your vanilla perfume and a dash of your lavender body wash. He clasps the bracelet around your wrist, the touch of his fingers against your skin is velvety. He pauses for a moment, savoring the quick seconds close to you.

“And what you just did was so kind, i hope this pays up” You leave a peck on his cheek, it’s soft just like he imagined. But it only makes him yearn for more.

“I’m Steve, by the way,” he says, offering you a hand for you to shake it.

“I’m y/n, nice to meet you”

“Can I, uhm. Can I see you again? Some time?” he looks at the way your cheeks are also flushed, just like his. “If you want, of course”

“Yes. Yes, I would like that”

“Tomorrow around eight sounds good?” he asks, smiling proudly as his charm seems to work.

“I actually can’t, I have surgery at six and I'm not sure if I’ll make it”

“I can just come by at eight and wait for you, I can get you every oversized candy bar you want from the vending machine”

You giggle, covering your face with your hand and trying to hide your rosy cheek. Everything you do is so adorable.

“Sure, only if you let me get you a coffee after”

He nods, looking at you. He can’t keep his eyes away from you. “I’m new in the city so I’ll accept the coffee and maybe a tour?”

“A night tour, of course!”

Lucky, lucky Steve.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then, and you look pretty by the way”

“Thank you, I’ll see you tomorrow Steve”

You leave another peck on his cheek, this time the opposite one. He waves his hand as you meet your friends to leave for dinner.

When Steve gets to his apartment with Max by his side, he forgets everyone was waiting for him. But he returns home proud, looking like a winner while everyone asks and comments about the lipstick stains on his cheeks. He looks at himself in the mirror, the way the tint of your red lipstick left a mark on either side of his face. He smiles, knowing that he can get them off and tomorrow he will get home with new ones. He is sure of it.

reblog to support your creators! comments are appreciated !! ♡ thank you for following my christmas event, remember you can still request a gift!

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imyourbratzdoll · 1 year

Text

𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆

valentine's day masterlist

summary - after a long day of doing his job, cupid steve is stopped by a beautiful woman. one that leaves him a whimpering mess, one that is also his happily ever after.

warning - sub steve, dom reader, oral sex, swearing, slightly public, teasing, angst, fluff, sex with cupid, steve sorta feels bad about himself.

18+ only please, the gif and headers I use aren't mine.

Warnings and Reminders - Please do not plagiarise, copy, repost/republish, adapt, or translate any of my work on any social media platforms, apps, or third-party sites. The only platforms I post my work on are: Tumblr and Wattpad. I do not own any character of any franchise (Marvel etc.) All my works are fiction and may be dark or triggering content: READ ALL WARNINGS BEFORE PROCEEDING.

Steve had just finished shooting people with arrows, smiling sadly as he watched all of these people fall in love, wondering if he would ever get that. Steve had realised that being Cupid made finding love harder, especially when women would see his size. He knew he wasn’t like most men. He was small and shy.

He dodged the many dancing bodies as he began to head to the exit, not noticing that your eyes had been on him the whole night. You step out of the shadows, and your sleeveless tight black dress catches Steve’s attention, causing his breath to hitch. He takes in the laced sides, black heels matched with your see-through tights, and black gloves. Steve feels his eyes nearly bug out of his head when he notices how well the dress fits your body, forming perfectly around your breasts and hugging your mouthwatering figure.

“Hey, Pretty Boy. Where are you going looking so glum?” His mouth opens and closes as he focuses on your plump red lips. He wondered how they would feel against his skin. Steve felt like he was staring too long, but you looked like a goddess with how you looked, how your perfectly curled hair fell to your shoulders, your red shaded lips spread into the prettiest smile he’s ever seen. “Hmm? Haven’t found yourself a pretty girl to dance with?” You circle him, your eyes scanning his small form, causing Steve to squirm.

Steve gulps. He shakes his head, and his palms become clammy as your sweet scent enters his senses. “N–no, I’m not–” You press a perfectly manicured finger to his lips, smirking slightly as he squirms.

“It’s okay, Sugar. I’m glad no one’s snatched up a sweet little thing like you.” You lean in, your breath blowing softly against his ear. “Means I get to have you all to myself.” You look deep into his ocean-coloured eyes, a dark glint in your eyes as his face becomes flushed. “Would you like that, Sugar? Would you like to be all mine? Have me devour and worship you? Would you like that, Pretty Boy?”

Steve feels his pants tighten, nodding slowly as you drag a nail down his cheek and neck. Your wicked smile pulls him deeper into the darkness the more he stares. “I–I would… Like that… But, I’m” He looks down at himself, suddenly full of sadness, before he looks back into your eyes. “Haven’t you seen me? I’m not what women want.”

You smile sadly, hand moving down until you rest it on his side, the feel of silk beneath your fingertips. “Oh, Sugar. You’re perfect. Now, what do you say we get out of here?” You move closer. Pressing your body against him, and a shocked gasp escapes you when you feel his impressive bulge. “Oh, we definitely need to get out of here. I didn’t know you were packing, Pretty Boy.” When you press your palm into his bulge, a whimper leaves Steve, and he nods frantically.

“Y–yes, yes, please.” He felt his member throb and twitch from your touch, his eyes nearly roll to the back of his head, and his knees almost give out. Steve’s hand latches onto your arm, pressing himself closer to you. “Please, please.”

You stroke his cheek with your other hand, continuing to press into his swelling cock. “You’re such a good boy, Sugar. C’mon, we can’t exactly have you a whimpering mess in such a public place, now, can we?” Steve shakes his head, his mind becoming too fuzzy even to think. A pained whimper escapes him when you remove your hand, placing it into his as you lead him out of the room and into the lobby. You lead Steve to the elevator, and the minute the door shut. You pounce, covering his flushed neck with nips and kisses.

You push him against the wall, your tongue lapping at his sweet spot, sucking it into your mouth and feeling your core throb as moans fall from his lips. Steve doesn’t know where to put his hands, clenching and unclenching them as you continue to make him feel the most intense pleasure. “P–please.”

You pull away, and your lust-filled eyes meet his half-lidded ones. You lean close, lips inches away from his, but not touching. “Please, what, Sugar? What do you want, hmm?” He whimpers, and his mouth opens as he’s about to reply, but he’s cut off by the elevator doors opening. “C’mon, Pretty Boy. Maybe you can tell me what you want in my room.” You grab hold of his hand again, dragging him along before you reach the door to your room. You let his hand go for a split second to open it before grabbing hold of him again.

Steve’s eyes take in how pretty the room is, not being able to look for long as you drag him to the bedroom. His heart skips a beat, not believing his luck. You softly push him onto the soft bed, his eyes wide as he watches you teasingly strip from your dress. Steve’s mouth drops open, and his eyes slowly drag down your form. “You… You’re so beautiful….” He blinks and then blinks again. His widened eyes shot up and met yours, “I–I’m sorry!”

You smirk, slowly moving toward him and leaning over. You begin to stroke his cheek with your hand, “It’s okay, Sugar.” He struggles to keep eye contact with you, which is extremely hard as your plump breasts sit perfectly, and your bare cunt is on display for all to see. Your gloves and heels are still on, and your dress and tights are piled on the floor as you kneel on the bed and crawl toward Steve. “So, Pretty Boy. What do you want?”

Steve’s mouth opens and closes, feeling his member strain against his pants more at the sight of you. “Y–you… I want you.” He gasps, eyes closing as your lips touch his. His hand moves until it rests on the back of your head, his other gripping your hip. His head tilts back slightly as your lips move together, and a soft whimper escapes him when your tongue slithers into his awaiting mouth. Your hand moves slowly, travelling up his thigh and to his twitching member. You palm it, enjoying the cute little whimpers that leave him. Your fingers begin to unzip his zipper, freeing his impressive cock.

“Well, well. How do you manage to get around with this in your pants? Huh, Sugar?” Steve blabbers, mouth hanging open as you stroke his base, thumb swirling around his leaking tip. Collecting some of his arousal and placing your thumb into your mouth, eyes connected with his as you suck, Steve feels like he’s died and gone to heaven. You move down his body, face levelled with the thick member. “So pretty, so big.” His hips jerk as you run your fingers along his base. “I must be the luckiest woman alive.” When your eyes connect, you smirk and lean forward. Your tongue pokes out and laps the arousal from his thick mushroom tip. “You taste so good, Sugar.” You swirl it around before you wrap your lips around his cockhead, sucking him into your mouth.

“Oh! Oh! P–please… too– much!” Steve arches, his member sliding deeper into your mouth the more his hips jerk. The pleasure becomes too much as you continue to suck. His hands grip whatever he can, his vision turning white. “Oh, please! Y–you are a goddess!” His eyes connect with yours, causing his balls to tighten as he watches your tongue swirl around his cock, before you slowly make your way down to his heavy sacks. Steve sees his life flash before his eyes as you suck them into your mouth, swirling and rolling your tongue as your hand comes up to stroke his wet cock. Steve felt his thighs clench and unclench as you continued to switch between sucking his soul out through his cock and massaging his balls with your wonderfully talented mouth.

You pull away, hands still working their magic as you stare at him with a sultry look. “Cum for me, Sugar. Let me swallow all of you, milk you dry until you are nothing but a whimpering mess.” With those words and your mouth wrapping itself around his swollen tip again, Steve goes blind, blacking out for a split second as he spills into your mouth, ropes of cum shooting out of him. You clench around nothing as his sweet moans fill the room, fingers tangled in your hair as he loses himself. You pull away, lapping up the rest of his cum and licking your lips. Steve blinks, finally getting his vision back, his chest rapidly moving up and down as he tries to catch his breath. His pretty blues connect with yours as you smirk. A gasp escapes him as you wrap your hand around his hardening cock. “Aren’t you a good boy? Wanna cum deep inside me, Pretty Boy?” His cock twitches and throbs beneath your palm, eyes rolling back as he nods. “Words, Sugar. Be a good boy for me.”

Steve whimpers, “Yes, yes, please! Please, can I cum deep inside you? I’ll be so good, your good boy!” His breath hitches when his gaze lands on your kneeled position. The soft moonlight hitting your skin makes you look eternal. Your smudged red lipstick and tousled hair causes Steve’s heart to beat rapidly in his chest, never having seen someone so beautiful, so flawless in his whole existence. It felt as though he had finally found his missing piece and was ready to give himself over to you: his heart, mind and soul, everything in the entire universe.

You smile, crawling on top of him and positioning his cock at your entrance. “Good boy. My sweet boy.” Yours and Steve’s eyes roll to the back of your head as you sink down, “Oh, my pretty boy. You feel so good stretching me out. You should feel proud of yourself. Especially with this monster between your legs.” A pleasured moan escapes you. Steve’s head is thrown back as he feels you throb and squeeze him. Steve grips your hips, whimpering, and his hips try to jerk up as you refuse to move. “Uh ah, Sugar. What’s the magic word?”

Steve groans as you roll your hips, your nails digging into his chest as you wait for the magic word. “Please, please! I’ll be a good boy. Please just move!” A whimper leaves him as you move, rolling and bouncing, his thick member sliding in and out of you as you ride him. “Oh, s–so good!” He felt his whole world explode, never having experienced pleasure like this before. His hips began to jerk up, unable to control himself as the feel of your warm, heaven-like cunt seduced him into a slobbering mess.

“You feeling alright, Pretty Boy?” You breathe out, slowing down your pace because you enjoy how he begs you to pick up the pace. How he’d whimper as he tried jerking his hips, tried to move your hips desperately, but gives up because he felt so weak. You roll your hips slowly, and your head tilts back when you feel him brushing up against your g-spot. Steve whimpers. Soft pleas escape him.

“O–oh, please move, please. I’ll do anything!” You lean down, bringing him into a deep passionate kiss as you begin to pick up the pace, swallowing the sweet sounds that escape him, bringing the both of you as much pleasure as possible. Your moans fall from your lips and into Steve’s, enjoying how his gifted cock hits all of your sweet spots.

You begin to feel your walls clenching around him, pulsating as you get closer to your climax. “Pretty Boy, cum for me.” You whisper into his ear before moving down and pressing heavy kisses on his neck. Marking him as yours, you moan softly against his flesh as pleasured sounds escape him. His hips stutter, and his hands grip your hips as he buries himself deep inside you. His cock twitches and throbs, balls tightening, his back arches and large ropes of cum shoot out of him, filling you to the brim. Leaving Steve a whimpering mess as you pulsate wildly around him and cum, your arousal leaking out of you, covering the poor man underneath.

As you both come down from your blissful endings, you shakily remove Steve’s softening cock from your sopping cunt and fall beside him, your fingers finding their way to your mouth as you lick the both of you off of them. Your eyes connect with exhausted blue ones that are focused on your arousal-covered fingers. Your hand slowly moves toward his awaiting mouth, gently sliding your fingers inside and connecting eyes as he moans, lapping your juices up like it’s his last meal. “Next time, I’ll let you feast on me, but only if you are a good boy.”

Steve whimpers and his head falls back into the pillow as your fingers slip from his mouth. “I–I’m Steve, by the way….” He stares at you, wondering how you could look even more beautiful. He watches you smile, moving closer to him, and your still-gloved hand strokes his cheek, causing his eyes to flutter closed.

“Such a pretty name for a pretty man.” You lean forward and place a kiss on his plump lips. “I’m Y/n, Sugar, and I’m so glad I found you after all this time. I thought I had lost you.” His eyes slowly open, brows furrowed as he looks at you confused. He feels strangely safe as you stroke his skin. “I’ve been watching you… Ever since I saw you shoot your cute little arrows into my friend and her now fiance and then fly away with your adorable wings. I had always wondered when you’d shoot me and give me my happily ever after.” You stare deep into his eyes as you whisper the next part. “But, now I finally understand… You were always meant to be my happily ever after.”

Steve could feel tears beginning to form, wondering how he had gotten so lucky after all this time of wondering if he was destined to be forever alone. He reaches his hand out and cups your cheek, feeling his heart warm when you lean into his touch, smiling at him. Not being able to find the right words, Steve finds the courage to lean forward and lock his lips with yours, eyes fluttering closed as they move with one another passionately.

You break from the kiss, and a soft whisper leaves you. “My Pretty Boy.”

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