#he doesn't realize that Steve had no part in making the plans

[artiststarme]

Steve’s No Good, Very Bad Day

This is something a little different from what I usually do so I hope you guys like it! Please leave your thoughts and title ideas in the comments!

~*~*~*~

Steve was just wrapping up at work one day, getting ready to run some errands when the kids stampeded through the door. He hardly even had time to sigh before Dustin was trying to negotiate for him to give them a ride to the community pool. 

“Steve, it’s eighty four degrees outside right now and the community pool is a mile away. If we bike there in these conditions, we could get heat stroke and die. What kind of friend would you be if you let us die when you could’ve prevented it? Since we all know you’re my best friend, you should give us a ride.”

“Dude, no. I have errands to run and I’m really not in the mood to babysit,” Steve said, shaking his head. He had better things to do than drive them around town all day. Like buying himself groceries and toilet paper, interesting stuff. 

“Please, Steve? We’re counting on you! Just give us a ride and we’ll leave you alone for the rest of the weekend!” Lucas bartered. 

“I’m hosting DnD at my house tomorrow,” Steve said, completely deadpan. 

“And we’ll leave you alone until then!” Dustin jumped in. “Please?”

“Son of a bitch, fine! Go wait by my car. Jesus Christ, you’re truly annoying. You know that, right?”

“Thanks Steve!” Dustin called and ran to wait by his car. 

Steve just sighed and shook his head. He didn’t sign up for this. He loves those kids but goddamn, he just wanted one day to himself after working customer service and faking smiles all morning. Nevertheless, he climbed into his car and cranked the AC before heading towards the pool. 

“So where’s Will, Max, and El? Are you guys hanging out with them today too?”

“Of course we are,” Dustin answered snootily. “They’re our friends.”

“They’re meeting us at the pool,” Lucas added. 

“Well, thank you Lucas for answering my question,” he turned to look at Dustin in the passenger seat. “You need to lose the ‘tude, Henderson. I’m doing you shitheads a favor. Tone it down.”

“Sorry,” Dustin muttered. 

They traveled the rest of the way in silence with only the soft tones of Simon and Garfunkel playing softly through the radio. When they turned into the pool’s parking lot, something felt off. Steve couldn’t put his finger on it. Nothing looked out of the blue but something was wrong, he was certain. 

“Stay in the car, I’ll be right back.” He opened his door and Henderson opened his as well. “Dustin, please. Just stay in the car for a minute.”

“Wha- but…”

“Dustin!” He gave him a confused look but shut the door regardless. 

Steve saw Max, Will, and El rounding the corner and ran up to them. They looked fine too but something still felt off. His stomach was twisting in warning and he didn’t know why. 

“Hey guys-”

“Steve? I didn’t know you’d be coming. We could’ve used the ride,” Max snarked.

“Listen, something feels off. Get in my car,” Steve told them. His heart started beating faster and he could feel sweat dripping on his forehead. His adrenaline was going crazy and he didn’t know why. 

“Steve, there isn’t enough room. We won’t fit-” Will tried to explain but he was cut off by the sound of gunfire. El threw up her hands to telekinetically redirect the bullets and Steve tackled Max and El to the ground. 

He lightly smacked his head on the cement but he picked himself up soon enough. When he looked around the parking lot, there were dozens of government agents facing El with their guns drawn. 

“Eleven. We are with a secret department of the United States government. If you come with us peacefully, we’ll let your friends live.” As the woman in charge was talking, Steve noticed a man standing behind El raise his gun to her head. 

“El!” He jumped up from the ground the pushed her away from the path of the gun as it fired. He felt a sharp, searing pain in his shoulder and then he was back on the ground. 

“Steve!” She looked over at him but he just shook his head with his teeth clenched. 

“Kill them!” He felt bad about ordering a kid to kill the fifteen agents, not for them but for her. She didn’t deserve to carry their deaths on her conscience. But as he saw all of their necks snap in unison, he couldn’t help but feel a little relieved. 

All of the kids surrounded him worriedly. The boys looked slightly nauseous while Max and El were looking at his shoulder in concern.

“Steve? Are you okay, buddy? I’m pretty sure you got shot.” Dustin told him gently, just as he had in Billy’s Camaro all those years ago. 

“El… you okay?” Steve asked her quietly. It was getting harder for him to speak. It felt like there was a fog over him that was pulling him under.

“Of course I am okay, Steve. You were the one that was shot,” she told him matter-of-factly. 

“Hmm, yeah makes sense. Fucking... figures,” and then he lost consciousness. 

~*~*~*~

When he woke up, it was to a bland hospital room. His head ached, his shoulder throbbed, and his throat was dry. As annoyed as he was with the situation, Steve was glad that he had been there for the kids. Who knew what would’ve happened if he hadn’t gotten there when he did. Would El have that man’s bullet in her head? Would Max and Will be dead due to a slew of bullets? He’s glad he would never have to find out. 

He was so lost in his thoughts of what could have happened that he didn’t notice Hopper stepping in until he spoke. 

“What the hell were you thinking?” Hopper hissed angrily. 

“What do you mean?” Steve asked in confusion. It almost seemed like Hopper was mad at him but he was pretty positive that he had no reason to be. 

“Why the hell were you taking the kids to the pool? You know that people are after her and you just took her out into the open? How could you do something so stupid?!”

Steve’s entire body flinched at his comment. “Hop, the kids were going anyway. The only reason I was there was to give Dustin, Lucas, and Mike a ride. The other kids were meeting them there. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You’re the adult, Harrington! You should’ve told them no and then none of us would be in this situation!” 

“Hop, I’m sorry. Next time I’ll be more careful. I know it must’ve been scary to see your kids like that…”

“You’re not my son!” He screamed at him in fury.

Steve’s blood turned cold. “Wh-what?”

“El is my daughter and your actions almost got her killed! And you put all the other kids in danger too. I don’t know if Joyce and I can forgive you for this, Harrington.”

Hopper shook his head derisively one last time and stalked out of the hospital room. Steve just laid there in shock. He didn’t know why Hopper was so mad at him or why he decided that Steve wasn’t worth any effort anymore. He didn’t know why he always pushed away his parental figures but this was three people now that he managed to disappoint so it had to be an issue with him. All he could do was close his eyes and cry at the unfairness of it all.

~*~*~*~

Between visits from Eddie and Robin, Steve was alone. The kids were banned from seeing him due to what Hopper had coined ‘reckless endangerment’ and it wasn’t like he had anyone else interested in visiting him. So it was a surprise when a chastened Hopper entered his room. 

“Hey kid, how are you doing?” He asked him softly. 

Steve just stared at him. He wasn’t sure where he and Hop stood after he screamed at him just a few days prior. 

“Look Steve, I want to apologize. I uh, I didn’t have all of the information and I blamed you when it wasn’t your fault. I know now that you were there to protect the kids and you did a great job other than getting shot and getting another concussion. I’m sorry.”

“I meant Will. When I said you were worried about your kids. I meant Will and El. I know you don’t consider me your son, why would you? Literally no one wants to be my parent so I get it-”

“Steve, I do consider you my kid. I shouldn’t have said that and I only did out of anger. You didn’t deserve that and I’ll make it up to you. You’re going to move into the house with us until you get better,” he promised him. 

Steve just shook his head though, “don’t worry about it. Eddie is going to stay at my house until I can use my arm. You don’t have to worry about it.”

“Harrington, I don’t care if I have to kidnap your sorry ass. You’re staying with me, Joyce, and the kids until you’re better.”

“This is part of your apology, threats of kidnapping? What the fuck, Hop?” Steve exclaimed, absolutely perplexed. 

“Yeah, did it work?”

Steve huffed, “get me some orange Jello and I’ll consider it.”

They had a ways to go until they were back to where they were but they’d get there. Steve would forgive him in time and Hopper would forgive himself eventually too.

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#Hopper is mad that Steve decided to take El to the community pool surrounded by people #he doesn't realize that Steve had no part in making the plans #he's also worried about Steve's bullet wound and new concussion and he's taking it out on him #stranger things #fanfic #steddie ish #steve harrington #eddie munson #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #max mayfield #eleven hopper #mike wheeler #jonathan byers #will byers #joyce byers #chief hopper

[marriedtobigfoot]

Robin is positive that Steve isn't straight. At first, she thought she was projecting. Maybe she just wanted to share another aspect of herself with her best friend, but no. She's very confident now. The way Steve acts sometimes makes it so obvious. He's listened to her talk about how scary it is, being a lesbian in a town like Hawkins, and he talks to her about it like he undertands, even if he doesn't realize it. She roped him into watching a movie with a gay couple in it, and Steve's eyes lit up seeing two men kiss on screen. He once cracked a joke about going on a date with a guy that sounded far too sincere to be a joke. She knows, deep in the depths of her very soul, that Steve is a little bit queer.

And she could prove it if she could just figure out what his type is

She's been doing research, real genuine research into what male celebrities are considered hot. Finding movies with said supposedly hot men and making Steve watch them with her. But there's nothing! No reaction, not even the slightest blush when Harrison Ford was sweaty and shirtless right before his eyes. It isn't until she gets him to watch Rocky Horror that she finally catches something. Tim Curry in all his fishnet-clad glory brings a flush to Steve's cheeks. One that gets even worse when the character dons a leather jacket halfway through. It isn't much, but it's enough.

She mentally tallys everything about Tim Curry in that movie. Dark eyes, curls, makeup, tights, and especially the leather. She tries not to get her hopes up too high, knows that Tim Curry was wearing feminine clothes and makeup in the movie, so maybe Steve was just thrown off and confused, but it's a start at least. She makes a new list of movies, and pays close attention to his reactions.

The real breakthroughs come with The Lost Boys and The Breakfast Club. Lost Boys had been planned, one of her choices designed to illicit a response from Steve. Lots of pretty boys, some with dark curly hair, some with big dark eyes, and quite a few wearing leather jackets. Steve had been interested, that was for sure, a lot more than he had in the other movies she'd shown him. The Breakfast Club was a surprise. It had been one of Steve's picks, and Robin hadn't even been paying close attention. But it was impossible to miss the way Steve's eyes shot to the screen every time John Bender was speaking.

So, Robin has an answer. Steve Harrington liked bad boys. Men with dark hair and dark eyes, clad in leather with attitude for miles. Not what she had been expecting, but she's delighted, to say the least.

The delight only grows when Eddie Munson comes into their lives, and she gets a front row seat to Steve Harrington's Big Gay Meltdown. Eddie ticks off all Steve's boxes. Dark curly hair, big brown doe eyes, leather and denim from head to toe, and he has the attitude. But he checks off other boxes too, ones Robin hadn't even realized existed. He checks off the 'great big nerd' box. Because when she thinks about it, yes. Steve surrounds himself with exclusively nerds. He checks off the 'good with kids' box effortlessly, to the point that Robin almost screams when she hears Steve telling Nancy about his six kids and a winnebago dream, because Eddie basically already has part-time custody of Steve's weird gaggle of gremlin children. He tickes off the 'queer as fuck' box too, if Robin's judgement is any good, and she was pretty sure it was. The bandana in his pocket seems like a pretty good sign, if the zines she had smuggled on a family trip to Indy were to be trusted.

Eddie Munson is perfect for Steve, in every way possible, Robin is sure of it. So needless to say, shes thrilled when Steve finally, FINALLY pulls her into the crappy little bathroom at Family Video and asks her how she realized she was gay. This is going to be the start of a beautiful little journey for them both, Robin is going to welcome it with open arms.

Part 2

#steddie #steve harrington #stranger things #eddie munson #stranger things 4 #Robin Buckley #Platonic Stobin #Robin is already wingmanning steve before he even realizes he likes men #And she certainly doesnt miss the way Eddie blushes when they watch Indiana Jones as a group #and Shirtless Harrison Ford is on screen #ficlet #steddie ficlet

[fandsart]

Steve and Nancy's relationship didn't work out because they had different wants and needs so when Steve starts dating Eddie he tries really hard not to have wants and needs of his own. Knowing that Eddie didn't reschedule Hellfire for Lucas doesn't help with this.

He goes to a few metal concerts even though he always gets migraines the next day from the volume, he lets Eddie talks about all kinds of nerd stuff even if it makes him feel stupid when he can't keep up.

It's not even like he's dragging Steve into things that are actively detrimental to him all that often. Just a couple activities things a week. But Steve also feels the need to hide some of his own interests, knowing that Eddie hates them.

Not that he doesn't love being around Eddie, but now that they're dating he's hardly not around, and it's hard to find time to keep up on the teams that Steve roots for. But it's... it's fine. He's happy with Eddie, so he can make the sacrifice to hide these parts of himself. It's fine.

Eddie doesn't realize this is going on because he's aware that he's pushing Steve out of his comfort zone, what he isn't aware of is how Steve far out of his comfort zone he really is, and how he doesn't want to bother Eddie with it, afraid they'll break up over it.

Then he slips up, just a little bit, when Eddie invites him to a concert on the same day he plans on watching a game. This isn't even the first time this has happened, but Eddie usually gives him more of a heads up for this kind of thing. He thought he was close enough to the date that he wouldn't have to worry about it getting disrupted, and it was a pretty big game, so his disappointment is higher than usual.

Eddie is talking about a metal band and is going on a small ramble explaining the context of where they sit in the metal scene.

"And they have a concert in Indy tomorrow," he grins, "and I really want to take you."

"Oh, I was gonna... Yeah, we can do that."

"You were gonna what?"

"It doesn't matter. It's stupid."

"Steve, it's not a big deal. It's not like I'm taking you to a Dio concert. These guys are actually pretty small and relatively local. I'm sure we could catch another one, it would just be kind of down the road."

"Eddie it's fine. We can go to your concert. Whatever you want."

Eddie gives him a look. "I don't want it to be 'my concert.' If you wouldn't enjoy it, I wouldn't want to just be dragging you with me. And I don't want it to be 'fine' I want it to be enjoyable!"

"I enjoy spending time with you."

"Ok, so what were you going to do tomorrow?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Obviously it does!"

They're fighting and this was exactly what Steve was worried about. If Steve could have just gotten over himself, cut the bullshit, they wouldn't be fighting right now.

"Eddie, it really doesn't. Can we just go to the concert and forget about this?"

"No. If you don't want to go, you don't have to."

"If I don't go, will you go without me?"

"Unless you don't want me to."

"I want to go with you, wherever."

"Ok, you know what, I just remembered I actually have to help Wayne with something on tomorrow."

"No you don't. Look, I wasn't gonna do anything. Can we please just go to this concert you want to go to?"

"Look, I have to go to school. I'm already over 2 hours late." With that, he's out the door.

↞⬡+¤+⬡↠

Steve's not sure what time the concert was even meant to be at, but if he could just get a hold of Eddie and convince him he wants to go, maybe they won't miss it. It's already fairly well into the afternoon and he hasn't heard from Eddie all day.

The first few times he calls, there's no answer, but when he finally gets an answer it's Wayne that picks up.

"You almost missed me," he says. "Make it quick, I gotta to get to work."

"Is Eddie there?"

"Nah, he should be in Indy by now. Did he not tell you? There's some concert down there."

"Yeah, I, uh... Thank you Mr. Munson."

So Eddie went by himself even though Steve told him he wanted to come, and he'd pretended that he didn't even want to go.

Steve watches his game that night, kind of miserable and guilty. He debated not watching it, almost as a point of honor, since he lied to Eddie and told him that he didn't really have anything planned today. They'd both lied about their plans last night and Steve is so ready for Eddie to come back and say that he had a much better time without Steve and it's time they go they're separate ways.

His team loses and he falls asleep on the couch soon after, the tv still playing in the background.

He wakes up in the morning to a knock at the door. Eddie stands on the other side.

"Hey, baby. Did I wake you up?"

"Um... yeah." He wants to bring up what happened yesterday, that Eddie went without him, but he's afraid it will just make things worse. He obviously wanted to go without him if he did so, and bringing it up might just start an argument about how Eddie doesn't need Steve's permission to do things (and he doesn't) reinforcing why he didn't want Steve to come in the first place. He wants to stay with Eddie forever and he's worried the relationship is starting to fall apart. "It's fine. I should be up by now anyway."

Eddie hums almost suspiciously. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." He moves out of the way.

"'Whatever I want,' huh?" he asks, as he walks through the doorway.

"What?"

"Nothing. We'll talk about it in a minute. A few things first. Come on." He drags Steve over to the couch. "So what did you do yesterday?"

"Tried getting a hold of you, mostly."

Eddie chuckles nervously. "Sorry. But did you do whatever it was you planned on doing before?" Steve tenses just a little bit. Is Eddie going to accuse him of choosing baseball over their relationship? He kind of almost did when he first opened his mouth after Eddie first suggest the concert. Is he going to call him out for that. "Relax baby, you don't even need to tell me what it was, as long as whatever it was you were doing wasn't a person."

"No, never!"

"I know, Stevie. I know you're history; I know you would never do that. So I'm not upset. So did you carry out your plans, whatever they were?"

"Yeah. It was disappointing."

"Well, I'm glad you did what you wanted anyway. And since you were busy and couldn't come to the concert, I went and brought you back a tape." He pulls a cassette tape out of his pocket. "You obviously weren't going to admit you didn't want to go, but I still wanted to share this with you, so here. This is yours."

Eddie's more attentive to when Steve seems hesitant to do something after that. Eventually Steve gets comfortable enough to bring up where his reservations stand regarding a lot of these things. Eddie switches up how he talks about his interests, trying to make it more coherent and gets Steve earplugs for concerts. He encourages Steve to talk about his own interests, even when Eddie doesn't fully get the appeal himself. He can go a little outside of his comfort zone too. For Steve, it's always worth it.

#They have a lot of talks about this as time goes on which eventually leads to Eddie apologizing to Lucas btw #about the hellfire campaign #steddie #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie ficlet #ficlet #fandsart

[mcdynamite]

When everything settles down after Vecnapocalypse, Steve gets a call from the athletic director at Hawkins High School, and a day later, he accepts a part-time position as the assistant coach of the Hawkins High varsity basketball team.

Lucas is obviously stoked, and the other kids concede (after a few minutes of bemoaning Steve's return to the Dark Side) that it's a perfect job for him. Robin screeches with delight, and Nancy tells him she's proud of him, and Jonathan thumps him on the back with a quiet, "Congrats, man," and Eddie?

Well, Eddie just rolls his eyes and makes a joke about the Return of the King that goes right over Steve's head (but has the kids and, wouldn't ya know it, Nancy, grinning) and doesn't say much else.

It's probably stupid, but Eddie has actually (horrifyingly) grown to like hanging out with Steve. Sure, he knows next to nothing about D&D or Lord of the Rings or metal music, but that doesn't seem to matter all that much. He still listens to Eddie rant about all of those aforementioned interests and does his best to understand, even if he doesn't particularly care about the content of Eddie's latest campaign. He lets Eddie play Dio and Metallica and Black Sabbath for him, and even though Eddie can tell he's not really into most of their music, at the end of his "Musication" he gives Eddie a list of the songs he actually liked, so they have some stuff to listen to when they hang out that won't make one of them want to puncture their own eardrums.

He even looks genuinely apologetic (and, dare Eddie say, disappointed?) when he tells Eddie that it's not that he doesn't want to read Lord of the Rings. It's just that he can't, because reading is really fucking hard when the letters won't stop jumping all over the damn place.

The point is: Eddie likes Steve. He likes Steve's sarcastic quips and his attentiveness, and his hilarious but well-meaning and frighteningly successful mothering of the teenagers they apparently co-parent. Eddie likes Steve, and he likes being his friend, and he's afraid that this stupid Assistant Coach job will end up dragging Steve headfirst back into his King Steve days, and Steve will forget all about being friends with Eddie "The Freak" Munson.

It's so, so stupid, because while Eddie likes Steve, he also knows Steve, and he knows that Steve isn't the guy who used to hang around the Tommy Hagans of the world anymore. But the fear is there, and it's still there by the time the school year starts and Steve starts getting busy "prepping" for his new job, which... what? The basketball season doesn't start until January, so what the hell kind of prep would Steve be starting in August?

Eddie wonders, but he doesn't ask. He just anxiously waits to see if Steve will eventually decide to ditch him, and he continues to be quietly delighted when Steve always, always makes time for the two of them to hang out.

The thought of Steve going back into jock-mode still makes him kinda sick, but he'll never tell Steve that. Steve is way too excited for the start of the basketball season, and Eddie is gonna support him the same way Steve supports Eddie at his Corroded Coffin concerts: with begrudging interest and genuine pride, so help him God.

It goes on like this until one day, Eddie's begrudging interest suddenly becomes a little more genuine, when he accidentally stumbles upon what Steve meant for the last three months whenever he said he was "prepping for the season." 

He's got plans to hang out with Steve that afternoon, pulling up in his van fifteen minutes late because time management has never been one of his strong suits. Only, when he gets to Casa Harrington, he notices something strange. The garage is open.

The thing is, Steve always parks the Beemer in the driveway. He never uses the garage. Actually, Eddie didn't even realize Steve had a garage at all, until now, but he hears some clanging coming from inside and goes to investigate. He walks past the Beemer (parked in the driveway where it always is) and peers inside, expecting to maybe find Steve... repairing something? Reorganizing? Honestly, he has no clue what he thinks he'll find in there.

What he definitely doesn't expect to find is Steve Harrington in the middle of what appears to be a pretty fucking intense workout – hair and tank top damp with sweat, wearing frankly indecently short shorts, and breathing steadily as he does fucking pull-ups on the bar in his garage, which has apparently been converted into a whole goddamn home gym.

Eddie stops in his tracks and stares, affording himself a moment or two to have a teeny, tiny (enormous) crisis over it.

Steve hasn't noticed him yet, and Eddie can't tear his stupid eyes away from the way Steve's arms tremble from the exertion as he pulls himself up, face pinched into a concentrated frown. Eddie can see him gritting his teeth, can see the muscles in his arms and shoulders straining a little bit. Even worse, every time Steve lowers himself down, his stupid tank top rides up just enough to expose the (not at all soft, apparently) plains of his stomach, glistening with sweat, and God, Eddie wants to lick Steve fucking Harrington's abs like a-

Oh, no.

Oh, fuck no.

Oh, Jesus H. Christ, fucking shit, NO.

Listen... It's not like Eddie hasn't already known for years that he's gay. He's been fully aware of that since middle school. It's the reason his dad kicked him out and sent him to live with Wayne, for fuck's sake. It's just that Eddie has put a lot of effort into pretending his thoughts about Steve Harrington were totally, completely, 100% platonic up until this point, and now he can feel all of that hard work going down the metaphorical drain.

He stands there, stock still with his jaw hinged open, and stares while his brain melts out of his ears and his thoughts begin to race. God, those fucking arms. Eddie's not weak, but he's definitely weaker than Steve, which means Steve could definitely pin Eddie down if he wanted to. In a bed. Against the wall. On the hood of a car. Fuck, on the goddamn floor – Eddie's not picky! All he knows is that he wants Steve to leave the workout for later so Eddie can lick the sweat off of him, which... gross. But also hot. But also-

"Eddie?"

Oh, fuck. How does one talk to the sun?

Steve has noticed him standing there, obviously, which sort of makes Eddie wonder how long he's been staring. Time stopped in Eddie's world the moment a sweaty Steve Harrington entered his field of vision, so he truly has no idea how bad his staring got.

Christ, this is going to be so bad.

So, so bad.

"Eds?" Steve says, his face pinching into a frown. "You okay?"

Oh my god, you moron, say something! Eddie's brain screams at him.

"What?" Smooth. "Uh, yeah! Totally fine. Just, y'know, like, lost in thought, or whatever. Plotting my next demonic attempt at world domination. The usual."

Steve looks at him like he's grown a second head, which... is fair. But Eddie's fumbling attempt at speech is at least embarrassing enough to take precedence over the cacophonous sound of whatever Ode to Abs his mind was attempting to compose, and Eddie feels like he can think a little more clearly.

"Ah, fuck," Eddie mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose. He sighs and looks at Steve apologetically. "I'm sorry, dude. I swear I'm fine. It's just been a weird day."

Steve cocks his head to the side like a particularly inquisitive puppy, and oh God, it's adorable. Eddie loathes how adorable it is. "Good weird?" Steve asks. "Or bad weird?"

Eddie ponders his answer for a moment, then replies with, "Weird weird."

That's enough to startle a laugh out of Steve, who shakes his head and wraps a towel around his neck. "Fair enough, man. Sorry about all of this, by the way." He gestures vaguely towards the home gym in his garage and shrugs sheepishly. "I was gonna be done before you got here but I sorta... lost track of time, I guess." He's got an unreadable look on his stupidly beautiful face, and Eddie doesn't like that at all. He doesn't like that one bit.

But he decides not to overthink it and brushes Steve's apology off with a wave of his hand. "It's whatever, dude. Might wanna shower, though." The ‘otherwise I might take it upon my gay little self to lick you clean’ is left blessedly unsaid.

Steve laughs again, and just like that, things start to feel a bit less earth-shattering. They banter for a bit longer, then Steve really does go to take a quick shower, and they spend the rest of the night lying on the floor of Steve's living room, listening to the metal mix tape they made together and bitching about their brood of teenagers.

Weirdly, though, after that day, Steve seems to be working out a lot more frequently. As in almost every single time he and Eddie have plans. Day after day, Eddie is treated to the sight of Steve Harrington looking like a goddamn Greek god, and day after day, Steve catches his eye and smiles before abandoning his equipment and acting like Eddie's world hasn't been completely turned on its head.

It's starting to drive him kind of insane, honestly, and his pining has gotten so bad that even Gareth and Jeff know.

"He's just so pretty!" Eddie whines for what feels like the thousandth time.

His band mates simply exchange a long-suffering look and let him ramble.

It all comes to a head in November, just before Thanksgiving, when Eddie shows up and once again finds Steve finishing a workout. Just like always, Steve shoots him a good-natured grin and greets him before heading inside for a quick shower, and just like always, Eddie waits downstairs.

NOT like always, however, this time Steve comes jogging down the stairs with wet hair, wearing a pair of joggers and... absolutely nothing else.

It's been a long time since Eddie last saw Steve without a shirt on (since the day at Lover's Lake when they found watergate, to be precise), and suddenly Eddie is remembering why he'd immediately pulled out a cigarette to calm down that day. Only this time it's even worse, because Steve has really been putting effort into these workouts, and it shows.

His chest is toned and covered in coarse hair that Eddie kind of wants to tug on, just to see what sort of sounds Steve would make if he did. He's got the makings of an honest-to-God six pack just barely visible on his abdomen, partially obscured by scars Eddie recognizes from looking at his own in the mirror. Steve's are slightly smaller and not as deep, but they clearly came from the same sets of tiny jaws, and Eddie finds them weirdly comforting, these matching scars that they share. Steve's look pale in contrast against his skin, and God, Eddie just wants to kiss them. He wants to worship them and every other inch of the man who bears them.

The man who definitely just said something Eddie didn't hear because he was too busy trying not to pass out from mere proximity to something so beautiful.

"Sorry, what?" Eddie asks, shaking his head violently in an attempt to dispel his traitorous thoughts.

Steve smirks, but Eddie can see the soft fondness in his eyes when he cocks his head to the side and repeats the words Eddie missed the first time. "I asked if you see something you like, Munson," Steve teases, one hand carding wet hair out of his face, and Eddie just blinks at him.

Play it off, play it off, play it off, his brain supplies helpfully. He can totally play this off. Dudes stare at their friends’ chests all the time, right?

"What?" he practically squeaks. "I- well... no, wait, um... ah, fuck."

So much for plausible deniability.

He's just beginning to feel vaguely panicky when Steve seems to catch on, and he's right in front of Eddie in an instant, concerned, hazel eyes gazing down at Eddie's grimacing face.

"Hey," Steve says, reaching out like he wants to touch Eddie but thinks better of it. "It's okay, man. You're okay. I'm just messing with you."

The impact of his words is instant, and Eddie can feel his face heating up. Of course Steve was joking. God, Eddie is such an idiot.

"Right," Eddie says, voice strained. He rubs his face with both hands, shaking his head lightly. "Duh. Obviously you were teasing." His voice sounds strange even to his own ears, and he's got a weird feeling of anticipation in his stomach that tells him that he's already shown too many of his cards.

"I mean, yeah..." Steve says, seeming nervous for the first time since Eddie got here. His hands flit from the back of his neck to his hair to his waist, like he doesn't know what to do with them. "Teasing is, like, flirting 101, so..."

Eddie freezes.

"Oh my God, wait..." he says slowly, finally daring to meet Steve's confused eyes. "Flirting?"

Steve looks utterly perplexed now, and he does that thing where he cocks his head to the side in confusion. 

It's still adorable. Fuck, why is it so adorable? 

"Um... yes?" He studies Eddie, seems to register the shock on his face, and then matches it with shock of his own. "Wait, you didn't know? I thought you knew!"

"I most certainly did not!" Eddie counters, feeling a bit like he's having an out-of-body experience.

"Oh my God," Steve says. "Oh my God, Eddie, I've been flirting with you for, like, months!"

"Months?!" Eddie's voice has officially reached the stratosphere.

"Yes!" Steve yelps. He looks torn between laughing and crying, though Eddie thinks it'll be mildly hilarious no matter what choice he makes. "Jesus, dude, I winked at you while I was doing pull-ups last week! What did you think that was?"

"A hallucination!" Eddie says immediately. "You're straight, Harrington!"

At that, Steve snorts, then shakes his head.

Eddie's pretty sure his brain is melting by now.

"Yeah, um, no," Steve says firmly. "I'm definitely not straight."

"You... I... What? Since when?"

"Well..." Steve begins, briefly glancing away. "Since forever, technically. Probably. But officially, since that time I made out with Tommy H. after we got wasted at a party sophomore year. And if that wasn't enough proof, I think the amount of time I’ve spent staring at your ass lately definitely is."

Eddie stares at him. "Am I dead?" he asks dumbly. "Is this Heaven? Am I having a fucking stroke?"

Steve's laughter is bright when it rings through his living room, and Eddie is grateful when Steve carefully raises a hand to cup his cheek, because the soft touch is grounding in the best way. 

"Definitely not dead, Eds," Steve says. "And shit, I hope you're not having a stroke. How many fingers am I holding up?"

Eddie just blinks at him, because Steve has one hand on Eddie's cheek and the other on Eddie's arm, and he's definitely not holding up any fingers. "Zero, Harrington, what the fuck?" he says weakly.

Steve laughs – no, scratch that, he giggles. He fucking giggles. 

If Eddie isn't dead yet, he's about to be. 

"Good. See?" Steve says. "Not having a stroke."

"I don't think that's how strokes work, dude," Eddie says weakly.

"No?" Steve asks, though he's still smiling, and he looks wholly unbothered by Eddie's doubting of his medical prowess.

Eddie shakes his head, eyes wide as Steve huffs out a laugh and slips an arm around his waist to pull him closer. They're practically chest to chest now, and Eddie is suddenly reminded of how very shirtless Steve currently is. He's mildly horrified by the way his hands tremble slightly when he rests them flat against the center of Steve's chest, but it's not like anyone can blame him! He's only ever kissed a couple of people before, and now he's somehow found himself in the arms of a half naked Steve Harrington. So, yeah, he's feeling a little jittery. Sue him.

If Steve notices the jitters, though, he doesn't mention it. Instead, he gives Eddie a soft, disarming smile that makes Eddie feel pathetically weak at the knees. "So..." Steve says, cheeks turning a pretty pink color. "Hi."

A slightly manic bark of laughter bursts from Eddie's lungs, but it only seems to make Steve smile wider. "Yeah, hi, Stevie," Eddie breathes. 

And then he nearly stops breathing completely when Steve's thumb drags gently across his cheek. It's such a sweet gesture that Eddie thinks he might melt right into the floorboards.

"So..." Steve murmurs again, gaze not leaving Eddie's. "It has recently been brought to my attention that you didn't realize I was flirting with you this whole time."

Eddie doesn't need a mirror to know that his face flushes bright red at Steve's words.

"But I have been," Steve continues. He bites his lip, almost like he's nervous, which is ridiculous because what the fuck is there about Eddie that could be making Steve Harrington nervous right now? "Like, I've been doing it constantly, because you're funny, and sweet, and sort of adorable, but also kinda hot? Y'know, because you have the tattoos and stuff, and you're all dramatic all the time, and it's hot, but then sometimes you do that thing where you hide your face behind your hair, and it's so fucking cute, Eddie, I mean..."

Steve trails off, cheeks growing even pinker after seemingly realizing that he's been rambling, and Eddie feels like he's going insane.

"Anyway," Steve says, clearing his throat. "I like you, Eddie. Like, a lot. And I've sort of been dying to kiss you for, like, months, so-"

Eddie never lets Steve finish his sentence, because the moment the word kiss leaves his mouth, Eddie is leaning forward and pressing their lips together in a soft, fleeting kiss that's over far too fast.

So fast, in fact, that it takes a moment for reality to catch up to Eddie afterwards. He's already pulling away by the time it hits him: he just kissed Steve Harrington.

He, Eddie fucking Munson, just kissed Steve fucking Harrington.

"Holy shit," Eddie mutters, gaze flitting back and forth between Steve's wide eyes. "Holy shit."

There's a brief pause, and then Steve starts to laugh.

It starts as a soft chuckle and slowly transforms into bright, elated laughter that echoes off the walls and bathes the whole room in sunlight, never mind the rainy day outside. It's light and happy and beautiful, and Eddie unfreezes after a moment to add his own laughter to the mix. He drops his head onto Steve's shoulder, a shiver running down his spine when Steve's arms come around him automatically, like they were made to fit together like this.

Eddie wonders if maybe they were.

When their laughter finally dies down, Steve carefully pulls back just enough to meet Eddie's eyes again, and Eddie smiles shyly up at him.

"Sorry," Eddie says without a hint of guilt in his voice. "You said the word kiss and I panicked."

Steve just shakes his head and grins. "See? Like I said - adorable." One of his hands raises to cradle Eddie's cheek again, and Eddie doesn't hesitate before leaning into the touch. "But if it's okay with you," Steve says softly, “I'd really like to give you a proper kiss, now."

And yep, it's official. Steve Harrington is going to be the death of him.

Eddie can't fucking wait.

He nods and lets his gaze flit down to Steve's lips for a fraction of a second before Steve is closing the distance between them, and oh... this is so much better than the quick, vaguely frantic press of lips they exchanged only a few moments ago. Eddie takes back every judgemental comment he's ever made about the girls who were obsessed with Steve Harrington in high school, because he gets it now.

Oh, God, he gets it.

Because Steve kisses him, soft and sure, like Eddie is the only thing that matters in all the world. It's gentle and sweet and perfect – not an ounce of hesitation in the way Steve slots their lips together. And then Steve just... stays there, like he's giving Eddie a moment to catch up, to process what's happening.

He's so goddamn patient – so fucking kind – and Christ, Eddie adores him for it.

Steve pulls back just enough to break the kiss, and Eddie doesn't whine. He doesn't. But it's okay, because Steve doesn't leave him hanging for long, threading his fingers through Eddie's curls and using them as leverage to tug him even closer into a kiss that turns Eddie's legs to jelly. Steve's tongue slides against Eddie's so beautifully, and his hands are so strong, and he smells like lemony soap and minty toothpaste (did Steve brush his teeth after showering? God, he's ridiculous. He’s perfect.) and Eddie can feel the muscles in Steve's chest shift whenever they move, and, and, and...

And yeah, this time when Steve pulls away, breath coming quicker and eyes shining with happiness, Eddie does whine. Or maybe it's a whimper. Maybe it's both. Christ, Eddie doesn't care. He'll keep making that noise forever if Steve keeps looking at him like this.

"Fuck," Eddie breathes. He knows he probably looks embarrassingly awestruck, but he can't find it in himself to care. "How are you so fucking hot, Steve? What the fuck?" His face is on fire, but Steve just laughs – nope, there's that giggle again – and kisses Eddie's forehead.

Eddie's pretty sure he's melting, but honestly? Worth it.

"I don't know if you've noticed," Steve teases, "but I've actually been working out a lot lately..."

Not even Eddie's lovesickness could protect Steve from the playful smack he gets for that.

"Did I notice?" Eddie huffs. "You're the worst, Harrington."

Steve just smiles and kisses him again.

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie fluff #jock(ish) steve #pov eddie munson #gay eddie munson #sweetheart steve harrington #eddie is bad at flirting #eddie can't handle jock-mode steve being so hot #lighthearted #first kiss #eddie is pining hard #but its okay because so is steve #i wrote most of this at 3am #so its very silly #but also I love steve and eddie #and they're in love #and i love that for them #mcdynamite writes

[libraryofgage]

Harlequin Prince

Part of: Steve Deserves Good Parents, Actually Debbie and Fester Addams One | Two Rick and Evelyn O'Connell One Harley Quinn One (you're here!) 10th Doctor and Rose (on the way! might take a little, I have plans for this one) Scooby Gang (there are also plans for this one lmao, so plz be patient with me orz)

I'm a simple woman who believes Steve deserves to be a little unhinged sometimes, and having Harley Quinn as a mother is the perfect excuse to make that happen lol

Anyway, I know I haven't updated some of my other series in a hot minute; I've just been busy with work and a little sick ngl

If you'd like to be tagged for any new parts in this series, let me know!

And, as always, if you see any typos, no you didn't ;)

-------

Steve's earliest memory is of being tucked into bed with a Batman night light plugged into the wall and his mother squeezed in next to him. She's wearing her softest pajamas, and Steve idly rubs the fabric under his thumb. In her lap is a huge book that she flips through, humming "Pop Goes the Weasel" under her breath before finally stopping on a page. "Okay, Dumplin', let's read about Narcissistic Personality Disorder," she finally says, wiggling some to get comfortable before clearing her throat.

Her voice is soft and a little nasally, and Steve obediently closes his eyes when she starts reading. After a few minutes, she gently cards her fingers through his hair, her palm warm as it slides over his scalp. Eventually, he drifts off, his dream so vivid that he still remembers the oversized hammers with their white doctor coats and floating clipboards.

The first time Steve's mother is sent (back) to Arkham, he doesn't realize anything is wrong until Uncle Bruce picks him up from school. Steve had been waiting long after the other kids were picked up by their parents, a misshapen pink-and-blue coaster for his mother that he made in art class in his hands, when one of Uncle Bruce's fancy cars pulled up to the school.

The passenger window rolled down, and Bruce looked almost pained as he met Steve's eyes. "Hop in," he said, leaning over to open the door from the inside.

Steve walked up to the door but didn't get in. "Mom said I should only go home with her," he said, "unless you know our secret code."

"Cognitive Behavioral Therapy."

Steve stood for a moment longer before nodding and climbing into the passenger seat. He closed the door, pulled on his seat belt, and carefully held the coaster in his lap. "Where's Mom?" he asked, watching as Bruce turned down the radio and slowly pulled away from the school.

"Your mother is....going to be away for a while," Bruce said, gripping the steering wheel tighter. "She did something bad, and now she's going to stay in time out because of it."

"Mom says you shouldn't dumb things down just because I'm young. She says it's not good for my development."

Bruce got a slight smile at that, his lips twitching up as he glanced at Steve. "Is that so," he said, his grip on the wheel loosening some. He seemed to think for a moment before saying, "Your mother blew up a warehouse. She was apprehended by Batman and has been sent to Arkham for a few months. Since I'm listed as your godfather, you'll stay with me until she's released."

Steve didn't reply. He just looked down at his coaster and wondered if he'd be able to convince his Uncle Bruce to visit Arkham so he could give it to her.

He did not, in fact, get to visit her at Arkham during that stint. But Steve did get to visit on her next one, which was almost three years later to the day. Steve's first visit to Arkham was on his 8th birthday, and he was chaperoned by Uncle Bruce and Nightwing (he wasn't allowed to call Dick by his real name when he was in costume, so Steve just didn't call him anything at all).

That was also the first time Steve truly experienced Arkham's lax security. Through no fault of his own (and he would continue to argue this point; how did two superheroes let an 8 year old wander off?), Steve had somehow ended up in another part of Arkham altogether.

This hallway had large cells with reinforced glass walls that allowed Steve to look inside. He could name most of the people he passed, recognizing Killer Croc and Riddler and the Penguin by his mother's descriptions of their defining features. Most of them tried talking to Steve, but he pushed ahead, eager to see if his mother was at the end of the hall.

She wasn't. Instead, Steve found another woman. She had green skin and bright red hair and Steve hadn't been able to contain himself. He'd practically squished his face against the glass and asked, "Are you Poison Ivy?"

"Oh, her he talks to," the Penguin said, his tone mean and his voice carrying.

Poison Ivy ignored him, choosing to instead open one eye from where she lay on the bed. She stared at Steve before sitting up. "Do I know you?" she asked.

"Nope! But my mom knows you. She talks about you all the time. She said you're the baddest badass to ever badass," Steve said.

"Oh. You're Harley's kid," Poison Ivy replied, walking over to the glass and crouching down to meet his gaze. "What are you doing all the way over here?"

"It's my birthday, so Uncle Bruce said I could see Mom."

"Well, happy birthday. Now, what are you doing here?"

Steve blinked, looked around the hall again, and realized for the first time that he was, in fact, a bit lost. "Uh, I'm not sure. I was with Uncle Bruce before."

A moment passed between the two of them in which Poison Ivy said nothing while Steve tried to remember how, exactly, he'd ended up here. When he came up blank, he simply shrugged and looked back at her. "Hey, you like plants, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, kid, I like plants," she said, her tone taking on the same inflection his mother's did when he asked something she thinks is obvious.

Steve didn't linger on the tone. Instead, he dug around in his coat pocket for a few seconds, pushing past candy wrappers and erasers until his hand closed around an acorn he'd picked up off the ground a few days ago. He pulled it out and presented it to Poison Ivy on his palm. "Is it still a plant if it fell off the tree?" he asked.

"Yeah," Poison Ivy said, her voice soft like she was staring at something unbelievable. Steve watched as a huge grin spread across her face, her eyes lit up, and she pressed her hands to the glass. "Can you do me a favor, Steve?" she asked.

"Sure! Mom said you're a person I should listen to," he said, starting to close his fingers around the acorn. Now that he was thinking about it, he didn't actually know how to give the acorn to her with the glass between them.

"Your mom is right. You should always listen to me. And her. But mostly me right now," Poison Ivy said, her gaze a bit softer as she looked at Steve. "So, go ahead and put the acorn on the ground and stand as far away as possible."

Steve didn't question her. Whatever Poison Ivy wanted to do would probably be fine. After all, Uncle Bruce didn't warn him about talking to her like he had about the Joker. So, Steve put the acorn down and hurried to the other end of the hall. "Now what?" he shouted.

The only response he got was the acorn shuddering, spinning across the floor, and then bursting open. In the blink of an eye, a tree grew, its roots breaking through the ground and its branches shattering the glass of Poison Ivy's cell. Steve was just thinking that was probably why Poison Ivy told him to stand back when she walked out, rolling her shoulders and breathing like the air is fresh.

She looked at Steve and walked over, standing in front of him for a moment before sweeping him into her arms. "Thanks, kid," she said, opening her hand and letting a tiny purple flower grow from her palm. She tucked it behind Steve's ear. "Now, let's go find your mom."

Of course, Poison Ivy's escape had set off numerous alarms, and Uncle Bruce just about fainted when he saw her carrying Steve while Nightwing looked two seconds from laughing. But Steve's mom had smiled so wide that her cheeks must have hurt after only two seconds when she saw them.

It was, by far, the best birthday Steve had ever had.

‐-----------------------------

Hawkins, Indiana, is...boring. Steve has only been in the town for a few weeks, and he's bored out of his mind. He could have been sent to Metropolis or Central City. Hell, he would have preferred Bludhaven to the absolute snoozefest that is Hawkins. But, no, Uncle Bruce insisted on somewhere safe, which means somewhere boring, which means...Steve will just have to make his own fun.

That's why he's found himself in a dive bar on the edge of town, sitting at the bar as the owner (a woman named Bev who definitely killed her husband; Steve would know, he's met plenty of women who definitely killed their husbands) refuses to give him anything alcoholic. "Listen, kid," she says, her tone hard and unyielding, "I can give you water, a Shirley Temple, or a permanent ban. Which do you prefer."

After a few seconds, Steve sighs, slaps way more money than is necessary on the bar, and says, "Gimme a Shirley Temple."

Bev nods, swipes up the cash, and starts making his drink. He watches her with a slight frown before looking away, noticing another boy his age wiping down a table. He looks, and Steve cannot say this affectionately enough, like a wannabe goon for a motorcycle gang. Between the bandana stuffed into his back pocket, his slightly frizzy hair falling to his shoulders, and the leather jacket/vest combo, the guy is the first reminder of home Steve has seen since arriving in this sleepy town.

When he notices the guy's shoulders tense, Steve looks away to keep from being caught staring. A Shirley Temple is placed in front of him, and Steve represses a sigh, missing the sounds of fights happening behind him as he drinks with Jason.

"Aren't you a little young to be hanging around here?"

Steve slowly takes a sip of his drink, the saccharine cherry flavor washing over his tastebuds, and glances at an older man a few seats down from him. He looks the man over, lingering on the half-tucked shirt, muddy loafers, and circles under his eyes. Without permission, his mother's DSM-V rushes through his mind, a blur of his mother's voice accompanying the page flips. They finally settle on "Adjustment Disorder," accompanied by his mom saying, "Sometimes, that's just a fancy term for a mid-life crisis, Dumplin'."

Without thinking, Steve asks in return, "Aren't you a little old to still be going through a mid-life crisis?"

In Gotham, that might get him a laugh, an eye roll, and possibly an elbow to the ribs from whichever friend accompanied him. Here, it gets him a tense silence that he only thought happened in bad movies gearing up for a fight sequence. Seriously, what is wrong with Hawkins?

"I'll give you one chance to apologize," the guy says, clearly thinking he's being sufficiently threatening.

It takes every ounce of Steve's self-control to keep from laughing at the guy. Does that usually work? Do people usually find this guy threatening? He's got nothing on Alfred, so Steve just can't bring himself to even fake intimidation.

"Yeah, don't hold your breath, man," Steve says, rolling his eyes as he takes another sip. The Shirley Temple isn't bad, but it's not what he was expecting, and it feels like just another disappointment atop a pile of them.

They're building in his chest, now that he thinks about it. Steve is slowly suffocating under the weight of them. They buzz in his lungs, surging through him until the energy is so overwhelming that he has to bounce his leg and tap his finger against his glass to expel some of it. He shouldn't have agreed to leave Gotham, or at the very least, he shouldn't have left the location entirely up to Bruce. Holy shit, that was a dumb decision. He ought to know better.

A sudden, annoyingly harsh drag of chair legs against the floor rings in Steve's ears, making his shoulders tense and his fingers twitch. He looks over to see the guy standing over him, glaring down at Steve like that's supposed to scare him when nothing else has.

Steve sighs, drinking the last of his Shirley Temple before standing. Over the guy's shoulder, he can see the boy his age watching them, and...well, Steve kind of wants to make a good impression on the first person to remind him of home. Plus, a fight sounds great. He'd love a chance to expel some of this disappointment-fueled energy.

The guy suddenly snorts, pulling Steve's attention back. "You're young, kid, so I'll let you off the hook this time around, but learn some respect."

What? Seriously? All of that, and the guy doesn't even start a fight? Does he know how rude that is? He'd get killed in Gotham. "Oh," Steve says, his voice flat, "you're scared of getting your ass kicked."

Somehow, that's what the guy considers the final straw. It wasn't even that good. Like, that's just fucking small talk in Gotham, and Steve can't bring himself to understand what about it was so infuriating that the guy swings his fist.

Either way, Steve happily embraces the fight. His eyes light up, and adrenaline rushes through his veins as he ducks and kicks the guy's left knee. The familiar sound of a bone snapping rings out. Steve's ready for more, hands curled into fists and held up to protect his face, when the guy drops.

After one kick, he drops. Steve blinks, staring down at the guy cursing and holding his knee. He slowly lowers his hands when he realizes this isn't some kind of fake-out diversion and looks at Bev behind the counter. She's frowning at him, hands on her hips, and Steve comes to the conclusion that bar fights are not, in fact, a thing in Hawkins. "Do they usually go down so easy around here?" he asks.

"They usually don't fight at all."

Oh. Holy shit, this place is boring.

Steve sighs and pushes some hair out of his face, frowning slightly. "Well, uh, sorry about the disturbance, then. I'll just...get going," he says, awkwardly pushing his chair in and doing the same for the guy whose kneecap he kicked. Nobody says anything as he leaves, and Steve shoves his hands into his jacket pockets, frustration and disappointment and homesickness building in him.

He's halfway to his car when somebody shouts, "Hey! Wait!"

With a huff, Steve stops and turns, his mood only lightening when he sees the boy that was wiping down tables. He waits patiently, watching as the boy runs up to him and holds out a wad of cash. "Bev said to give this to you," he says.

"What, is my money not good enough?" Steve asks, raising an eyebrow at the cash before looking up and meeting brown eyes.

"No, no," the boy says, "Bev only gives change to people she likes. She said you're welcome to come by and kick Phillip's ass whenever you want."

Steve blinks, studying the boy for any signs of lies. When he doesn't find one, he takes the cash and nods. "Good to know," he says.

"Yeah. Right. Um, I'm going back inside now."

"Hold on," Steve says, grinning when the boy listens and stands still. He takes a step closer, holds out his hand, and says, "My name's Steve. I'm new around here, if you couldn't tell."

The boy stares at his hand for a few seconds before taking it, the rings on his fingers pressing against Steve's skin. "Eddie. I could tell," he says, his shoulders relaxing some. "Where you from?"

"Gotham."

"Holy shit, no wonder you looked so ready for a fight," Eddie says, staring at Steve like he's incomprehensible. Steve tries not to preen under his gaze. "Hawkins must be dead compared to Gotham."

"Yeah," Steve agrees, glancing down at his and Eddie's hands still clasped together despite the handshake being over. "But I think I'll have some fun anyway."

#steddie #steddie fic #harlequin prince #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve deserves good parents actually #bruce wayne #dc comics crossover #harley quinn #poison ivy #this bitch has been sitting in my drafts for so long guys hfjkds #so excited to finally release it into the wild

[sidekick-hero]

tangled with what I never said

(steddie | mature | 994 words | @steddiemas angsty sentence starters and @steddieholidaydrabbles modern au prompts)

NOW WITH A PART 2

"I don't know what you want from me!" Eddie yells, his face contorted in misery.

He doesn't want to fight. He doesn't want to feel the way he does, confused and angry and miserable. He doesn't want to lose Steve.

"I want to know what's wrong. You can talk to me, man. You know you can, right?" Steve's voice wavers at the question, his hazel eyes imploring Eddie to tell him what's wrong so Steve can fix it.

The problem is, Steve can't fix it. Not this one.

Eddie lets out a deep sigh, feeling all his anger drain out of his body, leaving behind a weariness that feels too big for his body. He's just so tired of feeling like this.

"I don't know what to say, Steve. I told you, I'm just tired, okay? Go back to Sam and enjoy your date. I'm fine."

Steve doesn't move, just looks at him with that hurt look on his face and Eddie doesn't know why, but it reignites that seemingly ever-present flame of hot anger in his stomach.

"Stop. Stop looking at me like that." He snaps and sees Steve jump at the sharpness in his voice. They've been roommates for two years now, and friends for almost as long, and Eddie can count the times they've fought on one hand.

"Like what?"

"Like I killed your puppy or something. Like I hurt you when you're the one -" Eddie snaps his mouth shut, but it's too late. Fuck his traitorous mouth that keeps running off and ruining his life.

Steve takes a step forward, then another, inching closer like he's approaching a wild, cornered animal. "When I'm the one hurting you? Is that what's going on, Eddie, have I hurt you?" His hand reaches for Eddie and Eddie wants to take it so badly. That's the problem, isn't it? He wants and wants and wants.

He wants to be happy for Steve, he really does. He wants to smile and congratulate him for finally finding someone he likes enough to take out on dates and kiss good night and hold his hand with that happy smile on his face. Someone to hold him and fuck him so good that Eddie can hear it through the wall separating their bedrooms.

But most of all, Eddie wants to be that person for Steve.

"Eddie?" Steve's voice jolts him from his thoughts as a warm hand settles on his upper arm. "What did I do? Please, tell me."

"You didn't do anything..."

"Bullshit!" Steve shouts, and Eddie swears he can hear that one word echoing through his mind. Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.

"Steve," he tries, but is cut off by Steve's shaking voice, a stark contrast to the tight grip on his arm.

"No, Eddie. You can't... I can't do this anymore, watching you pull away. It's like. I don't know. Like you're disappearing before my eyes. And I... fuck." He runs a frustrated hand through his hair, messing it up even more than it already was after the heavy make-out session Eddie had come home to earlier than planned. His eyes find Eddie's and Eddie's stomach drops when he sees the tears glistening in them. "I miss you, okay? I fucking miss you."

"I'm right here," Eddie whispers. There are so many things he wants to say, needs to say, but they're all stuck in his throat, slowly choking him.

Steve moves even closer so that their faces are only inches apart, his eyes never leaving Eddie's, and whispers back, "No, you're not. Not really. You're like a ghost story." Eddie can feel Steve's breath against his own lips and thinks Steve must be trembling before he realizes that no, that's him.

"Steve, please." He doesn't know what he's pleading for. Maybe to take back those stupid words he said to Steve fourteen months ago.

It was a mistake.

We were drunk and high and I didn't mean it.

We can still be friends.

Maybe he's begging Steve to take the thoughts out of his head so he doesn't have to say them.

I'm sorry.

I was scared because I didn't want to lose you.

I'm so in love with you that some days it feels like it's killing me and I want to let it.

Steve's big, warm hand cradles his face and Eddie leans into it like a flower starving for the nurturing touch of the sun. They are so close that Eddie can feel Steve's body shaking as well, and Eddie doesn't know what it means, but he wants to take Steve and hold him until it stops. Until they can both be put back together again.

"Eddie, I -"

A knock interrupts what Steve is about to say. "Babe, is everything okay?"

Eddie feels his heart crumple in his chest at the sound of Steve's boyfriend's voice.

"Yeah, just give me a second." Steve calls over his shoulder, but when he turns around, Eddie steps away from him.

"Go to your boyfriend, Steve." Eddie tells him before grabbing his jacket and walking out of his bedroom and towards the door. He doesn't know where he's going, just that he hopes they're both gone when he gets back.

He walks aimlessly through the night, replaying their fight over and over again. The way he reacted when he saw Steve and Sam making out on the couch, how Steve followed him, confronted him. Steve telling him he missed him with tears in his eyes and holding his face so gently afterwards.

Maybe it's his Hail Mary, but he has to tell Steve how he feels, if only to make him understand that it's not Steve who's the problem, but Eddie.

Letting himself into their apartment, he finds it dark and quiet as he tiptoes to his room, and he's glad for the delay.

What he isn't prepared for is the sight of Steve lying on Eddie's bed, fast asleep, clutching Eddie's favorite hoodie to his chest.

#steddie #steddie drabble #steddieholidaydrabbles #steddiemas #my writing #angst with happy ending

[oatmilk-vampire]

Birthday Blues: Part II

Read part 1 here.

Steve still hates his birthday. He also realized it's possible to actually have good birthdays.

He still doesn't make a habit of informing people his birthday's coming up soon, or making a wishlist or plans to do anything. But his friends don't exactly make a habit of forgetting either.

With calendars marked and sticky notes written, with paperchains made and small, accessible gifts bought early and cards made in advance, and a few smacks and shoves to the arm from one kid to another for the monetary lapse in memory when the briefly bring up doing something else on Friday--they remember. Oh, and let's not forget the death glare Eddie would offer them when they get a little too overzealous and let their intentions almost slip.

Steve still has traumatic memories of his past and now he worries over his future, how his life is roughly 25% over. And that's just if he's lucky enough to make it that long in a town like Hawkins, in a country like America.

But each subsequent birthday of Steve's, Eddie does his very best to gently remind him of all the good things that have happened in the past year for him, of all the good things yet to come. To not dwell on his yearly quarter-life crisis.

The kids and Robin bring him their little offerings throughout the week so as not to overwhelm him on one day of hell. So it's not like actual presents. Just little random tokens of affection.

They also make a habit of asking Steve to go do things with them under the guise of needing a ride, but Steve knows damn well it's really all for him.

"Steve, we want ice cream." Or "Steve, we wanna go see this movie." And even "Steve, we want to go to this restaurant, want to join us? We'll pay."

This year he was talked into checking out this basketball game with Lucas, and then talked into playing their own little one-on-one amongst the two of them after. And then, hey, let's make it a not-party and have everyone join in. Just like a real game. Steve naturally annihilates them all but everyone has their own strengths.

After, they all order pizza and indulge until Steve's threatening them if they puke on his and Eddie's couch.

No one dares to utter those two words. But they all know what isn't being said. Actions speak louder than words, after all.

And at night, once everyone's gone and it's just Steve and Eddie in their modest home, they curl up together on the couch. Steve rests his head on Eddie's shoulder, Eddie holds him close.

"I had a really good time today. A good week."

"Yeah? I'm glad to hear that, baby." He presses a kiss into Steve's soft hair.

"Thank you for helping them to give me the best birthday ever."

"Anything for you, Stevie." He squeezes him twice.

Happy Birthday... I love you.

#i had such a good birthday yesterday i had to give Steve a good one too #thank you everyone for loving on the first part 💗 #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #steddie ficlet #birthday blues

[pencil-amateur]

The Heaviside Layer

Or, Cats and the Narrative Parallels of Steve and Cesare

After watching UP and re-listening to the Bigtop Burger soundtrack several times, I'm finally able to put into words while Steve and Cesare are obviously different in terms of personality, presentation, etc., when you consider their stories... they're more similar than you may initially realize.

(Watching the 1998 recording of Cats was also very important here. This will come back later.)

So first of all, what's the first thing that these two have in common, ownership of food trucks aside?

To put it the way Cesare does, they're freaks. They're weird. The only way they are able to fit in with others is by being the head of said themed food trucks, and making the uniforms their employees wear match them.

In other words, they are outsiders.

Even before the narrative begins, Steve and Cesare were shown to be cast aside by others. In "UP", Steve is banished from his home planet because he made a mistake at a crucial time, and the lyrics to Friends In Low Places reveal Cesare "wasn't missed or mourned" after he was killed.

They're both dead to the worlds they once knew.

But then...

"up, up, up, to the heaviside layer" - UP

"I was chosen for a second chance at life" - Friends in Low Places

For those of you unfamiliar with the musical Cats, the Heaviside Layer is the place a single Jellicle cat is chosen to go to at the Jellicle Ball each year to be reborn into a new life. Old Deuteronomy, the role Steve played, is the cat that chooses the one who will go to the Heaviside layer. However, Steve, along with Cesare, is more similar to the cat Old Deut ultimately picks.

I'm talking, of course, about Grizabella.

Grizabella is a former Jellicle cat who tries to rejoin the group, only to be rejected. Act II's opening number, "The Moments of Happiness", is sung by Old Deuteronomy (and was fumbled by poor Steve). It foreshadows Grizabella's last desperate cry for another chance in her big number, "Memory". The other cats accept her, and she is chosen to go to the Heaviside Layer and begin again.

So how does this relate to Steve and Cesare?

Both allude to having a new life, but are followed by their pasts. While Steve is happy with his food truck and his new friends, he is pursued by unknown authorities telling him he doesn't belong and can't belong. Along with being cast out from society millions of years ago, he's now been rejected from doing what he loves twice.

Cesare is almost the inverse. He talks up how he's got new friends (in low places), but he doesn't seem eager to stick around underground, and is vocally relieved that he won't have to be a watcher anymore. Despite being clearly very strange himself, his job is to imprison "freaks and weirdos"- and it might not be a stretch to say he's taken that to heart. Where Steve has no problem standing out, even going out to eat with his employees when they're out of makeup, Cesare insists his own employees make him look less conspicuous whenever he's with them. (Of course, this could be partially because he didn't want Steve to catch on to his plans, but I doubt Steve would have cared, since he had no idea Cesare even wanted to capture him.)

So how can this be resolved? Is there a way to truly begin again?

"Let your memory lead you/Open up, enter in If you find there the meaning of what happiness is/Then a new life will begin" - The Moments of Happiness

This part in "The Moments of Happiness" is sung not by Old Deut, but a cat in the ensemble named Jemima (and then sung again by the rest of the cats). The lyrics and melody are reprised in Grizabella's song, "Memory". She then adds some more.

"Memory, all alone in the moonlight I can smile at the old days/I was beautiful then I remember a time I knew what happiness was/Let the memory live again...

...Touch me, it's so easy to leave me All alone with the memory/Of my days in the sun If you touch me you'll understand what happiness is/Look, a new day has begun" - Memory

"Touch me" has both a literal and figurative meaning here. Throughout the musical, the Jellicle cats are noticeably physically affectionate with one another. They play with other cats while dancing, snuggle, and even greet each other by pressing their hands together. This makes it all the more jarring when the Jellicle cats refuse to touch Grizabella at the beginning- even the curious younger cats are held back from getting too close. It is a visual sign that they do not accept her. After Grizabella sings her song, one of the younger cats reaches out to her and touches her hand. None of the other cats make any attempt to stop her. Then, the Jellicle cats finally show Grizabella the affection they denied her before, letting her finally belong, and of course she becomes the Jellicle choice.

I think, just like Grizabella, what Steve and Cesare need is acceptance and a place to belong. This doesn't mean the whole world needs to say they're okay with clowns, or zombies, or general weird freaks who don't fit in. It doesn't even mean they have to give up the memories of how they got here, be they happy or sad. What they need is to be loved for who they are, and to live without being afraid to do so.

And I think the friends they have are a good place to start.

#bigtop burger #steve bigtop burger #cesare bigtop burger #analysis #long post

[literaryavenger]

Broken - final part

Summary: The wait for Bucky's trial is finally over.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Warnings: Minimal use of Y/N. Language. Innocent and broken Bucky. Mentions of Bucky's past and nightmares. A lot of fluff. My poor attempts at being funny.

Word Count: 3K

A/N: this is the last part of this story! I had originally planned on making it much longer but I honestly didn't have many ideas to go on, so I decided to use the ideas I did have and end it there. So here it is, hope you like it!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Masterlist

Slowly you start to forgive the team, starting with Peter that came to you one afternoon handing you some flowers and a teddy bear as an apology and making your heart melt. How can you stay mad at such a sweet boy? 

After about a month you're back on speaking terms with everyone, except Steve and Tony.

For some reason you can't get over the fact that they started the whole civil war and were the ones to decide to cut you out of it.

Everyone tried to make you see things from their side, even Thor and Bruce that were back from New Asgard along with Loki, who couldn’t care less about the whole situation but kind of enjoyed the chaos. 

After that night with Bucky’s nightmare you talked more about pretty much any subject, and he came to you everytime he needed comfort.

Bucky also isn't able to keep his hands to himself anymore, not that you mind, a feat that did not go unnoticed by the team.

You never miss the knowing looks they give each other every time Bucky hugs you or randomly grabs your hand.

Even though you couldn't bring yourself to forgive Steve yet, you start being around him more and more especially after Bucky asked you to start coming with him to his meetings with Fury.

The closer it gets to his hearing, the more touchy Bucky seems to be with you, as if his hands on you is the only thing that keeps him grounded to reality. 

The day before his hearing Bucky can't get himself away from you, following you everywhere since you woke up in the same bed, a thing that started to happen more and more every time he had a nightmare.

Some nights going as far as going to sleep directly in your room without even stepping foot in his.

Steve bides his time the whole day, trying to choose his moment, which came in the early afternoon when you left Bucky on Scott's floor with Cassie while you went to yours to get some Pop Tarts for Cassie since, not surprisingly, Thor finished the ones in their kitchen.

Scott thought that spending time with Cassie, which Bucky has come to be very fond of, would help the super soldier take his mind off the trial, and he was right.

When you get to your floor, and Steve sees you're alone, he doesn't think twice about approaching you.

He's speaking before you even have a chance to realize what's happening. "Listen, I know we’re not in the best terms right now, but I want to talk to you about Bucky."

As much as you want to ignore him you know he really cares about his best friend. And since he’s been nothing but respectful of your decision to avoid him, you think that him actively seeking you out means this is important.

So you nod at him to go on and, with a relief sigh that you're actually gonna listen to him, he does. "Here’s the thing, we both know Bucky’s been through a lot…" he starts, choosing his words carefully as to not give his best friend away completely.

"He’s been doing so much better, and even I realize that’s largely thanks to you." you’re about to protest, but he raises his hand to stop you. "It is. We all see how he is when you’re around, but you don’t see how he is while you’re away on missions. He’s like a puppy just waiting for you to come back, brooding away everytime someone that isn’t you walks through the door."

You can tell he’s trying very hard not to smile as he thinks about it, but fails miserably, before shaking his head a little and getting back on track.

"Anyway, my point is you’re important to him. Tomorrow is gonna be a really hard day for Bucky and I want to thank you for being there for him. Not just for the trial, but for everything I know you do for him. And, I realize it might not be my place to say but, as the only family Buck has left, I feel like I have to tell you: please be careful with him. After everything he’s been through the last thing he needs is to get his heart broken."

Steve knows maybe he said a little too much, but he needs to know Bucky's in good hands. Even if he does trust you with his life, he also wants to know he can trust you with his best friend’s heart.

He doesn't expect you to answer, your face staying neutral the whole time he spoke, and he's about to turn away when you basically throw yourself at him, giving him the tightest hug he’s had since you started avoiding him.

All you can think about was how glad you are that Bucky has someone who cares about him as much as Steve does.

Now more than ever you can see Steve’s reasons behind his choices, how he was motivated by his love for a guy he sees as a brother, the only family he has left.

You get it, you truly do, but seeing it makes you almost cry on Bucky’s behalf.

"I promise you the last thing I’d ever want to do is hurt him." is all you say as you let go, a wordless understanding between you both that you forgive him.

You grab the pop tarts you came here for and go back to an awaiting Bucky and Cassie, who are wearing tiaras and giggling making your heart melt.

The rest of the day goes fast and soon you’re getting into bed with Bucky, not wanting to sleep by himself tonight.

"Hey," he says as he wraps his arms around you. "I just want to say, in case things go wrong tomorrow-"

"Don’t say that, Buck." you interrupt him. "Everything’s gonna be okay, and you’ll come home a free man." you say firmly.

"Doll, we both know there’s a very real chance that I’ll be found guilty and sent back to the Raft. If that happens, I don’t think I’d be able to live without you knowing this…"

Before he can say anything else, you put your hand on his mouth, effectively shutting him up. "Don’t say anything, please. You can tell me tomorrow, after we come back home together."

You can tell he’s trying really hard to hold himself back, but eventually he agrees and you take your hand away, getting more comfortable in his arms and falling asleep in each other’s embrace for what Bucky prays won’t be the last time.

The next morning comes and Bucky’s a bundle of nerves, so worried that time seems to go by in a flash.

Suddenly he’s in a courtroom, asking the judge to please repeat his rouling one more time.

A full pardon.

He can’t believe it. Yes, he has to go to court mandated therapy and has a probation period to go through with the team, but still.

Now he feels like time’s going in slow motion, all he can see it’s you as he turns to your seat next to him. You hug him with tears in your eyes as you tell him how proud you are of him and that you knew he was gonna be okay.

Somehow, you made it real for him. Hearing you acknowledge it makes him believe it and then he’s crying too, not able to hold back.

Steve puts a hand on his shoulder, making you let go of each other and turn to him, a smile so big on his face that you can see all his stupidly perfect teeth.

You all finally get home and, as soon as you enter the living room on your shared floor, you hear a chorus of “congratulations!” followed by loud noises and confetti falling everywhere.

You’re as shocked as Bucky and, as you turn to Steve you see a surprised look on his face too, which turns confused when he looks at you mirroring his own reaction, the same question in the tip of both of your tongues.

But before you can ask each other, Bucky beats you both to it.

"Did you do this for me?" he's amazed, overjoyed and then as confused as you when you both shake your heads no.

Then the mystery is revealed.

"I did it." All three of you are shocked when you turn around to the voice, thinking you were imagining it, to find a very real Tony Stark standing in front of you, the rest of the team behind him.

"You did this?" you have to make sure you heard him correctly.

"Yeah, I did. I’m amazing, get over it." And with that Tony walks away towards the bar. There he is.

You turn to Bucky and Steve and since all they do is stare at you, you just shrug and go to join the rest of the team in celebration, the super soldiers right behind you.

You joke and laugh and dance all together for hours, until eventually you find yourselves sitting scattered around the living room, various conversations going at the same time.

You're sitting on Bucky’s lap, his arms around you and your head on his chest as he jokes with Steve and Sam when you notice Tony going behind the bar, where nobody else is.

You feel the need to follow him so you kiss Bucky in the cheek and tap his arms twice signaling him to let go of you. When he does, somewhat reluctantly, you get up and walk after Tony.

You lean on the bar, crossing your arms in front of your chest. But before you can say anything he speaks, not even bothering to turn around.

"Don’t need to thank me, Cyborg deserves it.- You roll your eyes at the nickname, but decide to let it go for the time being.

"So what, you’re his biggest fan now?" You know you were kind of pushing it, but you just need to know what changed.

He turns around and you get ready for him to yell at you again, but instead he smiles in a way that was too sweet not to be genuine. Yep, Tony Stark is full of surprises.

"I’m not. But I see the way he looks at you." you raise your eyebrow at him.

"How does he look at me?"

"It's the same way I look at Pepper." He answers without skipping a beat. "I know he knows he's not good enough for you, but I can see he's trying to be. That's all I could ask for." he shrugs and turns back around.

You know he means it, as much of a genius as he is, even he couldn’t come up with a lie like that, that fast.

You stare at the back of his head while he works on his drink, both of you thinking of a way to approach the next subject the right way.

When he turns back to you he puts a glass in front of you, your favorite drink in it, and takes a sip of his own drink. After a few more moments of silence, he decides to speak first.

"I’m sorry. For keeping the whole war thing from you and for how I treated Barnes. I had a lot of time to think about it, I read all the Hydra reports we found on him, I rewatched the footage… I can see now it really was out of his control. I shouldn’t have blamed him for something he had no way of stopping. And I shouldn’t have kept something so big from you. I really am sorry."

You’re glad he finally sees things the way you do, but you can’t help yourself as you say "I appreciate it, and I forgive you, but I’m not the one you have to apologize to."

"Trust me, I know." he sighs. "Pepper already gave me the speech…" he says sheepishly.

God, you love that woman.

He makes his way around the bar and stops in front of you.

He gives you a hug and whispers in your ear. "I’m doing this for you, too. I don’t like it when you’re mad at me and I need you to know I meant everything I just said.-"

You’re a little confused at what he’s talking about until he lets go of you and walks towards the couch where Buck’s still talking to Sam and Steve.

"Bucky," he starts, and the room goes silent "I just want you to know that I’m sorry for blaming you for my parents’ death. And it’s not just because the government believes you’re innocent, after everything I’ve learned about your situation the past month I can’t not believe you were a victim and still call myself a genius. I also read some of dad’s old journals from when he worked with the Howling Commandos... You guys were friends. I realize you wouldn’t have hurt him if you had a choice. And I’m also sorry for the name calling, Terminator."

You roll your eyes with a smile at his last sentence while the others snickered at the nickname.

You go to stand next to Tony and wrap your arm around his waist and, when he wraps his around your shoulders and looks down at you, you gave him a squeeze, letting him know you're grateful to him for doing this.

You look at Bucky who doesn’t quite know what to say so you let go of Tony and make your way to sit back down on his lap, his arms going around your waist automatically. That seems to snap him out of it.

"Thank you, Tony. You don’t have to apologize, I understand why you were angry, but I appreciate it. Howard was a good man, he didn’t deserve an end like that." Tony doesn't say anything back, merely nodding and going to sit next to Pepper.

Well, that’s a start.

Everyone goes back to their own conversations and you turn back to Bucky, who's already looking up at you.

"Thank you." he says low enough so only you can hear.

"I didn’t do anything, it was all him. I told you, anyone with a functioning brain can see that you’re a good person." you tell him with a smile.

He smiles back at you, holding you tighter as you lay your head back on his shoulder while looking at your friends talking and laughing amongst each other. You're happy that things are back to normal, with the added bonus of Bucky finally being completely free.

The party eventually ends and the living room slowly empties out, the last people remaining being you, Bucky and Steve.

"Well, I’m going to sleep. You guys should too, today’s been a long day." Steve says, giving Bucky one last pat on the shoulder and, with a smile to the both of you, he gets up and leaves.

You’re sitting in a comfortable silence, not really feeling the need to get up just yet, when you feel Bucky leave a soft kiss against your shoulder, which makes you sit up a little straighter and turn to look at him, your arms going around his neck.

"We still have a conversation to finish… Are you gonna let me talk now?" He's much more confident than he was last night and you nod, curiosity now taking over you.

"Great… I’m just gonna get to the point. I like you, doll. The longer I spend time with you, the more I feel like myself. I feel at peace, like the last 70 years never happened because I know that’s not what you see when you look at me. You’ve never been scared of me, never looked at me like I was a monster. You spend  time with me because you want to, not because you have to. You don’t mind having me around even when we don’t talk and all I do is look at you. You comfort me when I’m sad, calm me down when I have a panic attack and hold me until I fall asleep after I have a nightmare. You never judge me or make me feel guilty or like I’m too much, and you never push me to talk about anything, you’re always patient and let me take my time. I truly appreciate everything you do for me and I need you to know that. And to be clear, when I say I like you I mean it in the ‘I’d like to take you out on a date’ way."

You’re almost crying now, your heart melting as you look at an expectant Bucky. You honestly have no words to reply, so you do the only thing you can think of.

You lean down and kiss him softly, feeling him kiss you back almost right away, his lips are so soft you almost moan into the kiss. After a few moments you pull away, forehead resting against his.

"I really hope that means you like me back." he says with a goofy smile, making you giggle.

"Yes, I like you too." you gave him another kiss. "You make me feel seen. You make me feel important. You make me feel safe. I love spending time with you and having you close. And I’d love to go on a date with you."

This time he’s the one to initiate the kiss and you can’t help but smile into it. Suddenly he gets up, picking you up bridal style and making you squeal in surprise.

He laughs at your face while he takes you both to your room, where he lays you gently on the bed.

"I could’ve walked, you know." You tell him while chuckling.

"I know." he answers before basically lying on top of you while you laugh, smile seared onto his face.

You hang onto each other as you fall asleep, more than glad to have found the other and both silently planning your future together.

Bonus part

Requested taglist: @aesthetic0cherryblossom @buchi91 @sapphirebarnes @ordelixx

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes imagine #sebastian stan #marvel fanfiction #bucky x reader #bucky x you #james bucky barnes #bucky barnes x f!reader #avengers x reader #avengers x platonic reader #avengers x platonic!reader

[afewproblems]

Season Two Halloween AU Part Six

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five

Synopsis: What if Eddie had been at Tina's Halloween Party in Season Two? Featuring Steve!Whump, Stancy Breakup, and Eddie just trying to keep up with all these new revelations about who King-Steve actually is...

As always, thank you thank you to the lovely Jess @strangersteddierthings for letting me inundate you with spoilers and general Stranger Things/Steddie screaming!

[CW: Period Typical Homophobia from the antagonist, violence, gore, bodily injury, Billy Hargrove is his own warning.]

***

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit. 

Eddie takes a step closer to Steve, but Dustin is faster. 

He pulls on the jacket sleeve, taking Steve to the window and Eddie can't even find the words to say to make him stop.

He wants to tell Dustin to give them a second, he wants to press pause on this whole horrible night and ask Steve to explain.

Because in what world did this make sense? 

There is no possible way Steve is gay, and even if is, the guy is fresh off of being dumped by his girlfriend just days before. 

On top of that, they're all running on fumes from a day searching for Dart, fortifying an old school bus, laying the Demodog trap in the junkyard, and finally coming back to the Byers to make their plan. 

Eddie's stomach growls at the sudden thought and he realizes just how hungry he actually is after all the adrenalin and running around they've done.

If Eddie is this tired and hungry, he can't imagine Steve is faring much better, he's not thinking straight. 

He can't be. 

Because if he was, if he had meant it, and Eddie just--

"Oh shit," Steve says lowly from the edge of the intact window. He presses against the wall, keeping himself out of sight as much as he can, "what the fuck is Hargrove doing here?" 

"That's what I'm saying," Dustin hisses, his eyes wide, he sticks close to Steve's side, away from the window and turns to Max, "what the hell is your brother doing here".

Max shoots Dustin a look and for a second Eddie thinks she's going to tell Dustin off before her face suddenly pales.

"He can't know I'm here, he'll kill me".

Lucas shifts closer to Max, knocking his shoulder into hers before turning his attention back to Steve, "he almost ran us over once, we were on our bikes". 

Their bikes…Jesus.

It hits Eddie suddenly that they're just kids, all of thirteen years old, with an unpredictable asshole standing just outside their door.

Steve sighs suddenly and squares his shoulders, his big hazel eyes move from Max, to Lucas, to Dustin, and Mike, before finally landing on Eddie. His brow pinches in the middle as his expression shifts into the same determined one from the day before.

But this time there is no nail bat in his hands. 

Shit.

"Steve, dont," Eddie says, darting across the room towards him, but Steve is too quick for him.

He reaches for the door and unlatches the bolt, "stay out of sight, all of you, I'll be right back".

It's a promise Eddie isn't sure Steve can make.

The kids immediately move towards the edge of the window before Eddie whispers out a sharp, "Go to the boarded one shitheads, he's going to see you". 

Eddie shakes his head at the four identical eye rolls, but the kids do as he says and make their way to the far window he and Steve just closed up. 

There are enough gaps between the wood slats that they can see Steve make his way to the path as Billy steps around his car. 

"Am I dreaming or is that you Harrington?"

The cherry of his cigarette glows in the dark as Billy takes a long drag before flicking it into the street. 

"Yeah it's me, don't cream your pants," Steve's voice is steady, the smooth lilt of his 'King' voice takes over and it's so different from what Eddie has come to realize is Steve's normal speaking voice that it throws him for a bit of a loop. 

Just how much has Steve been pretending all this time.

Moonlight casts shadows over half of Billy's face but it doesn't hide the way his lip pulls over his teeth or the dark glint in his eye as he pulls off his jacket and tosses it through the open window of his Camaro.

"I'm looking for my step sister, little birdy told me she was here," Billy says, a sneer pulling at his mouth as his eyes scan the house before landing on Steve again, "which would already be weird enough, and now I find you here". 

"I'm doing a favour for Mrs. Wheeler and Byers, babysitting, I don't think I've seen your step sister, what's she look like?"

Eddie can't see Steve's face from this angle but the words come out smoothly, no stumbles with the lie.

But Billy stares just a little too long for it to have properly landed.

"You do favours for people like that huh," Billy laughs, ignoring the question entirely as he takes another step closer. He and Steve are similar heights but Billy has a good twenty to thirty pounds of muscle on Steve and Eddie begins to sweat at the manic look on Billy's face.

"You're something else Harrington, I don't think I'd be able to stick around if my girl fucked someone else--"

"Your sister's Not Here," Steve bites out through gritted teeth. He steps into Billy's space, his shoulders high with tension and anger, "leave". 

Billy laughs, a low dangerous sound, "you know, this whole night's been giving me a weird fucking feeling Harrington".

Billy tips his head back and leaves it there for just a moment and Eddie watches as Steve relaxes for just a second too long, tilting his head in confusion.

"And I think you're lying to me".

Billy punctuates the words by slamming his hands into Steve's shoulders, knocking him clean off his feet.

Steve hits the concrete hard, managing to roll enough for his shoulder to connect with the ground first rather than his head. He manages to sit up slightly, looking at Billy now with a mixture of surprise and fear in his wide eyes as he shifts to look back at the house.

Billy smirks and leans over Steve, "I'm just going to see for myself, told you to plant your feet pretty boy".

He stands up to his full height again and kicks Steve in the ribs. Hard. 

Eddie curses quietly as Steve curls in on himself and makes a horrible retching sound, but there isn't time to worry about Steve as Billy comes lumbering up the front path towards the Byers front door.

Which is unlocked.

Eddie hadn't even thought to latch it.

"Hide. Now!" Eddie hisses at Max, she opens her mouth to argue but Lucas gives her a push to the shoulder and looks at her with pleading eyes.

"Just go okay?" Lucas whispers, pushing her again towards the kitchen.

She shoots Lucas a fierce glare over her shoulder and disappears around the corner. 

Eddie steps back towards the kids, putting himself between them and the door, just in time for it to crash open. 

Billy looks around the room, frowning slightly at the boarded up window and all of the drawings covering nearly every inch of the place like vines, before his gaze lands on Eddie and the kids behind him.

"Well, well, well, this is quite the party here huh boys," Billy sneers, kicking the door closed behind him.

"A private one," Eddie manages to keep his tone even as he takes a step closer, drawing Billy's eye away from the kids, "what do you want Hargrove".

Billy scoffs and tries to step around Eddie, yelling at the top of his voice as he moves, "Maxine! You got three seconds to get you skinny ass out here before I bring you out myself". 

Eddie mirrors his path, blocking his movement.

"Who the fuck are you talking to man, I guess thats what happens when you take too many balls to face huh?" Eddie says with a mocking laugh in his voice, he lets the corner of his lip rise in a cold sneer.

Billy glares, "that's rich coming from a queer like you," he lifts his hand to shove Eddie's shoulder roughly, but Eddie's dealt with assholes like Billy time and time again and he’s expecting the push. 

He stays standing, keeping himself between Billy and the kids.

Billy shakes his head, "I don't know why you're involved in this, are you revenge for Byers or something? I ain't here for you or your little boyfriend out there, freak". 

"Just leave us alone!" Dustin shouts, drawing Billy's eye for the first time. 

"Yeah fuck off!" Mike screams as Lucas stands up, glaring venomously at Billy. He has his wrist rocket raised, armed with a piece of jagged wood from the broken window. 

"Sinclair," Billy's eyes narrow as they land on Lucas, "if I find out Maxine is here because of you--"

"You'll what?" Eddie growls, he hears a door open softly behind them but keeps his eyes on Billy, not taking any chances.

Billy seems to hesitate, his eyes dropping down to Eddie's fisted hands before rising again to meet his gaze, "Max already knows what happens when people don't listen, but I guess I'll have to show you the hard way Munson". 

Billy moves like a viper, his fist rears back and swings forward so quickly that Eddie barely has time to react, catching the punch in the jaw as he tries to move out of the way. 

"Sonovabitch," Eddie hisses, cradling his face. His vision swims as Billy reaches for his shirt collar, but the second blow never comes.

Billy's hand falls as Steve appears, barreling into Billy, shoulder first like a linebacker, sending them both crashing into the floor. Billy's head smacks into the linoleum, forcing a low groan out of him.

Steve recovers quicker, rolling off the other teen before rising to his knees. He’s breathing hard and holding his ribs with one hand while the other braces on the coffee table as he stands up.

"Holy shit," Dustin laughs out breathlessly as Steve limps closer, moving into Eddie's space.

"You guys okay?" Steve asks softly, he lifts his hand up towards Eddie's aching jaw but stops just shy of touching him. He blinks once and moves away again before turning to the kids.

They all freeze at the sound of a wild laugh behind them.

Billy runs a shaking hand through his mullet, slowly sitting up, scoffing when his fingers come away red. 

"Finally!" Billy crows, "the King Steve I've been hearing about shows his face, where was he when I gave you that black eye yesterday huh?" 

Billy wipes the blood from the side of his head on his jeans and laughs again, a horrible cackle that seems to echo around the small space of the living room. He paws at something on the floor as he manages to roll over onto his knees, breathing hard.

"Let me give you some advice Harrington,” Billy says through gritted teeth, bracing one hand on the coffee table while the other remains strangely hidden behind his back.

Steve says nothing, moving himself to stand in front of Eddie and the kids. Billy stumbles slightly and shakes his head as he manages to get his feet back under himself. 

"If you're gonna hit someone, make sure they don't get back up".

By the time Eddie sees what Billy has clenched in his hand it's too late. 

Billy swings his hand out and catches Steve in the temple with an ashtray, the ceramic shatters on impact sending pieces of pottery in all directions and embedding several into Billy’s hand. 

Eddie's heart nearly stops at the wet crunch it makes as Steve's head whips back at the impact. He crumples limply to the floor, his head bouncing once against the linoleum before Steve lays still on the living room floor.

Eddie feels like he's underwater. Like time has slowed down and he's sinking.

He doesn't realize he's moving until he's in front of Billy, until he's gripping the edges of Billy's shirt in his hands, until he's shaking him like a ragdoll.

Eddie's never felt such overwhelming rage and fear, its coursing through him, burning him up from the inside out.

Steve isn't moving.

There's only coherent thought playing on a loop in his head. 

He's dead, he's dead, he's dead.

"Billy!" A small voice cuts through Eddie's yelling, when had he started yelling, from the kitchen door.

Billy's face tips towards it, his dazed eyes widen slightly and his lip curls back in a feral smile.

"I fucking knew it," Billy slurs out as Eddie throws him to the floor. 

He laughs again and again, his head bleeding freely now, red lines drip down his face.

Max takes a shaky step into the living room; she ignores Lucas yelling at her to run and continues forward, Will's second dose of sedative clutched in her left hand. 

Max pushes past Eddie, drops to her knees and plunges the needle into Billy's neck with a roar. Eddie watches as Billy flinches at the impact and lifts his hands to frantically rip the needle out.

"What the fuck?!" He whispers, trying to sit up but his shaking arms only drop him back to the floor, "what did you do?"

"Made it so you can't hurt my friends," Max says lowly, she trembles as Eddie helps her stand and directs her towards the boys who immediately fold her into a hug between the three of them. 

Eddie keeps his eyes on Billy until his breathing smooths out and his unfocused eyes finally close before he’s on his feet. He crosses the room in two strides and drops to his knees in front of Steve, letting his uncle's voice run through everything he ever taught him about first aid.

Don't move them, keep them talking, keep them warm.

Eddie's hands shake as he reaches out for Steve's neck and feels for a pulse, trying not to look at the blood coating Steve's face or the shards of ceramic in his hair.

"Is he…" Dustin says beside Eddie, startling him. The whole house has gone eerily silent as the kids finally make their way towards them, they don't crowd him the way Dustin has though.

Eddie swallows and moves his fingers slightly until he finds it, a thin reedy pulse. 

He's alive. 

Eddie feels his eyes sting and a wet hysterical laugh falls from his mouth. Steve is nowhere near okay, but he's alive.

He's alive.

Part Seven!

Tag List:

@eriquin @luvinthefreaks @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @goodolefashionedloverboi @ellietheasexylibrarian @bambibiest @sadboislovebeans @howincrediblysapphicofyou @coleys-a-nerd @whycantiuseunderscore @airconditioning123 @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @corrodedbisexual @starman-jpg @ilovecupcakesandtea @yoriposts @clumsiluni @pelinelin @phantomcat94 @lololol-1234 @anaibis @airconditioning123 @steveshairspray @hellfireone @sunswathe @eddielives1986 @tentativeghost @robin-not-batman @estrellami-1 @manda-panda-monium @tinyplanet95 @perseus-notjackson @queenie-ofthe-void @rainbowsaw @sp0o0kylights @littlebluejane @hi-im-eff @phantypurple @just-ladyme @thoroughlycollected @justrandomfandomstm @swimmingbirdrunningrock @finntheehumaneater @dynamic-powerm@nightmareglitter @genderless-spoon @zaddipax @thebiblesays @amerikanskaya-krassavitsa @pyrohonk @emly03 @geekymagicalpotato @sidebarre

and for some peeps that I think may be interested! @steddierthings @steddie-there @steves-strapcollection @henderdads @stevesbipanic @spooky-brakers

#season two halloween au #stranger things #stranger things season 2 au #steve harrington #eddie munson #the party #steve and nancy breakup #eddie is having all sorts of complicated feelings about steve here #i will never get tired of halloween party aus #you can pry them from my cold dead fingers #dustin meets eddie early #mike wheeler #lucas sinclair #max mayfield #afewproblems writes #throw in some pining as a treat #is it mutual #who could say #billy hargrove is his own warning #cw extreme violence #cw homophobic language from the antagonist #cw blood and injury #improper use of an ashtray

[slashersteve]

A Little Closer

pairing: Steve Harrington/Female Reader

summary: There is a time and place to proclaim your love for somebody, and being injured and trapped in the Upside Down is not one of them.

warnings/extra tags: cursing, reader and steve arguing for no reason, and some kissing tm. >>>SPOILERS FOR ST4<<<, not beta read i edited myself but can't be trusted either.

note: I haven't written an imagine for him in a hot minute, and I say this because I have an ongoing series so check out my masterlist ;) Anyway, I wrote this with a dream my friend had about him in mind (she knows who she is). Thanks in advance for reading and please enjoy!

✧ ✧ ✧

You liked Steve Harrington, a lot. And have since you first met in that junk yard years ago when you were introduced to the creatures of this other dimension they called ‘the Upside Down’

Only then you just liked him, because these days you were pretty sure you were hopelessly in love with the guy. This didn’t mean he couldn’t get on your nerves though, especially when he treated you like you incapable of doing literally anything.

"No, you're not going down there."

Steve's voice was firm as he spoke, his words directed at you as you were starting to unbutton your Hawkins Letterman jacket, preparing to dive into Lover’s Lake and see if this gate was down there like Dustin theorized.

"Says who?" You bit back as you were pulling the jacket off, "Robin said Nancy was in charge, not you, Steve."

"Yeah well, I was the co-captain of the swim team and have had life guard certification for 3 years, so logically, it should be me," Steve stated as he too began to undress starting with his shoes all the while Eddie, Nancy, and Robin just watched. You scoffed at him.

"And I was the Captain of the girls swim and water polo team, and have had my certification for 3 and a half years,” you replied, “Can someone tell me which is better?"

They looked awkwardly at each other until Robin began to speak.

"I mean...technically speaking you both had similar responsibilities as a captain and co-captain, but I mean…” her eyes went to Steve who was looking at her with raised brows, “She doesn't have the co in front of hers and didn't have to share responsibility, and uh…her certification beats yours by half a year…so...I would say hers is better."

Steve shot a look at Robin as he was taking off one shoe as fast as he could.

"Gee. Thanks for taking my side Robin," he told her with a scoff while Robin shrugged and claimed she only said so because you asked, "It's just dangerous alright? There could be a gate down there, or worse Vecna could be there- and I don't think you should-"

"Look, out of everyone here I feel like I've been the most useless, and I'm taking the chance to do my part," you explained briefly, "Let me do this because I can do this."

"I know you can, but that doesn't mean you should-"

“And why not? No matter who goes down there the risks are all the same,” you said tearing your t-shirt off now, leaving you in just a tank top and your Hawkins gym shorts. 

Steve was untying his other shoe now, trying not to become distracted by your sudden loss of layers, and argued, “Yes, but I don’t want you to take the risk-”

“So anyone but me can?” You gave him an odd look, one that made Steve shake his head quickly.

“No- No I didn’t say-”

"Okay. Are you two seriously going to argue who gets to swim to a possible underwater gate to another dimension where yet another thing is trying to kill us?" Robin was asking, successfully making you and Steve finally go quiet, “Is this a regular occurrence? Arguing over who gets to do risky shit? Because I think this happened last time too.” 

She remembered how when coming up with a plan to infiltrate what they thought to be a simple stock room at Starcourt, Steve argued against pretty much any plan that involved you risking your life. Many valuable minutes were wasted with arguments like this with you two going back and forth. 

It was almost embarrassing honestly that Steve didn’t realize how into you he actually was or how into him you were because for everyone else on this boat, and on the shore line, it was pretty obvious and has been for quite some time. This was just more evidence of it.

“No, we’re not arguing because we all already decided I’m going,” Steve said, making you laugh and toss your shirt at him before he could even think about taking his other shoe off. It hit his face and momentarily blinded him.

“We decided? No, you decided. Are you implying this needs to be voted on Steve?”

Steve took your shirt in his hands, and looked back at you, “Well maybe it should be- Robin who do you think-” 

“I think the one who is already ready to go should go, you still have one shoe on and she does not,” Robin replied quickly as she was shoving the flashlight in the plastic bag Eddie had handed to her.

Steve groaned, “Are you never going to take my side or something Robin? I’m getting hurt over here.” 

You were twisting your neck side to side, a pleasant smile on your lips that Robin chose you, but it hadn’t compared to when Nancy finally spoke up. 

“Let her do it," Nancy told Steve, then cringed as her eyes went to yours, "Not because I think you're useless or anything, but I've been to enough swim meets for the paper throughout the year to know she's damn good…and she does hold the Hawkins High record for how long she could hold her breath...she can do it, Steve." 

It was always nice to have Nancy Wheeler on your side, especially when it was Steve on the opposite side. He always seemed to listen to her and take her words to heart and while other times in this friendship of yours he seemed to drop everything and listen to her it made you feel a tad bit jealous, this time you felt satisfied. 

“And like I said, I know she can, better than me, and certainly better than the rest of you, but what if-”

“Dude I’m about to dive down there just so I don’t have to hear you argue for another minute,” Eddie interrupted for the first time since your argument started, “I mean, I’m not going to, of course, but the fact that I was tempted to says a lot. You just gotta trust your girl, Harrington.” 

All eyes went to him besides yours at his statement. You kept your gaze trained on Steve, seeing his expression turn from grumpy to confusion then to what you confused with amusement rather than nervousness.

“What? My girl? She isn’t…” he laughed, and you hated how a small part of your heart cracked, “She isn’t my girl, if anything she’s all of our girl-” he cleared his throat as he realized how weird that sounded, “I mean, she’s nobody’s girl, but definitely, definitely not mine-” 

Nancy cringed at Steve’s words, and Robin had rolled her eyes for you while Eddie just raised a brow. You were frowning now, turning away from all them after you snatched the flashlight from Robin with a little too much force. Her eyes snapped to yours, being the only one to see your aggravated expression and understanding why. 

While Steve’s concern was appreciated and not exactly unwanted, you were starting to get annoyed with him. Sometimes it really felt like when he was with you and the kids…he just saw you as one of the kids he had to keep an eye on and not as… something else.

Well, he didn’t get to tell you what to do, especially now when everyone was on your side and not his. So, without much of a warning, you dived into Lover's Lake.

The splash of the water had captured their attention, especially Steve’s and when he saw you were no longer in the boat. He cursed and looked over the edge and saw nothing but the darkness of the water. 

“Dammit! I should’ve known she’d do that!” he said as he gripped the edge of the boat. 

Why did you have to be so reckless sometimes? It seriously stresses Steve out, from you throwing him out of the way from that Demodog and getting smacked by it yourself despite it being your first encounter with one to you flirting with the guards at Starcourt and to now jumping into the lake to see if there’s a gate down there. One obviously was more dangerous than the others, but he wished you would just stop.

He was taking his shirt off now, obviously going to dive and swim down after you until someone's hand hit the back of his head just as he got the shirt off. 

“Ow, hey-”

“Don’t be dumb, Steve!” Robin told him, “She’s going to be fine. Nance, how long can she hold her breath?” 

Nancy answered, and it was more than a minute longer than Steve could, and it was obvious when he sighed. 

“See, we’ll just time her and if she doesn’t come back up then you can valiantly dive in there and rescue her, maybe even give her mouth to mouth since you want to kiss her so bad-” Steve’s eyes widened slightly and he scrunched up his nose.

“Woah what? I never said-” 

“Please, it’s obvious, so, so obvious that our new pal Eddie here thought you were together.” 

Eddie looked at the both of them, "I thought you were like…an overprotective boyfriend or something with how hard you were trying to take her place.” 

“Man, what do you know, you barely got here…”

“I’m just saying, man, I don’t think you would’ve fought that hard if it were one of us,” Eddie stated, making Steve scoff because he wouldn’t even hesitate to do the same with Robin and Nancy at least, but it was the fact that you could very well make this dive better than him was enough to prove to them at least that there was something more to it. And maybe a little to Steve too.

“Oh you don’t even know the half of it,” Robin said while Nancy half-smiled in amusement as she looked down at her watch, being sure to keep track of the amount of time you’re down there, “One time she flirted with a secret Russian guard, and lover boy here looked like he was going to explode-”

“What!” Steve’s cheeks were heating up at the mention of that, “We remember that very differently.” 

Sure, he was a little annoyed but not because he thought you were trying to hook up with him, because it was risky. It didn’t matter if it kind of worked…and he was a bit jealous...not explosion jealous, but still in the spectrum of jealous.

“And the way they’re always around each other? We had no room on this boat and Steve insisted she come with…”

“Yeah, it is a little exhausting having to keep you two apart to be honest,” Nancy stated, “We could’ve used her at Pennhurst.” 

“Hey, that is different, you guys are making it sound like I tell her what to do or something- first, I didn’t want her to be a babysitter again and second- she wanted to stay behind with me when you went to Pennhurst.”

“And I wonder why that was…” Robin hummed. Steve bit the inside of his cheek, not understanding was Robin was getting at, “You like her Steve, just admit it and things will feel better. I swear.”

Steve sighed, “Okay yeah, so I like her, but she isn't into me and I don't see why it's important right now-"

“Oh Steve, I thought you were a pro at this,” Robin said, and he shot her a little look as she grinned back, “I’m just saying, after all this is done, and your only problem is finding the ‘one’ maybe look at her, yeah?”

Steve swallowed a lump of spit, and laughed, “You’re just trying to mess with me so I'll ask her out and you can laugh when she says no.”

“Am I really that cruel?" Robin questioned, but was met with silence, she scoffed and continued to say, "Like I said, just look a little bit closer.”

Robin was finished speaking then, and Steve shook his head in disbelief before deciding to keep asking Nancy how much time had past.

✧ ✧ ✧

You hadn’t resurfaced yet, and the time you usually could hold your breath underwater was inching closer and closer by the second. Steve was getting nervous, eyes flickering all over the lake to see if you had maybe emerged elsewhere. 

Already, he was moving to stand, “That’s it, it’s been too long, I’m going down there-”

“Steve-” 

Suddenly, you were bursting out of the water with a loud gasp and splashing water all over everyone. Steve nearly fell over as it was where he was about to dive into. You looked up at him as your vision readjusted and saw him staring at you with relief. 

And then he started to speak.

“Were you trying to beat your own record down there? Why did it take you so long? Were you sightseeing or something- I was about to swim down there and-” 

“It’s there,” you interrupted him before he could blast more questions your way, “I saw it, Dustin’s right- there is a gate right beneath us.” 

Steve went quiet, and the other three all shot shocked looks to one another and Robin quickly relayed the information Dustin on the walkie-talkie.

“It’s really down there?” Nancy asked more so in disbelief. You were nodding.

“Is it snack-sized, or like the one we saw at Starcourt?” Robin asked.

“Definitely not as big as that one was, but still pretty big,” you replied breathlessly as you began to climb up. It was Steve who was offering you his hand, and you ignored the fact that he was no longer wearing that yellow long-sleeved shirt that made you forget for a moment you were annoyed with him. 

“That’s insane,” Steve was saying as your hands met. He was about to pull you up when he was suddenly jolting forward and nearly falling into the water. Your eyes had met each other, and it dawned on you that something was wrapped tightly around your ankle and pulled. 

In one breath you said frantically, “SteveDon’tLetMeG-”

The rest of your sentence was drowned out by water as you were suddenly submerged once again, but this time it was very much against your will. Whatever that was coiled around your ankle was forcefully dragging you back down to the bottom of the lake.

Your hand had unfortunately slipped from Steve's grasp as you were pulled under, and he was calling your name. He didn't think twice, diving in after you while leaving Robin, Nancy and Eddie behind. In fact, Steve went after you so fast that for a moment they thought he was dragged down with you.

“What the hell was that, man! What the hell was that!” Eddie was shouting.

“What do we do?!” Robin shouted moreso at Nancy because she trusted her with decisions more than herself or Eddie. Nancy was already standing at the edge of the boat, ready to dive in after you and Steve. 

It was hard not to panic as you were being dragged further and further from the surface. The water of the lake filled your lungs, and you desperately swung your arms upward in an attempt to swim back up, but it was to no avail.

As fast as you were underwater though, before you could possibly drown, you were suddenly gasping loudly and being dragged across rough terrain. You were shouting, water spilling from you lips.

Just seconds after you were pulled through the gate, Steve was coming through it too. His eyes frantically looked around for you until he heard your shouts. He called out to you, already beginning to run as fast as he could toward you.

You called out to him too, "Steve! Help!"

Your hands desperately tried to grab anything that could anchor you, but everything easily slipped from your grasp. It was only when you hit something particularly large the thing let go of you, and the sudden force of the stop caused you to roll a couple of times before you were burrowed in a bunch of sticky vines. 

Steve called out your name again as he was by your side. You were too winded to comprehend what exactly had just happened, your eyes blinking rapidly at Steve and your new surroundings.

You were breathing heavily, gazing up at him with wide eyes as his hands grasped shoulders and making you face him. His eyes flickered all over you, making sure you were okay while asking you if you were hurt.

"I-I don't know, what- wait- where are we?" You said between pants as Steve eyes fell back onto yours. You were moving to stand, and Steve helped you.

After catching your breath with Steve’s arm wrapped firmly around you, you finally had taken in your surroundings. It was Lover’s Lake, yes but not your Lover’s Lake, and there were the same dust-like particles floating all around you. 

The terrain was covered with the vines, and the sky was permanently cloudy. What really had you staring in awe was the flashes of red in the distance that came with cracks of loud lightning and thunder. 

“Steve…are we?”

You looked at him now, and he was staring at the sky too, “Uh yeah…yeah I’m pretty sure.”

You were in the Upside Down.

✧ ✧ ✧

Steve was mad at you, though you couldn't really understand why. Because after he killed that bat-like creature that once had you by the throat by slamming its body repeatedly on the ground, he wasn't mad then, at least at you.

But, now he was and you thought maybe it had something to do with your newly sprained ankle that you were struggling to walk on. You knew the thing that had dragged you all the way down here was to blame for that.

After being dragged into this god forsaken place, these bat creatures had surrounded attacked the both of you. You were so high on adrenaline that you hadn’t even realized you could barely even walk on your ankle until you were able to catch your breath under Skull Rock.

"You shouldn't have dived down here," Steve said with a shake of his head, "It should've been me putting myself in danger. Not you."

You were leaning against Steve, who insisted despite his own injuries that he'd be the one to help you walk on your faulty ankle.

You rolled your eyes, "Again, it doesn't matter! We're all down here now, trapped and with no way of defending ourselves yet. The only way it changes is you being the one dragged and us coming after you."

"You went before we even properly decided who's going to go, at least you wouldn't be hurt or almost strangled to death-"

You huffed and began to try and move away from him, "You know what, I think I'd rather walk by myself."

Steve scoffed at the idea of that, "I'd hand you to Robin before letting you do that."

For some reason, this made you finally snap.

"Steve, seriously, what the hell is your problem? Why do you always treat me like I'm a kid who’s less than capable of doing literally anything? You treat me worse than you treat Dustin, an actual kid," you claimed in an irritated tone.

Steve seemed taken back by your words, stopping the both of you from walking (you limping) any further.

"Woah hey, I don't treat you like a kid-"

"Yeah well it sure feels like it," you interrupted with a deep frown now, "I just don't get it, do you not trust me or something? Is it because I'm a girl? Because you don't treat Nancy like that, or Robin-"

"What? No! It's not because of that, also I thought I made it pretty clear that I do trust you!" Steve argued back to you. You laughed in his face.

"Pretty clear? We wouldn't be having this lovely conversation if it was 'pretty clear' like you claim," you mocked slightly, Steve frowned too then.

"Well...yeah, I thought it was pretty clear how much I trust you and how much I..." he suddenly paused in his sentence, before sucking in a breath and saying, "...care about you, enough to not want you throwing yourself into danger and getting hurt," he explained, you pressed her lips together as you stared at him, "Seriously, you do it all the time-"

"For the same reason you throw yourself into danger all the time!" You exclaimed, this time loud enough for the other three to hear your back and forth, "I care about you too, maybe more than you actually know, so do you think it doesn't...affect me when you throw yourself into these situations too?"

Your voice was shaking slightly as you recalled him getting into a fight with Hargrove when he tried to attack Lucas, or when he was tortured and drugged up by those Russian soldiers. And how, more recently, you had to listen to his shouts of pain of the bats biting and chewing on his sides, being reminded of how helpless you felt.

Steve paused then, and furrowed his eyebrows.

"It does?"

"Yes Steve, it does because you're my friend. In fact, it terrifies me, Steve, when you do that because I'm also absolutely in love with you," You rambled on, "But I still trust you, you know? I trust that you know what you're doing and you'll just be okay. And I really, really wish you'd do the same for me."

Any words Steve was going to say had been wiped from his mind as he took in what you had just said. It seemed that you hadn't even realized what you said as you stared up at him with your eyebrows taunt and eyes meeting his directly.

'I'm also absolutely in love with you'

Steve's breath hitched gently, wondering if he actually hadn't of heard that and he was delirious from the blood loss.

"Shit, seems like he doesn't have to look closer," Robin muttered to both Nancy and Eddie who watched with raised brows that you'd just admitted that out loud.

"Uh hey, I don't think we have time for this-" Nancy called over to you too but was promptly interrupted by the ground beginning to aggressively shake beneath all of you.

Deep rumbles echoed from all around you as the tremors caused you to fall forward onto Steve. He caught you, but ended up falling backwards and hitting the floor with a thud.

You landed right on top of him with a short yelp, hands clenching the denim jacket Eddie let Steve borrow and your face pressed into his bare chest.

Despite the circumstances, Steve couldn't let go of your confession that he was now sure he actually heard you loud and clear. You were in love with him? Did everyone see it but him? You just had always seem to be this untouchable girl to him, even before you became friends, like you were there but never within reach.

When the floor had finally stopped shaking, you looked up to look at him with wide eyes that probably realized you'd just confessed your secret love for him. You looked ashamed, embarrassed even, and he could tell you were already thinking about ways to change what you had just told him before.

Steve realized in this moment you were always within reach, but just like Robin had said...he wasn't looking at you and just assumed you weren't interested when you very much were.

He prided himself in being able to capture the signs someone is into him, even called himself a pro, but clearly that title is wrong if he couldn't even tell if the girl he was in love with as well for almost a year returned his feelings.

"Steve I didn't-"

"It scares me too for the same reason," he suddenly told you. It took you a moment to process what he was getting at, "For the exact same reason."

You tilted your head, about to ask him if he knew what he was saying, but it was cut short by his lips meeting yours. It was a short kiss, but one that took your breath away in the few seconds your lips were touching.

“Are these two serious?” Eddie asked out loud.

“Oh yeah they are. This is not the time!” Nancy called from her spot, but her words fell on deaf ears as you and Steve kissed. Robin scoffed out loud and began to make her way toward her friends who were (finally) in a lip lock.

“Hey! I’m happy for you two to realize you have soft and fuzzy feelings for each other! I really am! But does it have to be right now!?”

Neither of you listened as you kissed, too engrossed with each other and the fact that these feelings you’ve both had for a year were reciprocated. It didn’t matter, at the moment, that you were in the Upside Down and would always remember your first kiss being here of all places.

You kissed him harder, pushing down onto him the way you always dreamed of kissing him and he returned with the same energy.

The kiss was brought abruptly to an end though when someone was grabbing you and making you stand. You blinked a few times in your stupor and saw that it was Robin.

“Like I said, I’m happy for you, but we seriously have to keep moving,” she told you. You looked back at Steve who was being helped up by Eddie. His eyes found yours, and so did a winning smile on his lips.

You laughed softly, still in a bit of a shock of what had just happened. Your fingers went to your lips that still felt tingly from his lips that were on yours.

“I better not wake up in my bed and realize this was just a dream,” you suddenly said to Robin.

She wrapped an arm around you, determined to be the one to help you walk now and replied, “Nope. This is real, we’re trapped in another dimension, and you just kissed Steve Harrington.”

You leaned against Robin now, a laugh escaping your lips.

Meanwhile, Steve was standing on his own, and gently placed a hand over his lips like you had, still feeling like he could feel your lips there and tasting you.

Eddie had cleared his throat, "Now you're really an overprotective boyfriend."

Steve coughed into his hand now as if to hide the fact he was touching his own lips, and stood up more straight. His eyes had found yours again, catching the smile on your lips as Robin helped you turn around and he grinned to himself as well.

He couldn't wait to kiss you again, preferably in your own world and on one of your first dates.

#please enjoy this im shy about posting again for some reason #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington #reader insert #stranger things imagine #stranger things 4 #st 4 #st 4 spoilers #imagines #lys writes again

[cheeseyberg]

Part 1 Part 2

Steve is annoyed. He's trying his hardest not to be but there it is, burning low in his throat as he bites back another bitchy comment that he would really love to let fly. He keeps reminding himself that they are kids, teenagers who have been stunted by trauma and may be a little immature in areas that don't involve fighting interdimensional beings. They deserve time spent ragging on each other and if they want to include him in the teasing then that really is proof that they accept him.

But he's not an idiot, just because he's a little bit slower than the nerds who he has adopted doesn't mean he's stupid. He takes the average amount of time to make connections, it's not his fault his friend's brains all run at the speed of a supercomputer.

"Henderson, I'm not going to tell you again, watch your tone dude!" Steve allows the half bitchy comment to land in a lull of conversation so all the brats hear it, "Besides, I haven't agreed to anything yet so I don't know why you're all arguing who gets stuck with me."

The whole thing had started with the opening of a new café in town. It was across from the arcade so naturally the kids clocked it immediately and had been anxiously awaiting the grand opening. Plans were made, funds were acquired, rides were begged for and the end result was that Steve, Eddie and Nancy shared babysitting duty on the opening day. It had been a pleasant day really, Steve was happy to have adults to talk to while the kids terrorized the new shop owners. This may have been where it started to go off the rails, he realizes now. Once the lovely couple had realized they had been invaded by baby geniuses they became enamored and in a clear bid to appease and possibly distract, the next time they had visited there were signs up announcing a weekly trivia night.

The problem was the team size limits. No more than six people to a team, and Erica had made it very clear that she would not be the odd man out because of her age. In fairness, the party hadn't even suggested it, they knew Erica was a force to be reckoned with and so the splitting into two teams had commenced and now she was a hot commodity that both teams wanted. Steve was having the opposite problem.

"Nobody is questioning your numerous good qualities Steve, I'm just saying that picking you first on my team isn't like a brilliant strategic move," Dustin stumbled over the words trying to make it clear that he wasn't wanted without putting his free rides in jeopardy.

"Enough! Nobody agreed that you got to be a team captain anyway and you're being a butthead. Here's how this is going to work, adults are the team captains," Eddie's edict was met with a flurry of protests from The Party yet he continued. "Complain all you want but the more whining I hear about it, the worse it is for your characters during the next campaign!"

That shut them up, Steve wondered what he had ever done before Eddie joined their family and had real leverage to hold over them to get them to behave. Gave in, was the answer but he preferred to ignore that part.

"I'm a captain and Steve's a captain-"

"Wooooow, why aren't Robin and Nancy the captains, you misogynist?!" Max was spending too much time with Robin in Steve's opinion.

"You're spending too much time with Robin, first of all. Secondly, Robin and Nancy aren't here so they forfeit the rights to team captain. As I was saying, Steve and I are captains and we will divide you as evenly as we can. Even with Robin and Nancy we still have an odd number so we'll have to split 6 and 5 to a team. Tomorrow at movie night we'll roll to see who gets more players and then we'll divide our teams with everyone present. What say you Stevie?" Eddie ended his proclamation by turning to look at Steve, who realized he was blushing a bit at having Eddie defend him to the assembly of assholes.

"Sounds good Eds," of course he was going to agree when it was Eddie asking. He turned back to the table in time to catch a raised eyebrow between Max and El but chose to ignore it. "And, as captain and procurer of the movies, I'm vetoing any horror movies so don't even try it!"

"Freddy's Revenge is finally out though! I thought we agreed to watch it!?" Eddie's protest was the loudest.

"A creepy burned dude who kills you in your mind dreams? No thanks, we absolutely did not agree to that and I'm vetoing it forever. Watch that shit with Robin, besides, it doesn't even have Johnny Depp in it so what's the point?" Steve catches another look between the girls but this time Erica joins in, he's not sure what caused it that time. Maybe the reference to Vecna was too much. "Come on guys, seriously, pick something happy for once."

"'Mind dreams' says the team captain," he catches Mike muttering under his breath and stares him down until he gets a half shrug which is as good as he can expect as an apology from the teen.

Part 2 Part 3

#steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #stranger things #ficlet #Mike is being a little shit #Dustin needs to watch his tone

[brbsoulnomming]

Tell Me Sweet Little Lies Part 10

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | AO3

-----

They're a restless group, checking weapons, going over the plan, bunching together in tiny groups of twos and threes that shift and change as they all seek something - distraction, comfort, anything to keep their minds off what's coming, he supposes.

After a while, Eddie finds himself alone, standing at the little kitchen of the camper and staring into a cabinet like he could stomach anything even if it wasn't all but bare. Erica and Dustin are sitting with their heads leaning into each other, discussing something that must be pretty important with how focused they are, though Eddie can't make it out. Robin's sprawled out on the couch, Nancy's reading through her notes again, one long line of tension. Steve sits with Lucas and Max, all loose limbs and forced ease, like he's done this a dozen times before.

He probably has, Eddie realizes, wondering just how many times this little group has sat together like this, waiting for their turn in the action.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Steve stand to rock up on his toes, miming tossing a basketball into a hoop.

"And the crowd went wild," Steve says, grinning widely and voice just loud enough to carry to where Eddie's standing. "I should know, I was in the crowd."

Lucas scoffs, says something that Eddie can't make out, though there's something like a tiny smile tugging at his lips.

"Robin'll back me up!" Steve says, purposefully louder this time. "Right, Robs?"

"I know better than to blindly agree to anything just like that, not after last time," Robin calls back without even opening her eyes.

"What happened last time?" Eddie asks, too curious not to.

She opens her eyes now, sitting up so she can look piteously at Eddie. "He tricked me into going running at dawn."

"Ouch," Eddie says sympathetically, resolving right then to never let that happen to him. "Thanks for the heads up."

Steve looks between the two of them, nose scrunched up like he's not sure he likes them ganging up on him, which makes Eddie flash a wide, gleeful grin at him.

"You're backing me up that Lucas was awesome at the game," Steve says, waving his hand like he's waving off their previous conversation.

"Oh! Yeah, okay, that I'll back you up on. You were great, Sinclair."

"See?" Steve says, turning back to him triumphantly. "Would I tell you that you were epic if it wasn't true?"

Lucas ducks his head. "Yeah, well, you stood up to cheer for me whenever I even made a good pass, so your definition of what's epic might be a little suspect."

Steve makes another motion with his hands, though Eddie's not sure if it's supposed to mimic some sports move or is just a meaningless gesture. "Man, no one ever cheers at good passes, and they should! Getting the ball to someone is just as important as the one who-"

"You went to the game Friday night?" Dustin interrupts, sounding betrayed. "I thought you had a date?"

Eddie… didn't know that Dustin knew that much about what was going on in Steve's life, which. All right, maybe there was some truth to how much Dustin talked about the guy beyond their shared adventures in the Upside Down.

"I did!" Steve protests. "Brenda and I went to the game."

Eddie raises his eyebrows. "…you took your date to a high school basketball game?" He doesn't want to agree with Dustin, but - he kind of agrees with Dustin, here. If that's Steve's idea of romance…

Steve scowls at him. "No, I took my date to a championship game where one of my-" He cuts himself off, jaw snapping shut with an audible click.

Robin immediately pounces on his unfinished sentence, gleeful. "One of your kids! Aw, Steve, you took your date to see your kid's basketball game."

"Shut up!" Steve retorts. "I took my date to see one of my friends play, because it was important to him."

Lucas and even Max are grinning at him a little now - though given the gleam in their eyes, Eddie suspects they're getting ready for a whirlwind of teasing.

Eddie glances over at Dustin, expecting to see the same gearing up towards mockery, but instead the kid looks - almost hurt. Before he can say anything, Dustin's speaking up again.

"What, so some dumb basketball game is good enough to make a date out of, but coming to Hellfire isn't?" he demands.

Lucas's smile drops, and Steve frowns at Dustin.

"We really doing this now?" Steve asks.

Eddie looks back and forth between Dustin and Steve, bewildered. "Why the hell would Harrington ever come to Hellfire?"

Look, Eddie may be beyond sold on Steve Harrington being both a badass and a good guy, but he still can't see him anywhere near Hellfire or Dungeons and Dragons in general.

"Because I asked him to!" Dustin shouts. "Because it was important to me, and that's supposed to matter, because he's supposed to be my best friend!"

Silence echoes through the camper. Even Nancy and Erica, who had stayed out of the conversation, are just watching them now.

A muscle in Steve's jaw twitches, and then he nods. "Right, yeah, okay, I guess we're doing this now."

He stalks over to Dustin's side, grabbing the back of his shirt and hauling him towards the door of the RV. Dustin yelps and bats at his hand, but he doesn't actually stop Steve from tugging him outside.

The door slams shut behind them.

The awkward silence lingers. Nancy just looks confused, Lucas won't meet anyone's eyes, Erica and Max have twin expressions that are some mix between defiance and guilt, and Eddie -

"Jesus Christ, does the constant world saving make you all this dramatic about everything?" he asks.

Robin and Max snort, then level him with near identical bitch please looks.

"Do I have to bring up the table speeches again?" Robin asks, at the same time as Max says, "Said the guy who threw a hissy fit about someone missing a session of his dumb little club."

Eddie slaps a hand onto his chest, clutching his heart as if he's just been shot, and lets himself drop dramatically onto one of the chairs. "I am wounded, the likes of which I may never recover from! Will no one defend my honor?"

He casts a glance around the camper, wide eyed and beseeching, gaze never straying to the window. From this angle, he can just see the back of Steve's head, and he'd rather keep everyone's attention away from whatever emotional warfare is going on outside.

"Don't look at me, fool," Erica says. "You are a dramatic little bitch, those're the facts."

"This is stupid," Lucas says suddenly, standing up and pacing across the camper. "I told Steve it doesn't matter. Everyone was right, okay, there's way more important things than a basketball game, and I don't even know if I still want to be on the team after all of this. It's not like it mattered to any of you before, so why are we all talking about this now?"

The levity that Eddie'd been trying to bring back is sucked completely out of the RV, which - yeah, okay, fine, fair enough, this isn't a time for levity. It's just that Eddie doesn't really know what to do without that, and he casts a desperate little look over at Robin and Nancy.

Nancy and Robin exchange a look.

"Lucas," Robin says, softer than he's seen her so far. "Did it matter to you?"

"I-" Lucas stops, looking miserably over at Max before his eyes cut away. "I don't want to answer that."

He doesn't want to lie, he means, or else Max will know, and he doesn't want to admit that it mattered. The way Lucas looks right now is like a kick in the teeth.

Eddie did that. Eddie made one of the kids feel isolated because of something he enjoyed doing, Eddie made the kid's friends find a fucking replacement for him, Eddie made sure that not only did he not get to participate in the final session, but that he was made fully aware that they would all choose Hellfire over him and his shitty basketball game.

Fuck, that Eddie guy is an asshole.

"I should have moved Hellfire," Eddie gets out through gritted teeth.

Lucas's head snaps up. "What?" he asks in disbelief.

"Look, if we're all going to ride off to our very probable heroic deaths soon, then I'm going to do it with a clear conscience and not feeling like I'm the one who made you look like a kicked puppy, all right? Your terrible choice in extracurriculars and even worse choice in new friends notwithstanding, I should have moved Hellfire. It wasn't fair of me to make you choose, or to make your friends choose between you and the campaign, or to hassle you all about it."

The door slams open, making Eddie and several others jump, and Dustin stomps back up the stairs with Steve right on his heels. Dustin's shoulders are hunched and his face is screwed up like he's still upset, but there's no lingering tension between him and Steve. Steve ruffles Dustin's hair, then grips his shoulder briefly as he passes him, so Eddie assumes they've worked whatever it was out.

Dustin stops next to Lucas. "Hey Lucas, can I talk to you for a sec?"

Lucas looks at him warily. "What about?"

Dustin sighs. "About me being sorry?"

Lucas raises an eyebrow. "Sorry for what?"

"For making you feel like your friendship wasn't important and not being there to support you?" Dustin gets out, looking at Lucas pleadingly as he edges towards the door, clearly hoping not to have to keep going with everyone else here.

Lucas lets him squirm a little longer before nodding. "Yeah, okay, we can talk. I guess I'm sorry too."

The two of them tromp back down the steps, the door swinging open and closed again. Steve comes to stand by Robin and Eddie, raising one eyebrow at him when he sees how he's still just flopped over the chair.

Eddie waggles his eyebrows at him, grinning. "You tell him that you weren't mad, just disappointed?"

"Shut up," Steve mutters, which Eddie is going to assume means yes.

Nancy's smiling, looking at Steve all amused and a little fond, and even though Eddie was the one who encouraged Steve to go for it, that makes something twist in his stomach.

"Did you do the hands on your hips thing?" Nancy teases.

Steve rolls his eyes. "Little shit just needed a little reassurance, that's all. And a smack upside the head."

Max groans, bending over to rest her forehead on her knees. "I don't want my soulmate to come save me from stupid boys and their delicate feelings."

Eddie beams, resting his elbows on the table and cupping his chin in his hands. "Look, guys, we created a monster. A soulmate talking rebel."

Max chucks a candy bar wrapper at him without looking. He expects it to go wide, or flutter to the ground without making it very far, but it must have some candy remnants still stuck in it because it smacks him right on the forehead.

Which, well, means there's only one thing to do.

"Free snack!" he crows, opening it up to scrape melted chocolate and caramel off with his teeth.

"Dude!" Steve says at the same time as Robin yells, "Gross!"

"Oh my God, Eddie, if you're hungry we have food," Nancy says.

Max sits up enough to fix her gaze on Erica, gesturing at Eddie. "This?" she asks, judgment dripping from her tone. "This is the guy your brother and his stupid friends have decided is their new dork lord?"

"He's your soulmate," Erica scoffs. "He's your responsibility now."

Eddie grins at them both, hoping there's chocolate in his teeth, just so he can watch them make grossed out faces.

When he looks up at Robin, Steve, and Nancy, all three of them are clearly trying not to laugh, and oh, that's even better.

"Now!" Eddie says, pitching his voice a little in a muted version of his dungeon master boom. "Where is this food I was promised? Cause I gotta tell you, Wheeler, cabinets are looking a little bare unless we want to eat tomatoes or beans out of a can."

He's not certain what he's expecting - maybe for them all to look around at each other before he or Max sigh and start doing what every kid who's been left to their own devices before they're old enough to be able to grocery shop knows how to do. It sure as shit isn't for all of them to look at Steve.

Steve shrugs. "Yeah, sure, I'll see what they've got."

Eddie stares at him as he slides past to peek in the cabinets, pulling out canned vegetables and cream of chicken soup and probably expired spices, a worn looking pot and a can opener and a few half eaten bags of chips.

He leans over into Robin's space so he can whisper, "Can Steve actually cook, or are we all about to have food poisoning?"

She flicks him on the forehead. "Steve's a great cook," she says, and she sounds just a little bit irritated, which -

Not what he was going for, at all, and he leans back, hands up palms out to show he's backing off. Nothing that could be interpreted as talking behind Steve's back, got it.

"Just wary about the expiration date on all those cans," he deflects.

She raises one eyebrow at him, clearly not buying it - he did just lick chocolate out of a candy bar wrapper, after all - but she lets him have it.

Max comes up behind Steve, grabbing the can opener and getting to work opening up the cans he's set out. Robin leans back into Eddie's space, his transgression apparently forgiven, and rests her head on her hand, just watching them. It makes him feel like they've done this before, and there's a moment where he's not sure if he should feel out of place.

Nancy comes to sit at the table, looking a bit tentative. Erica's worming her way in there before anyone can say anything, immediately providing commentary on what Steve's doing like it's a cooking show, and something in Eddie settles in a way he's not sure he's ever felt outside of the trailer with Uncle Wayne.

Dustin and Lucas come stomping back in when Steve's got a mess of diced tomatoes and beans and corn and cream of chicken and spices in the pot cooking over a hot plate, all bluster like they think if they make enough noise no one will call attention to why they were outside in the first place.

No one does, but Eddie's pretty sure that's more to do with the fact that no one wants to talk about it than anything else.

"What're we having?" Dustin asks, while Lucas leans in to look only to get shoved away by Max.

"Taco soup," Steve replies. "There's chips to go on top when it's done."

There's not enough tortilla chips for everyone, but it doesn't really matter. Robin shoves handfuls of potato chips on her soup without complaint, and Nancy digs into hers without bothering with any chips at all. Eddie joins Dustin and Lucas in fighting over the bag of corn chips, only to have Max calmly snatch it while they're occupied and share it with Erica.

Both Lucas and Dustin turn huge, sad eyes on Steve - who'd clearly grabbed tortilla chips for his own bowl before anyone else - but he just gives them an unsympathetic smirk and shovels a big spoonful of soup and corn chips into his mouth.

The soup's good, tortilla chips or not, and Eddie actually kind of likes the salty crunch and extra flavor from the barbecue potato chips he'd put in his. Part of him wonders how - or why - Steve Harrington knows not only how to cook, but how to cook with whatever ingredients are left in someone's pantry. It's the first hot food he's had in days, though, and the mood is probably the lightest it's been in a while, so he doesn't ask.

He just eats his taco soup, hunched around a cramped table in a little camper with a group of people who risked their lives for him, who are all about to risk their lives more, and tries not to feel guilty for having a moment of contentment.

—

When Max suddenly jolts up, they all know it must be time.

I'm not ready, appears on Max's arm. It isn't time to move forward with the plan.

Eddie feels like a fucking live wire of nerves, stripped raw and bleeding. Part of him wants to nervously ask more questions about this girl with superpowers, what her plan is, how they're sure they're all on the same page, but the others have a focused air of grim determination about them and he's a little afraid to bring down the morale.

It doesn't really matter, he guesses, since he'd been on board with this plan before they looped in Max's magical soulmate.

Before he knows it, Steve is telling him and Dustin not to be cute, if anything goes wrong, and fuck the way that stupid boy is looking at them. He understands it with Dustin - as much as he hadn't gotten it before, it's obvious that Steve and Dustin think the world of each other, and Eddie's pretty sure that Steve would do just about anything to protect the kid. But Steve is looking at him, too, like he gives a shit if Eddie makes it out of this - like he gives more than a shit.

Eddie wants so bad it nearly overtakes his brain completely. If this is going to be the last time that they see each other, he wants Steve to know - to at least consider -

He chickens out just like he had the last time they were in the Upside Down together, scrambles to come up with something other than I'm pretty sure you're my soulmate - and tells Steve to make him pay instead of saying anything really important.

He's running on pure adrenaline after that, playing like his life depends on it - his life does depend on it, fuck, all of their lives do, and he pours more of himself into his guitar than he ever has before, all that bottled up terror and rage and grief, until he feels like he's all burned up with it.

It's not done.

Of course it's not done, of course the little shits found a way to get past their reinforced walls, and as he looks up at Dustin shouting at him, he knows there's no other option.

Eddie's not going to run this time. They all brought him in, made him a part of this party, relied on him, and he's not going to let them down.

When it comes down to it, anyway, he's the most expendable. He's been nothing more than an NPC for most of this, and yeah, he's been helping the party - flirted with one of its members, maybe thought he could be something more - but in a campaign, his death makes the most sense. A valiant NPC that the player characters will mourn, but they'll all survive onto the next campaign.

It was always going to be him.

There's been so many moments where he thought he was going to die during this last week that it seems fitting for it to finally happen, for it to be the demobats that get him. He makes it longer than he thought it would, but he can't fight them off forever, can't keep them from pinning him down and tearing into him like he's a fucking banquet on display.

And he thinks, one last time, that this is it. This is going to be how he dies.

But he doesn't.

Taglist (hopefully I got everyone, and always happy to add more!): @vampireinthesun @koibug @estrellami-1 @mentalcyborg @allbimyself26 @questionablequeeries @the-s-is-silent @whimsicalwitchm @a-gae-af-racoon @tinyplanet95 @n0-1-important @velocitytimes2 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @newtstabber @jcmadgirl @roblingoblin285 @lexyvey @paperbackribs @goodolefashionedloverboi @evix-syne666 @raisedbylibrarians @stxrcrossed186 @nightmareglitter @greekgeek24 @starman-jpg @crazyhatlady86 @imfinereallyy @manda-panda-monium @deleataecount @prideandsensibility @chaoticvictorianspirit @maydillydally @disrespectedgoatman @scarlet-malfoy @i-less-than-three-you @hbyrde36 @hallucinatedjosten @dragonsandgayships @arepaconchocolate @g4ys0n @novelnovella @bisexualdisastersworld @ghostofyourvampiregf @scarletyeager @pettrichore @nerd-and-nervous @hiimlevi @queenie-ofthe-void @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @bookworm0690

-----

Part 11

#steve harrington #steddie #eddie munson #robin buckley #steddie fic #steddie fanfic #lucas sinclair #dustin henderson #max mayfield #erica Sinclair #Nancy Wheeler #steddie soulmates au

[lavendertales]

SEÑORITA: Chapter 6**

pairing: Javier Peña x Murphy!f!reader

summary: Javier can't stop thinking about you, hard as he tried. when Steve confronts him about his relationship status with you, Javier doesn't hesitate in giving him a harsh reality check.

word count: 4k

series warnings: reluctant friends to lovers, lots of playful banter, mutual pining, slow burn, secret relationship, filthy smut.

chapter warnings: male masturbation (pillow humping), looots of tension.

AGELESS/EMPTY BLOGS & MINORS WILL BE BLOCKED!

gif: @coredrive

series masterlist | AO3

As proud as Javier was of himself for stepping away when the situation called for it, he felt twice, if not thrice, the bigger asshole for even thinking about it.

You were off limits; a forbidden fruit that has the potential to be everything Javier’s been secretly searching for in all of his thirty six years of life, but under no circumstances could he jeopardize his friendship with you or with Steve.

So when he woke up in the middle of the night, sweating and his mouth parched, he only wanted to get a glass of water. He planned to ignore the aching erection and the shameless thoughts of you that filled his half-asleep brain.

But before he knew it, his hand was curled around his cock, water long forgotten, the sole thing on his mind being how beautiful you looked that night at the bar.

It was infinitely easier in the beginning when the two of you had a teasing sibling-like relationship, when you could even insult each other and neither would get mad or upset. It was infinitely easier three months ago when Javier was fairly convinced you had no interest in him. And yet here he is now, fucking his fist in some feeble attempt to create the illusion of a touch that was never laid upon him—one that probably never will be.

All because you leaned in.

You fucking leaned in when he did, sharing the same yearning for a kiss, and it blew his goddamn mind. Now, with all these twisted thoughts swirling inside his mind—how beautiful you looked, how he could feel the heat radiating off of your skin even through the dress’s fabric, the shameless way you stared at each other—it’s creating the kind of inner pressure he can’t handle, not like this.

It’s not enough, he realizes as he stops tugging on his weeping cock. He sighs, hastily grabbing a pillow and creasing the ends together to create a space big enough for him. It’s mid-July, unbearably hot even for New York’s standards, and Javier’s mind is spinning endlessly. He lets it all develop in the most twisted and darkened corner of his mind as he shoves his cock between the pillow’s folds; the sounds you’d make as he’d push into you, the beads of sweat dripping down on your skin as both your bodies moved together as one, him lapping hungrily at your folds like a man starved…

“Shit,” Javier mutters, picking up the pace.

His hips grind faster into the pillow, the inanimate object merely a futile portrayal of you. It’s not real, he knows this much; it’s not real and it’s not okay, let alone decent, but Javier will allow himself this one moment of weakness. Just this one, and then it’ll all be over. He gasps and moans, barely recognizing the sounds leaving his own throat, wishing it was you who was engulfing his cock this way. He pictures you with your legs spread wide, making enough room for him to fuck into your sopping heat, your arms roaming endlessly over his back and occasionally digging your nails into the heated flesh and begging him for more.

Then, something even worse happens.

His breaths get more ragged, air nearly getting stuck in his lungs; his hips thrust forward erratically, speedily, his balls draw tightly, his stomach burns and clenches and then—a name falls from his lips. Not just falls, but crashes and burns, quite like Javier himself. He comes hard, your name staining his lips like a sin.

Panting heavily, it takes a while for Javier to regain consciousness. It feels like he left his body for the better part of the act, and now that he’s back into his oddly sensitive skin, guilt eats him up from the inside. He mechanically begins to clean up the mess he’s made, all the while still thinking of you. How your skin would feel after your needs had been sated or how you’d look at him afterwards. Would you still smell of lavender? Would it be lavender and sweat, a mixture of both your scents that would drive you well over the edges of sanity? Javier sighs again, feeling for what is probably a premiere in his life ashamed of his uncontrollable impulse. He hops into the shower, dreading the day ahead—especially knowing he’ll see you smiling all politely at him at the apartment building’s entrance.

If you wouldn’t have leaned in, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. Javier would’ve remained delusional enough to believe that you don’t think of him this way and that you certainly don’t want him this way. But now that he knows, he loathes it with every fiber of his being. He hates not being able to stop himself from these dirty thoughts, from wishing he could get to know you inside out like no one else has before and how in just a few short weeks you became simultaneously his worst nightmare and his sweetest desire.

At the very least he can start the day knowing that his plan will come to fruition today.

You’ve barely seen Javier in the past week, even less than usual. It was quite evident he was avoiding you, perhaps on account of that moment after you went out to the bar, but you missed talking to him. It’s only been a few days and yet you missed smiling at him, making him flustered and replying to his words in the sassiest ways possible.

You missed your friend.

It’s hard to believe you could really be friends with someone you would’ve easily slept with in the past; oddly enough though, you began to forget what your life was like before Javier entered it. It was duller and quieter, that was for sure.

But despite the fact that you missed even your little morning ritual with Javier and that you wanted to see him, to talk to him, you let another few days go by without much contact. You had to think about what was left on your doorstep on a rainy Monday afternoon and how it impacted you.

You were on your way to meet with Sylvie for drinks when you nearly stumbled upon the package that was on your welcome mat. It had your name on it but no sender address, no name, nothing. Curious, yet remaining cautious, you brought the package inside, shaking it a little. It wasn’t that heavy, but not light either. Finally, after staring at it for too long, you ripped it open. Your heart stilled.

There, in fine print with lavender margins, stood your Star Wars fanfiction. You quickly browsed it, shook at the realization that something you wrote out of love for that fictional universe was now in your hands in the most aesthetically pleasing way possible. Your eyes glanced down, noticing a few papers at the bottom of the package: your original story, handwritten on the same white pages, and what appeared to be a note.

You could barely breathe; you held the book at your chest, reading Javier’s note over and over as you desperately tried to sort through your feelings. Turning some nonsensical papers into an actual book must’ve cost Javier quite a lot, but the actual thought that went into it… the effort, the time, simply thinking of doing this for you for no reason…

You’ve spent days figuring out what to say to Javier, how to properly express your gratitude into words. It wasn’t just the gratitude that made your head spin—there was so much in the middle, so many things to be said that it overwhelmed you. The moment you held that book in your hands, it all felt like a promise, a sneak peek into Javier’s heart. You knew right then that this went further than mere physical attraction; it went further than just you liking him.

This had the potential to be the most incredible thing that’s ever happened to you. But it also carried enough power to ruin and devastate you completely.

When you knocked on Javier’s door around eight p.m., four days later, your heart was in your throat, your hand were clammy and oddly cold and you were beyond restless. You’re not sure as to why that is; maybe you imagine Javier will say something more rational as to why you shouldn’t screw this fun friendship you’ve got going on and that will open your eyes.

But oh, how you want him to feel the same as you do.

You know that he’s attracted to you. That is a no-brainer. You know the concept of physical attraction exists in real life for both of you, having slithered in between without either of you noticing at first, but the notion of love, that big, scary prospect, is yet to be determined.

“Fucking fin—oh. Hi.”

Javier’s facial expression changes within a split second from mildly annoyed to soft. You faintly remark he’s wearing a white shirt, its sleeves rolled up as much as possible, and suit pants. He probably came late from work and was unwinding, but the sight made you feel even more parched. You gulp, hoping it’s not noticeable how distressed you feel.

“Am I interrupting?” you ask cheekily.

“Thought you were the delivery guy.”

“Nope, just me. Sorry to disappoint.”

“No, this is better. By a lot.”

You smile, your heart swelling inside your chest. “Can I come in?”

Javier falters. He briefly checks his watch, noticing the time. It’s not too late, but having you inside his apartment on a Friday evening—on any evening, really—seems like a very compromising and dangerous idea.

“Sure,” he agrees and opens the door wider for you to wiggle in.

Moron.

Very wise idea, inviting the woman you’ve fantasized about in your apartment.

“Is everything okay?” he checks.

He notices you fidgeting, playing with your fingers and staring down at them, remaining silent. Eventually, you turn around, taking a deep breath, and Javier braces himself for the worst.

“I got your present,” you say, voice unusually shaky. “Or—whatever it was.”

Javier’s face reveals an expression that perfectly encapsulates the word “oh”. He takes a few seconds to himself to collect his thoughts, realizing that anything he says or does now, when you’re here in a state of appreciation and sensitivity, is crucial.

“Hope you liked it,” he quips. “Sorry for basically stealing the fanfiction first. I—“

You smile instead; it’s so radiant and wide that Javier feels weak in the knees.

That’s a first.

“I love—loved it,” you reply. “Truly.”

“I’m glad.”

“I don’t even know—I mean… how—how did you think to do that? And why?”

Good fucking question, Javier thinks.

He doesn’t really have a solid answer other than… well, he really wanted to do something nice for you. Sometimes he feels like he barely knows you, doesn’t even know when your birthday is or what your favorite season is, but sometimes he thinks that knowing bigger things, such as your passion and how beautiful you look when you smile, is far more important.

As well as knowing that he wants to be the one to make you smile every single day.

“I don’t know,” he shrugs. “Seems like writing is a huge part of you and the way you talked about your fanfiction, about wanting to have your own book out… I don’t know, it just made sense. Felt right.”

When his eyes meet yours, they find them pooled with tears. His first instinct is to approach you, take your hands into his and gently graze them, but he does only the first.

“It’s the most thoughtful thing anyone’s ever—“you begin, swallowing a gasp. “Thank you.”

Javier purses his lips, nodding once, as stoic as possible when all the while he feels like he’s crumbling on the inside.

“I may have also read the story in the process,” he confesses.

“What did you think?”

There’s hope on your face, shining bright—as if you urgently need his approval. But luckily Javier doesn’t have to fool you.

“Did not see Han Solo and Leia Organa having a son that’s a pain in the ass, but in a twisted way, makes sense,” he says and smiles when he hears your chuckle. “And you’re a very good writer.”

“I’ve evolved since then.”

“Can’t wait to read your book.”

His smile is sincere, heartfelt, and the more you stare at him, unaware of how your body naturally inches closer to his, the weaker you feel.

“Thank you,” you nearly whisper, then clear your throat. “Javier, I—“

But then you see him shaking his head and backing away, and you frown.

“No, what?”

“Whatever you’re about to say, better if you don’t,” he seemingly warns.

“Then don’t go around doing these things for me, to me.”

“And what exactly am I doing to you?”

You feel an unexpected wave of anger hit you and you open your mouth to let him know about the night his name nearly fell from his lips as you desperately sought release, all the while thinking of his touch. However, you decide against it at the very last second.

“Just—don’t do such things for me if you don’t want a reaction out of me,” you continue. “Because at the end of the day, I’m a human being with real fucking feelings, and right now… I have plenty of them.”

“Like what?”

God, why does it feel like every question he poses is a challenge for you to open up and say or do something wild? How on earth is it possible to have someone get such a rise out of you with mere questions and to crave them this ardently?

“Like… I don’t wanna walk out that door,” you admit. “And I’m tired of denial and charades and… and excuses.”

“I’m fuckin’ tired too.”

“Then let’s stop.”

Javier shakes his head again, and the fear on his face is more legible than ever before. The expression he now wears is that of a man who’s afraid of failing, and in an odd way, it softens your heart.

“I meant what I said,” Javier says, his tone grave and dark. “I intend to keep my promise to Steve. So…”

“Javier—“

“And like I told you, I’m not someone to love. I’m not… lovable.”

You almost roll your eyes at the statement; that is, till you notice Javier’s eyes, the way he slowly inhales and exhales, and you realize that he actually does feel that way.

“I’m not lovable,” he repeats. “But you are. And you should have someone like that too.”

You remain still, hopelessly glaring at the man before you. The way he speaks of himself versus the way he speaks about you, to you, it’s such a stark contrast, you’re not even sure how to proceed with this discussion anymore. Except… no one’s ever called you lovable before, and the word does something inexplicable to you.

“Give yourself more credit,” you try to encourage him as you minimize the space between you two. “What you just did, the whole book ordeal…”

“It’s what—friends do.”

“It’s not! Sylvie didn’t think to do this! Connie didn’t think to do this. My college friend turned boyfriend didn’t think to do this, and Dean definitely didn’t—“

“Don’t—he’s got nothin’ to do with this. You barely met once. Of course he wouldn’t—“

“So… we’re friends, and yet somehow you’re jealous of a guy I went on a single blind date with?”

“Yes.”

You certainly didn’t expect Javier’s bluntness, nor were you anticipating his admittance to being jealous. He was jealous.

“Why?” you ask.

“Because he’s everything I’m not and everything you should have.”

Your frown deepens as you try to process whatever the hell is going on at this point.

“Okay, so then… if I went out with him again, you’d be okay with it, right? Because he did call and—“

“No.”

“What in the actual fuck is happening right now?”

“Mostly a shit case of me wanting what I can’t have.”

“But you can have it. Me. Have me.”

Javier looks down to where your hands are holding his, then he meets your eyes, so sparkly and warm, and he shivers. He fucking shivers, and it takes so much willpower to not pull you even closer to him and have his way with you. There were the words he had been dreaming about for what feels like an eternity and here he stands, completely debilitated by them.

“All you need to do is say it, just—just talk to me,” you encourage him. “Tell me.”

Unexpectedly, Javier loses his patience and removes himself from your gentle grip.

“What would you like me to say?” he retorts furiously. “That I want you so fucking badly I can barely sleep, or breathe, or even think? That before I didn’t give two shits about scents and now I can’t even smell lavender without getting hard because it makes me think of you?”

Shook, you can only stare at him, barely able to blink—or breathe, for that matter.

“Yes,” you mutter.

“It’s just the dry spell. It’s not—it’s not real.”

“Then stop leaning in.”

Javier opens his eyes, completely unaware that he’d been keeping them close and having gotten so close to you he could count every single eyelash. He feels your warm breath, erratic like his, tickling his face, and your noses nearly touching. The proximity is killing him like nothing ever did, like the slowest-acting poison ever.

“You first,” he breathes, one hand reaching to cup your cheek.

He closes his eyes again, fully aware now that he’s losing the battle against his feelings. You’re too close to allow him space to think, so rationality seems to be out the window as his bottom lip barely grazes yours. You gasp, so soft and so restrained that Javier nearly smiles against your lips.

The doorbell is the only audible sound left. It drowns out your and Javier’s breaths, distracting you from what could be either the sweetest taste or the gravest mistake.

“You should get that,” you say, being the one to pull away this time.

Grunting, Javier goes to answer the door. His hunger is long gone by this point, being replaced with something more urgent, gnawing at his insides.

But once again, he’s surprised to find someone else entirely in the doorframe.

When Steve’s eyes land on your flushed face in the background, he enters the apartment without uttering a single word—at first.

“What the hell’s going on with you and my sister?” he demands.

You roll your eyes and cross your arms at your chest. “For fuck’s sake, Steven—“

“We’re friends,” Javier intervenes calmly. “That’s all there is to it.”

“Jav, you don’t befriend women. You sleep with them.”

You give Steve a deadly glare, one he blatantly ignores, which in return makes you angrier.

“What are you even doing here?” you ask him.

“Could ask you the same thing.”

“It’s none of your fucking business.”

“Then neither it’s yours.”

“I’m not sleeping with your sister, Murphy.”

Javier’s voice is booming this time around, cutting some of the impending tension between you and your brother.

“And I don’t have any intention to do so, either. She’s not my type.”

It suddenly becomes clear that despite the moment you’ve shared earlier and the sultry words that had been spilled, all Javier wants to do now is protect you—and Steve, respectively.

Perhaps it would indeed be better for everyone if whatever is going on between you and Javier remains exactly where it is now.

“He’s made that very clear to literally everyone, including myself,” you fortify.

“Your type,” Steve deadpans. “You mean with a pulse and single?”

Upon meeting Javier’s angered glare, Steve bows his head, recognizing his mistake. “Sorry about that,” he apologizes to both of you. “Look, I just want to look after her. We haven’t had a great relationship since she was in high school. I was hoping things would be different now.”

“By sniffing any guy who’s around her? Can’t imagine that’s the way to go.”

“It’s not like that.”

“Javier, you don’t have to—“

But Javier isn’t listening to you; he stands in between Steve and you, perhaps unconsciously so, willing to take any blow that might come your way.

“You told me to stay away from her, which I understood and respected,” Javier says. “And apparently you told her I’m some asshole who bangs any woman near me, which isn’t entirely true. Not anymore. I may have been an asshole in the past, but I’m not a bad guy and I’d never hurt her, or any woman.”

“I know that. It’s just… I—I guess I took it too far. I’m really sorry. Of course it’s her choice who she wants to date.”

“Gee, thanks,” you coo from behind Javier.

“You’re in luck anyway because she’s not into me.”

“Are you into her?”

Unbeknownst to you, Javier gulps, which luckily goes unnoticed by Steve. The words he angrily spit at you before still ring in your ears and pound at the back of your mind, but it’s futile to bring them up now, not to mention risky.

“She’s great and funny, smart, but we’re—just friends,” Javier replies. “She’s not my type. I told you that, and I told her that.”

“Seems a bit insulting.”

“Kind of like you shitting all over her writing?”

You widen your eyes, honestly stunned that Javier would bring this up. And yet you can’t help but feel grateful as well, warmth engulfing you.

“What?” Steve asks.

“You constantly told her fanfiction is stupid, dismissing her writing altogether.”

“That’s not—“

“That’s exactly what you did. Did you ever read her story? It’s amazing and she’s a great writer.”

Your cheeks burn with flattery and gratitude, unable to add anything to the fiery conversation unfolding right now. You wouldn’t have expected Javier to take such a strong stance against someone he’d declared to be his best friend, which makes the gesture all the more meaningful to you.

You’ve never had anyone defend you or your passion this way, and it’s solidifying your feelings even more.

“You read her story?” Steve asks, dazed.

“I did. She’s damn good at writing, too. Maybe if you’d actually want to know her, as an adult, you’d have a better relationship.”

“Way out of line, Jav.”

“Yeah well, I’ve got an asshole reputation to uphold, right?”

“This is why I didn’t want you around my sister.”

“I respected your wish, man. But this is not your choice to make. If she wants to be friends, we’re gonna be friends. If she doesn’t want me in her life, she can say so herself. What she says, goes. And newsflash, I’m not the one being an asshole right now.”

“You know what?”

When you see Steve rolling up the sleeves of his denim jacket, that’s your cue to move.

“That’s enough,” you say, turning to Javier. “Javier, I appreciate everything you’ve said, but I’m a big girl and I can handle myself. And this is a conversation I need to have with my brother in private.”

You lay your hand over his bicep, barely touching, and it burns Javier’s skin. He looks at you, then at Steve, and backs off nodding.

“We need to talk, Steven. Now.”

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tags: @pedrostories @psychedelic-ink @milkymoon2483 @ifall4dilfs @casa-boiardi @spidermanfrog @fallenkitten

#Javier Peña #Javier Peña x reader #Javier Peña x you #Javier Peña x y/n #Javier Peña x f!reader #Javier Peña x female reader #Javier Peña fanfiction #Javier Peña fic #Javier Peña smut #javier pena #javier pena x reader #javier pena x you #javier pena x y/n #javier pena x f!reader #javier pena x female reader #javier pena fanfiction #javier pena fic #javier pena smut #narcos fanfiction #narcos fic #narcos smut #pedro pascal #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal fic #pedro pascal smut #señorita series

[venusloverblue]

Sky blue eyes

Billy Hargrove x Harrington!reader

words count: + 4k

summary: You become friends with Max, this means that you get to know Billy better

warnings: Steve Harrington!mean, little angst, fluff, mild sexual mentions, I think that's it all, tell me if I'm missing anything else

a/n: Hi!! I hope you are well, this is my first fanfic in my life. I hope you like it and if you have any criticism, let it be constructive. English is not a first language so if there are any mistakes, I'm sorry!!!

For a long time you thought that love was not going to be present in your teenage life, you thought that the romance in the movies was exclusively for the movies and that it did not extend to the real world. Plus you took it for granted that you were never going to fall in love and that no one was going to fall in love with you.

Everyone knew who your brother was, when they talked about you they referred to you as Harrington's little sister and not your first name. It was difficult at first for you to live in the shadow of your older brother, but over the years your skin had turned iron and those comments no longer affect you like before.

It is because of all this that your life had become very simple and boring, you did not have as many friends as you wanted, but at least you had people to take refuge with when you needed it, among them were Nancy and Jonathan, although their love for each other made you feel a little alone, they were always there to give you their unconditional support and their shoulders to cry on.

It was quite common for you to be crying in the bathrooms along with Nancy, this case was because some of the more popular kids had played a prank on you at lunch. They thought that bathing you with their drinks was something that everyone would find very funny and they were not wrong because a large part of the dining room began to laugh as if they had just told the best joke of their lives. That's why you came out with your head held high and when nothing saw you, you started running towards the women's bathrooms.

While you were crying and washing your face you didn't realize that Nancy had rushed in to comfort and help you. A few minutes after helping you and calming you down, you break the silence that had existed since she found you in the bathrooms.

"I don't understand what's wrong with them, I've never done anything to them and they always try to humiliate me in front of everyone" you say while looking at Nancy searching for an answer that could help you cope with the situation.

She sighs, searching for the right words, finally finding them. "I would love to know why they do this to you, I would also like to know why your brother doesn't do anything about it" She says with a tone of hatred towards my brother.

"You know how he is, he would never fight for me with his friends, that's why they do this to me"

"It doesn't mean that you can't get angry with him, you should say something to him when you're home." Before you can answer, someone knocks on the bathroom door.

"Girls, are you okay?" Jonathan's unmistakable voice is heard, he must have come as quickly as he can after finding out what happened in the dining room.

Nancy tells him that we are fine and that we will see him after school, which ends the conversation that the two of you were having before he interrupted you.

★

When the exit bell rings, everyone quickly leaves their classrooms to get home as soon as possible and to rest properly, since it is Friday, many must be in a hurry to prepare for a party at the house of some of the popular ones, luckily this weekend is not yours.

You are one of the last to leave, that is why your friends are waiting for you to say goodbye or make some plans in the next few days, as you get closer you hear how some of the popular ones point at you and laugh at you, because your clothes were stained by the drinks some of them threw, you decide to ignore them and continue walking to reach Nancy and Jonathan.

After having talked for a few minutes we decide that we will call each other to see if we can arrange an outing, with that they say goodbye and you walk home, since obviously Steve was not going to risk his reputation by taking you in his car.

After walking for a while you come across a girl of about 13 years old riding her skateboard, her reddish hair being blown back by the air that hits her face while she is moving. It seems strange to you that she is alone so you decide to run as close as possible.

"Hey girl, are you alone?" When you ask her the question, the girl stops suddenly, when she turns to look at you, her features relax and that's when she starts talking.

"Yes, my brother sent me home on the skateboard because I left him waiting after school" She says as if it were something unimportant.

When you hear that I can't believe it, how is it possible that her brother is so cold? That's when you remember that your brother is the same as you and you feel more sorry for the girl.

"Well, you weren't the only one, my brother never took me in his car since it was given to him" You tell the girl that so she doesn't feel so alone because of her brother.

Her face wrinkles in disgust and then changes to a grimace of annoyance. "I don't understand why older brothers are always so stupid." That's when she decides to roll his eyes.

"Yes, they are stupid"

★

After that unexpected meeting, you and Max become kind of friends, causing you to accompany her to her house every day and then go to yours. It was really very fun to spend time with her, she was a very sweet girl who preferred to cover that sweetness with rudeness although she didn't completely succeed.

For several weeks it becomes part of your routine until one day it ends.

While you were waiting for Max outside school, you found out from one of her classmates that she was sick and that they needed someone to deliver her homework. That's why you volunteered since the route to your house would take you to passed by Max's house. With that the children thank you and say goodbye to go, get their bikes and leave.

When you're walking to Max's house you hope you don't run into his brother, Billy Hargrove. In the weeks that you became friends with Max you found out who his brother was, you would never have guessed since they didn't look alike at all, then you found out that they are actually not brothers but stepbrothers. But in the same way your nerves did not dissipate, Billy was known for having a rather strong temper and also for having little patience, you did not like the combination at all. You didn't want him to get mad at you for being at his house and then decide to get revenge for it at school, just thinking about it gives you chills.

But still that didn't stop you from going to Max's house, she was your friend and she needed to keep up with school regardless of whether she liked her brother or not.

When you got home the nerves were present again and you didn't really know what to do, and seeing the Camaro on the driveway from the garage sends a chill down your spine. You decided to shake yourself to erase any drop of fear regarding Billy, he was not a monster, he was a boy the same age as your brother, with that you relaxed a little, giving yourself the courage to go knock on the door.

You waited a few seconds before someone answered, when the door opened you were greeted by a completely sweaty Billy with a muscular shirt that revealed his physique. You may have liked Billy, but you couldn't deny the attractiveness he possessed and why all the girls were crazy about him.

"Who are you and what are you doing at my door?" The question snaps you out of your thoughts and brings you back to real life with Billy scowling at your presence.

"Hello, I'm Max's friend, I came to bring her her homework because she is sick" You stay silent for a few seconds and then add. "Hers classmates asked me to give it to her."

Before Billy answered, a slightly hoarse voice was heard behind him. "Hello, sorry I went to school today, mom made me stay in bed" Max says while pushing hers brother a little so he can see me.

"Hello Max, don't worry, it's best that you recover as soon as possible. I have your homework here, I can bring it again tomorrow if you need it."

"I appreciate it, I won't be able to go for a few days" She says with a little sadness.

“Don't be sad, the most important thing now is that you recover as soon as possible. Plus I need my travel companion to be very healthy to come home on time every day, right?” With that the girl nods quickly with a big smile, agreeing with you. “Okay, I'm going home now, I'll bring your homework at the same time tomorrow.” When you say that, you turn around and walk through the Hargroves' front yard while waving goodbye to Max.

★

The next three days you continue going to Max's house to leave hers homework and the one who opens the door is always Billy with his frown, you don't pay much interest to the subject since it's probably not something personal but he is like that with everyone and not only with you. But that doesn't mean that that attitude doesn't bother you.

It's already the fifth day that Max is sick, so you repeat the same process already done the previous four days, but this time you have an obstacle to overcome and that is Billy Hargrove. When you were about to cross the street, a blue Camaro with the windows down stopped in front of you and inside was the boy with sky blue eyes.

“Are you going to my house?” He asks with a tired tone.

“Yes, going to leave Max's homework.” You are surprised that the new and now popular boy is talking to you. You thought you were a nuisance to him, not a person he wanted to talk to.

“Get in and I'll take you, I don't want you to interrupt me again like you did all week.”

You hesitate at first, you don't think it's appropriate to get on since you completely like him, you also know that someone will see you and rumors are generated regarding our relationship, which is completely non-existent. A few seconds pass before you end up accepting, it's not like they saw you having any approach that would imply that you were dating or something like that.

You get into the camaro and shortly after you have closed the door the vehicle takes off at great speed. You get scared at first, but you end up getting used to the speed.

“So you're the one who accompanies my sister home, at first I thought it was a miracle to return alone, but then I began to suspect” He looks at you for a few seconds and then looks back at the road.

“Yes, I saw her for the first time when she was returning on her skateboard and I thought it was better that I accompany her to make sure nothing happens to her.” You say that with the intention of making her realize what an idiot he is for letting her leave on her own, but it seems that he does not give it importance or does not realize it.

“Well, thanks for that” He says that and then adds. “I wouldn't like to imagine what I would do if something happened to Max.”

“I understand, but you could also wait a little longer when you leave school. I know you don't like to wait, but she is a girl and she shouldn't come back alone on her skateboard” You say and then add. “You never know what can happen out there.”

Without realizing it, you are already at the door of his house. When he finishes parking, he turns to you and with a face that shows much more than you thought you would ever see from Billy in your life, he decides to tell you. “Believe me, I know.”

★

It's been weeks since the last time Billy took you to his house so you could hand in hers homework to Max and although you don't like to admit it, you still think about the short conversation you had in his cabin. You saw some guilt in him along with remorse for not being able to do something. At some moments you think that you imagined it, but you know that it is a way of lying to yourself, he in some sense is honest with you.

Your thoughts about Billy are interrupted by the bell that announces the end of classes, you quickly leave with your classmates. When you are already at the main exit of the high school, you see some of the popular kids laughing in a way that makes you understand that they are planning something that you would not like to know about.

It is when you are passing a few meters near them that you feel how they are getting you wet, by the time you realize you are soaked from head to toe, you don't know where to go so they stop laughing and meanwhile you curse yourself for having chosen a white shirt that shows through your bra

Everyone around you laughs, you even see Steve being one of those who finds the joke very funny. Everything is laughter until you hear how someone is hit, causing the laughter to turn into screams of horror on the part of the girls and hatred on the part of the boys. You turn around to see where all the commotion is coming from and find Billy straddling one of the boys who decided to get all wet.

You try to get closer, but a hand grabs your arm and you see it's Max. “It's better that you don't come closer, let's go to the car and wait for him to finish all this.”

You hesitate for a moment, but end up agreeing with her. So you go with the girl to the car, but for a moment you turn around to see how Billy is doing and just at that moment your eyes meet so that in a second they are lost again.

★

It takes a little over 30 minutes for Billy to return and get into the car. You are in the passenger seat and that allows you to observe in detail that he did not come out of that fight completely unscathed. His lower lip is split, his cheeks have some scratches and his clothes are a little dirty from rolling on the floor.

Before you can break the silence, Max comes out from the back to poke hers head between the front seats. “Did you give those idiots the beating they deserved?”

“Max!” You say quickly after the girl's comment. “Don't say those kinds of words.”

The girl ignores you and the older brother does the same. “Yes, I gave them shit to eat, don't worry” He says while looking in the rearview mirror, then he turns a little towards you. "Are you okay?"

When you listen to him he sounds like he is really concerned and will care about your well-being. “Yes, it was just a little water, I'm fine” You say a little embarrassed by so much interest on his part.

“Okay, then I'll take you home” And with that he tears off his blue Camaro just like his eyes.

★

Obviously, you end up getting sick since the idiots got you wet in November. That caused you to now be in bed for a whole week. Luckily you had Nancy, who came to visit you whenever she could after school and told you all the new things. That was your favorite source of entertainment, then you had to watch movies or read a book, it was clear that doing homework was not on the list of entertainment but torture.

But besides that, you also took the time to think about what Billy did for you. You never thought anyone would do that for you in your life, least of all the great Billy Hargrove. Thinking about how he looked in his cabin after the fight caused your cheeks to turn pink and your body temperature to rise. From the beginning you blamed the cold, but you knew very well that that was a lie and a pretty big one.

You continued with your sick routine until Wednesday, the day your brother walked through your bedroom door looking to talk. You thought he was going to talk about how Billy defended you and then drove you home in his truck, but he actually surprised you with an apology.

“I come to apologize to you for everything that happened.” Look at a fixed point on the ground. “I know that I am not the best brother of all and that what I did to you does not deserve any kind of forgiveness, but believe me, I am very sorry. The jokes, the contempt, the ignoring you are things you don't deserve, you are a great sister to me and I return all that to you with pure shit."

You don't know what to say so he took advantage of it to continue. “I understand if you don't want my forgiveness, but I think I need you to know that I don't want anything bad to happen to you. The last joke was my breaking point."

“But you laughed Steve, I saw how you laughed” You say with a voice that was about to break.

“I know, you don't know how rubbish and shit I feel” After a few seconds he looks up at you. “I swear I want to go back in time and change the things I did to you.”

“I understand, but you have to know that it will take a lot to forgive you.” You say, determined that you will not let him have the easy way.

With that he gets up and leaves your room in silent.

★

Two days after the episode you had with Steve, while you are watching a movie that is being played on code, your mother enters in your room and tells you that a classmate of yours came to bring your homework. At first it seemed strange to you since Nancy was the one who always brought your homework, that generated great curiosity in you and you told your mother to let it go.

That's when you see Billy enter your room in his jeans and jean jacket. For a moment you thought it was all a dream and that you were about to wake up shortly, but fortunately none of that was an invention of your brain and subconscious. Luckily you woke up from that daydream before he thought you were a complete weirdo.

“Billy, what a surprise, I didn't expect you to come to my house.”

“Yes, well, Nancy please me to bring since she wasn't going to be able to come today” He says while handing you the papers where the homework was.

“I'm sick, but I'm not stupid, for nothing in this world would Nancy ask you a favor” With that you make Billy smile and you don't know why, but your stomach begins to secrete butterflies that leave you totally confused.

“You caught me, I asked her if I could bring your homework. At first she refused, but after I told her why I wanted to bring it, she gave it to me.”

“And it may be curious, but why did you want to bring me my homework?” You expected any answer except the one he actually gave you.

“Because I wanted to come see you and this was the best excuse I could find” With that his eyes meet yours and your cheeks instantly turn reddish.

★

After that your friendship with the Hargrove brothers strengthened, now every day after school you went to Billy's blue camaro so that he would then stop at his house to drop Max off and then go to your house to drop you off. It really was a dynamic that you liked, but that didn't just stop there, every time you passed Billy in the hallways he would greet you with his smile and blue eyes, the first few times it threw you off, but it was a matter of time before you customs

The weeks continued to pass and your relationship with Billy was taking shape, it is true that at the beginning you were connected by Max, but some days the red-haired girl went to her friends' house to do projects causing you to have to return together in the car. he. One of those days you saw that Billy was feeling a little strange, you thought a lot about asking him what was wrong, but then you thought about it and you preferred to leave it because you felt that your friendship was not at the level of telling each other how the other felt.

We entered the cabin and after a few minutes the boy decided to break the silence. “Hey, can I tell you something?”

“Of course, is something bad happening?”

For a moment he hesitates, but it lasts a second before he begins to speak. “The truth is that I don't have the best relationship with my father, he is someone I don't like dealing with at all” Take a moment and continue. “He hits me, every time I do something wrong he hits me, especially when something happens with Max, he takes it out on me. That's why sometimes I act like a jerk around her and believe me I don't want to. But the anger that being hit by him generates in me I have to take out on someone else and it's always on some guy at a party or on Max.”

You have no idea what to say, that's why Billy decides to continue. “I know that none of this justifies my behavior, I know that. But I needed to tell someone, I couldn't live with this in me, you know?”

You didn't say anything, you didn't expect this kind of confession from Billy at all, you always found him to be a tough boy who didn't let anything or anyone get in his way, but it seems that appearances can be very deceiving. “I'm so sorry Billy, you don't deserve this to happen to you, I can't imagine how difficult this situation must be for you.”

You stay silent for a second, searching for the right words. “I'm glad I'm your trusted person to tell me this.”

“Believe it or not, you are one of the few people I can trust” That ends the conversation.

★

Saturday night, you are alone at home since your parents are traveling and your brother is out partying, that leaves you as the owner of the house and that means that you will use that power to watch romantic movies in the living room.

You are currently watching Sixteen Candles, one of your favorites. You don't know how many times you've seen it, but you're sure it's more than ten. When you are halfway through the movie you hear someone knocking on the back door, the moment you look there you almost lose the soul of your body. It was Billy and all his clothes were bloody. You moved as fast as you could in your state of shock. When the door opened Billy walked into your kitchen as if nothing was wrong.

“Billy, what the fuck happened to you?!” You can hear the desperation and worry in your voice.

“Don't worry, baby, I feel totally fine” When you can see how he slurs his words a little, that's when you get closer and feel the smell of alcohol that comes off.

“Billy, you reek of alcohol, how the hell did you get here? I hope you don't tell me by car."

He remains silent answering your question.

Already irritated with the situation, you send Billy to sit on the couch and wait for you to bring him some ice along with the first aid kit. You didn't understand why he had decided to come to your house in that state, but it seems like he reads minds as he answers your question.

“I came here because I had nowhere else to go. Besides, I like you."

With that confession you go blank, obviously you liked him too. The relationship he had formed as a friend had become something more meaningful to you without him knowing. You thought it was all due to alcohol, it was impossible for someone like him to like you, it was pure logic.

That's why you decided to ignore him and preferred to focus on healing his wounds. You could see that he had gotten into a pretty nasty fight, but luckily it was all superficial and nothing very serious.

“I love that you are so close to me, I would love to kiss you right now, lots and lots of kisses” You couldn't deny that it gave you a little tenderness, seeing a boy as tough as Billy talking like that made your butterflies wake up.

“You're very drunk now, it's best that you go to my room to sleep so my brother doesn't see you when you come back.” As you say it, you stop to start picking up the big man with sea eyes.

“You want us to go to your room so I can do everything to you that I've been thinking about since we met, then I'm the pervert.”

You laugh a little, but you know very well that it is to hide what you really feel and it is an infernal heat between your legs. You don't understand how someone can make a room turn into a giant-sized oven.

After leaving Billy in your bed, you prepare a mattress on the floor so you can sleep next to him in case he wakes up not knowing where he is. You lock your room in case your brother decides to check on you even though you thought it unlikely. The moment your head hits the pillow you are already in dreamland dreaming about Billy Hargrove kissing you.

★

The light coming through the window wakes you up, you don't really know what time it is, but you assume it's very early on a Sunday. When your eyes are fully open, a hoarse voice surprises you.

“Good morning baby, did you sleep well?” With that, a rather misaligned Billy greets you, but that smile makes you fall in love in a thousand ways. “Thank you for yesterday, you could have kicked me out, but you decided to help me.”

“It's nothing, I couldn't just leave you like this.”

There was silence before Billy decided to drop his bomb. “I know yesterday I said I liked you” You were expecting it to be worded like any other. “And I wasn't lying, I really like you.”

With that, sleep completely disappears from your body, causing you to sit in bed quickly. “If you are saying this because I help you, you should know that I don't need it, I don't need your pity.”

“Baby, I am many things, but a liar is not one of them. I really like you and I must admit, I know it may seem false, but it's the truth. After sharing all those moments my feelings towards you became deeper” A second later he adds. “Plus I love how your butt fits perfectly in each pair of jeans.”

With that you approach Billy to plant a kiss that seeks to encompass everything about him, he follows you in search of the same. At that moment your feelings are expressed through that passionate kiss. No words are needed for your love, just this type of connection is enough. Something that makes us feel special, unique and different from the rest.

When you separate you dive into the eyes of your lover, sky blue eyes.

#billy hargrove #billy hargrove imagine #billy hargove x reader #billy hargrove fluff #stranger things #stranger things fanfic #fluff #fanfiction #harrigton!reader #light angst #billy hargrove x female reader

[libraryofgage]

A Hop, a Skip, and a TARDIS Jump

Part of: Steve Deserves Good Parents, Actually Debbie and Fester Addams One | Two Rick and Evelyn O'Connell One | Two (on the way!) Harley Quinn One 10th Doctor and Rose One (you're here!) Scooby Gang (there are plans for this one lmao, so plz be patient with me orz)

I know it says 10Rose up there, but this series starts with 9Rose, because 9 is also special blorbo in my heart hfjdks Christopher Eccleston didn't have to put his whole chest into the role but he did and I love that for him

Anyway, have fun with this one! We're getting time travel shenanigans coming up (and angst, def some angst, but it'll end sweet I promise), and a little meme at the end

As always, if you see any typos, no you didn't :)

Satellite Five 200,000

Running into the woman was an accident created by the chaos of something changing on Satellite Five. Steve doesn't know what that is, exactly, but he can feel it in the air, in the way the humans around him have started rushing, in how the food stands have suddenly ground to a halt. And he comes to a halt with them, his hearts speeding up in his chest as the frenzy reminds him of another time, another planet, another chaotic scene that ended with him being launched across time and space while his home died.

When he finally gathers his wits enough to move, he turns right into a woman's leg, bumping his nose hard against her and falling to the ground with a startled cry. He holds his nose, the bridge smarting and causing his eyes to water as he looks up at a pretty young blonde woman who immediately crouches in front of him.

"Sorry about that. You all right?" she asks, her hands hovering in the air like she wants to check him for injuries but doesn't want to make him uncomfortable.

The funny thing is, Steve has seen this woman before. He saw her earlier in the day, getting into the elevator with a journalist and a man, and he assumed he'd never see her again. Nobody who got in the elevator came back. He's so overwhelmed by the shock of seeing her again that he almost misses the familiar aura around her, the lingering traces of golden space dust and passing time.

Almost.

He stares at her with wide eyes, his tears actually falling now, and then throws himself into her arms. "What took so long?!" he cries, clinging to her shirt like he'll be thrown across time and space one more time if he lets go.

"Woah, hey now, no need for crying," she says, utterly confused but gently smoothing down his hair anyway. "What's wrong?"

After taking a few moments to calm down, Steve starts to answer when he realizes something. The woman only has one heart. He can only hear one set of beats in her chest. He jerks away, his hands trembling as he stares at her. She's still covered in that familiar aura, practically swimming in it, but she's not like him.

It hurts. Steve can feel the bitter cold of disappointment replacing the hope that had started to grow between his hearts. He thought...he thought he'd get to be with someone like him again. Maybe not his original family---they're dead, long gone, and Steve is never getting them back---but a new one that wouldn't let him feel quite so alone anymore.

Maybe she was just injured. That would explain it well enough.

"Where....where's your second heart?" he asks, his voice small as he grips the hem of his shirt to steady himself. "Y-you...why do you--"

Before Steve can get the rest of the question, a man in a leather jacket, looking slightly annoyed as he checks his pockets, appears next to the woman. "Right then. C'mon, Rose, we got dead weight to drop off," he says, his tone hard.

The woman, Rose, looks up at him. "Hold on a minute, Doctor," she says, "we've got to help him find his parents first."

Steve opens his mouth, wanting to say that won't be possible, as he looks up at the man. Their eyes meet, and the words get stuck in his throat. If Rose carried lingering space dust and passing time, this man is made of it. Steve can see the gold around him, swirling and calling, singing in a way he'd forgotten about. Even the name is familiar---not that Steve knows this particular Time Lord, of course, but he knows the conventions and traditions.

"I'm afraid that'll be impossible, Rose," the Doctor says, his voice softer and full of disbelief as he crouches next to her on the ground.

"What? How do you know?"

The Doctor doesn't answer her. He just holds a hand out to Steve, waiting patiently. When Steve takes it, the world finally rights itself. He can feel the blood pumping through the Doctor's veins, fast and powerful in a way only two hearts can manage. He can practically taste time and space coating his tongue as he steps closer. When Steve places his hand on the left side of the man's chest, feeling the beating of one heart before sliding his hand over to feel the other, he cries even harder than before.

And the Doctor cries, too.

It's not a loud crying, but he pulls Steve into his arms and holds him with the same desperation and fear that he'll disappear if he loosens his grip that Steve felt when he hugged Rose. "I thought...I thought I was the only one left," the Doctor says, moving his hand to cradle the back of Steve's head.

"Doctor, what's going on here?" Rose asks.

Steve peeks out at her, and then he's lifted into the air, still held in the Doctor's arms. His jacket smells like the past and future, a soothing scent that gets Steve to relax like he hasn't in a long time. "Long story short," the Doctor says, his voice still rough from crying but recovering, "you somehow bumped into the only Time Lord child in existence." A few moments pass before he speaks again, the smile and awe clear in his voice as he says, "You're just fantastic, Rose. Fantastic."

Despite his best efforts, Steve can't keep his eyes open long enough to see how she reacts or what the Doctor does next. The exhaustion of fending for himself and pushing away the despair of losing everything sweeps over him. This could all be a dream, and the Doctor might be a figment of his imagination that disappears when he wakes up, but Steve lets himself dream for now.

--------

Hawkins, Indiana, 1971

"Okay, Steve, go ahead."

Steve glances up at his father, shifts his gaze to his mother, and then approaches the console. He reaches up and starts turning a dial, ignoring his mother's excited noise and his father's interested hum. Once he's turned it enough, he walks around the console and pulls a lever, flips a switch, and yanks another dial two notches to the right. Then, when he's sure his parents can't hear him, he leans in close and whispers, "Take me wherever you'd like me to be, TARDIS."

He feels something warm and happy surge under his fingers where he's holding the console. Not a second later, the familiar whooshing sound of the TARDIS fills the room, and Steve hang on for dear life as his father shouts, "Fantastic! Where do you think we'll land, Rose?"

"Somewhere child-friendly, hopefully," his mother replies, grabbing his father's arm and holding on for dear life.

Steve grins, his hearts beating fast and hard behind his ribs as the TARDIS slowly comes to a stop, its engine quieting to a gentle whirring as it parks. "Go on then," his father says, appearing behind Steve and nudging him to the doors. "See where you've brought us."

With his breath stuck in his throat, Steve slowly pulls the left door open. Sunlight streams into the TARDIS along with the delighted shrieks of other children and a warm wind that can only mean summer. Steve blinks, staring at the playground a few feet away.

"Oh," his father says, his tone duller than before, "seems boring."

This statement is followed by both the TARDIS making an offended noise and Steve's mother smacking his father in the chest. "Don't be rude! Boring is safe, which is good for Steve's first drive."

"Can...can I go play?" Steve asks, his voice soft as he feels a sudden longing sweeping through him. He hasn't played with people his age after leaving Gallifrey. In fact, he hasn't been around them. On Satellite Five, Steve didn't see other children. They were cared for on a different floor, and he never risked getting into the elevator.

Since leaving Satellite Five (since finding another Time Lord and basking in the TARDIS and crying together when Steve accidentally called the Doctor "Dad" and Rose "Mom"), Steve has been surrounded by Daleks and nanogenes and older humans and every alien under the sun, but he's never been around children.

The thought is exhilarating and terrifying and alluring all at once.

"Of course, Steve," his mother says, placing her hand on his head and brushing a few stray hairs from his face. "You go play, and we'll call you back in a few hours for some ice cream, yeah?"

Steve grins and nods eagerly, throwing a quick goodbye to his parents before running out of the TARDIS. He dashes across the street, coming to the edge of the playground before stopping. The grass turns into tiny rocks and pebbles beneath slides and swings and monkey bars and a merry-go-round. And kids. More kids than Steve really knows what to do with, which gives him an unfamiliar feeling of anxiety that makes him wipe his palms on his shirt.

"Hey, why are you just standing there?"

The question is asked by another boy Steve's age. His hair is a little frizzy and curls around his ears, and he's got band-aids covering his arms and stretching across the bridge of his nose. He's standing to Steve's left, holding a red rubber ball and ignoring the other kids around them.

"I've...never been here before," Steve says, meaning that he's never been in this situation.

The boy doesn't understand that, though. But when he says, "Oh, so you're new around here," Steve doesn't disagree. "Well, nice to meetcha. I'm Eddie."

He shifts to hold the ball against his chest with one arm and holds out his other hand. Taking it and shaking once, Steve introduces himself and asks, "Can we be friends?"

Eddie's eyes brighten, and he nods. "Yeah! Let's be bestest friends. Can I call you Stevie? Mom says you can give nicknames to friends."

"Sure! So, uh, what do we do now?"

Eddie pauses, looking at the playground with a slight frown. "We could play games," he says slowly.

"Oh! How about Weeping Angel?"

"What's that?"

Steve thinks for a moment. "Weeping Angels are these statues that move when you don't look at them. In the game, someone will face away, and the other person will start sneaking up on them. If the first person turns, the second has to freeze in place. If the first person sees them move, they lose. If the second person reaches the first and touches them, they win."

"It sounds like Rad Light, Green Light," Eddie says, tilting his head slightly. "But, sure! Let's play it."

Steve smiles brightly and follows Eddie to a clear patch of playground. "I'll be the Angel in this round," he offers, waiting for Eddie to agree before walking a few feet away. "Let me know when you're ready!"

Eddie turns around, still holding the rubber ball, and glances over his shoulder. He stares at Steve for a few seconds before looking away and saying, "Ready!"

As lightly as he can, Steve takes a few steps forward, doing his best to make no sounds like the Weeping Angels he's seen before. When he notices Eddie moving, he freezes, quickly placing his hands over his eyes but leaving enough room to peek between his fingers.

When Eddie turns, he's frozen in a classic Weeping Angel pose. Eddie studies him for a few seconds, eyes narrowed before slowly turning around again. Steve exhales softly, and the game continues.

Steve wins exactly three times, Eddie wins twice, and there's one round in which they both dissolve into laughter because of the position Steve freezes in, so they don't count it. When Eddie gets bored of playing, he introduces Steve to foursquare, which is why he has the rubber ball. When he gets bored of that he drags Steve around the playground, introducing him to each piece of equipment with pride.

By the time the sun has started to dip low on the horizon, Steve is sweaty and dirty and happier than he's ever felt as he hides under the slide with Eddie. They're pressed close together, sharing a popsicle Eddie's mother had given them, purple juice making their hands sticky.

"You're really cool, Stevie," Eddie suddenly says, his lips and tongue purple as he offers the last bit of popsicle to Steve.

After taking it and letting the cold ice melt on his tongue, Steve asks, "Hey, do bestest friends keep secrets that only they know?"

"Of course! Nothing is stronger than a bestest friend secret."

"But you gotta promise not to tell anyone. Not even your mom."

Eddie seems to realize this is serious now, and he straightens up a bit. "I won't," he promises, "cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye."

That seems a bit extreme to Steve, but what does he know of human customs? He leans in close, his mouth almost pressing against Eddie's ear, and whispers, "I'm an alien."

He pulls away in time to see Eddie's disbelieving look. "What? You look human. No way you're an alien."

"I am!" Steve says. "How many hearts have you got?"

"One. Duh."

"I've got two."

Eddie snorts. "Yeah. Right. Nobody has two hearts."

"Here, you can feel them," Steve says before grabbing Eddie's hand and placing it over the left side of his chest. He waits a few seconds, making sure Eddie can feel that heart, before sliding his hand to the right side. He watches Eddie's face turn bright red, and Steve figures it's from excitement or shock at realizing Steve is, in fact, an alien.

Before Eddie can say anything, Steve hears his mother calling, "Steve! It's time to go!"

He pouts, letting go of Eddie's hand. "Aw, man," he mumbles, crawling out from beneath the slide. Eddie scrambles after him, his cheeks still flushed and his eyes wide. "I gotta go now, but I'll see you again soon, Eddie."

"Yeah, soon," Eddie mumbles, seeming dazed until he shakes his head. "Your, um, secret is safe with me, Stevie."

Steve blinks and flashes a blinding smile. "Of course it is," he says, "You're my bestest friend."

With that, he hugs Eddie and then runs to his mother, brimming with excitement at getting to tell her all about the park and Eddie.

------

If you'd like to be tagged for this series, let me know!

And, finally, a meme for your viewing pleasure:

#steddie #steddie fic #doctor who #doctor who crossover #steddie over time #that's the tag for this one bois #i'm very proud of the little pun there actually #steve harrington #eddie munson #ninth doctor #rose tyler #time lord steve harrington #ninerose #anyway thanks for reading i hope you enjoyed the meme hfdusjk