#look i do not believe that hawkins is the only place with department of energy fuckery

[schnuckiputz]

it takes a while, but one day, after the kids have graduated, eddie and steve pack their most precious things into eddie's van, and they leave. for months, they just drive from city to city, from state to state, go wherever it takes their fancy. until they find a little town surrounded by age-old trees and mountains, with unpredictable weather and more rain and fog than sunshine. but the pacific ocean isn't far, and if they leave early in the day, they can spend a few hours in san francisco's queer neighborhoods.

the town has a little old diner that's a bit run down but has good bones. so, steve and eddie combine their powers: steve knows how to take care of customers, has one of his nonnas old books with delicious cake recipes, and knows how to use it. eddie is a god in the kitchen and knows how to make money stretch. they are both charming, so pretty soon they have a few regulars and a steady stream of patrons.

included, are a group of high schoolers. and neither eddie nor steve know what happened to these kids, but they recognize the looks in their eyes. and they just can't help themselves, both like taking care of people a little bit too much, so they basically adopt this group of little ducklings, offer their time and ears in the hope of making the lives of these kids a little easier.

but the longer they stay, the more the town starts to feel a little...strange. there is something unsettling about the way the woods creak at night, how the shadows stretch at night. sometimes, after locking up the diner, steve lingers by the stairs that go up to their apartment and stares into the woods, and he knows something is looking back.

it comes to head a few months later. the ducklings stayed late at the diner, late enough that it's just them, when the thing that kept its eyes on steve steps out of the forest. for a second, everyone just stills before the kids spring into action. trying to barricade the diner doors.

steve and edddie share a resigned look, a touch, then separate. eddie goes for the high proof alcohol they keep in the kitchen, making molotov cocktails. steve gets the bat from under the counter. it's not the original, but mark ii is sturdier, a little bit deadlier. he tests his swing once, twice, then steps into the way of the first thing the crashes through a window and bats it right back out.

afterward, the diner is a burnt out shell, but everyone is alive. the kids are a little worse for wear, but steve knows this was probably not their first or second rodeo. steve and eddie keep the kids in sight but step around the van a little for some light thank-fuck-we-survived pda.

that's when a bunch of government cars arrive and out steps none other than owens. owens prioritizes the kids at first before movement catches his eyes. he stops, stares and then makes the kids loose their minds when he greets steve and eddie by name.

steve just pinches his nose and sighs. they should have known.

#look i do not believe that hawkins is the only place with department of energy fuckery #they took so many samples of the upside down #of course they would try to reserve engineer some eldritch monstrosities for cold war purposes #stranger things #stranger things hc #stranger things headcanons #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #steve x eddie #steve harrington x eddie munson

[gotham-ruaidh]

Truth to Triumph

Previously…

Chapter 16: The Truth

September 30, 1904

Excerpt from the July 2, 1904 edition of “Fire and Water Engineering.” Even from the very beginning of the investigation into the Slocum tragedy, many knew that the Knickerbocker Steamship Company - which owned and operated the Slocum - was unlikely to be held fully accountable for the disaster.

--

“Are you sure you don’t want anything else?”

 Mary Hawkins Randall smiled thinly. “No, Mrs. Beauchamp – you’ve shown so much kindness to me already, after I intruded on you so unexpectedly.”

 Julia patted Mary’s hand, wrapped around a large ceramic mug of tea. “Nonsense. I know it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, but I hope you know that you’re always welcome here.”

 “Mama and Mary’s mother, Anne Grant, grew up together,” Claire explained, clasping Jamie’s hand beneath the long dining table.

 “Her father sold shoes to my father’s department store.” Julia pushed a fresh mug of tea to Mary. “Anne always had the cast-offs – it was great fun to visit their house and play dress-up.”

 “I can’t believe it’s been eight years already since we lost her.” Mary sipped her tea; the thin gold band of her wedding ring glinted in the dim light. “Between looking after Papa, and then the whirlwind of my marriage to Jack…”

 Jamie threaded his fingers through Claire’s, soothing her suddenly clammy hand with his thumb.

 Henry Beauchamp folded his hands on table. “Joe will be here any minute. You won’t need to wait much longer. I’ll say it to you again, Mary – you’re doing the right thing. You’re very brave.”

 “Am I?” She pursed her lips. “To come to your home, unannounced, while my husband is out God knows where and my family is up in Newport, to avoid the shame of showing their faces in polite society?”

 “As I said earlier, we don’t need to print your name in the paper. Mr. Pulitzer will understand.” Jamie rolled a pencil back and forth on the shiny mahogany table.

 “I have nothing to lose.” Mary’s voice was strong, yet it sounded very far away. So full of sorrow. “My marriage is a sham. My family and my husband’s family are crooks and cheaters. They’re the ones responsible for the Slocum disaster. All those people…”

 This time, the three raps at the door were met with great relief.

 Henry rose without a word and disappeared into the entryway.

 Claire straightened up a bit in her chair. “Is Jack not in Newport with his family?”

 “He hasn’t been home in two days. He’s done this before – stayed at his lady’s place over on Pearl Street.”

 The fact that she shared this terrible secret so matter-of-factly told Claire everything she needed to know.

 “I’m sorry.”

 Mary’s beautiful blue eyes suddenly became weary. “The last time he was home, he was ranting about you, Claire. How alluring you are. How he regrets.”

 Claire swallowed. “Regrets what?”

 Footsteps in the hallway – then Henry returned, a tall black man beside him.

 “Mary – this is Joe Abernathy. He’s our attorney and a long-time family friend.”

 “Mary,” Joe nodded, then came around the table to kiss Claire and Julia hello.

 Jamie rose, extending one hand. “Pleasure to finally meet you, Joe.”

 Joe smiled. “Oh son – the pleasure is all mine. You’ve been doing God’s work with your articles.” He settled into the chair beside Jamie and across from Mary. “And I understand that that’s part of the reason why I’m here tonight.”

 Mary finished her tea and pushed the mug to one side. When she spoke, her voice was strong and clear.

 “I can furnish evidence that both Wentworth Industries and The Fort William Company knew about safety concerns with the Slocum, and did nothing to remediate those concerns. In short, that they can and should be held accountable for the disaster.”

 “And my understanding is that those companies are led by your father and your father-in-law. Is that correct?”

 “It is.”

 “And why would you speak out against them?”

 Mary briefly turned away to rummage in her satchel. “Because they are bad men. Because their negligence led to the deaths of more than a thousand innocents.”

 She pushed a folder across the table.

 “Because I’m the only one who can make this right.”

 Joe opened the folder, pushing it a bit closer to Jamie so that they could examine the contents together.

 “It’s all there.” Mary closed her eyes. “Memoranda on company letterhead. Letters from captains of Knickerbocker-owned ships asking for new life vests and lifeboats. Handwritten notes of conversations that took place in Wentworth’s offices.”

 Jamie held up an invoice. “The Slocum had an accident last year?”

 Mary sighed. “It did. Tugboat crash down in the Buttermilk Channel. Damaged the rear – she took on a lot of water. One of Randall’s friends owns a small shipyard down in Red Hook – he did all the repairs. Kept it quiet.”

 Joe scribbled on his notepad. “And let me guess – it was never reported to the city.”

 “Of course not. They couldn’t risk losing their license.”

 Jamie sifted through the papers. “Holy God.”

 “What?”

 He turned to Claire, then Joe. “Here’s a letter from the shipyard owner, asking whether Randall was sure he didn’t want, quote, ‘the waterlogged life vests to be replaced.’”

 “Those bastards knew the safety equipment was damaged,” Julia seethed.

 Claire’s hand flew to her mouth. “No wonder my patients told me the life vests had disintegrated in their hands.”

 “It’s not quite the smoking gun, but this should be plenty to start with for a criminal negligence suit.” Joe turned to Jamie. “How much of this do you want to print?”

 “As much as I can,” Jamie replied cautiously. “Whatever Mary will allow. All anonymously sourced, of course.”

 “It’s all yours.” Mary held her face in her hands, drained of all energy and vitality. “I don’t want it anymore. I’m done with all of them. Done with that life.”

 Joe darted a glance at Henry, who nodded. “Mary – do you need a divorce attorney?”

 His voice was so gentle.

 Mary covered her face.

 Immediately Claire rose, rounded the table, and took the younger woman into her arms, her thin frame shaking with silent sobs.

 “Sshh,” Claire soothed, meeting Jamie’s worried gaze. “You’re doing the right thing, Mary.”

 “Am I?” Mary sniffed. “I’m so ashamed.”

 “There’s absolutely nothing to be ashamed about, Mary.”

 Mary hiccupped. “Oh, Claire – you were the only woman who ever got away from Jack. I knew you’d understand.”

 Now Julia stood beside Claire and Mary, gently helping Mary to her feet. “Let’s get you to bed upstairs – will you men be all right down here?”

 “More than all right,” Jamie replied. Claire gave him a thin smile before helping her mother get Mary up and out of the room.

 Jamie stood. “I need to call Mr. Pulitzer. Joe – if Henry gets us some food, are you ready to settle in for some work?”

 “We’ve got some roast beef in the pantry,” Henry offered.

 Joe cracked his knuckles. “Gentlemen – this is gonna be big.”

#outlander #outlander fanfic #truth to triumph #jamie and clairee

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

S.T REWRITE - S1:E7; Chapter Seven, The Bathtub - [Pt. 2]

A Will Byers x Reader Series

While on the run, Y/n uncovers a startling truth. Eleven struggles to contact Will and the party joins forces with Joyce and Hopper.

{Edited on 2/21/19}

Warnings: Cursing, mentions of blood I THINK??? Slightly out of character El.

||Reader's POV||

It felt like hours, but we finally made it to the safety of the junkyard. Mike and El had just stopped and dismount the bike just up ahead. Lucas and I were side by side with Dustin and soon enough we were all on the grass catching our breath.

I never realized just how drained I felt until I got off the bike. Rather than risk any other injuries I collapsed to my knees to catch my breath.

"Holy... Holy shit!" Dustin rambled excitedly. "Did... did you what she did to that van?"

Annoyed, Mike looked to Dustin and spoke in labored breaths. "No, Dustin, we missed it."

Despite my aching lungs, a laugh escaped me.

"I mean that was..."

"Awesome." Lucas cut in, panting.

He looked to El who was also sat on the grass, completely spent. Exhausted from recent events my energy was draining fast, but I was awake enough to make the connection that she must be exhausted from using her powers.

Lucas continued, but kept his eyes only on El, communicating it was her he was addressing.

"It was awesome."

He hobbled over to her and knelt down to her eye level.

My head begins to bob, much like one might do when they start to fall asleep sitting up. Regardless, I strained myself to stay awake, wanting to hear what Lucas had to say.

"Everything I said about you being a traitor and stuff... I was wrong." He gestured to himself and his eyes showed nothing but remorse.

I smiled warmly, thrilled to see him making amends. My eyelids were getting heavy and my head kept falling. It was getting harder and harder to stay awake.

There was a brief silence and El looked surprised.

"I'm sorry." He said.

He then brought a hand up to her and placed it on her back as a sign of comfort and genuine honesty.

Tearfully, El spoke. "Friends... friends don't lie. I'm sorry, too."

"Me, too," Mike spoke up.

We all looked to Mike to see him extending his hand out to Lucas.

It is then when I notice that the world around me begins to spin, and the last thing I see before everything goes black is Lucas and Mike shaking hands.

||3rd Person POV||

The children turned their heads at the sound of a dull thud. The young Henderson girl had collapsed and lay unconscious in the grass.

"[Y/N]!"

"Shit, what happened?" Dustin exclaimed, rushing to his sister's side.

The rest soon followed and they all surrounded the young girl.

"I-I don't know! She must have fainted." Said Lucas, in a confused tone.

Upon closer examination, the kids could see that their friend had lost a lot of color in her face. Only El seemed to notice the very thin, very subtle veins that were spread across her eyelids and the corner of her lips as if roots were sprouting from within her.

"What's wrong with her?" Mike asked worriedly.

"Shit, it might be her head. Do you think?" Dustin asked, looking to Mike.

"Oh man, probably.

"Wait, what?" Lucas asked taken aback.

Dustin and Mike were quick to gently lift her head and Dustin had taken off his jacket to fold up and put under the girls head. The two become angered by the memory.

The boys filled their friend in on the terrifying events that only happened earlier and how El found them and saved the day and Lucas felt himself growing more angered with every word. And all the more guilty for splitting up.

||Reader's POV||

I heard the scattered voices of my friends as I came to. I let out a soft moan.

"You guys better not be fighting," I mumble weakly, only half joking.

"[Y/N]! Jesus, what happened? Are you okay?" Dustin asked.

My eyes fluttered open and I look around seeing that I am surrounded by very concerned but relieved looking friends.

"Ugh, I don't know. But I'm, alright now. I think I overdid myself back there."

Lucas and Mike each grabbed my hands and helped me sit up slowly.

I mumble thanks as a tug my legs under myself and begin running the back of my head.

They told me I had only been out for a minute or two, and as I listen, my fingers graze the back of my head and I frown in confusion.

"Are you sure your okay?" Lucas asked.

I nod my head yes, a slight frown still on my face as I continue to rub my fingers across the back of my head.

"No, yeah, I'm fine. Listen, don't worry about me. We don't have time to."

I hesitate to tell them what had happened when I had gotten separated. The bad men were probably still out there looking for us. The thought frightened me deeply. Even more so than it had before. If they were this determined to get El, then why wouldn't they want me?

Mike sighs and speaks with a hint of hesitation. "As bad as it sounds, I think she's right. The bad men are probably still looking for us. If they didn't know before that El is with us, they do now. Lucas, did you by chance find anything when we split up?" He asked tepidly.

We all look to him expectantly, and he looks at each of us before nodding his head in confirmation.

"Yeah. I found it. I think I might have found the gate."

+ + +

The five of us not sat in a circle surrounding a makeshift map that Lucas had made out a bunch of sticks and a plank of wood.

"This is Randolph Road, right here." With one stick in hand, he drew a straight line next to the plank of wood that was apart of the map.

"The fence starts here," he brought the stick to the top of the plank. "and goes all the way around." The stick he held circles the makeshift shape on the map.

He grabs the empty soda can that he found nearby and places it inside the odd shape.

"And this is the lab right here. The gate's gotta be in there somewhere. It's gotta be."

"Well, who owns Hawkins Lab?" Dustin asked confused.

"The sign says 'Department of Energy.'"

"Department of Energy? What do you think that means?" Dustin asks aloud to the group.

"It means government. Military."

A pit begins forming in my stomach. I shift uncomfortably as I continue listening in silence.

"Then why does it say 'Energy'?"

"Just trust me, all right? It's military. My dad told me before." Mike says growing impatient.

"Mike's right. There's soldiers out front."

The all-too-familiar flutter in my stomach picks up again and I know that I'm beginning to have anxiety.

"Do they make, like, lightbulbs or something."

"Enough with the energy thing, Dustin. They just said, it means military." I say impatiently.

"No, they make weapons to fight the Russians, and the commies and stuff." Mike finishes.

"Weapons," Lucas concludes.

That word triggers something in me. My eyes instinctively flicker to El and I gulp when I sense the same uncertainty in her as I feel.

Was she made to be a weapon?

Was... Was I?

I'm still finding it incredibly hard to believe what had happened only earlier today. I had no idea I was capable of such things.

I'm pulled from my thoughts when I hear Dustin speak up.

"Oh, Jesus, this is bad."

"Really bad. The place is like a fortress."

"Well, what do we do?"

I frown once more when I hear a strange noise.

"I don't know, but we can't go home. We're fugitives now."

Suddenly the noise grows louder and I turn to look over my shoulder when I see the source of the noise.

"Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Guys!" I speak up.

They all turn to look up where I am and we all see the helicopter slowly approaching us from the distance.

"We gotta hide!" I say frantically jumping up to my feet.

Consequently, the world begins to spin again and I clutch my head in my spout of dizziness.

"Shit." I hiss, internally scolding myself for giving myself a head rush.

"The bus, we-we got to hide in there. Quick, everyone, get the bikes underneath!" I point to the rusty red bus that was only a few feet from us.

We all scrambled for the bikes and began hastily shoving them under the bus.

"It's stuck."

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

Dustin's bike was caught on something that wouldn't let it go under and I drove to my knees and gave one final push and bike slid under.

"Come on!" I grabbed my brother's hand and dragged him with me as I followed Lucas and the others onto the bus.

"Get down!" Lucas called to us as we dove down onto the floor of the bus, each of us taking shelter behind some sort of obstruction behind the seats.

I was panting heavily, fearful for the life of my friends and my own. All we could do was sit and listen to the sounds of the helicopter circle up ahead.

"Mental." Dustin breathes, causing me to look at him frustrated at his timing.

+ + +

We all sit there in silence, nothing but the sound of the helicopter whirring overhead can be heard. My back was against one of the seats, I had my arms around my knees as I sat next to El. I nearly jump in fear when I hear the sound of the comm come to life from Mike's backpack.

"Mike, are you there? Mike?"

It sounded like Nancy.

What could she be doing with a comm?

Wait where did she get one?

"Is that yours, Mike?" I ask, gesturing to his backpack that lay a few feet away.

"Mike, it's me, Nancy."

He scrambles over to the backpack and hastily unzips it.

"Mike, are you there?" She sounded worried. "Answer."

We each scrambled over to surround Mike and we watched to see what Nancy wanted. Mike finally retrieves the device and holds it up for all of us to hear it clearly.

"Mike, we need you to answer."

"Is that your sister?" Lucas asks disbelievingly.

"This is an emergency, Mike. Do you copy? Mike, do you copy?"

"Okay, this is really weird," Dustin says.

"No kidding," I mumble.

Lucas goes to grand the device but Mike is quick to get it back.

"Don't answer."

"She said it was an emergency."

"What if it's a trick?" Mike fires back.

I look to El and then Dustin.

I hadn't even thought of that.

"It's your sister!" Lucas exclaimed.

"What if the bad people kidnapped her? What if they're forcing her to say this?"

"I need you to answer." Nancy's voice crackled over the comms.

"It's like Lando Calrissian. Don't answer."

I begin rubbing the bridge of my nose trying to keep my nerves in check.

"We need to know that you're out there, Mike."

Suddenly, the device crackles and a new, deeper voice begins speaking.

"Listen, kid, this is the chief. If you're there, pick up. We know you're in trouble and we know about the girl."

We all share a shocked, and concerned look.

"Why is she with the chief? You don't think he's in on it, do you?" I ask worriedly.

"I... I don't know." We all looked back to the super comm unsure.

"And how the hell does he know about..." we all slowly look to El who begins to shrink into herself.

This only makes me grow more nervous. That man already saw what I can do. If he wants her as some sort of weapon or something, I don't know why he wouldn't want me.

The thought sends a shiver down my spine that thankfully goes unnoticed.

The chief continues, pulling me from my thoughts.

"We can protect you, we can help you, but you gotta pick up. Are you there? Do you copy? Over."

We all look at each other, silently deciding and encouraging Mike to answer.

"Yeah, I copy. It's Mike. I'm here. We're here."

+ + +

It's been almost 30 minutes now. We gave the chief our location and every minute that has passed by feels like an eternity. Mike and Lucas each occupied a seat, half of them were gone and the ones that did remain were either pushed up against the side of the wall or falling apart. Or both. El and I shared a seat. Reluctantly, I laid my head on her shoulder, still tired from today's events. I was worried she might be weirded out, and she seemed taken aback but nevertheless, she welcomed it.

I think both of us have lacked a proper female friend and now we are that for each other and we are able to be comfortable around one another. It's nice.

Hesitation in her movements, as if not sure if that's what is expected, she slowly brings her head to rest on mine and we sit there comfortably and watch Dustin pace the bus back and forth.

I shared Dustin's nervousness, but for a completely different reason of course. My nerves were showing themselves through my leg as it bounced up and down rapidly.

I had been debating with myself on how or even if I should tell them what happened. What if, by telling them, I was putting them in danger? Or have I already put them in danger by being with them?

Clearly, Dustin's actions were getting to Mike.

"Will you stop pacing?" He asked frustrated.

He stopped and turned to face us all.

"It's been way too long. Do you know what? Maybe you're right. Maybe this is all a trap and the bad men are coming to get us right now!" He gestured wildly and he had picked up pacing once more.

"It's not a trap." Lucas snaps. "Why would the chief set us up? Nancy, maybe, but the chief?"

The comment about Nancy had not gone unnoticed and I saw out of the corner of my eye, Mike throws his hands up in disbelief, making a face at Lucas.

I chuckle slightly at this.

"Lando Calrissian." Dustin offers at the mention of the chief.

"Would you shut up about Lando?" Lucas shouts, frustrated.

"I don't feel good about this. I don't feel good about this!"

"When do you feel good about anything?"

"I don't feel good about this either, guys." I croak.

All attention is on me now, and my heart is pounding. I don't why I'm afraid to admit it, I've only known about it for barely half an hour. I guess it makes everything real.

I take a deep breath and I sit up, causing El to move her hair and look at me. So do the others.

"Something happened back there guys. Something... something I can't explain."

My hands are in my lap and I watch my fingers fidget with my thumbs.

I take another deep breath to speak and before the words can leave my lips we all immediately whip our heads around when we hear the sounds of an approaching vehicle.

Suddenly, we all get the same thought and run towards the front of the bus to see if it's the chief. Sadly, we don't recognize any of the vehicles, multiple had pulled up and were now surround the bus.

"Shit!" Dustin exclaimed.

Terrified, I grab El's hand and bring her to the back of the bus with me. She, well, now, both of us I guess, have the biggest targets on our backs and we all need to hide.

"Go, go, go, go," Mike orders frantically.

Each if scramble to the back of the bus and take shelter behind the seats.

"Lando," Dustin states firmly.

"Dustin!" I say angrily grabbing his attention. "Read. The. Room." I growl through clenched teeth.

"You think they saw us?" Lucas asked frightfully.

"All of you, shut up," Mike states in a firm whisper.

I hear footsteps growing closer and closer to the bus, worried that if our bikes didn't give us away, the sound of my heart beating violently in my chest will.

Unable to tear my eyes away from the door at the sound and sight of it being pushed open, I huddle closer to El and she does the same.

I catch a quick glimpse of a stranger's face before it is suddenly knocked into the door and I hear a body collapse.

Gasping, my hold on El only grows stronger.

We all jump when we hear a distant voice begin to shout.

"Hey!"

The next thing we hear I can only guess to be punching followed by many strange thumps.

"What the--" another voice calls.

Another thump.

The loud sound of something hitting metal accompanied the subtle sway of the bus. I fight not to jump with every sound.

The door creaks again and we all stare ahead terrified. Suddenly, we all simultaneously rise to our feet when we see none other than Hawkins Chief of police, Jim Hopper standing before us, out of breath.

"All right, let's go."

I jump to my feet, not wanting to sit in this bus as a waiting duck a second longer, I grab my jacket and stride up to the front of the bus.

Before I am able to stop myself I hug the large man who had saved me and my friends from what could have been an unimaginable fate.

"Thank you," I mumble.

Taken aback, he stands there for a short moment, processing what is happening and then I feel a hesitant pat on the back.

"Sure thing, kid. Now come on, we gotta go," I release him and practically leap out of the bus and then I hear him raise his voice.

"I said, we gotta go!" I looked back to see him addressing my friends and then I see them all file out of the bus immediately.

Where we were going next, I had no idea.

+++

Tag List: @fuckwaad @aimee-lucass @iblesstherainsdown-in-africa@miscellaneoustoasts

DM me if you want to be added!

#stranger things #stranger things rewrite #will byers x reader #finn wolfhard #noah schnapp #will byers #will byers x you #caleb mclaughlin #gaten matarazzo #reader insert #mike wheeler #millie bobby brown #dustin henderson #eleven #lucas sinclair #rewrite #011 #stranger things imagine #you #jane hopper #stranger things reader insert #chapter seven #chapter seven the bathtub #chapter seven the bathtub pt. 2

[forhelvede]

Where the Storm Meets the Ground Ch. 6

In which I try my hand at cutesy stuff.

Chapter 6- The Promise

The drive to the hospital took forever. Or at least, that’s how it felt to Laurie. She held onto Alexei’s hands as tightly as she could without breaking it and found comfort in the knowledge that he was still holding onto her, still looking into her eyes as he fought to stay awake.

Joyce sped through the parking lot and pulling to a screeching stop in front of the emergency room door. Murray pushed opened the car door and ran to find a doctor while Jim helped Laurie carefully get Alexei out of the backseat.

They helped the hurt man up to the door where they were met by a nurse with a stretcher. Jim grabs Alexei’s legs as the man sits on the stretcher. Jim swings his legs up on the stretcher and backs off as the nurse and another doctor start to push it inside. Laurie turns to the trio.

“You three go. I’ll stay with Alexei,” Laurie ordered.

“Lore, Murray should stay,” Jim argued.

Laurie shook her head. “I’m FBI. I can translate and I’ll keep an eye on him and make sure no more Russians come for him. He told Murray everything you need to know, so Murray goes with you. Now go! You don’t have time for this!” she yelled. She gave Jim a quick hug and then headed off into the hospital after Alexei.

She caught up with the nurse and doctor, who had already cut off Alexei’s shirt and were starting to put an IV in. “I’m Special Agent Laurie Miller. He doesn’t speak English,” she explained as they tried to talk to Alexei and ask him what happened. Laurie pulled out her badge to show them. “I’m with the FBI. This man is.... he’s my partner. He was shot twice in the heart, but was wearing a vest.”

The Doctor nodded. “Tell him we’ll take care of him. We’re going to have to take him into surgery to stop the bleeding.”

Laurie leaned over Alexei’s face. “You’re going to be okay. Just be calm. I’ll see you when you get out. I’ll be here,” she whispered, gently caressing his forehead again.

“Promise?” he asked, staring up at her weakly.

“I Promise, Alyosha.” She kissed his forehead and then stepped back, tears pricking her eyes as they wheeled him away to take him to surgery.

Laurie quietly followed a nurse to the waiting room. She took a seat and began impatiently waiting. She worried about Alexei and she worried about Jim. What if the trio weren’t able to get into the bunker? What if they did need her help?

Unable to sit still, Laurie stood and began to pace around the waiting room, wringing her hands together. She was normally a fairly calm person. She had been in a shootout before and kept her cool.

So why was she so freaked out about Alexei? She barely knew the guy.

And yet she was here, pacing a hospital waiting room, terrified she might never see the young Russian man again.

Taking a deep breath, Laurie sat down again and putting her heads between her knees, she took several more deep breaths and let them out. After a few minutes of this, she felt calmer. Her heart beat slowed back to normal and head became clear again.

Jim could be trusted. Murray…probably in this case was going to do what he had to. Everything was going to be okay. And Alexei was going to live.

He was. He had to.

Laurie suddenly realized she hadn’t called in to her boss all day. Dreading it, but knowing it had to be done, she headed for a payphone and dialed her boss back in St. Louis. Adam James was a bitch of a human being, but who in his position wasn’t? Laurie didn’t know a single department head in the FBI that was nice.

“Do you fucking know what time it is?” he cussed once she identified herself.

“I’m very aware, sir. But I haven’t called in…”

“No, you fucking haven’t. You better have a fucking good reason why.”

“It’s been a very quick series of events and lots of driving.” Laurie took a deep breath and began explaining, starting with arriving at Murray’s and finding Alexei and getting all the way up to Alexei getting shot. She left out some of the weird stuff regarding another dimension. Adam, to his credit, listened quietly to the entire story.

“And you promised him he could be a citizen if he helped?”

“I promised him I’d help him defect if he helped, which he did.”

“Sounds like he got himself shot to me.”

An uncomfortable feeling grew in Laurie’s gut. She gulped nervously. “If he hadn’t given Chief Hopper the information, they wouldn’t have even known there was a secret Russian bunker underneath the fucking mall in Hawkins!” Laurie knew getting angry wouldn’t help, but God damn if she wasn’t going to fight for Alexei. He had helped.

“Don’t you fucking yell at me, Miller. You’re on thin fucking ice.”

Gritting her teeth and grimacing as much as she could without causing herself physical pain, Laurie held the phone away from her face and silently grumbled at the pay phone. She took a deep breath and then brought the phone back to her ear. “Sorry, sir. What I mean, is that Dr. Alexei has provided us with priceless information that has led to uncovering a dangerous Russian mission here on U.S. soil.”

“And is the fucking Hawkins Police Department the only law enforcement involved in this?” he questioned.

“No, sir.” Laurie grimaced again, knowing what was coming next. “The Department of Energy is also involved?”

“The Department of-…are you fucking kidding me? You disturbed me at eleven o’clock on fucking Fourth of July to tell me that the fucking Department of Energy and Hawkins fucking Police Department are fucking uncovering a goddamn Russian plot to infiltrate and destroy our country?”

Well, when you say it that way…, Laurie thought. “Um, I suppose so, sir. The FBI was also involved, too, you know…because of me. But yes…the Department of Energy.” She went quiet as her boss began screaming nonsense on the other end of the phone.

She was definitely not getting a promotion.

“Who-the fuck- at the Department of Energy is involved in this shit show, exactly? Or do you not know that?”

“That would be Dr. Sam Owens, sir.”

Adam breathed heavily, and quite angrily, into the phone. “I want you back in St. Louis first thing in the morning and I want that Russian deported. Call the Indy office now and let them know.”

“Sir!” Laurie protested.

“This is bullshit, Miller. None of this sounds legitimate. You are being played. Congratulations.” He went quiet for a moment as the anger and embarrassment began to fill Laurie. “I thought you were a better agent than this.”

A dial tone quickly followed his insult. Laurie stood there for a moment with the phone still at her ear, the familiar horrible feeling of sadness that was welling up in her chest. With a sob, Laurie slammed the phone back on the receiver and went back to where she was sitting.

This was why she hadn’t called anyone earlier. There was no way that the FBI would believe any of this was happening and they wouldn’t have acted soon enough.

If she didn’t go back to St. Louis in the morning, if she didn’t contact the Indianapolis FBI to tell them to get Alexei deported, she would most certainly not get the promotion and she very well might get fired. If she tried to wait to get information from this Dr. Owens, to get proof, she would likely still get in trouble at work.

What was she supposed to do? The FBI had been her life for fourteen years. What would she do if she lost her job or got demoted? A few more years and she could retire.

But Alexei…

If she had the FBI deport him, Alexei was certainly dead. The Russian government had already tried to kill him once. He needed to be protected.

He needed to stay.

“FUCK!” Laurie yelled, standing up from the seat to scream down at the floor.

“Excuse me!” A receptionist snapped at Laurie. “This is a quiet place!”

She threw her hands up at the woman and sat back down, putting her head in her hands. This was an impossible situation. Potentially lose her job (or worse. What if Adam accused her of working with the Russians?) or get Alexei killed.

What a choice.

Laurie crossed her arms and leaned her head back, squeezing her eyes shut. Before she knew it, she had nodded off, waking suddenly when someone lightly touched her arm. Laurie startled, grabbing the arm of the person who had touched her.

“Sorry,” she apologized when she realized it was just the doctor.

He frowned, but nodded. “Your friend is out of surgery and he’s doing well. Part of his sternum broke off with the force of the bullets and embedded into this heart, causing the internal bleeding you saw. Luckily, it wasn’t in there too far and we were able to remove the broken bone pieces, stop the bleeding, and seal it all up. We’ll want to keep him for a few days, but he should be okay.”

Laurie let out a breath that she didn’t realize she was holding. “Thank you. Can I see him?”

The Doctor nodded and gestured for her to follow him. Laurie walked down the white hospital halls, her mind still trying to come out with a way she could keep Alexei in the country and keep her job.

They finally came to the room that Alexei was in and Laurie stood in the doorway, taking a few deep breaths. There was no reason she had to tell Alexei anything right now.

The Russian was still unconscious, unsurprisingly. Laurie walked up to the side of the bed and took his hand in her own, squeezing gently. She stared down at his face. He looked different without his glasses. He was still handsome, for sure, but the boyish charm was missing. There was some more mature about him without the glasses. Something harder now.

She didn’t like it.

Laurie found his glasses on the side table and quickly put them on.

There. That was Alexei.

With her free hand, Laurie reached up and ran her hands through his hair. After watching him for a minute, she reluctantly pulled her hands away from him. She grabbed the nearby chair and pulled it right up to the bed. Grabbing his hand once again, Laurie then laid her head on the bed next to his arm, closed her eyes, and drifted off again.

Her dreams were not good.

She dreamt that Alexei had never put on the vest and that she had found him, after wandering a packed fair for what felt like hours, bleeding on the ground, everyone just wandering around him, ignoring him. And no matter how hard she fought through the crowd, she could never get to Alexei. Never touch him.

Never save him.

Once again, Laurie jerked awake. She checked all of Alexei’s machines, making sure he was still alive and breathing, before she sighed in relief. He was okay.

She stood up again, unable to stop herself, and leaned over Alexei to kiss his forehead, tears welling up in her eyes.

How could she possibly choose her job over him? She had only known him for a day and yet the idea of being selfish and saving her job made her feel like a traitor.

“Why do you cry, lyubimaya?” a croaky voice asked. She felt a weak hand touch her head and Laurie gasped as she moved back from Alexei’s face.

“Alyosha!” she called out, tears now spilling down her cheeks. “You’re awake!” She pressed soft kisses all over his forehead and cheeks.

“I am fine?” he said. Laurie wasn’t entirely sure it was a question or a statement.

“The Doctor said your sternum was broken and some pieces went into your heart, so there was bleeding, but it’s okay now! You’re going to be fine,” she said, lowering her voice as she realized she was almost yelling into the poor man’s face.

Alexei smiled up at her, though slightly weakly, which made her smile even bigger. “You stayed.” He ran a finger down the side of her face.

“I promised,” she whispered as she leaned down over him, their noses touching, lips just inches apart. “I promised.”

#Stranger Things Season 3 #Alexei #Dr Alexei #Dr. Alexei #Jim Hopper #joyce byers #Murray Bauman #Where the Storm Meets the Ground Fanfic #Fanfic #ST 3

[lollercakesff]

the kid

pt 13 | AO3

It’s less than a week after their conversation in his truck that Hopper sees Joyce with Sherry Lawson, a realtor that he’d bedded soon after moving back to Hawkins. The understanding stings and instead of acknowledging them, of walking over and saying hello as he would usually do, he ducks his head and takes his lunch to go without a word.

Hurt and misery flows in his veins for the rest of the day, his mood soured at the obvious rejection of what he’d thought had been an understood middle ground. The way she’d left had given him hope, had let him believe that maybe his feelings were returned, but seeing that she was going through with the move made him ache in a way he hadn’t expected.

So he took his lunch and hid out in his office, calling Cindy at the library to request she start pulling records from the clippings about anything that had to do with Hawkins Lab or MKUltra. It’s a shitty thing to do, to give her all that work, but he doesn’t have it in him to go sit somewhere where Joyce or Bob or one of the kids could come in and make him have to face up to reality.

He picks up the printing on the way back home that night, bringing Cindy an apple as a peace offering and shrinking from her reach as she attempts to smack his shoulder. Promising not to do it again, he lets her kick him out and lock up the front doors without a goodbye, leaving him to carry the binders of photocopies back to his truck in two trips.

Back at the cabin, El recognizes something is wrong. She can sense it like a bad smell, brow furrowing and voice softening as she helps him retrieve the last of the binders from the front seat. Neither of them talk much as they prepare dinner. Instead they focus on the ingredients, Hopper working from a memory of his mother’s recipe as he guides El on preparing the perfect mac and cheese.

“Comfort food,” he grumbles when she looks into the pot quizzically.

“What does that mean?” She questions, slipping back to the table and lifting the cover of one of the binders.

“It’s food you make when you’ve had a bad day. When you want to feel better, I guess,” he replies with a shrug of his shoulders, stirring as she starts paging through the sheets of paper.

“Why are you sad?” Looking towards her, he shakes his head and mumbles under his breath, her attention peaking at the dismissal. “We don’t lie,” she reminds him lightly, catching his eye with a gentle smile.

“Right. I just had a rough day is all. It’s nothing for you to worry about though, I promise,” he says as he tries to reassure her. He couldn’t let this get in the way of finding her family - that was the priority and the rest was just inconvenient timing.

“Hopper.”

“Seriously kid, it’s just some personal issues. An old friend is - “

“No! Hopper - it’s… I think this is Mama?” She lifts the binder so that he can see the page, her face stark white as she watches him. Abandoning the stove, he quickly steps closer and grabs the binder from her to read through the article.

‘Local Woman Sues Department of Energy’ reads the headline, the story going into depth on the case of Terry Ives who believes her daughter was stolen by a man working at Hawkins Lab named Doctor Martin Brenner. The further the story gets, the more ridiculous the claim becomes until Hopper remembers just who El was and the abilities that she’d already shown him. It was no time to write off illogical facts as falsifications - even the most radical of stories should be given fair reasoning with the change in reality as he knew it.

“Are you sure this is her? Are you Jane Ives?” Hopper asks with wide eyes, the smell of the mac and cheese starting to burn distracting him from her shocked expression.

“I don’t know,” she states and pulls the binder out of his hands so he can take the pot off of the burner. Leaving it on the stove, he leans against the counter and rubs his face brusquely as he tries to get his bearings.

“What do you mean you don’t know? She’s your mother,” he mumbles from behind his hands, glancing at her with a pained expression.

“I don’t - I didn’t know her.” Surprise rises through him and when he looks at her - really looks this time - she’s staring at the picture and running her finger over the image with a gentleness beyond her years. “I only saw her in the dark place. And she always disappeared. They hurt her. I saw that.”

An unbearable anger threads into his mind then, the recognition that not only was she deprived of something so basic but that this search may end with no place for her to belong. The article was almost a decade old, if her mother was still alive there was no telling how she would receive El - Jane - after all this time.

The rest of the evening goes by in a blur, the meal not destroyed but certainly of little comfort to him or the kid as they eat it in silence. Afterwards Hopper focuses on the binders until the early hours of the morning, following the trail of Terry Ives and her quest for justice.

With minimal sleep and the unprocessed frustration from the day prior, he heads into work and snaps at his deputies enough that it causes Flo to send him home, “Your bad mood can’t stay today, go sleep it off Chief,” she chastises as she drops his keys on the desk, shaking her head and leaving without a goodbye.

It was just as well that he leave, his attention split between two things that wanted more than he could give. One part Joyce, one part El. Neither of the women who a year ago were more than just figments to him as he was floating and lost in his own deep abyss.

The same distraction that frazzled him at the station followed him to the gates of Hawkins National Laboratory, the security guard giving him a quick once over before turning him away at the entrance. Pissed off and unwilling to take anymore roadblocks, he parks his truck off the side of the highway and grabs his bolt cutters from behind the front seat. Hiking through the thinning brush takes time but he makes it to the fence eventually with a sheen of sweat on his forehead. Clipping through the cheap fencing he squeezes past the hole and creeps his way up to the edge of the building as the sun starts to lower behind the treeline.

Somehow he makes it inside, ducking past the exterior guards and feeling like it’s a cakewalk to make it through somewhere with the military presence of the base where he’d gone through basic. Instinct drives him through the hallways as he wanders around, grabbing a lab coat from an abandoned office and noting down mentally the twists and turns that take him to places of interest. With no direction or knowledge of where he’s going, Hopper determines the best plan is to take the building floor by floor and soak up as much of the layout as he can.

He’s travelled the floorplans of at least the third floor before a guard finally takes notice of him, calling for him to stop before he takes off at a jog towards the elevator. The doors close just before they can stop him and for a moment, huffing and puffing in the corner of the metal box, he thinks he might be able to get away. But then the doors open on the sixth floor and the waiting soldier takes one look at him and butts the handle of his rifle against his skull.

Hopper wakes up later that evening in his trailer, covered in sweat and floundering in his own filth. It takes him a minute to realize where he is, so accustomed now to waking up in the cabin with the smell of the fireplace to greet him that he can’t place himself and it causes a panic to release into his veins.

Sitting up with a groan as his head spins, Hopper touches his fingers to his head and hisses at the sharp pain that spikes. “Motherfucking asshole,” he growls, leaning forward to avoid the way his head spins. It’s then he notices the pills and beer cans scattered across his table, their obvious presence looking staged. That part hadn’t been him - someone else had made it look like if he didn’t wake up it was an overdose.

The realization forces him to his feet and makes the room swoop and unbalance. He takes it slower as he stumbles around the space and tries to find his keys and wallet. If nothing else he was late for dinner and the kid wouldn’t appreciate that - not after all the progress they’d made in the last while. She couldn’t find out he’d gone to the lab. There’d be too many questions and he wasn’t prepared to answer them just yet. He had to go back and try again, if only to see if there were any other kids they had trapped behind those walls.

“Hopper!” The knock on the door is sharp, the voice accompanying it bringing a heavy dread into his gut. He couldn’t deal with Joyce now. Not when his head hurt like he’d been hit by an axe and with his emotions still raw. He needed at least a week. A month. Forever, before he could have this conversation with her.

Doing the only thing he can think of, he drops to the floor defensively and hides behind the couch, out of sight from the windows that he knows she could reach from the porch. She shouts and knocks a few more times before swearing at him, telling him she knows he’s home because his damn truck is in the driveway. “If you don’t open this damn door Hop, I will make you rue the day!”

He stays put like the chicken he is, curling up and closing his eyes until the room stops spinning and the painful light eases from his vision. Eventually she leaves, her car starting up and peeling down his driveway at a quick pace that’s audible with the way the gravel spits up behind her.

When he does finally get to the cabin El gives him the cold shoulder, at least until she catches sight of the darkening bruise along his temple, the one just barely visible against his hairline. She stops tuning him out then and offers to take care of the dishes, giving him a wide berth until it’s time for both of them to turn in for the night.

#the kid #el and hop #stranger things fanfiction #jopper #jopper fic

[letmeletmetrashyourlove]

That Damn Smirk

Summary: Male reader moved to Hawkins from New Orleans. He get’s an odd sense about this town... then he meets Billy Hargrove. 

Author’s Note: I sat down and wrote this in about an hour which is rare for me. I usually take a day or so of reading over it and adding things before I’m happy with it. The quotes from the newspaper are actually clips from the Hawkins Post! I read the teeny tiny clippings that we got views of in the show! Some things are improvised where the text was cut off by the camera shot!

When you entered Hawkins, it was like a cloud flew over your head. Something about the town had a weight to it, something that didn’t have good intentions. On a quest to find out more, you headed to the library to look through old newspapers. Maybe there was something that happened here. A notorious murder, perhaps some freakish cult.

You flipped through the old texts, finding several things of interest. You pulled out a paper from almost exactly a year earlier. The headline read “Two of Hawkin’s Own: Missing”

Under it were two pictures. One of a young boy, maybe ten years old. The other of a young woman, your age. She wore wire-rimmed glasses and her cheeks were littered with freckles.

You continued to look through the papers, coming to another interesting headline. The Boy Who Came Back From The Dead

“The former missing child Will Byers has been found after a week of searching. He is presently in stable condition at Hawkins General Hospital. Byers’ mother, Joyce Byers alleges that Will was the subject of a secret government program run by the Hawkins National Laboratory. The allegation comes amidst a massive investigation into the hidden organization and its elaborate experiments in perusal of mind control. The abuse detailed in the first report includes prolonged physical duress and psychological interrogation. This experiment sanction torture has sparked outrage amongst the American public. In a statement issued yesterday, Ives mention her “disgust” towards the organization saying “Our own American people are being treated like the enemy. We should be directing our attention to the real target, the Soviets, not our own daughters and sons.” Under legal advice,  Dr. Brenner has issued no comment on the allegations.”

Hawkins National Laboratory… Experiments… That doesn’t sound good.

You continued to flip through the pages. The name Dr. Brenner kept coming up.

Dr. Martin Brenner Named in Lawsuit

“Senior researcher Doctor Martin Brenner and seven other staff researchers have been named in a new lawsuit filed today on behalf of former federal research study participant, Terry Ives. Dr Brenner’s attorney in conjunction with the Department of Energy has asked the circuit court to seal the details of the lawsuit until the attorney general’s office can determine that no federal or proprietary information has been exposed.

Ives alleges that Dr. Brenner kidnapped her newborn daughter for scientific research. Following an investigation, the district attorney has already declined to press criminal kidnapping charges against the research facility and staff, citing lack of evidence.’

Kidnapping and experimentation…

         “Isn’t that stuff so totally crazy!?” A voice questioned from behind you.

A girl with bouncy brown curls stood behind you, reading over your shoulder

        “Now they’re saying stuff about a Russian spy… Some guy committed suicide in his diner… a social services agent got shot… Something weird about this town.” She chatted.

        “Yeah… Yeah… I uh… I kinda felt the energy when I got here. You know? Like something was weird.” You stammered, unsure of how the girl would react to your statement.

It wasn’t weird in New Orleans to believe in the supernatural, energies and forces beyond your understanding. In fact, it was weird if you didn’t. It was so ingrained in the culture.

        “Totally! Names Diane.” She introduced, holding her hand out for you to shake.

        “Y/N.”

        “You going to Hawkins High, Y/N?”

        “Uh yeah… I start tomorrow.”

        “Oh, new kid! Better watch out… We’ve got a not-so-welcoming committee.”

        “Noted.”

Being newest thing in Hawkins meant that the top dog had to come see his new competition. At least, that’s what you’d been warned about before you were approached by Billy Hargrove. He was new kid turned keg king and the word around was not to mess with him.

He blew a puff of cigarette smoke into your face, much to your annoyance. You fanned the smoke away, glaring up at the boy in front of you.

        “Somebody tells me you’re the new kid here.” He chuckled, running his tongue over his lips.

        “That’s me.”

        “Where you from?”

        “New Orleans.”

He pondered that for a moment before opening his mouth again. 

        “So… I saw you hanging around with Diane last night.” Billy commented as he approached you. He adorned only his shorts and his signature necklace.

        “Yeah, and?”

        “See. I’ve had my eye on that ass for a while now. So I suggest you step off.”

        “It’s not like that, dude.” You insisted, rolling your eyes.

You found it hard enough to come out in your own town. You weren’t about to do it to some meathead in a testosterone filled high school locker room. Billy grabbed you by your collar, slamming you up against the lockers with a thud.

        “Better watch your tone.” He snarled, looking me up and down.

        “You think you’re hot shit, but where I come from, they would’ve chewed you up and spit you out.” You retorted.

That’s when he let out a devious cackle, throwing his head back.

        “You’ve got some fight in you, kid.” He laughed, “Unfortunately, I can’t have that… No…”

He brought up his fist, punching you in the nose. You brought your hand up to catch the blood as it flowed from your nostrils.

He turned around, giving a victorious shout to the rest of the boys. You felt anger burning up in your stomach. You dealt with enough abuse in your old town, and you weren’t about to put up with it here. You grabbed him by the shoulder, spinning him around and swinging. Your fist collided with his jaw.

        “Oh, ho, ho!” He laughed, “More fight than I thought!”

He swung back, striking you in the eye.

The next several moments were a blur of fists and screaming. You were torn apart by the coach and the gym teacher.

        “That’s enough!” They shouted, dragging us away from each other.

        “Principal!” They demanded.

You opened the front door to see none other than Billy Fucking Hargrove standing on your front porch. He had a bruised jaw and a black eye to match yours, though it wasn’t one you had given him.

        “I-uh… What’re…”

        “Look. This is some bullshit that I don’t want to be doing right now.” He admitted, motioning over to the car that sat in the driveway. It wasn’t his car, and there was somebody else in the driver’s seat.

        “I came here to apologize to you, even though I don’t owe you shit. So, if you could please pretend to look like I said something meaningful I would truly appreciate it.”

        “And why would I help you with anything?”

        “Because-”

        “Because you’re gonna beat the shit out of me again?”  

        “Nah. Nah… I think you held your own pretty well, all things considered.” He smirked.

That fucking smirk. You hated that fucking smirk. It was one of somebody who knew they could get whatever they wanted just by curling their lips.

        “Look, you seem like a nice dude, okay?” He reasoned, “Just do me a solid, please.”

You offered him a fake smile, being sure it was obvious to the person waiting for him in the car.

        “Now shake my hand like you don’t hate me.”

        “I don’t hate you, Billy.” The words flew out of your mouth without your brain’s permission.

        “Well. You’re the only one.” He scoffed, giving your hand a shake before turning and heading off the porch.

“Hey, kid!” Billy hollered, running up behind you and throwing his arm around your shoulder.

He had left you alone since your last encounter. Nearly a month earlier… Well. He had left you alone. But he hadn’t left your mind.

Whenever you heard him talk, you felt yourself hanging on to every word he said. Whether or not it was anything of importance. And most of the time it wasn’t. Usually, it was some childish bullshit that made everybody laugh. But he fed off of the attention to distract himself from something else. You just couldn’t quite place what it was.

        “Uh. Hi?”

        “So… I could use another favor.”

        “And again, I ask you, why should I?” You scoffed.  

        “I could make you somebody around here, you know? Somebody the ladies will be all over.”

        “That’s not really much of my concern.” You retorted.

        “What? Not a ladies man?” He teased.

        “I-I- Uh… I- I.”  You stammered. You didn’t think he meant it that way, but boy was that how it sounded.

        “Fine. I scratch your back, you scratch mine.” He offered, “What do you need from me?”

A date… A kiss… for you to stop looking like such a damn snack all the damn time and tempting me.

        “I- uh… How about a drink?” You suggested… Great job, you still sounded like you were asking for a date. Great job Y/N,

        “Okay, fine. I come around your house with a bottle of booze and you can tutor me in French.”

        “French?” You questioned.

        “Yeah. I’m failing… They speak French in New Orleans, right?”

        “Uh… Oui…”

        “Oh, fuck this shit. I’m never gonna pass.” He growled, hurling his notebook across the room and taking a swig from the bottle.

        “Come on, man! You almost got it!”

        “No. No, I don’t almost got it!” He snapped, “Why the fuck does the table have a fucking gender! It’s an object!”

        “Okay… okay… Yeah… To be honest, I don’t understand it either, but you’ll get it if you practice more.”

        “Practice? How can I practice when I don’t even know what any of this means.” He knocked over the bottle when he threw his arms up in frustration. The remaining liquor flowed off the coffee table and onto the floor.

        “Shit!” He hissed.

        “You gonna clean that up?” You sighed.

        “Your house. Kid.”

        “Your mess. Kid.”

There was that fucking smirk again. You rolled your eyes, giving in and going into the kitchen to grab the towel from its spot on the stove door.  You were annoyed with yourself for letting him get away with that again. But damn, the smirk worked for him… it worked well.

        “Tu es une merde, mais quand tu me donnes ce putain de sourire et que je ne fais que fondre et que je ne peux pas l'aider. Je crois que je suis en train de tomber amoureux de toi.” You grumbled as you leaned across the sitting boy to soak up the liquid from the carpet.  It felt good to get your feelings out into the world, whether or not anybody could understand them.

As you sat up, you came face to face with him.  His eyes flitted from your eyes to your lips before he grabbed you by your cheeks and pulled you in to kiss him. You pulled away breathlessly. Never in your wildest dreams had you even considered the fact that Billy Hargrove was into boys. Yet here he was, sitting on your couch, both of you tipsy, and he made the first move.

        “I have no idea what you just said, but you looked cute so I just went for it.” He breathed, still holding your face.

This time, you were the one to smirk. Leaning back in for another kiss.

(Rough translation:  You’re such a piece of shit but when you give me that fucking smirk and I just melt and I can’t fucking help it. I think I’m falling for you.”)

TAGS: 

@johnohhsosexy @enigmasareoverrated @samuel-maurice455  @starry-eyed-colour-bandit 

#billy hargrove fan fiction #lidi writes #Stranger things imagine #stranger things imagines #stranger things fic #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fan fic #billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove imagine #billy hargrove fic #billy hargrove/reader #billy hargrove imagines #billy hargrove fan fic #billy hargrove fanfiction #billy hargrove fics #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fic #steve harrington/reader #steve harringtonxreader #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fan fiction

[agentpeggicarter]

Cold as Ice

A/N: Alight here you go folks, a story nobody asked for but I hope you all enjoy. Thanks @bucksies and @rohirrimanduril for all your help you’re the best

pairing: Steve Harrington x Reader

Word count: 5K

Imagine you’re picking up your brother from school when you come across a creature that sends you running for your life and right into the arms of the boy who doesn’t seem to be bothered at all by the whole thing, to him it’s just another Tuesday.

It was a typical Tuesday morning for the Henderson household as everyone prepares for their day. Their mother fretted over the cat, making sure the new kitten was well cared for and knew how loved it was. She hadn’t let the little thing out of her sight since she received it that Christmas, courtesy of you and your brother, Dustin. You swear she loved that thing more than you sometimes. Your brother, on the other hand, was scrounging around the kitchen looking for food, while you tried to finish the little bit of homework you had left.

“You kids have everything?” Their mother asked for the hundredth time that morning.

“I do, not sure about princess over there though.” Dustin teased.  

“Bite me Dustin,” you snap not in the mood to deal with your annoying little brother with the science test you had that morning looming before you.

Your mom let out an exhausted sigh. “Come on you two, be nice.” She glances out the window, frowning.  “You don’t mind driving your brother to school, do you (Y/N)?”

You glance up from the notes you were hastily scribbling and sent your mother a pleading look. You didn’t have time to drop him off at school, you were already running late meeting Steve and still had some last minute notes you wanted to take.

“I thought I would bike today.” Dustin said as he secured his red and blue baseball cap over his unruly curls.

Your mother shook her head. “It’s cold outside and looks like snow, I don’t want you out in that. Your sister will drive you.”

“Really mom-”  You complain.

“That’s not-“ Dustin said over you.

“I won't hear it.” She says interrupting you two and glances at her watch. “I have to get to work,” She kisses Dustins forehead and pats your arm on her way to the door. “Have a good day at school.” And then she was gone.

You gather up your textbooks strewn around the table, shoving them into your backpack, before making your way around the house to gather the rest of your materials. If you were required to take your brother to school you had to leave in the next few minutes if you didn’t want to be late.

“I can still bike you know, mom doesn’t have to know.” Dustin offered as he watched you run around the house in a frenzy.

You grab the last textbook from the living room giving a triumphant cheer before depositing it in your backpack. “Not happening squirt. We may argue, but I’m not having you freeze to death on my watch.”

“Aww she cares.”

“Watch it buster, or you’ll walk the last mile.”

Dustin held up his hands in surrender before grabbing his things with you following closely behind. The minute you stepped outside you understood your mother's concerns about Dustin getting to school. This wasn’t biking weather, this was freeze your ass off by staying outside longer than required. You quickly shuffled to the car and opened the passenger door for your brother before heading to the driver side.

“You still want to bike?” You tease.

“Hell no.”

You laugh as you turn your car on, the radio blasting the newest hit by Starship.

Dustin quickly covered his ear as you spun the dial to a more suitable volume. “Geez loud enough for you?”

“I like to rock out, sue me.” You say as you carefully backed out of your driveway, careful not to hit the neighbor's flowerbed.

You're as cold as ice You're willing to sacrifice our love You want paradise But someday you'll pay the price, I know

“What is this shit anyway?”

You shot Dustin a horrified look. “Bite your tongue. First of all, this isn’t shit, second of all, you haven’t heard of Foreigner? Where have you been hiding, under a rock?”

“Last time I checked you need a radio for that, and the music I do hear is from Will, and he gets it from Jonathan, and all they listen to is the Clash.”

“That’s not all they listen to, I believe he listens to Pink Floyd too.”

“No, I’m pretty sure that’s all they listen to.” Your brother said matter of factly.

“Well one of these days I’m going to make you a tape, expand your horizons.”

“I expand my horizons everyday, just last week Mr. Clark was talking about photosynthesis, which is how plants eat. It’s really cool how they take sunlight and turn it into the sugar they need to survive.”

“Oh really, is that how it works?”

“Well there’s a whole process, but I don’t want to bore you with the details.”

You glance at Dustin from the corner of your eye frowning. “I do care Dustin, I may seem like I don’t, but I do care. I’m not freakishly smart like you, you know, I have to work really hard to get here.”

“No, no, it’s cool. So uhh… what’s another cool song?”

You smile as you pull into the parking lot.

“Unfortunately we are all out of time, but I promise I will think of some songs for the drive home.”

Dustin flashed you a smile and grabbed his things. “I’ll hold you too that,” he said as he exited the car.

You watched him run over to his friends, the boys he grew up with and the two new girls, El and Max. It was nice to see that they were making new friends and being there for each other with everything that was happening in Hawkins.

The small town had seen a lot these last two year than it did in the last fifty, and it all seemed to revolve around the Bryers family, more specifically the youngest son, Will. You remember when Will went missing, how desperate his mother was to find him and how your own brother and his friends snuck out hoping to help with the search. It was a crazy month of kids being on lockdown, required to check in with their parents than they ever did in the past, but it still didn’t help Barbra from going missing. Your own mother was constantly on edge putting a curfew in place after your brothers stunt and the young woman's disappearance.

Everything went back to normal when they found Will, or as normal as Hawkins could be after such a thing. It didn’t help that a year after Will's disappearance the Department of Energy was drawing more attention with a chemical leak. It was thanks Nancy and Jonathan that the government was exposed before anyone else got hurt. It was only after the news reported the story about Hawkins that the twin finally got closer about Barbs disappearance. She wasn’t coming home.  You didn’t know how Hawkins had become a magnet for trouble, it had always been a quiet, uneventful, little town.

What had changed?

The clock on your dash caught your eye and you knew if you didn’t hurry you would be late, the last thing you needed right now.

The warning bell rang as you hurried into the school mumbling curses under your breath as you raced toward your locker. Today was not the day to be late, not with the test you were about to have in Mr.Williams class. Oh you were so screwed if you were late.

Your books were quickly exchanged and you were down the hall in seconds, not bothering to check where you were going, figuring everyone was already in class, when you collided with Steve Harrington. Your papers slide across the hall as your folder burst open while your binder sat on its side, the rings broken from the impact.

“Shit. Shit. Shit.” You exclaim as you quickly dove after the papers, grabbing as many as you could before shoving them in your folder.

“Whoa,” you heard Steve say as he handed you the pages you had missed before offering you his hand, helping you to your feet. “I missed you this morning.”

You had been tutoring Steve the last few months as a last ditch effort to raise his grades, hoping by doing so he could graduate with the rest of his classmates. It was a lot of hard work just getting him to meet with you, there was always some sort of sports activity interfering with the tutoring times you normally worked with. Steve was the one who offered meeting with you an hour before school started knowing that was the only time he was busy with one activity or another. You instantly agreed and the two of you got to work raising his grades.

Contrary to the facade Steve portrayed to the student body, he was rather smart, not brilliant, but not dumb enough to be failing. It was all a matter of time and he didn’t have a lot of it to spend doing homework or studying, and it was up to you to help him find it. The only subject that he truly struggled in was English and even then it was with writing, something you loved, and not reading comprehension which you found harder to teach.

The two of you were suppose to meet before school today to take a look at his latest essay and provide him with the necessary changes that would help strengthen the paper. You of course couldn’t make it and you felt terrible for ditching him.

“I know and I’m sorry, but I had to take my brother to school, and now I’m running late.”

As if on cue the final bell rang through the already empty hallways and you knew there was no way Mr. Williams would allow you to take the test now.

“It’s no big deal, I just wanted to make sure you were okay, it’s not like you to be late.”

That caught your attention. “Are you checking up on my Harrington?”

“What? No” Steve ran his hands through his hair before shoving them into his pockets and giving you a shrug. “Maybe, do you blame me though with everything that’s happened in Hawkins?”

“My knight in shining armor, I didn’t realize you cared.”

“I care about graduating and I need your help to do so.”

You shook your head. “You really don’t,”

“Since you bailed on me this morning how about we reschedule for this afternoon?”

“I can’t, I have to pick Dustin up from school.”

You swear your saw Steve’s face fall for a second before a smile graced his face. “No worries, I’ll just catch up with you tomorrow. ”

“Why wait, you’re more than welcome to come over, my mom won’t mind.”

“You sure?”

“Of course I’m sure, it’s my fault we couldn’t meet this morning anyway, it’s the least I could do.”

“It’s a date.”

You glanced at your watch and groan.

“Mr.Williams class right?” Steve asks

You nod your head.

“I’m pretty sure I can get you in.”

“What?”

“Come on,”

You follow Steve down the hall, confused and worried about what he was about to do. Steve stopped you at the corner before the classroom and gave you a wink before knocking on the door. You watched as Mr.Williams exited the classroom to talk with Steve, his back to you, giving you the perfect opportunity to slip into the classroom unnoticed.

“Hey Mr. Williams, I’m sorry to disturb you, but do you have a minute?”

“Can this wait, Mr.Harrington, I’m about to give an exam.”

“Uhh, no. No, it can not, you see my friends and I have this question, you see and you’re the only one who can answer it.”

Steve slowly slid his hands behind his back and waves you forward. You mouth thank you to Steve for saving you before slipping into the room. You owe him.

You sat in your car outside the junior high school waiting for Dustin to walk out with his friends like he always did after school. The minutes slowly ticked by, five turned to ten, ten turned to fifteen and you knew Dustin forgot you were picking him up which meant you had to fo get him.

“Really Dustin?” You grumble as you got out of the car and made your way up the school steps. “Why is it you always forget the time.”

You figured he’d be in the AV room with the new radio Mr. Clark had just received. Dustin hadn’t stopped talking about it for weeks after it arrived, going on and on another how far they could travel since the range was far superior to their little two way radios.

“Dustin?” You ask knocking on the door marked AV. “Hey, it’s time to go.” You slowly open the door, after no response, only to find it empty. “Damn it.”

“Dustin?” You called, your voice echoing around the empty school. “Seriously this isn’t funny.”

It was eerily silent in Hawkins Junior high, too quiet for a school to be during after school hours. You hadn’t stumbled upon a single teacher or student the entire time you stepped through the door. There had to be someone left in this school who knew where your brother could be.

A crash from the corner classroom caught your attention as you slowly made your way toward the room.

“I swear to God Dustin, if that’s you trying to scare me, you are so dead.”

You jumped into the room, half expecting to see your brothers curly head, only to find it empty.

“What?” You mumble.

What was going on, you swear your brother was still in the school, but you had yet to come across him or any of his friends.

You hear the faint squeak and then nothing, only silence. Something was clearly not right here, for one the cage on the table near the window sil was empty and second there was growling coming from the room. You slowly edged farther into the room, peeking under the teacher's desk before turning toward the room. You saw the tail before you saw the reptile sitting in the corner, making it hard to get a good look at it. It was definitely too big to be a lizard, maybe it was the class iguana. “What the hell are you?” You exclaim looking at the creature in the corner of the room. It looked like a reptile, but not one who had ever since before. “What are you?”

The creature turned from his meal, the class rabbit from the looks of it, and you knew that you had to get out of there. The hairs on the back of your neck were telling you to run, but your legs remained glued to the spot. It wasn’t till the creature let out a scream that you found your legs moving again.

You pushed the nearest desk over, hoping it might slow it down and continued running. Your sneakers slid against the tile as you quickly rounded the corner colliding with the last person you thought you would see that day and sending you both crashing to the floor.

“That’s twice in one day Henderson, if you seriously wanted to talk with me, all you had to do was ask.” Steve groaned.

You quickly scramble to your feet pulling Steve up with you. “Run.”

“What?”

“Run!” You scream as the creature rounded the corner causing Steve to stare at it in surprise.

“Oh shit,” Steve said grabbing your hand as he pulled you after him as he ran through the school, duckin down one hallway before emerge down another. You went left before going right and it took you a second to realize you had double backed, heading for cafeteria, trying to get it off your trail, but there was only so many places you could hide in a school. You slid into the kitchen, pausing to catch your breath as Steve thought if the best route.

“In here,” Steve said opening up the freezer door.

You shook your head and gestured to the hall that lead to the gym. “We need to get to the gym, they have a set of doors that leads to the fields. We need to get to the car.”

“There’s no way we are outrunning it, now come on.” He exclaimed pulling you into the freezer before closing the door. You squeezed as far back as you could go, with frozen lunches taking up most of the space, it wasn’t far. It didn’t help that you almost slipped on the ice and if it wasn’t for Steve’s arms around you, you were sure you would have fallen on your ass by now.

“How long do you think we have to be in here?” You whisper.

Steve presses his ear against the door and you couldn’t help but hold your breath. “I think we lost them.”

You let out a sigh of relief and reached for the door, finding that the knob wouldn’t turn.

“Uhh, Harrington we have a problem.”

Steve looked at the door and let out a curse. He tried the door, but was met with the same results.

“You locked us in here.” You screeched,

“If I wanted to get you alone, believe me, I wouldn’t need a locked room.”

“What kind of plan ends with us locked in the freezer?” You demand.

“At the moment it seemed like a good plan, obviously it was not.”

You shot Steve your best stink eye, the one that always sent your brother scrambling to his room, and reached around Steve for the door again.

“In my defense, you didn’t have any better ideas.” Steve shot back.

“Are you serious right now, running away was my idea, yours was to drag me into the freezer and look where that got us.”

“We escaped didn’t we?”

You gesture around the freezer, almost smacking Steve in the face in process by the small size of the storage room. “Except we are now locked in said freezer and nobody knows we are here.”

“I told you it seemed like a good idea at the time, how was I supposed to know the door would lock behind us?”

You slowly massage your temple trying to calm yourself. It really wasn’t Steve’s fault that the door locked behind you, nobody couldn’t have anticipated that happening. It wasn’t just the freezer though, that was putting you on edge, it was the creature with no eyes that had driven you here in the first place. You had never seen something like that before, some sort of reptile, salamander hybrid with a mouth that looked like it could swallow you hole with its rows and rows of teeth. Just the thought of it had you shaking all over again and you didn’t know how Steve was remaining so calm over the entire situation. It didn’t help you were about to freeze to death and if that didn’t kill you than the creature outside sure would.

“Why did you drag me in here in the first place?” You asked

“What? Are you seriously asking me why I saved you?”

“Is that what you call this?” You snap.

“I mean it’s not that bad.”

“How do you figure Harrington?”

“Well, for one, you’re stuck in here with me.”

You groan. “Oh great, I’m going to die.”

“Come on (Y/N), don’t be like that.”

“Like what Steve, like we aren’t about to freeze to death or that.. that, that thing isn’t going to get us.”

You felt the stress bubbling up inside of you, a weight that seemed to press against your chest making it hard to breath. You felt your breathing quicken as the fear set in, you were going to die. You clutched your chest, feeling your heart pound against your hand as dots started to dance in front of your eyes.

“Hey,hey, hey,” Steve said noticing your hitch in breathing. “It’s going to be okay.”

You felt Steve gently take your face in his hands, his palms cupping both your cheeks so all you saw was Steve kind brown eyes.

“I’m not going to let anything hurt you.”

You felt your heart rate slow as you felt your body mirror Steve's breathing. You wanted to believe what Steve was telling you, that you would get out of the freezer, that nothing would hurt you, but there was no guarantees that either would happen. For all you knew, the creature was waiting for you guys to escape just so it could eat you.

“You can’t promise that.” You whisper.

“I promise you that I will do everything in my power to protect you.” He vowed, determination burning in his eyes. He wouldn’t allow anything to hurt, not as long as there was breath in his body.

You gave Steve a small smile, realizing what he was offering you. He was offering you hope, something you didn’t think possible. You watched as Steve slowly lowered his hands and wished more than anything that he kept them there, allowing you to pretend that he cared for you as much as you cared for him.

You felt the icy tendril of the cold for the first time and realized, no longer in Steve's embrace, just how cold it was. It didn’t help that the cotton blouse you were wearing did nothing to protect you from the cold and you couldn’t help but shiver, you body’s way of trying to get warm.

“Are you cold?” Steve asked. 

“I’m fine.” You lied

“Sure you are, but we both know you’re lying, so let’s cut the shit and admit your cold.”

You scowl at Steve crossing your arms. “Yes, I’m cold, happy now?”

Steve shook his head and started shrugging off his jacket. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” You demand.

“What does it look like, I’m giving you my jacket.” He said like it was obvious.

“Why?”

“Because you’re cold,”

“So are you.” You point out.

Steve scuffed. “I don’t get cold that easily, trust me.” He said extending the jacket toward you.

You shook your head and pushed it back toward him. “I’m not taking your coat.”

“(Y/n) please, take the jacket.”

“No.”

“Why are you being so stubborn?”

“Why are you being so stupid?”

You both glare at each other, not wanting to back down and admit that the other one may be right. 

“Clearly the logical course of action is for you to keep the jacket.” You say. Steve opened his mouth to argue but you quickly cut him off. 

“And you... allow me to... wrap my arms around you,” you mumble. 

“What now?”

“Wrap your arms around me. You’re clearly taller than me, allowing us to share body heat easily.”

“What?”

“Hold me Steve, I need you to hold me.” You say. It was simple. There was nothing behind it merely survival. You didn’t have butterflies in your stomach being so close to him, and you weren’t enjoying the way the the smell of his cologne and soap seemed to put you at ease. This was all to survive, until someone found them.

Steve slowly took a step toward you, as if waiting for you to change your mind, before pulling your body against his until you were nestled in his arms. You could hear his heartbeat, feel his hands against your back as his fingers ran up and down your spine, the movement soothing you as well as warming you. 

“Hey if there’s one thing I remember from science class is that the cold makes us sleepy, so don’t go falling asleep on me.”

“You remember science,” you tease. 

“I remember any class we share.”

“That can’t be true.”

“Okay you’re right, I don’t remember anything from the classes we share because you are too damn distracting.”

“I’m... what?”

“Do you know you bite your lip each time you take notes?”

“Do you know when you smile it reaches your eyes and they smile too?”

“Whenever you laugh your face lights up and I can’t look away.”

“You know you run your fingers through your hair when you’re flustered?” You shot back.

You felt his lips collide with yours, your back hitting the freezer wall from the force of the kiss.  His hands moved from your back to your face as he pulled you lips closer, trying to get as close to you as possible. Your fingers slipped into his hair helping him in his quest to get to you. The shelf dug into your back, but for the first time that night you didn’t care about anything but the boy in front of you.

Steve and you slowly separated as he gave you quick pecks on the lips and nose before resting his forehead against yours, trying to catch his breath. You felt a smile make it’s way to your lips, and quickly ducked your head so Steve couldn’t  see.

“God you're beautiful,” Steve whispered noticing the smile on your face, the same one that was on his.

His lips found yours again and you suddenly didn’t care if anybody found you or not. You were with Steve, you were safe, what more was there?

The door opened with a bang and suddenly you were a tangle of limbs as you both fell from the freezer. You don’t know how you ended up on top of Steve but you were encased in his arms as he held you to his chest, protecting you against the fall.

“Dude, what the hell?” Dustin asked looking between you two.

Steve gave your brother a half smile and slowly made his way to his feet before helping you up since he wasn’t about to let you go anytime soon.

“Go.” You heard El say before the group bolted for the nearest door that would take you outside. You watched as Steve took charge, watching everyone file out before slamming the door shut behind them. The kids headed toward the parking lot, trying to put as much distance between them and the school as possible.

“Hey, thanks for the rescue, looks like I owe you guys.” Steve said slowly rubbing his hands up and down your arms, trying to warm you.

You reluctantly stepped out of Steve's embrace and took a few steps away from him, hoping to put some distance between you two before your brother and his friends got the wrong idea. You were sure your cheeks were pink, maybe even red from being caught making out with Steve. The last thing you didn’t need right now was your brother asking you if you and Steve were a thing now when you didn’t even know what was going on.

Steve watched you with a frown as you left his arms to avoid further question from the boys. He understood why you did it, but didn’t agree in the slightest. You needed to get warm before you caught a cold and staying in his arms was the best way of doing so. Steve shrugged out of his jacket and draped it across your shoulders, watching you as you quickly slid your arms down the sleeves and pulling it around you.

“How uhh, how did you guys find us?” Steve asked running his hands through his hair.

You bite your lip to keep from laughing, you could see the slight flush to his cheeks and knew Steve was just as flustered as you were to be caught by a group of fourteen year olds.

“Well when we couldn’t find you we assumed the worst, you know with everything happening we thought the demadog got you.” Dustin said.

“El found you,” Mike exclaimed interrupting Dustin.

“Dema what?” You asked looking between the kids who were shooting each other looks, and shaking their heads, trying to silently come to an agreement amongst themselves.

“The creature that had us hiding in a freezer,” Steve exclaimed.

“Steve!” Lucas shrieked. “Come on man.”

“What I want to know is why my sister is doing here?” Dustin asked ignoring his friend's outburst.

“What I’m doing here, what about you, what are you doing running around Hawkins chasing monsters, are you trying to get yourself killed?” You hollered.

“Uhhh...no?” Dustin looked toward his friends for backup but found none.

“Then somebody please, tell me what’s going on.”

“Dude, you can’t tell her,” Lucas said.

“Come on, she already knows.” Max cut in.

“What the hell is going on?” You demanded.

Steve held up his hands, silencing the group. “Alright, Alright. I know we all have questions, but they are going to have to wait.”

The kids started to protest, talking over each other as they tried to be heard, but Steve cut them off.

“I’m not hearing it, come on guys, (Y/N) and I were just stuck in a freezer and need to warm up.”

You felt your cheeks heat up at the idea of warming up with Steve; his hands on you, his lips trailing kisses down your neck and over your shoulder- You shook your head and mistakenly met Steve’s knowing gaze and playful smile.

“Dude!” Dustin exclaimed. 

“Dude, your sister is frozen, now you’re all more than happy to crash at my place, my -“

Steve couldn’t even finish his sentence before the kids excitedly started talking over one another about all the things they were gonna do that night. Steve could only shake his head at the idea of them sprawled out in his living room floor, he was the one who offered in the first place. 

Steve rolled his eyes and opened the back passenger door. “Alright guys, hop in.”

You watched the kids filed into the car and made a move to your own when you felt Steve’s arms wrap around you before he buried his head into your neck. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” He whispers. 

“To my car?” You answer like it obvious. You let out a shriek as he spins you around so he can gaze at you. 

Steve shook his head. “Didn’t you hear, slumber party at my house.”

“I may have been there for that,” you say slipping your hands into his back pockets.

“Good, because I’m not letting you out of my sight.” Steve said placing a kiss to your lips, the sound of disgust and groans sounding behind you, but you didn’t care. 

You were with Steve. You were safe.

#stranger things #stranger things writing #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #reader x steve harrington #stranger things steve harrington #my writing #cassidy writes #reader insert #stranger things reader insert

[lollercakesff]

the kid

pt 12 | AO3

They walk for almost an hour before they break through the trees, a large building standing tall before them. The sight instantly forces El back into the brush, her squeak of fear the only sound apart from the hum of the air intake system they were looking at.

“It’s okay,” Hopper whispers, turning on his heel and coming to kneel in front of her. His hands rest on her shoulders as she hyperventilates, her small frame buzzing and her eyes darting around them.

“I don’t - don’t make me go back, please, please,” she repeats and tears fill her eyes, voice cracking on a held in sob.

“You aren’t - we aren’t here for that. I need you to calm down though. Can you do that for me? Can you follow my breaths? In… Out… In… Out,” he continues even as the familiarity and the pain tears through him. Sara had been like this that first day. Sara. “In… Out…”

Fighting to keep himself together, to keep El together, he rubs his hands from shoulder to elbow, repeating the movement with the breathing commands. Time creeps slowly by until finally they seem to be able to center themselves, her panic having subsided and the tears dry on her cheeks. His memories still burn but the distraction of being here, now, helps him and he’s able to take the map of the town from his bag and spread it out against the side of a tree.

“Hawkins National Laboratory?” He mumbles to himself, glancing over at the building that stands alone surrounded by trees. In all his time spent looking for Larrabee he hadn’t thought to look in his own backyard, the solitary land having been closed off to the public since he was a kid. Run by the Department of Energy, he’d figured it was just another place on the grid, one that supplied the electricity to the town and nothing more.

But El was certain this is where she’d come from and he knew better than to doubt her. Even if she’d been lying before, her reaction upon seeing the place where she’d been held captive was pure and instinctive - you couldn’t force a kid into a panic attack. Not one like that.

“Do we have to stay?” El murmurs as he lowers the map, tucking it back in his bag and looking around them.

“No. We can head back to the truck now. I’ll come back out later and see if I can poke around a bit more. How are you feeling?” It only strikes him as odd after the words are out of his mouth, his question similar to what he’d always asked Sara after one of her attacks. He had to stop relating the two - it did neither of them any good to get caught up in the past when there were things in the present that needed their focus.

“I just want to go back to the cabin.” Nodding, he reaches out a hand to help her up off the ground and together they head back to the truck.

After El is safely deposited back home, Hopper heads into town to start fishing for information on the lab and the people who work there. He stops in first at the station, sidling up to Flo and trying to pry information from her. She pleads ignorance and goes on her lunch break, mumbling about his bizarre behaviour and how he never used to care about anything in this town. He tries not to take it personally.

Instead he returns to the library, parking out front and staring at the doors and the ominous figure who stands beyond them. He really didn’t want to spar again with a woman scorned - he didn’t have time and the prospect of it frustrated him. Starting up the engine again he headed towards the main drag and started working his way through the shops that could potentially have dealings with the lab.

Radioshack was last on his list and he’d tried to put it off for as long as he could. He knew Bob was working - it’d come up in half the conversations he’d had already that day - and Hopper wasn’t keen on conversing with the man whose girlfriend he almost kissed less than a week ago.

But that wasn’t El’s fault.

“Chief!” Bob greets with a wide smile, looking up from the tools and pieces of a small object scattered across his work station.

“Bob, I was hoping to catch you here.” Hopper slides off his hat and looks around the store, checking for wayward customers before getting closer and leaning against the counter. “I wanted to ask a few questions that I’d prefer don’t get out to the public. You know, police business and everything.”

Bob shakes his head and holds up his hands, laughing lightly as he does it. “Okay - you got me. I did partake in a bit of fisticuffs when we were out for Karen’s party, but I swear it was well deserved - “

Standing up straighter, Hopper furrows his brow and cocks his head to the side. “Fisticuffs? With who?” The idea of Bob throwing a punch was downright unbelievable - not just from the boy he knew from school but everything he knew about the man now. He was a marshmallow, harmless and sweet with no substance.

“Oh - so you didn’t - no, okay,” he laughs awkwardly as his cheeks flush, hands flustered in the air. “Lonnie came just after you left. Tried to get into it with Joyce. I guess I, uh, pushed him and he fell - but that’s not really what you came here for, right?”

“Nope. But I do love a good Lonnie story,” Hopper replies and shifts on his feet. He did love hearing about Joyce’s shitbag ex-husband getting his due, but rarely got to revel in it as the Chief of Police.

“I hate the guy. After everything Joyce told me about him - ugh! At least if we move to Maine she won’t ever have to deal with him again!”

It feels like a mirror is shattering within him as Hopper listens to Bob continue on about Joyce and their potential move. He tries not to show it on his face but he must fail because soon Bob is trying to roll his comments back and stuff the beast back in the box. Hopper tries too, to let the possibility settle in his stomach and reduce the choking feeling from his neck.

“Anyways, Chief, what can I help you with today? New radios for the station? Maybe a new TV for your place?” He offers with a customary tight laugh, the one Hopper remembers from high school.

“Um, I think I’m mostly just looking for information. Do you have any contacts with Hawkins National Laboratory? I figure since they’re run by the Department of Energy, maybe it’s connected with all of this technology stuff you work with. Maybe you have a contact there, or they have an account with this place?” Hopper resets his focus away from Joyce and back onto the lab, careful to word his questions without accusation or wayward suspicion.

“You mean that big place out on the edge of the town? I’ve never been inside, but a regular customer I have says he used to work there. He’s a weird guy though, doesn’t really like people that much. What do you need to know?” Bob finishes with a lilt of question in his voice.

“You gotta name for this customer? I’m doing some work on an old case, would be helpful to get the perspective of one of these guys who worked there,” Hopper says and stretches the truth, careful to leave just enough of it that it’s believable.

“Sure thing - he was in a few weeks ago. Guy by the name of Ray Carroll. Doesn’t live in town though, only comes back for meetings I guess. He’s got a real knack for batteries,” he adds and flips through a book he’s pulled from a drawer. His hand flies down page after page until he lands on something and shouts, “Ah-ha! Got it! Do you want me to write down his address for you Chief?”

“Yeah - great,” he mumbles as the man starts writing the information onto an old receipt. The bell over the door jingles as Bob hands Hopper the slip, the man’s face brightening as he looks around Hopper’s shoulder.

“Joyce! Lunch break already?” Hopper swallows back the lump in his throat before he turns around, preparing himself to face the woman who somehow has him tied up in knots. When he finally does see her, a cold part of him that he doesn’t quite understand, merely nods in her direction before slipping past her and out the door.

He’s half a block away before she catches up to him, her hand wrapping around his wrist and her small frame bursting in front of him. “You’re not even saying hello to me anymore?” She hisses, stopping his movement back towards his truck.

“I nodded!” He counters, stepping around her easily.

“Oh, come on! What changed? What is this Hop?” She riles, outpacing him until they’re both at the driver’s side of his truck, her hand slapping the door closed as he starts to pull it open.

Surprise riddles through him as she seethes, her jacket engulfing her but doing nothing to hide the way her chest rises and falls heavily with frustration. With anger. The recognition of it has him shaking his head, pulling the handle towards him slower.

“You want to talk about this now? Here? Or do you want to get in the truck where we can have a little semblance of privacy?” He asks lowly and waits until she sighs and rounds around to the passenger side. They both climb in and stew in the tense silence, their breathing audible in the enclosed space.

“What was that, the other night?” She starts, voice small and all bravado from before extinguished as she chews on her nails beside him.

“What was what? Nothing happened, Joyce,” Hopper replies lamely and rubs his hands over the steering wheel to keep from reaching out to her.

“Nothing happened. Sure. Nothing happened,” she repeats and shakes her head, eyes averted out the passenger side window. He tries not to see the way her frown spreads or the way her shoulders slump, her posture growing smaller as the words escape her.

“I thought you’d prefer that what with the move and all,” he adds weakly, not wanting to press it further but having to get it out of him. He couldn’t stuff the feelings back inside, they were bubbling up and spilling out.

“What mo - oh… Oh that. Hopper, that’s not, I mean, we’d talked about it but Bob is just - “

“You don’t have to lie to me. We don’t owe each other anything.” It strikes like a blow and he knows just how to aim it so that she recoils and shifts, for a moment disappearing into herself.

“I thought maybe, after… “ She whispers, hesitant, before sitting up straight and pushing her shoulders back and her chin forward. “If there was ever a time for us, Hopper, tell me now.”

He stays silent even though he wants to shout to the ceiling, to pull her against him and feel her skin on his. Instead he shifts in his seat until he’s facing her, lips clamped shut but a hand sliding across the seat until it brushes her leg. “It can’t be right now, but I don’t want it to be never.”

Like a fish out of water she flounders, mouth opening and closing before she slides her fingers between his. A tight squeeze and then she’s gone, slipping from the passenger seat and back out onto the street.

#el and hop #jopper #stranger things fanfiction #the kid #au