#not just my brother also my best friend (jonathan)

[louloulemons-posts]

Metal Head Cuddles

Eddie Munson X Fem!Reader

Word Count : 1.7k

Warnings : not proofread, swears, shitty parents(reader), vecna stuff did happen, petnames, it’s just a load of fluff.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Meeting-hug :

Being Robins Buckleys cousin was great, moving in with her and her dad was also great. Your family wasn’t fantastic, but Robin and your uncle were.

“Are you sure it was okay for me to tag along? I could always go back and chill with Uncle Rich.”

“Come on Y/N, i know you wanna get out of it, but everyone will love you”.

“Only if you’re sure.”

“I’m 100% sure, now come on let’s go in.” You were at Robins friends, Steve, house, apparently they’d become best friends a couple years back.

Working at an ice cream shop together, you’d had a job of your own when you lived in Chicago, it had allowed you to move to Hawkins and not look back. An old music shop that was getting more and more popular by the day.

Harringtons house was nice, Robin said his parents had a good job, but weren’t around a lot. There was music and laughter as you walked into the house.

“Don’t be nervous, they’ll love you.” Robin linked your arms and you walked into the garden. “Buckley!” A voice called out as you left the house. “Harrington.”

A boy jogged up to you, floppy hair bouncing as he came. “Ah you must be Y/N, Robins said a lot about you. I’m Steve.”

“Hey, it’s nice to meet you.” He gave you a welcoming hug.

“I’ll get you guys a drink, beer?” he asked.

“Y/Ns driving,” Robin spoke.

“Lemonade?”

“Lemonades great thanks.”

“Come on let’s meet the others.” Your cousin waved over at some younger people. “Y/N, this is Dustin, Will, Mike, El, Lucas and Max.”

“It’s nice to meet you all.”

“Ahh so you’re Robins mystery cousin,” the curly haired boy said.

“The one and only,” you shrugged.

“It’s good to meet you anyways,” A red haired girl spoke, her eyes were glazed and you spotted a white cane, along with the hold she had on the boys arm beside her.

“And you guys.”

“Come on let’s meet the lovebirds.” Robin led you away to two teens who looked your age. “This is Nancy and Jonathan, guys this is my cousin Y/N.”

“Hey it’s great to meet you,” the girl spoke, standing to give you a squeeze.

“And you.”

“Where’s Munson?” Robin asked.

“Late as always,” Jonathan joked. On that note loud metal music was heard. “Speak of the devil,” Jonathan chuckled.

A few moments later a man with unruly hair came wandering in, his footsteps heavy and loud. He wore a large grin, dancing across his mouth as he took the younger curly haired boy hugged him.

The hug of a brother, Steve walked past, handing him a beer like it was a breath. He made his way over to us, handing me a cup full of lemonade and Robin her own bottle of booze.

“You been introduced to everyone?” Steve asked. “Pretty much, just not,” I motioned over to the man who was not letting out a cackle.

“Oh, hang on,” Steve paused for a second, because calling out the man’s name, “Eddie, come here man.” You heard him mutter something like, ‘Oh no already in trouble,’ to the younger kids, making them laugh.

He jogged over to us, taking a swig of his drink. “Hey guys,” he smiled, taking in everyone’s face when he finally landed on mine. His chocolate eyes met my gaze.

“Eddie this is Y/N, Robins cousin from Chicago,” Steve explained.

“Oh cool, nice to meet you,” he said, pulling you into a half hug.

You hand landed on his lower back in greeting as his kept his, respectfully on the middle of yours. “And you, Robins told me all about you guys,” I said to the group.

“Oh no, what’s she said?” Steve groaned.

“Nothing that isn’t true Dingus.”

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Random-Encounter Hug :

Pushing the cart through the aisle, I grabbed a couple veggies here and there, planning on making, yet another, thank you meal for Robin and my uncle.

After placing the tomato’s and peppers in the cart I looked back up, spotting a newly familiar figure. Grabbing the last few things I needed from this section I sped up, “Hey Eddie.”

The boy whirled round to look at me, “Y/N, hey, how are you?” He asked, instantly pulling me into a large hug, giving me a gentle squeeze.

“I’m good, just getting bits and pieces.”

“Same here, I’m want to make my uncle a nice meal for his birthday, but don’t tell anyone,” he leant down so he was closer to your ear, “I can’t really cook.”

Letting out a laugh, I smiled at the boy, “If you want I can help you?”

“You cook?”

“I do indeed, give me your number and we can figure out a recipe, go through everything step by step.”

“Really?”

“Sure, what does he like to eat?”

“Anything we eat out of cans a lot.”

“Does he like steak?”

“Sure.”

I motioned for him to follow me, pushing the cart and coming to a halt by the steaks and other various meat. Getting a small, cheap, but still a beautiful cut, I handed it to Eddie.

“Does he like mash potatoes?”

“Yeah.” I quickly grabbed some of them, and then some green beans. Eddie pulled a face at that, “Does he not like them?

“Oh he loves them, I do not,” his face scrunched.

“They’re not that bad I promise, cook them

in butter and seasoning.” The boy hummed, instantly trusting your words.

He stayed to help you with your own shopping, helping you take the bags to your car, holding his own. “Thank you for the help,” he said, “It was nice to see you again.”

“And you. Remember call me when you’re cooking, I’ll talk you through it all.” The boy gave you a smile, and pulled you into a sweet hug. Arms enclosing around your body, holding you close.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Exhaustion Hug :

You’d gone out for the day with Robin, Nancy, Steve, Jonathan and Eddie. Not sleeping well the night before after a screaming phone call from your mother, you were so tired.

“You okay?” Robin whispered.

“Oh yeah, just a bit sleepy. I’ll be fine.” You’d be on a long walk, wondering around shops, just having fun doing what people would consider mundane.

Eddie walked in front chatting away with Steve, Robin jumped into conversation with them, whilst Jonathan and Nancy led the group hand in hand.

Staying a few steps behind, you rubbed your eyes again. Not realising the group had stopped you bumped into Eddies back. “Shit sorry Eds.”

Turning to look at you, he smiled softly at your sleepy state. “It’s okay, you good?”

“Yeah just tired.” He nodded, humming, “Well we can’t have that can we.”

He turned back around and got low, “Hop on,” he said simply.

“What?”

“Get on my back.”

“Eddie no-“

“Y/N,” he said turning his face to you, “Please.” Well you couldn’t say no to that.

Wrapping your legs around his waist and your arms around his neck, Eddie stood, holding underneath your thighs. “Comfy?”

“Mhm.” My face rested on his shoulder.

“Come on then, let go,” he walked with ease, as if he wasn’t carrying an extra weight. I felt so comfortable there, with him holding me, that my face nuzzled into his neck, breathing him in.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Anything for you.”

…

“Oh he’s so into her,” Steve said, watching the boy carry the sleepy girl. “Him into her? You don’t understand how much she talks about him. I swear Eddie coming today is the only reason she’s here,” Robin laughed.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Recharging Cuddles :

You don’t really know how it happened, but it was natural as anything. You and Eddie started dating, much to his Uncle Wayne’s joy.

Stood in the small kitchen in their new trailer, you were cooking a breakfast for Eddie and yourself, Wayne had already headed out for the day.

Feeling arms come around your waist and a face nuzzle into your neck, his curls tickled in their sleepy state. “Where did you go?” He said, voice laced with sleep.

“Making us breakfast Eds.”

“You weren’t there when I woke up.”

“Sorry baby, I just wanted to make you something.”

“You’re too sweet,” he spoke, placing a sweet kiss under your ear. “It’s almost ready, why don’t you sit at the table?”

He whined, “Wanna stay with you.”

“Okay sleepy boy,” With a free hand you rubbed his own that connected around your waist.

“Thank you.”

“Never have to thank me baby.” The boy remained attached to you the rest of the time you cooked, sliding you onto his lap as you ate.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Reunion hugs :

It had been two whole weeks since you’d seen Eddie, yourself, Robin and your uncle had been on vacation. Not even thinking about unpacking you jumped in your car and drove over to Eddies.

The trailer park was hit with sun, bright days becoming more common, the people of Hawkins soaking in the rays.

That was including your favourite boy, of course wearing jeans, black and ripped and a tank top. Some of his scars were on display but the large ones that covered his torso were hidden by the material.

Parking up, you climbed out of the car with ease. “Hey you,” you called as you walked over to him. “Oh my god”, he laughed, pushing off the stairs of the trailer and running to you.

Without a second thought your feet were off the ground, arms around his neck, he lifted you up and held you close. “I missed you so fucking much.” Hands going to his hair, you giggled, “I missed you too baby.”

“Never go away again,” he mumbled into your neck.

“Where’s my hug miss?” you heard another voice speak. “Wayne,” I smiled Eddie let me hop down from his hold and walk over to the older man. He took he in his arms and gave me a squeeze.

“Thank goodness you’re back, I couldn’t deal with anymore moping from this boy,” he motioned to Eddie. “Wayne,” he whined, wrapping his arm around your shoulder, pulling your back to his chest.

“But seriously never leave me again.”

“Don’t plan on it.” He kissed the top of your head, holding you tighter.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

A/N : well hello it’s been a while, life’s been kinda crazy lately, so writings been the last thing on my mind. Hopefully I’ll be back to it soon, but I’m not gonna push myself, hope you guys understand.

All the love 🤍

- Lou

#stranger things #eddie munson #joe quinn #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x yn #stranger things imagine #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fluff #eddie stranger things #joe quinn imagine #eddie x fem!reader #eddie x you #eddie munson x you #eddie x reader #eddie munson x female reader #joesph quinn imagine #joesph quinn #joseph quinn imagine #joseph quinn #jospeh quinn #strangerthings #strsnger things #loulou lemons

[blue-blue-blooms]

A Little Crush   

Eddie Munson x Henderson!Reader

Part 1

Summary: In which Eddie develops a crush on the Henderson sister.

You weren't sure exactly when your life had gone to absolute shit. Was it when you found a strange, superpowered adolescent girl living in Mike Wheeler's basement? Was it when you walked in on a baby demogorgan eating your cat? Or was it when you were drugged by evil Russians operating under Starcourt Mall? You couldn't even remember a time when life was normal. If someone had told you that you would become best friends with Steve 'The Hair' Harrington and fight literal monsters from an alternate universe alongside Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan 'The Creep' Byers a few years ago, you would've laughed in their face. Now? You'd survived the most traumatising events of your life alongside these people. You were bonded for life.

The last few years had also made you closer with Dustin. You loved your baby brother and his weird friends, especially since you'd spent so much time babysitting them. But no amount of love could make you say yes to what they were asking of you.

"Please?" Dustin begged, following you down the hallway as you made your way to Ms. O'Connell's class.

"No! I have, like, three essays due this week, Dustin. I don't have the time to sub." You respond.

"It's only for tonight! Lucas can't make it and we really need a sub. We're nearly done with the campaign and Eddie will kill us if we make him reschedule!" Dustin pleads.

You were really happy that Dustin and Mike had found a safe space in high school. Lord knows those two idiots needed it. Freshmen year is probably the toughest of them all. You're new, scared, and lonely. You were really glad that they'd found friends, a place where they could be their nerdy selves and feel accepted. Hell, even you'd dabbled in their interests when you'd babysat them. DnD wasn't half bad, and not nearly as hard to undertand as you once thought. You'd spent many nights in Mike's basement playing with them. The first few times, you'd get your character killed in the first fifteen minutes. But after a while, you started making progress (even though you're convinced that the party was exceptionally lenient with you after you once burst into tears over getting killed off).

"I'll do your half of the chores for a week!" Dustin exclaims.

That makes you stop.

"A week?" You turn around to look at him, "Make it two weeks and I'll sub."

"Two? Are you insane!?" Dustin yells, making a few people lingering in the hallway turn and look at you both.

"Two or no deal, Dusty Buns," You tease, "And be quick, I'm late for my class."

"Fine!" Dustin says, "And stop calling me 'Dusty Buns'"

"Why? Is that nickname just for Suzy Poo?" You tease.

Dustin glowers at you as you walk off.

♡♡♡

"So, who's the DM?" You ask as you walk alongside Dustin and Mike.

"It's Eddie, Eddie Munson. He's a senior. Long hair, wears a hellfire T-Shirt, I talk about him constantly. God, do you ever listen to me?" Dustin claims exasperatedly.

"Oh! Eddie as in your new favorite older male best friend who Steve's weirdly jealous of?" You ask, "I've seen him around. Is he the one who jumps on lunch tables and yells a lot?"

"Yup." Mike responded, "He's a bit scary when he's revved up. Just warning you beforehand in case he comes off...a bit intimidating."

You nod.

"Hasn't he been held back, like, three times?" You ask.

Before either of the boys could answer, you reach the room. The first thing you see is the table where the game is set. There are three boys sat around, all with Hellfire T-Shirts on. Your eyes fleet from one to the other until finally landing on Eddie. You recognise him immediately from the amount of times you've seen him yelling in the cafeteria.

Dustin and Mike failed to mention how cute he was, you think.

His hair was long and wavy. He was wearing multiple rings. And he was covered in tattoos. You're pretty sure you saw a few bats peeking from under his sleeve.

"Who's this?" One of the guys asks, making all three turn around and look at you.

"This is Y/N! She's subbing for Lucas!" Mike says, the words spilling out fast and nervously.

Why the hell are they so jittery?

"Yeah, she's my sister! The one I mentioned a couple days ago." Dustin adds.

"Does she even know how to play DnD?" The other boy asks.

"Okay, excuse me, I wouldn't have come if I didn't know how to play," You finally speak, waving your hand a little to get their attention.

"So, this is your infamous sister?" Eddie finally speaks, his eyes landing on you, "You know, I thought he made you up. What's your class and level? Level One Elf?"

Elf? Is he mocking me?

"Are you mocking me?" You ask incredously.

"Is he mocking me?" you turn towards Dustin and Mike who immediately start gesticulating, probably asking you to shut up.

"My name is Aeren Sirenfall and I'm a level 14 chaotic good half-elf rogue. I will sneak behind any monster you throw my way and stab them in the back with my poison-soaked kukri. And I'll smile as I watch them die a slow...agonising...death." You say, your voice slow and hard as you glare at Eddie, "So, are we gonna play this stupid game or not?"

You're pretty sure you hear one of the boys mutter a 'she's terrifying' to Dustin.

You watch as Eddie's eyes slowly soften and a grin emerges on his face, "Welcome to Hellfire Club."

#eddie munson #stranger things fic #corroded coffin #stranger things 4 #stranger things #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson fic #eddie munson fluff

[stevie-petey]

we don't talk about it (we don't have the time)

﹂ season one of “come home”

being dustin henderson's older sister and jonathan byers' best friend is usually an uneventful affair, but when will byers goes missing and a girl with a shaved head claims she has super powers, your duties as a sister and a best friend become a lot more complicated. (it also makes your feelings suddenly complicated, which you're choosing to ignore). (and steve harrington definitely isn't helping). (as usual).

episode one: the vanishing of will byers - jonathan smuggles you free food in exchange for friendship, will goes missing the one time you listen to jonathan, hopper doesn't really like you, and steve harrington almost hits you with his car as you're sobbing like a damn baby (in a cool way).

episode two: the weirdo on maple street - you use your limited psych knowledge to help a bald girl, you force jonathan to accept $20 and he's later an ass to you, steve doesn't know what a "missing" poster looks like, and it's really hard being a single mother to now four kids.

episode three: holly, jolly - you and jonathan talk it out and things are better (spoiler alert: they aren't), you somehow end up agreeing with steve harrington ?? then you have a minor breakdown in front of the kids and once again fail to prevent them from experiencing more trauma.

episode four: the body - you basically have a "no babe don't cry over ur dead brother ur so sexy" moment with jonathan, hopper plays mr love doctor (cute date idea: coffin shopping), and somehow nancy wheeler makes you realize that you're a horrible babysitter and an even bigger idiot. meanwhile: steve harrington is frustratingly charming.

episode five: the flea and the acrobat - you and dustin have a long overdue Sibling Moment, at will's funeral you and jonathan exchange information and surprise ! it's all horrible news ! nancy has awful timing and when you leave her alone with jonathan one damn time you and steve end up trauma bonded on her front porch #bffs.

episode six: the monster - so nancy and jonathan are a Thing now and you really just need a good nap, the three of you go shopping for monster hunting supplies (which honestly isn't the weirdest thing you've done this week), an old man sells you a sentimental knife, and steve kind of accidentally kidnaps you with a sexy black eye.

episode seven: the bathtub - your brother basically places himself on the fbi's most wanted list and el flips a van with her mind, now you have to create a giant salt tub because of course you do, nancy tries Talking About It but hasn't she read the title ? you don't have the time. sidenote: you've somehow become a steve defender during these trying times. typical. meanwhile: steve's inner thoughts are pathetic.

episode eight: the upside down - drinking game time ! take a shot every time jonathan tries ditching you or every time you almost die at the byers house, you find out that steve really is an athlete and tbh it's hot, but you know what's even hotter ? saving hawkins and reaching a tentative compromise with steve after he loans you $5 for snacks. after, jonathan makes a promise you really hope he can keep.

⌑ set between seasons 1 and 2

﹂ episode nine: the beginning - BONUS EPISODE TIME ! steve becomes bookstrorindary's favorite loyal costumer, jonathan buys you a bug for christmas, you freak out your poor coworker alex, and suddenly steve is really hot and you're feeling so many feelings (bad ! it's all bad !).

⌑ status: FINISHED

⌑ season one title based on this song x

⌑ blurbs set within "come home" can be found here x

⌑ “come home” season masterlist

*note: this is a part of my stranger things rewrite, “come home”, and other seasons can be found linked above :)

#steve harrington x henderson!reader #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington fic #stranger things fic #stranger things rewrite #ch season one #wdtai masterlist #m's writing

[blushweddinggowns]

It had started as a rough few weeks. A rough few weeks that turned into a rough few months. It was weird, because in all honesty when it came to social standings, Will was doing a lot better here than he ever did in Hawkins. There were no Zombie Boy stories following him here, and he even managed to get a few girls to have a crush on him. He…still wasn’t quite clear how that worked out and he really wasn’t a fan of it. But they were also the only people he could talk to at school. He was way too paranoid of getting close to any guys. God forbid he got another crush on a friend, having none of them just seemed like the better course of action. 

It didn’t help that Mike had basically stopped acknowledging that he existed after they moved. He didn’t write to him, he didn’t call him, and it felt like the only time he heard his voice was when he politely asked for El over the phone. And it hurt. It hurt a lot. Especially when he still put in so much effort to get ahold of El all the time. He’d resent her for it if he could, but the only one who was having a worse time than him with the move was her. Maybe Mike was a shitty friend to him, but at least she had someone to talk to. 

But whatever. Lucas and Dustin cared, and so did Eddie and Steve. And when Jonathan wasn’t busy being high as hell, he had him too. Even Max called him more often than Mike did. Even when she was just trying to get ahold of El she’d take the time to ask him how he was, a courtesy that his best friend from freaking kindergarten couldn’t even offer anymore. 

So maybe Will didn’t have many friends in California yet, but he didn’t feel very lonely. 

Just a little heartbroken. 

But he could get past it. Especially when some of his favorite people were only one phone call away. Sometimes it made him feel a little guilty, that Steve and Eddie were his go to for talking about his problems. Especially since Jonathan was always trying to get him to open up. Even when he was zoinked out of his gourd he never failed to ask Will how his day was. Though…he did have a hard time following the plot when Will told him. 

But that didn’t change the fact that Jonathan always wanted to help. But what could Will say? I’m depressed because I’m in love with my best friend who doesn’t care about me? And oh yeah, I’m gay? Yeah, no. That wasn’t going to happen. If Jonathan of all people hated him for that…he’s not sure he could recover. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t think about it.

It was kind of pathetic, but he’d fantasize about it sometimes. Coming out to his family, everyone smiling and saying they’d love him anyway, no matter what. And if he was being honest with himself, it was technically possible, right? His brother had never said a bad word about Steve and Eddie. His mom never failed to shut the homophobic crap down when his crappy sperm donor had still been around. But it was different when it was your own kid, right? Will wasn’t quite sure. But he did know that he couldn’t stop thinking about it. 

So he called who he always did when he had a problem. It only took a few rings before someone was picking up, Steve’s familiar voice on the other end, “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me,” Will sighed, flopping face first into his bed, the phone pressed to his ear. 

He could hear the smile in Steve’s voice, “Hey kiddo, what’s up?”

God, he was such a dad. Will wouldn’t be shocked if he started wearing socks with sandals by the time he hit twenty-three. He went straight to the point, “Do you think that living happily ever after is like a real thing? For people like us?”

Steve laughed, “It better fucking be after all the shit we’ve seen.”

“I don’t mean the Upside Down stuff,” Will sighed, “I mean like…y’know. The gay.”

Steve snorted, “The gay? I’m going to have to tell Eddie that one.”

Will rolled his eyes at the redundant statement. He had learned a long time ago that telling Steve something meant telling Eddie something, and vice versa. He sighed a tiny smile on his face, “Oh what, like he’s not already next to you listening in?”

“...touché.” 

Will laughed, turning over to stare at the ceiling, “I’m serious though. Like…is it even possible? It’s not like everyone gets to magically find their soulmate at eight.”

“Is that such a bad thing though?” Steve asked, “Because no offense dude but honestly? I think you could do a lot better than Mike-”

“Be nice,” Will interrupted, torn between being defensive for Mike’s sake and amused at Steve never failing to find a way to come at him.

“I will when he starts being nice to me.”

“Well that’s just not going to happen,” Will laughed, “I’m starting to think Eddie’s right to call you a brat.”

Steve gasped, loud and scandalized. He’d been hanging out with Robin too much, “Me?! Never!”

Will could barely hear it over the receiver, but he could hear Eddie’s faint voice coming through, Yes he is!

And it was making him laugh even harder. Will missed this, so much. He missed having a place where he could just say whatever he wanted, with no worries. Even now he was looking over his shoulder, anxious at the chance that his mom or a sibling could come bursting in at any moment to catch him in the act of being comfortable. It was a confusing and weird feeling, and probably a little unfair to assume they’d prefer him to be sad and quiet over happy and queer. But he still did.

But for now he was safe. And he might as well take the chance to speak on all the things he couldn’t with anyone else, “But what if I don’t want to do better than Mike? Like…it’s stupid but do you think that um, I would ever have a chance?”

The answer was a strong no, but sometimes Will just needed a reality check from someone else’s mouth. 

Steve sighed, “I think the odds are pretty low bud. All jokes aside, even if he was playing for our team, I’m not sure if he’s the type who could even accept it. Y’know?”

Will did know, unfortunately. And if he’d never met Eddie and Steve there was a solid chance he’d be that guy. The truth stung a bit, but it was necessary, “I know, I know. But…do you think he would accept me? If he ever found out?”

“He fucking better. Otherwise I’ll-”

Will heard a shuffle on the other end, paired with something that sounded suspiciously like whining before he heard Eddie’s voice, “Will? You there? Sorry about that. I had to take the phone away before he started talking about beating up a child.”

Will grinned, happy to hear Eddie’s voice, “You made the right call. Do you think they’ll ever get along?”

“Not in this lifetime,” Eddie sighed, “And I know Mike’s not perfect, but if he’s okay with us why wouldn’t he be with you?”

“But it’s different when it’s a friend, isn’t it?” Will asked, “I’m not even sure if my mom would accept it, let alone him.”

“Well first of all, you don’t have to tell anyone shit, okay? But I can promise you that Joyce would be fine with it. And so would Jonathan for that matter. And I don’t even know if El is aware of what homophobia even is.”

It all sounded a lot more believable out of Eddie’s mouth than what was going on in his own head. But still… “What if they don’t though? What if I tell them and they kick me out or something? Or make me go to therapy?”

“Okay, on the off, off chance that you tell them and Joyce suddenly became a monster overnight, we’ll go to plan B. Steve and I will drive up there to kidnap you and you can live in Indy with us.”

Will grinned. He could live with that, “Can’t we just make that Plan A?”

“No, because your family loves you, as they should by the way. And this won’t bother them, I swear. Plus, telling them on your own terms is a lot less awkward than getting caught in the act.”

Will didn’t even want to know what Eddie was alluding to with that one. Poor Wayne, “But what if we’re wrong?”

He wanted to believe him, he really did, but stranger things had happened outside of gay people being disowned. 

“Will, listen to me,” Eddie said, his voice confident enough to make Will perk up, “I swear on Steve’s life, okay? There is no way in hell anyone in that house is gonna reject you for this.”

Will blinked, a little shocked at just how much faith he had in his family. More than he did, “Really?”

“Really. Trust me on this man, you’re going to be fine.”

They hung up pretty soon after that, mostly because El started knocking on his door for the phone. The conversation made him feel a bit better, but also…nervous. Could he really tell them? Would it all just work out? Just like that? Will wasn’t so sure. 

He decided against doing it right away despite Eddie’s own confidence. But he did start to drop a few feelers. He started with Jonathan, waiting until he was high enough for him to forget the conversation if it didn’t go well. And that wasn’t a long wait. 

He found him and his new friend sprawled out in his room, Fast Times playing in the background as they both stared into space. Though Will wasn’t quite sure he could count what Argyle was doing as staring. He’s eyes were barely open, and Will was 90 percent sure he was passed out. But that was good for him, now was as good a time as any. 

Jonathan smiled at him as he wandered in, his words kind but slurring, “Hey! What’s up? You never come in here. You wanna watch something or…?”

Will shook his head, his heart aching a little at the way it made his brother frown. Maybe he really had been neglecting him, too caught up in his own head to spend time with the closest thing he had to a Dad. 

It made him feel a little bad, but that wasn’t what he was here for, “No thanks. I just wanted to ask you something.”

“Sure!” Jonathan said, way too excited at the prospect of a simple question, but maybe that was the weed, “What’s up?”

Will shrugged, casually leaning against the door. Or at least he hoped it looked casual, because his heart was beating a mile per minute, “Steve said that his and Eddie’s anniversary is coming up soon. Do you think I should send them something?”

Jonathan tilted his head up to look at him, his eyes bloodshot with a tiny smile on his face, “That’s like…so nice dude. You’re always so nice. How are you so nice?”

“You don’t think it’s weird?” Will pressed, hope fluttering in his chest, “To be, y’know, celebrating them like that?”

Jonathan shook his head, “Nah man. It’s like…romance. Y’know? It’s sweet.”

“Yeah dude, gay guys are cool,” Argyle agreed out of nowhere, his eyes still closed,  “Good for Stu and Eggie. Gay people got like, the best hair.”

Will didn’t really know what to do with that one. But Jonathan was impressed. He jerked his head back to stare at Argyle, his voice in awe, “How’d you know he had good hair? I never told you he had good hair.”

“I bet they both have good hair,” Argyle sighed, “They alway do.”

“Are you like, psychic?” Jonathan asked, like that made any sense at all.

“Shit, you think I could be?”

Will watched as the two of them started to debate the idea, his brow raised. God, weed sure was a hell of a drug. He left them to it after that, deciding to slowly back out of the room. But he was going to chalk it up as a positive. 

preview for the next chapter (kind of) of this fic

#steddie #stranger things #will byers #steddie fic #steddie ficlet #steve harrington #eddie munson #the universe trapped in your skin #she's coming along #so fucking slowly #but she's coming #just a little preivew to prove she still exists

[vanillawurld]

༊*·˚How To Disappear

✧.* Pair - Johnny Cage x Fem! Reader

✧.* Tags & Warnings - Cursing, angst, pregnancy, acceptance, distance, love, slight fluff(?)

✧.* Summary - Y/N remembers the life she had with Johnny. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the beauty. After a while of being a young single mother, she finally realizes that in order to move on, she needs to accept her past.

✧.* Extra - FINISH ME JOHNNY also I'm bad at summaries... also "D/N" means daughters name :3

✧.* Word Count - 1,884

Y/N hated reminiscing on her past with Johnny cause if she thought about the good things that happened, she also had to think about the bad things. She hated thinking about the ugly part of their relationship. Every time he was upset with her, she felt like she failed him as a girlfriend and a person in general. Every time she was upset with him, he felt like the shittiest man on earth. Their arguments didn't make things any better.

But even through all the tears, anger, and arguments, Y/N loved Jonathan more than anything in the world. Johnny Cage was just his persona that all of Hollywood knew, but in her arms, he was just Jonathan Carlton. He had no issue with it either. People described Johnny as a sarcastic actor who wanted all of the attention on him, but not in Y/N's eyes. In her eyes, Jonathan was a loving man who was nothing like what the people said.

Y/N still remembers the night they met. They met on Venice Blvd on a summer night which was lit up by the cars passing by and the street lights. Y/N wasn't at her best when they met. She felt like everyone was out to get her and life was treating her unfairly. She couldn't help but cry at the fact that her life was going downhill. Johnny saw her sitting on the sidewalk and felt like he needed to do somethin in order to cheer her up, or get to the bottom of why she was so upset.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" Y/N heard a deep voice ask her. Y/N looked over her shoulder and saw a handsome man that she recognized.

"Oh... I know you. You're Johnny Cage," she smiled a bit "My little brother loves your movies." Johnny smiled at the recognition, but he ignored his pride and ego to make sure the woman in front of him was okay.

"Are you okay?" he gently asked her.

"Oh, I'm fine. Thank you." She said while wiping a tear away, but she wasn't fine and Johnny knew this.

"Well, if you were fine, you wouldn't be sitting alone on the sidewalk, crying at night," he sat next to her and took a good look at her face. She was gorgeous. Johnny was taken aback by how stunning she was. Even though her face was full of tears, slightly puffy lips, and she was feeling very vulnerable, she still looked like an angel according to Johnny. "Come on pretty lady," he commented "hit me. What's up?"

Y/N looked at him and realized that he actually wanted to listen to her. She looked down at the road in front of her and couldn't get her reasoning for feeling miserable. She managed to say one vowel before breaking down crying. Y/N was never good at expressing her bad emotions. Especially sadness. Before she can say anything while she's crying, her throat closes up and her mind just keeps telling her to cry.

Johnny furrowed his eyebrows, feeling concerned and bad for her. He gently guided her head on his shoulder and let her cry it out. It was the least he could do. He knew he couldn't force her to tell him what was wrong.

From that day forward, was a beautiful, blossoming relationship. Johnny would contact Y/N any way he could to get her to hang out with him and sometimes his friends. Y/N only liked hanging out with Johnny. She didn't like his friends. They were all so aggressive and she never understood why Johnny would hang out with people like them. Whenever Johnny and Y/N would hang out with his friends, she would watch them hit each other "playfully" and spew insults, while Johnny just watched and drank beers.

Throughout the whole relationship, Y/N was there for Johnny. No matter what he did, she was always there. When he would practice martial arts with someone, she was there to heal the wounds. When he was drunk after a party, she was there to help him sober up. When he was having any trouble, she was there for him. And that's one thing that Johnny always acknowledged.

Johnny admired how strong Y/N was. She was always there for him even if he managed to fuck up. He realized that Y/N was actually in love with him and not after his fame. For the first time in a good while, he had someone who was willing to be there for him. She wasn't like his ex who would point out his every flaw or his friends who would just mess around for the fun of it. She was a unique woman who managed to capture his heart.

Their relationship seemed perfect. Both Johnny and Y/N believed there was nothing in the world that would pull them apart! Which was what Y/N believed. When they hit their 3 year anniversary, that's when things started to go downhill. The more Johnny started to fuck up, the more tired Y/N was getting. She developed a bad habit of trying to make excuses for him. She hated it. She hated hearing him say "I'm sorry baby, I'll change for you." Every time he would say that, it was like nails to a chalkboard. Every time he would say that, she knew he was bullshitting. He never changed.

Y/N believed that his Johnny Cage persona was taking over. She didn't recognize her Jonathan Carlton. The same man who was there for her on Venice Blvd. He used to be so kind and welcoming to her. She never understood what happened to that man. Every time he would make her cry, she just wanted to disappear. From him, from herself, and from the world. Y/N believed that Johnny made her cry more than she cried when she was a kid. Every time he made her cry, she wondered what she did to deserve the treatment he was giving her.

'Is it me? Am I not pretty enough?'

'Is he talking to someone new?'

'Am I too possesive?'

'Is he tired of my jealousy?'

(Granted, Johnny never talked to any woman in any way. He never cheated on Y/N because he thought cheating were for weak and ugly people.)

Whenever Johnny found Y/N crying because of him, he would feel like complete shit. He hated making her feel that way, but he didn't understand why he kept unknowingly doing it.

When the relationship ended, it felt like both Y/N's and Johnny's world were crashing down. Johnny knew the day was gonna come, but he never knew when. He begged her to stay and try to remember all of the good times they had, but Y/N just wasn't having it. Johnny still remembers what she told him that made him realize it was all his fault.

"No, I'm done. For years I've been defending you not for the public, but for me. I would give myself multiple reasons not to be mad at you and try to figure out... everything, but all you did was make things worse! I'm tired and honestly, I've been tired. Of you, the fame, and everything. I tried to make things right with you and it seemed like you didn't want to."

What she told him on that day, will forever be engraved in his head. He lost the love of his life on that day.

Y/N didn't want to leave, but she had no choice. Even when she walked out those doors, she still loved him. Even though she was upset, she still wanted to run back into his arms for one last moment of comfort. But she held herself back, which she both hated and was proud of herself for.

What Y/N didn't know was when she was walking out of Johnny's life, she was entering a new one. She was pregnant with Johnny's baby and she didn't even know it, neither did he! When she did find out, part of her thought her life was ruined, but the other part thought this was a new start for her. She wanted to get rid of it but decided against doing so since she believed she would live to regret not taking advantage of the chance to become a mother.

When she had the baby, it was a living hell for her. She had family that helped her out, but the person that she needed was Johnny. She needed Johnny on her side, but she couldn't just show up on his doorstep randomly and give him the baby. She hated the fact that she still missed him. She let that hate consume her and pledged to do motherhood on her own without "that low-life Hollywood scum" in her life. Even though deep down, she knew she needed him back.

A few years forward, Y/N managed to get a beautiful home with her beautiful daughter and two adorable Siamese and Siberian cats. She was doing well in life. The new city she lived in was just as beautiful as Venice. She loved her life. She loved her daughter, she loved her cats, she loved her home, and she loved... her Johnny. Y/N accepted the fact that she will always love Johnny and in order to move on from her "hatred" she had to accept she had a life with him.

Every time she looked at her daughter, she saw a bit of Johnny in her. Which made her smile every time. From time to time, Y/N regrets the fact that she never tried to get in contact with Johnny to tell him about their daughter.

"Mommy, you got a letter!" D/N said. Her voice made Y/N snapped out of her thought bubble. She grabbed the letter and realized the handwriting on the envelope.

'No... is it really him?'

She grabbed a knife to open the envelope. Every second it took for her to open the letter, her heart began to pound harder. When she finally opened it, she felt like crying. It really was him.

'Dear Y/N, I know it's been years since we've even seen each other. A lot has changed since you've been gone. I went on this wild adventure that I'd love to tell you about someday. If you even want to meet up. The last time we spoke was a depressing day and I understand if there is still hard feelings there. Anyway, I got in contact with one of your cousins and they told me that you're now a mom! Congratulations! I asked about the father, but they wanted to keep that private which I understand. The only thing they told me was that he was out of your daughter's life. I hope you're doing well in life. If there is any trouble, don't be afraid to contact me (XXX-XXX-XXXX). There's so much that I want to discuss with you, but again if there are still hard feelings, I understand. I hope this letter reaches you. The last thing I want to tell you is that, no matter what happens, I will always be there for you.

Sincerely, Jonathan Carlton"

˖◛. *. ⋆ Vanilla Speaks

RUSHED ENDING WOMP WOMP

also I was too lazy to proof-read so, oops

im back i think... idk i'll write if i feel like it tbh

#mk1 #johnny cage x reader #johnny cage #Mortal Kombat 1 #mk1 x reader #mortal kombat 1 x reader #mk x reader #mortal kombat #mortal kombat x reader

[bookshelf-dust]

how people can change

steve harrington x gn!byers!reader

word count: 4,427

warnings: swearing, like one use of y/n, mentions of season one steve's bullshit, mentions of death, enemies to friends to more type beat

a/n: my very first *full* steve fic. look at us. who woulda thought? not me. i've been working on this since february. don't look at me, i know. i know. but i think i've gotten some sort of hold on how i'd like to write steve. some of the dialogue (season 2) isn’t mine. (also the title is a lyric from strange by celeste!) let me know what you think, okay? i love you. steve loves you. don't tell me if it's bad.

————

November 1984

The door slams behind you with a deafening thud, and you take the extra five seconds to lock it. You know, that action no one else in your family seems to be capable of performing. 

The house is quiet, and you step over the map of Hawkins sprawling over the hardwoods, careful not to damage Will’s work.

Your keys clang against the table, knocking into your mother’s ashtray. It’s dead quiet again, and you freeze at a subtle interruption in the silence. There’s a muffled sound coming from somewhere else in your home, and frankly you’ve had enough of everything the last couple of days. Which is why Joyce sent you home to get some sleep, to clear your head. 

There’s no denying that you have a soft spot for Will. He’s always been your buddy. And you love Jonathan, you do, and he’s got this sick ability to know what you’re thinking or feeling before you do, but he doesn’t need your protection like Will does. 

Will is your best friend. And he’s got one hell of a support system with you, Jonathan and your mom behind him. He deserves the world. You’ve always thought that. 

You quickly infer that it’s a walkie making the sound, based on the staticky crackle, the slightly muffled voice of whoever’s trying to get through from the other side.

Yours is off—you know it is—so it has to be Will’s. Jonathan was too good for a walkie-talkie.

You step down the hallway, pushing your younger brother’s bedroom door the rest of the way open. You scan the small area for it, listening.

“Code red! This is a code red! I repeat, this is a good red! Shit, is anyone there?”

You snatch up the device, extending the antenna.

“Dustin? Is that you?”

“Jesus christ! Where have you been?” Dustin exclaims, and you swear you can hear someone else interfering with his words.

“Sorry! I wasn’t home. What’s wrong?” You sit on the edge of Will’s bed. It’s so much comfier than yours. 

“It’s Dart! He’s, he’s just…you know what? It’s a long story. Where are you right now?”

This time you definitely hear another voice, and maybe even music.

“Dart? You kept him, right? I fucking knew it, Henderson! You’re so not a good liar.”

“That’s for sure.” You can’t place the voice, not over the walkie and over Dustin’s rambling, but you do catch that and it’s enough to leave you curious. 

The boy starts to argue back, but you cut him off. “Dustin, who are you with?”

“Uh,” he coughs, “Well you see, um…Steve Harrington. I’m with Steve Harrington.”

Dustin gets a severe eye roll from said partner-in-crime, but he brushes it off. 

“What?” You’re so confused. How did that even happen?

“I know! But everyone’s been MIA!”

“Oh my god,” you say, and Dustin can practically see you face-palming.

“Look,” he shoves a handful of rogue curls back under the brim of his hat. “Can you just meet up with us? The old junkyard?”

You push off of Will’s bed, and start walking through the house again, retrieving your things. So much for a nap or eating anything other than hospital Jell-O. What are you gonna say? Fuck no? 

“Yeah, yeah, I'll be there as soon as I can.”

“Thank god,” Dustin breathes. “See you then. Over.”

You make sure to check the batteries in Will’s walkie before you go, and then you’re back in your car again, backing out just as aggressively as your mother (something you said you’d never do). 

————

“Yeah, Farrah Fawcett. You tell anyone I just told you that, and your ass is grass you’re dead, Henderson. Do you understand?” 

“Yep.”

“Okay.”

Dustin goes quiet for a minute, watching each step he takes. The train tracks are old, and there are one too many loose nails for his liking. “So what’s Y/N got against you, man?”

Steve adjusts one of the gloves he’s wearing, trying not to think about the fact that he’s gonna smell like raw meat for who knows how long. “Uh, I don’t know, exactly. Never really talked to them before. But I’d assume it’s the–”

“The assholery?” Dustin interrupts. 

“Dude.”

“What? It’s true.”

“No, yeah, you’re right.” 

Dustin catches the slip in Steve’s attitude almost immediately. “Hey, they’re good, okay? I don’t think you’re a total dick, if that means anything. You’re trying and that’s what matters, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

“Yeah, we will. Thanks, Henderson.”

Dustin gives Steve a winning smile. This kid could rule the world, he thinks. 

“Anytime,” Harrington. He lifts his hand up, awaiting a fist bump that Steve returns without a second thought. 

————

You wander down the trail of raw meat you’ve found, not bothering to even question what's happening or where the meat came from. Frankly, you don’t really want to know. 

At the end of your path, you catch a glimpse of familiar curls, even if they are crushed under the red brim of a hat. 

“Dustin?”

The boy practically gives himself whiplash turning around to face you. 

“Holy shit, I’m so glad you’re here. It’ll be nice to have someone older than me who’s not a total pain in the ass.”

“Hey, I heard that.” 

The voice pulls your attention away from Dustin. When you look up, Steve Harrington is walking out of the biggest vehicle in this abandoned lot: a school bus. He’s wiping his hands on his jeans and pushing the ends of his sleeves up.

Dustin looks at you. “You guys have to be acquaintances at the least, right?”

You nod at him, feeling your face burn. If there’s a word for a less-than-acquaintance, you don’t know it. But that’s probably where your relationship with this boy lies. King Steve isn’t really someone you just miss. 

But yeah, you know him. You know he’s a dick. 

“Hi.” Steve pushes his sunglasses up into his hair and crosses his arms. 

“Hi.”

You only look at him for a moment before your eyes are back on Dustin. The younger boy notices the tension radiating from you, and honestly, he gets it. Steve Harrington wasn’t exactly the person he’d planned on spending his day with, but here he was. Desperate times call for desperate measures or whatever.

“So what are we doing?” You ask.

Dustin puts his thumbs underneath the straps of his backpack, bouncing on the balls of his feet a little. “It’s a long story. Best if we talk while we work.”

You roll your eyes at him, but follow the thirteen-year-old wherever he wants to go. You’re not sure you could deny Dustin Henderson anything. 

————

You watch as Max, a young girl you’ve just met, stomps up the steps of the ladder you’ve rigged inside the mess of a bus that you’re camped out in. 

Your chest aches because what Dustin just said to her was rude, it was rude, and you can’t believe the two of them. You sit, arms crossed and leg shaking up and down, glaring at Steve.

You find it hard to believe that after everything you’ve learned tonight, about Dart, about Mews—which you’re never going to get over because you only visit Dustin’s house for his cat, never him—that this is what they’re doing now.

“That’s good,” Steve says. “Just show her you don’t care.” 

Dustin is pacing, hands deep in his pockets. “I don’t,” he breathes.

Steve winks. Watching the two of them is like watching a tennis match. You don’t even like tennis.

“Why are you winking, Steve?” 

You drag your hand down your face, sick of hearing this stupid ass conversation. When Dustin sits, the constant clink of metal where Steve keeps flicking his lighter open over and over starts to give you a headache. 

“Fuck, Steve, would you quit it already?” 

He scoffs, snapping the lid to his Zippo closed harder than he had been before. “What’s your problem?”

“You’re pissing me off, that’s my problem.”

Steve’s brow furrows. He doesn’t really understand the sudden need for aggression. 

“Is this really the time for you to be yelling at me?”

“Is this really the time for you to be a dick?”

Dustin jerks the antenna on his walkie down, clearly sick of the two of you. “Would you children stop bickering? This is a life or death situation we have going on here.”

“I’d prefer death,” you proclaim. 

Dustin glares at you. “I can arrange that if you’d really rather die, than act civil for one evening.”

“I think all of the civility,” you gesture vaguely with your hands, “went out the window when you asked me to come help fight demo-dogs.”

Steve snorts at your words, and you glare at him, an “oh, is that funny?” look on your face. 

Dustin rearranges the hat on his head, stuffing his curls underneath it once again. “Alright. I’m gonna go check on our status, you two…work shit out, okay?”

“Dude,” Steve starts, “I’m older than you. I don’t have to listen to your instructions.” He gestures vaguely with his hands.

Dustin flips him off, and that’s the only response Steve receives, leaving the two of you alone in the bus.

You remain quiet, hoping that if you do you might just disappear or dissolve into the cracked leather of the seat you're sitting on. Then there really wouldn’t be any form of confrontation.

Steve starts flipping the lid to his Zippo open and shut repeatedly again, but this time it doesn’t annoy you. In fact, it gives you something to focus on, and you know that if you had one you’d be doing the same exact thing. 

You wonder if he’s nervous. Or just bored. 

Your knee begins to bounce when you realize that he’s looking at you, that he’s stopped messing with the lighter. But you refuse to look back, staring instead at the way the moonlight glints off of the metal in between his fingers. 

“So what’s your problem with me?”

The way Steve says those words is so unlike the way he’s spoken the rest of the day, the way he’s behaved with Dustin, that you feel a pang in your chest. 

He sounds like he used to. 

“Did you even hear that? How conceded you just sounded? Like it’s funny that I might have a problem with you, king Steve?”

Obviously the use of his nickname hits a nerve. He shoves the lighter back into his pocket and sits up, tucking his hands under his knees. 

“Would you just cut the shit and tell me what your problem is then?”

You sit up, matching his stance. There’s a part of you that wants to piss him off. You ache for it. 

“You’re a dick, that’s my problem.”

Steve scoffs. 

“That’s it? Like I don’t already know that?”

You roll your eyes, oblivious to the fact that all three of the younger kids you’re with have their heads hung over the escape latch in the top of the bus, listening eagerly. 

“You think I’m just gonna put up with you, Harrington? I’m sorry, did you forget the slut shaming you and your shitty friends did publicly last fall? Because I sure as hell didn’t. I didn’t forget that you walk around like you fucking own the entirety of Hawkins because you’re swimming in daddy’s money. I didn’t forget that your girlfriend took my best friend away from me.”

You stop, and Steve just looks at you. You realize how heavy you’re breathing and subconsciously watch the steady movement of his chest, trying to match the pace and calm down. You hadn’t meant to get worked up like that. But sometimes…sometimes shit just happens. 

Steve sighs. Honestly he feels a little sick. And he could argue with you some more, say that you don’t know what you’re talking about, that that’s the past, that he’s getting better. But that feels shallow. It feels meaningless. Because he knows it’s true. That in worrying about only himself or getting the girl or impressing whoever, he hurt loads more people than he realized. 

It’s such bullshit, he thinks. This life he’s been living.

“You know, I’ve gotten plenty of earfuls about my actions from Dustin, I promise you that much. He can be very mean.” 

You snort, considering there’s absolutely no denying that. “He’s a smart kid.” 

Steve nods. He’s trying to think of a way to respond. He’s not good with words. 

“Look, I-I know I’m a dick, okay?” he starts. You decide to be brave and look at him. He seems to like that. The eye contact. It’s like it lets him know you’re paying attention. He doesn’t get a lot of that, not away from school. 

“The thing with Nancy,” he gestures with his hands, looking away from you and at the wall of the bus, like it hurts him to talk about or something. “I don’t know. My solution to not getting what I wanted was apparently to take it out on her. Tommy H. proposed the idea, and I didn’t stop it.”

“You know I cleaned it off, right?” he continues. 

You uncross your arms and sit up, criss crossing your legs instead. “No. I didn’t know that.”

“It’s okay. It’s not like I broadcasted the information across Hawkins. Tommy and Carol don’t even know.”

Oh. The fact that they didn’t know tells you that he did it without needed recognition. He did it because he wanted to.

“I just—she saw it. And then there was the whole thing…”

You start to grin before you catch yourself, but he sees it. 

“It’s okay, you can laugh. I got the shit beat out of me.”

“You deserved it.”

He can’t argue with that. He won’t argue with it. “You’re right. I did. I said and did a lot that day that I regret.”

You nod, and then you’re both just looking at one another. It’s quiet out here, the same quiet you get at home, where you can hear the crickets, where you know there will be lightning bugs in the warmer months, free to roam uninterrupted by human activity. 

Steve pushes his hair from his forehead, and though he sees you track the movement of his hand, he doesn’t point it out.

“What did you mean about your friend?”

If you’re being honest with yourself, you hadn’t intended for that to come out, but being in such close proximity to Steve in this moment had just made everything spill out. 

You try to wave him off. “That was a whole thing. I didn’t mean to spill my guts like that.”

“No, it’s okay, I want to know. If you want to tell me, that is.”

You nod, chewing at your thumb nail now. Steve has the urge to reach forward and pull it free so you won’t hurt yourself, but he doesn’t. Instead he stays still and quiet, watching you contemplate a while. 

Eventually he decides to keep going. 

“I’m trying, you know,” he tells you. You look up and it gives him that little push to continue speaking. “To be better. I know you think I’m a total dick, and you’re not wrong, I know that, but I really am trying to be better. To be a good influence on those little shits.” He quirks his head upwards where he knows all three of his charges are eavesdropping, without a doubt. 

You take a second and look at him. Really look at him. He seems to carry himself differently, though it’s not something you’d notice if you weren’t looking. He’s not dressed like his mommy picked out his outfit. He looks messy. The mess draws you in. 

“I believe you. And I-I know I shouldn’t stereotype you, but it’s just—”

“I am a walking stereotype,” Steve grins. So do you.

“Yeah. I guess so. But I believe that you’re working on it. I suppose some people don’t remain assholes forever.”

“Yeah,” he chuckles, though a little distracted. You still haven’t told you what you meant, but that’s not what’s really bugging him. 

There’s this pull inside him. This longing for a friend. A real friend. Not someone he knows just because their dads were up each other's asses, or someone he just sits with at lunch because they’re of the same status quo. 

And he just feels so alone right now. What with Nancy, this girl he thought he was in love with and everything, but clearly she doesn’t feel the same. What’s he even supposed to do with that? Did he ever actually know anything about her? 

It doesn’t matter. 

What matters is that he’s sitting here with you, hanging out with thirteen-year-olds and hiding from creatures Steve’s brain can’t even begin to decipher. 

“Barb,” you say. Steve panicked a little internally at the mention of her name, considering. But he keeps his eyes on you, focused on each word that leaves your mouth. “She was my best friend, in middle school that is.”

He nods. Oh. Oh. 

“We were still close when we got to high school, had a little group and everything, right? And even though high school kinda fucks everything up, I didn’t want to believe that would happen to our little partnership, you know?” 

He nods again, trying his best to pay attention. He’s trying harder than he ever has in school. He probably shouldn’t ever say that out loud.

“Anyways, she was my best friend. She was all I knew, and then we got to lovely Hawkins High, and she met Nancy. Nancy and I never really clicked, even when we tried. I guess it’s because I’ve always thought she was a pretentious bitch—sorry, Steve—but I don’t know. We just fell apart after that.”

“So Barb had Nancy and I had…no one. And the way my brain saw it was Nancy took my best friend from me, and then Nancy started seeing you, and so I saw those two from across the cafeteria, lounging with the popular kids. With you. And then she died.”

Steve is looking at you in a way he’s never looked at you before. Like he’s in awe of you. And it’s not anything negative. It’s warm. Understanding. Like something you’ve said has straightened something out in his brain, sorted something he couldn’t figure out on his own. 

“S-so it was like we took her from you, in a way?” he asks. 

“Yeah. And you didn’t. God, you didn’t. But it just felt like this…” you trail off, searching for the right words.

“Domino effect?”

“Yeah! Yeah. Exactly. And it’s not your fault, not at all. But I guess I already saw you as some dickish rich kid and that gave me another reason to stay the fuck away from you. And now that I’m saying it out loud I realize how awful it sounds because people change, you know?”

“No, I get it. I’ve been an asshole, and I’m sure I still am—Dustin can attest to that—but there are rich assholes that don’t change or probably won’t ever change. I know a few of them.”

You go quiet again. Steve doesn’t want you to stop talking. He’s starting to think he likes the sound of your voice. 

“It’s good that you’re changing, Steve. I’m sorry I said you were such a dick.”

A breathy laugh leaves his throat. “It’s okay, I promise. I’m sorry for…everything.”

“Maybe we can make a truce or something. Start over. It’s not like we really know each other that well anyhow.”

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s cool. Whatever you want.” He means that. He thinks he’d do whatever you wanted him to. 

“Okay. Maybe we can just try and figure it out.”

“I’d like that,” Steve says. He stops himself from proclaiming that he wants to try and fix this with you. Because you’re listening to him. You’re not mad. He doesn’t want you to disappear on him after this. 

You give him a small smile and he swears he might cry. Not that that feeling lasts. 

“Hey!” Dustin is leaning down into the bus, hands clasped together. “I’m so glad we’ve got this handled, but we’ve got a code red, so let’s get this show on the road, yeah?”

————

June 1985

The door to the back room swings open, a frazzled boy rushing in. You drop your candy wrapper on the table, and Robin keeps talking about the girl that you missed coming in this morning. She was “such a babe.”  

“Hello?” Steve stands in front of the both of you, hands on his hips. You have to fight back a laugh. 

Your eyes find Steve’s immediately, and you swear they soften, but maybe you’re imagining it. You nudge Robin’s leg where your foot is propped up on one of the supports under her chair. 

She stops flailing and looks up, seeing Steve’s hand raised where he’d been about to snap to get her attention. She quirks a brow. “Don’t you snap at me, Harrington! This is important shit.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Could you two come and help me? I’m dying out here!”

It’s one of the hottest days of the year, and Scoops has had a line since it opened at ten. 

You look at your watch. “My shift doesn’t start for…fifteen minutes.” He rolls his eyes at you, though the gesture is void of any malice it could possibly hold. 

“Yeah, well this is supposed to be my break, so get out there, Buckley!”

She stands, though she’s pouting. “Come on.”

“You took the job,” he says, shoving her through the door. Robin gives him a look that you can’t see, but you can practically feel it from across the small room. 

Steve lets out an exaggerated sigh, ripping off the hat he’s been wearing and throwing it on the table in front of you. 

You watch him rummage through a bag before he emerges from its depths with a banana and throws himself down in the chair across from you, lifting your leg up from where you’d moved it to occupy the seat Robin had abandoned. His hand is warm on the bare skin of your calf, and he shifts the chair some, laying your leg across both of his. 

“Steve.”

“Huh?” He peels the banana, aggressively fast actually, and rips off a chunk, popping it into his mouth. 

“Why do you have a banana?” 

He meets your eyes. “Snack, duh.” He chews, and then gestures at the closed window. “Been working up a sweat out there I think I deserve a break.”

You grin at him, and he feels like he might hit the floor. 

“Want some?” Steve pulls off a chunk and holds it out to you. 

“Did you wash your hands?”

He gasps, mid-chew, and forces himself to swallow. “D-did I—yes, I washed my hands, mom, I’m not four.”

“Eh,” Robin’s voice breaks your little bubble. She’s pulled the window open–that way she can eavesdrop– propping herself up on her elbows. 

That makes you laugh, and when you smile your cheek is full of banana and Steve swears something is breaking inside of him. 

“Gang up on me then why don’t you,” he says, handing you the last piece he’s got left. He tosses the peel in the trash, “what do you want anyhow, Robin?” 

“Your break is up, and her shift has started. Let’s get to slinging ice cream, shitheads!”

You wipe your hands on your shorts and hop up. Steve doesn’t move, just looks at you. 

“C’mon, Steven. It’ll be lunch sooner than later.”

He grins. His eyes look tired and you wonder if he slept any last night. He told you once recently that he doesn’t always sleep well, that sometimes he has to listen to tapes in order to keep his head from being so busy, to keep the thoughts from being so loud. 

Steve has told you a lot since last fall. There’s a significant bit more that you know that’s more than what he’s given Robin, but you know he’ll let her in. He just needs the time. 

Though sometimes you think he might be giving you everything. The parts of himself he’s never shown anyone else. Because you’ve been such a good listener, and Steve’s never really had that before. 

He wishes he had the balls to tell you more. But he can’t fuck it up this time. Not with you. You’re too good.

Steve is your best friend now. You know that. He knows it.

If yourself from a year ago could see you now, she’d probably knock your fucking teeth in. But he’s just so much more than you thought. You’re not sure you’ll ever forgive yourself for not thinking there could be more in him, though he’s told you not to be upset. You’ve told him the same when he berates himself for not having paid you more attention in school.

It’s the past. You can’t live there. And today, you’re scooping ice cream for pre-sticky kids, for shitty pay, but it doesn’t matter because you have him. You have Robin. 

You stick out your hand, and Steve takes it without a second thought. His palm engulfs yours, skin warm and a little calloused. 

“We can watch whatever you want tonight.”

He squeezes your hand. You and Robin are supposed to have a sleepover with him tonight. He suggested he sleep in a guest room and you two have his bed, but Robin said she needs to be cuddled. You said you’re not letting him sleep anywhere but his bed. 

“I thought you wanted to watch Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”

“I always wanna watch that. But you can pick first, Stevie.”

Stevie. His stomach flips at that. You don’t let it out often, but when you do it’s like Steve might just die right there. 

He straightens, deal clearly made, and you pull him up–not that you need to. 

You push through the door with him, and immediately regret it. It’s like the soccer moms can smell your fear, and you know it. 

“Breathe,” Steve says. “Dustin’s here.”

He is. The entire party. That you can deal with. 

You think you could deal with an absurd line and angry mothers for the rest of your life if it meant assembling Dustin and Lucas’ weird orders. Even if you have to endure Will’s questioning looks and his pleas that you bring some ice cream home. If you have to listen to Robin’s word vomit.

If it meant spending time with Steve, you’d do it. 

God, how shit changes.

————

please let me know if you liked this! feedback is always appreciated!! comments and reblogs mean more than you know. <33

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x gn!reader #steve harrington x gender neutral reader #steve harrington angst #steve harrington comfort #steve harrington one shot #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fanfiction #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fluff #dustin henderson #steve harrington x byers!reader #byers!reader #robin buckley #savannah’s fics

[venusloverblue]

Sky blue eyes

Billy Hargrove x Harrington!reader

words count: + 4k

summary: You become friends with Max, this means that you get to know Billy better

warnings: Steve Harrington!mean, little angst, fluff, mild sexual mentions, I think that's it all, tell me if I'm missing anything else

a/n: Hi!! I hope you are well, this is my first fanfic in my life. I hope you like it and if you have any criticism, let it be constructive. English is not a first language so if there are any mistakes, I'm sorry!!!

For a long time you thought that love was not going to be present in your teenage life, you thought that the romance in the movies was exclusively for the movies and that it did not extend to the real world. Plus you took it for granted that you were never going to fall in love and that no one was going to fall in love with you.

Everyone knew who your brother was, when they talked about you they referred to you as Harrington's little sister and not your first name. It was difficult at first for you to live in the shadow of your older brother, but over the years your skin had turned iron and those comments no longer affect you like before.

It is because of all this that your life had become very simple and boring, you did not have as many friends as you wanted, but at least you had people to take refuge with when you needed it, among them were Nancy and Jonathan, although their love for each other made you feel a little alone, they were always there to give you their unconditional support and their shoulders to cry on.

It was quite common for you to be crying in the bathrooms along with Nancy, this case was because some of the more popular kids had played a prank on you at lunch. They thought that bathing you with their drinks was something that everyone would find very funny and they were not wrong because a large part of the dining room began to laugh as if they had just told the best joke of their lives. That's why you came out with your head held high and when nothing saw you, you started running towards the women's bathrooms.

While you were crying and washing your face you didn't realize that Nancy had rushed in to comfort and help you. A few minutes after helping you and calming you down, you break the silence that had existed since she found you in the bathrooms.

"I don't understand what's wrong with them, I've never done anything to them and they always try to humiliate me in front of everyone" you say while looking at Nancy searching for an answer that could help you cope with the situation.

She sighs, searching for the right words, finally finding them. "I would love to know why they do this to you, I would also like to know why your brother doesn't do anything about it" She says with a tone of hatred towards my brother.

"You know how he is, he would never fight for me with his friends, that's why they do this to me"

"It doesn't mean that you can't get angry with him, you should say something to him when you're home." Before you can answer, someone knocks on the bathroom door.

"Girls, are you okay?" Jonathan's unmistakable voice is heard, he must have come as quickly as he can after finding out what happened in the dining room.

Nancy tells him that we are fine and that we will see him after school, which ends the conversation that the two of you were having before he interrupted you.

★

When the exit bell rings, everyone quickly leaves their classrooms to get home as soon as possible and to rest properly, since it is Friday, many must be in a hurry to prepare for a party at the house of some of the popular ones, luckily this weekend is not yours.

You are one of the last to leave, that is why your friends are waiting for you to say goodbye or make some plans in the next few days, as you get closer you hear how some of the popular ones point at you and laugh at you, because your clothes were stained by the drinks some of them threw, you decide to ignore them and continue walking to reach Nancy and Jonathan.

After having talked for a few minutes we decide that we will call each other to see if we can arrange an outing, with that they say goodbye and you walk home, since obviously Steve was not going to risk his reputation by taking you in his car.

After walking for a while you come across a girl of about 13 years old riding her skateboard, her reddish hair being blown back by the air that hits her face while she is moving. It seems strange to you that she is alone so you decide to run as close as possible.

"Hey girl, are you alone?" When you ask her the question, the girl stops suddenly, when she turns to look at you, her features relax and that's when she starts talking.

"Yes, my brother sent me home on the skateboard because I left him waiting after school" She says as if it were something unimportant.

When you hear that I can't believe it, how is it possible that her brother is so cold? That's when you remember that your brother is the same as you and you feel more sorry for the girl.

"Well, you weren't the only one, my brother never took me in his car since it was given to him" You tell the girl that so she doesn't feel so alone because of her brother.

Her face wrinkles in disgust and then changes to a grimace of annoyance. "I don't understand why older brothers are always so stupid." That's when she decides to roll his eyes.

"Yes, they are stupid"

★

After that unexpected meeting, you and Max become kind of friends, causing you to accompany her to her house every day and then go to yours. It was really very fun to spend time with her, she was a very sweet girl who preferred to cover that sweetness with rudeness although she didn't completely succeed.

For several weeks it becomes part of your routine until one day it ends.

While you were waiting for Max outside school, you found out from one of her classmates that she was sick and that they needed someone to deliver her homework. That's why you volunteered since the route to your house would take you to passed by Max's house. With that the children thank you and say goodbye to go, get their bikes and leave.

When you're walking to Max's house you hope you don't run into his brother, Billy Hargrove. In the weeks that you became friends with Max you found out who his brother was, you would never have guessed since they didn't look alike at all, then you found out that they are actually not brothers but stepbrothers. But in the same way your nerves did not dissipate, Billy was known for having a rather strong temper and also for having little patience, you did not like the combination at all. You didn't want him to get mad at you for being at his house and then decide to get revenge for it at school, just thinking about it gives you chills.

But still that didn't stop you from going to Max's house, she was your friend and she needed to keep up with school regardless of whether she liked her brother or not.

When you got home the nerves were present again and you didn't really know what to do, and seeing the Camaro on the driveway from the garage sends a chill down your spine. You decided to shake yourself to erase any drop of fear regarding Billy, he was not a monster, he was a boy the same age as your brother, with that you relaxed a little, giving yourself the courage to go knock on the door.

You waited a few seconds before someone answered, when the door opened you were greeted by a completely sweaty Billy with a muscular shirt that revealed his physique. You may have liked Billy, but you couldn't deny the attractiveness he possessed and why all the girls were crazy about him.

"Who are you and what are you doing at my door?" The question snaps you out of your thoughts and brings you back to real life with Billy scowling at your presence.

"Hello, I'm Max's friend, I came to bring her her homework because she is sick" You stay silent for a few seconds and then add. "Hers classmates asked me to give it to her."

Before Billy answered, a slightly hoarse voice was heard behind him. "Hello, sorry I went to school today, mom made me stay in bed" Max says while pushing hers brother a little so he can see me.

"Hello Max, don't worry, it's best that you recover as soon as possible. I have your homework here, I can bring it again tomorrow if you need it."

"I appreciate it, I won't be able to go for a few days" She says with a little sadness.

“Don't be sad, the most important thing now is that you recover as soon as possible. Plus I need my travel companion to be very healthy to come home on time every day, right?” With that the girl nods quickly with a big smile, agreeing with you. “Okay, I'm going home now, I'll bring your homework at the same time tomorrow.” When you say that, you turn around and walk through the Hargroves' front yard while waving goodbye to Max.

★

The next three days you continue going to Max's house to leave hers homework and the one who opens the door is always Billy with his frown, you don't pay much interest to the subject since it's probably not something personal but he is like that with everyone and not only with you. But that doesn't mean that that attitude doesn't bother you.

It's already the fifth day that Max is sick, so you repeat the same process already done the previous four days, but this time you have an obstacle to overcome and that is Billy Hargrove. When you were about to cross the street, a blue Camaro with the windows down stopped in front of you and inside was the boy with sky blue eyes.

“Are you going to my house?” He asks with a tired tone.

“Yes, going to leave Max's homework.” You are surprised that the new and now popular boy is talking to you. You thought you were a nuisance to him, not a person he wanted to talk to.

“Get in and I'll take you, I don't want you to interrupt me again like you did all week.”

You hesitate at first, you don't think it's appropriate to get on since you completely like him, you also know that someone will see you and rumors are generated regarding our relationship, which is completely non-existent. A few seconds pass before you end up accepting, it's not like they saw you having any approach that would imply that you were dating or something like that.

You get into the camaro and shortly after you have closed the door the vehicle takes off at great speed. You get scared at first, but you end up getting used to the speed.

“So you're the one who accompanies my sister home, at first I thought it was a miracle to return alone, but then I began to suspect” He looks at you for a few seconds and then looks back at the road.

“Yes, I saw her for the first time when she was returning on her skateboard and I thought it was better that I accompany her to make sure nothing happens to her.” You say that with the intention of making her realize what an idiot he is for letting her leave on her own, but it seems that he does not give it importance or does not realize it.

“Well, thanks for that” He says that and then adds. “I wouldn't like to imagine what I would do if something happened to Max.”

“I understand, but you could also wait a little longer when you leave school. I know you don't like to wait, but she is a girl and she shouldn't come back alone on her skateboard” You say and then add. “You never know what can happen out there.”

Without realizing it, you are already at the door of his house. When he finishes parking, he turns to you and with a face that shows much more than you thought you would ever see from Billy in your life, he decides to tell you. “Believe me, I know.”

★

It's been weeks since the last time Billy took you to his house so you could hand in hers homework to Max and although you don't like to admit it, you still think about the short conversation you had in his cabin. You saw some guilt in him along with remorse for not being able to do something. At some moments you think that you imagined it, but you know that it is a way of lying to yourself, he in some sense is honest with you.

Your thoughts about Billy are interrupted by the bell that announces the end of classes, you quickly leave with your classmates. When you are already at the main exit of the high school, you see some of the popular kids laughing in a way that makes you understand that they are planning something that you would not like to know about.

It is when you are passing a few meters near them that you feel how they are getting you wet, by the time you realize you are soaked from head to toe, you don't know where to go so they stop laughing and meanwhile you curse yourself for having chosen a white shirt that shows through your bra

Everyone around you laughs, you even see Steve being one of those who finds the joke very funny. Everything is laughter until you hear how someone is hit, causing the laughter to turn into screams of horror on the part of the girls and hatred on the part of the boys. You turn around to see where all the commotion is coming from and find Billy straddling one of the boys who decided to get all wet.

You try to get closer, but a hand grabs your arm and you see it's Max. “It's better that you don't come closer, let's go to the car and wait for him to finish all this.”

You hesitate for a moment, but end up agreeing with her. So you go with the girl to the car, but for a moment you turn around to see how Billy is doing and just at that moment your eyes meet so that in a second they are lost again.

★

It takes a little over 30 minutes for Billy to return and get into the car. You are in the passenger seat and that allows you to observe in detail that he did not come out of that fight completely unscathed. His lower lip is split, his cheeks have some scratches and his clothes are a little dirty from rolling on the floor.

Before you can break the silence, Max comes out from the back to poke hers head between the front seats. “Did you give those idiots the beating they deserved?”

“Max!” You say quickly after the girl's comment. “Don't say those kinds of words.”

The girl ignores you and the older brother does the same. “Yes, I gave them shit to eat, don't worry” He says while looking in the rearview mirror, then he turns a little towards you. "Are you okay?"

When you listen to him he sounds like he is really concerned and will care about your well-being. “Yes, it was just a little water, I'm fine” You say a little embarrassed by so much interest on his part.

“Okay, then I'll take you home” And with that he tears off his blue Camaro just like his eyes.

★

Obviously, you end up getting sick since the idiots got you wet in November. That caused you to now be in bed for a whole week. Luckily you had Nancy, who came to visit you whenever she could after school and told you all the new things. That was your favorite source of entertainment, then you had to watch movies or read a book, it was clear that doing homework was not on the list of entertainment but torture.

But besides that, you also took the time to think about what Billy did for you. You never thought anyone would do that for you in your life, least of all the great Billy Hargrove. Thinking about how he looked in his cabin after the fight caused your cheeks to turn pink and your body temperature to rise. From the beginning you blamed the cold, but you knew very well that that was a lie and a pretty big one.

You continued with your sick routine until Wednesday, the day your brother walked through your bedroom door looking to talk. You thought he was going to talk about how Billy defended you and then drove you home in his truck, but he actually surprised you with an apology.

“I come to apologize to you for everything that happened.” Look at a fixed point on the ground. “I know that I am not the best brother of all and that what I did to you does not deserve any kind of forgiveness, but believe me, I am very sorry. The jokes, the contempt, the ignoring you are things you don't deserve, you are a great sister to me and I return all that to you with pure shit."

You don't know what to say so he took advantage of it to continue. “I understand if you don't want my forgiveness, but I think I need you to know that I don't want anything bad to happen to you. The last joke was my breaking point."

“But you laughed Steve, I saw how you laughed” You say with a voice that was about to break.

“I know, you don't know how rubbish and shit I feel” After a few seconds he looks up at you. “I swear I want to go back in time and change the things I did to you.”

“I understand, but you have to know that it will take a lot to forgive you.” You say, determined that you will not let him have the easy way.

With that he gets up and leaves your room in silent.

★

Two days after the episode you had with Steve, while you are watching a movie that is being played on code, your mother enters in your room and tells you that a classmate of yours came to bring your homework. At first it seemed strange to you since Nancy was the one who always brought your homework, that generated great curiosity in you and you told your mother to let it go.

That's when you see Billy enter your room in his jeans and jean jacket. For a moment you thought it was all a dream and that you were about to wake up shortly, but fortunately none of that was an invention of your brain and subconscious. Luckily you woke up from that daydream before he thought you were a complete weirdo.

“Billy, what a surprise, I didn't expect you to come to my house.”

“Yes, well, Nancy please me to bring since she wasn't going to be able to come today” He says while handing you the papers where the homework was.

“I'm sick, but I'm not stupid, for nothing in this world would Nancy ask you a favor” With that you make Billy smile and you don't know why, but your stomach begins to secrete butterflies that leave you totally confused.

“You caught me, I asked her if I could bring your homework. At first she refused, but after I told her why I wanted to bring it, she gave it to me.”

“And it may be curious, but why did you want to bring me my homework?” You expected any answer except the one he actually gave you.

“Because I wanted to come see you and this was the best excuse I could find” With that his eyes meet yours and your cheeks instantly turn reddish.

★

After that your friendship with the Hargrove brothers strengthened, now every day after school you went to Billy's blue camaro so that he would then stop at his house to drop Max off and then go to your house to drop you off. It really was a dynamic that you liked, but that didn't just stop there, every time you passed Billy in the hallways he would greet you with his smile and blue eyes, the first few times it threw you off, but it was a matter of time before you customs

The weeks continued to pass and your relationship with Billy was taking shape, it is true that at the beginning you were connected by Max, but some days the red-haired girl went to her friends' house to do projects causing you to have to return together in the car. he. One of those days you saw that Billy was feeling a little strange, you thought a lot about asking him what was wrong, but then you thought about it and you preferred to leave it because you felt that your friendship was not at the level of telling each other how the other felt.

We entered the cabin and after a few minutes the boy decided to break the silence. “Hey, can I tell you something?”

“Of course, is something bad happening?”

For a moment he hesitates, but it lasts a second before he begins to speak. “The truth is that I don't have the best relationship with my father, he is someone I don't like dealing with at all” Take a moment and continue. “He hits me, every time I do something wrong he hits me, especially when something happens with Max, he takes it out on me. That's why sometimes I act like a jerk around her and believe me I don't want to. But the anger that being hit by him generates in me I have to take out on someone else and it's always on some guy at a party or on Max.”

You have no idea what to say, that's why Billy decides to continue. “I know that none of this justifies my behavior, I know that. But I needed to tell someone, I couldn't live with this in me, you know?”

You didn't say anything, you didn't expect this kind of confession from Billy at all, you always found him to be a tough boy who didn't let anything or anyone get in his way, but it seems that appearances can be very deceiving. “I'm so sorry Billy, you don't deserve this to happen to you, I can't imagine how difficult this situation must be for you.”

You stay silent for a second, searching for the right words. “I'm glad I'm your trusted person to tell me this.”

“Believe it or not, you are one of the few people I can trust” That ends the conversation.

★

Saturday night, you are alone at home since your parents are traveling and your brother is out partying, that leaves you as the owner of the house and that means that you will use that power to watch romantic movies in the living room.

You are currently watching Sixteen Candles, one of your favorites. You don't know how many times you've seen it, but you're sure it's more than ten. When you are halfway through the movie you hear someone knocking on the back door, the moment you look there you almost lose the soul of your body. It was Billy and all his clothes were bloody. You moved as fast as you could in your state of shock. When the door opened Billy walked into your kitchen as if nothing was wrong.

“Billy, what the fuck happened to you?!” You can hear the desperation and worry in your voice.

“Don't worry, baby, I feel totally fine” When you can see how he slurs his words a little, that's when you get closer and feel the smell of alcohol that comes off.

“Billy, you reek of alcohol, how the hell did you get here? I hope you don't tell me by car."

He remains silent answering your question.

Already irritated with the situation, you send Billy to sit on the couch and wait for you to bring him some ice along with the first aid kit. You didn't understand why he had decided to come to your house in that state, but it seems like he reads minds as he answers your question.

“I came here because I had nowhere else to go. Besides, I like you."

With that confession you go blank, obviously you liked him too. The relationship he had formed as a friend had become something more meaningful to you without him knowing. You thought it was all due to alcohol, it was impossible for someone like him to like you, it was pure logic.

That's why you decided to ignore him and preferred to focus on healing his wounds. You could see that he had gotten into a pretty nasty fight, but luckily it was all superficial and nothing very serious.

“I love that you are so close to me, I would love to kiss you right now, lots and lots of kisses” You couldn't deny that it gave you a little tenderness, seeing a boy as tough as Billy talking like that made your butterflies wake up.

“You're very drunk now, it's best that you go to my room to sleep so my brother doesn't see you when you come back.” As you say it, you stop to start picking up the big man with sea eyes.

“You want us to go to your room so I can do everything to you that I've been thinking about since we met, then I'm the pervert.”

You laugh a little, but you know very well that it is to hide what you really feel and it is an infernal heat between your legs. You don't understand how someone can make a room turn into a giant-sized oven.

After leaving Billy in your bed, you prepare a mattress on the floor so you can sleep next to him in case he wakes up not knowing where he is. You lock your room in case your brother decides to check on you even though you thought it unlikely. The moment your head hits the pillow you are already in dreamland dreaming about Billy Hargrove kissing you.

★

The light coming through the window wakes you up, you don't really know what time it is, but you assume it's very early on a Sunday. When your eyes are fully open, a hoarse voice surprises you.

“Good morning baby, did you sleep well?” With that, a rather misaligned Billy greets you, but that smile makes you fall in love in a thousand ways. “Thank you for yesterday, you could have kicked me out, but you decided to help me.”

“It's nothing, I couldn't just leave you like this.”

There was silence before Billy decided to drop his bomb. “I know yesterday I said I liked you” You were expecting it to be worded like any other. “And I wasn't lying, I really like you.”

With that, sleep completely disappears from your body, causing you to sit in bed quickly. “If you are saying this because I help you, you should know that I don't need it, I don't need your pity.”

“Baby, I am many things, but a liar is not one of them. I really like you and I must admit, I know it may seem false, but it's the truth. After sharing all those moments my feelings towards you became deeper” A second later he adds. “Plus I love how your butt fits perfectly in each pair of jeans.”

With that you approach Billy to plant a kiss that seeks to encompass everything about him, he follows you in search of the same. At that moment your feelings are expressed through that passionate kiss. No words are needed for your love, just this type of connection is enough. Something that makes us feel special, unique and different from the rest.

When you separate you dive into the eyes of your lover, sky blue eyes.

#billy hargrove #billy hargrove imagine #billy hargove x reader #billy hargrove fluff #stranger things #stranger things fanfic #fluff #fanfiction #harrigton!reader #light angst #billy hargrove x female reader

[the-au-thor]

A la Velocidad de la Luz (at the Speed of light) | Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Hello! I just wrote something for my Steve Harrington people out there. I hope you like it

TW: read this!

word count: 9.1k

Synopsis: They're friends, they're not idiots, and yes, they're falling in love. Let's dive a little bit into the friendship between this two and get to know Steve's love language

It's not like I got inspiration in this song by Los Bunkers and you should totally listen to it

Part 2

Steve had totally recognized the symptoms the minute he saw you that Friday Movie night.

After the gnarly events you've all been through, it was obvious you have formed a bond, a bond that would bring together the fancy house on the fancy side of town with the humble trailer in the trailer park on the wrong side of the tracks. A bond that would unite ages, circumstances, and tastes without discrimination, gathering a group of people religiously every Friday to eat popcorn and watch some horror movie. Then you'd all crash for the night because for some reason, nobody wanted to split up or be apart from each other. You needed each other to keep on living, and it wasn't something you would readily admit to in unison. It was more like a tacit agreement, and everyone was perfectly okay with it. The ongoing practice of cohabitation had made Steve more perceptive, somehow discovering that he enjoyed taking care of others, and griping about it was just part of a ritual where Dustin would have to go somewhere while pretending that Steve and only Steve could take him, and then, after grumbling, repeating that he wasn't his babysitter and whining, he'd grab his keys and take him wherever the kid desperately wanted to be. He could predict stomachaches when the kids stuffed themselves with sweets and be there with antispasmodic drops and chicken soup. He could also intervene in a bar fight at The Hideout just in time to prevent them from ruining the night when Corroded Coffin was playing and to keep them from calling Hopper for no reason. He had been there for Robin, Nancy, Argyle, and even Jonathan and each of the kids. Maybe that's why Hopper had suggested the Police Academy. Maybe that's why he felt like all of you were largely the reason he wasn't that lost kid with a terrible social life anymore and didn't know what to do with his life. You glanced at him with a half-smile right in the middle of the break to hit the bathroom that Nancy had instituted after Dustin suffered a urinary tract infection because he preferred to hold it in rather than miss out on Freddie's massacres.

"What's up?" you asked, popping a handful of popcorn into your mouth as you looked at him straight on.

Steve didn't know you much before the catastrophic events in Hawkins brought you together. You were buds with Robin at school, worked alongside Nancy on the school paper, but you said you never had the same reporter spirit as Nance; you just liked to write, and you thought being a member of the school paper would look dope on your resume once you applied to college. There was a time when you and he bumped into each other at some parties because Vicki's twin brother, Justin Carmichael, was trying to convince you to go out with him. He remembered that afterward, Justin had been complaining for a week because you hadn't even had the decency to let him get to first base at the best party in school. Inside, Steven was relieved it turned out that way; Justin Carmichael was a big asshole. Just as much of an asshole as he used to be back then. After you graduated, you both ran into each other when he was at Scoops Ahoy and you visited Robin at the ice cream shop, that time Hawkins was in danger -AGAIN-, and they barely even counted it -AGAIN-. You were going to Indiana University during the week, and you'd come back on weekends because unlike Steve, your parents were loving people who loved having you around and were genuinely interested in what you liked, explaining your concerned and always open personality. Steve didn't find it odd, anyway, not to have noticed you before you just abruptly entered his life as you did. The Steve from the past wouldn't have noticed someone like you because he was a selfish jerk; he'd proven it with Nancy, and he had to suffer a lot before he could prove to himself that he was much more than what his parents and old friends expected of him.

"Are you okay?" he asked then, listening to Lucas and Max's whispering kisses on one of the back couches.

Robin was making more popcorn in the microwave while Nancy filled her in on her long-distance relationship with Jonathan back when he was still living in California and how Robin could make it work as well with Vickie. Steve always knew they could handle the distance; it was just something Nancy and Jonathan would be able to make work. Dustin had gone to the bathroom, obviously, while Will mocked the silly argument Mike and Eleven were having, which was occasionally interrupted by Eddie to make a comment that would serve as an argumentative catapult to fuel the little dispute.

Your eyes stopped at Steve's in silence, and finally, you nodded.

"Sure," you replied. "Finally, vacation; I missed not having to pack my bags every weekend," you murmured with a smile, "and I'll be able to take a break from Professor Lewis's lectures."

Steve grimaced. "Is he still making it tough on you?"

You nodded. "Until the very last second of class, I really don't know how I'm going to survive this year if he keeps up with his hate campaign, I don't know what I did to him."

Steve frowned.

"There are people like that, you know? Bitter. Maybe he's jealous because you're so talented," Steve saw you scrunch your nose and let out a snort of laughter.

"He's a writer for The Times, jealous?" Steve shrugged.

"Maybe he sees in you something he can never be," he explained easily, "it's not uncommon for adults to project onto younger ones and make them pay for it."

Again, you studied him in silence. You took another popcorn into your mouth just before speaking. "And how's your dad taking you being the first one in the academy?" you asked.

Steve let out a small snort.

"Oh, he's thrilled. Especially because Hopper seemed to be his nemesis in school when they both belonged to the same basketball team," Steve drank from his Coca-Cola can, taking two big swigs big enough to make his mouth no longer feel dry.

You smirked ironically. "Ah, well, speaking of adults projecting…"

Steve nodded, watching you rummage in your purse for your pills. He remembers the first time he saw you show them to everyone, explaining what they were; it was right after closing the portal once and for all. The government had put them up in fancy hotel rooms while you all took care of cleaning up Hawkins and the reputation Eddie had gained because of the serial killer they hadn't managed to subdue in the first place. You were safe; everything was finally okay. There wouldn't be any more interdimensional creatures flying, running, crawling, or floating around there thinking they could eat, scratch, possess, or kill whoever they encountered, but even when you knew it, you couldn't sleep.You have been there, ordering the most expensive food from the hotel and playing video games nonstop for twenty-four hours. For you, it really hit the limit when you saw Eddie spend three straight hours curled up in the fetal position on his bed without really sleeping. Steve saw you get up, turn off the kids' TV, and take the pasta tray away from Argyle. The kids didn't even have the energy to protest. You stood in the middle of the room in your hotel robe with weariness in your eyes.

"So,” you finally said, taking a bottle of medicine out of your purse. "I'm going to do something I shouldn't do, and you must promise not to tell your parents. And yes," you looked at Erica threateningly, "I'm specifically talking to you," you said and then began handing out a small white capsule to each of the kids except Erica, to whom you gave a bigger one, explaining that you wouldn't give her anything other than melatonin.

Dustin sniffed the pill and then looked at you curiously.

"And what's this?"

You glanced at Robin out of the corner of your eye and then at the rest.

"My sleeping pills. They're gentle, but I need them to sleep, which you haven't done for a long time, and you can't just keep ignoring that you can't fall asleep. So this is the deal; we're going to ignore the fact that I'm breaking the law with this, and everyone will take a dose, it's small. I won't tell you what it is, but definitely don't be alarmed if you taste a bitter flavor in your mouth," you explained gently. "And you must commit; everyone will go to the therapist as soon as we leave here because what happened isn't normal, and you need help."

Eddie accepted the deal without thinking, sat on the bed, and swallowed the capsule without a second thought. After that, he opened his bedclothes and wished everyone good night. You watched the kids take the pills after promising to go to therapy. Steve remembers helping you and Robin turn off the lights and dim the night lamps as you watched everyone settle into whatever corner of the room they could claim and cover themselves with blankets to try to sleep.

"I didn't know you needed those sleeping pills," Steve piped up in the dark when the snores kicked in. Robin was out cold smack dab in the middle of us, snoring up a storm, her face finally looking peaceful and carefree.

Steve had seen the danger lurking in your eyes before, the fear, the terror, the concern, but that night was the first time he caught a glimpse of this new emotion; it was like an internal retreat to pain being reflected in your irises. For a moment, you diverted your gaze, avoiding Steve's, before nodding.

"I started having panic attacks at fifteen. Got diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder," you confessed. "Had too many sleepless nights, screwed up my school game, messed with my emotions and reactions," you whispered matter-of-factly, but Steve could sense there was a lot of pain behind those words. "It was rough at first, but trust me, with supportive peeps and solid therapy, it's worth it. And these pills? They're tame compared to what I had to down initially. Missed two weeks of school and just slept” you nodded, letting out a stifled yawn, and Steve couldn't resist but follow suit as fatigue weighed heavily on his eyelids.

"Thanks for letting me in on that. You're tough, you know?" he responded, his words already starting to slur with sleepiness.

Your arm slinked over Robin, and your hand found its way to Steve's arm, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Night, Steve," you murmured softly before drifting off into slumber.

You only needed one pill back then.

"Two?" Steve asked, furrowing his brow as he watched you down both capsules quickly, chasing them with a gulp of water as he nodded.

"Yeah, been having some trouble with the meds," you explained with a shrug. "Now that I'm free,I'm gonna see the doc and see how it goes."

Steve's expression clouded with worry. "Want some company?"

You took another sip of water, already formulating a quick response in your mind. "And have you wait around for an hour while my psychiatrist has me spillin' my guts in his office? Thanks, but I won't do that to ya."

"It wouldn't be a bother," Steve settled back on the couch, eyeing you. "But the offer's there."

You smiled, genuine gratitude shining through. "Thanks."

You and Steve watched Eddie make his way towards the TV as Dustin settled in next to Steve. Will nestled back on the floor, leaning against your legs as he always did. Steve had noticed, subtly since you and he met, that you two had formed a bond. Sometimes he caught glimpses of you two in your car, sharing ice cream and jamming out to tunes. When no one was looking, or so you thought, Will would lean towards you, and you'd start braiding his hair with a smile. Steve wondered if Will might have a bit of a crush on you, and you just didn't realize what was brewing there. Maybe he should chat with you about it; he wasn't sure if letting the kid catch feelings was good for him. The lights dimmed once more, the movie rolling on, and Eddie plopped down between you and Steve. Eddie shot his friend a sly look, knowing Steve was perfectly comfy where he was before. Steve rolled his eyes at Eddie and decided it was best to focus on the movie, but even in the tensest moments, he couldn't help but cast concerned glances at you; you'd taken your sleeping pills, yet you didn't seem to be yawning or preparing to nod off on Eddie's shoulder or curl up in the corner of the couch.

The next morning, you were the first one up, showered and clad in your athletic shorts, oversized Clash T-shirt as you whipped up breakfast for the sleepyheads still sprawled and tangled on the couch and rug, snoring away. Nancy was the second to join you, followed by Robin and Argyle. Steve then roused himself, greeting the ones awake, and headed to his room to grab a quick shower before joining them. While Nancy whipped up waffles, you manned the eggs, so Steve filled the coffee maker with his old man's favorite brew, which he never touched because he was hardly ever home.

"Wouldn't it be better if they woke up?" Nancy queried. "I mean, they were the ones hellbent on going to the lake for a swim."

Argyle snagged a piece of crispy bacon and started munching on it. "Sis, it's vacay, you can't go all dictator on 'em. When they're ready, they'll wake up."

Nancy snorted but didn't argue with his logic; instead, she piled the waffles onto a plate and leaned against Steve's kitchen island, eyeing you.

"You doin' alright?" she inquired.

You had been quiet, focused on the eggs as you stared into the pan with a distant gaze. You nodded, flipping the eggs before cutting the heat. You turned to Nancy with a smile.

"I'm good," you replied. "You been dealing with school drama?" you asked, catching Nancy's eye roll.

"I swear, if I get stuck with one more group of knuckleheads for a project, I'm gonna lose it," Nancy grumbled under her breath, eliciting a chuckle from Eddie, lounging between the cushions.

"Come on, Wheeler," he laughed. "We've worked together, and it's been smooth sailing, what could be worse?"

Robin sauntered over, tossing her threadbare cardigan—ridden with holes courtesy of Eddie's antics, claiming it looked "metal." It landed over Eddie's face and Robin shot him a look with arched eyebrows.

"You got no modesty, Munson?"

Steve chuckled as he poured coffee into a couple of mugs.

"Yeah, man, what's with the strip show in the dead of night?"

Eddie struggled to dress until he finally managed to awkwardly clamber up from the couch.

"Well, next time, you get to share a couch on a sweltering summer night with Henderson, what’ya think, pretty boy?" he griped before shooting Dustin a glare, who was still sound asleep with his mouth agape. Eddie tossed a blanket at him with force. "Wake up!"

Dustin startled awake, only easing when he saw everyone was fine and the worst thing that happened was a slobber stain on one of the sofa cushions in Steve's parents’ living room. He shuffled over to the couch, snagging the marked cushion and grimacing at it. Steve’s brows furrowed, mouth twisted in a disgusted grimace.

"Dude, this couch is worth a fortune. My mom's gonna flip when she sees this," he protested, lobbing the pillow back at Dustin, who was unapologetic about the incident, even wearing a smug smile, if anything.

Steve's house was a flurry of activity for the next few minutes; utensils clinked against dishes, and Steve’s parent will definitely notice those scratches Eddie left behind from trying to cut the bacon on his plate. You washed up everything each one of you used because, according to Nancy, it was better to leave everything clean, or else no one would have the energy to do it later. Robin, Steve, and you followed her orders because they weren't about to argue with someone like Nancy Wheeler. Argyle, Eddie, and Jonathan dried everything off and stowed it away while the kids geared up for an afternoon at the lake. When you arrived, you settled into lounge chairs and giant towels while most of the kids bolted for the water. Steve watched as you made the rounds, armed with a bottle of sunscreen, making sure everyone got slathered up on their backs, arms, faces, and shoulders, even though Mike protested about his fair, skinny skin. The rest splashed around for a while, indulged in ice creams, and even had a few impromptu swimming races where Steve had to fake a cramp so Dustin could finally win. Steve didn't realize, but you noticed, and you observed the little event with an amused grin. Steve wasn't the type to talk about feelings in front of a crowd out of the blue; that was more Eddie's style. He wouldn't stand in the middle of a bonfire and pour his heart out, declaring his undying love for everyone, but he had to admit moments like these made him feel damn happy. He'd always been a lone wolf trying desperately not to fit in but he never realized it was an issue until he met all of you, and it was something he could dig while the sun was still shining big and warm near the horizon. The kids were splashing around in the water with Robin, Eddie, and Argyle. Jonathan and Nancy were chilling a bit further away, exchanging kisses and small talk. You gave Will a hug and a kiss on the cheek, then playfully messed up his hair, making him laugh and shove you back. After that, you splashed water in his face before swimming off towards the lake shore. When your feet hit the stones, you strolled over to the stretched-out towel next to Steve with a smile and threw yourself onto it to soak up the sun. Steve looked as you adjusted your hair to the side, watching the little drops dance across your skin before disappearing or evaporating. Quietly, you quickly cracked open one of the books you always have with you, diving into its pages. He saw your fingers flick across the pages and your tongue peek out between your lips in concentration. He half-smiled and settled onto his towel, soaking in the warmth of the sun with a relaxed sigh.

"Can you imagine a dude with a freaky sense of smell going all psycho and killing a bunch of virgin girls to get their essence?" you broke the silence without taking your eyes off your book.

Steve arched a brow, somewhat amused. "Nah, I mean, we've seen worse stuff to not picture a human killing others," he replied sarcastically, earning a small, amused chuckle from you.

"Fair point," you replied, licking your finger to turn the page.

Steve cleared his throat, shifting on his towel, and turned to you, feeling a bit uneasy. "Hey, I think you should watch out for Will."

That made you glance up from your book, peering at him over your shades. Steve could sense the intensity of your gaze even though he couldn't see your eyes directly.

"Why? Has he been sniffing around and plotting murders?" Steve furrowed his brow.

"What? No! What are you talking about?" he asked, bewildered.

You left the book resting on your stomach to give him your full attention.

"Oh, it's just that we were chatting about the book, and then you brought up Will… but never mind, explaining a joke is lame, right?" you laughed, then sighed, suddenly feeling awkward. "What's up with Will?"

Steve scratched the back of his neck, trying to respond tactfully. Internally, he regretted starting that conversation without thinking it through first.

"I dunno. I just think maybe he's catching feelings for you… and it's not your fault, you're just nice to him," he cut himself off, trying to clarify his point, "…it's just that he might be getting the wrong idea…"

You lowered your shades a tad to meet his gaze directly.

"So, you're saying Will Byers might have a little crush on me?" you asked with a measured tone, leaving no room for misinterpretation.

Steve squirmed, shoulders shifting as he scratched his nose, eyes darting away from yours.

"It's possible," was his only response. "I mean, it's not the first kid who has a crush on an older girl, y'know?" Older girl. You gave him a calm smile, picking your book back up to resume reading.

"Will doesn't have a crush, Steve. At least, not on me; trust me, I'd know," you reassured him gently, giving Steve one last look. "Seriously."

Steve didn't know, but you understood his concern all too well. There was a reason why you and Will were so close, and why your bond had grown stronger lately, and it had as much to do with Will's feelings as it didn't. It wasn't something you could explain too much; it was something that belonged to Will, not to you. You'd noticed a change in Will for a few months now, even before they moved to California, but you weren't close friends; you'd only tutored the kid a couple of times, and that wasn't enough to butt into his life. When the Byers returned to town, Will was even quieter, more withdrawn, even when he was with the whole crew. You couldn't help but worry, especially on the day Joyce came to you, asking for an hour of your weekends to help Will with his English essays; he was starting to get more and more distracted, Joyce's super-mom side wanted to step in, but her more rational side said to give him time to readjust. That talk had you worried all week until Saturday came and you saw for yourself the kind of distraction in Will's gaze. He wasn't just somewhere else, far from the room where you both tried to finish the essay the teacher had assigned to help him get his English back on track; no, he was deep inside himself, locked in some cell with the door wide open, but he was too comfortable and scared of the world outside to step out. You remember spotting an old school project he made in California, hidden away and dusty under a pile of canvases with sketches of massive dragons and knights in armor. The project was about Alan Turing; the dedication in that work caught your eye, and you dusted it off to showcase its potential. When you slid it in front of him, you told him that's the Will you wanted to see at school; you saw his eyes well up with tears, and you knew something else was weighing on him. Then you set aside the task, sat beside him, and took his hands. You promised to keep anything he told you discreet, then he started speaking. You'd never heard Will talk so much, and you were shocked as you listened to every word, how well he'd hidden his turmoil, and the loneliness creeping in. He was just a kid and he was facing his first heartbreak, and worse; you couldn't promise it'd be his last, he had it rough, and his road ahead would be bumpy. Since that day, you'd made sure to be there for whatever he needed, even planning a trip to the MET together to get him hyped about art. You were the baby sister in your family, you had three older brothers and you never knew what it was like to look out for someone else until you met the boys, and it brought you joy to make sure everyone was alright, especially making sure Will had a good summer with his friends and that his heart would heal, with hopes that a good boy would come along someday to help him pick up the pieces and mend all the crap he might face.

It was pretty late when they decided to head home. They dropped the kids off at the Wheelers', where they'd be crashing for a sleepover. Eddie invited you all to catch one of his Corroded Coffin rehearsals at the Hideout, and you were about to accept along with Jonathan, Nancy, Argyle, and Robin, but Steve put his hand on your shoulder with a grin and said you had plans. For a sec, you looked at him confused, but a gentle squeeze on your side from him convinced you to play along. They bid the kids farewell outside the joint, and you climbed into Steve's car, curious. You saw him wait for both of you to buckle up before asking what he had planned.

"I thought we could do something, just you and me."

A date? You wondered innocently, Steve Harrington and you hanging out without the rest? You could only think of one time you'd decided to do something together. Once, you brought cookies to the Academy; he'd aced all his workouts, but his parents didn't even bother to pat him on the back. You and the rest planned a party for him to celebrate, but you wanted to do something special because you were hella proud. You baked his fave cookies (crunchy with cinnamon, caramel, and peanuts) and met him at lunchtime; apparently, they were just showering because his hair was still a bit wet at the ends. He was rocking shorts and a tank top, sweat glistening on his skin, cheeks flushed from exertion. He had a lil' towel draped 'round his neck as he dabbed his forehead. You were waiting for him in the lobby, standing up with a grin plastered on your face. You remember your cheeks hurting like hell, the slight ache nagging at you that night when intrusive thoughts came knocking uninvited, making you wonder if you looked like a loon.

"What's this?" Steve asked with a half-smile and a curious look as you held out a box.

"Congrats for passing your test," you replied, watching as Steve's expression shifted, a mix of sadness and gratitude, then he hugged you out of nowhere. You and him hugged before, especially after some close call that put their lives at risk, but this hug was different, more intimate. He rested his chin on your shoulder, rubbing your back tenderly. You heard him sigh softly, murmuring his thanks. After you and Steve pulled apart, you still on your toes and he with his hands on your shoulders, your eyes locked for a moment, and you felt like something was left unsaid, but it happened so fast you didn't have time to question it. You never talked about it again. You hadn't swung by the academy again, even though you had more than one reason to. For some reason, you felt like you needed to guard yourself, so you'd avoided being alone with Steve or making excuses to see him without the kids around. When you arrived at his house , you felt something strange stirring inside you. Maybe Steve caught your furrowed brow or your hesitation to step out of his ride and cautiously scoped out the entrance, because he walked over to your door and popped it open with a smile that somehow put you at ease.

"I gotta show you something inside," he announced, extending his hand toward you, offering it up for your trust.

You half-smiled, unsure how to react. You didn't know whether to feel pure curiosity or straight-up unease. You took his hand and follow him to the entrance. He didn't let go; he held onto your hand and occasionally traced circles on your palm, as if he knew exactly how to calm your jitters.

Inside the house, it looked just as you left it, except for some cushions outta place on Steve's parents fancy sofa. Steve kept his steps leading you upstairs. As you ascended, you checked out the family pics Steve's mom had hung on the wall. One was snapped in a studio with a basic blue backdrop adorned with clouds, featuring a smiling baby decked out in sailor threads. You smiled then; that baby was Steve. "Did you want siblings?"

As you hiked up the stairs in silence, Steve shot you a curious glance, and then nodded.

"Yeah, actually, but my folks shut down production very soon. My dad blames it on my mom, but we all know it's on him," he responded.

You made a face, recalling the one time you'd seen Steve's dad. He seemed distant, preferring it that way; he introduced himself as "Mr. Harrington," and you were pretty sure he'd adopted it as his first name. He seemed like the type to pin his own infertility on his wife.

"I always wanted little siblings" you murmured, lightly tracing your index finger over the wood. "Feels like I got them now."

"Yeah, some real pests," Steve grumbled, coming to a halt in front of a closed door, eyeing you.

You nervously smiled. I mean, with him looking at you like that, what were you supposed to do? You shrugged. "It ain't all bad," you murmured, eyes darting impatiently between the door and Steve's relaxed demeanor. You didn't see him like this often; he had that look that seemed to peer into your soul with those huge brown eyes. He slipped into the room, being all suspicious, and after a minute, he emerged, shutting the door behind him.

"I got somethin' for ya on the other side of this door," he said without giving you a chance to process how odd that might be because he knocked on the wooden surface and pushed it open, revealing the guest room of his enormous house. Inside, blackout curtains shielded the huge windows that overlooked the Harringtons' backyard.

You were struck by the scented candles and the distant sound of the sea emanating from some speakers by a massive, fluffy bed piled with cushions and pristine, crisply-stretched sheets. You looked at Steve with a mixture of confusion and fun.

"Could you at least invite me for a coffee first, Steve…?" you quipped, trying to dispel the slight unease creeping up your spine.

Steve half-smiled, giving a weak chuckle. "If I were goin' that route, I'd spring for somethin' a bit fancier than a brew; give me some credit," he played along, entering the room and picking up a neatly folded outfit from his hands. "No, babe; this is an intervention plan."

With your feet still lingering in the doorway, you arched an eyebrow, perplexed.

"Intervention for what?"

"Glad you asked," Steve said, handing you the folded clothes; the soft fabric of the pajama set brushed against your fingers as you wondered what all this was about. "I'll get the tub runnin'. My mon left this stash of bath salts that supposedly turn you into a new human; so, enjoy the bath, Slip into these PJs, then come down for dinner and after that, off to bed, and I don't wanna hear from you until at least tomorrow at noon ."

You frowned. "Steve; What…?" You shook your head quickly, trying to dispel the confusion as if by magic. "I don't get it."

Steve placed his hands on your shoulders, meeting your gaze squarely. "You haven't been getting proper sleep for months; you ain't fooling me. You said it's just sleep trouble, but I know it's deeper; you've been mega stressed, and when that happens, insomnia kicks in, panic attacks, negative vibes, and the urge to be completely alone. I've seen it; so let's try sidestepping that, and for that, I've whipped up a sleep bomb. I just need your cooperation, can I count on that?"

You studied him, trying to read him in return. You were surprised Steve had clocked your distress signals. You hadn't wanted to tip off anyone, not even your parents who'd been through it all before. You didn't want to put them through it; you didn't want to tell them that during your college days, when you weren't studying or dodging Mr. Lewis' attempts to fail you out of spite, all you could think about was returning to Hawkins; to be with them, your friends, your fam. You didn't want to confess that you'd revisited that dark place where you wondered, during those long, sleepless nights, how it would feel to just snooze forever and wake up when everything hurt less. Every so often, your mind dragged you there; you knew they were bouts triggered by high stress, and you knew they'd pass, but not knowing when or how long it'd last was another torture on your plate. You hadn't needed to voice your cries for help for Steve to come through was both surprising and scary. Surprising because you didn't think he'd notice; he was busy running the mansion his parents barely occupied, looking after the kids, and navigating the rigors of the academy while trying to fend off the hordes of newfound fans who were back to fawning over him. Would there even be room for you in his schedule? You knew you were friends, but honestly, you'd hung out more often with Nancy, Robin, and Eddie—shopping, hitting the movies, catching gigs—than with Steve on a single aimless stroll downtown. Among your friends, Steve was honestly the last person you'd figured would clock your silent pleas for help. And yet here he was, front and center; at some point, he'd carved out time to spruce up a whole room, light candles, have a bed that screamed comfort, and a silky PJ set just for you. It felt like your lungs swallowed all the air in the room, and oxygen only reached you for a fragile, feeble thank you that stumbled out haltingly. Steve seemed to appreciate that sliver of gratitude, and something in his eyes softened for a beat. He gave your shoulders a gentle squeeze before leaving you to run the taps, filling the tub with glorious hot water that soon had you melting into bliss and your muscles thanking the heat. You tilted your head back as your toes curled in delight. You were pretty sure the salts hadn't done much beyond a certain softness on your skin, but the pleasant aroma had managed to unwind you. When you decided it was time to get out, mainly because the water had cooled and your fingers were pruney, you dried off and slipped into the comfy satin Pijama, a lovely mahogany color that smelled of detergent and fabric softener.

It was pure bliss; that's what you thought as you descended the stairs and found the table set with iced tea, a salad, and two plates brimming with bolognese pasta.

Steve didn't know how to cook much else; his waffle game was weak, and his scrambled eggs were always overdone. But if there was one thing Steve Harrington could nail, it was a homemade pasta dish. You couldn't figure out why he'd never flexed that culinary muscle with his dates; you were sure by now Steve Harrington was off the market for a good long while. Part of you, a part you tried not to dwell on too much, wished that sliver of Steve that only you and the rest of the group knew would remain under wraps. Then you felt guilty for even wishing that; you knew Steve felt lonely and wanted to find someone, and as you twirled pasta onto your fork, you knew he deserved it, because the pasta was divine, and because he'd taken the time to make it himself.

You would've kept munching, but you knew it'd be greedy. Steve rose and led you to bed, rattling off a laundry list of reasons why you wouldn't be lifting a finger, starting with the fact that you were caught up in a smartly orchestrated intervention by him.

"What's up?" Steve asked as you settled under the covers of the bed and the reality hit you.

"Every night I give this a shot, Steve; trying to calm, close my eyes, and just sleep, and I really wanna now but I just can't…"

Steve rubbed his nose, nodding, plopping down beside you, all ears.

"Look at yourself," he murmured. "You're stressing about not being able to sleep, and that's why it ain't happening." You shook your head. "It's not that, really, Steve. It's just that I know myself; I know, and it's frustrating. You have no idea how many nights I've spent staring at the ceiling, feeling like my body just needs to move. It's practically physically impossible for me to lie in bed, no matter how comfy it is."

"Alright," Steve nodded thoughtfully. "I have an idea. Remember when we were keeping watch to make sure Vecna didn't snatch Max at the Wheeler's house?" You nodded. "Yeah, Dustin never shut up, and God knows I couldn't shut him up myself, so I just resigned myself to having to listen to his annoying voice for the rest of the night, and then boom! I woke up, and it was morning."

You raised your eyebrows, surprised. "You fell asleep on your watch to keep an eye on Max?"

"Hey, Henderson was still awake, and nothing went down, right?"

You opened your mouth, astonished. "Something could've gone down, Steve."

"But it didn't!" he retorted, letting out a sheepish laugh and trying to defend himself. "But that's not the point. The point is, I fell asleep," you rolled your eyes, crossing your arms while still sitting on the bed. Steve must've recognized that you looked adorable trying to scold him for his irresponsibility. "Listening to Dustin's voice, I slept like a baby all night."

You raised an eyebrow, finally getting it.

"Are you telling me that all this time, I've just needed Dustin's voice to sleep soundly?"

"No," he replied, pointing his finger at you with a victorious grin. "My voice, babe, my voice will make you sleep like a rock tonight." He then got up and gestured for you to lie down in bed. You looked at him, suppressing a laugh. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Look, now you find it funny, but when you wake up in the morning feeling rested, I'll have the decency not to tell you it was thanks to me."

You smiled, adjusting your hair to the sides.

"Oh, Steve, thank you so much, how considerate of you," you laughed, but the laughter was immediately stifled when you saw Steve start to settle down next to you in bed. He lay on his side and rested his head on his palm to look at you. "What are you doing?"

"I'm just gonna lie down next to you and talk to you. The only rule is that you can't speak; you'll close your eyes and listen to my voice."

Bossy.

You nodded silently and closed your eyes. You heard Steve sigh but didn't look at him again; after all, he had gone to all this trouble, so you would cooperate. You would do your part.

Then Steve began to talk. He spoke for at least an hour about his life, his folks, and what he wanted to do in the future when he graduated as a cop and started taking care of this town again, with Hopper as his boss. Damn it, it would be tough following the old man's orders, but he'd take it on. He didn't stop even when your intermittent breathing became a steady rhythm that could only mean you were finally catching some sleep. Steve didn't stop looking at you as he reached out to the speaker and lowered the volume of the ambient sound. He didn't stop even as the chirping of crickets seeped in from his backyard and formed a whispered melody along with the croaking of the frogs.

He couldn't stop looking at you.

Steve watched your eyelashes brush your cheeks. The air entering and exiting through your slightly parted lips as you breathed. He looked at your nose and traced imaginary lines on your face, following it with his gaze as if he were redrawing you. It wasn't fair that you couldn't rest, that it was so complicated for you. Steve had seen you sleep deeply in the most complicated places and under the most critical circumstances. You were perfect under pressure; something told him that you would prefer Vecna as an enemy than any internal demon that haunted your mind. He had seen more fear in your face when you thought that it would be another sleepless night than when one of the demodogs that attacked at Hopper's old cabin pinned you down with its weight and drooled over your face as if they were thinking about your taste even before taking a bite. Steve hit it right in the middle of its neck with his bat and didn't stop until Dustin told him it was more than dead, impaled against the wooden floor. He didn't know it then, but he would have killed any monster for you. Even the one that tormented you in your mind.

"Thank you," he finally spoke, stretching his other hand to caress your hair. "You've always taken care of us, and that's very little to say." He admitted, "I think you try to do it because you haven't managed to take care of yourself as you should." He whispered, removing a strand of hair that had floated over your face. "Relax; I'll do it."

You had made them all fulfill their promise in the hotel room that night with the sleeping pills. They had each been given a separate room, but trauma unifies, and they couldn't spend time apart; they all gathered in Eddie's room and spent hours together. After that, when things calmed down and they went through interviews with men dressed in black and serious looks, they went to a high-security clinic where Owen was waiting to give them a physical examination. None of the scars they had were completely healed; Eddie had to undergo skin grafts on his abdomen, and Max had to undergo rehabilitation to walk normally again.

"It's not enough," you had told Owen when he discharged them all with prescriptions for the best free medicine. The man raised his gaze from his folder to look at you through his glasses. "We need therapy."

"Kid…" Hopper spoke behind you with a tired voice, but you stopped him firmly.

"No," you turned to him and looked at Owen for a few seconds. "He smelled like a distillery even before the first attack of the first demogorgon," you reminded everyone. "How do you think he's going to be when all the adrenaline from this is gone? Hopper needs therapy. We all do. Max almost lost her sight; Eddie came back from the dead. You can't say everything is fine and send us back to a town where everyone will still judge us no matter what." Owen opened his mouth, but you weren't ready to stop talking. "You weren't there; you don't know what we had to go through. We don't even fully understand it ourselves; we literally avoided a dimensional catastrophe that wasn't our responsibility, Owen. They owe us."

The truth was, none of them except you thought therapy was a good idea. A monster had used their worst nightmares and traumas to get rid of them. They didn't want to have to open their hearts once a week to another stranger to take advantage of that. But you had been firm in making them all fulfill the commitment, and against all odds, they all agreed and completed their therapies as they should. Even Mike, who had shown extreme resistance to the heart-to-heart talk, had finally relented. You had won those kids over, Steve saw it. And he had to admit that was part of the reason why he sometimes felt jealous. It was pathetic to admit it; an adult jealous of children. But damn it; he would feel good if one day one of the hugs you gave to Will Byers was meant to be given to him.

"You are going to a lot of trouble for her," Dustin told him the next morning as he rudely chewed on a raspberry. "Hey! Little human vacuum: stop eating someone else's breakfast; this isn't for us." "You see? This is what I mean! I could be planning a new D&D campaign that would surprise Eddie and have him kissing my ass for the next decade, but here I am helping you surprise a girl." "It's not to surprise her; she finally slept more than eight hours and needs to eat," Steve began to respond as he poured some of Robin's pancake mix onto the hot skillet. "And I remind you that I'm the one driving thousands of miles so you and your sexier-than-Phoebe-Cates girlfriend, a fact I highly doubt, can see each other. So I would appreciate it if you stopped eating her food and helped me with this as I asked." Dustin frowned but continued to add raspberries to the mix anyway. "You know? I always thought you and Robin had something," Steve rolled his eyes and snorted. "Then for a moment, I thought you and Nancy would get back together by the dumb way you kept looking at her. But now this makes more sense." Steve squeezed a drop of the splashed pancake mix onto his finger and brought it to his mouth. "Yeah? Why is that?" Dustin, focused on his work, shrugged. "When you and Robin are together, you joke around like you and me, Steve, and I refuse to think you're into me." Steve made a disgusted gesture. "Gross, dude, enough." "That, and when you looked at Nancy, you suffered, Steve; you were the most miserable, pathetic…" "Don't be so kind, you'll make me cry." "…sad, and depressed," Dustin ignored his friend, handing him the bowl full of pancake mix. "but with her, you're happy; you smile. You don't have to pretend to be cool all the time, and you actually talk to her. Plus, you take care of her, and that's good because you've been breathing down my neck for so long and acting like my mom. I didn't want to tell you, but you were suffocating me, and you finding a girlfriend would be great for my individuality, Steve." Steve flipped the pancake to let the other side brown while making a face. "I get it, Henderson, you need space, and I'll give it to you as soon as you finish helping me with the coffee and get out of here." Dustin scratched his nose and coughed. "Ass-hole." Dustin was right; you brought out the best in him. Steve could talk to you and not feel like he had to impress you all the time. You made his stomach flutter, but you didn't make him act like an idiot. It was too difficult for him to figure out whether what he felt with you was a friendship that was too strong or something more. He missed you the weeks you were studying at the University, and when you came back to Hawkins, you were never close enough to him.

"I think it would be a big step to go on dates with lots of girls that would end when you drop them off at their houses the next morning," Robin had told him one day while they were rearranging the movie shelves at Family Video after Steve told her about his plan. They had stood up after the earthquake, and Keith hadn't wanted anything to do with the business again. Steve and Robin decided to take over; having a business and extra money in their pockets wasn't bad. Max, Will, and Dustin took turns after school, and they had officially entered the workforce, earning some bills that they could later spend on whatever those little gremlins spent their money on now. "Robin, it's already weird enough to have an ex in your friend circle, two would be too many, and it's a risk I'm not willing to take." His best friend let out a mocking laugh. "Ding, ding, ding, ding, Dingus! you just admitted you like her." Obviously, Steve liked you, he thought now as he plated the pancakes after getting rid of Dustin and dispatching him to Eddie's house where they would plan their new campaign or something like that. Steve liked many things and people; otherwise, he wouldn't surround himself with them. The issue was figuring out what kind of feeling he had for you. It didn't help that everyone seemed to have it figured out except him. Besides, even if he did figure it out. What about you? What did you feel about him?

Steve was your damn hero, you thought as you stretched between the soft sheets of the most comfortable bed you had ever tried and opened your eyes after a huge and shameless yawn. You looked at the ceiling of the room, trying to contain your joy. You looked at the clock on the bedside table on one side of the bed and laughed softly when you saw it was exactly noon. You had slept for over twelve hours; that was more than you usually rested in a week at College. You raised a victorious fist and got out of bed to brush your teeth and freshen up a bit before heading downstairs and looking for Steve on the first floor. You found him squeezing the juice from an orange in his kitchen when he looked at you somewhat dismayed. You walked towards him with a smile and gave him a tight hug, burying your face in his chest and feeling him slowly return the hug.

"Thank you, Steve. I really rested," you moved away from him and looked around; on a tray were syrup, raspberry pancakes, and freshly scrambled eggs. "Did you make all this?" Steve scratched his neck, somewhat embarrassed. "Dustin came over for a while to help," he admitted, and then saw your rested face without being able to help but smile. "How nice of him," you said with a smile. If you had heard his string of complaints, you wouldn't find him so nice. But he wouldn't tell you that. "Are you hungry?" "Famished!" Steve saw the sparkle in your eyes; even your smile was different when you rested. As you chewed your breakfast with gusto and asked him about his graduation from the police academy, Steve observed you again carefully so you wouldn't notice it, partly because he didn't want you to think it was strange, but also because the little adrenaline rush he got from it was addictive. He didn't know what was going on: he had known you for years, you were never a point on his radar. He knew that if he tried hard enough, he could count the times you both talked in high school and would only need the fingers of one hand. You were never attractive to him enough to be his friend, let alone something more. It's true that if he tried to remember, he could say that you always had that pleasant smile and those huge eyes that seemed to read whoever they saw. You were also nice; you never paid special attention to Tommy and Carol, nor did it seem to matter to you to be part of the school's social hierarchy, nor did it seem to matter to you to be his friend even after the Hawkins attack. Although it's true that you were always kind, he couldn't say that they became friends until a year or two ago. Steve had lived a life without you; the curious thing was that now he found it hard to imagine the rest of his life without you in it.

Your heart seemed to ache. It was strange because you were happy, very happy; you had had a bath with aromatic salts, a good dinner, most importantly: a good rest and a delicious breakfast. But your heart hurt. Today was a good day, and you didn't want to be ungrateful, but you wouldn't have this forever; and you didn't talk about the shower, the food, or the, oh, comfortable bed the size of a Cadillac. No, this; to Steve. You couldn't help feeling that your happiness had an expiration date, and it was too soon. Your stomach hurt, your chest hurt, and your mind hurt. Anyway, you tried not to show it, and in the afternoon when Steve dropped you off at your house after vegging out in his living room eating the leftovers from the night before and watching comfort movies like The Breakfast Club and The Princess Bride, which Eddie had gotten in some non-legal but not illegal way since it had come out only a few months ago in theaters, you tried not to look at him too much or try to count the moles on his neck because it was real torture. He had looked at you with those eyes and smiled as he said goodbye to you. You saw him watching you until you entered your house and said goodbye with a wave one last time. He drove away in his car, and you stayed by the window because it was almost physically impossible to move away from there. "And then?" your mother's voice sounded behind you, which was the only thing that made you move. You turned to her still holding the bag with the soft pajamas that Steve had refused to let you return. "Steve told me his plan. Did you manage to sleep?" You nodded, and your mother approached to hug you while making little cries of joy. You hid your head in her neck and started crying, it took a couple of seconds before your mother noticed. Damn Steve Harrington and his consideration for telling his plan to your mother. Damn, damn it. "What's wrong?" your mom asked, worried, cradling your face. "I need help, Mom," you hiccupped, and the phrase was barely understandable. You saw your mother raise her eyebrows and nod. "Of course, but what's wrong? What do you feel?" You tried to breathe and put your hand on your chest. "F-fear" Your mother's expression softened, making her look younger when she seemed to understand what you meant. "Oh, no, sweetheart. No," she kissed your forehead and wiped your tears with a small consoling smile. "You're in love."

Yes, at least Steve had recognized the symptoms.

#stranger things fanfic #steve harrington #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fluff #steve stranger things #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x fem #steve harrington x you

[findafight]

I have an extremely stupid thought: Addams!Steve. His parents are horrified at his normalness. Everybody in the family tries to come up with ways to make him enjoy pain, even a little. They are all devastated that his interests are basketball and popularity. Usually, he isn't even cruel on purpose! His parents do their best to support him in his interests (this is why their house is so horribly decorated) and leave every time they feel the need to Be Weird or visit the family. When the Upside Down happens, they are overjoyed. Finally, a truly Addams pastime! But he doesn't seem to be having a lot of fun? Is he just trying to fit in their family? They don't want him to change for them, they just want him happy! His parents end up leaving him alone longer so he doesn't feel pressured to share the delightful portal to Hell (or keep getting involved if it stops being fun) and check in on him from time to time. He looks so delightfully beat up every time! What fun! Let's give him space. If he wants to battle hellmonsters, they definetely aren't gonna stop him! Even if it's a bit strange that he hasn't chosen one as a pet yet. Oh, no, is he secretely having a bad time? Does he not enjoy the hell portal? Look Steve we support your normal lifestyle! Do you want a job? A normal, horri- we mean, it's-totally-cool-if-you-want-one job? We won't think less of you if you do!

Steve for his part is very grateful that his family are so supportive of him, even if he's still trying to find a way to ask them for help with the Upside Down stuff without 1) secretely disappointing them and 2) his family making the situation worse on purpose. He knows they wouldn't mean to! But if he asks his mother to shut down a portal to a nightmare dimension full of flesh-eating monsters without even letting her keep one as a pet he might just make her cry, and that's unconscionable.

He's also under the impression that he knows the difference between people-normal and Addams-normal, but he still gets tripped up from time to time. Dustin keeping Dart as a pet? Duh, super normal, didn't even think about it until everyone started berating Dustin. What do you mean Jonathan and I aren't friends? We loved the same girl (who chose him), clearly we are Friends For Life.

(He'll never admit that Eddie is the first thing in his life that felt Right to every part of him. Sweet as pie the way he likes it even if his family is baffled by the preference, with a Deeply Weird appearence and demeanor that remind him of the best parts of home)

Yes yes Oh my god your mind.....

In S1 when Steve says his parents are away because dad has business and his mom went with him because she doesn't trust him it's not that his dad's adulterous it's because his mom didn't trust his dad not to, like, go grave robbing without her, (such a romantic date in the moonlight and it would be a shame to do it all alone, she knows he can't resist it though...)and they knew Steve wasn't particularly About That and also don't want him around for date night, and they don't want to do Weird Shit (their normal) in Hawkins because they don't want to have a reputation that would harm their darling normie son, AND he needed to stay in school at least for sports.

They return and he's like so I fought a demon creature from another dimension and got my shit rock by Jonathan who is now my best friend... (Because I doubt an Addams cares about NDAs within the family) and his parents are delighted! A portal to a hell dimension! Steven! You'll have to invite us along next time, and bring that nice young woman who is even MORE normal than you-oh she pointed a gun at you? Magnificent she'll fit right in! But they notice he's even more wound up than before and his mother, sister to Gomez Addams (hence the Harrington name), goes to her brother and bemoans the development.

"a hell dimension! In our own backyard, Gomez! We should all be rejoicing on our luck! But poor Steven only seems stressed. Apparently a girl died in our pool and instead of inviting her to haunt us he just feels guilty. I don't know what to do... However, the nail studded bat--complete with blood splatter, it's marvelous, you really must see it--is a welcome addition to the decor in the main room that we may be able to relax the highly attuned 'normal' look and expand from the basement."

And the next year, Dustin gets Steve to look for Dart and he's like "wait it's a baby demogorgon? Oh man my cousins would be sooo jealous. It ate your cat? Ah. I see. Eating a family member is certainly frowned upon." And Dustin is like. Why aren't you mad that it's a demogorgon u weirdo. What the hell. And Steve realizes that maybe weird carnivorous pets is an Addams Thing. In his defense Dustin got one. He'll have to tell his mom that it tends to eat other pets and isn't advisable.

Afterwards everyone is so proud! Steve helped defend some children who seem very keen on arson, which an Addams can relate to, and he always wears a broken nose so well. It is unfortunate that that Nancy girl broke his heart, but all's fair in love and war, and an Addams can bounce back! And what a tale, to have a girlfriend run away with you best friend! Worthy of a revenge plot, hmm Steve? Oh? No? You just what to cuddle and watch sad movies? Well. Alright then.

Perhaps a summer job, at that new mall will help. That is what normal people do, right? And Steve is so keen on normality that his parents can't refuse. They go on vacation, the last week of June, and tell him to just consider poisoning some of the icecream. Just a little! A bit of botulism or ecoli is good for a community! Keeps everyone on their toes.

They cannot believe they missed it AGAIN! Horrible luck, missing all the fun in their hometown. But, Steve seems to be bouncing back, (and his mother and father were both relieved and disappointed that the Russians who dared torture their sweet little pastel son and his friend were blown up before they could get a taste of Addams retribution) he's got a dear friend he works with and is overly attached too (excellent! His parents are so happy he's got someone he's mildly Weird with) and he happily drives the little arsonists around. (Steve's parents don't really meet the kids but know about them, are pleased as punch they all seem like little Addams-Harringtons Steve's taken under his wing. After all, arson, pet monster adopting, car thieving, and spycraft are all delightful pastimes for today's Youth)

But spring break of '86 rolls around and they return to their son in hospital besides another boy, who was apparently accused of serial murder, and discover that the hell dimension is gone for good (and, really, how can the senior Harrington-Addams' have such terrible luck! Missing all the fun once again, and to be told it's all over forever, well. At least their Steve was involved.) They kiss his cheeks and ask if they can get him anything, if his little arsonists are alright. They chat, telling him how little cousin Wednesday is doing and that his uncle Gomez was so thrilled to hear about the flesh monster last year and sends his love.

Eddie is there watching and once they leave he's like Steve....what is going on with your parents. Steve just shrugs.

Slowly, he falls for Eddie, sweet as pie and funny, with just the right amount of...well, freakishness, to settle that place in Steve's heart that's all Addams. Once they get to the stage where Steve introduces him to his parents as his boyfriend, he isn't even nervous about Eddie fitting in. He knows he will even if they live Steve's silly little picket fence and six nugget dream.

Steve's father is delighted by the development. "A murderer in the family!" He yells, which Eddie must interpret as some form of outrage or disgust instead of the delight it is.

He waves his hands in front of him "I didn't actually do it! All charges dropped!"

Steve's father Pat's his back in a consolatory way, "yes, yes. What a shame that is. We can't win them all. But! The reputation persists! And that is what matters. Oh, Priscilla! Gomez and Morticia will be besides themselves with envy!"

Eddie, who wore his most provocative and "fuck society and the man" outfit, on Steve's request which he assumed was to piss of his parents but...really doesn't seem to be the case now... Is. Baffled.

Steve's mother adds "indeed! You'll fit in so well with the rest of the family, dear, no need to worry that you're only an accused murderer. At least without prison time you are free to go where you wish and reap the benefits of a dastardly reputation!"

"I can't believe you didn't introduce us to your boy earlier, Steven. Look at him! Addams-Harrington material already. He even fought in the hell dimension with you!"

"you know about that?"

"of course, what's an NDA to family? We've been trying to join in the fun since the beginning." Says Steve's mother. "We've had such dreadful timing, though. And I'm still terribly annoyed that I wasn't able to give those Russians a torture session of their own!"

Eddie is...well. He doesn't actually know what's going on other than Steve's parents seem to like him? So. A win? He's calling it a win.

#steve Harrington #stranger things #steddie #steve harrington's parents #addams steve Harrington #findaanswers #finda writes stuff #the most addams trait steve has is Being Obsessed With Your Spouse Syndrome #silverseedthings #also to be clear his parents are t4t as many addamses are

[moonlightsolo]

Could you do a steve x Byers reader where she finds out she’s pregnant after she moves to California pleas

omg stop this hurts my heart. also i don’t know how to stop writing so this is longer than i expected. (also not proofread)

read part 2 here

when you left hawkins, it shattered steve harringtons heart into a million pieces. he begged you to stay, tried to persuade you to live at his parents house until you both could find a place to move into together.

the idea was so tempting, but you couldn’t dare to leave your family. especially, el. after everything happened with hopper, she needed you and so did your mom.

steve, of course, broke down when you left. as soon as he walked into your empty house, his emotions hit him. but he stayed strong as he helped load the moving truck. time went by too fast and soon it was time for the byers family to leave.

standing outside of your childhood home, steve embraces you. his hands held onto your body so tightly, refusing to let go. his tears soaked your skin where his head refused to leave your neck.

you’re his best friend, and most importantly his girlfriend. how could he not be sad? especially with the rest of the kids crying around him.

“please promise me you’ll come back to visit.” steve sniffles loudly, pulling back to look you in the eyes. his hands move from your back to cup your damp cheeks.

“of course. i could not, not come back, steve.”

the look in his eyes makes your bottom lip quiver. tears spilling over your waterline when you blink so you opt to look down at your feet. “hey…” steve’s voice croaks, bending down slightly to catch your eyes with his.

“it’s gonna be okay. just call me whenever you guys stop somewhere so i know you’re okay. i’m a big worrier, you know that.” he jokes, rolling his eyes in a playful manner.

even in this terribly dreadful moment, he tries to liven it up a little. you yank him back towards you, his body slamming into you from the force. “i love you so, so much, steve.” you sob into his chest, his back quivers under your touch from crying into your hair.

“i love you.” his voices rasps into your ear, pressing the longest kiss to your cheek. your fingers dig into his back, savoring the feeling of his body around you.

“alright, honey, we gotta hit the road.” your moms voice is soft as her hands rest on both of your backs.

you suck in a sharp breath, trying to keep in your emotions for steve’s sake. your bottom lip continues to tremble, which gives away how distressed you really are. your hands drop down to his to squeeze them, which he reciprocates.

“okay, i’ll be over in one sec.” you sniffle, wiping your snot and tears on your sleeve.

once joyce walks away, steve’s hands fly to your face to pull you in for a kiss. his familiar lips slot against yours, kissing you as if this is forever your last kiss. both of your tears mix in between, both of you slightly weeping.

“i love you. i love you. i love you.” he mumbles against you before pulling you back in for one last hug. you take one last deep breath to hold onto his scent.

you slowly pull away, holding his hand as you reluctantly walk away from him. your arms are outstretched from each other, holding teary eye contact.

he’s the first to let go, taking a few steps back to stand with the rest of the hawkins group; dustin, mike, lucas, and max. you wipe your face as you shuffle over to jonathan’s car, hopping into the passenger seat.

“you alright?” your younger brother asks. all you can do is nod since you’re afraid if you talk, you’ll have another breakdown.

you stare at your feet, fixating on how dirty your shoelaces are. maybe you should clean them.

the ride to california was long and strenuous. you switch out with jonathan to drive a few hours, and with your mom in the u-haul truck. every time your family would stop, whether it was a gas station or pit stop, you’d call steve on a pay phone.

his voice is music to your ears, keeping you sane between being occupied by your brothers odd conversations. even eleven was annoyed. she refused to ride in the same car with both of them.

“so other than your brothers being total dipshits, how are you?”

“i’m okay. i’m just- actually really nauseous. i’m not sure if it’s because of my nerves, or whatever…” you trail off, leaning against the warm brick wall next to the phone. the sunset beams against the side of your face.

“nauseous? go buy some soda and a snack. are you sure you’re okay?” steve’s voice grows concerned.

“yeah, yeah.” you laugh.

“i love you.”

“i love you. talk to you later?” you hum.

“yes, i’ll talk to you later.” he confirms.

you sigh before hanging up the phone and walking into the gas station. you grab some chips and a soda before walking down another aisle. you spot condoms, smiling to yourself as memories with steve replay in your head.

your eyes spot a box of generic pregnancy tests, blinking at it as you zone out. when was your last period?

each one of your fingers tap the your thumb as you count the days in your head, “shit.” you hiss under your breath. you snatch the box off the shelf, peeking over the aisles to make sure none of your family is inside. you quickly check out at the front and tuck the box deep in your backpack.

“i’m guessing steve’s still okay?” will makes a dig at you as you walk up to the parked cars.

“shut up.” you grumble and hop into jonathan’s car, buckling yourself in. your mom shrugs at will’s protests against your attitude and shoos him and eleven into the truck as jonathan climbs in beside you.

“what’s going on?” he asks as his hand turns the key to start the engine.

“i’m fine. just drive.”

your brother grumbles something to himself before pulling off behind the moving truck.

a few more hours pass by, the time being sucked up by multiple power naps and a few mixtapes. you can’t help but worry about anything you could possible think of. your brain convinces what you’re experiencing is motion sickness, or maybe you’re just steve-sick. your heart aches for him, all you want to do is be with him. maybe you made the wrong choice, maybe you should have just stayed in hawkins.

finally, you reached california. you pull out your camera, snapping a photo of the state sign as you drive past it. you can’t believe this is actually happening right now.

you lean back in your seat, watching the trees and other cars fly past your window. soon, the sounds of tires on the pavement lulls you to sleep.

“hey, wake up.” someone shakes your shoulder, making you jolt awake with your fists up in attack mode. it’s just eleven.

“we’re here.” she gives you a sad smile before reaching a hand out to help you out of the car.

“thanks, el.” you mumble as she hoists you up. your eyes instantly take in the much larger home, the sun is warm but the air is refreshing. the tall palm trees above you rustle in the west coast air.

all five of you instantly make yourselves at home throughout the few first weeks. you unpack and set up your room. not without a polaroid of you and steve on your beside table- and also a few tacked to your wall- and on your desk. let’s just say, there’s a lot of reminders of hawkins in your room.

you’ve begun to worry about your nausea that comes and goes, and is especially worse in the mornings. the pregnancy test box sits hidden in the original plastic bag in your bathroom cupboard. you refuse to look at it because you’re not pregnant. at least, that’s what you tell yourself. you end up confiding to your mom about you being sick, but she also agrees it’s just you being homesick and missing your boyfriend.

speaking of your boyfriend, you and steve talk so much. in the morning, during the day whenever you need to tell him something new happened in your life, and right before bed. sometimes, you both even fall asleep on the phone.

you’ve started a new job at a nearby bookstore. which isn’t terrible since you get to see what freaky novels people are purchasing. one day, when you’re stocking the new books in the fantasy section, a title catches your eye. ‘dungeons and dragons.’

from the mention of the game, something twirls uncomfortably in your belly. flashes of your home life rolls behind your eyes, playing d&d with your brother and his dumb friends. your feet instinctively take you to the bathroom, sprinting through the aisles of books with a wild look in your eye.

you barely make it to the toilet, hurling up the contents of your lunch in the porcelain bowl. god, you hate puking. panic settles in your chest, this time just feels different from the others. whether you’ve puked because of an excessive amount of alcohol or a stomach bug- this time contrasts to the others. you can feel it in your gut. (no pun intended)

your manager, thankfully, let’s you go home early to rest. jonathan, eleven and will are at school and your mom is most likely running errands, so you have the house to yourself. you decide it’s time to take the pregnancy test. just to soothe your mind, not because you actually think you’re pregnant…

you read the instructions over and over, until you finally give up and pee on the damn stick. you cover the soiled part and lay it on your bathroom counter. it’ll be negative, you guys used protection every time.

every. single. time.

you pace in your bathroom as you replay every instance you’ve had sex with steve in your head. vividly remembering each time he put a condom on. oh no, except one. your heart drops and your ears start to ring instantaneously. you can’t tell if you’re suffocating or having a heart attack.

oh god, you remember it was week you found out you were leaving, both of you were completely plastered. the memory fades in and out of your mind. you were at his parents house, drinking and watching a movie, ended up listening to some music and drinking some more. the memory jumps from dancing with him, to fucking on the couch, then in his bed.

your eyes glance down at the test, seeing there’s a line. your heartbeat drums in your ears as you grab it to bring it closer to your face. an evident pink plus sign is etched into the window.

you gulp down the rising bile in your throat, and throw the test away from you. it lands directly in the sink, clattering as it slides around.

“holy shit. no way. oh my god.” you ramble to yourself as you blindly stumble into your bedroom to your phone. you need to call steve.

the phone rings into your ear, hand shaking as you hold it up to your face. hot tears are already trailing down your cheeks as you drop down next to your bed.

“this is steve!” his happy voice chirps on the other end once he answers. your voice refuses to come out, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

“hellllloooooo?”

“steve.” you croak out, voice shuddering expectantly.

he calls out your name, worry obvious in his tone. “what’s wrong? are you okay?”

“steve…” you whimper, shaking your head, “i’m…”

“baby what’s wrong? do i need to go to the airport and buy a goddamn plane ticket right now? seriously tell me what the hell is going on!”

“steve! i’m pregnant!” you blurt out, voice raising.

the line goes silent, and you don’t hear his breath anymore.

“steve?”

“you’re… pregnant?” his voice is hushed. you expected him to question you to see you’re prank if him, but he sounds quite serious.

“i’m pregnant.” you reassure.

“but… how? i- we always..” he stumbles over his words.

“the week before i left. we got drunk, and i think we might have forgotten…”

“forgot to wrap it before i tapped it, huh?” he chuckles softly on the other end.

“seriously?” you laugh through your tears, sniffling loudly.

“am i really gonna be a dad?” his voice perks up.

“i think so, yeah.” you mumble, hand resting on your belly. your head leans back against your bed.

“you’re in california. how is this going to work?” he breathes out.

“i’m going to come see you.”

and he does. he finds the next flight out to california from the indianapolis airport, and he’s there by the next day. you rush out of your house, stealing your moms keys.

“hey where are you going?” she whisper-shouts at you, holding her work phone away from her mouth.

“picking up steve!” you groan as you slip on your sneakers.

“what?! steve? i-i gotta go.” she talks to the person on the phone and hangs it up. your mom stands up from her desk to walk towards you as she talks, “steve? i didn’t know he was coming! i mean- i- look at this place! it’s a mess!” she talks with her hands as she looks around.

“he’s doesn’t care. i need to go.” you lean forward to peck her cheek before running out of the house. you completely ignore her protests as you hop in her car. you take off towards the airport, thankfully it’s not far away.

you pull your car next into the arriving lane, parking your car on the side where people are flooding out. you jump out to stand on the curb, eyes scanning the swarm of travelers, looking for his infamous hair.

“oh my god.” you mumble once you see a glimpse of his face. you start to sprint, dodging multiple people and hopping over luggages.

“steve!” you screech, his head whips towards your voice. his round eyes widen, mouth turning up into the biggest grin. he drops his bag and sprints towards you, his body softly collides into yours.

your hands fist his tee shirt under his jacket, gripping the fabric desperately. you breathe in, taking in the scent of his cologne. the one you’ve grown accustomed to, the one you missed so much. his hand cups the back of your head as you smoosh your face into his chest.

finally, you grow enough courage to look up at him. he’s still your pretty boyfriend, standing in the glory of all his freckles and bronzed skin. “hey, there’s my baby.” he mumbles, his chocolatey eyes glance over your face.

“still as beautiful as always.” he presses his lips to yours sweetly before pulling away. his other hand gently caresses your lower back, “i missed you so much.” you voice shakily breathes out against his lips.

steve taps your butt softly before his hand slips between your bodies, resting on your belly. “my sweethearts. my babiessssss.” he says in a sing song voice.

your hormonal emotions take over, tears instantly springing to your eyes. “i’m so scared.” you admit.

steve’s eyes look down at you pitifully, giving you a sad smile. “everything will be okay. i promise you, i won’t let you do anything without me by your side. i’ll fucking move here if you want me to.” he laughs, squeezing your hip for comfort.

“i love you so much.” you sniffle. steve brings his sleeve up to your eyes to wipe your tears. “wanna go tell your mom now? like we planned, yeah?”

you nod silently, slipping your hand into his. he grabs his luggage and loads it into your car, before getting in the passenger seat. the whole ride, he couldn’t keep his hands off of you. whether it was holding your thigh, your hand, or rubbing your belly.

once you pull into your driveway, you see that the pizza van is parked in the grass. which means, jonathan’s stoner friend is here and the kids are home.

“surfer boy pizza?” steve almost laughs.

“jonathan’s friend. he drives them everywhere. all they do is smoke weed.” you grumble and get out of the car.

“smoke weed?!” steve follows you, face screwed up with confusion and mostly shock.

“steve?” eleven’s voice sounds. she’s standing on the porch, staring at you both.

“hey, kid!” he rests his arm over your shoulders as he walks up to her with you.

“is this a… surprise?” her statement sounds more like a question.

“yeah.” steve glances at you, “well! we got some more surprises, let’s go inside.” you mumble, leading her through the front door.

the smell of pizza instantly hits your face, “hey guys! oh, steve! it’s so nice to see you! look at you!” joyce exclaims as she hands a paper plate full of food to will.

“oh hey, bro-chacho’s!” argyle’s eyes are hooded as he sits at the dining room table, waving slowly to you. jonathan just nods at steve’s presence as he shoves food into his mouth.

“wow, they’re totally baked.” steve chuckles in your ear.

“el, come get some pizza!” your mom calls for the girl standing behind you.

“okay, guys. can everyone stop eating for a second? we have something to tell everyone.” you call out over the chaos.

all eyes are now on you and steve.

“uh oh, bro.” argyle blurts out.

you can feel your chest constructing with anxiety, but steve continues to rub comforting circles into your shoulder.

“are you guys getting married?!” eleven shouts a question at you from the table, pure fear in her expression.

“uhm- no…” you clear your throat, looking up at steve who’s beaming down at you.

“maybe…” he whispers into your ear secretly, making goosebumps rise on your skin.

“i’m… i’m…” you take a shaky breath before continuing, “i’m pregnant.”

everything goes silent, even the loud chewing sounds emitting from the two stoners.

“pregnant?” your mom is the first one to speak.

jonathan swallows his chewed up pizza that’s sitting in his mouth, “congrats, sis.” he continues to eat nonchalantly next to a quiet argyle. a sight you haven’t seen before.

“why didn’t you tell me?” your mom is on the verge of crying.

“steve is going to be the… papa?” eleven asks will, and your little brother vigorously nods his head as he stares at you and steve.

steve gulps as joyce grows closer to you both, “mom. i should’ve told you earlier, i’m sorry. i just got so nervous.”

“don’t be nervous, honey. everything will be… uhm- fine.” she nods to herself, her hands grabbing yours to hold.

“mrs. byers…” your mom gives steve a look, “sorry.. joyce. i just want you to know that your daughter means a lot to me, and so does this baby. i will make sure they’re both looked after, and i’ll be by her side through everything.”

joyce stares at him with a look you can’t decipher before she surprisingly pulls him into a hug, “you’re such a good kid. thank you, thank you, thank you! you guys are so cute together, and i’m gonna be a grandma!” she squeals happily, stepping back to look at you both.

“you guys want to eat now?” she starts to walk away towards the numerous pizza boxes.

you glance at steve who shrugs with a little smile that says, “your mom took that better than i thought.”

having steve by your side while you broke the news to your family truly kept you sane. you can’t help but imagine what he’ll be like when you’re in labor nine months down the road. most likely erratic, but in the best way possible. you gaze up at your boyfriend who’s chowing down on pizza, and he raises his eyebrows at you from your staring. you know he’s going to be the best dad ever, just by how he cares for all the kids and protects them.

it’s hard to put into words, how much love is shared between you both. steve harrington fell for you even harder than he could’ve ever imagined. what was just a simple friendship in kindergarten, blossomed into something so much better. now you’re starting a little family with him, and everything seems to be falling into place.

#steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fic #steve harrington x byers!reader #steve harrington #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington smut #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x y/n

[stevie-petey]

episode one: the vanishing of will byers

Steve nods, as if you almost getting hit by his car makes perfect sense to him. When you walk over to your bike and inspect it for any damage, he follows after you.  “So,” he whistles, trying to pretend that this is all a completely normal occurrence. “You, uh, need a ride?” Honestly you don’t know why you’re surprised he hasn’t noticed the clear signs of you crying, your swollen eyes and red nose. Not only is he a boy, but he’s also Steve Harrington. It’s a miracle he even stopped to make sure you weren’t dead.

summary: jonathan smuggles you free food in exchange for friendship, will goes missing the one time you listen to jonathan, hopper doesn't really like you, and steve harrington almost hits you with his car as you're sobbing like a damn baby (in a cool way).

rating: general, although there's plenty of cursing and slight innuendos, so fair warning.

warnings: cursing, fem!reader, and use of y/n.

words: 7k

before you swing in: hello ! this is the first chapter of my come home series, where i plan on rewriting the entirety of stranger things because i really love a good rewrite fic and this is me just indulging in my ideal fic fantasies tbh. before we start: this is a steve x reader fic, however there will be some slight feelings between the reader and jonathan because, but it doesn't at all get in the way of steve and honestly just adds to the angst because i love a good tragedy. also, reader is dustin's older sister, but i tried to write her as neutral as possible in terms of physical features, so let's all just play along. that is all ! i'm very excited for this series and i hope y'all enjoy her as much as i do :)

-

November 6th, 1983

Your shift at Bookstrordinary ends at 8:30 tonight, so as soon as you’ve organized all the books within the store and cashed out the last customer, you say goodnight to your boss, Mrs. Waters, and clock out. Today had been a longer shift, and it didn’t help that you had to deal with a particularly eager bookclub mother who insisted that you had the latest copy of some obscure novel that she needed for her club. After several attempts to inform her that no, you really didn’t have some novel about a cowboy falling in love with a rodeo girl from Michigan, nor would you ever want to read that, the mother angrily walked away. 

You’re happy to finally be free from work though, excited to see Jonathan to tell him about the book club mom because you know he gets a kick out of those suburban middle class mothers that terrorize Hawkins. He works across from you, at The Hawk theater, and it’s one of your favorite things about the bookstore. Besides getting to be surrounded by books all day and reading Spider-Man, you get to be across the street from your best friend and share frequent breaks together. 

A bell signifies your arrival at the theater, alerting Jonathan to look up from the concession stand and smile at you. He looks tired, which you can understand. It’s been a particularly long school year so far with Jonathan having to work more shifts than usual to support his family. 

“Welcome to The Hawk, can I interest you in our specialty popcorn and candy corn mixture?”

You make a face, “No, thanks. Candy corn freaks me out.” 

Jonathan laughs, knowing you’d say that. It’s been a running joke between the two of you for as long as you can remember. You’re not picky with most foods, but candy corn? The bane of your existence. “Tough crowd, then.” 

You laugh as well, now standing in front of the counter, and you learn against it so that you’re in Jonathan’s space. After being friends for so long, personal space doesn’t exist between the two of you. You’re the only person that Jonathan lets get this close to him on a regular basis, which you’re secretly proud of. 

“So, you almost done so we can pick up our idiotic brothers?” Tonight, as usual, Will and Dustin are at Mike’s house playing DnD. They’d biked over as soon as school let out, while Jonathan drove you to work, so he was your ride back for the night. 

He shakes his head at you, wincing, “I picked up an extra shift tonight. Stacy called out sick, and it’s good money…”

You nod in understanding. He doesn’t have to explain himself to you, which he’s always relieved by. 

“It’s okay. Is my bike still in your trunk?” 

“Yeah, I can get it out for you since I’m kind of ditching you tonight.” 

You wave him off, already reaching across the counter to grab his keys from his coat pocket. “No need, I’ll get it out myself so you don’t get in trouble with your boss.” Jonathan’s boss is an older guy, extra scary. “I’m assuming that I’m taking Will home tonight?” 

“It’ll be late by the time you get the boys, and you’ll have Dustin. We only live a couple blocks apart, you can just bike with Will until you get to your street.”

“Are you sure? I know he’s scared of the dark.” 

“It’s fine, Y/N. You’re already doing enough being there for most of the ride; I’m sure Will can survive the last five minutes alone.” 

You give Jonathan an unsure look, but you don’t argue with him. He’s his brother, he knows Will’s capabilities, and it’s an unspoken fact that you baby Will a bit too much. He’s just so much tinier than the other boys, softer in a way that you want to protect. He’s special. 

Jonathan sneaks you a large peach lemonade and hot dog from the concession stand when you return with his keys. You’ve parked your bike up front, and you accept the food gratefully. You hadn’t had time to eat your usual dinner during your break due to the bookclub mother fiasco, so you inhale the food quickly and give his hair a ruffle. 

“You’re a lifesaver, bee.” 

Jonathan lightly hits your hand away from his hair. “Consider it your payment for dealing with Will and Dustin on your own tonight, bug.” 

Bee and bug were the names the two of you had given each other years ago. Jonathan had started it with bug, stemming from the fact that you love Spider-Man so much, and you had struggled to come up with your own nickname for him. Then it came to you: bee, or B, for Byers. It was perfect, and you’re still incredibly proud of yourself for the creativity, honestly. 

After your quick dinner, you say goodbye to your friend and head off. It’s late now, nearing 9, and you hope that Mrs. Wheeler and your own mom won’t be too upset with you for being late for pick up. You know they prefer to have the boys in bed by a decent hour, but in your defense, Jonathan did skip out on you.

You arrive at the Wheeler’s in a short amount of time and knock on the door. Your cheeks are flushed from the early November cold, and you’re regretting that you only put on a thin sweater and jeans this morning.

Mike answers the door, giving you a dirty look. “Did you have to come early?”

“I’m actually later than usual,” you sidestep him, making your way into his house; you’ve become used to Mike’s attitude. “I take it the campaign is still ongoing?”

“See, mom? Even Y/N understands how long a good campaign can go on for!” Mike waves his arms at you, as if to signify to his mother the importance of your understanding. 

Mrs. Wheeler ignores her son to greet you kindly, albeit a bit exasperated. “Hello, Y/N, please come in.” Then she turns to Mike, giving him a stern look. “Mike, why don’t you tell Y/N how you boys have been playing for ten hours? I’m sure she’ll be understanding then.” 

“You guys have been playing for ten hours?”

Mike looks down in embarrassment for a second before turning to his father for help. You laugh a bit at his enthusiasm and see a faint smile on his mom’s face as well. Quietly you excuse yourself to go downstairs to find the other boys, and Mrs. Wheeler wishes you luck. 

Everyone always acts like the boys are some giant pain; truthfully, you enjoy them. Sure, they can be a handful, but they’re just kids; it’s hard for you to ever stay mad at them. Plus they like you, so it makes dealing with them easier. 

Lucas, Dustin, and Will are running around the basement when you get down there, frantically searching for something. You hear Lucas inform Will that if Mike doesn’t see something, then it doesn’t count. The urgence in his voice amuses you; you’ll never fully wrap your head around why they take DnD so seriously, but you love that they can enjoy it with each other. 

Dustin is the first to see you. “Y/N!”

The other boy’s heads turn to you and they greet you with enthusiasm as well. Will rushes towards you for a hug, which you gladly accept. When you break apart, Lucas gives you a high five and asks about a comic you’ve put on hold for him at the store. 

“Any luck?”

“Sorry, Sinclair. It’s still sold out, but the second it’s restocked I’ll smuggle one for you.” 

“Sick!” 

Dustin walks over, now in his coat and holding a pizza box. “Want a slice?” 

You decline, informing him that Jonathan snuck some food for you. At the mention of his brother’s name, Will asks where he is. You tell him that Jonathan had to cover a shift and that you’ll be taking him most of the way home tonight. 

As you all make your way upstairs, you notice that Dustin continues up to the second floor. Lucas notices too, and the two of you share a knowing look. 

“Still have a crush on Nancy?” You ask, already knowing the answer. 

“Yup.” Lucas responds, smiling in disappointment. 

You wait for your brother outside, helping Will with his coat and listen to Mike’s rambling about the campaign. Lucas is already on his bike, ready to go. 

“There’s something wrong with your sister.” Dustin declares when he finally returns.

Mike looks at you, then at your brother, confused. “What are you talking about?” 

“She’s got a stick up her butt.” 

“Dustin!” You berate. Nancy isn’t your favorite person, but she’s always been nice to you the few times you’ve interacted. You guys used to be closer when you were younger, but high school has a way of distancing people.

“Yeah,” Lucas now speaks up. “It’s because she’s been dating that douchebag, Steve Harrington.” How the hell does Lucas even know about that? You didn’t even know about that until just now. 

“Lucas! Language!” 

“Yeah, she’s been turning into a real jerk.”

“Dustin, I swear to God-” 

The boys ignore you, which you’re honestly not surprised by. While they may like you, that doesn't mean that they listen to you. On a good day they maybe listen to you 25% of the time, but tonight was clearly not a good night. 

Mike finally cuts in, “She’s always been a real jerk.”

“Hey, she’s your sister. Give her some credit-”

Dustin is now the one who cuts you off. “Nuh-uh, only you get the sister leniency, Y/N. Nancy used to be cool, now she isn’t.” 

“Remember that time she dressed up as an elf for our Elder tree campaign?” Lucas asks, almost reminiscent. 

You shudder at the way he says it, and you shudder more when you see the dreamy look in your brother’s eyes. “Yeah, I remember…” 

“Gross,” you huff at your brother, now hopping on your own bike. 

Lucas and Dustin begin to pedal away, and you call after them to wait up. Will is still with Mike, and you promised Jonathan you’d get him home. You give the boys a bit of space, waiting a few paces ahead. Will has always been shy around Mike, something that you’ve tried not looking into too much, but to be safe you give them some privacy. 

Faintly, you hear Will say, “The Demogorgon, it got me.” 

Lights flicker a bit, but you’re too focused on the slight unease you feel by Will’s words. Before you can think too much about them, he joins you. “Race you up to Lucas and Dustin?”

“You’re on,” you tell him. 

Will beats you to the boys (which you let him do), and you’re out of breath. The four of you bike in silence for a bit until you reach Lucas’s turn into his neighborhood. 

“Good night, ladies.” He says, and you don’t need to be a psychic to know what your brother’s response is going to be.

“Kiss your mom ‘night for me.” Bless him.

You and Will giggle together, and Dustin smirks at the two of you, proud. He sits in the praise for a few moments before challenging you and Will to race home with the promise of a comic for whoever wins. 

“I call last year’s Black Cat issue of Spider-man!” You call out, already biking away from the boys. 

“We didn’t say go!”

Dustin and Will call after you as they try to catch up, and within a few seconds the three of you are speeding down the hill towards your home. You laugh gleefully, enjoying the way the wind whips through your hair and the way Dustin, though annoyed by your early start, laughs alongside you with Will. 

Somehow Will is the one who wins the race, which you’re impressed by. He may be small, but he’s surprisingly good at winning when it comes to a competition. Dustin shouts at Will that he’ll kill him, which makes you send a warning look at him. 

“I’ll take your X-Men 134!” Will retaliates, still flying through the street. 

You and Dustin are now stopped at your mailbox and you take a moment to catch your breath before shouting at Will, “Be careful, please! Stay safe!”

“I’ll be fine, I promise!” Will’s voice is distant, now a few yards away, and you stand outside for a few more seconds to watch his figure disappear into the night. Dustin has already gone inside but you wait to follow, only going inside when you can no longer see Will, hopefully home safe and sound. You feel fear creep upon you, but you chalk it up to your usual worry when it comes to the boy. 

He’ll be okay, Jonathan should be home within the hour. 

– 

The next morning you’re frantically biking to school, pissed off at Jonathan. He’s your ride every morning, or everywhere, really, and for the second time in 24 hours he’s bailed on you. Dustin left for school ages ago on his bike, so you’re thankful he doesn’t see you embarrassingly sweaty and gross as you race to school. 

It’s not that you’re pissed that Jonathan bailed again, you’re pissed because he didn’t even have the nerve to call you ahead of time to warn you. Now you have only ten minutes before the first bell rings, and your sweater clings to you uncomfortably as you sweat. 

You make it to school with a few minutes to spare, so you quickly make your way over to your locker to grab the necessary books for the day. You’re still sweaty, and you don’t want to even think about what your hair looks like right now. You look down the hall towards Jonathan’s locker, still not seeing him, and you begin to worry a bit. Maybe he overslept after last night’s shift? 

A body crashes into yours, sending your notebooks spiraling to the ground. Steve Harrington looks at you sheepishly, only saying a small “whoops!” before continuing his fast pace towards the girl’s bathroom. You scoff, now even more annoyed with your entire morning, picking up your stuff as you see Nancy enter the same bathroom a few moments later. 

“In a public school bathroom?” You mutter in disgust, collecting the last of your things and heading to class. 

You decide to give Jonathan until second period, sophomore English which the two of you share, before you freak out. You know you have a problem with over worrying about the people you love, so you try to calm yourself down. While Jonathan has never been the type to cancel without at least calling first, you reason with yourself that everyone has a bad morning. He simply slept in too late. When he wakes up, he’ll come to school and he’ll be sitting in the seat next to you in English. 

Except Jonathan isn’t in the seat next to yours when you enter the classroom an hour later. Now you officially let yourself begin to worry. Something about this doesn’t feel right. 

You’ve never skipped class before, school has always been important to you. You’re the top of your class with hopes of running away from Hawkins with Jonathan to a big city with an even bigger university. However, you don’t even hesitate to flee the classroom and find the nearest phone in the school to call the Byers’ residence. 

Jonathan answers after a few rings, and the words that leave his lips change your life forever. “Will is missing.”

You feel all the air in your lungs be knocked out of you. You can’t breathe and you sway a bit as your knees threaten to give out. This isn’t real, this can’t be happening. 

“What?”

“Will, he-he’s gone, Y/N. We can’t find him and-” 

You don’t hear whatever else Jonathan says. You struggle to get air back in your lungs. Will isn’t missing, you just saw him last night. Mere hours ago Will laughed next to you, face alive with joy, he hugged you and joked along with you. 

“He didn’t come home last night-”

“He didn’t come home?” Jonathan’s words catch your attention and you feel bile rise in your throat. Will didn’t make it home last night. You were the last one to see him, and the realization crushes you; it’s all your fault. 

“Mom and I just searched the woods, and there’s no sign of him and-” Jonathan is rambling now, his own fear and despair clear in his voice. 

“Jonathan,” you force his name out, now needing to be there for your best friend. You can worry for Will in your own time, right now Jonathan needs you. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” 

“Y/N, you don’t-”

You hang up before Jonathan can argue with you and stumble towards the exit. Your limbs feel heavier than normal, and your ears are ringing. Will is missing. He’s so small, he’s scared of the dark… You left him alone in the dark. 

The bike ride to the Byers home is a blur. You don’t remember much, your body going on autopilot the second you hopped on your bike. You’re running on pure fear and adrenaline right now, too worried for your boys to focus on anything else. 

You don’t bother to knock when you arrive, instead you let yourself in. Joyce is on the phone, arguing with some woman named Cynthia. Your eyes find Jonathan’s, who is sitting on the couch hunched over something. You walk over to him and sit down beside him and your stomach lurches when you see the words “have you seen me?” he’s so neatly printed out on a piece of paper.

“Bee…” you exhale, voice cracking a bit. 

Jonathan doesn’t say anything, but you know him as well as you know yourself. He doesn’t want comforting words right now. You take his hand into yours and lean your head against his shoulder. Worry has made his muscles tense, but you feel him relax into you a bit as he rests his own head against yours. The two of you sit like that for a moment, taking in the comfort you bring each other. 

“Bitch!” Joyce slams the phone down, causing you and Jonathan to jump apart. 

“Mom,”

“What?” Joyce is a mixture of both rage and anxiety, and you feel awful looking at her. Her son is missing, you can’t imagine what she must be feeling right now.

“You have to stay calm.” Jonathan tells her, his voice firm but kind. You know it’s taking everything in him to be as stable as he is right now; he’s putting on a front for his worried mother. You squeeze his hand, hoping it conveys the support and love that you need it to.

He squeezes back, and you see Joyce finally recognize that you’re there as well. She sends you a weak wave, which you return, before she goes back to dialing and trying to reach Lonnie. Jonathan gives your hand one last squeeze and lets go, now returning back to the posters. You immediately understand that he’s doing this to distract himself, so you do the same and wordlessly help him.

You begin writing your own “have you seen me?” when Joyce once again slams her phone down. The sound makes you flinch, inadvertently messing up your writing, which you sigh at. Before you can ask Jonathan for another piece of paper, you hear a car pull up. 

Jonathan stands up to investigate, alerting his mom that the cops are here. You follow after them outside, your heart dropping when you see Will’s bike in the Chief’s hand. He ushers everyone inside, informing Joyce that he found the bike lying in the road.

“How far was it from the house?” You ask, your voice frail. 

The Chief looks at you, his nametag informs you that his name is Hopper, and raises his eyebrows. “And can I know who is asking?” 

You clear your throat, nervous under his scrutinizing gaze. “I’m Y/N Henderson. I’m close with the Byers, I biked with Will home,” your voice catches in your throat, snagging onto the guilt that has been clawing at you ever since you found out Will was missing. You clear your throat again, determined to continue. “I was with him last night. My brother and I live right off Mirkwood, a few blocks from here. He only had a few more minutes before he would’ve been home.” 

Hopper stares at you. “Mirkwood?”

“It’s where-”

“Yeah, those moron kids explained it to me. I just didn’t think someone your age would call the street that, too.” Then, as an afterthought, Hopper adds, “The bike was found a block from here.”

His words sting, but you ignore it. If the bike was found only a block from the Byers’ home, then that means that something had to have happened to Will only minutes after you last saw him. You feel the familiar churning in your stomach, wracked with guilt. 

“Did it have any blood on it?” Joyce now asks, and you’re thankful she’s taken the attention off of you. 

Jonathan sees your distress and grabs your sweater so that you fall back a bit from the cops and Joyce. “Do you need a minute?”

You can only nod, afraid that if you open your mouth you’ll either cry or throw up. He gently guides you to his room, closing the door. Once you’re alone, he wraps his arms around you and pulls you in tight. You’re shaking harder than ever now, Will’s happy and shining face from last night keeps flashing through your mind. 

You were the last one who ever saw him.

You’re the one who was last responsible for him. 

You.

“It’s not your fault,” Jonathan whispers, his voice muffled by your hair. You’ve always loved how you fit perfectly in his arms, your height difference being just enough that he always rests his chin against your head when he hugs you. 

“I’m the last person who saw him.”

“Y/N, I was the one who asked you to only bike him halfway-”

“No,” your voice comes out louder than you intend it to, and you push Jonathan away. He lets out a confused noise as you grapple at him, forcing him to look directly at you. “I should’ve been with him, Jonathan. It’s your job to support your family, and it’s my job to help you. I have to… I have to be the one who helps you.” 

You’ve always been fascinated by psychology, and you remember reading in one of the journals about codependency; the term was used in relation to addiction, specifically alcoholism, but it had caught your interest. To love someone to the extent that their actions make you feel responsible for them, to selflessly take on their burdens to a debilitating extent, well, it reminded you of your relationship with Jonathan. 

You’ve always taken on whatever Jonathan has had to deal with, ever since you were kids, and it’s always come so naturally to you. He’s never asked you to, and sometimes the extent to which you carry his weight angers him, but it’s how you love.

It’s who you are. You’re always the one who helps, it’s what you need to be able to do. If you can’t help the ones you love the most, then what good is your love for them?

Jonathan may not know about codependency, but he knows how hard you love those closest to you. “Bug, listen to me.” He grabs your face, almost aggressively, in order to cut off your rambling. “My mom, she-she’s already spiraling and I can’t… I need you. I need you to be here, with me, right now. If I lose you too, then I-I don’t know what I’ll do.”

His words cut through you like glass. He’s right, you know he’s right, and you feel another wave of guilt wash over you. This guilt is different from the guilt surrounding Will. This is mixed with shame for allowing yourself to spiral so far and forcing Jonathan to take care of you. Joyce is clearly unwell, you can’t fathom how much he’s had to deal with today. 

You gently remove Jonathan’s hands from your face and take a step back. If you’re going to help him, you need to collect yourself. From here on out, you have to be a wall for him to lean on, a shoulder to cry on, someone who will listen to him. 

“I’m sorry.” 

Jonathan shrugs at you, now allowing a hesitant smile to cross his face. “If it makes you feel any better, it took a lot less pleading to get through to you. I’m still working on my mom.” 

The joke is foul, one that should make you feel even worse than you already do, because what sixteen year old has to plead with their mother to remind her that he’s there, too? The joke is horrible, and it’s exactly what you need to find yourself laughing, and Jonathan joins. 

Codependency can be a bitch, but Jonathan understands you in ways that no one else can. 

“You think the cops are gone?” You ask, wiping away the remaining tears. 

Jonathan listens for any sign of them and shakes his head. “No, I think we’re all clear.”

He walks out the room first and you follow after him. Joyce is standing in the kitchen, staring at the counter with a far off look in her eyes. You and Jonathan look at each other and you motion for him to go talk to her. He nods, and then you motion to the living room to indicate that you’ll continue working on the missing posters. 

Carefully writing on the posters soothes you, in a way. It’s rhythmic, providing a sense of lull that you readily embrace. You faintly hear Jonathan talking with his mother, then you watch as he leads her to her bedroom and shuts the door. When he returns he sits next to you on the couch and begins to work on the posters as well. No words are needed. 

You work on the posters in silence for a few hours until it nears 3pm. Dustin will be getting out of school soon, and you have to be there for him when he’s home. While Will may be Jonathan’s brother, he’s also your brother’s best friend. You get up and head into the kitchen, long familiar now with its layout and usual contents within the fridge, and quickly prepare the ingredients for spaghetti. It’s a simple meal, but Jonathan and Joyce need to eat. Once it’s all laid out, you return to the living room and tap on your friend’s shoulder. 

“Hey, I have to head out now to check on Dustin, but I just put a pot of water on the stove along with some noodles on the counter. I also cut up some vegetables and put them in the fridge for the sauce. Start the meal whenever, I laid everything out for you.”

“Thank you, really,” Jonathan exhales, relief evident on his face. He hadn’t even thought about dinner, which you figured he wouldn’t. 

You bend down to kiss the top of his head. “Anytime, bee. I’ll call you tonight, okay?”

“Okay,” 

“Just…” you linger at the door, not fully wanting to leave him all by himself. “Be careful, please.” 

“Go, Y/N. I’ll be fine, I promise.” Jonathan reassures you.

“I’ll be fine, I promise!” Will’s voice is distant, now a few yards away, and you stand outside for a few more seconds to watch his figure disappear into the night.

It’s brief, but the flashback punches you in the gut. You close your eyes, holding onto the image of Will’s face in the moonlight last night, and when it fades you take a deep breath and force yourself to leave. 

The second you’re on your bike, pedaling away from the house, you let the sobs that have wracked against your throat all day out. It’s messy, the tears coming down your face faster than you can wipe them away. All the fear you’ve felt is now able to freely come out. It’s not the safest way to bike home, but you know that if you hold the tears in any longer you’ll collapse. You do your best to still be alert, but apparently you fail because a BMW honks at you to avoid you hitting it. 

“Fuck!” You yank your bike to the right, having no idea that you had been on the left side of the road, and topple over. The fall isn’t anything bad, but it definitely is your final straw for the day. You lay in the ditch you’ve landed in, staring at the November sky, and let the pain from your skinned knee serve as something to ground you to reality. 

“Holy shit, did I hit you?” 

Steve Harrington stands over you, a horrified look in his eyes. 

“Unfortunately not, otherwise I’d be able to sue you and get money out of it.” 

“Uh… okay?” He offers you his hand, although still very confused. “You didn’t like, happen to hit your head or anything, right?” 

You accept his help, albeit mostly because you have to, and brush yourself off when you’re up. “I’m fine. I just wasn’t paying attention, sorry.” 

Steve nods, as if you almost getting hit by his car makes perfect sense to him. When you walk over to your bike and inspect it for any damage, he follows after you. 

“So,” he whistles, trying to pretend that this is all a completely normal occurrence. “You, uh, need a ride?”

Honestly you don’t know why you’re surprised he hasn’t noticed the clear signs of you crying, your swollen eyes and red nose. Not only is he a boy, but he’s also Steve Harrington. It’s a miracle he even stopped to make sure you weren’t dead. 

“No,” you say, now repositioning your backpack so that you can get back on your bike. “Thanks anyways, Harrington.” 

Steve continues to follow you, even after you’ve started to pedal away. “You’re welcome, random girl I almost hit!”

You’re a bit further now, and you still feel like utter shit, but his words somehow make you laugh a bit. For a brief moment, you forget about everything, so you call behind, “It’s Henderson!” 

“That’s an odd first name!” The boy shouts after you, still following from a distance. 

“Y/N Henderson!” You’re fully yelling now, a good yard away, but you can tell that Steve hears you based on the way he begins to wave eagerly, finally stopping next to his car. Faintly you understand the boyish charm that makes him so loved by all the girls in the school; you understand why Nancy Wheeler has fallen for him.

“Bye, Y/N!” It’s faint, but you swear you can hear a smile in his voice.  

The good mood that Steve Harrington inexplicably puts you in vanishes when you near your house. Nothing has changed, yet it feels as if something has shifted. Will had been here only hours ago. You spot Dustin’s bike laying on the grass, haphazardly thrown as usual. 

Dustin is just taking off his coat when you enter, immediately running over to him to pull him into a bone crushing hug. 

“Y/N!” he squeaks in surprise. 

“Are you okay?” You know you’re squeezing your brother harder than you need to, but God. He’s safe, in your arms, and you’ve now learned that not everyone can say the same about their own loved ones. 

Dustin wiggles a bit, trying to break away from the hug, but you only pull him in tighter. “Geesh, no one died.” 

Normally you’d berate him, but you embrace his snarky comments. They’re what make Dustin so unique, his humor one of your favorite parts of him

When you don’t respond, Dustin stops wiggling around and finally accepts the situation. “I love ya too, sis.” 

You giggle a bit, now pulling away. “At least mom isn’t home right now. The minute she hears about what’s happened, we’ll be on lockdown.”

Dustin’s eyes widen. “Shit, you’re right.” 

“Lan-”

“Language, I know.”

You ruffle his hair, now feeling a bit better. Dustin is still Dustin, so maybe everything will be okay. You and your brother go into the kitchen for your post school snack, and you call your boss to inform her that you can’t make it to your shift. The words “family emergency” catch in your throat a bit, and Mrs. Waters is kind enough not to push it.

Dustin catches you up on his day, informing you about Hopper questioning him and the other boys. 

You scrunch your nose at that. “Is that even legal?”

“Unsure, but it was awesome.”

“Will went missing, Dustin. It isn’t ‘awesome’.”

Dustin tilts his head at you. “Well, I bet Will is going to have a blast hearing everything when we find him.” 

His words are so matter of fact, as if he already knows that Will will be found after all. His naivety worries you a bit, but you also can’t help but indulge in his hope as well. Then you think about what he’s just said. “Wait, who’s ‘we’?”

Your brother pretends he can't hear you, miming at his ears. “Dustin-”

“What?”

“Dustin, you and the boys can’t just-”

“I can’t hear you!” He’s running to his room now with you quick behind his heels. 

“Dustin, I swear to God-”

“I gotta do homework, Y/N, bye!” He slams the door in your face. 

You sigh. There’s no getting through to him, years of being Dustin’s older sister has taught you that, so you go into your room instead. You might as well get started on the assignments you missed today, and you have a huge chem test tomorrow, so you’ll focus on that and keep an ear out for Dustin. Whatever he’s planning with the boys, you won’t let them do it alone. 

After a couple hours of silence from Dustin’s room, you decide to call Jonathan. The line rings for a while with no answer, and eventually you give up. It makes sense that he’s not answering, he’s had a long day. You hope he’s asleep, but you know him better than that. He’s probably holed up in his room, trying to distract himself like you are right now. 

A loud thud from Dustin’s room breaks you from your thoughts. Then you hear a quiet “shhh!” that sounds suspiciously like Lucas, and you immediately throw on your shoes and a jacket and march outside. 

Dustin is halfway out of his window when you arrive, and Mike and Lucas stare at you, caught red handed. 

“Guys, I think she can hear us.” Your brother says, breaking the silence. Mike scoffs at him and Lucas groans. 

You eye the three of them, unamused. “Your best friend just went missing, what the hell are you guys doing out here so late and alone?”

Dustin awkwardly finishes his descent down, finally landing on his feet with a thud. He secures his hat back on his head and goes to grab his bike. You block his path. 

“I’m serious, one of you needs to start talking, now.” 

Lucas and Dustin look at Mike, who is their unofficial leader of the gang, and he huffs. “Look, Y/N, I like you-”

“How thrilling.” You say, voice monotone. 

The boy ignores you and continues to talk. “But Will is missing, and we aren’t just going to sit around and wait. He’s our friend, we have to do something.” 

You open your mouth to speak, but Lucas interrupts you. “You’re definitely our favorite sister in the group, so you’d be even cooler if you let us go.” 

Again, you try to respond, but this time Dustin beats you to it. “Yeah, you’re like, totally cool already. If you pretend that you never saw us, that’d be great.” 

“Guys-”

“And don’t give us a whole lecture about safety. That’s all bull.” Mike says. 

“Boys!” You scream. They all fall silent, not used to you ever raising your voice at them. You’ve only ever yelled at them once or twice, preferring to be the “cool” sister whenever you can, but right now they’re seriously pissing you off. 

“Let me speak.” When no one says anything, you continue. “I’m not going to stop you guys from looking for Will. In fact, I support it-”

“You do?”

You shoot Mike a death glare, which promptly shuts him up. “Yes, I do. However, I’m not letting you guys go alone.” 

The boys all groan at this, acting as if it’s the worst thing in the world to have you tag along with them. You ignore their complaining and head over to where your bike sits against the porch. You zip up your coat, the chill from the night making you shiver a bit. 

“No arguing, or I’ll call all your moms. Ours included, Dustin.”

“Why me?”

“Look, guys. I’m proud of you for stepping up, but I’m coming with. The last time I let one of you boys go off into the woods alone…” 

The boys shift uncomfortably now, realizing how heavy the guilt weighs upon you. After a few beats of silence, Mike finally gives in. 

“Fine,” he says, pointing a finger at you. “But the second you start to freak out, you’re gone.” 

You salute Mike, hopping on your bike as you all begin to bike away. The ride doesn’t take long, since you live just off of where Will was last seen. Thunder rumbles when you all approach the crime scene, and you shudder a bit. 

“It’s going to rain, guys.” You inform them. 

Dustin looks up at the sky with uncertainty. “I think maybe we should go back.”

Mike is quick to shut down the idea, urging the others to keep going. You admire his loyalty to Will, and you figure it’s why the two of you butt heads so often. Out of the entire group, you’re the most similar to him. 

Lucas and Mike go under the caution tape first, and Dustin hangs back. You place a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “We can go back, you know.” 

He clenches his jaw, jutting his chin out a bit. “No, Will needs us.”

Your brother puffs out his chest and follows after his friends, leaving you to take up the rear. More thunder rumbles and the rain begins to come down. You flip your hood up, thankful you remembered to grab a hoodie when leaving. 

Mike guides the way with his flashlight, then Lucas, then Dustin, then you in the back. You make sure to keep your eyes on the three boys, scared that the second you look away they’ll be gone. The woods have always creeped you out, but you push your fear down to keep them safe. 

“Will!” Mike calls out, the rain now pouring down on you guys. 

“Byers!” 

“Will, little bee!” You call out as well. He never liked when you called him that in front of the others, but tonight was an exception. 

“I’ve got your X-Men 134!” Your brother bribes, unintentionally making you laugh a bit. If Will is nearby, he’ll surely come out to claim his prize. 

Your foot catches on a tree log, and you slip in the mud before just barely managing to catch yourself. It’s getting hard to see given how dark it is and the rain surrounding you. Dustin voices his concerns, only to be called a baby, and you bite your tongue. If you defend him, he’ll only look more like a baby to his friends. 

“I’m just being realistic!” He retaliates, which you commend him for. 

“Dustin’s right, guys. It’s getting really bad out here. We’re surrounded by a ton of trees, don’t they attract lightning?” You ask, now paranoid that you’ll be struck down any second. 

“You guys are being sissies.” Lucas taunts, annoyed as well. 

You try to argue, but Dustin voices a thought that’s been at the back of your mind. “Did you ever think Will went missing because he ran into something bad?”

You think back to how Hopper seemed worried when he investigated the Byers home. From what you can recall, he suspected that Will had been running away from something, explaining why he’d abandon his bike.

“And now we’re going to the exact same spot where he was last seen, and we have no weapons or anything?”

Maybe Dustin’s right. This definitely wasn’t your best idea, and you’re regretting letting them follow through with their plan. For someone who claims to want to keep their loved ones safe, you really suck at it. 

“Dustin, shut up.” Mike voices, though he now looks a bit concerned as well. 

“He’s right, Mike.” You speak up, stumbling a bit in more mud. Your shoes are definitely ruined, now. “I was at Jonathan’s when Hopper showed up, he thinks Will was running from something.” 

The boys go quiet now, and when you’re about to suggest going home, you hear rustling in the bushes. 

“Did you guys hear that?” Mike asks. 

Your heart stops as the rustling continues and you all start to twist and turn, looking for the source of the sound. The rustling gets louder, almost as if it’s getting closer, and you tighten your hand around your flashlight, ready to use it as a weapon just in case. 

Then, the light flashes upon a little girl, drenched in an oversized yellow shirt, shivering. Her head is shaved, but her small stature suggests to you that she is indeed a girl. You all stare at her, no one saying a thing. She stares back, a terrified look on her face that breaks your heart. 

“Holy shit,” you whisper. 

Her eyes land on you; something about her reminds you of Will, and  you know that nothing will be the same again.

-

⌑ series masterlist

⌑ if you would like to be added/removed from my taglist, just let me know :)

#steve harrington x henderson!reader #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #stranger things #steve harrington fanfic #stranger things rewrite #slowburn #angst #wdtai #m's writing #honestly i just want to be jonathans bff #like its criminal that he doesnt have any real friends in the show until SEASON 4 #absolutely wild

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From @sofasurf

From @sofasurf to @janetm74

My prompts were:

1. Steam.

2. Stripes/striped.

3. ‘Did you have to?'

I think I've managed it!!

DINER 

"Yellow car no hit backs!" 

The sounds of a scuffle and indignant squawks. John's tone held a warning, "So help me Gordon, if you lay a  hand on me!" 

"Na ah! No hit backs allowed!" 

"Oh I won't hit you." 

There was silence in the car as the other four contemplated John's words. 

"Man, you have zero chill," Gordon huffed turning to look out the window while Alan sniggered. In the front seat  Virgil and Scott exchanged amused grins. 

"Remind me again why this was a good idea?" 

"Because, Johnno, we have a few days off for Christmas and Alan has never been on a proper road trip." Scott  accelerated round a corner causing Virgil to grab at the handles. 

"Car not One, Scott! Car not One!" 

Scott ignored him catching Alan's eye in the mirror and winking. Of his brothers, Alan was the one who shared  his appreciation for speed. The mountain side whipped past on either side of them. "The point of a road trip is  to enjoy the scenery not travel back in time." Virgil complained while Scott pretended he hadn't heard him 

It wasn't often they indulged in frivolous perks of wealth. When Scott had mentioned their road trip plans to a  friend, who happened to also be the CEO of Ferrari, the offer to test drive the new SUV prototype had been  more than the speed freak Scott could resist. It was big enough for all five of the brothers to travel in comfort,  though Scott had yet to relinquish the front seat to test that theory. 

"Right well, remind me again why I agreed to come!" John was prepared to be pedantic. Close proximity to  Gordon occasionally had the effect. 

"Ah, Johnny, Johnny," Gordon draped his arm over his brother's shoulder. 

"Don't call me that, Fishface!" 

"Jonathan, Jonathan," Gordon ignored the daggers shot his way, "It''s because you love us and because we  promised we'd stop off at that new lab so you can talk all geeky about geeky stuff while the rest of us normal  humans go Christmas shopping." 

There were sounds of a scuffle from the backseat. It was all in jest however, everyone was in good form and  beginning to unwind though, perhaps they were due a break from the confines of the car. Scott caught John's  eye this time waggling his eyebrows. 

"Now kids, don't make me stop this car." 

He then performed another stunning manoeuvre that Virgil felt was more fitting for the air than the asphalt.  However, his older brother was, it appeared, genuinely enjoying himself and Virgil would put up with breaking  the land speed record for that reason alone. 

"I'm hungry." Alan peered longingly into his long finished bag of Doritos.

"Eos recommended a dinner just through the next town. It's about 30 minutes from tonight's stop. She says  their page is down, weird, but that she thinks it seems our kinda spot." John peered at his tablet. 

"She was right about the motel last night so that works." Scott agreed and the state of the art central console  pinged as John sent the location through. Scott glanced at the display, "Just an hour further on. Can you wait  that long, Allie?" He caught his baby brother's eye again, meaning clear. 

Alan put on his best whining voice, "I don't think I can Scotty. I'm starving. I feel faint." 

"Did you have to? Brat!" Virgil chocked out as Scott pulled even more power from the engine. His whoop of  delight brought a smile to the faces of the others in the car. 

⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️ 

A much shorter time than it should have been; the five brothers had selected a quiet corner booth of the small  diner. It wasn't busy which suited them well. It had some twinkly lights, a small tree and upbeat Christmas tunes  playing softly in the background.  

John and Gordon made for the restrooms while Scott slipped into the corner and flopped opposite Virgil, all  long relaxed limbs. He spread his arms along the back of the seat and let his head fall back against the  surprisingly comfortable cushioning on the booth; just the right height for him.  

Alan, as always drawn to Scott like a moth to flame slid into the space below his eldest brother's outstretched  arm. He said something that made Scott laugh, and Virgil's heart warmed at both Alan's obvious delight in his  hero's response and how chilled Scott appeared. Should nothing else happen on this trip, Virgil would consider  it a hit for that reason alone.  

"Right, I'm starving!" Scott reached for the menus left for them by the waitress. Virgil and Alan followed suit.  Each took one and read in silence a moment. 

"Um, guys?" Alan had turned to the middle page and was staring at the menu. 

"Hmmm?" Virgil was still reading through the appetizers. 

"Scott, look!" Alan dug his eldest brother in the ribs. Scott followed the teen's outstretched finger and his eyes  widened and he immediately flicked his menu to the centre. Virgil did the same.  

‘Thunderbird Specials’ the centre section of the menu had hand drawn pictures of the Thunderbirds One  through Four and a slightly inaccurate representation of Five. Each had corresponding dishes.  

In a rush? Thunderbird One steak burger with fries and our unique hot sauce. 

More time to chew? Thunderbird two- tomahawk steak – great for sharing 

Thunderbird Four our famous surf and turf. Fillet mignon and our locally sourced fresh organic prawns. All day breakfast with our mouthwatering Thunderbird Five pancake stack and creamy asteroid milkshake Thunderbird Three our unique coffee triple expresso. They don’t call it rocket fuel for nothing! “Eos set us up!” Alan exclaimed. 

Scott and Virgil exchanged looks, “It would appear so!” Virgil said while Scott flipped further through the menu  looking for an explanation. 

John and Gordon returned at that moment- Gordon bouncing excitedly on his heels. “Guys, you are never  gonna believe this.” 

“Eos set us up,” Alan repeated lifting the menu to show them. Scott batted it down, checking over his shoulder.  “Don't draw attention!” Virgil whispered as the teen giggled a little.  

John rolled his eyes at them, “Yes. It would appear this is Eos’ idea of a little joke. I thought it was strange I  couldn't see the online menu.” John slid into the booth beside Virgil while Gordon dropped on Alan's other side  swiping the menu despite his protests.  

“There's a picture of dad and some dude on the wall over there!” Gordon pointed the direction he and John had  come.  

John met Scott’s gaze and held it a moment, “It’s a picture of Dad and the owner’s son. He was in that refinery  fire, remember right back near the start of IR?” 

“The big one in Texas Dad fought with top brass about for weeks after?” 

John nodded, “Seems Dad pulled the son out just in time with Thunderbird One. There is a little bit about it  under the picture.” John’s face was hard to read, memories of Jeff were always bittersweet.  

“Really?” 

John smiled, “Yep. And it appears the owner hasn't forgotten. Proceeds from the Thunderbird menu,” he  gestured the pages open in front of them, “Go to a charity that supports rebuilding in disaster areas.” 

“That's pretty cool, right?” Gordon was grinning.  

“Yea,” Virgil agreed.  

“Way to go, Dad!” Alan said his tone impressed and Scott dropped his arm to pull the teen in for a quick side  hug.  

“Way to go Dad,” Gordon repeated back his own tone softer with a little something unreadable in it.  

Scott simply nodded a soft smile on his lips. He seemed to lose himself in memories a moment and Virgil  tapped his ankle gently with his foot under the table causing his older brother to meet his eye. He nodded in  reassurance. All good.  

They sat in silence for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts.  

“It’s pretty cool, right?” Gordon broke the spell. “but if you want the absolute coolest, check this out!” and he  produced a bundle of papers from behind his back. “Thunderbird colouring sheets!”  

And just like that the spell was broken and chaos descended in the table. 

⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️ 

The food was exceptionally good. Obviously they had to sample all the Thunderbird menu and the argument  over whose dish was the best looked set to continue until next Christmas. They had pulled the crackers orbited  with their meal and squabbled good naturedly over the tacky prizes and each now sported a jaunty paper  crown.  

Gordon and Alan had listened engrossed as John and Virgil had regaled them with the tale of the Texas fire  with Scott chipping in little details. Dad in action had truly been impressive and John, although he would deny  it, was a gifted story teller when he chose to be. 

Now a quiet contentment had descended in the group. Virgil sat back, stomach full and observed his brothers. He clutched his Thunderbird Three coffee and allowed the steam to curl up lazily in front of him. It had a  pleasing kick though Three’s pilot was still complaining that three older brothers had stated “No” in unison when 

he'd tried to order one for himself. He and Gordon, also banned from that much caffeine before being trapped  in a car with the others, were appeased with hot chocolate. Apple pie and chocolate cake had also been  consumed. Road trips were hungry work.  

John was quietly messaging Eos who was delighted her subterfuge had worked while the three opposite him,  yes the Commander of International Rescue included, were finishing off their colouring pages. Scott's tongue  was poking out the side of his mouth in concentration, a small tuft of hair sticking up from where he’d run his  hand through it, as he finished colouring Thunderbird Two blue. The argument had been brief and Virgil had  

decided not to sink any further to his level. His own completed green version of One had a festive santa hat in  lieu of her traditional nose cone. John meanwhile had been mildly offended by the inaccurate Thunderbird Five  option and so was egging the others on in their colour wars.  

“I mean we should be pleased they don't have an accurate image of our top secret satellite, Johnny!” “Don't call me that. And that's not the point, Scooter. Here, you haven't used this shade of blue yet.” 

The battle between Alan and Gordon had almost come to blows when Alan had finished a red version of Four  only to see the blue and yellow stripes the aquanaut had given Three. 

John and Scott had added fuel to the fire by appearing to seriously consider the benefits of a respray for each  accordingly and much brotherly silliness had ensued. Virgil did however make a note to keep a track of blue  paint supplies as John was sneaky when he wanted to be and was watching Scott's drawing with barely  concealed mirth.  

There had been a hairy moment when the waitress had appeared to recognise them, or at least Scott. He had  placed a finger to his lips and his teeth had practically sparkled as he smiled at her silently requesting she not  give them away, sealing the deal with a little wink. She hadn’t divulged their identities, serving then with wide  

eyes attentiveness; though a napkin with her number on it had been dropped on Scott’s knee as she refilled his  coffee much to his surprise, Gordon and Alan's glee, and a murmur of, “unbelievable,” from Virgil.  

Pucture complete, Scott looked up and met Virgil's eye. Virgil motioned to the other three and raised his  eyebrows, Scott’s indulgent smile matched Virgil's own. Moments like this were all too rare. Scott sat back  stretching his long arms along the back of the seat again, content like Virgil just to enjoy their company.  

Virgil was called in to referee/ judge the which Thunderbird looked best in the new colour competition that still  raged. When he looked back at Scott a few minutes later the eldest’s wasn't looking at them but at something  behind Virgil's head, his expression a strange one Virgil couldn't quite read; thoughtful, wistful even? Virgil  turned in his seat to see what had grabbed Scott's attention. He immediately recognised what Scott saw.  

A woman who couldn't be much older than Scott himself was wrangling a small team of children into the booth  by the door. Four boys aged roughly between twelve and four by Virgil's guess, she had another baby, a little  girl who couldn't have been older than one in her arms. The baby had blonde hair and was waving a stuffed toy  excitedly. He watched as the woman handed her to the oldest looking boy who immediately started to make faces and bounce her up and down, occupying her while the mother helped the other boys out of their coats.  

Their excited chatter and the baby's infectious laughter drifted across the diner all clamouring for their mother’s  attention as she attempted to answer several questions at once. It was chaos and to the two brothers watching,  achingly familiar.  

One of the younger boys needed the restroom and he and what looked to be his next older brother passed their  booth, heads bent in discussion their conversation just audible, “I already explained, we can't ask for ice cream  cos it makes mom worry.”  

Virgil looked back at Scott who caught his eye and looked away. Seeming to shake himself a little as if to clear something from his head, Scott used his long reach across the back of the seat to tap Gordon on the shoulder,  stealing his second last bite of cake as Gordon moved too slowly to stop him.  

“Ugh! You are the worst, Scooter! Remind me again why I let you hang out with me?”

“Because you need his signature to access your trust fund,” John helpfully supplied spearing Gordon’s last  piece. 

He and Scott high fived while Scott slipped out of the booth to settle the bill.  

“Actually ‘bout that...” Gordon turned puppy dog eyes towards his oldest brother.  

“Told you, Squid, I am not signing off on you buying a Christmas tree farm in Vermont.” He ruffled the  aquanaut’s hair as he passed. 

“You have no vision, Scooter!”  

Scott’s laugh floated back to them as he made his way to the counter.  

The other four brothers watched enthralled as their waitress and another server both jockeyed to serve him. 

Scott’s dimples were on full display as he leant in the counter bending his head towards the girls  conversationally. Virgil could swear he could see their eyes changing shape to little hearts, “Does he even  know he's doing it?” His tone was reverential.  

“I really don't know. Sometimes?” John replied folding his arms as the waitress reached across to bat Scott's  arm conspiratorially.  

“His powers must only be used for good,” Gordon covered Alan's eyes, “You are too young to see this Allie.”  Alan batted his hands away, ducking to continue watching the display at the counter.  

Judging from the way the waitress was listening intently and kept glancing at the family in the booth Virgil was  sure Scott's not inconsiderable powers were indeed being used for good. He didn't doubt for a second the  family that reminded them so much of past times would find their bill paid with a healthy ice cream allowance  added. People often thought that Virgil was the soft hearted Tracy brother; he just didn't have to hide it so  carefully from corporate sharks. 

Judging from the way the waitress’ eyes widened slightly as she retrieved the handset from his brother, there  had been a healthy tip added to their own bill as well.  

As they passed the family, now tucking into burgers and fries with gusto, the tiny girl tossed her toy into the  ground. Scott bent to pick it up, smiling at the mother who smiled back in tired gratitude. He flung his arm  around Virgil's shoulders as they walked towards the car.  

A yellow Mustang pulled into the parking space in front of them and Gordon and Alan looked at each other, frozen like gunslingers at high noon.  

“Yellow car no hit backs.” 

John beat them to it, walking between the two giving them each a solid cuff to their heads. Their outraged cries  floated on the crisp air drawing the attraction of the older two. It was the little things at Christmas really John  thought. He hung back slightly watching as his four brothers crossed the parking lot, the sky was trying to snow,  a few flurries escaping the black clouds.  

“Thanks, Eos,” He whispered into his open Comm before hurrying to catch up with a shout of, ”Shotgun!” that  sent the others scrambling to reach the car first.  

⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️⛄️

#thunderbirds are go #tag team secret santa #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction

[wheatnoodle]

okok some of y’all might disagree w me

i see sometimes ppl will say stuff like “if you really think jonathan hates mike, you clearly don’t understand their dynamic”

and lemme just tell you, from the perspective of an older sibling. my little brothers have friends they’ve known their whole lives (im talkin 17+ years) and ive had like a big sibling relationship with them too. the SECOND one of those lifelong best friends hurts my brother? my brother?! i hate you. there is no going back, i hate you.

even if it’s unintentional. you not only hurt my brother, you make him CRY???? IN FRONT OF ME??????? death penalty

and also from a younger siblings perspective cuz im the second oldest! my older brother hates my best friend of 13 years cuz she was mean to me once. one time

so! just a thought xoxo :* hugs n kisses

#stranger things #jonathan byers #mike wheeler #will byers #byler #stranger things thoughts #byers siblings #but hey that's just a theory #A FILM THEORY

[louloulemons-posts]

Oil At The Coffee Shop XI

Eddie X Fem!Reader

Summary : Family time is the best time, but family truths also spill during it.

Word Count : 1.9k

Warnings : not proofread, swears, minor angst, talks of parental death, drunk driving, alcohol, cuteness, sweetheart eddie, just a lot of comfort for sad reader.

Fic Masterlist

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Saturday rolled around and you were glad the week was almost over, excited for a lie in on Sunday. Scott, Diane and the kids had come into the shop, begging you to have your lunch with them.

El and Max had shoved you in their direction, with the promise that they were fine and would come and get you if it was urgent. You were lucky to have those girls.

Sat with Matty cuddled up to your side, Scott spoke, “So Eddie seems nice.”

“He really does,” Diane agreed.

“He is. He’s lovely. I know on the exterior he looks like the stereotypical scary metalhead, but he’s a sweetheart.”

“And he’s nice to you?” Your brother asked.

“He’s been nothing but, he’s a lovely person Scott I promise you.” The man nodded, taking your answer as the truth. If you said he was a good man, he’d believe you.

“So who are these other friends you’ve made? Not replacing me are you?” Diane asked, teasingly. You huffed a laugh, “Never, could I replace you. The girls that work here Max and El, and then their friends. Oh and Jonathan and Steve, all of their friends.”

“Jonathan Byers?” Scott questioned.

“Mhm, that’s the one.”

“How’s he doing?”

“Great, he’s a photographer. Has a girlfriend, she’s called Nancy.”

“How’s that brother of his, Will?”

“He’s as lovely as he was when he was a baby, he’s actually good friends with Max, and he’s Els brother.”

After chatting a little more, you had to get back to work. Walking past the table, you slid two cupcakes in front of Jenny and Matt. The pair squealed, happily biting into the thick icing.

The bell above the door rang and in stepped your favourite person. A smile on his face, “Hey.”

“Hi, coffee?”

“Please.”

“What’s got you so smiley gorgeous?”

“Well apart from seeing my favourite girl, works been great today.”

“Good I’m glad,” you smiled back at him, “Scott’s over there with Di and the kids.” You motioned to the tables, Jenny was now covered in icing.

“I’ll just go and say hi,” he told you, to which you nodded. Shaking your brothers hand, Eddie got down low to talk to the kids. Jenny reached out for his curls with her sticky hands, Diane pulling them away. The man laughed, as she told her mom, “But mommy they pretty!”

“Yes Honey I know, but you’ll get them all sticky.” Grabbing a tissue, she wiped her daughters hand. “There you go, now you can touch,” Eddie said, taking her small hand into his hair.

The small girl laughed loudly, finding her curls to be one of the most interesting things she’d ever seen. With Eddies coffee in your hand, you headed over, ruffling Matts hair as you did.

“What are you up too?” you asked the small boy. He was colouring a picture, “It’s a project for school, have to show some of our favourite things for a big collage.”

“That’s cool bud, what are you colouring?”

“Dinosaur, it’s a stegosaurs.”

“That’s really cool, you’ll have to show me when it’s finished.”

Eddie pried little hands from his hair, standing up next to you. “Here you go,” you smiled, handing him his drink. “Thanks Sweetheart. It was lovely seeing you all again, when is it you leave?”

“Tomorrow, back to work on Monday and little man’s got school,” Scott explained. “Well hopefully I’ll see you before you leave, I have to get back to work now though.”

He leaned down to kiss your cheek, “I’ll see you later, and tomorrow, maybe we can hang out,” he told you. “Okay,” you smiled, cheeks flushing. “It was nice to see you all.”

“You too,” Scott smiled, oh god, here comes the teasing. Eddie waved goodbye and was on his way. “Wow, that was,” your brother began, “Adorable!”Diane finished.

“I have to go back to work, so you need anything?”

“No Sweetheart not a thing,” the woman smirked. “Yep, I’m going back to work now.”

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

After work the five of you had decided to head to the park, the kids bundled up as the cool November air made their cheeks rosy.

Diane was pushing Jenny on the swing as Matt climbed up on to the slide.

“Have you told him yet?” Scott asked from beside you. “Told him what?”

“About mom and dad, about what happened.”

“It hasn’t come up.”

“You need to tell him.”

“Why does it matter? We barely speak about them.”

“They died, we’re both still dealing with that.” You sighed, you’d both been young when your parents had passed, being brought up by your grandparents.

Your aunt Callie was your grandmothers sister, she saw a lot of her and your mother in you. It was a strange way to grow up, but you’d live longer without them than you did with them.

“I’ll tell him,” you said simply, “But only when I want too, I’d don’t want you making comments that forces me too.”

“Okay. I just … it caused some issues with me and Di. I see the way you look at each other, I don’t want you to go through that.”

That was true, he hadn’t told Diane until a couple years in when they argued. She had done something that upset Scott and she didn’t understand why.

“I get it Scott, I just … I don’t remember them much, I hate that it’s such an issue.”

“Me too, as soon as you get it out of the way, the sooner it’s done.”

“Daddy! Look!” Jenny squealed as she was swinging. “Look at you! Going so high,” he laughed. You looked down feeling a tug on your hand. “Hey bud, you okay?”

“Will you push me?” he asked.

“Sure thing!” You went hand in hand, Matt climbed up on the swing, laughing loudly when you pushed him. You’d missed this, so so much.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

“I am going to miss you so much,” you said, giving your nephew a big squeeze, “But I promise I will see you soon.” Turing to Jenny you gave her a kiss on the head, “I’ll miss you munchkin.”

“Miss you.”

Standing up you hugged Scott and Diane, “Drive safe,” you said, “and call me when you get back.”

“We will, we’ll see you soon okay?” Di smiled, kissing your cheek. “Let us know about Christmas,” your brother spoke.

“I will.”

“It was great meeting you guys, hopefully I’ll see you all again soon,” Eddie said from beside you. Diane kissed his cheek, picking up Jenny who reached out for Eddies hair once more. He laughed, saying goodbye to the kids and your brother.

“Take care,” Scott said to you, “Love you.”

“Love you too.” The four of them climbed in their car, Eddie pulled you close. Sighing into his chest you hugged him, already missing them.

Leaning down to kiss your head he whispered, “You’ll see them soon, I promise.”

“I know, it just hurts my heart to watch them go.”

“I know Sweetheart,” he rubbed his hands up and down your back.

Once their car had gone from the street, you spoke, “Let’s go in, it’s cold out here.” Pulling Eddie by the hand, you wandered inside, you had to tell him. You didn’t want secrets, not after what he’d so bravely told you.

“You alright?” he asked softly, wrapping his arms around your waist so he could pull your back to rest against his chest. “Yeah, they all seemed to like you a lot, especially Jenny.”

“Yeah she’s a sweetheart,” he chuckled.

“Hey!”

“What?” he asked.

“That’s me!”

“Don’t get jealous on me, you’re my only sweetheart I promise,” he kissed the top of your head.

Turning in his hold, you looked up at him, “Can I talk to you about something?” you asked. “Sure, what’s up?”

“I just … Scott brought something up and he said about me telling you and he’s right it’d be shitty if I didn’t tell you.”

“Hey, you can tell me as much or as little as you want too. It works both ways,” he said softly, leading you to the couch.

“I wanted to talk to you about my parents. About why they’re not around,” you said.

“Okay,” he said, encouraging you to carry on. “They um … they passed when I was young. A-a drunk driver hit their car, so uh me and Scott were raised by our gran and grandpa.

“I just .. I wanted you to know. I try not to think about it, I was only 4 and Scott was 7, I don’t remember much about them. Just that they were kind, that was something my gran wanted me and Scott to keep, our moms kindness.”

Rubbing your face with your hands, Eddie wrapped you up into a cuddle. “Thank you for telling me that. I think they’d both be extremely proud, of you and of Scott,” he placed a kiss on your head.

“You think so?”

“I know so, and I do understand, how strange it is to loose your parents. My dad got sent to prison and my mom passed, it’s why I grew up with Wayne.”

“Oh Eddie I’m sorry.”

“Sweetheart it’s okay, we were raised by great people and we make them proud every day. Thank you for trusting me.”

“Thank you for telling me too, I don’t want us to have secrets.”

“So we won’t, we’ll tell each other when we’re ready, so long as we tell, does that sound okay?” You hummed, nodding into his chest and letting him hold you.

“You spoke to me about them before you know?”

“I did?”

“Steve’s Halloween party, you were scared I had been drinking, refused to get in the car.”

You scrunched your face, trying to remember.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Eddies arm was around your waist, “Just don’t let Robin pour anymore drinks,” he said to Steve. “Yeah okay I won’t, you be careful.”

“Will do.”

Walking down the path, Eddie spoke once more, “Where are your keys Sweetheart.”

“They’re in my purse,” you fiddled with bag, opening it up and shaking the key.

“Great,” he said, taking them from your hand and going towards your car. It’d save you from picking it up in the morning. “W-wait Eddie you can’t drive!”

“Why not?”

“You’re drunk!”

“Sweetheart I’ve been drinking soda all night, I assumed I’d be driving someone home.”

“B-but I saw you! You had my drink!”

“Just a sip.”

“You can’t drive! It’s not safe!” you panicked, tears forming in your eyes. “Woah, it’s okay. It’s alright, if you don’t want me to drive I can … I can call Wayne and he can pick us up. Or we can crash here.”

You sniffled, “You can’t drink drive, we could hurt someone. You could kill someone.”

“Sweetheart what’s this about?” he asked, holding your face gently.

“He killed my parents, he was so off his head. He lived, only got a few-a few years! They died because he’d been drunk.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry that happened to them. I promise you I’m not drunk okay, I would never lie to you. If you don’t want me to drive I won’t.”

Sighing you looked up at him, looking for any signs he was buzzed. “I trust you, but you have to promise me! You’ll never drive when you’re drunk!”

“I promise you.”

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

“I remember,” you said, meeting Eddies eyes. “I didn’t want to bring it up until you were ready to tell me sober,” he explained.

“Thank you for doing that for me.”

“Sweetheart I would do anything for you. I uh I ..” he stuttered.

“You what?” you asked wide eyed.

“I like you a whole lot,” he smiled, kissing your cheek. “I like you too.”

More than like.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

A/N : I know that ending is gonna annoy so many of you 👹

Thank you so much for reading 🤍

Taglist : @corrodedseraphine @flawiette @witchwolflea @emxxblog @plk-18 @vintagehellfire @lma1986 @squidscottjeans @eddiesguitarskills @nanas-lasagna @halialex1119 @goth-cowgirl-03 @corrodedcoffincumslut @micheledawn1975

let me know if you want to be added 🤍

#stranger things #eddie munson #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x yn #joe quinn #joe quinn imagine #stranger things imagine #eddie stranger things #eddie x fem!reader #eddie x y/n #eddie x reader #eddie x you #joesph quinn #joesph quinn imagine #joseph quinn imagine #joseph quinn #mechanic!eddie #strsnger things #louloulemons #oilatthecoffeeshop

[kaypeace21]

In s4, the Byers siblings lie to the wheeler siblings (who they have romantically feelings for) .And both boys incorrectly think lying to mike and nancy - will make the 2 Wheelers happier in the long run (when it does the opposite).And while in Lenora, jonathan & Will lie/distance themselves from the wheelers- which has both Wheelers inadvertently drawn to other love interests because of it. It's alot to unpack😬

Like ...that's a tra*ma response (for the boys). Lonnie would lie for selfish reasons. And now the boys are lying for "selfless" and borderline self-sacrificial reasons. Don't believe me ? ok- let me explain...

For Jonathan

In S1, lonnie claims he wants to help jonathan with college. Joyce calls out the fact lonnie is lying, yelling "dont LIE to me!' And she mentions how she knows he's lying- since he doesn't even know that jonathan's dream school has been NYU (since he was 6). S4 : jonathan lies to nancy, so nancy won't sacrifice her college dreams. And jonathan goes on a rant about how if he doesn't lie- they'd end up like his parents and he'd eventually become just like lonnie. Jonathan: "what was I supposed to do?" Argyle: "Not lie!" Jonathan: "Not lie? Argyle: "yeah! " Jonathan: Not lie?!" He also doesn't even contemplate nyu as an option (despite wanting to go there since he was 6 years old). The only options that were on the table for him were Emerson (for nancy) or lenora (to take care of joyce and Will... since he's been taking care of them ever since lonnie left). Jonathan to argyle: "I can't just leave my mom and brother" (cough like lonnie) . He never thought about himself once. Bruh...

We also see jonathan's lie to nancy - makes him distance himself from her to keep the lie up. Which made her insecure about their relationship and start eyeing steve again .

For Will:

In s1 it's mentioned lonnie used to call Will h*mophobic slurs, and that despite living near by- he hadn't visited Will for at least a year. He also insulted Will when jonathan first mentioned he'd went missing. Lonnie only visits Hawkins , so he can lie and pretend he cared about Will (because he wanted to profit off of Will's de*th- for his "debts" ). He lies saying the money from Will's de*th -could be used to help jonathan with college (a lie). Joyce in the same convo , where she says lonnie is lying about jonathan/college, says : " you were here for the money... you never cared about Will! You never did!" . Will in s4: "to say how you really feel to the people you care about the most... what if they don't like the truth." Lonnie lies because he doesn't care. Will lies to mike beacause he does care (despite knowing mike isn't a fan of lying). Will lies to mike about the painting,saying it's from El - because he thinks it'll benefit the people he "cares about most" (his sister El & best friend mike). He lies to fix mike/el's relationship,because he cares for both of them . And because he's "scared" of mike's reaction to the truth.

Will is going against his own moral compass, because he incorrectly believes it'll benefit the people he cares about most. But frankly, I think the lie will back fire,and upset both El and mike when they find out. Because neither El nor mike like lying (but ironically mike lied to el in s3 , and el lied -for months-to mike in s4. And Will's lie may have been the only thing keeping the couple together. )Similar to how jonathan's lie -indirectly brought steve and nancy closer together,again .

so yeah in s5, it could backfire on Will, who usually is honest. Cough foreshadowing-

Will to mike,at the skaterink: "she lied to you- right to your face " (so did you Will, about the painting & your feelings. But also El's feelings as well)

Will to El,at the skaterink: "why do you keep lying to Mike? I just don't think mike's going to like the fact your lying to him. When he finds out he's going to be mad."

Watch mike gets mad in s5. And Will incorrectly assumes mike is mad about Will's romantic feelings. When mike's actually mad about Will lying - and how Will's lie caused mike to confess to El (under false pretenses).

The only way the conflict between the Byers/wheelers can be fixed is if there's honesty (aka jonathan & Will break the relationship pattern they saw from their parents). And nancy/mike stop mirroring their parent's romance with steve/el,but I digress . It's not a coincidence the 2 divorced couples (lonnie/joyce & neil/Billy's mom) literally fight about lying .

The single lie both jonathan & Will tell this season- isn't adressed at the end of s4. But we see how their lies negatively affect their relationships with the wheelers,because of it. We even see jonathan continue the lie,about college, once reuniting with Nancy. So what will s5 have in store (given all the various themes that touch upon lying,not even mentioned in this post)? I mean "friends don't lie...but boyfriends do".

#will byers #jonathan byers #mike wheeler #byler #nancy wheeler #lonnie byers

[maximoff-pan]

I know this is random but I was reading your why do fools preview of your steve fic (which I love and can't wait for more of), and I was wondering if you could write a blurb about will byers coming out to the reader? I feel like with her being so close to jonathan and the byers family, it would be such a pivotal moment 💕

oh my goodness this idea warms my heart, of course I can — I also would love more requests in this universe before I post the next part (if anyone has some

pairing: will byers x fem!(platonic)reader

set in the why do fools universe (read here) — eventually steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: 600+

“I think I like Mike.”

The implication is clear; right as the words pass quietly through his lips, you understand what he means. But almost like he thinks there’s no way you could possibly get it, he feels the urge to clarify. Because in his mind, why would you ever understand? “More than–” he struggles with it. This is much harder than he thought it would be.

Except as he glances towards you, your eyes locking steadily, he knows he doesn’t need to say any more. 

“More than a friend.” You finish delicately. And there’s no judgement in your tone, only love.

Will nods. This has to be one of the scariest things he’s ever done: admitting how he really feels. “I’ve never…” he trails, trying to form the right words, “you’re the only one I’ve told.” 

And you can’t quite describe it, the warmth that spreads through your chest. It’s almost surreal, thinking about how much he must trust you…enough to be the first person he feels he can talk about this with. Initially, it catches you by surprise. What could you have possibly done to deserve this kind of trust? But in your heart, you know why.

The love you hold for Will Byers is unconditional; he’s the little brother you never had. The little brother you didn’t ask for, but who fell into your life and changed it for the better. Of course, with that came Dustin, Mike, and Lucas, (and later El and Max), as well as an interesting friendship with the one and only Steve Harrington, but you suppose, everything had worked out for the best. 

“C’mere.” You gesture to him, arms outstretched and a soft smile gracing your features. “You know I love you right? No matter what?”

You can feel him nearly collapse into you, feeling as he releases a breath of relief. He’s crying, his tears a combination of fear and happiness. They wrack through him in intense waves, and yet paradoxically, his demeanor remains as delicate and fragile as you remember it being. Ethereal. 

It brings you peace knowing that he feels safe with you. Because as much as you adore each of the kids equally, (and while you hate to admit it), Will has always been the one you gravitated towards. Something about his timid nature drew you in. From the moment your friend Jonathan introduced you to his little brother, you knew how special he was. With his gentle brown gaze and shaggy bowl cut, he exuded pure innocence. 

The first thing you remember about him was how reserved he seemed. Minimal words were spoken in those early months. Until he started to open up. Regardless, he was always a bit of a scared kid, a kid who didn’t have a fair shot right from the jump.

Maybe you just got that. And unlike others in his life, you refused to give up on him, or Jonathan.

“Oh Will.” He’s clinging on to you now, grip tight as he shakes like a leaf. “I’ll always be here for you. I promise.”

He breathes heavily, beginning to apologize profusely. “I’m sorry.” He murmurs. “I was just so scared.”

“Never be sorry for your emotions.” 

He pulls back from you, calmer now, allowing you to get a good look at him.

"Never apologize for being who you are." You tell him. "Not to me, not to your brother — not to anyone. You hear me?"

Your tone is delicate, but Will knows just how serious you are. He nods, unable to find the words to thank you, unable to describe the feeling of warmth that has spread through his entire body.

You are a safe haven. You always have been. You always will be.

Will knows what it's like to feel accepted by you, to be loved by you. And he never wants that to change.

"Thank you." He clings to you still.

It's silent and left unsaid, but in your mind you think, always.

I will always be here for you.

#will byers x platonic!reader #will byers x reader #will byers imagine #will byers #stranger things x reader #stranger things imagine #stranger things x you #steve harrington x reader