#rooster’s thinky thoughts

[roosterbox]

Heyyyyyyy Steddie thinky thought time again! And I’m putting it under a cut because, YET AGAIN, my hand slipped and I accidentally almost 2,000 words.

Tags: ANGST, miscommunication, HOH!Steve, Mean-and-Overly-Defensive!Eddie

So picture this, if you will…

High school AU. Probably no Upside-Down. Steve is deaf/HOH. He signs, but he knows that not everyone else does, and so few take the time to learn, especially not for him, so he usually carries around a notepad too. Just in case. Someone (probably Dustin, lbr) asks him to sit in on a Hellfire meeting. Heck, maybe even asks him to join. Steve is unsure, but he’s open to new experiences and Dustin always makes his favorite club sound really awesome (also the guy who runs the club is super cool and hot too, but shhhhhh). So sure - he’ll check it out.

The day comes and Steve gets there early. Like really early. In fact, he’s there before anyone else. Which is fine; he can use the extra free time to do a little homework, right? Thing is though, he’s so focused on his notebook that he doesn’t notice somebody else come in - Eddie. And there are four important things to note about Eddie.

He doesn’t know Steve is deaf.

He doesn’t know that Steve has been explicitly invited here by Dustin.

He knows Steve only by his reputation. So, not good.

He’s as protective of his club and the kids in it as a mama bear.

Needless to say, these four factors combine into a perfect storm, and Eddie is immediately on the offensive.

“Hey!” He says. “Hey, Harrington!” He continues when he gets no acknowledgement. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

No answer. Steve doesn’t even look at him. Just keeps writing in his notebook.

“Hey asshole! I’m talking to you!” Eddie’s volume is rising, as is his temper. Despite his uncle’s best efforts, Eddie’s never been the best at keeping cool. But, man, the disrespect. It tends to eat at him. And coming from King Steve of all people? Oooooooh doesn’t that just make his blood boil. Eddie stalks over to where Steve is sitting. If he thinks he’s gonna waltz in there and tease or humiliate any of Eddie’s little sheepies, he’s got another thing coming.

Steve, meanwhile, is just happily doing his homework. Maybe doodling a little in the margins. Wondering if Eddie looks as cool running the club as he does around school. Especially when he’s up on the lunch tables ranting about conformity. He’s so lost in thought that a sudden hand on his arm shocks him out of his chair, up to his feet. And just like that, he’s face to face with his secret crush, the one and only Eddie Munson. He smiles, but only for a moment as he sees Eddie’s furious expression. The other boy’s lips are moving. A little fast, but Steve does his best to read them.

“-hell are you doing here, Harrington? This isn’t one of your stupid jock sports teams. If you’re here to hurt these kids-“

Steve’s eyes widen. He tries to sign something. No, no.

Eddie sees Steve looking scared, waving his hands. It only serves to make him angrier. Steve sees he’s getting nowhere with sign, so he grabs his notepad and starts writing. He can still see Eddie saying something in his periphery, and he tries to write fast. To clear up any misunderstanding.

But then. Eddie goes too far. He manages to hit on one of Steve’s biggest insecurities mid-rant. And then he keeps digging at it. Steve stops writing and just… stares. Like a dog, Eddie cannot let go of the bone he’s found, so he keeps going. Insert any list of your favorite Steve insecurities here. His upbringing. His (bad) relationship with his parents. His reputation (which Steve hates so much). His intelligence. His fighting skills or lack thereof (poor Steve: getting beat up in every universe). And the worst part is how mean Eddie is about it. The kids tease Steve too, and yeah sometimes it hurts, but it’s never felt as outright cruel as it does when Eddie says it.

Steve’s eyes fill with tears, despite his best efforts, and while Eddie is mid sentence, Steve decides he’s had enough. He shoves his notepad at Eddie, into his chest, eliciting a surprised huffed exhale, before grabbing his bag and just running. He runs out the door, out of the building, to his car, and drives himself home. He doesn’t stop crying for hours.

Eddie, after the surprise of Steve shoving him and running out, just rolls his eyes. “Typical,” he mutters under his breath. “Fucking prick.”

He looks down at the notepad in his hands, still mad but also curious as to what Steve had thought was so important that he just had to start scribbling it down while Eddie yelled at him. And…

Not here to hurt, I swear. Dustin invited me. He’s like my little brother. I’m deaf - sorry couldn’t hear you talking. I’ve seen you around, and I think you’re pretty cool. I’ve never played DND before, but Dustin really loves it. Maybe I could-

That’s as far as it went. And man. Imagine the feeling of your heart sinking, dropping down past your stomach, through the ground itself before finally coming to a stop in the molten core of the earth. Imagine that, and you may experience a fraction of the almost instantaneous levels of guilt Eddie feels at that moment. All at once he thinks of how Steve had looked at him after he first got his attention. He had smiled. Fucking grinned. He was happy to see him. Happy to be there. Eager to see what Hellfire was all about. Eager to learn.

And Eddie had just taken that happiness, that earnest interest, and stomped on it. Crushed it utterly beneath his sneakers as if it were a cigarette butt.

The other guys start filing in. Including Dustin. But before he can say anything (maybe to ask where Steve is, and why the hell does Eddie have his notepad), Eddie shoves past them out the door.

“Eddie, what-“ Jeff starts.

“I’ll be right back,” Eddie calls over his shoulder as he quickly makes his way outside. Just in time to see Steve’s car speeding out of the parking lot. He curses, loud enough that a few students still milling about jump at the unexpected noise. Eddie doesn’t care. He messed up. He really fucking messed up, didn’t he?

He makes it up to Steve eventually. It takes time, of course; Steve’s trust is a hard thing to earn even on a good day, but after that first encounter? They’re not just starting at zero; they’re practically starting at -1000. He starts small. Little exchanges here and there. Usually with Dustin (or, occasionally, Steve’s best friend Robin, who looks at Eddie like she would flay him alive if Steve gave her the word) acting as a sort of buffer. It takes almost half a dozen of these group encounters before Steve says (writes) a single word to him, and even then it’s perfunctory. Cold. Simple. And it definitely hurts, just a little, especially since Eddie’s crush that he’s had on Steve since freshman year has been steadily growing with every exchange they have. As monosyllabic (if even syllabic at all) as they tend to be on Steve’s part. But every time he feels that hurt, Eddie thinks of how Steve had looked at him when he left the club that day. How sad and angry and frustrated. And he pushes his own (tiny, inconsequential by comparison) hurt aside. I can do more, he thinks.

One day, he manages to corner Steve on his own, without Dustin or Robin. Steve is annoyed - he still gets that sinking feeling of hurt whenever he’s with Eddie (which is enhanced (terribly so) by the stupid crush he has), and immediately pulls out his notepad. Starts writing on it. Something simple and to the point. Leave Me Alone. Or maybe Go Away. He gets as far as the first word before he realizes that Eddie isn’t talking. Not aloud, anyway. No, he’s signing. A bit clumsily, and a few of the words are wrong but close enough to understand. One sign is chief among them, though.

I’m sorry.

And in that moment, maybe, it hits home for Steve that Eddie really means it. Means it enough to try and learn an entirely new language to meet Steve where he is. He looks in Eddie’s eyes and he can see the guilt and shame swimming there. The hurt is still in him, that’s not going away with one apology (though this isn’t the first one Eddie has given him, of course), but still. Steve scratches out what he had been writing in favor of something else. After a second, he hands Eddie the paper.

I can’t forgive you. Not yet. You really hurt me. But thank you. When did you start learning to sign?

He sees Eddie’s eyes get a little watery as he reads, but then he’s handed back the notepad. He had thought that Eddie might take the easier route and just write it down, but no. Instead, with his hands free, Eddie continues signing.

A couple days ago. Stayed up all night. His cheeks were darkening. Blushing in shame at his rudimentary skills. Bad at it. Sorry.

And maybe it’s just because Eddie is one of only a handful of people Steve has met that have taken it upon themselves to learn sign, or maybe it’s that damn crush he can’t seem to lose, but Steve shakes his head. No, he signs, trying to keep it simple. Good.

Eddie looks away, signing Bad again. Steve touches his hand, the first point of actual physical contact they’ve had since that day at the Hellfire Club. Their eyes meet, and Steve signs, with as much emphasis as he can, GOOD. And then, Thank You.

Eddie looks down, suddenly feeling oddly shy. He’s still blushing but he also can’t help but smile. There’s the ghost of a dimple on his cheek, making Steve’s heart give a weak little flutter.

You’re welcome, Eddie signs.

After a long moment, Steve writes something down. He doesn’t want to overwhelm Eddie with signs yet. Not to mention that he doesn’t know how deep his (apparently only days-old) knowledge base goes. Best to go easy on him.

Maybe we could… start over?

He holds it up for Eddie to read, face a picture of inquisitive hope. The other boy nods, starts trying to sign, but gets frustrated rather quickly before holding out his hand for the notepad. Steve chuckles and hands it over, not missing the way Eddie’s blush deepens even further at the sound he probably made. Maybe his crush isn’t as one-sided as he’d been thinking.

Yes! Absolutely! If we are, then consider this your “first” official invitation to the Hellfire Club. Today, after school. (There’s a “I” here but it’s scribbled out) We would love to have you there.

I’ll be there, Steve writes. And, after Eddie reads it, he makes sure to get the other boy’s attention before he slowly signs the same thing. I’ll be there.

#stranger things #Steddie #my stuff #writing is hard #rooster’s thinky thoughts #deaf steve harrington #mean eddie munson #miscommunication #angst #and then they fell in love? #yup #they definitely did #lol

[agreatandhonorablesoldier]

javy and bradley at the beach is something that can be so personal actually. 

#javy machado #javy coyote machado #bradley bradshaw #bradley rooster bradshaw #topgunmaverickedit #top gun maverick #flashandtheholograms #ariel i'm having married verse thinky thoughts again #*My Gifs

[roosterbox]

Heyyyyy how about another Steddie thinky thought? You know ‘em, you love ‘em!

This one’s theme: Hanahaki. Yes, the Flower Sickness that makes any unrequited love as actually physically deadly as it feels.

This one’s a bit older than the rest. I posted tiny bits on the discord a while back, and may in fact eventually expand it into an actual story, but for now, this.

Also under a cut because, yet again, my hand slipped, lol. Warnings for, uh, more Steve pain I guess. Sorry about that. Kind of.

Hanahaki AU

Steve loves Eddie. But Eddie doesn’t love Steve (or so Steve thinks…). He has resigned himself to this, to just being friends. Good friends. The only person he tells is Robin, who encourages him but is sympathetic. He gets the Flower Cough. Which grows (heh) increasingly worse as time goes on. And Robin gets even more insistent that he tells Eddie. So eventually Steve just… gives her a half truth/half lie.

He tells her, “Eddie’s not interested in me.” Half a lie, because she takes this to mean that he actually DID talk to Eddie and got rebuffed (he did not). But it’s also half a truth, because that’s what Steve truly believes - that Eddie wouldn’t be interested. No way, why would he? Pick your favorite flavor of Steve Harrington insecurity and insert here.

Eddie, meanwhile, is more than a little distraught. Everyone knows Steve has the Flower Sickness, but every time anyone asks about who it is, he waves them off with “they’re not interested.” And this blows Eddie’s mind because he’s been madly in love with Steve for years now, so how could anyone with half a brain or heart turn him down? In Eddie’s eyes, Steve is perfect.

The sickness gets worse. Steve ends up in the hospital. Everyone is there, waiting on the doctor’s word for when they can go in to see him. Eddie rushes in, scared and sick to his stomach, afraid that this is it. And at the sight of him looking so forlorn, even though (she thinks) he’s the one who caused this, Robin finally explodes.

“You’re a fucking asshole, Munson!”

Eddie, of course, is absolutely clueless. “What the fuck?”

“You think you can- fuck!” She’s angry, she’s stressed, she’s heartbroken, she’s distraught. There are tears streaming down her face. And for a moment, Eddie’s never felt so intimidated. “How can you just show up here like this?”

“Like what? Birdie, can you please start making more sense, because I am at a fucking loss here.”

She gears up for a verbal beatdown the likes of which have never been witnessed before, but then a nurse comes out. Tells them that Steve is okay (relatively speaking of course), and that they’re just making him comfortable now. And that she’ll be back out with the doctor soon to talk about visiting. This update deflates some of Robin’s bluster, and she sinks down into one of the chairs.

Eddie is still confused, but slightly relieved that Steve is alright. For now.

Under his breath he laments, “god, I wish it were me.”

It’s so quiet, but Robin hears him. Of course she does.

“Wait, what?”

He startles, surprised at being heard, and maybe a little nervous about speaking something so close to his heart in front of this ragtag group of people. But, he tells himself, they all love Steve here. So maybe… maybe it’s time to be brave.

“I wish it was me. The person who…” he gestures vaguely. “For Steve. If it was me, this might not-“ He swallows, hard, and looks away. His eyes sting but he’s not gonna cry, dammit.

Robin is just. Staring at him, eyes wide. “Eddie. What do you mean?”

It takes a moment, but he finally looks back at her.

“If it were me this wouldn’t have happened. Because I love him. I love him so fucking much, Birdie. And when I find whoever it was that broke his heart, I’m gonna-“ he clenches his fist. Clenches and unclenches. Perhaps unable to quite articulate the truest depths of his feelings.

Robin, to yet more of his surprise, bursts into fresh tears.

“You are both. Such. IDIOTS.” But before he can ask, again, what the fuck she means, she says, “it’s YOU.”

Eddie’s brain just fucking STOPS. Crashes. Like a freight train with a girder dropped in its track. “Me? What about me?”

“You, you idiot.” She’s up now, crying and shoving at him. But they’re half-hearted at best. And… is she smiling a little? “You, you, you! He loves you too.”

“Loves… me? Rob, you’re not making sense again.”

So she tells him. Everything. Perhaps breaking Steve’s confidence in the process, but if this miscommunication were to cost her best friend - her platonic soulmate - his life? That’s a small price to pay, she reasons. By the end of it, Eddie’s lost his battle against his tears. Dustin is hugging him as he babbles out, “but why would he- How could he think- I wouldn’t have let him-“

The nurse and doctor appear, taking in the scene, but not knowing the finer details of course. They tell the group that they can see him, but only one at a time. “For now,” they emphasize, with small, encouraging smiles.

Through a silent exchange, Robin is selected to go in first.

Steve is sitting up against the pillows of the hospital bed. There are various lines and monitors attached to him. Beeping at a steady, if not quite normal, level. He’s awake, and smiles a bit weakly at her when he sees her.

“Robbie.”

She smiles back.

“Hey dingus. How’re you feeling?” She sits down on the bed and reaches out, pushing the hair out of his face. It’s damp, soaked through with sweat, but she doesn’t mind.

“I’m f-“

“Don’t say you’re fine,” she cuts him off. Gently. Still touching him. Her hand drops to his shoulder and squeezes. “Not after this.”

They look at each other, an entire silent conversation passing between, before Steve sighs. The deep breath causes him to cough a little, but nothing comes up this time.

“Okay. I’m not fine. But Robin-“

She shakes her head. “I love you, you know?”

“I love you, too,” he replies almost automatically. Because he does.

“And,” she gets up, “because I love you, I hope you can forgive me.”

Steve’s expression turns confused. And a bit worried. “Forgive…?”

She backs up. Towards the door. “I’ll be back in a little while. But for now, I think there’s someone else who you should talk to. And who needs to talk to you.” At that, her gaze hardens. “And you better actually talk this time.”

She leaves, and Steve is alone again. He has a minute or two to be terribly confused before the door opens.

Oh fuck, it’s Eddie.

Eddie, who only glances at Steve as he comes in before pointedly looking away. He leans against the door, arms wrapped around himself. It’s the quietest he’s ever been, for as long as Steve’s known him. It’s unnerving.

“Eddie?” Steve asks. “Are you…?” He trails off, unsure of what, exactly, he was trying to ask.

Eddie says nothing. But then-

“You’re a real piece of work, Harrington, you know that?” He sounds angry. Maybe even livid. His voice is practically vibrating with it. Steve focuses on that, missing the undercurrent of tears in the words. For him, this is exactly what he thought would happen. She must have told him. Of course she would. And though he wanted to be mad, he couldn’t blame her at all. If, god forbid, their positions were reversed…

Eddie was talking again. “So you, what, rather die? Rather die than just, oh jeez, fucking say something to me?”

Steve wishes the bed would swallow him whole. He looks down at his hands in his lap, fidgeting. Picking at threads in the linen. His heart monitor had picked up a bit.

Eddie was slowly inching forward until he was right next to the bed. His eyes were also drawn to Steve’s hands. At the IV line affixed to them. At the nails, bitten short. At the bloodstains still lingering against his skin.

“You stupid, self-sacrificing son of a bitch.”

Steve winced. This was it. The worst nightmare he’d had since everything with the Upside Down. Only it wasn’t a dream any more.

“I’m sorry, Eddie,” he whispers. Sorry, he implies, for falling in love with you. It’s okay that you don’t-

“Sorry? Steve you’re-“ Eddie chokes a bit. He sniffles. Steve finally hears the other underlying emotions his friend is struggling with. Is he… crying?

He absolutely is, and wiping furiously at his eyes. Part of him wants to grab Steve by the shoulders, to shake him, to scream at him. To demand to know why. What were you thinking? But then again, he already knows, doesn’t he? Robin told him.

“Why,” he asks, “why would you ever think that I wouldn’t want you?”

Now it was Steve’s brain’s turn to just… stop.

Very slowly, quietly, he whispers out a “…what?”

Eddie’s hands are gripping the bed railing tightly. He itches, how he itches, to reach over and take the other man’s hands in his. To twine their fingers together. But if he does, he knows that he’ll never want to let go again if he can help it. So before that, he takes the scariest plunge of his life. Lover’s Lake has got nothing on this.

“Steve,” he says, their gazes finally meeting, “I love you. I fucking love you, you idiot.”

Steve is shocked. Flabbergasted. Maybe this is a dream, he thinks. Or maybe I’ve finally fucking coughed myself to death. His mouth opens and closes soundlessly for a few seconds, minutes maybe, before finally, he manages to ask, “since when?” He swears he can actually feel the flowery vines in his lungs growing tighter.

Eddie smiles at him through watery eyes. “How long have I known you?”

Steve just fucking breaks. He cries, weeping into his hands, curling in on himself. Can’t breathe, he thinks desperately before strong arms wrap around him. Drawing him in against a solid chest. Eddie hugs him, tucking Steve’s wet face against his neck. He’s crying too.

“It’s okay, Stevie,” he says. “It’ll be okay now.” He hopes that this is true. That whatever fate may be, it doesn’t make him a liar. “I’ve got you. I’m here. I’ve got you, sweetheart.”

#rooster’s thinky thoughts #steddie #hanahaki #when the unrequited love is so fucking requited it’s ridiculous #these silly boys #Robin Buckley is a good friend #hurt Steve #oh man #poor Steve #I’d say I hate hurting my baby #but I don’t want to lie #lol #and before you ask #happy ending #always

[roosterbox]

Thinky Thought time yet again. This one, though, doesn’t need a cut.

Tags: Steddie, ANGST, not a happy ending, time loops

It’s 9am, I just woke up, and it’s ‘thinking about Steve Harrington being caught in a Groundhog Day time loop’ hours again.

The repeating day is the day of the final battle, obviously. The first couple loops are spent with Steve just playing things out as they happen in canon, but being verrrrrrry confused the whole time. Then, after he realizes that the day is just repeating itself, he starts trying to change things. It never goes well. For example…

Loops 6 through 10: Robin dies

Loops 12 through 14: Dustin dies

Loops 19 through 25: Nancy dies

Loops 26 through 30: El dies

Loops 31 through 40: Steve himself dies

And so on and so forth. Everybody dies at one point or another. Not to mention the numerous, numerous days that end with Vecna being victorious.

The loop still resets.

After reliving the same fucking day so many times, Steve is starting to lose it a little. Understandably so. I’m surprised that Bill Murray’s character in the original movie isn’t completely insane by the end, frankly. But back to Steve. Throughout all these repeating loops, he starts noticing something. That something is Eddie Munson. And isn’t that just a brilliant cap on his entire cursed existence: falling in love with a guy whose fate seems to be to die. And then he considers the possibility that maybe the way to potentially break out of this hellscape is to somehow get Eddie to fall in love with him too. (Worked in the original movie, so why not? Not that he’d have any knowledge of the movie, of course - that baby won’t come out in his universe for another seven years or so.)

This… also doesn’t go well.

He tries everything, but it seems like nothing between them ever changes. Hell, one time he answers Eddie’s “Make him pay” with the most epic first kiss in the history of first kisses (Dustin covers his eyes, Robin screeches at them to “get a room!”), and yet… every time he’s had to come back from the battle of a lifetime only to see Dustin sobbing over Eddie’s inert corpse. Every. Time.

On one loop, he can’t take it anymore and just… confesses everything. Both that he’s in love with Eddie and that he’s somehow stuck in a time loop.

“I just thought,” he says to a very (understandably!) shocked Eddie, “that maybe if I could get you to fall in love with me, things would change. But I can’t. To you, it’s only been a day, but for me…” he chuckles, but there’s no mirth in the sound. “For me, it feels like years.”

Once Eddie manages to find his voice, the first thing he says is, “But that doesn’t make any sense.”

Steve nods, “I know, dude. The time loop-“

“No, not that part.” He reconsiders. “Well, not only that part. I mean-“ Eddie swallows, suddenly very nervous. “I mean, if that was the case, it would have already stopped.” At Steve’s confused look, he continues. “Steve, man, you didn’t have to try so hard - I’ve been in love with you since, like, 1985.”

The loop still resets.

One time - ONE TIME - Steve manages to work out a freaking miracle of a day. Not only do he and Eddie confess their love, but everyone survives. EVERYONE. They go to the hospital to get checked out, Eddie’s name is cleared, the whole fix-it fic shebang, and it’s all-in-all the perfect ending to a shit day. A shitty SEVERAL days as far as Steve’s concerned. He goes to sleep that night thinking finally, finally.

The loop still resets.

#Steddie #rooster’s thinky thoughts #time loop #groundhog day loop #idk how to end this story happily #every additional thought I have just makes it more angsty #lol #poor Steve #poor Eddie #the universe itself is bound to torture them

[roosterbox]

Hey, want another of my so-called thinky thoughts? This one was inspired by something on the discord. This one also goes under a cut because my hand slipped and I accidentally wrote too much, lol. But anyway.

Alternate universe. Steve and Eddie have been dating for a while, and it's not a secret. All their friends and family know and are supportive. Nancy works as a server in a fancy restaurant. An uneventful job, until she sees Eddie there, seemingly on a very romantic date with... a mystery woman?

What? She's not their server, and hasn't seen the woman's face yet (which will be important later, of course), but WHAT???

She's confused at first, but that confusion quickly gives way to anger. Anger mostly on Steve's behalf. Because she may have broken up with Steve when they were young, but he's still her friend, damnit, and he doesn't deserve this. And the longer the anger stews, the more furious Nancy becomes.

Finally, after one sappy unbroken romantic gaze and delicate hand kiss too many, Nancy storms over. Risking her job to defend the honor of her friend.

"What the actual hell, Munson?!"

Eddie startles, but doesn't let go of his date's hand.

"Oh hey Wheeler! Didn't know you were working tonight." The asshole doesn't seem nervous or worried about being caught. He even smiles at her. The prick.

"Don't you 'hey Wheeler' me, you cheating jerk!"

That finally gets Eddie's attention. His face turns serious, though a bit confused. "What? I'd never cheat on Stevie! Why would you even think that?"

There's a faint chuckling from the other side of the table. Nancy ignores her for now, focusing on Eddie.

"I oughtta punch you in the balls for that, Munson. For lying right to my face. And for what you're doing to Steve."

Eddie's confusion seems to evaporate as he realizes something. "Ah, well. You see Wheeler, the thing is-"

The quiet laughter of Eddie's date becomes too hard to ignore. Nancy spins on her heel, ready to confront this giggling floozy.

"Listen here, you little slut-"

She immediately stops short.

Eddie's date. It's... Steve. But also... not Steve?

"Ah," Eddie says again, a bit sheepish. He's still holding Steve's (?) hand. "You haven't been to one of our group get-togethers in a while.” He clears his throat before continuing. “Nancy, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Stevie."

With her flowing chestnut locks, subtle makeup, and sparkling red dress, Stevie Harrington is absolutely stunning. And she looks more at ease and comfortable in her own skin than ‘Steve’ Harrington ever did. Nancy is entirely taken aback. Stevie's still smiling, but her smile falters a bit at Nancy's silence.

"Nance? You, uh, you okay?" She asks.

Eddie recognizes the fearful undertones of Stevie's question, and gently squeezes her hand. Letting her know that, whatever Nancy's eventual reaction is, he's here for her, always.

Nancy finally blinks, brain having restarted from one of the biggest surprises of her life. "Wuh?"

Oh yeah, real intelligent there, Nancy.

"Buh?"

Oh come on, this is just embarrassing.

She gathers her thoughts, wrestling with them as one might while trying to fold a fitted sheet, keenly aware of the look on Stevie's face. Her friend was growing more and more nervous, and seemed to be bracing herself for something. After a moment, Nancy realizes why this is, and pulls herself together.

"I really haven't been around enough, have I?" She lets her lips curve into a small smile. Stevie relaxes a bit, but still seems guarded.

Nancy's expression softens completely. "It's nice to meet you, Stevie. The real you."

Stevie's smile is so big it must hurt her cheeks, and she looks as if she might cry. "You too, Nancy."

Nancy's expression shifts, turning to shock and embarrassment. "Oh God, I called you a- Jesus, Stevie, I'm so- You're not-" She babbles, face turning red. "Oh god," she says again, hiding her face in her hands. The soft laughter of her friends is simultaneously nice and yet mortifying. Truly this is one of the most embarrassing days of her life.

Gentle hands encircle her wrists. They don't pull, or force her face out into the open. Instead, they just hold, rubbing against her skin. The soothing motion coaxes her into lowering them, and opening her eyes. Stevie's eyes are still watery, but kind. So kind. She's holding Nancy's hands in both of hers.

"It's okay, Nance. Really. You didn't know."

"Still-"

"'Still' nothing. You didn't know. You've been busy. It's not like I couldn't have called you myself, right? That street goes both ways. Besides," She smirks, "the fact that you were so willing and ready to go to bat for me speaks volumes."

"I was two seconds away from punching your boyfriend right in the dick," Nancy reminds her.

"Balls, actually," Eddie mutters, remembering all too well. He shifts his legs under the table. Stevie throws back her head in laughter, drawing a few looks from other patrons. The few that weren't watching the dramatic encounter already, at least. The three friends pay the onlookers no mind.

"I should get back to-"

"Oh!" She lets go. Nancy misses the warmth immediately. "Oh, I'm sorry. We'll let you get back to w-"

Nancy bends and hugs Stevie, who's still sitting at her table. The positioning is awkward, but even so the other woman doesn't hesitate to return the embrace. "We'll talk later, okay?"

Stevie sniffs, holding back her tears valiantly. "Okay."

"And I am NOT missing another family party ever again. Who knows what might happen next time? For all I know, Mike and Will will have hooked up by then."

Her friend giggles in her arms, and she misses the knowing look that passes between Stevie and her boyfriend. Eddie hides his smile with a lock of hair.

She pulls back. Stevie smiles at her, makeup holding strong despite the lone tear that manages to escape. Nancy reaches over and wipes it away. "You look beautiful tonight, Stevie."

She blushes. "Thank you."

"But I really do have to get back. I'll see you two soon. Have fun on your date!" With one final wave, and a smile, she heads back into the kitchen. Every so often, she glances back, seeing them exchange flirty looks, gentle touches, and once, a kiss across the table. It's lovely, and everything she knows Stevie deserves.

On one of these glances, Stevie actually looks her way. She smiles. Nancy smiles back. And wonders, for the dozenth time that evening, what other big developments she might have missed happening in her little group of friends.

#stranger things #minific #inspired by discord #Steddie #nancy wheeler #transfemme Steve Harrington #Nancy as a restaurant server AU #implied cheating #though it’s only a misunderstanding #with implied offscreen Byler #and some subtly lingering Stancy tension? #perhaps? #i didn’t expect that #lol #I should give these their own tag #call ‘em ‘rooster’s thinky thoughts’ #or something more dignified