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blushweddinggowns · 1 year

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Now with Part 2!

Steve didn’t have the best track-record when it came to relationships. It’s not that he had a problem getting into them, he just had an issue staying in them. Or more accurately, getting someone to want to stay with him.

Nancy was the worst example of that by far, but even before her, there was a trend in Steve’s life. People broke up with him, not the other way around. And he knew why. Steve wasn’t stupid, or at least, not as stupid as people thought he was. He knew he was clingy, he knew he fell in love too fast, got intense too fast, he was painfully aware of the fact.

And he wasn’t going to go through it again. Robin had been the last straw, in both a good and a bad way. The romance aspect was obviously shot to shit immediately, but at the same time, she was the one person in his life, who wasn’t a literal child, that didn’t think he was too much. She was the one person who loved him back unconditionally, all of his clinginess and care one hundred percent accepted.

And Steve would take it. He got lucky enough to get someone to want to be in his life while knowing the real him, why push? A platonic soulmate was probably more than he deserved anyway. So Steve accepted the fact that this was it. Maybe down the line, he’d do what his parents did, get married for convenience instead of love. Have kids, the whole normal life shebang. But for now, he was happy to keep all that crap away from him.

But then came Eddie Munson.

Stupid, reckless, annoying, adorable Eddie Munson. Eddie Munson who almost died protecting Steve’s favorite child, Eddie Munson who had the prettiest eyes in the state of Indiana, Eddie Munson who ended up being the sweetest, funniest person Steve had ever met. Eddie Munson, who latched onto Steve with lightning fast speed, and made him feel like his life had fucking color again.

They became fast friends, half because experiencing hell together was a really great bonding experience, and half because Dustin refused to hang out with them separately now that their weird jealous feud was over. The little shit was obviously trying to play as a friend matchmaker, and it worked to Dustin’s delight.

Despite all their differences, Steve and Eddie just clicked. On the surface, they couldn’t be more different, but underneath it all, they were eerily similar. Both had shitty parents who hated them, both were fucking terrible at academics and would side-eye each other when one of their genius friends went on a smart person rant. They were both snarky shitheads who could make the other laugh like no tomorrow. They both wanted out of this shitty town, but were too afraid to leave their friends behind. And they just…liked each other. A lot.

Steve could, and had, spent hours talking to him on the phone, about anything and nothing. And as embarrassing as it was, falling asleep on there together was not a rare thing for either of them. Soon enough, they were almost attached at the hip. Even at work they couldn’t stay away from each other, either Eddie was loitering on the Family Video floor chatting up Steve, or Steve was impatiently waiting in Eddie’s passenger seat as he did a drug deal. And it was all so fun, just being with him. Steve kind of felt like he was on top of the world.

But then it happened. He didn’t know how it happened, but it happened.

One second, they were on their way to the movie theater, arguing about what they were going to see, and the next Steve realized it. He stared at Eddie, still in the middle of his rant on how The Fly was going to be so much more memorable than Stand by Me.

An uncomfortably familiar feeling was building up inside him. Familiar but different, more intense than anything he could remember. But he still knew what it was. It was that horrible, fluttery feeling he had with Nancy, but worse. Because with Nancy, Steve had been trying, he had worked to impress her, had opened himself up on purpose to get his heart broken.

But with Eddie? It felt like he was taking a piece of Steve without permission. He hadn’t even thought about it when he opened up to him, he just did it. He never pretended with him, he was just his bitchy, overly attached self, and Eddie had never had a problem, if anything he encouraged it.

In hindsight, Steve had never had a chance.

He was in love with him. He was in love with him and he wanted to puke. He had Eddie take him straight home after that, with a half truth about feeling like shit. And then he had to wave him off from trying to take care of him, the ass. Like making Steve fall in love with him wasn’t enough, he had to genuinely care about him too? It just made him feel worse.

He had called Robin immediately, because what else could he do? He told her the whole shitty story, and like the angel she was, she talked him through it, sexuality crisis included. She made the argument that if he could fight demons with his bare hands, than he could more than handle being gay for one dude. Which...maybe wasn’t the most sound reasoning, but it worked.

They developed a system, Steve could whine and cry to Robin about his hopeless infatuation, and hang out with Eddie like nothing was wrong. And when Eddie eventually moved on with a girlfriend, Steve would just lock himself in his room for two weeks and cry like a loser until he got over it. It was a good plan, and he felt like he had everything under control.

Until he didn’t.

It was another Friday night, and Steve was always over at Eddie’s on Fridays. And Saturdays. And Sundays. And occasionally on Wednesday and Thursday. Almost always on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Okay, so he borderline just lived there when he wasn’t working, but so what? Eddie always seemed happy to see him, and Wayne didn’t mind. He was reading a comic on Eddie’s bed, while Eddie was fiddling with his guitar, staring into space.

“Hey Steve?”

“Hm?”

Eddie was quiet for a second, pausing before asking, “Why don’t you date girls anymore?”

Steve was only half-listening, still engrossed in what he was reading, “Don’t really have the time.”

“But you do have the time. Like…now is the time. You can tell me if I’m the one getting in the way of that.”

Steve shrugged, flipping the page, “You’re never in the way. I just like spending time with you more than random girls, y’know?”

He could hear Eddie put down his guitar to join Steve on the bed, his voice a little shaky, “Steve, if I ask you something that’s, uh, kinda out there, will you promise you won’t be mad?”

Steve rolled his eyes, impatient as he re-read the same part over again, "If it’s quick, I’m getting to the good part here dude.”

Eddie took a deep breath, voice soft as he asked, "Are you in love with me?”

Steve could feel his heart stop in his chest, and for a brief second, he couldn’t help but wonder if this is what a heart attack felt like. His head shot up, comic forgotten, eyes wide as he stared at Eddie’s questioning face. His mind was racing too fast to form a coherent thought. How did he figure it out? Was Steve that obvious? Was…was he mad? Would he be mad? Would he hate him? Call him a queer and kick him out of the trailer? By the time he thought of the simple answer to just deny it, he had already been staring at Eddie with his mouth hanging open for a full minute.

The window for believability was definitely closed on that front.

The whole thing felt unfair. He…he had tried this time. Really, really tried to not let his stupid feelings come into play, but here he was again, caught and about to get his heart smashed to a thousand pieces.

Eddie was still waiting for an answer, tense as he searched Steve’s face. Steve licked his lips, opening and closing his mouth like an idiot before managing to squeak out, “I’m sorry.”

Eddie was still staring at him, expression unreadable as he asked again, “So…you are?”

Steve looked away, staring back at his stupid comic book as he nodded, vision blurring. Christ, he was going to cry. Eddie was going to scream at him, or never talk to him again, or god forbid try to be understanding while shutting it down. He’d have to watch their relationship slowly dissolve while Eddie kept a healthy distance away, probably take the time to fall for some pretty girl who wasn’t a clingy and annoying fuck like Steve was.

He froze when he felt Eddie’s hand on his chin, forcing his head up to meet his eyes. This was it, the end of everything. He could barely fucking see with all the tears in his eyes, but then Eddie was wiping them away and he was…smiling at him?

“Thank God,” Eddie breathed, leaning in until their lips touched. They were kissing. Eddie Munson was kissing him. And even through his shock, Steve was damn sure kissing him back.

Eddie was trying to talk to him, pulling away to get a few words out before going right back in to press their mouths together, “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this.”

Steve was the one who had to pull away, as reluctant as he was he had to make sure he wasn’t dreaming here, “Y-you’re not mad?”

Eddie seemed to vaguely understand that they still needed to talk, but that wasn’t stopping him from kissing every other part of Steve’s face, “Why would I be mad?”

“Because…” Because I’m a guy? Because you could do better? Because I’m a suffocating freak who already takes up most of your time? “Because I’m me?”

Eddie rolled his eyes, “Oh no, the man I’m in love with is himself. Whatever will I do?”

Steve froze for the second time at that, a smile slowly spreading over his face, “You love me?”

“I love you, you love me, and I would really appreciate it if we could just make-out on my bed now that-”

Eddie didn’t even get the full sentence out before Steve was on him, tackling him on the bed to smash their lips back together.

And sure, Steve was still scared shitless about the possibility that Eddie would wake up one day and realize he could do better, but for now? He’d take it.

#steddie #steddie ficlet #steddie fic #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #you'll pry my insanely long posts out of my cold dead hands #Yes Steve #you are that obvious #might do a part two to counter all the negative Steve self thoughts #this one's forever kiddo #but can you blame him?#nancy did a number on the boy

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ashwhowrites · 1 year

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Part 1

Here is part 2!!! I hope you guys like it and it was worth waiting for. Thank you for all the love and support on part 1 🥹 it means the world. Enjoy :) never proofread

Steve and Eddie raced to the school, anxiety in their veins as Eddie parked the van. Both boys ran into the building, following the sounds of screaming and cheering.

Steve pushed through the huge crowd, arms immediately wrapping around Y/N's body. Yanking her frame off of Jason, who is on the floor groaning in pain.

"STOP. STOP" Steve screamed, trying to keep his grip tight as she wiggled and squirmed to get out of his touch.

Eddie raced behind, going for Jason instead. Y/N doesn't fight unless she's provoked and he had a good idea Jason started it.

But Eddie's attention on Jason got caught short, hearing Steve Y/N's name as she marched down the hall.

Steve didn't waste a second running after her. He let her walk away once, and he didn't want to do it again.

"Please, just stop" Steve pleaded, hand reaching out to grasp her elbow.

She hated that she melted once he touched her. She was mad at Eddie, but Steve hurt her too.

"what Steve? Now you want to talk?" She spat out, turning around to face him. Cradling her own elbow out of his touch.

"I'm sorry, I never should have let you walk away without listening to you first. You deserve to have the opportunity to explain." Steve confessed. He watched her closely. Her eyes were blocked off from any emotion. And her lips were turned down into a frown.

"no, I don't deserve to explain myself, I deserve to have my boyfriends trust me enough to not even think twice about a rumor like that. I also deserve to be treated as my person. Not a shell of the people who hurt both of you in past moments. I'm not Nancy, and I'm not whoever the fuck Eddie thought I was. I'm me, and you both didn't trust her. Fuck both of you. You followed behind Eddie's lead like a fucking dog. Don't you think for yourself, Steve? It's pretty clear where I stand compared to Eddie. " She said harshly, turning back around and marching out of the school.

Steve took the hit, he deserved it. He was a grown man and he should have thought for himself. He knew he was going to hurt her and he did it for Eddie's sake. He was supposed to treat both his partners fairly, and he just put one higher than the other.

Eddie didn't waste much time with Jason. Spat out to leave them alone and followed the direction where Steve went.

Eddie found him alone in the hallway. Shoulders dropped, and Eddie assumed the conversation didn't go well.

"she still pissed?" Eddie asked, arm wrapping around Steve from behind. Steve shrugged him off and created space between the two.

"just don't touch me." Steve sighed, turning to face Eddie. Watching Eddie's face drop.

"what? What did I do?" Eddie scoffed

"We should have been better. And I should have thought for myself. With everything in me, I don't believe she cheated, and I should have told her that. I followed you and I lost her. And seeing this heartless monster you've been, I think I lost you too. If you believe she did it, that's for you to deal with. But I'm not following you anymore." Steve confessed, giving Eddie a small smile and turning to walk out of the school.

Eddie's insecurities cost him both partners. And now it's on him to fix everything.

He always wanted to protect both of his partners, and he's the bad guy who tore it all up.

Eddie wasn't sure how Steve got home, but once Eddie made it in his trailer, he felt alone. He spent night after night in Steve's apartment, never returning home. He went into his bedroom, throwing himself face-first on his mattress.

He wanted to fix things altogether, he didn't want to talk to Y/N and Steve separately. If he was going, to be honest, and break down into pieces, he only wanted to do it once.

Many phone calls later, Eddie got Y/N to answer. Most of his calls were answered with a scoff and the slamming of the phone hitting the wall. He barely could get a word each time. But this wasn't the time to give up. Once he finally got her to stay on the line longer than two seconds, he asked her to come over to talk.

And it wasn't easy. She was stubborn and still pissed off. Calling him every name in the book, dragging his name up and down the block, before finally sighing and saying "Be there in ten."

Eddie knew convincing Steve to come over would be easy, all he had to do was mention he has Y/N on the way over.

The room was silent, and all three of them were uncomfortable. Y/N couldn't look at either of them, keeping her hands in her lap. Steve kept his eyes on Y/N, silently pleading she'll look up. And Eddie kept his eyes on the floor, stomach twisting in knots.

They were in this position all because of Eddie, and he knew that. All the blame rested on his shoulders and his shoulders alone.

"I want to start by thanking both of you for coming and hearing me out." Eddie sighed in one breath. The anxiety filled his stomach.

"yeah, I think it's a nice option to have a chance to explain yourself, but that's not for everyone." Y/N threw out the side remark. Rolling her eyes as she finally looked up at Eddie.

"I'm sorry for everything. Y/N, I'm sorry for attacking you right away, not letting you explain yourself, and turning Steve against you.....I know what I did was so wrong. Deep down I knew I was fucking everything up but I couldn't stop myself. " Eddie voiced out. His eyes connected with Y/N's.

"Eddie, I just don't understand why it was so easy to believe I cheated on you guys. I've been loyal, supportive, and understanding of both of you! I would have believed you guys over anyone. But knowing you chose to believe random high schoolers over your girlfriend is fucked up. And I deserve a real explanation for that. I don't care if you knew you were wrong, it's the fact you continued to be an ass to me. I'm also disgusted by the fact you saw me as someone seeking to hurt Steve and that you felt the need to protect him. Protect him from his girlfriend? That's low." Y/N didn't plan to hold anything back. She spent night after night having her thoughts brewing over and over.

"you deserve an explanation. I need to be honest with both of you and myself. I acted out of insecurity and fear. I....heard the rumor and my first thought was I cannot let anyone know this would hurt me. It's fucked up, and I picked my pride over being vulnerable. I wanted to show I could be unaffected. That the relationship between you and I isn't what I depend on to be happy. But it is, and it's fucked up of me to find that embarrassing to admit. Because it's not. You and Steve make me so fucking happy and show me what love is about. I took all that for granted and tossed it aside like it wouldn't mean anything to me. Neither of you deserved that, and Y/N you didn't deserve to be treated like that. " Eddie took a deep breath before continuing.

"I also want to apologize to Steve, I wanted to protect you but all I did was hurt, everyone. I should have been mature and brought the topic up in a controlled way. I shouldn't have thrown it out in a fit of anger and I shouldn't have turned you against her before she even got home. I was wrong and I was wrong to both of you. I know I don't deserve another chance, I know I didn't give Y/N a fair chance, but I'd like to ask for another chance at being your boyfriend again." Eddie nervously looked between the both of them.

"Before we answer that, I'd like to apologize to Y/N also," Steve sighed out, facing her fully. " You are right, I should have thought for myself. We both know Eddie doesn't communicate well, and I was the only one in that situation that could have controlled the conversation and helped us out. I should have let you explain yourself. You're not Nancy and you've proved that. I also am guilty of letting my insecurities take over and ruining everything we built. I think I speak for Eddie and I when I say, if you give us this chance, we will prove our loyalty to you. And we will always communicate when our insecurities are taking control again. "

Y/N was happy to hear both boys being honest with themselves, admitting that their insecurities got too much and they panicked. It doesn't take away the hurt and damage, but it's a start to fixing everything.

"I appreciate both of you apologizing. Eddie, I'm hurt that you felt that your pride was more important than being vulnerable with me. But I like to hear that you know what's wrong and you are aware that was the wrong thing to do. I know you are trying Eds, and I don't expect you to know what to do all the time. You know you hurt me, and you knew it was on you to fix it. Thank you for taking responsibility for that. I will give you another chance, but I want you to work on your communication. We shouldn't count on Steve for all the communication between us. If you can prove to me that you are working on that, I'm happy for you to be my boyfriend again." She smiled at Eddie, his face breaking out into his smile.

She turned to Steve, a soft look in her eyes. " Thank you for apologizing as well. Thank you for knowing I am not Nancy and thinking over my words. I understand that your insecurities took over and I would also like for you to communicate that to me. I have faith that you can do that. I am also happy for you to be my boyfriend again." She smiled.

All three smiling at each other. Both boys understood they needed to back up their apologies, and show that they meant it.

Eddie knew that no one was ever going to make him as happy as his two partners do. He's lucky enough to have two people fall in love with him. He's safe with them. He can fall apart with them and know neither will judge him. He's flawed and that's okay.

Steve knew Y/N was her person and she was beautiful. She wasn't out to hurt him or Eddie. She just wanted to love them for who they are. Steve knew he needed to think for himself, and speak his thoughts if they happened to disagree with hers or Eddie's.

"Can I kiss you now?" Steve and Eddie asked at the same time, both boys chuckling to themselves as they stare at their girl across from them.

She giggled behind her hands, nodding her head.

"who's going first?" She joked. Knowing a fight was ahead of them.

"ME!" Eddie screamed, shoving Steve as he raced across the room.

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brbsoulnomming · 2 months

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Static

Steve's never certain if he hates walking through the crowds after a match or not. Sometimes, when he walks back to his flat, all bloody and bruised and exhausted, the press of so many other people feels oppressive. Sometimes he wants nothing more than to pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist, that he's in a little bubble of his own space and nothing can touch him. But sometimes, even though there's an edge of pain in every step, the bustle of people reminds him of why he does this, reminds him of everyone he's trying to protect and everything he wants to be able to keep on going exactly as it is.

Today is not a hates day.

Today the crowds feel warm and full of energy, and he basks in it, lets the feel of so much life wash over him.

Today he buys sunflowers at his favorite florist, listening to the soft hum of bees he can hear in the back of their shop. Today he asks if they have any honey, tucks a bottle of it into his pocket and sucks on a piece of the soft, sticky candy that Mrs. Anderson makes from it. The augment he keeps for show chimes softly in his ear, alerting him that funds have been withdrawn from his arena account. He doesn't know how much, but it doesn't matter. He trusts Mrs. Anderson enough not to rip him off, and anyway, he makes more than enough from his fights to get anything he wants.

It'd be enough to get out of this place ten times over, if the credits Creel gave his gladiators were good anywhere else but the citydome he runs.

Mrs. Anderson wraps up his flowers for him, and Steve gives her a warm smile when she gives him an extra one for his girl.

He can't remember if she thinks his girl is Robin, or Nancy, or Max, or Erica, or El, but it doesn't really matter.

They're all his girls, and he'd do absolutely anything at all to give them the world.

He settles the bouquet under his arms, counts the flowers - there's enough to give each of them two, but he knows he won't see them in person any time soon.

It's been quiet enough that he might have suggested a meet up, but there's… something that stops him. Steve doesn't know what it is, can't put words to what he's picked up on, but it settles heavy in the pit of his stomach. He's learned the hard way to listen to it.

They can't risk it.

Static blares in his mind as he opens his communication link, feeling out for who's listening in and smiling to himself when he senses El.

El's favorites are sunflowers, same as him. They're Max's favorites, too, but only because he knows they remind her of El.

‘Sunflowers!’ El says immediately, delighted.

‘Fresh cut,’ he tells her. ‘Want to smell?’

Her presence is suddenly much stronger in his mind, and he dutifully leans in to pull in a deep breath, holds it for a few moments, then lets the honey candy in his mouth settle right over his tongue.

There's a pleased little sigh, a soft touch of gratitude, then she withdraws.

‘When's your next match?’ Lucas asks.

‘In two days,’ Steve replies.

There's no response, not even a wordless one, but Steve knows Lucas well enough to tell that he's disappointed. Two days isn't enough time for him to sneak out, let alone have a Creel sanctioned vacation.

‘It's not the same without you here.’ Dustin's voice is colored with disappointment, too, and Steve can feel the sharpness of what he isn't saying.

‘I know, buddy. I miss you guys, too.’

He wishes he could tell them that it wouldn't be much longer. Steve's got plenty on Henry Creel, more than enough to have made this mission a success already, but they're never going to get an opportunity like this again.

He needs to stay as long as possible.

‘I'll ask for a vacation after my next couple of matches. How did your collaboration with Suzie go?’

Steve listens to the Party over the comm links for a little while longer, just to keep his own longing for home at bay, until he gets out of the busy part of the citydome and has to say goodbye.

His head goes silent as he closes his comm link, and he's alone once more - aside from the ever present trace of Robin, all wrapped up in his neural pathways that are more circuits than synapses these days, but she doesn't count. She's as much a part of him as his own thoughts are.

Tension prickles at the back of his neck when he picks up on footsteps approaching, more purposeful than anyone else passing by. Sure enough, someone falls into step with him, and his head jerks over - then relaxes.

“My liege,” Munson greets, throwing a grin at him.

Steve rolls his eyes. “What do you want?”

He didn't think it was possible, but Munson's smile widens even more.

“To celebrate!” he announces, arms spread as though gesturing to the wide expanse of celebratory pleasures to be had around them.

Which are exactly none, considering Steve'd already passed the pleasure district. He raises one eyebrow to convey just that.

Munson is undeterred.

“Come on, your Majesty,” he cajoles. “Look at you! First time in weeks that a gladiator walked away from a match with barely a scratch on them! Surely such a transcendent performance from the King is worthy of deigning to mingle with the Freak?”

Steve's going to say yes, he already knows he is, but he makes him wait a little longer, making a big show of sighing and crossing his arms and looking him up and down.

It's then that he sees it.

If Steve was everything he was pretending to be and nothing more, he never would have picked up on anything. There's nothing in Munson's demeanor that is any different from the handful of other times they've caught up with each other for a drink after a match.

It's only because his scans pick up so much more that he detects the unsteady beat of Munson's heart, how he holds himself ready the same way he does in the arena.

And the gun tucked in the inside pocket of his leather jacket.

Right.

Looks like he's out of time here, then.

If Steve's honest, he's a little surprised that it's Munson. The rivalry between the Freak and the King is all for show in the arena - not like it is between him and Billy Hargrove or between Munson and Jason “the Prophet” Carver.

If Steve's even more honest, he's disappointed, in more ways than he can spend time sorting through right now.

“Fine,” he says, letting himself sound long suffering. “Where are we going? I'll swing by home to drop these off and meet you there.”

Something tense but otherwise unreadable flickers behind Munson's eyes, and Steve wonders if he's been ordered not to allow him to leave his sight. He doesn't have a choice, though - it's a reasonable request, exactly what Steve would have said if he hadn't caught on, and his only other option is -

“Allow me to accompany you,” Munson says, bowing low in a show of gallantry.

It's a risk.

Steve's never let another gladiator come to his flat before, and there's very little chance that he'd let Munson come now, even if he didn't realize what Munson's true intentions were. He wonders what the back up plan is if he says no, wonders if Munson will do it right here in the open.

“Why?” Steve asks, unable to stop himself from pushing, even though he knows it's a bad idea.

Munson peeks up from his bow, flutters his lashes, all playful exaggeration. “And risk you backing out and abandoning the likes of little ole me?”

“Never backed out before after I've said yes,” Steve points out, digging in. Pushing harder. “Unless you have a reason for inviting yourself over? Maybe a different kind of celebration in mind?”

Munson tips his head back down, but Steve's scanner can pick up the way he swallows, harsh and rough. “Yeah.” It's flat and hollow, and it immediately sounds wrong to Steve's ears. “Yeah, maybe I had something different in mind.”

That's -

Not what Steve was expecting.

Would he, Steve wonders? Would Munson play that card, even though he clearly doesn't want to, even though he kind of sounds like he hates himself a little for it?

“Hey,” Steve says, unbidden. “I'm just messing with you, man. It's fine, you can come with me to drop them off.”

Steve might be well aware that he's going to have to kill Munson, but he doesn't want to be cruel about it.

Munson straightens, his usual smile back on his face, and he checks his shoulder into Steve's hard enough that it stings a little. “Asshole,” he says.

“You're the one who hangs out with me,” Steve replies.

The crowd thins even more as they move into the residential blocks. They're not going in the direction of Steve's flat - but they are going in a direction that he could live in, and it's not like Munson knows where he actually stays. It's not like Munson knows that Steve's already activated his comm link and told the Party his cover's been blown, and that he has to get out of the citydome tonight.

“Hey, Munson?” Steve asks, slowing to a stop.

Munson hums, looking over at him with a brow raised in question.

Steve pulls the extra sunflower that Mrs. Anderson had given him free from the bouquet, tucks it into the front pocket of Munson's jacket.

“I really am sorry about before, I shouldn't have messed with you like that,” he says.

He's sorry about a lot more than that, but this is what he's got.

Munson's lips twist down, and he sighs as he pushes Steve's hands away - though he leaves the sunflower there.

“Steve,” he says, soft and filled with something like regret.

Nothing follows it.

There's a beat where they look at each other, and Steve thinks -

And then there's the sound of harsh laughter, boots dropping onto the ground as someone swings down from one of the platforms overhead.

“King Steve,” Hargrove drawls. “Sweet on the Freak. You're really making it easy to knock you off that throne, aren't you?”

Shit.

Steve's in worse trouble than he thought.

He steps back automatically, shooting a betrayed little look over at Munson - it's one thing for Munson to be planning on killing him, it's another for him to lead Hargrove to him.

But Munson looks surprised, and then furious, and Steve realizes -

Hargrove isn't here for Steve. Or at least, not just for Steve.

“I told Creel you couldn't do it,” Hargrove tells Munson, voice conversational. “You're all bark and no bite, aren't you?”

“Get the fuck out of here, Hargrove,” Munson says tersely, teeth gritted.

“No can do, Junior,” Hargrove replies. “I have to clean up your mess.”

“You set me up,” Munson bites out. “This was never going to be a fair chance, was it?”

Hargrove shrugs, unconcerned. “You want me to drag you back to Creel to explain yourself, or should I just put you out of your misery here?”

The thing is, Steve thinks Munson would have done it before Hargrove showed up. Steve and Munson are friends, maybe, but loyalty to other gladiators only goes so far, and Creel keeps them all under a heavy thumb. It wouldn't have been anything personal - it would have been just what Munson had to do to survive in this place.

The thing is, Steve knows he would have put a bullet in Munson's brain right here. It would have destroyed a piece of him to do it, he can acknowledge that now, but he would have done it without hesitation if it meant keeping the resistance in general - and the Party in specific - safe.

The thing is, even if Hargrove does kill Steve - even if Munson kills Steve, even if he manages to kill Hargrove before he can report back to Creel - Munson is finished, now. Unfair or not, he's failed the test. There's no going back, not if Creel doesn't trust him, and Steve knows Munson's smart enough to have realized that.

The thing is, if Creel suspected Munson enough to have Hargrove follow him to make sure he got the job done, there must be a reason why, and Steve wants to know it.

‘Change of plans,’ he tells Robin, even though he can already feel her at the back of his mind like fingertips ghosting through his hair, downloading his memories until she's caught up. She already knows exactly what he's going to do.

The piece of him that would have died with Eddie Munson finally settles into place, the circuitry that makes up more of him than he usually lets on humming softly in his veins as it adjusts to account for it.

Steve swings around to stand in front of Eddie, and plants his feet.

“If you want him,” he says, and he can hear the echo of it through the static of his communication link, calm and determined.

Steve's never felt more steady than he does when he's standing between a looming threat and one of the people who've become part of the very core of him.

“You'll have to go through me.”

Hargrove sneers at him. “You can barely hold your own against me in the arena.”

“The arena’s all show.” Steve laughs, a little mean. “You think I'm sitting here with prototype Harrington augments and all they've got is what you've seen?”

He's not sure why he's keeping up the pretense that he's nothing more than what he seems. If Creel is sending people to kill him, he has to know Steve's part of the Party. But it's ingrained in him, somehow, to protect them until his last breath, whether it's artificial or not.

The question makes Hargrove scoff, and Steve swings at him.

Hargrove lets it hit, laughs at him again with blood dripping from his mouth, and then -

They've fought in the arena, before. Not often, because they're brutal with each other, and because Creel knows their matches always draw a massive crowd and likes to drag out the tension, keep the audience wanting more.

This is nothing like that.

Despite their brutality, there's an element of safety in arena matches. The punishment for killing one of Creel's gladiators is harsh and swift, and so they're almost never in any real danger.

This is - Steve can see the hatred in Hargrove's eyes, same as he always does, but now there's intent, now Hargrove's own augments have been let loose, and there's more power behind every punch than Steve's ever felt before.

Steve's starting to think the only way he can beat Hargrove is to really let himself go, and it makes his heart quicken, makes the dread in his chest coil tighter and tighter - makes Robin even more present in his mind, makes her whisper ‘you have to, it's okay, I'm here, I won't let you lose yourself,’ -

Until a shot rings out, clipping Hargrove on the shoulder.

It's not that Steve forgot Eddie.

It's just that he kind of assumed that Eddie would run off after Steve took his first swing at Hargrove. It'd been part of the reason that he pulled Hargrove's attention onto himself in the first place.

The expression on Hargrove's face says that he'd assumed the same thing, and he shoots a venomous look over at Eddie.

“Who's cleaning up messes now?” Eddie asks.

Hargrove snarls, drawing his own gun on Eddie, and -

Steve's too close for Eddie to get a clear shot at Hargrove, and by now he's starting to think that Eddie won't take the shot if it means he'll have to shoot through Steve, but he knows damn well Hargrove won't have the same reservations.

‘Robin,’ Steve says, even though she's already there, flooding his mind until she's all he can feel.

He can't lose himself when he does this if he's so much her that they can't separate each other out.

Steve lets go.

Electricity flares under his skin, crackling and humming, and when he grabs Hargrove's hand it immediately shorts out his gun. It flows out - and out and out and out and out, overloading the circuitry of Hargrove’s augment and threatening to burn it through completely if it keeps going, and he needs to -

He needs to -

‘Stop.’

Steve can't tell if it's Robin's voice or his, but it doesn't matter.

It's enough to get him to pull himself back. He lets go of Hargrove, breathing heavily as he shuts himself down. Steve's expecting to have to fight with himself, with the way the power in him wants an outlet, but it simmers back down with little more than a whisper. It's easier than it's ever been before, and he can feel Robin's pride whispering through him.

Steve looks up, just in time to see Eddie pointing his gun at Hargrove.

“Don't,” Steve says, stepping between Eddie and Hargrove.

It isn't the same as when he stood between them last time.

For one, Billy Hargrove isn't exactly conscious. For another - Steve doesn't care about Hargrove himself, not the way every part of his being screamed at him to protect Eddie. The only reason Steve's standing here at all is for Max.

“He'll tell Creel,” Eddie says. “You know if he's still alive, if he gets back to him, we're finished.”

“We're finished here either way,” Steve points out. “And Billy Hargrove isn't our decision to make. It belongs to someone else.”

Eddie looks at him searchingly, for a long moment. “If not you, then who?”

It's a fair demand.

As far as the general public knows, as far as Henry Creel knows - the rivalry between Billy Hargrove and Steve Harrington is as intimate as it is intense. Steve would be lying if he pretended like he didn't know that there was a fan favorite theory that there was something more behind their fights.

But it's never been true. Steve's only ever hated Hargrove for what he did to Lucas and Max.

“Come with me,” Steve says. “And I'll introduce you to her.”

Eddie's eyes are dark, unreadable.

Except -

Except.

Except Steve can read into them, can read hesitancy, longing, hope.

He reaches out, snags Eddie's hand, links their fingers together.

“Come with me,” Steve says again. “And I'll protect you.”

“Okay,” Eddie says, soft and almost surprised. “Okay.”

#steve harrington #steddie #eddie munson #stranger things #steddie fic #robin buckley #stobin #dustin henderson #pre steddie #cyberpunk au #but also kind of a gladiator au and a dystopian resistance au?#yeah i have no idea what this is #meant to be a one-shot but i might do a few more

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apolloanddaphnis · 5 months

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Eddie Munson x Horror!Bimbo Reader Headcanons Part Dos 🦇 🗡 💗

She loves dolls, like Barbie dolls. She has so many of them, she calls them all Marie Antoinette, and has each one in the case holding their own head.

Sometimes she wears Eddie's band shirts as a dress (he's a guy and it's the 80s so his shirts and jackets are oversized because let's face it our little coffin cutie isn't gonna be Nancy's size. Nothing wrong with her size because Nancy is hot and perfect her body is perfect but the group needs other perfect bodies.) And when she bends over he can see her thong because our neighborhood gore whore ain't the type to wear shorts underneath and protect her virtue.

Eddie. Goes. Feral!

He makes up any excuse to rub against her or touch her back.

Their friendship is already at the place where she sits in his lap. And at lunch it takes everything he has as she has her cunt that is only protected by a thin thong that presses between her slit, that is pressing against the crotch of his denim and wetting it. It takes every thing he has not to unzip and slip it in. Because that would not be friendship anymore...no...

He nearly cums in his pants again when she stands up when lunch ends to see her face flush.

Horror!Bimbo makes Eddie's lunch for school everyday. She makes him club sandwiches, double decker sandwiches, soups in a thermos, meatloaf sandwiches, she goes all out and his friends always weep with envy as they eat pb&js and baloney sandwiches.

She also goes over to the trailer often to make dinner. Excited constantly about trying new recipes, using her allowance money to buy the ingredients for her recipes. But Eddie doesn't allow that to go far, he always puts money in her pocket literally, has to force her to take it, doing more deals to make more money for her. Eventually she stops putting up a fight and takes the money because Eddie gets a 'do what I tell you or else' look in his eye.

She does his laundry and when she's over tidies his room up a bit and brings over fresh sheets from her place.

When horror!bimbo finds his playboy and penthouse stash she asks him if she would be pretty enough to pose for these magazines because she has always wanted to. "You're way sexier than Kim Morris bunny, but there is no way I'd ever let the world see that. "

Eddie would always drop casual dominance with her, and it always made you a fuzzy brained wet mess. Like whenever they walked through the hallways together and he'd gently guide her with a hand on her lower back. Or when they cross the street and he will hold his arm out in front of her until they could cross because one time she almost got hit in the parking lot. Or when he always has her sit either next to him or in his lap. There's also him always making sure she eats, asking "what did you have for breakfast?" "Did you remember to pack lunch?" "Sit, eat, you won't wait to serve us to eat your dinner." He even packs snacks for she so you can munch throughout the day. He nearly lost his shit when there was a time our coffin bimbo was starting a diet, only ensures and slimfast. "You're on some good shit if you think I'm allowing you to starve yourself and ruin your perfect body bunny, not on my goddamn life, you must be certified crazy if you think I would allow that!"

He makes her feel cherished and taken care of.

And when they go to a drive in movie or Benny's or anywhere he never lets her pay, and when she runs through her allowance quickly, he gives her more money.

She knows he's been working more to take care of her, so bimbo!reader will run him nice hot bubble baths because her Eddie works so hard for her.

She honestly loves being at her best friend Eddie's more than at home. Even added some touches to his room, like her stuffies, her favorite horror novels, her clothes, her soap, her skin care, hair stuff, perfume, just slowly nesting. Even brings Pyewacket and Socky (Socrates) over to be watched by Wayne during the day since he works at night. Pyewacket actually LIKES Wayne, maybe because he feeds him those Vienna sausages...

And when poor Chrissy Cunningham doesn't see it coming when reader notices her getting close to HER Eddie, and surprises Chrissy with spiders in her cheer locker..

#eddie munson x bimbo!reader #eddie munson smut #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #eddie fanfic #eddie munson headcanons #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x horror!bimbo reader

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clarkegriffins · 3 months

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so, i think since s4 came out i saw maaaaaaaaaaaaaany posts saying nancy AND steve shouldn't be in a relationship, and i'm not gonna talk about that right now bc it's not my point, what is curious to me is that i never saw a post saying that jonathan shouldn't be in a relationship, and it got me thinking, does the fandom even listen to jonathan? like at all?

so in season 1 we have this scene:

which was supposed to "represent" stancy back then, even tho it's just assumptions since we never got the idea that stancy would ever be like ted and karen, they might had their problems back in season 1 and season 2 but not to the point that we think they would turn into nancy's parents, the show has been showing us how much steve loves nancy and that he would do literally anything for her, even breaking his own heart and letting her go, so no, not ted and karen at all, but i'm getting off topic let's go back to jonathan, this is what he thinks about nancy and steve's relationship, not very positive right? he scares her into thinking she's going to end up like her mom and how unhappy she will become.

and now we have this scene, present day:

now we're talking about his relationship with nancy, and oops, not very optimistic either right? this is basically what jonathan thinks of relationships, that no matter what they are always doomed, and how someone who thinks like that can be ready for a relationship? and i'm not even mentioning his thoughts about bob/joyce, his constant judgment over their relationship even tho bob was good for joyce, jonathan's beliefs about relationships are very tragic, i think not only about relationships, but life too, which leads to my second question: what can jonathan offer nancy? like really? i'm not talking about career or anything i'm talking about partnership, he's been ghosting nancy for a while now

to the point that she's considering he is cheating on her

just because he's too scared of telling her the truth, and i see people like: oh but he's protecting her bc just like he said "she would drop EVERYTHING to be with him" and i'm sorry but him assuming that she would leave her dream college for him is a bit too much for me, and it's crazy how no one talks about that, like nancy wheeler, our ambitious nancy wheeler, would literally drop her dreams just because jonathan is going to a different college? and no one from the fandom thinks it's a bit pretentious for jonathan to assume that? this is just an excuse for not telling her the truth, because if he told her the truth, it would lead him to also say what he thinks about their future together, which, in his opinion, is not a very bright future

and look at this, he also talks about kids and marriage, but for him it would end in a disaster, an unhappy marriage, just like ted and karen, totally different from what we saw in steve's dreams (a family with love, affection, who really enjoy each other's company, seeing the world with them, which, i think, it suits nancy traveling a lot since she wants to be a journalist) but this isn't about him, it's about jonathan, i see many people trying to say "oh but it's the trauma talking ok?" and yeah i could buy that, but i don't think trauma should excuse everything, so like nancy will have to spent her entire life fixing him? changing him? i think if u really want to be with someone you should fight for that, but that doesn't seem to be in jonathan's plans, right?

so again: how is he ready to be in a relationship? i think before anything jonathan should heal, this is what s5 should offer him.

#stranger things #stancy #bc i mentioned them #anti jancy #anti jonathan byers #not really no #i'm tagging just to be safe #sorry if there's any typo here i'm a bit sleepy kjgjkgns #nancy wheeler

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jadeylovesmarvelxo · 1 year

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Let Him Go

Summary; If you love someone let them go... That's what yn thinks when she overhears Eddie's crush, Chrissy admits he's cute.

It's Chrissy he wants, not her...

If you love someone then let them go... Eddie has always thought it was a stupid fucking saying.

Warnings; Angst, heartbreak, fluff.

If you enjoyed this then please consider giving it a reblog. It's very much appreciated 💞

I don't give anyone permission to copy my work.

💞

She should have known that she would get her heart broken.

"It's fine Eddie. This is just sex, no strings attached, we can just have some fun"

God, she was an idiot. It wasn't Eddie's fault though as she always knew that it was Chrissy he wanted.

She was just in the way of that and she knew she couldn't stand in the way of Eddie's happiness.

Now knowing that Chrissy thought Eddie was sweet and cute had put things in perspective for her.

That's why she had told Eddie she wanted to end this... thing between them.

His eyes widen and something flickers in his big brown eyes but she can't make out what it is.

Perhaps it's relief that he can finally be with the girl he wants and not her? The thought makes her chest ache.

"Sweetheart..." she cuts him off before he can say anything else.

"Eddie, I've always known what this is between us. That you really want to be with Chrissy and I can't... I won't get in the way of that"

She deliberately avoids looking at him because this is hard enough without his beautiful brown eyes staring at her.

The ache in her chest is threatening to rip open and she fumbles over her words to him.

"I can't... I don't want to be selfish and keep you from being with who you want to be with and I know it's not me. No matter how much I hope it was" she murmurs and he inhales sharply.

"Chrissy thinks you're cute and sweet and no doubt will probably plan on asking you out sometime soon, I overheard her saying to her friend Casey" she walks over to him and kisses his cheek.

"We had a good time Munson, I wish it lasted longer but that's life. I hope, - her voice nearly breaks but she plows on- I hope you're happy with Chrissy. I know you will be"

She lingers for a second and desperately wants to kiss him once last time as if sensing this Eddie gently presses his lips to hers and they kiss as they have never kissed before.

It's desperate and filled with longing and she doesn't want it to end but eventually, she pulls away, and with a last small smile at him, she leaves.

Maybe somewhere deep down she thought he might fight for her, tell her that he had fallen for her like she had fallen for him.

But that was just a fairy tale and she knew real-life was never like that.

💞

Nancy is talking to her about something for the school paper and she tries to listen but her head is pounding from lack of sleep and this constant ache in her chest.

It is in no way helped by the fact that she sees Chrissy immediately head over to Eddie's table and strike up a conversation.

The smile on Eddie's face is enough to know that she made the right decision in letting him go and even though she had no idea how to prepare herself for watching them be a couple, she would just have to deal with it as best as she could.

Watching Eddie look at her like she's the only girl in the world, holding her hand in his large one, knowing that Chrissy will get to fall asleep in his arms every night makes her want to throw up but she has to get over it.

Just because she knows Eddie will inevitably be with Chrissy she doesn't want to torture herself even more by seeing the first flush of their romance.

As long as Eddie is happy that's all that matters but she had to protect some of her shattered heart.

She supposed she could have been selfish and clung onto Eddie for as long as possible but what kind of person would that make her?

A mean, selfish one that's what.

Also, she wanted to be someone's everything, not just a fuck buddy. Not just... convenient.

Nancy speaks to her in a gentle tone and she turns away from Chrissy and Eddie feeling sick to her stomach.

She chose this though, this is what Eddie wants so she just has to deal with it.

💞

He can feel the stares of the Hellfire boys on him and he does his best to ignore them.

They know he's in a strange mood but not why and he can sense the curiosity in them.

"You sure you're okay Eddie?" Dustin asks him concerned and he nods and opens his locker his breath coming out harsh as he finds one of yn's scrunchies.

A blush pink one with white flowers, her favorite and his, it smells faintly of her shampoo and the pain inside him worsens.

Quickly he grabs his D&D notebook and slams his locker shut.

At this point, Chrissy approaches him, she's been hanging around for the last few days and he gathers that what yn overheard was right (about Chrissy thinking he was cute)

The thought doesn't fill him with the joy he thought it would.

"Hey Chrissy" she beams at him and out of the corner of his eye he sees yn with Robin, they are both getting picked up by Steve.

Eddie waits for Chrissy to ask her question but all he can think about is the deep ache in his chest that isn't getting better since yn left.

Or the fact that despite knowing Steve is only her friend- the sight of him with his arm around her and making her giggle makes him want to hit something.

Preferably Steve.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date," Chrissy asks him, and a month or so ago that question would have made him so fucking happy.

It would have been everything he ever wanted but now? He had gotten what he thought was his dream and it felt... it felt all wrong.

"No," he says quietly and Chrissy looks up at him surprised and then blushes.

"Um... shit. Do you have a girlfriend?" she asks and a look of horror appears on her face, he shakes his head.

"No. Chrissy if you had asked me this a month or so ago I would be a happy guy but now? I... I'm in love with someone"

Her eyes widen and she turns to see what he is gazing at then notices yn and she smiles.

"Shit, if I had known Eddie then I would never have asked" she stammers out and he sighs.

"You know she ended things because she overheard you say to your friend that you thought I was cute, I could see it hurt her but she did it... so I would be happy, get to be with you" he rubs his head wearily.

"I'm not happy. Jesus Christ, I am miserable without her" Chrissy softens and pats his arm.

"Then tell her, make her believe it. Fight for her" fight for her? He looks back to yn again and he nods his resolve hardening.

That's exactly what he is going to do, he's going to tell her how he feels.

💞

It was one of those stormy nights in Hawkins that made her burrow under her blankets and read one of her favorite books.

She had made hot chocolate and was quite content to just snuggle up and forget the ache in her chest when she heard a gentle tapping on her window.

At first, she thinks she is in some very vivid dream because Eddie is perched on her roof and the tapping sound is him.

Gasping she gets up and let's him in.

"What the hell are you doing out in this storm? You could catch your death, Eddie"

He takes off his jacket and she can't help but admire him clad in sweatpants and a Judas Priest shirt.

"I had to see you" his teeth are chattering and she grabs an extra blanket from her closet and wraps it around him.

She eyes Eddie confused, why is he here? Is it to tell her about him and Chrissy?

"Shouldn't you be on a date with Chrissy?" the words come out of her mouth before she can stop them and she waits for his answer slightly dreading it.

He shakes his head and she sits beside him still unsure what is going on.

"Why? You want to be with Chrissy?" not with me she thinks sadly but doesn't say it but here's the thing, Eddie can read her like a book.

"Things change" she stares at him stunned, trying to work him out.

"Eddie, I don't understand. I know you like her so why are you with me right now instead of her, did she not ask you out and that's why you're here? "

Was she a second choice? She didn't want to be that, the thought makes her already bruised heart hurt even more.

He brushes a lock of hair away from her face and her whole body warms.

"She did ask me out and I said no and maybe I'm here because since you ended things I've felt like a wreck inside" she swallows and feels a tug in her chest.

"I don't understand" she admits and he takes her hand and squeezes it tightly.

"Chrissy stopped being my dream a long time ago, I have a new dream. An even more incredible one because it involves you... because somewhere along the line I fell deeply in love with you and you are all I think about"

He loves me... He loves me. Tears spill down her cheek and she smiles as he kisses her tears away.

"I don't want to be with Chrissy, I want to be with you. It's you who I love princess" she grins and wraps her arms around him.

"I love you too Eddie, that's why I let you go because I wanted you to be happy" he cups her cheek and gently kisses her forehead.

"I was miserable without you. Being with you makes me so happy sweetheart" his head rests against hers and he holds her close to him.

He leans back and pulls a book out of the carrier bag he was holding.

Lord of the rings, is one of their favorite books to read together. It was something they had been doing for a while now.

It relaxed her and she loved cuddling up on Eddie's chest as he read to her doing all the voices and making her laugh.

They settle in her bed and they kiss happily whispering words of love before he opens the book and begins to read.

The storm grows stronger outside but they are too wrapped up in each other to notice as Eddie gently strokes her hair until they are both lulled into sleep.

💞💞

#eddie munson angst #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson imagine

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deathbecomesthem · 1 month

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Cat and Mouse | 1.8K

Eddie Munson x Preacher's Daughter!Reader

*This was a fic I wrote ages ago, and left orphaned. It was a Wheeler!Reader fic. I'm going to consider rewriting it as a more vague reader for inclusivity.

Warnings: Some suggestive language and ideas. Future chapters, if I continue this story, have lots of disturbing ideas about religious subjugation of women and girls.

Cat meets mouse when you see him. All rough edges and open hostility, but you see through it to his soft and sticky center. He is a treat that you want to bite into. A feast for your eyes. You know how to do this thing. How to make him weak in the knees with only a soft blink and tilt of your pretty neck. You brush a finger down, down to your collarbone, as if to brush away a stray hair, showing him where you want his lips to wander. This one will be easy; you think as you watch his glassy eyes follow your fingers.

This game is more than fun for you. It is necessary. It is life giving. It affirms your value in the world. To have a man at your mercy is powerful; you crave it just as you crave the feeling of flesh on flesh. Mouth on neck. Cock in hand. Fingers in your heat with pleasure vibrating down your spine to the tips of your fingers and toes. You know how to please yourself, of course, but to make a man come undone before you is bliss.

“Who is that?” Eddie can’t take his eyes from you, head leaned close to Steve’s ear so no one could overhear. He knows what you’re doing, it’s so obvious. In his mind, you might as well take your top off and throw your bra in his face.

“That is Nancy’s cousin. She’s hot, right? She’s also the sweetest person I’ve ever met. The kids love her.” Eddie blinks and tries to see it, any possible resemblance to Nancy or Mike. He can’t make it happen. He tries to think of this girl, this succubus, as a sweetheart that everyone loves. Can Steve not see that you’re playing with him?

“Uh, Steve, are you getting any vibes coming this way from her?” Steve cranes his neck to look back at Eddie in bewilderment. Apparently not is the thought that passes Eddie’s brain before Steve can form the words to reply.

“Uh, no man. No vibes.” His concern turns into frustration after he notices the hunger Eddie has in his eyes while he looks at you. “Listen, don’t. She’s an absolute saintl. Her dad is a minister, she teaches Sunday school for god’s sake. Just don’t even think about it.” With that, Steve heads across the room to pull you away from Nancy and lead you, protectively, outside to sit by the pool with Dustin and Will.

Angel my ass. Eddie is the most perceptive person in the party. Sure, he has an impossibly hard time understanding certain social niceties, but he can read body language. He picks up on miniscule facial expressions that give away what a person is really thinking when they’re saying they’re fine, it’s all good, how about that weather, did you catch the sportsball game last night. He knows he’s not wrong about this. Steve, on the other hand, could be as dumb as a rock when it came to those subtleties.

Eddie sidles up next to Nancy and Robin as smoothly as possible, hoping to steer the conversation with delicacy. “Hey, beautiful ladies, how are we doing this gorgeous summer afternoon?” His giant grin is met with dramatic eye rolls from both girls. Delicacy failed.

“Laying it on pretty thick today, Munson.” Nancy wraps her arm around Eddie’s midsection in a gentle squeeze while Robin moves on to join Will and El in the next room. Nancy and Eddie had become thick as thieves in recent months to the absolute bafflement of the rest of the group. Opposites on the surface, yes, but just below the two were kindred spirits. Neither were likely to miss a trick.

“So, I see we have a guest in our midst today.” His eyebrows are raised with his signature grin still plastered on his goofy face. Nancy huffs a laugh and nods, knowingly.

“I see. Yes, she's my cousin. Kinda sorta. Her dad and my mom grew up together in the same church, closer than family. She’s truly, my best friend in the world.” Her eyebrows are quirked back to mirror his and a pinch of warning between. “Were you hoping to join the Bible study she leads on Friday nights?”

His sniggers are what finally breaks Nancy’s serious demeanor. A friendly smack lands on his shoulder. “Listen, Stevie tells me she’s a little innocent angel, but I swear the look she was giving me… It’s like she was eye fu-“ Nancy’s hands are in Eddie’s face to shut him up.

“Nope, don’t tell me.” The annoyed look on Nancy’s face makes Eddie’s guilt rear up. This was not something he should be talking to her about; he’s realized far too late. “Here is what I’ll tell you. Only this, and you never say anything like that to me ever again.” Her finger is pointed directly at Eddie’s nose and there is a flash of warning in her eyes. Eddie nods in assent and waves his hand for her to continue.

“She is the kindest person I know. Generous to a fault. She’s great with kids.” Eddie’s eyes are rolling. Steve has already said all of this to him. “Steve is clueless, like pretty much everyone else. Her parents are super strict, as you can imagine. But, no, she’s not as pristine as they think.”

Nancy can see Eddie gearing up for another question, and Nancy’s hands fly to her ears. “Nope, no more. Figure it out on your own. She’s just a girl, talk to her.” Nancy makes her way to the patio doors and turns back with one last piece of advice, “For gods sake, don’t listen to Steve about anything related to girls. He’s a hammer looking for any nail to pound and doesn’t understand nuance.”

She leaves Eddie giggling to himself and feeling at least a little relieved that he wasn’t imagining things. That angel had clocked him as soon as he walked in the door. The game seemed like it might be fun. And, also, a really stupid thing for him to try to play.

The sun reflected off the pool so brightly, you could feel your skin beginning to burn. The first to succumb to the heat were El and Robin with the younger boys following shortly behind. Sweaty clothes are in piles around the pool, everyone seemed to have the same idea to wear their bathing suits to Steve’s. You and Nancy packed suits in a backpack that sat inside the house. A drip of sweat started moving down your nose, and you relented.

“Nance, I’m going to get changed. I can’t sit out here like this anymore.” You leave Steve and Nancy to whatever petty argument they were having at the moment. It isn’t until you’re opening the door to the kitchen that you realize you haven’t seen that hot guy, Eddie, since Steve had whisked you away from your flirtation earlier. That won’t do.

Rounding the corner to the front of the house, you smell it. Naughty boy, you think as you spot him sneaking in the front door. As if a deer in headlights, he freezes, and relaxes when he realizes it’s not one of the younger kids, but you.

“Well, hello there. We haven’t met yet, have we?” Eddie’s eyes are twinkling at you. Pretty man, you think. He pushes himself away from the side of the house, and he starts to move towards you. He’s stalking, that’s the word, stalking, his way into your space as he gives a dramatic bow. On his way back up, he is slowly taking in your form, with no attempt to hide what he’s doing.

You offer your name and your hand and are greeted with a gentle kiss along your knuckles. Oh, this was going to be fun. “I’ve heard so much about you.” Your eyes have gone big, and you flutter your lashes, “Although, I guess most of it can’t be true or Aunt Karen would never let her kids near you.”

The Cheshire Cat had nothing on the grin Eddie was giving you. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe I’ve got her fooled.” Up close, this boy was beautiful. His eyes are chestnut pools rimmed red from the pot smoke that still clings to his skin. The wrinkles at the edges of his smile speak to you about his humor.

“I doubt that very much.” You’re slinking past him on your toes, face turned up towards his own. Your backpack is behind him. With a hand on his arm, you bend down, allowing your Eddie an excellent view of your posterior. “There it is. Are you going to swim with us, Eddie?”

“Uh,” Eddie clears his throat, “I didn’t bring a suit. I’m not much of a swimmer.” There is a slight flush starting at the apple of his cheeks while you stare him down with your doe eyes. You give him an exaggerated frown.

“Oh, Eddie, how sad.” Sitting on the couch, you rustle through the bag to find your suit. *zip* not in that pocket, *zip* not there either, one last *zip* with no luck and you turn your gaze back on the curly haired boy that’s still watching your every movement. “I must have forgotten my suit.” With a big sigh, you add, “If only someone would be willing to run me back to Aunt Karen’s house to get it.”

“Hmm, that’s too bad. Maybe you should go ask Nancy to take you back.” Eddie’s head is tilted at you with a little pout. There was no way he didn’t know what you were doing, but he wasn’t biting. Fine, be that way.

“I don’t want to ruin her fun; her suit is right here.” You hold up her pink suit to emphasize your point. “You’re not planning on swimming; would you be willing to give me a ride?” Eddie can barely contain himself with the looks you’re throwing his way, but this was not a game he would give in to that easily.

“Oh, I don’t know, Angel, I bet your Daddy wouldn’t be too thrilled to hear about you taking a ride with me. Maybe you should just hang out with me in the loungers and while the others swim.” You’re considering your next move, thinking about making him take the bait. You can see how close he is to relenting when the back door swings open with a dramatic clang.

With a scowl on her face, Nancy approaches you with a hand outstretched. “There you are. I was looking for my suit. It’s hotter than hell out there.” She rummages through the bag, pulling out a black and white polka suit in triumph. “Come on, let’s get changed.” She says, nodding in the direction of your pink suit.

A chuckle from Eddie rang through the room, “Cute suit, Angel. Can’t wait to see you in it.” With a wink, he’s heading through the house while your cheeks burn.

#eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson smut #eddie munson x fem!reader #stranger things

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bitterpotionn · 7 months

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Johnny Slaughter - Crush

I present my first-ever series. After a poll vote, I decided to make this a mini-series. I'm aiming for two parts. Each part is a good length so we can get the best of both worlds.

No smut in this one, but expect a lot of it in the next coming parts.

The title of this is another Ethel Cain nod, inspired by her song "Crush."

As always any feedback or constructive criticism is welcome! I appreciate all of the feedback on my fics so far, I appreciate it so much.

-pt.2

Warnings: Minimal use of Y/N, SFW, Johnny is a sleaze, pining, smoking, peer pressure, kissing

Growing up in a small Texan town did have its upsides. The tight-knit community, the great food, and Johnny Slaughter. At least, that's what she always thought. She grew up in a traditional small town. From long dirt roads to small corner stores. Small-town living was something she was very fond of. She was also very fond of the local troublemaker, Johnny Slaughter.

While they had known each other their whole lives, their paths were very different. Johnny's family was…outcasted, to say the least. Hell, Johnny didn't even attend public school. His mother Nancy, boasted about her teaching abilities, opting him for homeschooling. Nancy was protective, making her contact growing up with Johnny limited. She would see him a few times on the playground when they both would play in the sandbox together. She was always so proud of the castles she would build, only for Johnny to kick the sand right back in her face. Or they would swing together on the old rusty swing set the small park had to offer. He would then proceed to push her too hard, her face hitting the dirty mulch below with a thud.

As they both grew, they didn't have much contact. How could they? She was too busy with school and extracurriculars. While he was busy working the Slaughter Family farm. As months grew into years, the two hardily interacted. That was until the summer two years after she graduated high school.

"He is quite muscular huh?" giggles erupted throughout the small group of girls. They sat on a picnic blanket in the field next to the Slaughter family farm. They would often go there to hang out. They had a clear view of the Slaughter property, where they watched Johnny, doing some yard work on the fence. The girls stared at Johnny as he worked, not doing much to conceal their giggles and hushed whispers.

"Sarah, c'mon we all know he's nothin' but trouble," Lacy said, rolling her eyes as she sipped on her lemonade. Sarah gave her a pout as she rolled onto her stomach, blowing the smoke of her cigarette towards the sky. "I don't think he's as bad as people say guys, I mean I used to know him when we were kids" Y/N explained, setting her book aside. "Plus he's not too hard on the eyes" Y/N giggled poking her friends. Y/N couldn't help her years-long crush on Johnny. After all, he was handsome, strong, and seemingly always available.

"He is as bad as people say, Y/N" Lacy continued grabbing a new cigarette out of her purse. "He's slept with like every girl we know from high school, and I heard Becky Farland gets her dope from him," she said in a hushed whisper, her eyes going wide. "Oh please" Y/N rolled her eyes and glanced back over to him, he was still working on the fence. "Those are just rumors right?" Y/N frowned as she thought more about it. They were awfully different, she was a virgin and relatively sheltered while he was…far from it.

Sarah shrugged and looked in his direction. "I would gladly volunteer as one of his hookups" Sarah gave a loud dramatic side, her hand going to her forehead as she fell into Y/N's lap. They all giggled and shushed each other. "You sure you don't want one Y/N?" Sarah asked offering her cigarette to her. Y/N shook her head looking back in Johnny's direction. "Those things will kill both of you. Then I'll be left to stare at Johnny alone," Y/N tickled Sarah's side, pulling laughs from the both of them.

"The only thing that's gonna kill me are my parents if I don't get home soon," Lacy said, standing up and gathering her things. Sarah pouted and followed suit. "No more Johnny time for us I suppose!" Sarah nudged Y/N with her elbow, both of them giggling.

They walked down the road, making their way past the Slaughter family's yard. As they walked and talked, someone clearing their throat made them go silent. They all looked over to the source of the sound, revealing Johnny smirking and leaning on the gate. "You ladies enjoy the view?" he snickered, a cigarette hanging from his fingers. "In your dreams, Slaughter," Lacy spoke up, rolling her eyes. He feigned a pout and put a hand over his heart "You wound me."

Y/N stood there awkwardly, somewhat hidden behind Sarah, gripping her book to her chest as she avoided his piercing gaze. Johnny walked closer to the group and bent down to meet Y/N's gaze. "Y/N L/N. I haven't seen you in forever, darlin'" Lacy moved quickly in front of Sarah and Y/N. "I wish I could say it was nice to see you Johnny, but like usual it wasn't," she held Y/N's hand as they began walking away together. Sarah gave Johnny a dopey smile and waved as she followed suit. Y/N's face was heating up as she buried her face into Lacy's arm. "Oh my god that was so embarrassing," she squeaked out, as they walked further away.

"Embarrassing?!" Sarah giggled out "Johnny Slaughter, The Johnny Slaughter just acknowledged you Y/N. This is amazing," she said while giggling, tickling Y/N's sides. Y/N playfully swatted Sarah's arm. Finally feeling brave enough to escape from Lacy's side. "No that was embarrassing, I stood there like an idiot," she huffed out, walking with her shoulders drooping. Lacy shook her head "No, we shouldn't even be talkin' to him. Looking is one thing, but we don't want to get caught up in his mess, especially you Y/N."

After her shift at the bookstore, she decided to stop by the local farmers market. Her mom mentioned the previous night she needed some vegetables and she figured she would pick some up before she went back home. She hummed as she strolled to different booths, scanning the wide variety of vegetables and fruits.

"Hey darlin'" she heard a deep voice behind her. She jumped a bit and quickly turned to face behind her. There, standing right in front of her was Johnny Slaughter. Her eyes widened as she stared up at him, not able to get a word out. "It's nice to see you out and about without your bodyguards," he snickered, leaning against the worn wooden stall. Y/N felt her face rapidly heat up as she nervously fidgeted with the strap of her homemade shoulder bag. "Ha…yeah Hi," she quietly said, avoiding his gaze.

"You're awfully shy, I remember you being more talkative when we were kids," he hummed out, reaching into his back pocket, and pulling out a cigarette carton. Her eyes widened in surprise as she shifted her gaze up to him "You…uh remember that?" she said her eyebrows raising. He chuckled lowly at her reaction, lighting the cigarette. "Of course I do, have to admit. Had a bit of a crush on you back then," he smirked down at her and watched her reaction carefully.

Her eyes widened and she shifted her gaze back down. She felt her heart racing rapidly. "Oh…don't play around with me like that…" she let out a nervous laugh. "I would never darlin', I really did," he bent down a bit to meet her gaze, blowing some smoke her way. "Truth be told, I think I'm still keen on you" She gripped the strap on her bag, nervously shifting, not meeting his gaze. "C'mon Johnny, don't be like that," she looked up at him, he was closer to her now.

"I'm serious," he said, his smirk widening "I wouldn't mind takin' you out sometime if you're up for it," He gently brushed his hand against her arm, trying to regain her attention. She gave him a small shrug "I dunno Johnny…" her mind raced back to Lacy and the things she'd said about Johnny, maybe she was right. "Look, I know what your friend says about me, all that stuff is just small-town rumors, darlin'. At least let me take you out for ice cream?" She bit down on her lip, nervously chewing. "Oh…alright," she gave him a nervous smile as her eyes flicked up to meet his stare.

"Perfect, I'll take care of ya, don't worry," His finger hooked underneath her chin and angled her face upwards. "So, tomorrow? We can meet at my place?" He smiled widely down at her. She just nodded, a nervous smile painting her face. "Perfect," he gave her one last smile before sauntering away, heading back to his truck. She noted that he didn't even buy anything, she wondered why he was even there in the first place. However, she didn't have much time to think as she wanted to get home so she would tell Lacy and Sarah.

"You what?!" Lacy sat up from her lying position in her bed, her mouth wide open. Sarah almost spit out her drink, her head turning quickly to face Y/N. Y/N sighed loudly and sat down in Lacy's purple beanbag. "I-I don't know what happened, we ran into each other at the farmers market, and he just asked me out. I didn't know what to do. I can't just say no to him. I've been obsessed with him for years!" she leaned her head back as she rambled on, her leg nervously fidgeting.

Sarah giggled a bit and pulled at Y/N's leg. "This is actually amazing, Y/N and Johnny," she threw her arms up in the arm "It's actually happening!" Lacy wasn't so thrilled as she glared at Sarah, causing Sarah to put her arms down and go quiet. "This is a bad idea, Y/N. Johnny just wants to get in your pants, like with every other girl" Lacy explained rolling her eyes. Y/N winced and sunk further into the beanbag. "I guess I want to see how things go…maybe he's different than the rumors, Lacy," Y/N said frowning.

Sarah looked over at Lacy. "C'mon Lacy, one date isn't going to kill her, we could always stalk her durin' the date" she giggled and crawled over next to Y/N. "She's been crushin' on Johnny since grade school, this is like her teenage fantasy," Sarah said, leaning her head on Y/N's shoulder. Lacy let out a sigh and looked over at them. "I can't stop you from going, just please be cautious. I have a bad feeling about him," Lacy got up and sat next to them both. "We need a full report when you get back," Lacy said poking at Y/N's side. "And I need some Johnny memorabilia!" Sarah said. They all giggled and hugged each other.

She made her way to his house. She felt a deep hard pit in her stomach. She was wearing a yellow and white sundress, and she had her bag snug against her side. She made sure her hair and makeup were perfect, and she spent hours getting ready. She's never felt this nervous before. As she got closer to the Slaughter house residence, she saw Johnny's truck parked right outside the entry gate. He quickly exited the car and jogged to her smiling wide. He was wearing his usual getup, blue jeans, and his work boots. However, he did bother to put on a nicer shirt than he usually wore.

"Hello darlin'" he gave her a sensual hug, pulling her close to his broad chest. She didn't have much time to react but she hugged back, wrapping her arms around his neck. He pulled away, his hand still on her waist. "Wow, you look amazing doll" his hungry eyes scanned her up and down. His eyes felt like a warm wave drenching her entire body, his gaze made her shake. "T-thank you, Johnny," she said softly, rubbing his arm slowly. He chuckled and took a firm hold of her hand, walking to his truck with her.

The ride to the ice cream parlor was nerve-wracking. Johnny made small talk about the farm and asked about her family. She could barely focus, his hand was resting a bit too close to her thigh and it was making her feel like a nervous teenager.

Once they got there, Johnny helped her out, taking her hand in his and leading her to the order counter. She couldn’t help but notice the passing stares from people around the town. In a town this small, everybody knew everybody. She was sure people would start talking. Johnny's reputation wasn’t the best and hers was relatively spotless, the two of them together would be big news. Johnny ordered for the both of them, even paying. He handed her the chocolate Ice cream cone, smiling. They both sat down at one of the tables outside.

“You enjoying it?” He asked smirking at her. She smiled shyly and nodded “Yea thank you for paying,” she continued to lick her ice cream. She was hyper-aware of how she was eating, being sure not to be too suggestive about it. His eyes followed her tongue as she ate away at her Ice cream. “No problem, darlin’ my treat,” he chuckled and leaned back in his chair, he was eating his ice cream out of a cup with a spoon. He ordered her the cone instead, she had an idea why he did this.

“Are you still workin’ at that bookstore?” He asked, still staring at her intently. “Oh yeah! I really like it…it’s quiet,” she smiled a bit and shrugged. He nodded and grinned back at her. “Bet you’re good at it too. Hard to say no to that pretty face Hm?” Her face heated up and she bit down on her lip. “Oh hardly…” she let out a small laugh as she finished up her ice cream.

After a while of talking about work, family, and friends the sun was already setting. The date went a lot longer than she intended, she wanted to be home before dark. He must have noticed the slight panic because he soon got up and reached for her hand, "I'll drive ya home if you want, so you're not walkin' all alone at night," he gave her a smirk and motioned his head towards his parked truck. She hesitated before ultimately nodding, squeezing his hand.

As they walked hand in hand, Johnny pulled out another cigarette. He titled the carton towards her, offering her one. She quickly shook her head and gave him a strained smile "No thank you" He was seemingly taken aback by this "You don't smoke?" She answered again, shaking her head. "Have you ever smoked?" She felt like she was being integrated, and she once again shook her head. He chuckled at this and let out an amused sigh. "You really are just perfect huh?" Once they got to his truck she reached for the door handle but he smoothly got in front of it, leaning against the truck with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"You gotta at least try a hit, for me. I'll pop your cherry" Her eyes suddenly widened at his brash language, playfully hitting his arm. He snickered and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her so she was practically leaning against the front of his body. The hand still holding the cigarette found its way to her lips, he positioned the cigarette so it was facing her. Her eyes were wide with hesitation, she bit down on her lip. "Johnny…I dunno…" his words interrupted her nervous ramblings "Go ahead," his tone was almost demanding, it made her feel like she was being lectured by her father. So without another word, she leaned back and took a hit of the cigarette. The thick smoke ripped through her throat and she started coughing wildly, it tasted horrible. He laughed at this and kept her steady as she coughed.

By the time her coughing fit was done, her eyes were watering, she looked back up at Johnny. He just stared at her, with this look on his face, like he wanted to just eat her up right then and there. "You're awfully pretty all teary-eyed, darlin'" he chuckled and hooked his finger underneath her chin, angling toward him. Her heart started racing, was he going to kiss her? She felt like she was going to throw up. He started to lean in towards her, and she felt her eyes flutter closed, she had never kissed anyone before and she couldn't believe her first kiss was going to be with Johnny Slaughter. Right when she thought he was going to. Nothing happened.

She peeked open her eyes, just to see Johnny grinning down at her. He leaned his head back on the truck and rubbed her waist this his free hand. "You bout' ready to head home doll?" he said standing straight up and opening the car door for her. She didn't know what to say or do. She felt so embarrassed and humiliated, of course, he wasn't going to kiss her. All she could manage was a curt nod before sitting in the passenger seat of his truck.

The drive back to her house was relatively quiet. His hand did find its way to her thigh at one point, he absentmindedly stroked her thigh was his thumb. The sheer contact was making her heart flutter. Her mind was still racing about the lack of a kiss. Did he even like her? Surely he did, I mean he was touching her. Her thoughts were a thick cloud that prevented her from having any meaningful conversation with him on the ride back, but he didn't seem to mind the silence. Once they pulled into the gravel driveway of her home he stopped the car.

Her eyes scanned each window, checking to see if her parents were watching, surely they were waiting up for her. Johnny leaned back in his seat and looked over to her. "Thank you for takin' me Johnny…" she said in a low voice, turning to face him. He smirked and nodded, his arm hooking around her waist, pulling her across the seat to be closer to her. "My pleasure," he hummed out, staring down at her. Her eyes again flicked to each window of her house, she half expected her parents to burst out the front door and yell at her for being with him.

She awkwardly sat next to him. Her hand found his and she interlocked their fingers gently. He chuckled at his and gave her hand a firm squeeze. "You warmin' up to me?" he said in a low voice, his head resting on hers as she leaned against him. She giggled a bit and nodded. "You're not as bad as people say…" her words trailed off. "Can't let your friends decide who you hang out with, darlin'" he said rubbing the top of her thumb with his. A hint of annoyance was laced in his voice. "T-they don't…they just wanna protect me…" she said quickly, trying to defend her friends. He snickered at this and cupped the underside of her face, angling her towards him. "Protect you from what? Me?" he smirked and leaned forward, capturing her lips in a sensual, slow kiss. She felt her heart skip a million beats as she eagerly kissed him back. She felt a bit lost, trying to match his movements. His lips moved against her as he pulled her closer to him, she was practically on her lap when he decided to pull away, nibbling a bit on her lip as he did so. She was panting when he pulled away, her cheeks felt like they were on fire, and she could swear her heart was beating out of her chest.

"See, I ain't so bad, darlin'" he chuckled and ran his hand down her back, urging her to cuddle closer to him. She let out a small laugh at this and nodded, leaning her head on his chest. "I should get goin', I don't want my parents comin' out here…" she looked up at him, analyzing his face. For a split second, she could have sworn a look of anger flashed across his face, but just as quickly as it appeared. It was gone. Replaced with his usual cool demeanor. "Alright," he got out of the truck and walked over to the passenger side door, opening it for her. She scooted off the seat and dropped down, her feet meeting the gravel. Johnny leaned down and caught her lips one more time, this time with more hunger and angst. His hands found their way to her waist, practically lifting her up to meet his lips. She giggled through the kiss and pulled away from him. "Johnny c'mon I gotta go," she placed both of her hands on his chest and smiled up at him. "You're killin' me" he let out a dramatic sigh and pecked her lips one more time before patting her waist.

She gave him more last smile before she headed into her house, shutting the door behind her. Johnny stood there, watching the front door, just for a second. He got back into his idling truck and drove back down the country road.

"He kissed you!?" Sarah squeaked out, giggling like a schoolgirl. Y/N nodded and gave her a cheery smile. Lacy wasn't too impressed, she gave a gagging sound as she set out the girl's lunch for the day on the picnic blanket. They were in their usual spot, in the field next to the Slaughter house property.

"Don't be like that Lacy! Our Y/N is becoming a woman!" she said throwing her arms up in the arm and falling back into Y/N's lap. Lacy rolled her eyes and handed them both a lemonade. "I'm happy for her, just not happy about it, Johnny Slaughter is a sleaze. No matter how good of a kisser he is" she shot Y/N a skeptical look. Y/N gave her a knowing smile and shrugged, taking a long sip of her lemonade. "It was a nice first date, I think he actually likes me," she said, running her spare hand along the grass.

Lacy just gave a strained smile and shrugged. Sarah noticed the awkward silence and suddenly sat up. "Can we eat I'm actually starving" she rummaged through the wooden basket Lacy brought, pulling out all the food.

After about an hour of eating and talking the group decided to head back to town. Lacy walked beside Sarah and Y/N who were walking arms interlocked, giggling about the date and saying things in hushed whispers. Lacy let out a loud groan and tilted her head back in annoyance as she spotted Johnny outside the gate, seemingly waiting on them. Sarah and Y/N both suddenly looked up and smiled, waving at Johnny.

Johnny walked over to the group and smirked. "I think I need to steal Y/N over for a second hm?" his eyes flicked over to Lacy, a cocky smirk adorning his sharp features. Y/N nodded and looked toward her friends, "It will be quick" she said smiling at them. Lacy just nodded and walked a bit away, giving them some space. Sarah gave a wide smile and nodded, following Lacy to allow the two some privacy.

"I don't think your friend likes me very much," Johnny said leaning against the gate to talk to her. She shrugged and looked up at him, not wanting to talk bad about her friend. "Anywho, how bout' I come pick you up tonight and we can see a movie" he suggested, wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her close. She hesitated before looking over towards Lacy and Sarah. They were talking in hushed whispers, looking over at them every so often.

"I had plans with Sarah and Lacy…we were going to go…" her words trailed off as she looked up at his face. His face went stoic and annoyed as he tipped his head back. "But we can reschedule I'm sure…" she said giving him a smile. He smirked back and nodded "That's what I like to hear…" he leaned down and kissed her slowly. She tried to kiss back but she felt too awkward with her friends a stone's throw away. She pulled away and patted his chest. "I should go but I'll see you tonight…" she gave him a smile and kissed his cheek. He huffed and nodded, rubbing her waist possessively. Like he didn't want her to go.

She eventually made her way back to her friends and interlocked her arm again with Sarah as they started walking. She turned back to give Johnny one last smile. He stood there and waved before walking back into the property. She turned back to her friends and bit down on her lip nervously. "So…I might have to reschedule tonight guys…"

pt.2

#johnny slaughter #texas chainsaw massacre #johnny tcm game #tcm #tcm game #johnny slaughter x reader #johnny slaughter smut #bitterpotionnfics #smut

155 notes · View notes

parkitaco · 11 months

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"Mike," Holly huffs, standing over him with her arms crossed, "You're doing it bad."

Mike glances up from where he's sitting on the sidewalk in front of their house, covered in chalk and sweating. "Thanks," he says sarcastically, as Holly kicks her shoe at the drawing he's been half-heartedly creating on the ground. "You're the one who wanted to do this, remember?"

"You're hogging all the chalk," Holly whines, collapsing onto the ground and tossing an arm over her eyes in despair. Mike scowls; anyone who thinks he's dramatic has got him confused with the wrong Wheeler. "And you're not even doing it good."

Mike sighs, glancing down at his half-completed chalk drawing of a bunny, per Holly's request that there be more fun animals, Mike, it's too boring otherwise. She has a point - all his drawings have turned out sort of blob-shaped and ugly. "You do it, then," he says sourly, shoving the box of slightly broken chalk in her direction, and she grins all teeth at him.

Mike pulls his phone out of his pocket, grimacing when he sees the time. With Nancy off at college, he's been getting stuck on Holly-duty more and more often, and he's still got a solid three hours this morning before his mother gets home. Not that Holly's bad company, necessarily, though her incessant criticism certainly isn't helping her case. But it's summer, and Mike had had some vague plans of maybe going to the lake today, and hopefully dragging Will along with him. And besides, Holly's almost nine years old. She shouldn't need full-time looking after. Probably.

As if he's somehow read his mind from afar, Mike's phone buzzes with a text from Will:

hey :)

how's holly duty

Mike smiles, glancing up at his sister, who is currently scribbling out his misshapen rabbit drawing with a stick of red chalk, tongue poking out between her teeth as she concentrates on utterly destroying his attempt at art. It's hard to have authority over someone who knows you're a loser, he texts back, as Holly finishes scribbling out the bunny drawing and moves on to one of his earlier drawings.

don't call my boyfriend a loser :(, Will replies, and Mike's grin widens.

To be fair holly said it first, he types, and a piece of chalk hits him square on the forehead. He yelps and glances up from his phone, scowling at his sister. "Ow!"

"Stop texting Will," Holly says sourly, "and draw with me."

"Who says I'm texting Will?" Mike demands, snatching up the piece of chalk Holly had thrown at him. "And you said I was bad at drawing."

Holly stays silent, staring him down until he reluctantly leans over and starts drawing again. "I know you're texting Will because you have the dumb look on your face," she says, "And it's not fun if you're not drawing with me!"

"My face isn't dumb," Mike mumbles, but he goes back to drawing anyway. Maybe- fish are probably pretty easy to draw, right? He draws a circle with a triangle on the end that looks vaguely fish-like, and then sets about filing in multicolored scales.

Holly starts talking again, babbling on about whatever little world she's drawing at the other end of the pavement, and Mike nods along absently, doodling little circles around the slightly wonky-looking fish and praying that the sunscreen he'd hurriedly sprayed on before going outside is enough to protect his frighteningly pale skin from the blazing sun overhead. It's barely noon, but it's already getting hot, and the sidewalk is in direct sunlight with no trees around to shield him. Holly seems unbothered, though Mike can already see the bridge of her nose pinkening, and he'll undoubtedly get a lecture from his mother lately about taking proper care of his baby sister and whatnot. Even though Holly is literally not a baby, and Mike is pretty sure that when he was nine he was perfectly capable of putting on sunscreen.

It's a welcome relief, then, if a little surprising, when a shadow falls over him, and Mike jumps, dropping his chalk and raising a hand to shield his eyes as he glances up at the person standing over him. When he sees who it is, his entire body relaxes, a slow smile stretching across his face.

Will matches it, offering a little wave as he surveys the situation; Mike, covered in chalk and doodling multicolored circles all over the sidewalk, with his sister five feet away frantically scribbling out his earlier drawings. "Hi," Will says, amused, and Mike waves back, grinning a little sheepishly. "Are we having fun?"

"Hi, Will!" Holly chirps before Mike can answer, popping her head up and smiling brightly. "Mike is being a bummer," she informs him seriously, and Will laughs.

"Is that so," he replies, eyes flicking to Mike, and he nudges Mike's knee with the toe of his shoe.

"No," Mike replies sourly, giving Holly a scathing glare, "I'm being super nice, actually."

Holly is unperturbed, sticking her tongue out at him and going back to drawing, and Will laughs again as he sinks to the ground in front of Mike, crossing his legs beneath him and leaning back on his palms. He looks good like this, warm and tan in the summer sun with a teasing twinkle in his eye and his white t-shirt tucked neatly into his jeans.

"Hi," Will says again, low and soft, reaching forward and tugging at the collar of Mike's t-shirt until he leans forward for a quick kiss. In his peripheral, Mike watches Holly pull a face of disgust, and actively decides to pretend he doesn't notice. "I like your drawing," Will says, glancing down at the fish Mike has been slaving away at, and Mike flushes, whining in embarrassment and scooting away.

"Shut up," he grumbles, reaching for a fresh piece of chalk and halfheartedly filling in one of his circles with purple. "You're the artist, not me."

"Hey, I was being serious!" Will says, laughing lightly, "It's cute."

Mike presses his lips together, giving Will a scrutinizing look. "You're cute," he mumbles, which isn't quite the comeback he'd been looking for but is still, unfortunately, very true, and Will brightens, shooting him a brilliant smile.

"Hey, thanks," he replies, and leans over to steal the chalk out of his hand. "Can I draw too?" he asks Holly, who glances up from where she's drawing a mustache and goatee onto Mike's poor attempt at drawing a cat.

She looks Will up and down, weighing her options, and then nods once, shoving the box of chalk in his direction. "Don't break any," she chides.

"I won't," Will says seriously, placing a hand over his heart like he's swearing it.

Mike rolls his eyes. "You've already broken like half of it, Holly," he says, reaching for a blue piece and doodling another circle near his fish.

"That's why we can't break any more!" she says shrilly, which is a fair enough point. Mike lets it go.

Will smirks, leaning over and sketching out a few gentle lines on a blank stretch of sidewalk. "When does your mom get back?" he asks, as the lines he's sketching gradually take the shape of a much more realistic-looking fish than the one Mike had drawn.

"Like, three maybe?" Mike says with a grimace, pulling out his phone to check the time again. Tragically, it has been less than fifteen minutes since the last time he checked. "She has to do grocery shopping and then yoga, I think. I don't know, I wasn't totally listening."

Will snorts, picking up a piece of blue chalk and drawing gentle, wave-like lines around the two fishes they've drawn. "Okay," he says, chalk-dusted fingers brushing over the back of Mike's hand gently, "But you're free tonight, yeah?"

"Yeah," Mike confirms, "Why, did you want to do something?"

Will nods, filling in little white crests on each of the waves he's drawn. "Yeah. The lake, maybe? I don't know, I just want to hang out with you."

It's impressive, how easily Will is able to make Mike's entire chest fill with butterflies with a single phrase, especially such a mundane one considering how long they've been dating. He bites down a shy smile and nods as normally as he can manage, though he's pretty sure Will can sense the giddiness radiating from him anyway. "That sounds nice," he says, and then, because he can't help himself, "We are hanging out right now, though. In case you hadn't noticed."

Will rolls his eyes, lifting a chalk-covered finger and booping Mike's nose lightly, undoubtedly covering his face in green chalk dust. "I did notice," he says, jabbing his finger at him again, "But- alone, I meant. Sorry, Holly," he adds, glancing over at her apologetically, and she sticks her tongue out at him.

"Mean," she whines, and Mike rolls his eyes.

"Don't dish it out if you can't take it," he tells her, and she scowls, maintaining eye contact with him while she draws a giant red X directly over one of his earlier drawings.

Will's eyes widen. "Cold," he mutters, and holds his fist out. Holly bumps it dutifully and goes back to drawing.

His eyes flick back to Mike, and the corner of his mouth ticks up as his gaze darts over Mike's face. "You have chalk on your face," he informs him, looking like he's trying very hard not to laugh, and Mike scowls, lifting a hand and scrubbing at his face with the back of it.

"That's your fault," he grumbles, and Will makes a fake-sympathetic face as he scoots closer and bats Mike's hand away, raising a still green-tinged hand to wipe at his face. Mike lets him, leaning into his warmth, even as he says, nose wrinkled, "Listen, I can't see my face right now, but I feel like you're making it worse."

Will grimaces, and his hands tragically pull away from Mike's face as he surveys his work. "A bit, yeah," he acknowledges. "I kinda just spread it around."

"Idiot," Mike accuses, and Will grins all teeth, tilting forward slowly like he's falling into Mike's gravity before closing the rest of the distance in one swift motion and stealing another quick kiss. "Idiot," Mike says again, and leans in for another.

"Love you too," Will replies cheerily when they part again, and Mike shoots him the finger before remembering that there's a child present and quickly hiding it behind his back.

"I saw that," Holly says anyway, as she finishes whatever she's drawing and glances up at him.

"No you didn't," Mike says matter-of-factly, and Will elbows him.

"Don't gaslight her," he reprimands, and Holly points at him and nods.

"Come here," she demands, despite the fact that Mike and Will are sitting less than ten feet away from here. "I wanna show you what I made."

Mike wants to tell her to say please, or something, or at least take a slightly less bossy tone with the person who is literally in charge of her for the day, but Will is already scooting over to her, peering down at her drawing with genuine curiosity, and Mike has no choice but to follow. It's a little infuriating and all too endearing, how nice Will is to Holly, and most people in general. He makes people feel important. Mike in particular.

Holly's drawn a rainbow, Mike sees as he clambers over to sit beside Will, hooking an arm around his waist and resting his chin on his shoulder. There are little multicolored hearts all around it, complete with white clouds at either end, and Holly looks way too pleased with herself for someone who's basically just drawn a bunch of lines, but whatever. It's probably better than Mike could do.

"It's for you!" she chirps, grinning wide, and Will huffs a surprised laugh, hand absently coming to rest on Mike's knee. "Because rainbows."

"Aw, Mike," Will laughs, tilting his head back to look Mike in the eye, "Did you teach her that?"

"No," Mike says, squirming closer to him and grinning, "Nancy, probably. She keeps sending me all these lists of queer resources and shit."

Will hums a laugh, thumb tracing gentle circles into Mike's knee as he reaches for his phone. "This is very sweet, Holly," he says sincerely, and she blushes as he snaps a picture. "Thank you."

"You should take a picture of Mike's fish, too," she says seriously.

Mike frowns. "I thought you hated my drawings."

"Not the fish!" she says, and does not elaborate, which- yeah, sure. Mike will take what he can get.

"Here, you take it," Will says, passing Holly his phone, and she hops excitedly to her feet and shuffles over to the other end of the sidewalk to snap the photo.

Mike settles more comfortably onto Will's shoulder, enjoying the solid warmth of him even under the burning summer sun. "You know there's a twenty percent chance she's going to break your phone," he murmurs into Will's ear, still half-hugging him from behind, and Will lifts a hand to rest over Mike's where it's pressed against his side, threading their fingers together.

"She's like four feet tall," Will points out, "she can't break it any worse than I already have."

"You'd be surprised," Mike mutters darkly, and Will laughs, tilting his head to the side and pressing a soft kiss to the side of Mike's face. Mike leans into it, a smile creeping onto his face despite himself.

Holly flounces back over, dropping Will's phone unceremoniously into his lap and resuming her previous position amidst the chalk drawings. "You guys are gross," she announces, as Will presses another kiss to Mike's temple.

"You made a drawing for us, though," Mike points out.

"Doesn't mean you aren't gross," she says matter-of-factly, and Mike supposes it's kind of hard to argue with that. "You have chalk on your face, by the way."

Mike splutters something incomprehensible, and Will laughs quietly, slinging an arm around his shoulders and grinning up at him. "It's okay," he says seriously, "I like your face."

"I like your face too," Mike replies teasingly, leaning in to rest his forehead against Will's.

"Gross," Holly says again, and the sun keeps shining.

#happy pride <33 #consider this a mini reparation for the soul crushing angst of my last fic . at least until i finish the next chapter #byler ficlet #mike wheeler #will byers #holly wheeler #st

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strangeswift · 9 months

Text

happy birthday to my best friend in the world, @elekinetic. pretend i finished this on time 🫶

Nancy Wheeler doesn't like hospitals.

There’s death and disease around every corner, it's always freezing cold, and the fluorescent lights give her a headache.

Plus, the vending machines always eat her quarters.

Most people don’t like hospitals, she knows that. But most people haven’t been chased through the sterile halls by a creature made of exploded human corpses, so Nancy likes to think she has an exceptionally good reason.

It’s that memory that haunts her now. It follows her down the brightly lit hospital corridor and makes her heart race as she walks a little faster, casting cursory glances over her shoulder. With every glance, she's half expecting to see a large mass of flesh and jagged bones gaining on her, leaving a trail of blood in its wake, staining the pristine white tile.

There’s nothing there, nothing but the memory, but she feels the bile rise in her throat anyway.

She focuses her attention on the numbers on the doorframes as she passes – 242, 244, 246.

248 - Maxine Mayfield.

She pauses outside the open door, taking in the sight. Bracing herself, maybe.

Max is almost alarmingly pale, though the dark circles under her eyes have cleared, making her look a little less sick and frail. Her arms lay at her sides, the casts having been recently removed. She wears a white hospital gown.

Max Mayfield has always looked like a sad kid, from the time she first moved to Hawkins – but seeing her like this is something entirely different. Laid up in a hospital bed, staring blankly ahead, her irises a milky blue color that betray her lack of vision. She looks helpless. Broken.

As shitty as it sounds, it’s hard to look at her. She’s just a kid – a kid that Nancy should have protected, but instead sent her to die. And she did. She died.

You’re just a kid, a voice that sounds something like Nancy’s mom tells her. But it's not true. It hasn’t been true for a long time.

“Who is it?” Max calls, in the vague direction of the door, “You’re supposed to announce yourself.”

She sounds frustrated, like it's a rule she’s reiterated several times before. It’s understandable, wanting some level of control.

Nancy clears her throat. “It’s Nancy.”

The scowl drops from Max’s face. “Sorry,” she says hurriedly, “I thought you were Mike.”

Nancy blinks. “You thought I was Mike? Why?”

“Your footsteps,” Max explains, “They sound like his.”

Nancy remembers having her mom and dad’s footsteps memorized, always listening for them during late night phone calls. Her mom’s were delicate and quick, while her dad’s were heavy and sluggish. She imagines having to experience the world that way, listening to the cadence of footsteps.

She steps into the room, acutely aware of the sound of her feet on the tile. “Can I sit?” she asks, resting her hand on the back of the chair next to Max’s bed, waiting for permission.

“Yeah,” Max says, granting it.

Nancy sits on the edge of the seat, her posture perfectly straight. She's stiff, she knows. Hopefully Max can't tell.

“How are you feeling?” she asks.

“Shitty,” Max answers, “and blind," she adds.

Nancy grimaces and gives a nod of acknowledgment before she remembers that Max can't see it.

“Sorry,” Max says, to fill the silence, “I’m just– I’m fine.”

“You don’t have to be fine,” Nancy says, shaking her head.

Max sighs deeply. "I know that."

She's heard it before, clearly.

“Everyone misses you,” Nancy tries, “Lucas and the boys, and Eleven.”

“El,” Max corrects automatically.

“Right. El,” Nancy amends.

Since Max woke up —since El got her back, that is— everyone's been taking turns visiting, so she's almost never alone, unless she asks for it. While Max was out, Lucas practically lived in her hospital room. He's moved back into the Sinclair house now, though he still visits twice a day. Nancy thinks he'd still be at the hospital all day if Max let him.

"Can I ask you something?" Max asks suddenly.

"Yeah," Nancy answers, "Yeah, of course."

Max pauses for a moment. "Vecna, and the monsters, and just– all this Upside Down shit we've dealt with," she says, "I've never seen you back down. From any of it. I've never seen you hesitate for a second. You just grab a gun and blow their heads off. I mean, you're like a total badass. It’s like– Like you're not afraid of anything."

Nancy shakes her head, a surprised smile creeping onto her face. "Was there a question somewhere in there?"

Max exhales sharply through her nose. "How do you do it?"

Nancy sees the way Max looks at her, almost reverent. And it's a little silly, she thinks, until she considers herself from an outside perspective. She thinks of herself at fourteen, the quiet girl who kept her head down and had just one friend. The girl who everyone thought was a priss. If that girl had seen her older self, feet planted firmly to the ground, firing shots into a demogorgon's gaping mouth as it roared, she thinks she'd probably be a little awestruck too.

Nancy remembers the first time she shot a gun. Standing in a field next to Jonathan Byers, gaze locked on a beer can, spurred on by the knowledge that her parents would disapprove. She remembers feeling like she was outside of herself, watching this girl who looked like her and felt like her but couldn't possibly be her, because this girl wielded a deadly weapon with measured confidence.

When she stops to really think about it —something she hasn't had the time or energy to do in years, constantly in survival mode— she almost doesn't know how she does it.

But the girl who fell through a tree into another world, who trembled and cried out for a boy she hardly knew, was not fearless. The girl who watched Will Byers, her little brother's sweet best friend grip his mother by the throat was not fearless. The girl who looked Henry Creel in the eye was not fearless.

Nancy Wheeler is not, and has never been, fearless.

Max fidgets, noting Nancy's lack of response. "I hate the way he was able to control me," she admits.

There's no question as to which he Max is referring to.

"When– If he comes for me again–"

"We won’t let him," Nancy interjects, her gaze fierce enough that she wonders if Max can feel it.

"We both know," Max says carefully, "that neither of us can stop that from happening."

“Okay," Nancy allows, "you’re right.”

"If he tries to get in my head again," Max says, "I want to be ready this time."

"It's not something you can be ready for," Nancy responds.

Max's face scrunches up, and Nancy can almost hear that's easy for you to say.

So she takes a different approach.

"When he got to me," she says carefully, "he showed me things." She pauses, takes a breath. "Do you know about Barb?"

"Like– a little," Max says with a shrug.

"She was my best friend," Nancy says, "My only friend, actually. And the demogorgon took her. He took her, I mean, just like he took Will. Only, she died in the Upside Down. Scared and alone."

She recounts Barb's death with a flat affect, like an investigator listing the facts of a case, the way she's heard Hopper or Murray do. She's thought about it so many times she almost feels numb, but in the icy, pins and needles kind of way.

"We were at Steve's that night," she continues, "and Barb wanted to leave. She wanted to leave and I– I told her to go without me, because I wanted to go upstairs with Steve."

She pauses. Max doesn't react.

"That was the last time I ever saw her. Until Henry– he showed her to me, and she was–" Her voice breaks, she takes a breath.

Do you remember what you did, Nancy? Or have you already forgotten?

That's how she knows he was taunting her. He can see her thoughts, and her memories, and so he knows. He knows she didn't forget. He knows it hangs over her like a dark cloud and casts a shadow over everything good in her life.

When I kill someone, I never forget.

"It was awful," she says quietly, "and it paralyzed me. There was nothing I could have done, because that's what he does. He uses your weaknesses against you."

Max closes her eyes, tilting her head back for a moment.

"It was Billy," Max says, opening her eyes, "He showed me Billy."

Immediately, Nancy knows that Henry taunted Max in the same way he did her.

"You couldn't have saved Billy," she says.

"Maybe not. But I could have tried," Max says bitterly.

"You would have died trying," Nancy argues.

"I used to wish he was dead," Max says bluntly.

Nancy's protests die on her tongue, caught off guard for a second.

"Before Starcourt," Max explains, "Before everything. I hated him."

"Max," Nancy says gently, "Billy was–"

"He was an asshole, I know," Max finishes, "A real fucking asshole. That doesn't make it okay."

Nancy shrugs. "I don't know, I think I've wished my dad would drop dead a few times before, and the only thing he ever did to me was not give a shit."

Max's eyes widen and she lets out a startled laugh. Nancy can't help but smile as she watches the tension leave her face. But it comes back just as quickly.

"He wasn't a good person," Max says, "and he sure as hell wasn't a good brother, but–" she takes a breath, "I wanted him to be. So badly. And just– now he never will, I guess."

Nancy thinks, for a moment, of Mike. She wonders if he's ever wished for her to just be an older sister. It's not the same, obviously. She's not Billy, not some abusive creep. But she's not Jonathan either. Mike isn't at the center of her life the way Will is for Jonathan. He's never needed her to prioritize him that way. At least, it didn't seem like he did.

"Whatever, it's stupid," Max finally says.

"It's not stupid," Nancy responds immediately.

Max reminds Nancy a lot of Mike. High strung, short tempered, a habit of pushing people away. But things are different with Max. Easier. There's no guilt that lies just below the surface, that builds and builds until it feels almost insurmountable, so you keep it buried.

And really, how is she supposed to talk to Mike when she's pretty clearly the last person he wants to talk to? She feels powerless with him. She feels powerless all of the time now. Her brother just got dumped by his girlfriend and he refuses to talk to anyone about it, her own relationship with Jonathan feels destined to fail, Steve Harrignton is making plans concerning her that she definitely had no say in–

Oh, and the world is ending.

There's nothing she can do to make any of it better, because she's not a great sister, or an exceptional girlfriend, or some kind of hero. She's not even the person Max Mayfield thinks she is, she's just–

She's just Nancy.

But she can talk to Max. Max is hurting and she needs someone, and Nancy can talk to her.

Max's eyes are glassy now, tears threatening to spill over.

“Hey,” Nancy says gently, “It's not stupid, okay?”

Max nods and takes a shaky breath. “Okay.”

#HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLA KINETIC #nancy wheeler #max mayfield #stranger things #ficlet #idk that's enough tags ok bye 🫶

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blushweddinggowns · 1 year

Text

Nancy had to give it to him. In around a few months time, Steve had her wrapped around his finger just as much as every other girl in school, maybe even more so. She hadn’t even meant for it to happen! She had tried to keep things in a strict tutor/student zone but then Steve had to be all…him. He had looked so devastated when he realized they had classes together, and the way he tried to make up for it was too cute for words.

She just…never thought he would be the way he was. Before they’d met she just knew him as basically Eddie Munson’s personal bodyguard, who just happened to be too hot and good at sports to completely fall out of popularity. He was notorious for being a master at making people cry, and was surprisingly quick-witted for someone who had never gotten above a C- in English. He was a heartbreaker with a killer smile and a horrible attitude. So how did all of that end in Steve Harrington being the sweetest guy she’d ever met?

The massive crush she had on him was completely out of her control. It was his fault for being all nice and funny and handsome and…God. She sounded like the girls she and Barb used to make fun of. They used to call it the Harrington disease. Nancy just hadn't realized how contagious it really was.

Though she stood by the fact that whatever was going on between her and Steve was different. She had heard a lot of rumors about what it was like dating Steve Harrington, and most of them involved him being all handsome and charming until he got what he wanted, then he’d dump you first thing. The others were a little weirder, stories about him being completly standoffish and maybe even a little germaphobic? There were some girls that swore that he never even kissed them during their short time together and they would have to fight for something as insiginfigant as a hug. Nancy wasn’t quite sure who to believe, no one did. Steve was kind of mysterious like that, another reason why so many girls were obsessed with him.

But with Nancy, it didn’t feel like he was using her for something else. It didn’t even feel like Steve was purposefully romancing her. They had gone from a study session once a week to actually being friends. They ate lunch together nearly everyday, she was invited over to movie nights with him and Eddie, which was great for when Barb was stuck at band practice. He even started taking her to school in the morning sometimes. And she always got to pick the music, no matter how much Eddie jokingly whined about it.

How could she not like him? Hell, she even liked how good he was to his friends, especially Eddie. The two of them were nearly inseparable and it never mattered to Steve that Eddie was…well, pretty far below him in the world of high school cliques. And it’s not that Nancy thought Steve could do better. Eddie was great! They were good for each other, especially after he told her more of how they first met as kids. It made a lot more sense on why Steve was so protective over him, and why he got so pissed when people acted like they couldn’t understand what Steve saw in him.

It was the same way some people looked at her and Barb. And Nancy hated that. Like being twenty pounds overweight was some kind of crime. But Steve never looked at Barb with disgust. He knew what it was like to see people for who they were; he understood the value in that. And he was always so nice to her. Steve wasn’t the first guy who had wandered into Nancy's life, but he was the first one who didn’t try to box her best friend out at every oppruntunity.

She loved that about him. She kind of loved everything about him. The past two months had been the most fun of her young life. Because Steve was fun and so much better than she had ever imagined.

And while technically, they weren’t officially dating it still felt like something was going to happen, and happen soon. Maybe then they would get some more alone time without Eddie around. And she liked Eddie! She really did. He was hilarious, impossible to embarrass and weird as all hell, but it worked. He was a sweet guy when you got right down to it, even if he was a little on the scary side. She just…liked Steve more. A lot more.

Everything with him just felt so…good. Like they were just falling for each other naturally. They just needed a small push to get them past the friend zone.

“Earth to Nancy? Hello?”

The sound of Barb’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She had a brow raised at her, hand on her hip as she waited for an answer to a question that Nancy had definitly not been paying attention to.

But Barb saw right through her. She always saw right through her, “You weren’t even listening were you?”

“Sorry, sorry, I was just-”

“Thinking about Steve. Yeah, I know.”

Nancy leaned against the locker with a pout, “Come on! I think he might like me. Like, like me like me.”

Barb sighed, just the slightest bit annoyed. Though in her defense Nancy had probably said that same sentence ten times in the past 4 hours, “Nancy he’s a player. And yeah he’s nice and I’ll give it you that he’s not nearly as annoying as we thought he’d be, but can’t you get with someone who isn't so…out there?”

Nancy rolled her eyes, “Yeah because so many guys are just dying to get with me. And what do you mean out there? He’s totally normal.”

“Are you actually trying to tell me that Steve Harrington is normal? The dude who has dated the entire cheerleading squad? The guy who laced Alex’s weed with acid last year for looking at Eddie wrong? That guy?”

Nancy rolled her eyes, “Oh come on! Rumors like that are almost never true. And they were never able to prove the Alex thing! And everyone knows the Carvers will say anything for attention.”

“I just don’t want you getting hurt.”

“I won’t! Come on, you know me. I would never get involved with someone who's actually dangerous. Do you really think he’d hurt me?”

Barb groaned, “You know what I mean! Not physically but yeah. Emotionally I think he can cause some damage. I’m not even saying he’d do it on purpose! But-”

“But nothing,” Nancy interrupted, “Look as sweet as it is that you’re worried about me I’ll be fine. And Steve’s a good guy. You know he’s a good guy. I mean god, you guys have hung out without me before! Doesn’t that show that he’s not just trying to use me?”

“That was one time! And it was literally just a ride home after band practice!”

“And was he or was he not the perfect gentleman?”

Barb sighed, “Okay, fine. In the vacuum of what we’ve seen he’s fantastic. I’ll give you that. But we don’t live in a vacum! And I just think there are some…things that you purposely don’t want to see.”

Ok, now she was just grasping at straws, “Well maybe I’ll have a chance to see them this weekend. Did I tell you that he invited us to a party at his house Friday? I think he’s finally going to ask me out.”

Barb narrowed her eyes at her, “Invited us or invited you and you made him include me?”

“I mean us. He said your name thank you very much. Plus, Eddie’s going to be there too. You know I would never third wheel you like that.”

Barb narrowed her eyes at her, “Oh but you’d take me as your Eddie buffer? Are you serious?”

“What? He’s nice!” Nancy exclaimed as she started dragging Barb towards their next period. They were going to be late at this rate, but she needed to know that she was going to come. Half because…yes she needed an Eddie buffer but mostly because she just wanted her there. And on the off chance that Barb was right and this was all a terrible idea, having her there would certainly soften the blow. And she knew Eddie would make it his personal mission for her to have fun, so it was a win-win in Nancy’s book.

“I’m not saying he’s not! But he’s kind of…intense isn’t he? Especially when it comes to Steve. They both are. It’s always Steve and Eddie. Eddie and Steve. Don’t you think…that’s kind of weird?”

Nancy rolled her eyes, aware of exactly where Barb was going with that one. Tommy Hagan had been making it his personal mission to convince the whole school that those two were gay for each other, like a little creep. No one really believed him anymore, not after Steve’s dating rap sheet started, but it still came up every now and then.

“Well we’re always Nancy and Barb and Barb and Nancy. Is that weird?”

Barb opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, a tell-tale sign that Nancy got her, “I-okay. You win that one.”

“So you’ll go?” Nancy asked, as they sat down at their desks, barely beating the bell.

Barb smiled at her, reaching out to ruffle her hair a bit, laughing when Nancy batted her hand away, “Yes, I’ll go. But if you ditch me to make-out with Steve I’m going to be so pissed.”

Nancy grinned, “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

When Friday rolled around Nancy was beyond excited. It was the first time she had ever snuck out of her house and so far, it had turned out to be very worth it. She was having the time of her life, and so was Barb thank god. The alcohol had certainly helped even if it turned out that beer tasted horrible. She was actually glad that Steve had taken the firm stance to limit them at two each.

“I don’t want your first brush with alcohol to end with you puking in the pool like mine did,” He had said with a laugh when Barb asked about it, “You ladies are better than that!”

Eddie had immediately taken that as permission to call Steve a grandpa, but Nancy thought it was sweet. And it took a little bit of the pressure off. This wasn’t exactly a party in the traditional movie sense, but it was the first time Nancy had been with boys her age completely unsupervised. Plus it was better than the movie version anyway, way more calm and comfortable. They spent nearly two hours playing truth or dare in their backyard, all of it culminating in Nancy pushing both boys into the pool, then Barb pushing her.

She was the only one who managed to stay dry and then proceeded to be the judge of all of their subsequent swimming races. She was always sure that Nancy was the winner, no matter how far behind she’d been. They all had to get out eventually and Nancy was not above rubbing how much fun they were having in Barb’s face when the boys left to get towels.

She shook out some of her wet hair right over her, giggling when Barb yelped at the cold feeling, “I told you it would be fun.”

Barb tilted her head back to look up at her with a grin, “Yeah, yeah. You win this round Wheeler.”

“And I might just win a boyfriend tonight too. But now I’m freezing. You want to come inside with me?”

Barb shook her head, “In a little bit. Feels nice out here.”

She was perched on the end of the diving board, feet dipping into the water. She looked happy, happy and relaxed and Nancy couldn’t help but preen at that a little. Who would have thought that getting her best friend out of her shell would actually pay off?

She walked back into the house calling out, “Steve? Where’d you go?”

She smiled when he suddenly popped his head around the corner, towel in hand with Eddie in tow. He handed it over to her before looking her up and down, “God you look like you’re five minutes away from freezing to death. I probably have something you can wear? So you can stay warm while your clothes dry. It might swallow you whole but it’s something.”

“Uh, sure!” Nancy said, way too loudly. But the idea of wearing Steve’s clothes was making her feel some type of way. And his smile wasn’t helping things either. He pointed her up the stairs, taking a second before following behind. She watched as he started to dig through his drawers, noticing for the first time just how easy it was to make out the muscles of his translucent shirt.

God, this guy was going to give her a heart attack.

He kept his back turned while she changed, which was a plus for her. Because the last thing she needed was him seeing her sniff his shirt like a creep. But it smelled just like him. And her wearing his clothes had to mean something right?

“Okay, I’m done,” She shakily said, nerves back in full force, “Do…you want to head back downstairs?”

Say no, say no, say no.

“Actually…would you mind if we just talked for a second?”

Nancy nodded, not trusting herself to speak as she watched Steve sit on his bed, patting the spot next to him. She almost tripped in her haste to get over there, but lucky for her Steve missed it. He was too busy staring at the ground. He looked…nervous. He actually looked nervous because of Nancy.

He took a deep breath before starting, still refusing to look at her, “Nancy I…well. Okay. You know, I’ve never met a girl like you before, right? You just…seem really open-minded. And smart, but like in a real way. If that makes any sense. I like that about you.”

He was going to do it, Steve Harrington was going to ask her to be his girlfriend, officially.

“And I think I really want you in my life, but…I don’t want to lead you on.”

Huh?

Nancy furrowed her brow, confused and more than a little bit worried on where this conversation was going, “Lead me on?”

Steve nodded, “Have you ever um…heard those rumors? About Eddie and I?”

“Which rumors?”

Steve sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, and for the first time Nancy realized he was actually shaking, “About us, uh, doing stuff? Like…being gay?”

Was that what this was about? Was he afraid she thought he was gay?

“Steve, no one believes that. You have nothing to worry about-”

“They’re true.”

Nancy could feel her heart stop in her chest. She was surprised she managed to say anything, let alone something that was coherent, “W-what?”

He still wasn’t looking at her, “It’s true. We’re gay. For um, eachother. And have been for years. Well that’s not even right. We’re like…in love. Like really, really in love. And it’s not a phase, it’s not an experiment. I just love him and he loves me.”

Nancy stared at him, mouth hanging open while a million and one thoughts raced through her head. But she couldn’t focus on any of them because he was still talking.

“And I know that’s probably like really out there because of all of the other crap people say but I’m not some kind of Casanova. I haven’t even had sex with a girl before. All of those dates never got past first base, if that. But we needed a way to not be obvious so that’s how that happened.”

Nancy had never felt dumber in her entire life.

“And I really like you Nancy, and I felt like you deserved to know because I want us to be friends. Like real friends and…you’re the first person I’ve ever actually told this too, because it just feels like I can trust you and…yeah. So um, yeah. That’s about it.”

He finally turned to look at her and the hopeful look on his face was too much for her to handle. She was on her feet before she even know what she was doing. But one thing was for sure, she needed to get out of here before she started fucking crying.

“Are you okay?”

Nancy ignored the question, half because she was very close to being choked up and half because she could barely hear anything through the blood rushing through her ears.

“It’s getting late!” She said instead as she backed her way to the door, “And I should probably go find Barb a-and I won’t tell anyone so sure! We’re good!”

“But wait, you’re clothes-”

Nancy was already out the door before he could finish his sentence. She raced downstairs, stopping when she was suddenly face to face with Eddie. Steve’s Eddie. Because they were together and she was delusional apparently.

He narrowed her eyes at her, “Uh, are you okay?”

“I-It’s fine! I’m fine!” She reassured as she hurriedly put on her shoes. Somewhere in the back of her head she was aware that Barb was probably still out back, but she couldn’t risk going out there to get her. One more look at Steve and she’d start breaking down, and she was not going to die of embarassment on top of everything tonight, thank you very much.

She went for the door, pausing to look back at Eddie. He looked…hurt. Which was not helping how messed up she felt inside, but it did get her mouth moving, “And I um, won’t tell anyone so you don’t have to worry. I um, yeah. Bye.”

“Wait, I can give you a ride-”

But Nancy was already on the other side of the door before he could finish. Was walking home in the middle of the night in November a good idea? No, but was she still going to do it? God, yes.

She barely made it a block away before she was crying. But at least she was alone. She didn’t do crying infront of other people. Not even Barb. Barb who she freaking just left to deal with the awkward aftermath in her place. God, she was going to be so pissed at her.

And then she’d have to explain the whole stupid thing to her. Except she couldn’t. Because that wasn’t the kind of thing you could tell other people was it?

She wrapped her arms around herself as she walked, sniffling. She was happy that Steve had at least chosen a sweatshirt for her, otherwise she might actually be at risk for hypothermia here. God, she was still wearing his stupid clothes. She can’t believe she thought that meant something. None of what happened between them ever meant anything.

The guy she was on the verge of being in love with was freaking gay. Gay and taken. Every time the three of them had been together she had been the unknowing third wheel, completely deluding herself. And Barb had warned her. She had fucking said not to get her hopes up and here she was, being a moron and leaving her to clean up the mess.

God, she was awful. She was too depressed to go through the effort of sneaking through her window. She just went through the front door instead, beyond grateful that her parents slept like the dead. The first thing she did was change, because the thought of smelling like Steve all night made her sick. She crawled into bed, praying beyond hope that she’d wake up the next day and this would all be a really bad dream.

Part 1 Part 1.5 Snippets from an unfished chapter of this fic

Part 3

This whole saga will have one more part that does not end sadly! Except for Barb dying but blame the duffers for that one.

@a-little-unsteddie @ghost--enthusiast @jestyzesty

@dustcommander @attic-cat-blog @dinosareawesome2137

@obsessivlyme @missarte-beltane

#platonic stancy #steddie #steddie ficlet #the universe trapped in your skin #stranger things #steddie fic #nancy wheeler #i swear this is going somewhere that isn't just heartbreak but our girl isn't through the woods yet #secret relationship steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #at least barb had fun before she was murdered right?#yeah she's still getting murdered #steddie childhood friends au

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evescole · 2 years

Text

eyes on me, babe || s.harrington

summary: steve harrington knew you like the back of his hand - except for one thing: your biggest fear. when he's kidnapped by the russians along with you and robin, he realizes he never wants to see you that afraid ever again.

aka the season 3 russians scene because i love angst warnings: detailed descriptions of injuries, panic attacks, cursing, physical violence/torture, angst she/her pronouns used, enjoy :)

Fear was such a complex emotion that often caused a train of reaction. You could probably list on one hand the amount of times you’ve felt true, heart-wrenching fear in your life. The situation in front of you threatened to move that amount up further and the dread in your stomach was building each second.

It took one glance for Steve to recognize the expression on your face. That was all it ever took for him. One glance and he could read you like his favorite novel. You and Steve were an open book with each other and had been since 7th grade. Then, you almost lost him to his King Steve era before Nancy Wheeler snapped him out of it. Despite all the drama and the arguments, you and Steve prevailed. You knew everything about each other down to the dark details but there’s one thing you’ve never told him.

“Come on, come on. I need a good one. Give me something juicy,” 17 year old Steve Harrington laughed as he leaned against the headboard behind him. “You can’t just say you aren’t afraid of anything. I know that’s a lie.”

It was movie night, a Friday tradition for the two of you when you weren’t chasing after his intoxicated form or struggling with work. More than often he ended up staying over so he didn’t have to return to his more-than-likely empty home. The movie had ended not long ago and faded into a game of random questions that you two played often. Most answers you already knew but you loved to watch him dig himself out of holes and light up at mentions of the kids, especially Dustin.

You shrugged your shoulders slightly from your place resting against his chest. “I mean yeah I’m scared of something but I’m not gonna tell you.”

“Why not! I tell you everything and you’re not gonna tell me your biggest fear?”

You grabbed his hand in yours. “Steve, it’s not that big of a deal.”

He shook his head aggressively from behind you as he closed the gaps and laced his fingers between yours. “But I wanna know! What kind of best friend am I if I don’t protect you from your biggest fear?”

Ever since then, he constantly spewed random guesses to what exactly could be so important you refused to share it. He swore up and down that he would never use it against you for fun but you still wouldn’t give him a slight hint and it drove him mad.

Staring at the large machine the Russians made that was spinning with energy, you tried to not think about the consequences if it worked. The Demogorgons, the Mind Flayer, the Upside Down. It wasn’t something fun to face and the idea of someone trying to reopen the gate was unnerving.

“I don’t get it, you guys have seen something like this before?” Robin asked as she walked in front of you down the stairs away from the Russian infiltrated room. The two of you had clicked easily, both pointing at Steve as a target of fun. You were thankful for her presence to keep your mind from going dark in the midst of the chaos.

“Not exactly,” Steve mumbled quietly as he glanced over his shoulder to the emerging blue light. He wasn’t up for fighting other worldly monsters and really just wanted to be in your room, in bed, cuddling and watching movies.

“Then what, exactly?” Robin countered. She was easily terrified and her confidence was shaken so this situation had her spiraling easily. Usually she could feel some sense of control but she felt helpless down here.

Your feet slipped on the stairs as you ran off the last one while Dustin and Steve attempted to convince Robin that the machine’s success would guarantee world destruction. Steve’s hand instantly caught your hip to keep you from falling as he answered Robin’s questions, unphased by your misstep. Glancing around the room, everything suddenly felt alarming and you took a step back in caution further into his hand.

“Um, Steve?” Erica seemed to pick up on it too as she looked to the boy behind you. “Where’s your Russian friend?” In a true group fashion, everyone’s eyes searched the room for the said missing soldier only to come up empty handed.

You reached over to grab Dustin’s arm just as a bright red light filled the room and an alarm followed. Steve scrambled to the nearest door where you could all see the previously knocked out man was gaining attention from his injury before guards rushed towards you.

“Shit. Shit,” Steve mumbled as he slammed the door shut before turning and pushing you all back up the stairs. “Go, go, go, go, go!!” His fingers grasped at your shirt as he nearly ripped it with the force of his grip.

“Fucking hell, Steve. This is not what I meant by a chill weekend!” You shouted backwards as Dustin guided you through a door. With your luck, it was straight into another room filled with soldiers. You stood frozen for a second before sprinting to the left with a shout.

“Come on!” You held onto Dustin’s arm as he continuously cursed in distress. The stairs in front of you led down to the side of the machine as the room vibrated with energy. Dustin randomly shrieked and pushed the soldier to your left before he continued to run ahead of you.

Stopping just alongside the laser drilling into the wall, Dustin began screaming louder, “Holy shit! Holy shit! Shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!” He shouted one final time, holding the word out for longer as you stared at him incredulously.

“Guards!” Erica yelled, snapping you all out of your staring trance before Steve began to run further down the steps. He didn’t hesitate to shove a man over the railing of the stairs before tossing some empty barrels into more oncoming attackers.

“Steve!” You grabbed the back of his shirt and tugged him with you as you followed Robin’s lead into a hopefully empty room. After a brief headcount, Steve slammed it shut, using his body weight to keep it that way as guards started hitting it from the other side.

Dustin and Erica scrambled behind you to find some other form of exit as Robin pushed herself next to Steve in an attempt to keep the door from opening. Your eyes scanned the room for something, anything that could help. The heavy feeling was creeping in again and you jerked your head around to look at Steve in hopes of reassurance.

“Shit, shit, shit,” You whispered to yourself as you saw the door start to pry open. Without a second thought, you were on Robin’s right side and pushed yourself in between the door and the wall for some sort of resistance.

“Here, come on! Let’s go!” Erica lifted up the grate of an air shaft before climbing in with Dustin hovering behind her. You hesitated at her call, knowing there wouldn’t be enough time for all of you to get over and in before a gunshot went off.

“Go! Just get out of here!” You shouted in return as your feet started to slide beneath you. Your breathing was beginning to pick up and you were quick to try and talk yourself out of the panic attack incoming but it was useless.

Dustin stepped down into the drop of the vent and looked up at the three of you. “Go! Come on, now!”

“No! Just go get some help, okay?” Steve responded. His hands were sweaty with adrenaline and he suddenly doubted his ability as a so-called leader to keep everyone safe. Removing the kids was always the first step in a dangerous situation but knowing you were here and he couldn’t guarantee your safety was enough to send his heart into his throat.

“I won’t forget you!” Dustin screamed before the three of you told him once more to go. The second the air vent cover clanged shut, the door behind your back threw you forward and into the wall on your right sending your head into the concrete wall. A scream almost left your throat at the pain radiating through your skull before you crumbled to the ground next to Robin and Steve.

Guns were suddenly in your face, the sinking feeling of dread now overwhelming as you tried to breathe. Your hands shook as you raised them in the air, mimicking Steve and Robin’s actions as the guards surrounding your small trio.

Sparing a quick glance towards Steve, you tried to convince yourself you would find a way out of this. The uncertainty in his expression didn’t help in the slightest but it only got worse when rough hands latched onto your skin and pulled you from the ground. Your vision blurred with the movement as you tumbled forward.

“No!” You couldn’t tell if you or Steve screamed louder as the guards yanked your arms behind your back to secure your wrists with a belt. “Let me go!” Writhing in their grip, you couldn’t even begin to think of any defense other than biting the hand of whoever was holding your left arm. A sharp sting spread across your face before a gasp escaped your mouth at the sensation. You guys were screwed.

“Don’t touch her! Let her go, she didn’t do anything!” Steve shifted on the floor towards you before a gun pressed harshly against his forehead forcing him back against the wall with a harsh swallow.

The guard holding your arm chuckled at the action, evidently amused. “Weak. Cares what happens to her.” You could understand bits and pieces of his sentence as you silently thanked Dustin for his books on Russian translation. “Take her.”

An ear piercing scream left your throat as they tugged you backwards towards a long hallway. Robin and Steve shouted in panic, both of them too scared to try anything but fearing for your safety. Your cries continued as they pulled you out of view, Steve wincing at the sound like it physically pained him. He never liked when you were upset. He could count the times you’ve cried in front of him on two hands and he swore it hurt him more each time he sat through it and comforted you.

Now, sitting here, with a gun to his head, Steve could only watch as you were ripped from his view with a clear expression on your face that made him sick to his stomach. You were terrified, and there was nothing he could do to help.

The room they held you in was freezing. A shiver ran up your spine every so often as you curled up as best as possible. Every so often you could hear a shout from Steve down the hall causing you to wince at the sound. Your shoulders were tense with the awkward position of your hands being behind your back. All you could do was sit there and wait with hopes that Dustin and Erica would come back soon with some help.

The lock on the door clicked as it shoved open to reveal three Russian guards. Your heart clenched at the sight of blood on their knuckles and you prayed it wasn’t Steve’s or Robin’s. Harsh fingers pressed into your jaw, forcing you to look up into the commander’s eyes.

“He cries for you,” He spoke as he leaned down to your face. “Lies to us to protect you. Shame, isn’t it?”

You twisted your face out of his grip as you glared up at him. “Don’t fucking touch him. I swear to God you’ll regret it.” The notion of Steve being hurt enraged you and terrified you at the same time. You were always so used to his strong exterior that the idea of him being in pain made you want to throw up.

The commander laughed at your attempt to suede him before pain suddenly radiated into the side of your already concussed head. Thrown off balance, you fell back against the bench with a harsh groan as you realized the other guard punched you.

“Oh great, you guys aren’t above hitting females, that’s awesome.” You hissed as your vision blurred again and your ears rung. The metal was cool beneath your back but it didn’t bring any comfort. “Fuck that hurts.”

“Who do you work for?”

Cruel fingers dug into your shoulders and forced you to sit up. You groaned at the movement of your head. “I’m a babysitter. I watch kids. Steve and Robin work at the ice cream place, Scoops Ahoy.” Apparently your answer wasn’t good enough as another aggressive punch had you tumbling to the floor. The copper taste in your mouth told you that one broke skin as you attempted to roll onto your back. “Fucking hell you people are so aggressive.”

“How did you get down here?”

Pushing yourself against the wall behind you, the thought of just screaming at them crossed your mind but you had a feeling that wouldn’t go over well. “There was an elevator at the loading dock and you morons turned it on while we were in it,” You explained as you closed your eyes, wishing this would all disappear. “We didn’t mean to, okay? And if you let us go, we’ll act like nothing ever happened and you’ll never see us again.”

The thing about hiding from reality is things caught you off guard. You always relied on Steve to keep you safe when you wanted to relax and shelter yourself from the darkness of life. He was always there too, until suddenly he wasn’t and you didn’t have time to clock the aggressive kick coming towards you. The sound of your shoulder popping out of its socket was sickening but the scream that followed was even louder.

“Holy shit!” You hissed as tears escaped your eyes at the force of the injury. If this was their reaction to honest answers, you feared what would come if they didn’t believe you. Evidently, you were on the path to finding out as two guards pulled you up off the ground and began leading you out of the room.

Digging your heels into the ground, you tried to stop their movements but it was fruitless. The pressure in your shoulder was suffocating and your head rattled with each aggressive movement. “Let me go!” You begged repeatedly, trying to kick out or twist from their grip. Another door was open and in a blur, you were tossed to the floor again with a loud groan. “Ow, oh my God.”

“Y/N!” The concern in Steve’s voice couldn’t be missed as you attempt to keep yourself from passing out. The ceiling blurred above you as you tried to blink it back into focus. “Holy shit, are you okay?”

A loud groan replaced your words as you pushed yourself onto your knees as best as possible. The light burned as you flopped onto your ass before finally looking up at him. The blood on his face was bright against his usually clear skin and you could see bruising already forming on his cheek. Other than that, he didn’t look too torn up as he sat on the metal bench in front of you.

“Stevie…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” He attempted to reassure you but it failed as you recognized a flitter of pain in his eyes. “It’ll be fine, it’s worse than it looks. Wh-What did they do to you?”

You let out a bitter laugh as you forced yourself to stand on shaky legs before sitting next to him. He didn’t hesitate to turn towards you and pull his feet up on the bench like you so both of you were sitting across from each other. The bare skin of his shin and calf muscle rested against yours, a small sense of comfort from the horrendous situation.

“Your cheek is bruised,” He states abruptly as you continued to look at him. He was nervous, you could tell, but he wasn’t as tense as before you were thrown into the room. The exhaustion was clear on his face and you felt the same, you were just glad to be near him again.

“Concussion and my shoulder’s gonna need to be popped back into the socket, no biggie.”

His eyes widened in shock before returning to their comforting gaze as he moved closer to you. The fear in his throat was suffocating and he hated knowing you had to see him like this, that you were even going through any of it. “We’re gonna get out of here.”

You laughed, letting your head rest against the wall behind you. “I wanna believe you, Stevie, but this one’s a bit harder than usual.” You were trying not to let the overwhelming sense of dread and hopelessness consume you but it was hard. Tears burned your eyes as you took a deep breath to calm yourself down. “I just wanted to watch Breakfast Club with you and eat chicken wings and sleep.”

“I know, I know, bubs. And we will, as soon as we find Robin and get out of here. I promise. Gonna make you the best damn popcorn you’ve ever had, m’kay?” You nodded to his soft statement even though you wanted to make a comment about making promises you couldn’t keep.

Your peaceful silence was destroyed when the guards reentered the room. Steve’s body tensed next to you, both of you sitting up straighter. You wished they would just get whatever they wanted over with and leave you alone. At least then you and Steve could come up with some sort of plan in hopes of getting out.

“I ask you one more time, who do you work for?” The commander was done playing around evidently and without giving Steve time to answer, a silver gleaming knife was being pressed against your arm.

“Whoa whoa whoa!”

“Scoops Ahoy!” Steve screamed the answer at the same time as you yelled in shock. “I’m not lying, it’s in Starcourt Mall!”

A harsh punch landed on his stomach as the blade began to cut through your skin. Gritting your teeth in pain, you refused to let out any noise of discomfort. Steve was already blaming himself, you didn’t doubt that, but you wouldn’t let him feel any worse.

“How did you get in?”

Steve gasped for air to answer the question, “I already told you. I told you before. My delivery didn’t come, and my friends and I, we thought that it was left at the loading dock. We went in the room and then it turned into an elevator and then… and then we dropped and next thing I know I open my eyes and we’re in this… wonderful facility.”

The knife dragged through your skin slowly as you twitched in reaction, letting out a small groan that had Steve turning towards you so fast you swore he got whiplash. “No, no, no leave her alone! I’m telling the truth, I swear to God! Nobody knows about us, nobody saw us. You can just let us go alright, and-and we’re not gonna tell anybody about this, okay? Shit happens, life goes on-”

He continued to ramble long enough before you kicked the Russian in front of you in the stomach so the knife clanged to the floor. Blood pooled on your skin before you looked away from the wound with a wince. “Fucking hell! We’re telling the truth! Just let us go!”

The soldiers laughed at your desperation for freedom as you and Steve shared a glance of confusion. There was no chance to figure it out before a guard hit Steve across the face, sending him unconscious as you yelled in protest before darkness spread across your vision and you let the welcoming sleep win.

“Y/N. Y/N, Steve, wake up!”

Robin’s voice echoed in your ears as you let your head fall back with a groan. Someone else was behind you as your skull connected with theirs lightly.

“Y/N! Hi, hi. Are you okay?” Robin’s voice was clear now as you winced away from the light.

“Robs, shhh. Holy shit, I have a bad concussion,” You mumbled as you took a deep breath, ears ringing with her yelling. “Where’s Stevie?”

You tried to feel everything out: the ache in your shoulder and new cut on your arm, you were stuck with your wrists, chest, and thighs restrained against the chair behind you. Headache building each second, you turned to see Robin to your right and Steve to your left, the three of you in a triangle tied together.

“Steve?” You whispered as you tried to nudge him awake. Him being unconscious was the last thing you needed right now, the heavy pit in your stomach finally bursting when he didn’t answer. “Steve, c’mon wake up.”

“He’s been out since they threw you both in here. They haven’t been back since. Said something about bringing a doctor,” Robin explained softly, understanding the light and sounds bothered you without you having to say it.

You almost whined at her words, scared that maybe Steve wasn’t waking back up from the attack they landed on him. “Stevie, wake up. Wake up! You promised me we would get out of here. Wake up. You can’t leave me!” Vision tunneling and chest suddenly feeling like it couldn’t move, you feared the worst. A wave of dizziness washed over you as you tried to breathe through the tension in your throat that threatened to suffocate you. You shook your head to yourself. “No, no, no. C’mon. Not now.”

“Y/N, are you having a panic attack?” Robin asked the obvious question as she tried to look at you. “Whoa, hey, you gotta breathe okay? He’s gonna be fine.”

“Robin, I can’t,” You sobbed as you choked for air in your lungs, feet kicking the ground harshly as you tried to wiggle out. “I can’t lose him. He’s all I have, okay? I can’t, I won’t-”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” She tried to reassure you but without being able to move, she had to rely on her words to do the best she could. “He’s probably just unconscious and worn out. He’ll be fine. If they wanted to kill him, they would’ve already.”

You knew she was doing her best but it wasn’t helpful enough to calm the racing in your heart. There was a point to her statement; if they wanted to get rid of you guys, they would’ve. Regardless, neither you or Steve did well seeing the other in pain.

“Hey, would you stop yelling?”

“Steve! Oh, my God!” Robin’s voice was full of worry as she leaned directly back against his left shoulder to try and see him better. “Are-Are you okay?”

He took a choppy deep breath, “My ears are ringing and I can’t really breathe, and my eye feels like it’s about to pop out of my skull, but you know, apart from that I’m doing pretty good.”

“Good, good, yeah, because Y/N over here is having a panic attack thinking you weren’t gonna wake up.”

“Robin!” You whined in embarrassment at her comment, letting your head drop to your chest. Small drops of blood smeared up and down from the deep slice on your left arm. You wanted nothing more than to just go home with the kids, shower, and cuddle up for movie night. A slight sense of relief came back when you heard Steve speak.

“Bubs,” Steve’s voice cracked as he tried to get your attention, eyes moving to look at you as best as possible. “You okay?”

Tears slipped down your cheeks at his voice and you were grateful he couldn’t see you fully. “Mhmm fine. Good.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Well sorry I’m not feeling very positive,” You mumbled back. Your injuries were starting to get the best of you and the tired feeling was hard to hold back. “Just wanna go to sleep.”

Steve’s leg kicked yours as gently as possible, his hip at an odd angle to reach you. “Nonono, hey, you have a concussion. Stay awake. You better stay awake.” You softly groaned at his word, letting your head rest gently on his shoulder even though it pulled your muscles uncomfortably.

“I can’t believe I’m gonna die in a secret Russian base with Steve “The Hair” Harrington and Y/N Y/L/N-Harrington.”

A beat of silence followed her statement before you spoke up. “Did you just hyphenate my last name with his?”

“Mhmm,” She hummed in agreement. “Because you two are rarely separated and you love each other so deal with it. It’s just too trippy, man.”

“We’re not gonna die,” Steve responded to the first part of her initial statement, ignoring the little nudge at your relationship. “We’re gonna get out of here, okay? You gotta let me just think for a second.”

Robin ignored his request for silence and kept mumbling, “Do you remember, um, Mrs. Click’s sophomore history class? Mrs. Clickity-Clackity. That’s what us band dweebs called her.”

“God, that woman hated me,” You added. Your headache was getting stronger by the minute and you prayed Steve had some kind of pain relief in his car.

“It was the first period, Tuesdays and Thursdays and Steve was always late. Always had the same breakfast: bacon, egg, and cheese on a sesame bagel. I sat behind you two days a week for a year. Mister Funny. Mister Cool. The King of Hawkins High himself. Do you even remember me from that class?” Steve’s silence was enough of an answer for Robin before she scoffed. “Of course you don’t. You were a real asshole, you know that?”

Steve let out a small sigh before agreeing, “Yeah, I know.”

“But it didn’t even matter. It didn’t matter that you were an ass. I was still… obsessed with you. Even though all of us losers pretend to be above it all, we still just wanna be popular, accepted.”

“If it makes you feel any better, having those things isn’t all that great,” Steve admitted as he let his head drop to rest against yours gently. “Seriously. It just baffles me. Everything that people tell you is important, everything people say you should care about, it’s all just… bullshit. But I guess you gotta mess up to figure things out, right?”

“I hope so. I feel like my whole life has been… one big error.” Robin’s response pulled a chuckle from you and Steve both. Somehow in the midst of the worst moments, Robin always brought that feeling out in you. “At least it can’t get any more messed up than this.”

You let out a small noise of protest. “Don’t jinx us, please.”

“I wish I’d known you in Click’s class,” Steve continued their hushed conversation. “Really, I do. Maybe you could’ve helped me pass the class. Y/N can only help me so much before it’s impossible.”

“Hey!” You grumbled, “Listen Harrington, sometimes the student is unteachable for the teacher, okay?”

He laughed at your defense, twisting just enough to press a kiss to your temple. “I’m kidding, bubs. You did great. You always do.”

The buzzer of the door ruined the moment as the commander and his guards entered the room again. This time though, a bald man in a white shirt with dark pants came with them and you could only guess this was the doctor Robin was referring to.

The commander leaned down in front of Steve. “Try telling the truth this time, yes? It will make your visit with Dr. Zharkov less painful.” His grimy hand ran down Steve’s neck in faux comfort as your best friend tried to lean away, wincing as the Russian’s thumb dug too hard into his bruises.

Your eyes followed the so-called “doctor” who held a large needle full of blue liquid. “Wait, whoa, what is that?” Your question was left unanswered for a moment as he continued to approach Steve. “Stop stop, leave him alone!”

“It will help you talk.”

“No, no, no!” Steve protested as the doctor pushed his head towards you before injecting the needle into his neck without a second of hesitation.

You turned your head as best as possible as he groaned next to you. “Steve, Stevie. Are you okay?” For all you knew, it could’ve been poison and he was gonna drop dead any second.

Shifting his jaw back and forth, he nodded to you. “Yeah, fine. For now.”

Your attention was drawn back to the doctor who grabbed another needle from his tray, turning to you. “Oh, fucking hell.” You tried to kick at his legs to keep him away before someone’s fingers dug into the raw skin on your arm. A scream left your lips, feet dropping back to the floor as fresh blood poured from the wound the same second the needle entered your neck.

“Let go! Get your hands off her!” Steve shouted from next to you as the doctor moved on to Robin before they left the three of you alone in the room again.

“Holy shit,” You gasped in shock as you watched the drops of blood fall down your arm. Thankfully none of you had stopped breathing yet, so maybe whatever they gave you wouldn’t be so bad.

“Are you okay? What happened?” Robin asked since she couldn’t see what you and Steve could.

“Asshole stuck his finger in my arm.” A sharp hiss left your teeth. This day definitely was not turning out the way you thought it would.

A few moments of silence passed between your trio. Nobody knew what to say. Emotions were tense and it had been over 24 hours since you had seen the normal sky and fresh air. You were exhausted, head leaning against Steve’s. You craved the peace and quiet of your room, his soft snores filling the air. Despite the coolness of your room, Steve’s skin was always warm and no matter how much you whined about being hot, he refused to not be holding you while you slept.

“Honestly, I don’t really feel anything. Do you?” Steve broke the quiet with a light attempt at humor.

“No,” You whispered quietly, voice threatening to give out from all the screaming.

“I mean, I… I feel fine,” Robin added, “I feel kinda good.”

Light laughter followed her statement from you and Steve. She wasn’t wrong, you kinda felt like you were floating on clouds. The pain faded slightly and everything just felt easy.

“Morons,” You snorted in laughter, “They messed up the drug.”

“They messed it up,” Robin couldn’t stop her giggles.

“Morons,” Steve called out, “Hey, morons!”

“Oh man,” You sighed with a smile once the laughter died down. “There’s definitely something wrong with us.”

The door buzzer sent a ringing through your ears as you complained loudly in annoyance. You could see the familiar guards and even the doctor had come to greet you again. The clinging of his metal tools as he unpacked his bag caught your attention easily. The twinge of terror in your chest didn’t last very long, blown away by whatever they injected into your body.

“Would now be a good time to tell you that I don’t like doctors?”

Robin’s joke was left without reaction this time as you stared at the shining tools. Now even more defenseless, you wondered if Dustin and Erica were somewhere safe. Maybe it was a good thing they never returned to help. At least you knew they wouldn’t have to see whatever happened next.

“Let’s try this again. Who do you work for?”

“Scoops,” Steve answered bluntly causing you and Robin to giggle, “Scoops Ahoy.”

“How did you find us?”

“Totally by accident,” You answered this time, not hesitating to give them a response. It was like your brain just wanted to talk and it wanted to say anything and everything that came to it.

Some Russian was spoken, something you weren’t sure of. The doctor picked up a pair of pliers from his tool set and stepped towards your best friend. “What is that shiny little toy?” The target of the command was oblivious to the danger heading his way.

“Stevie, maybe he’s gonna cut your hair,” You cackled at the idea of Steve losing his biggest trait. “Ha, you’re gonna be bald.”

Robin practically screamed with laughter seconds before Steve was screaming in terror as the doctor put the pliers beneath one of his nails. “Whoa, whoa, hey, hey. Wait! No! Wait! Wait!”

“There was a code!” Robin blurted, “We heard a code!

The commander seemed somewhat pleased with the information. “What code?” He pushed further.

“The week is long. The silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west. Blah, blah, blah. You broadcast that stupid spy shit all over town, and we picked it up on our Cerebro, and we cracked it in a day. A day!” Robin was particularly gleeful as she explained how you ended up here. “You think you’re so smart, but a couple of kids who scoop ice cream and watch kids for a living cracked your code in a day, and now, people know you’re here.”

“Who knows we are here, suka?”

“Uh, well, Dustin knows.”

In a flip of panic you turned towards him. “Hey, Steve.”

“Yeah, Dustin Henderson, he knows.”

“Stevie!” You yelled this time, hoping the force in your voice would make him shut up. No way, no way, was he going to sit here and rat out the little boy you considered your brother.

You hated the way Dustin’s name rolled off the commander’s mouth. “Is this your small, curly-haired friend?”

“Ah, curly-haired. Gread hair. Small. Kind of like a ‘fro. Yeah.”

“Where is he?”

Steve couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. “He’s long gone, you big asshole. He’s probably calling Hopper and Hopper’s calling the US calvary. They’re gonna come in here, commando-style, guns a-blazin and kick your sorry asses back to Russia. You’re gonna be two pieces of toast.”

Laughter burst through your lips as your head fell forward. The ups and downs of your emotions were making you dizzy but this was so fun and dangerous and sickening.

“Is that so?” The commander bent down in front of Steve’s face to mock him. You all burst into another fit of giggles that only escalated when an alarm began blaring through the base. The commander and his two guards rushed from the room to diagnose the issue.

The door slammed open as you recognized Dustin’s high pitched yell before there was a zapping noise. The doctor’s figure crumbled to the ground from whatever the younger boy did before his curly hair was popping up in your peripheral vision.

“Hey, Henderson!” Steve was giddy at the boy’s presence in front of him. “That’s crazy, I was just talking about you.”

“Get ready to run!” Dustin’s command wasn’t left up for discussion as he yanked the belts holding the three of you together off. Erica quickly moved to untie Robin individually before Dustin’s hands were suddenly on your knees. “Y/N, holy shit. Are you okay?”

“Dusty!” Your voice was way too excited in his opinion as he tried to pull his eyes from the dried blood on your skin. His hands moved fast to free your ankles and wrists before he tucked an arm under your shoulder and helped you up. Unlucky for you, it was the one the Russians popped out of socket causing you to yelp and jump away from him. “Ow, that hurt!” Your pain was disguised in a fit of laughter as Dustin stared at you in concern.

“We gotta go. Come on.” Grabbing your wrist gently, he pulled you out of the monotone room that had consumed your thoughts for the past few hours. Handling you carefully, he helped you climb into the back of whatever transport they had found, Steve and Robin clambering in after. The door slammed shut, the ringing in your ears making you press your hands harshly against your head. Curling into yourself, you laughed as the cart began to move making you roll around like a ball.

“Jesus, slow down,” Steve’s words were slurring together as he tumbled into your side. His hands were as careful as possible as he tried to get off of you.

“Yeah, what is this, the Indy 500?”

“It’s the Indy 300,” Steve attempted to correct Robin’s statement but failed.

“No, dingus, it’s 500!”

“300!”

They two kept going before bursting into laughter again. Your senses were suddenly overwhelmed, the medicine they gave you blurring together as you dropped into a fit of panic. Head aching, chest tight, you clenched your fingers around your arms tightly as you tried to protect yourself as much as possible. Erica let out a shout before you were slammed against the metal walls of the cart, a cry leaving your lips as you hit your already bruised head. Dustin asked if you were alright but you were too busy trying to choke in air to answer.

More yelling followed before hands were pulling on you, yanking you from your comforting position. Whining as you moved, you let Steve and Dustin practically carry you along slowly into the elevator you came here in.

The chaotic elevator ride went in a blur, Steve and Robin giggling a little too loud for your enjoyment. Dustin was trying to check your best friend’s stability before his finger was poking into his neck where they had injected the drugs earlier. The ride back up to ground level didn't take too long and eventually, Dustin held your hand tightly as he led you from the elevator back out into the fresh air of the night. You thought you were in the clear and could finally go home, take a shower, and go to sleep. That idea slipped away quickly as Dustin started yelling and pulled you back through the side doors of the mall while Erica attempted to corral Steve and Robin. You caught a quick glimpse of the two Russians undercover that were running towards you.

“Whoa!” Steve shouted excitedly as your group turned a corner sharply in the back halls of the mall.

“Where are we going?” Erica asked Dustin, who didn’t give her a clear answer. Soon enough, he was pulling you through the door that led to the movie theater hallway and into an ongoing showing of Back to the Future.

Your feet couldn’t keep up as he ran towards the bottom row, demanding you, Steve, and Robin take a seat. Steve broke out into complaints about the shitty view while shoving someone’s discarded popcorn into his mouth.

“Whatever you do, don’t go anywhere,” The younger boy directed.

“Fine, Dad,” Steve scoffed, earning giggles from Robin. You watched Dustin and Erica shift down the aisle to two other open seats. Steve slumped down aggressively, throwing more popcorn than he could chew into his mouth, mumbling that he had no idea what was happening.

Three minutes went by of your trio staring dumbly at the movie screen before Robin spoke up, “Guys. I’m bored.”

“Me too,” Steve blurted a little too excitedly. You looked over at both of them to see their expectant eyes staring right at you. Dustin’s words be damned, you were bored and hungrier than shit.

Moving quickly to the left, you snuck back out the same hall you had walked through. Food forgotten, the water fountains you found looked much more appetizing as you crumbled against it and chugged down water like you’d never seen it before.

Plopping on the floor, you let Robin take over the water fountain you previously occupied. Steve started conversing with her again but their words faded to whispers as you stared forward. Whatever they gave you down in the lab was causing panic after panic. Slumping forward, you wrapped your arms tightly around your legs as you tried to slow your breathing. You thought once you left that elevator you’d be free, but realizing that the guards lurked around every corner was enough to freak you out, especially when you figured out how vulnerable your group was.

“Steve!”

Your cry had his attention instantly, laughter disappearing immediately as he turned to you. He felt bad, but whatever the guards gave him made him want to giggle again. He clumsily clattered to the floor next to you. “Y/N, hey, hey. What’s wrong?” Hands were on your arms, your bare skin touching his. “Okay, okay. That’s okay, just breathe for me.” He was trying to walk himself through the normal steps. Helping you through a panic attack wasn’t abnormal to him, and he was always willing to keep you from suffering alone.

“I-I don’t know, it’s too much,” You admitted as you crawled into his lap, letting him hold you like a child. Tingling ran through your limbs, numb to the point where you could barely feel the warmth of Steve’s hold on you. “I can’t, it hurts, everywhere. We can’t get out of here, a-and and you, you weren’t waking up and-”

“Y/N, hey. Eyes on me, babe. I’ve got you.” His fingers were soft as they moved your chin to look up at him. He had never seen your body so tense, so rigid. He knew ever since the demogorgon attack that the nightmares were getting worse but you always, always insisted that you were fine.

You cried into his bloody uniform, hands refusing to let go of his wrists. “I was so scared, I didn't think you were gonna come back to me and I’m sorry! I’m sorry I never told you but I didn’t want anything to happen if I did and I’m just so so scared of losing you, Stevie. Can’t even imagine a world without you and I thought you left me alone and… and…”

So, here you were, a bloody mess in Starcourt Mall when the secret broke free that you had hidden from Steve Harrington for so long. Your biggest and greatest fear had always been so close under his nose and he had no idea. Maybe it was obliviousness or just denial but he had never realized how important he was to you.

You were scared, terrified, of losing him to the point where you didn’t want to risk speaking it into existence. Now, it all made sense though. The moments of hesitation when a plan involved him in the front lines, the over worry when he got into a fight, or the simple things like making him dinner and staying in his usually empty house so he didn’t feel alone.

You couldn’t live in a world where Steve Harrington wasn’t yours.

He felt stupid that he didn’t see it sooner, but you were so good at hiding things when you wanted to. He had slowly been figuring your patterns out but this one was just right out of his reach.

“Shh, it’s okay. C’mere.” His arms held you close, chin resting on your head, tucking you into his neck as he tried to bring you any sense of comfort, to let you know he was here and he was okay. You curled closer into his body, trying not to disturb the wounds on his face. “M’not gonna go anywhere, bubs. Promise. Could never leave you.”

Robin couldn’t help but stare, mesmerized at the way the two of you fit together like missing puzzle pieces. She admired it, yet despised it because she never would get to experience it. You were like soulmates, destined to be entwined infinitely in the universe. She begged, hoped, dreamed that someone would show up and love her for her the way Steve loved you. There was a lot of room for her to grow, to open up to the two of you about who she really was and she would, soon.

“Hey,” She cursed herself as she interrupted your small moment, her eyes drifting upwards as she let her head fall back. “Is the ceiling spinning for you guys too?”

You sniffled as you pulled your head away from Steve’s neck to look up at the indeed bright, moving lights. It was gorgeous, a blend of soft yet bright and elegant color.

Your stomach shifted uncomfortably before all three of you were scrambling to the nearest bathroom to rid your bodies of the toxins that had been plaguing you. You tried not to be too grossed out on the bathroom floor and the cold porcelain toilet you were resting your head on. Letting out a small groan, you tucked yourself against the corner of the stall between the wall and the toilet, letting yourself slump in exhaustion.

“The ceiling stopped spinning for me,” Robin said as she broke the silence. You could see the backs of her thighs as she let her legs rest upwards against the stall. “Is it still spinning for you?” Taking a second, you looked up and shook your head no, forgetting that she couldn’t see you.

“Holy shit. No. You think we puked it all up?” Steve asked from the stall next to you. You could barely see his blue shoes and knee high socks against the multicolored floor.

“Maybe, ask me something,” Robin suggested before changing to a Russian accent, “Interrogate me.”

Steve let out a small chuckle, “Okay, interrogate you. Sure. Um, when was the last time you peed your pants?”

“Today,” Robin answered without hesitation, “When the Russian doctor took out the bone saw.”

A short laugh left your mouth as Steve mumbled something about the drug still being in Robin’s system. You felt fine now - not back to normal but you didn’t feel as floaty and instead, your body was riddled with pain and exhaustion but you were just glad to be out.

“Alright, my turn. Have you… ever been in love?”

“Yep. Nancy Wheeler, first semester, senior year,” He made a noise with his mouth to imitate a gunshot to his heart.

Despite Steve being devastated over the situation, you were so grateful Nancy snapped him out of his King Steve persona that became so overwhelming. You had been watching your best friend disappear piece by piece, his new friends becoming your enemies with their snide rude comments that Steve didn’t really attempt to stop. So, despite Nancy Wheeler breaking Steve’s heart, you got him back and you were more than grateful for it.

“Y/N, did you just OD in there?”

By the time you realized you were missing the conversation, Steve’s body was sliding under the metal door into your stall and shaking you back to reality. You gave him a small smile, chin resting on your crossed arms as you tucked your knees into your chest. Neither of you talked about what had happened not too long ago and you were suddenly ashamed of your reaction.

“That floor’s disgusting,” You muttered as he settled closer to you. His hands were gentle as they grabbed your ankles and released your legs from their cramped position to rest over his lap, fingertips ghosting lightly over your shins. He needed to hold you, to comfort you the best way he knew how.

“Yeah, well, I already got a bunch of blood and puke on my shirt, so…” He waved his hand lazily towards his destroyed uniform. “Do you wanna talk about it? Robin went to get some more water for us.”

You shrugged lightly, leg twitching as you threatened to curl back into a ball. You felt exposed, more exposed than you ever did to him and usually you didn’t mind it but it just felt weird. Steve noticed, just like he always did, and shifted to sit facing you with his legs slotted beneath yours, his feet resting on the sides of your hips. Tugging you forward gently until your thighs rested on top of his and his hands sat on your waist, Steve Harrington finally looked at you the way he had wanted to for so long.

“I love you.”

Your response was automatic, “I love you, too.”

Steve smiled but shook his head slightly as he messed with you. “Nah, c’mon, babes. You know that’s not what I mean.”

You gave him a half smile, your skin bubbling with excitement. “Stevie, I think we both know exactly what we mean.” You could feel the dynamic shift, both of you could. It was obvious enough but it didn’t feel heavy or overbearing - it just felt right.

“Oh, do we now?” The smirk on his face was smug but it disappeared into the tiniest smile when you rolled your eyes at him and finally leaned forward to close the distance, your lips settling perfectly onto his. Steve Harrington was in heaven, and he was in love. He didn’t know why it had taken this long for either of you to react and make the emotions between you known after so long but he was so glad.

His hands slipped to your lower back to pull you closer into his lap as your fingers sorted through his slightly matted hair. Taking a second to breathe, you leaned back with one hand still lingering around his neck, the other gently brushing the bruises on his face. He was just so real, so close, and somehow still always yours.

The bathroom door slamming open had you shifting your gaze to see Dustin, Erica, and Robin crowding the doorway, the biggest smile on the latter's face as she held water bottles in her hands. Steve moved slightly to see them, his hand never leaving your waist as he turned to see your friends had returned. “Oh, hey guys.”

“Okay. What the hell!”

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