#minor steddie

[steviewashere]

My Boy

Rating: GeneralCW: Minor mention of homophobia/slur (not said)Pairings: Eddie Munson & Wayne Munson, Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson (minor)Tags: Pre-Canon, Relationship Study, Gay Eddie Munson, Coming Out, Supportive Wayne Munson, Good Parent Wayne Munson, Ally Wayne Munson, Southern (adjacent) Wayne Munson, Eddie Munson is a Sweetheart, Wayne Munson is a Sweetheart, Mentions of Eddie's Shitty Dad, Post Canon

Quick little thing here: crawdads are crayfish (I call 'em crawdaddies), jambalaya is a Louisiana dish containing rice meat and other fixings, skeeter is a mosquito, maw-maw is a grandmother, and lightning bugs are fireflies.

🏳️‍🌈—————🏳️‍🌈 Eddie has always been a whirlwind of movement and words and voices. Even in his most dire, most embarrassing, or even most depressing moments—he’s never been one to be unlike himself. He’s like an early morning Saturday cartoon come to life. Not a single moment in Wayne’s new life with this kid has been drought dry, silent, and still.

Tonight it is. Which is odd.

He made a damn good jambalaya tonight. Went out of his way to go a little bit outside of Hawkins. Picked up the juiciest looking pack of sausage he could find. Even bought a batch of fresh crawdads, none of that frozen crap. Spiced it with devil’s intuition and his maw-maw's guiding hands. And served it up all nice in his favorite deep bowls. Usually, the reaction to a part of Wayne’s soul, bared mixed up and spiced to the nine hells, is an excited little wiggle at the table, maybe some comment about how Eddie’s been having dreams about the dish for weeks, maybe even a good natured moan.

However, when Wayne sits his bottom down on one of the rickety dining chairs, Eddie’s stoic in his spot. Spoon fisted in hand, yes, like it always is. But he’s taking pathetic bites. The damned utensil’s not even full. Isn’t spilling over.

Wayne looks to him, then. Pinched eyebrows. Squinted eyes. A purse to his bottom lip. “What’s wrong with you, boy?” He eloquently asks. “Did a skeeter bite you on the bottom or somethin’? Eat up.”

Eddie’s eyes rocket up from his bowl. Big and brown, almost too big for his little face. He’s frowning down to Satan’s feet. Eyebrows, that are still growing in and too dark for his pale skin, bunched. He’s wearing an ill fitting Johnny Cash t-shirt that Wayne knows was stolen straight from his dresser drawers. It’s stretched around the collar, revealing Eddie’s scrawny shoulders and all the freckles he got from being kissed by the Tennessee sun as a little boy. There’s something about him, though. Sure, he’s a little boy—sort of. Fourteen years old and a hell of a lot taller than Wayne has seen for a boy his age. But his face reads maturity. Like he’s been drowned in it. Aged beyond his years. If the fear in his eyes has anything to say about it.

“Bubba,” Wayne sighs. “You been in my home for a little over a year now, what’s got you lookin’ at me like I’m huntin’ you down for sport? Like a damn deer, boy.”

“It’s nothing, Uncle Wayne.”

“It’s something if you ain’t eating you’re favorite dish I make.” Wayne sets his own spoon back down on the table. Leaning a bit on the surface, arms crossed and lax in front of him. He lowers his head to be eye-to-eye with Eddie. Murmurs, “You don’t gotta fear me, kiddo. What’s going on, Ed?”

He’s never seen a little boy take a grievance gulp. A swallow the size of a tennis ball. Out of his beer drinking buddies, sure. And the men he served alongside back in the seventies before he was honorably discharged. But a kid? No way.

“I—“ Eddie’s eyes prematurely fill with tears. And Wayne’s never been privy to something like this either. He’s a happy kid. A kid with a terrible upbringing, but that’s never stopped him from having fun and laughing loud and being a little bit too obnoxious. Wayne misses his kid. His stomach churns. “I kissed a boy today,” Eddie weakly mumbles. His throat is thick with tears and his tongue is three sizes too big for his mouth, but Wayne hears him clearly despite it all.

Wayne nods carefully. Small, but there. “Okay, Ed. You kissed a boy. That’s alright, Bubba. I ain’t mad. It ain’t my business to be mad,” he murmurs.

“Really?” Eddie’s voice squeaks. “You ain’t mad at me? Even though I—Daddy told me it was sinful. Told me that I—That I was going to—“

“Your daddy had his head up his own ass. And he hasn’t been inside a church since he was an awful little boy. God knows he needs to go,” Wayne is quick to reassure. “He ain’t got two words in your business, kid. Besides, you ain’t with your daddy anymore.”

Eddie nods. His eyes point down to his cooling jambalaya. He scoots his spoon around in the few straggler pieces of rice that fell from his utensil. “The boy called me a bad word. I won’t say it, but it felt bad when it left his mouth. Will it always…Will people always think of me like that?” His voice is small, unlike himself, too serious. It’s nearly lost in the wood of the table.

Wayne shrugs in response. Because he truly isn’t sure. “You think you’ll always kiss boys? It’s alright if you do, but is that…”

He nods again. Fast and so sure of himself. A part of Wayne is shining like a diamond at the confidence in this kid. “I liked it before he ran away. I want to do it again.”

“Okay, Ed. Then, you’ll do it again. And maybe it’ll be bad and maybe people will be mean. But you’ll always be Eddie. You ain’t got nothing on the other kids in the world, y’know that?” Eddie just shrugs. Wayne leans back in his chair and briefly looks out of the window above the table. At the warm lights filling the trailer park. The setting sun playing hide-and-seek beyond the homes here. He sighs carefully through his nose. “When you came ‘ere seekin’ a bed, I wasn’t too sure about this little arrangement. I knew you’d be a little rowdy. A lot of a stubborn ass, because you’re like your mama. And may she rest in peace, but she was always playing my temper like a damn fiddle.”

Eddie laughs warmly. Giggling enough to jolt his body into movement. Wayne smiles, still peering out the window.

He continues, “So I wasn’t too sure about you, at first. Knew that I loved you, that’s damn sure. Knew it the moment your daddy showed you to me. Cooing about your mama’s eyes and your curly hair and your ruddy little cheeks. When I got to hold ya for the first time, you latched onto my thumb and refused to let go. Thought I’d have to take ya home right then and there.” He clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth and shakes his head in false disappointment. “Shame I couldn’t, tell you that. But look at cha now. Sitting here in my home, wearing my shirt—even though I told ya to quit that and ask me first—“

“Sorry, Wayne,” Eddie mutters.

“It’s alright, kiddo. I was just playin’ witcha. But you’re here now, that’s all that matters. You got warm food on the table. And you got your dragon game and your funny talkin’ books about elves and whatnot. You got enough energy to light every house in the world. How I ain’t worn out and completely bald yet, I ain’t sure, but I like what you got, kid. Moxie, I think that’s what it’s called.” He chuckles. Glows with pride as Eddie finally smiles, sticking it to his face and not letting it peel off. “But I love you, Ed. You’re my boy. I know damn and true that every part of you is good. You do as you please, but you be safe about it. There are risks. A conversation when we ain’t eating. But, you be Ed and I’ll be here.”

He leans back over the table, reaches out a hand and ruffles Eddie’s short tufts of curly hair. Eddie squawks. He tries to shimmy away, but gives up on it when he looks up to Wayne. Eyes alight with pride and giddiness. Something like contentment and comfort. There’s a flush to his cheeks from the laughter that spills out of him. Warm like the soft glow of lightning bugs. Wayne scoots his palm down the side of Eddie’s face and cups his palm. Cherishes the way Eddie leans into it.

“You promise me that, Ed? Promise you never change.”

“Promise, Wayne,” Eddie murmurs. “Now leave me alone with your sap, I’m hungry.” And he promptly scoops up too much to fit in his mouth. Shown in the way his shirt is stained with the droppings.

Wayne chuckles again and goes back to his food. The damn gall on this kid, he thinks.

——— And sure, over the years, Eddie makes some damn poor choices when it comes to messing around with boys. Forgets to check-in about when Wayne will be home from work, always loud and proud about who he is when Wayne wants to sleep for the next century. Sticks his tongue down throats for long enough that Wayne always worries that the other boy swallowed him up. But he’s still Eddie.

He’s still Eddie when he introduces Steve Harrington. Who’s on par with Wayne in a lot of ways. Loves to cook. Loves to watch football. Likes to take care of his car and the people around him. Is a little bitchy. Likes gossiping about the neighbors and getting on Eddie’s nerves. He’s perceptive about “his boy”—words straight from Steve’s mouth—and knows just how to take care of him.

A part of Wayne wonders what great force brought them together. Something to do with the age in their eyes and the scars on their sides and the jumps at flickering lights. But he won’t question it.

Because they got their boy.

And Eddie Munson is one hell of a spirit.

🏳️‍🌈—————🏳️‍🌈 Hope y'all enjoyed. I had an idea really late and just needed to write this really quick. Also, I'm so rusty on my Southern bullshit. I haven't been back in Louisiana in over a decade. But I did grow up with somebody Southern in my home, and admittedly have picked up the smallest twinge in my voice as well as the weirdest wordage, but whatever.

#stranger things #eddie munson #wayne munson #wayne munson & eddie munson #gay eddie munson #coming out #minor steddie #steddie

[formosusiniquis]

Am I the Asshole?

Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington; Robin Buckley/Original Female Character(s); Steve Harrington/Original Character(s); Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson WC: 6052 | Rated: T | Tags: Modern AU, Reddit AU, Some AITA typical terrible people, QPR Steve & Robin, NB Steve, NB Robin AKA the Stobin AITA fic

r/AmITheAssshole u/HufflepuffHero94 9yrs ago AITA for being concerned about my girlfriends living situation?

Context: My (20F) girlfriend (18F) is amazing. She's a polyglot linguistics major, speaks three languages fluently and she's completely self-taught, a genius basically. We go to the same college (Midwestern Liberal Arts college) where we met in the marching band. Now R, my girlfriend, is from a small town. Like the kind of small town that they make jokes about in sitcoms, she isn't really online (so I'm not worried about her seeing this) because she claims they didn't even have the internet until she was in high school. She isn’t really “out” because of this. It’s like she lives in this semi-closeted space like some kind of TV queerbait character. It's not really a problem, I mean she’ll tell people we’re dating if they ask and all of our marching band friends know but when I ask about it she says it’s because it wasn’t really safe in her hometown growing up. But it’s 2014 not 1980…

Even though R is a freshman she’s in special accommodations. Instead of living in the dorms like the school usually requires she’s got a small, studio apartment just off of campus. A perk considering how awful living in the dorms is. R is a pretty private person and super studious. Most of our dates have been in the library or a study date at the coffee place on campus. She’s not big on PDA, she says she’s trying to get better at it but she’s still only sort of out and I’m her first real girlfriend. I was psyched when she asked me if I wanted to go with her to her apartment to study, said her best friend had a never fail study method that she was eager to try (and when she told me what it was I was pretty eager too).

R can’t drive, so when I pull into the parking lot of her complex she notices something and says her roommate hasn’t left for work yet. I’m a little confused because like I said she lives in a studio apartment, but she just brushes it off and says something about asshole parents and this being what they could afford when some money fell through. She’s sent me snaps from her place, so I know it’s pretty cozy so I tell her it’s fine. Obviously I’m concerned about what the set up is going to be like when we get up there but she insists that dingus (her words) will only be there for another couple minutes before they have to leave for work and that Stevie (again her words) is her best friend in the world. They moved here together from the same small town or something.

To give R credit, she’s definitely done the best she can with the space. When I walked it it definitely felt as homey as it does in her pictures. The door opened up into the kitchen and living room and she’s got those spaces divided off from the beds with one of those Chinese paper divider thingies. Anyway to make a long story short it turns out her roommate and best friend Stevie is actually a whole dude (19). He comes out, gives her a look and asks her if “us girls are planning a sleepover” and if he should make himself scarce for the evening. R says she doesn’t give him shit when his “special friends” come over and after that I kinda stopped listening. I slipped off into the apartment looking for the bathroom and that’s when I saw how their “bedroom” was set up. Twin beds INCHES apart, they might as well be sharing the same one.

Here’s where I might be the asshole. When her “friend” finally cleared out I told her the truth. I didn’t know how comfortable I was hanging out in her place where she lives with a guy. I do live in the dorms but I’ve got a single right now. I asked her to move in with me so she wouldn’t have to be in this situation. I guess it maybe sounded like I was dissing her friend, which I was but I didn’t mean for it to sound like that. I just think it’s weird that she won’t come out to anyone and is also living with some guy! I told her I wasn’t interested in being an experiment and if things were serious then she would want to move in with me.

That’s when she kicked me out and called me an asshole. But really I don’t think I’m being a dick for being concerned that she might just be jerking me along while she plays lesbian so she can tell her boyfriend about it at home. Even if nothing is going on I'm just worried that living in this kind of environment isn't safe for her. I mean this guy is probably just pretending to be her friend to get in her pants, I think the fact that they're from the same small town means she can't see that. I really think she would be better off if she moved into the dorms with me aita?

u/otpsnotbrotps NTA

u/foreplayisntreal NTA guys and girls can't be friends. If she even is a lez and a katy perry wannabe then roomie is just biding his time til she's ready to be converted

Read the rest on AO3

#stobin month 2024 #day 10 modern #steve and robin #platonic stobin #it's still day 10 somewhere shhh i know it's late #minor steddie #steve harrington #robin buckley #my fic #stobin fic #stranger things fic

[lihhelsing]

Three is a party

Written for the STWG Daily Prompt (01/03)

Prompt: Birthday party

No Warnings | Eddie Munson & Wayne Munson | Minor Steddie | wc: 564

When Wayne got back from work, the trailer was immersed in darkness. It’s not unusual, but Eddie was a night owl so it was likely he wasn’t home. Which was… Fine. Wayne had missed him this morning before he left for his mandatory community service because he was extra tired from last night’s shift and Eddie hadn’t been back before he had to leave for work. 

That was also unusual, but Wayne just missed his nephew some days. And today was… Definitely one of those. 

Assuming Eddie wasn’t home, Wayne let his hand find the light switch so he could see something. His eyes were not the same as they used to be and Wayne knew his time in the night shift was coming to an end. 

He knew Eddie would be over the moon with that because it was going to mean they would have more time together, but Wayne kept worrying about how bad that would be for their financial situation. 

“You worry too much, old man,” Eddie would say despite him constantly switching jobs. It didn’t bother Wayne because he wanted Eddie to do something he actually liked instead of settling for some boring job, so he would hold down the fort for as long as he could. 

The light flooding the trailer revealed two surprises for Wayne. The first one being Eddie, sound asleep at their kitchen table. The second one was a small cupcake with a candle stuck in it. 

Out of nowhere, Eddie raised his head and half-yelled 'Surprise' as he extended his hands to show his birthday cake. Birthday… Cupcake? He still looked sleepy and it made Wayne think back to when Eddie was just a kid. 

It made his heart swell inside his chest. 

“Hey, kid,” Wayne smiled and walked over to him, patting his head. His hair was even messier than usual from him sleeping at the kitchen table. “What’s this?”

“Birthday!” Eddie said, voice coming out all groggy. Wayne chuckled and moved to the sink so he could get a glass of water. 

“You didn’t have to do that,” Wayne said between gulps and Eddie shook his head, getting up and fighting the lack of balance. 

“Of course I did! It’s your birthday, old man. It’s not every day you turn…”

“56,” Wayne supplied and Eddie clapped his hands. 

“56! So I thought a birthday party was necessary!”

Wayne smiled and leaned back on the counter. “Not necessary, kid. But I appreciate it.”

Eddie smiled, pleased with himself. And that was the only reason why Wayne had to tease him. 

“But I would hardly call it a birthday party with just two people,” Wayne pointed out and Eddie rolled his eyes. 

“STEVE!” he yelled and Wayne winced, wondering where Eddie had learned to be so loud. 

After a few seconds, Steve emerged from Eddie’s room, walking slowly and clearly still half asleep. 

“I was just joking. You didn’t have to wake your boy up,” Wayne said and Eddie pushed his shoulder playfully. 

“Well, it’s a party now! Are we signing Happy Birthday or what?”

Wayne would never really say it out loud, but standing in his kitchen, blowing out a candle that was way too big for that small cupcake, and clapping alongside his favorite person in the world and the boy who made him the happiest was probably one of Wayne’s favorite memories. 

#stwgdailyprompt #Stranger things #drabble #Eddie Munson #Wayne Munson #Eddie & Wayne #minor steddie #birthday party

[filmyocean]

Robin: Remember when Eddie and the Party made us watch that movie about the gay guys on the mountain? Steve, nodding: Lord of the Rings

#source: the oc #steve and robin are platonic soulmates #robin buckley #steve harrington #stranger things incorrect quotes #incorrect stranger things quotes #ik lord of the rings hadn't come out in the '80s so just imagine this happened in the future #steve harrington incorrect quotes #eddie munson #minor steddie #steddie #stobin

[licensedqueerio]

OMG you should do a gareth x reader and like you join the hellfire club and he has crush on you and he ends up telling you and you like him back!

Idk why it took me so long to write this. Characterizing Gareth should not have been as difficult as it was lmao. But y'know what it took to finish this? Sitting upside down. In a chair.

Like, y'know in big hero 6 when Tadashi holds Hiro upside down or whatever to get him to think and it worked? Yeah. That was me.

But I hope you enjoy this, it definitely got away from me lol. It wasn't supposed to be this long and the ending was definitely a little rushed. But whatever.

(Also, somewhere in an alternate universe, Gareth does turn out to be an axe murderer)

---

Word count: 5.8k

Pairing: Gareth Emerson x Reader

Warnings: underage drinking, swearing, mentioned drug use

Request Here

---

Eddie strutted down the hall with you at his side, excitement putting an extra bounce in his steps. He looked like a child, the pins on his jacket rattling.

You smiled faintly. A few weeks ago he asked you to play D&D with him. The two of you had gotten together to get high once or twice, you bought all your shit from him. And you mentioned how you used to play back in middle school.

That spurred the conversation of the Hellfire Club, which you'd heard a lot about. Mostly bad things if you were being honest, but hey. That was highschool.

It took him a while to convince you to join his club, and then bring you up to speed on all the rules and remind you how to play.

But now here you were, joining your first campaign with the Hellfire Club. You were pretty excited, you couldn't lie.

Not like you'd tell Eddie that. He'd be even more bouncy than he was right now.

Eddie kicked the door to their 'club room' with a loud crash, "hey nerds!" He called with an obnoxious grin.

You followed him into the room, which used to be the old theatre, but considering a new and bigger theater had just been built, this one was given to Eddie's club. It was really the only room they could spare.

Plus, it was pretty on brand; playing a fantasy game where drama had taken place.

They were backstage and all the lights seemed to be on. They were very colorful too, lighting the room up beautifully. There was also discarded sets and other junk pushed towards the walls and out of the way.

You went to look at the table where the other members sat, leaving the throne at the head of the table empty. You guessed that was Eddie's seat. His place at the table was already all set up, there were even candles lit on either side.

The rest of the table was occupied by the club members. A handful of them were underclassmen. You could tell by their baby faces. "Henderson! Drumroll!" He pointed to the table as he got closer.

A boy with brown curls obediently began to drum his fingers against the table, muttering, "why doesn't the drummer do the drumroll?"

"Shut it," Eddie said, pointing at him again. He got close enough to step right up onto the table. And then he bowed low, hand extended to where you stood with an amused smile.

"Please welcome the newest member of Hellfire! Y/N L/N!" He cheered as he rose back up, to which received several greetings ranging in enthusiasm.

Eddie grinned and hopped down from the table. He stepped forward and walked behind you, guiding you forward. "Curly is Dustin Henderson," he said, pointing him out once again. "His friends, Michael Wheeler, and Lucas Sinclair," he said, pointing to each of them.

You smiled and waved to the three younger boys. They looked like babies, they were so young. You wanted to squeeze their cheeks.

"That's Jeff. And finally, there's Gareth. He's a pain, ignore him more than you ignore the others," he instructed you very seriously.

Your eyes lingered on Gareth. He had the fluffiest hair you'd ever seen and you could imagine how soft it would feel beneath your fingers. He wore the same shirt as the others, white and black with the Hellfire logo. He also layered on a red and black flannel with the sleeves cut off.

Gareth fixed his annoyed look on Eddie. "And why should they ignore me?" He asked, his voice higher than you thought but beautiful to listen to.

"Because you're a pain," Eddie repeated with a 'duh' tone. But unfortunately for him, the only free spot they had was beside Gareth. He glared at Gareth like it was his fault once he realized.

You clapped Eddie on the shoulder with a laugh,"I deal with you everyday. I'm sure I can handle Gareth," you assured with a grin, going and sitting next to Gareth.

Eddie smiled before he understood, and when he did his expression grew annoyed. "Ha ha, very funny," he droned, sitting on his throne. "Now everybody shut up and let's get started!"

---

As soon as the session was over, Dustin cornered you while you waited for Eddie to pack up. He eagerly chatting your ear off about just about everything. You found it endearing how enthusiastic he was. His friend Mike, looked apologetic though as he awkwardly stood at his side.

"So how do you know Eddie?" Dustin asked, adjusting his cap. "Are you guys friends?"

"Oh, he's my de…uh, detention partner," you quickly altered your sentence. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to tell the kid Eddie was your dealer. Plus it wasn't like you were lying, Eddie had been your detention partner a couple of times.

"Really?" Dustin asked, ignoring Mike's urging warning that they were going to be late. "How long have you been playing D&D?"

"Since eighth grade," you answered honestly. "Gave me something to do after school."

"Why did you just now join Hellfire?" Mike finally gave in and asked a question. You knew he was curious too, after all you were a new face.

"Because I was too busy before," you shrugged, glancing to see if Eddie had packed up all his things yet. You looked back at the boys. "And I never had a ride."

"Do you need a ride?" Gareth asked, swinging his bag over his shoulder and stopping next to you. The way he looked you up and down wasn't as subtle as he thought it was.

"Nah, Eddie—"

"Gareth, you take 'em home," Eddie cut you off. "I forgot, I have to take Henderson and Wheeler. Their ride is busy so of course, the burden falls to me," he said with a shake of his head.

Dustin swung his head around to stare at Eddie. "What!?" He yelped. "What happened to Steve? Why didn't you say anything sooner!" He shouted, storming over to Eddie.

Gareth tilted his head towards the door and you nodded, walking out of the theater with him. It was silent for a few moments before you broke it.

"So you're a drummer?" You asked.

Gareth looked over at you and nodded, "yeah, for our band. Eddie tell you?"

You shook your head. "You're in a band? Eddie's in a band and he didn't tell me? That ass," you scoffed.

"I'm surprised you've gone this long without knowing," Gareth replied earnestly. "He's your dealer, right? I think he's mentioned you a few times."

"Didn't want to say it in front of the kids," you nodded, "but yeah. That's how I originally met him."

"So you've been 'round his? I know you've seen his guitar," Gareth held the door open for you. "He uses it for gigs only. It's his prized possession."

You suddenly remembered the name of the band. Eddie invited you out one day but you'd been too busy to attend. Now you had a reason to attend one of their shows. "Corroded Coffin, right?" You asked with a proud grin at remembering.

Gareth smiled at you. And wow was his smile beautiful. He nodded. "So ya do know our band," he mused. "Yes, I'm our drummer."

"Well considering that Dustin kid was asked to drumroll and not you, I'm gonna assume you're not—"

"Hey," Gareth said, affronted, turning to point a finger at you, "I'll let you walk home," he threatened.

"I didn't say it," you held your hands up in surrender. "I said nothing. What you use to fill in the blanks is entirely your—"

"Oh shut up," Gareth elbowed you in the side.

You jumped away from him with a scowl on your face, rubbing your injured side. "I'm not feelin' the love here, Gareth," you huffed. "I think I will walk home," you said, making a 90° turn and walking off.

"Hey!" Gareth shouted, grabbing your arm before you could get too far and pulled you back against his side. He casually tossed an arm around your side to prevent a repeat. "Eddie would murder me with my own sticks if I let you walk home."

"Maybe then you’ll learn some manners,” came your snarky reply but you let him guide you. You tried to ignore how his touch made you feel.

“Look who's talking,” Gareth replied, unfortunately releasing you. He walked around to the driver's seat and unlocked the doors.

You grinned and got in the car. “So, besides playing D&D and playing the drums, what do you do?” You asked, a pathetic attempt to keep the conversation going as you clicked your seatbelt on.

Gareth ignored his own seatbelt and put his arm behind your seat as he twisted to look behind him as he reversed out of his parking spot. “Really?” He asked, making eye contact briefly. “Small talk?”

Warmth coursed through your body as you rolled your eyes, trying to pretend like the small action didn't fluster you. You were rapidly developing a crush on him. You were unable to decide if it was surface level attraction or if it'd maybe have a chance to develop into something real. “Are you really judging me, drummer boy?” You mocked.

“Oh wonderful, I haven’t ever been called that before,” he said flatly, turning and removing his hand from behind your seat. “Ask me something worthwhile.”

You took a moment to think about an ‘interesting’ question. “Okay, what’s the weirdest thing you have been called?” You asked.

Gareth paused to actually think about it. "Freak," he answered honestly. "That's what just about most of the school calls me. Us. Hellfire," he clarified.

You had to admit, you felt your heart squeeze at the sympathy you felt for him. You despised the words especially when it was used so maliciously. You pursed your lips, "that was supposed to be a light hearted question, sorry."

Gareth only laughed. "Hey, well, you asked," he replied, tapping the steering wheel. "Better get used to it. I did. Easier that way."

"No thanks," you shook your head for emphasis. "The second anyone calls me that, they're getting my fist."

"That's fair," Gareth conceded. "Hey, where am I going anyways?" He asked with a frown, slowing slightly to give you time to answer..

"Oh you missed the turn about a mile ago," you confessed, looking up at him. "But I figured it was too late to tell you."

Gareth was silent for a few seconds before he exploded. "What!?" He loudly demanded. "I am never driving you anywhere ever again!" He exclaimed. "Why didn't you say anything!"

"Sorry!" You shouted back. "I'm sorry! I just…I don't know, don't yell!"

"You're yelling too!" Gareth screeched, making a wild U-turn. You heard several things rattle and roll in his car.

"Hey—hey! Cool it with the crazy driving!" You continued to shout, holding onto what you dubbed the 'oh shit' handle on the roof. He was worse than Eddie, which was saying a lot.

"Just tell me where I'm going!" Gareth turned to look at you, a crazy grin on his face as he continued to shout.

You realized he wasn't upset, but rather having fun. You grinned. "Just drive!" You managed between laughter. "You don't have anywhere to be, do you?"

Gareth shook his head no and joined in your laughter. "I like you!" He shouted.

"Then why are you yelling!?"

Gareth's smile never died as he repeated, in a much more respectable volume, "I like you."

You grinned, "thank you," you responded. "You're not so bad, for a drummer," you added belatedly.

Gareth's eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open in very obvious, and deep offense. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said."

Gareth scowled, "you got a problem with drummers?"

"Well, the last drummer I dated was crazy. I find the guitarist to be much more sane—"

"Uh, in what world is the guitarist more sane than the drummer!?" Gareth wildly demanded. "No way is Eddie more sane than I am!"

"Hey I'm just telling you my past experiences!" You defended, "I didn't say I like Eddie more than you—well, actually—"

"I'm giving you a ride home." Gareth sounded deeply offended again as he turned to stare at you.

"Eddie gives me drugs."

"That you buy. I'm doing this for free and in my own time."

You paused. You didn't have a response for that because he did have a point. "Fine," you conceded. "Fine, fine. Sorry for insulting you, drummer boy."

Gareth's victorious grin twisted into a scowl. "Can't you come up with a different nickname?"

"No."

Gareth sighed as he took a right turn. "I need a nickname for you now. It's only fair," he stated.

"No," you turned down, you knew this could only end in an embarrassing or terrible nickname. You had a reputation to maintain, you couldn't let him give you a nickname that would likely stick and catch on.

"You're a nerd but that just…doesn't fit," Gareth murmured to himself, staring out at the road.

You were concerned about the spaced out look on his face and thought maybe it wasn't a smart idea to let him drive you around.

"...I'll think of it," he finally shrugged. "But you need a new name other than drummer boy," he said, pointing a finger at you.

"Thumper," you replied.

"Will you be the Bunny to my Thumper?" Gareth wasted no time in asking.

You paused. "You've seen Bambi?" You asked in surprise. He didn't seem the type to sit through that kind of movie.

"I have a younger sister," Gareth offered in explanation, glancing over at you, "we've seen it a million times. Even my older sister's made me watch it."

You wanted to tease him, but you thought it was so sweet he watched it with her so many times. You smiled instead, "that's cute."

"Don't tease me," Gareth warned seriously.

"I'm not," you said quickly, "swear on my life. I'm not teasing you. I think it's cute that you watch movies with them."

Gareth tapped the steering wheel again to an imaginary beat and nodded, accepting that answer. "Do you need to be home soon?"

"I don't have a curfew," you answered, which…wasn't completely honest but he didn't need to know that. You wanted to spend more time with him though, he was interesting. And cute.

"Good. I was gonna take a ride out to the drive-in. I hope you like horror," he looked over at you again.

"The drive-in is in the next city," you stated the obvious.

"Yep," Gareth agreed.

"Okay," you said. This would be fun. You hoped. You had just met him, but he didn't strike you as an axe murderer or something.

---

Gareth was in fact, not an axe murderer. The two of you went to the drive in together and saw a horror movie that you honestly lost the plot of, too distracted by him.

He was very engrossed by the movie. He laughed at parts he definitely shouldn't have, popcorn in hand. He made snide little comments about the actors or the movie in general.

His commentary made you crack up and you couldn't focus with him murmuring some smartass comment in your ear every few minutes.

You wouldn't have changed a thing about the night.

Well. You'd change one thing.

Gareth walked you up to your door with the excuse of, "you never know where a murderer might be lurking."

You doubted they'd lurk in the few feet from the street to your door, but you decided to humor him.

So you walked with him, arms brushing together with every step. Neither of you made an attempt to stop the contact. Neither of you attempted more contact

When you arrived at your door, he stopped you from opening it with a hand on your arm. "Hey," he began, shifting his weight and dropping his hand.

You turned to him, the faint light of your neighbor's porch light illuminated his face enough for you to see his shifting gaze. "Hi," you warmly replied, smiling at him.

"Hi," he laughed, looking away. He cleared his throat and tucked his hands into his jean pockets. He rocked forward on his toes as he spoke. "You should come to our show."

You were nodding before you even comprehended the suggestion. But once you did, you smiled. "You want me to come to your show?"

Gareth looked away again and shrugged, "yeah. Thought you'd like it. I'll prove I am a good drummer despite what some people think," he pointedly said.

Your smile grew. "I'll be there," you promised. You found yourself wishing for a kiss. Hell, even a brush of his lips against your cheek would sate you. But of course, nothing happened.

Gareth took a step back and nodded at you. "Night, bunny," he said, turning around and heading back to his car.

"Night, thumper," you murmured, your voice lost to the night. You stared at his back for a second longer before finally turning and heading inside.

---

You informed Eddie of your plans and Gareth's invitation and he would not leave you alone. You regretted telling him.

"Wait, wait. I explicitly told you to stay away from Gareth and you went on a date with him!?" He screeched, his voice disappearing into the forest surrounding you two. Thankfully, you decided to have this conversation outside of school.

"It wasn't a date," you denied, waving a hand. You sat up on the picnic table and stared down at where he was sitting on the bench. "It was just a movie."

"No, it was a movie at the drive-in," Eddie replied, putting more emphasis on the words like a weirdo. "You know what happens at drive-ins? Sex!" He shouted. Like a weirdo.

You grimaced, "what? No, stop. I didn't sleep with your best friend. Calm down," you huffed. "Jeez, Eddie. It was just a movie."

"Oh really? How do I know you didn't have sex in the backseat?" Eddie pressed.

You rolled your eyes. "You're disgusting," you stated.

"That's hateful," Eddie replied. "How come you never come to my shows when I invite you? Why is Gareth so special?" He complained.

He was right to complain. He invited you to his shows a couple of times, but you'd always declined. Either you were too busy or you weren't particularly interested.

That had been before you met the cute drummer.

"He's not special. I'm just not busy this week," you lied. "If you would have asked me, I would have said yes." You probably wouldn't have. No offense to Eddie.

"Mhm," Eddie hummed, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Fine. I'll believe you," he said. "I'll give you a ride. I guess."

You grinned.

---

Eddie picked you up as promised. Once you were inside, he left you at the bar as he went to go set up.

Fuck did he undersell his band. There were already people gathering and more coming inside as time passed. You were impressed.

And by the time their set started, a crowd had gathered around the stage, dancing to the music and hyping up the band with their support.

You didn't join the crowd and instead stayed at the bar and watched. You had a good view of the whole band from where you were. And by that, you meant you had a good view of Gareth.

And sure, Eddie was absolutely killing it on stage, his voice was perfect for his songs and his playing was unparalleled. But your eyes were glued to Gareth, who was enthusiastically slamming his sticks against the drum kit. Head bopping to his own music with an infectious smile.

You got into the music quickly, but your eyes never strayed from Gareth for too long. He was too captivating to look away from.

But when the show ended and the band packed their things up, you finally turned away from the stage.

"How'd you like the show?"

You looked over and nearly fell out of your chair. "King Steve?" You couldn’t stop the old title from tumbling from your lips, you were that surprised at seeing him. "Holy shit! What are you—this doesn't seem like your type of scene." Granted, you didn’t know much about Steve Harrington nowadays. You hadn't seen him in two years.

Steve awkwardly laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's not," he agreed, "Eddie invited me." He shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Ah," you said slowly, nodding in understanding. "Eddie invited you."

Steve rolled his eyes, "it's not like that."

"Sure," you answered. "But it's fine if it is," you offered. "Gareth invited me."

"Steve," Gareth said, startling you as he materialized behind you. "Eddie didn't say he invited you." He gave him little more than a glance though before looking at you. "Hi."

You smiled, "hi," you responded. "You were amazing."

Gareth grinned, obviously pleased by the compliment. He ruffled the hair behind his ears, "thanks," he said. “So? I’m a good drummer, right?”

You playfully tilted your head as if pretending to think about it. He shoved you over and you shook with laughter, “yes, yes. You’re a good drummer. Best I’ve heard, but don’t let it go to your head,” you complimented with sincerity.

Gareth turned away with a bashful smile playing at his lips. “No promises,” he murmured, “I wasn’t uh, I wasn’t sure if you were gonna show,” he continued, drumming his fingers against the bartop.

“Ouch,” you deadpanned, holding your chest, “so little confidence, Emerson.”

“Oh, it’s Emerson now?” Gareth scoffed, arching a brow. “And I was just about to offer you a ride home.”

"Oh no, whatever shall I do?" You dramatically asked, "thank god Eddie is my actual ride."

"Is that a no?" Gareth asked impatiently.

"Let me buy you a drink," you offered instead of answering. "You really were amazing tonight."

"I gotta drive," Gareth pointed out.

"You won't get drunk off one drink, will you?" You asked, before shrugging. "If you want….you could come over. Have a drink or—or something. I dunno," you said, sounding way less confident than you would have preferred.

Gareth was silent, deliberating the idea as his eyes scanned the bar, eventually he nodded. "Okay," he agreed, "are you providing dinner as well or are you just trying to get me drunk?" He asked with a teasing smirk.

"Depends if you get us there in one piece," you replied, tucking your hands into your pockets and following him as he walked outside.

"All this slander on my driving from the person who can't drive," Gareth deadpanned, giving you an amused look. "Would you like to drive?"

"I would, actually," you answered, much to his surprise. "I can drive, y'know. I just don't have a car. Or a license," you shrugged, Eddie let you drive his van once or twice. In addition to stealing your parents cars, that's how you learned.

Gareth tossed his keys at you without saying anything and you barely caught them before they smacked into your face. You had half a mind to chuck them at his face.

You decided against it though, and followed him out to his car. You climbed into the driver's seat with a grin. "If I crash, it's not my fault," you stated, sticking the keys in the ignition.

"What happened to knowing how to drive?" Gareth asked, clicking his seatbelt on with a skeptical look.

"I never said I did it well," you cheekily answered as you pulled out of the parking lot and drove away.

You took a detour and got some food for the two of you (which Gareth was very happy about) before driving home.

You were proud to say you got both of you there in one piece. You didn't run any red lights or stop signs either, which you were very proud of.

Gareth didn't think it was so amusing.

"How is it an accomplishment, Y/N? That's the law," he pointed out, holding the food as he climbed out of his car.

You held the six pack you bought with your trusty fake ID, since you technically had promised him a drink. You tossed his keys over the hood of his car, "this is coming from someone who said, and I quote, speed limits are just suggestions," you snarked.

"Yeah, but I don't make a habit of running red lights," he sniped, catching the keys and pushing them into his pocket.

You pulled your own keys out as you walked up to your front door, correcting over your shoulder, "I don't make a habit of it, it's only happened once or twice. But in my defense, the light turned red right when I got to the intersection so I couldn't stop." You slid your keys in the lock and opened it, stepping to the side to let him in first.

"My parents are out of town, so don't worry," you said when you noticed his hesitation, stepping inside behind him and shutting the door.

"Starting to think you have ulterior motives," he called from where he set the food down on the coffee table. He sat himself down on the floor back against the couch.

"It's nothing like that," you promised. You took two beers out of the black and put the rest in the sink. You joined him on the ground, handing off a beer.

"You sure it's nothing like that?" He asked, eyes searching your face.

You nodded and turned away from his gaze before you could blush or say something stupid. You got up quickly to look for a movie to put on.

And with a smirk, you put Bambi on.

"Seriously?" Gareth deadpanned, staring at the screen as the opening played. "You're so funny, bunny."

"I try," you said with a mocking bow. You straightened up and joined him on the floor once again and began to eat.

Just like at the drive-in, he made snarky, sarcastics comments under his breath and kept a running commentary going. And just like at the drive-in, you didn't mind one bit. You discovered you loved hearing his voice.

"Thumper is so cute," you said with feeling, staring at the screen with a smile. The little bunny just melted your heart, he was adorable. You watched as he tried to get Bambi on the ice.

"Eddie can be Bambi," Gareth said thoughtfully. "He's as clueless as him. Besides Bambi looks almost high in some scenes—"

"Don't say that!" You chided with a laugh, "he doesn't not. He's a baby deer. He's supposed to be clueless. And Eddie isn't as spacey as a baby deer."

"Oh please, I've known him for years," Garqeth dismissed. He pointed at the screen where Bambi was struggling on the ice. "That's exactly what he gets like on skates. Haven't managed to convince him to ice skate though," he said with a dejected sigh.

"I'll skate with you," you volunteered, just to watch him light up. You smiled at how happy it seemed to make him. God he was just precious. Just like Thumper.

Gareth didn't say anything as his eyes returned to the TV screen, but he did settle back into the couch. His arms crossed and he looked pleased.

You took a drink from your half empty bottle. But just as you tipped it back, swallowing a mouthful of the bitter liquid, Gareth decided to speak.

"I like you. A lot. Romantically," he said, turning to look at you.

You choked, immediately setting the glass down on the table, coughing harshly, trying to dispel the liquid you accidentally inhaled. "Jesus Christ," you croaked between coughs.

Gareth reached over to pat and rub your back. "Interesting reaction," he said, his shoulders shaking with ill-concealed amusement.

"Shut up," you scowled, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand. "You're an ass, Gareth Emerson. I could have died!"

"And that would've been a shame," Gareth said mournfully. "So?" He asked.

"I'm starting to rethink my feelings about you," you said sourly, rubbing your chest.

Gareth shoved you.

"Wha—Gareth! Not helping your case right now," you exclaimed, sitting up from where you dramatically fell over. "You have a crush on me?"

Gareth nodded.

You grinned. "Okay, well, good. Because I have a massive crush on you too," you said happily. "Probably from when I first saw you. Y'know, I think the hair is what sold me. And then your personality. Is that shallo—"

Gareth leaned over to claim your lips with his. You eagerly pressed forward, kissing him back without hesitation.

You groaned into the kiss as he licked into your mouth, lips parting with no resistance. You reached out to touch him, your hand buried in his hair, tugging gently.

Gareth pulled away soon after that, a lazy smile on his face, his cheeks red. "My new favorite hobby might be kissing you now," he breathlessly confessed.

"Yeah," you agreed, feeling drunk off his kiss alone. "Yeah—we should, uh, we should definitely do that again."

Gareth grinned, "take me out to dinner first."

You gestured to the food between the two of you, "excuse me, what would you call this? Technically, if anything, this is our second date," you pointed out.

Gareth seemed to have no wiseass comment for that and he instead kissed you again.

---

Like all good things, the night eventually came to an end. Gareth drove home (you two decided it was fine since he only had a beer) and that was the end of the night.

You went to bed dreaming about him, because that's how hard you'd fallen for him. And now you had him. You were now dating Gareth Emerson and honestly? You could not have been happier.

The next morning, you were woken up by a blaring horn. You very nearly fell out of bed, half asleep as you got up.

You jumped when the horn honked again and you groaned, muttering swears under your breath at being so rudely awoken.

You got to the door and threw it open, still in your pajamas and glared at the car. You realized it was Gareth's. "What the fuck!?"

"Hey, bunny," he called out of his open window with a delighted cackle. "come on, come on. Let's go," he urged, "we have places to be!"

"Why are you so excited to go to school?" You asked, crossing your arms. "I'm not even dressed!"

"Who said anything about school?" Gareth smirked. "Hurry and get dressed. We have places to be," he repeated, enunciating his words with another obnoxious beep of his horn.

"Fine, fine! Stop honking, my neighbors already hate me!" You exclaimed, whirling around and heading back inside. But before you closed the door, Gareth loudly honked one last time.

You rolled your eyes and went to get dressed. A little embarrassed at being seen in your pajamas, but you got over it quickly.

You headed out of your house dressed for whatever it was Gareth was up to. You got in the car, and were greeted with a sweet kiss. And when he pulled away, he was smiling. "You look good," he said and stepped on the gas.

You lurched forward and scrambled to get your seatbelt on. "Where are we going?" You asked, staring at him expectantly.

"Surprise," he replied. After a few moments, he gave in. "We're going on a date. Double date. I told Eddie, sorry," he said, glancing over at you, tapping the steering wheel again.

"No, don't apologize," you said quickly, "it's fine. But uh, last I checked, Eddie was single. Painfully so," he said.

Gareth began to smile, "well it seems like we're not the only one who got serious last night," he said, "Eddie and Steve are a thing. But it's supposed to be a secret."

"How is it a secret if we're going on a date with them?" You couldn't help but ask.

"It's a secret date," he answered. "Eddie was looking for a new spot to deal after he almost got busted, and found a good place for a picnic," he explained.

You wondered just how long the two of them spent on the phone last night. It was an amusing thought to picture them gossiping over the phone.

"Okay," you said, satisfied with the answers you'd gotten and glad to know he hadn't spontaneously decided to murder you with an axe out in the woods.

The drive was mostly quiet, with metal music playing through the speakers.

Eddie and Steve were already there when the two of you arrived. You had to take a little hike through the woods to get to them though, which didn't really help your axe murderer theory.

But you eventually found Eddie and Steve in a small clearing. They were sitting on opposite tree stumps, a large one between them. That's where they had the food set up.

"You're late," Steve called when he laid eyes on you both.

You smirked when you seen him and sent a knowing look between him and Eddie. "What'd I say?" You asked.

"Y/N wasn't even awake when I went to get them," Gareth threw you under the bus, sitting right on the ground and reaching for the food.

"Traitor," you muttered, sitting opposite of him on the ground, internally grimacing about having to get the dirt out of your clothes later. "He was being obnoxious and kept honking!"

"I told you to stay away from him," Eddie said around a mouthful of food. "But does anyone listen? No," he said.

"Nothing new," Steve replied.

Eddie glared.

You reached for your own food with a smile. You could get used to this. This was so much better than being stuck in class all day.

And hey, you even got a very pretty looking rock from Gareth at the end of the date. He had disappeared for about half an hour and returned soaking wet, but with two rocks in his pockets that he waded through a creek for.

He gave you one, and kept the other.

You never got rid of the rock. It stayed with you always, even when others joined your collection. That first rock held so much more significance to you.

Even years later, that rock remained your most prized possession.

#ransomswriting #stranger things #stranger things season 4 #reader insert #ask box #reader #answered asks #fanfic #writing requests open #gareth emerson x reader #gareth emerson #gareth the great #x reader #gender neutral reader #minor steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #king steve

[chickenfics]

the way I love the ocean

Relationship: Robin Buckley x Female!Reader

Summary: It was the summer of ‘87. Nothing in your life had prepared you for Robin, but somehow everything had begun falling into place. It all started with a movie and a pair of ocean-blue eyes, and suddenly you were dancing to a Jukebox in a long-closed diner, or racing down the length of a pier, swimming in the moon-dipped lake and walking her home down yellow-lit streets, talking about the way The Smiths sound like indigo and the best time of the summer is when the fireflies start to come out.

It was the summer of ‘87, and you were falling in love.

Word Count: 7.3k

A/N: .........Hi. Okay so yes it's been six months I am so sorry for the wait. I will finish this fic, and the final chapter will not take another 6 months to get out, but I do still have to write it so bear with me <3 Thank you all for the support, I hope this chapter is at least a little worth the wait :]

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged for future chapters! (Only one more to go)

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Chapter 7: Here I Go Again

“I’m telling you guys, he just like… doesn’t listen to what I’m saying. It doesn’t matter what it is -- I could tell him I’m heading to college tomorrow, bags already packed, and he’d still be fucking disappointed.”

Steve was stacking shelves with half of his focus and ranting with the other, hand waving through the air with an occasional VHS to add to his point. You were leaning back against the counter of Family Video, resting between Robin’s legs. She had her arms wrapped around your shoulders in a loose but heavy grip, and her chin sat on one of her arms. Steve would have been complaining that she wasn’t working if he wasn’t still reeling from an argument he'd had with his dad. 

“I’m sorry, Steve,” you said. 

“Yeah,” Robin chimed in, reaching up to lay a hand on the top of your head, tilting it this way and that like a monkey inspecting a coconut. “Parents suck.”

“Parents fucking suck,” he insisted, shoving the last VHS tape into its spot on the shelf. “I can’t wait to move out.”

“Take me with you,” Robin pleaded. Your heart immediately fluttered at the thought of moving into your own little home with Robin and Steve. 

“God, can you imagine,” you said, sliding your hands behind Robin’s knees and pulling her closer to you. “Actually having a place of our own…”

“Now hang on a minute, I said I can’t wait to move out -- who said anything about you bozos.”

“Steeeeeeve,” Robin whined, tilting her head so her cheek was smushed against your shoulder. She wrapped her arms further across your chest. “I thought we were best friends.”

“We are best friends -- that doesn’t mean I don’t need my own space.”

“So you can have a man cave,” she replied, voice rising an octave in that way that always meant she was making fun of him. 

“Really, Robin? You just--”

“Hey guys,” a sudden familiar voice called along with the chime of the bell as the door opened and Eddie burst through. “I brought the kid.” He spun halfway, pointing a finger at a teenager who was trailing behind him. 

“‘The kid.’ Really?” the boy deadpanned, giving Eddie an unamused look.

“Henderson!” Steve grinned, his mood immediately improving. He fidgeted like he was going to run over to him but instead leaned over the other side of the counter. Robin pulled her legs out of your grip to twist around. 

“What am I, chop liver?” Eddie demanded, shooting him a wink when the other man rolled his eyes before going to poke him in the ribs.

“Hey,” Robin greeted the kid. 

“Hey,” the kid, nodding his head at her, then his gaze quickly snapped to you peeking over her shoulder. “Holy shit,” he said with an endearing lisp. “Is this the…”

“Yep, this is my…”

“Hi,” you raised an awkward hand. 

“Holy shit, hi!” he perked up, grinning from ear to ear. The corners of his mouth curled into dimples, the skin around his eyes crinkling with the intensity of his smile. The decision that you liked this kid was instantaneous. 

He took a big step closer to the counter and reached a hand over it. 

“I’m Dustin, it’s nice to finally meet you,” he shot Robin an intentional look, then glanced back at you. You ducked around Robin to take his hand, smirking when he gave it a firm, business-like shake. 

“Nice to meet you too.”

“Why is this just now happening?” he demanded, glancing around the room. 

Steve gave a vague shrug, Eddie smirked slyly as he leaned onto Steve’s shoulder, and Robin said, “We’ve just been a little busy, that’s all.”

“Uh-huh,” Dustin said around another smaller grin, eyes twinkling as he looked back at you. “Awesome.”

“Henderson quit staring, you creep.”

“Wha-- I’m not staring--” He dodged as Steve suddenly lunged around the counter for him. The older boy dropped a hand onto the top of Dustin’s baseball cap and gave him a friendly shove before ducking away from the kid’s elbows. Eddie was watching them with his arms crossed and a love-drunk grin on his face that you knew he probably would have denied with his life if anyone dared to bring it up. 

“Oh my god, they’re adorable,” you whispered to Robin, turning to face her and draping your arms over her shoulders. Her eyelids fluttered half-closed as she smirked at you. 

“You’re adorable.”

“Shut up,” you tucked your nose behind her ear, inhaling the familiar scent of her shampoo. 

“Holy shit!” Dustin suddenly yelled, voice cracking. You lifted your head and Robin turned hers to find him staring at you. “You guys totally have to come skating with us on Friday.”

There was a chorus of “What? No,” “Skating, you guys are going skating?” and “I can’t skate -- I can barely even walk,” the last one belonging to the girl whose legs were wrapped around your hips. 

“Come on,” Dustin groaned, obviously lacking the patience required to deal with any answer but ‘yes.’ “Guys, it’ll be so fun. El wants to go before they all head back to California, so that means it would actually be really rude to say no. Besides," he added, waving a hand at you. "She can meet the rest of the party there. You guys can't just keep her all to yourselves forever." 

"Uh, last I checked she’s a free person," Robin said with mock pleasantness and her own eyebrow raised. 

"Alright, fine," Dustin replied, somehow sounding like a parent who was ending an argument he knew he could win. You couldn't help but wonder who this kid was. He was kind of great. "But my argument still stands." 

Then, horrifyingly, he looked to you, his lips curling into that adorable grin. 

"So, you wanna come skating this weekend?" 

"Uh," you hummed, glancing at Robin. She just stared back at you with what you thought might be an expression high on fondness. "Sure," you decided even though you weren't actually sure. "Why not?" 

"Robin might fall and crack her big head open," Steve said in answer to your rhetorical question. 

“Uh, for your information, I actually have an average-sized head, thank you very much.”

Eddie snorted.  

“I mean, if that’s okay,” you ignored the theatrics you were more than used to by now and looked at Robin. You didn’t want to pressure her into anything, and you also didn’t want to just waltz yourself right into her friend group if she didn’t want you to.  

But Robin smiled softly. Always soft, always sweet like springtime.

 “If you’re game,” she shrugged. “I’m game. You’ll just have to keep me from cracking my perfectly average-sized head head open,” she hooked her arms around your waist with a smirk. 

“Oh, you guys are so cute,” Dustin said, and you both turned around to find him grinning at you. 

“Shut up, nerd,” Robin said even though she was smiling too. She reached over to give him a little shove to keep up appearances. 

“So, six o’clock?” he looked expectantly around the room. 

“Yeah, sure,” Steve grumbled, and everyone else nodded in agreement. 

“Cool, cool…. So, I’m also gonna need a ride--”

“Oh, me too,” Robin raised a hand. 

“Oh my god!”

______________________________________________________________

The roller rink in Hawkins was, in almost every way, about as fancy as you’d expect. It was almost always empty during weekdays and crowded during weekends when kids had off school and parents were looking for a way to get them out of the house. It was dark, the floor was cracked in a few places, and the roller skates were likely older than all of you combined. You were pretty sure your parents had used the same skates you were using now, and as you carried the worn leather back to an equally worn cushioned seat just outside the skating area, you half expected a wheel to pop off or something. 

You’d arrived before the rest of the kids. You, Robin, and Dustin had all piled into Steve’s car earlier that evening. Dustin, taking the passenger seat, had ranted about the grade he’d gotten on his science project and how he was being “cheated for all I’m worth, Steve. Cheated.” Then he changed the tone by bragging about how well Suzie had done on her own project. 

“Suzie?” you asked, wondering if she was one of the kids you’d be meeting tonight. 

“Dustin’s girlfriend,” Robin teasingly provided. 

“Yeah,” Dustin said, grinning dreamily. “She’s great. She lives in Utah, though, so we made this whole radio system to communicate. Way easier than using a phone, and this way we know no one can listen in on our conversations.”

“Ew,” Steve muttered. 

“It’s not ‘ew,’ it’s romantic.”

“Sounds pretty ‘ew’ to me.”

“Oh, there it is,” Robin leaned between the seats to point at the turn in the road. “Pay attention, Steve.”

“I am, Jesus, would you sit back down?”

With a smirk, Robin flopped herself back into her seat. As Steve turned into the parking lot, Robin gave you a fond smile. It lit up her face like a spring morning, all sunshine and birdsong, and you felt something unbearably warm bloom between your ribs. 

Clambering out of Steve's car, you’d all rushed inside to get your skates, Dustin leading the way like he owned the place and chatting with the employees eagerly -- even when they were less than eager to talk to him. Steve had rolled his eyes about five times since getting inside, but there was a constant spark in them. You were pretty sure he loved this kid, and you were also sure that it made sense. Steve, at his very core, was loving -- even when he was trying very hard not to be. 

You and Robin had just sat down next to each other when a familiar puff of brown hair popped up in the crowd of pre-teens and parents who had already filled the building. When he caught sight of you, Eddie waved dramatically, and then he spun in a circle to herd a group of kids toward the front desk. Behind him, a large man in a floral shirt had his arm slung around a tiny woman in a beige jacket and following them was another group of kids. 

“Jesus, you guys weren’t kidding. How many children does Steve know?”

Robin looked at you and grinned. 

“Hey, oh my god!” Dustin called, hopping excitedly as two boys ran up to tackle him in a group hug. From the back of the crowd, another boy appeared and raced towards the pile, throwing his skinny arms around his friends. You watched them with a vague smile on your face. 

What happened next was chaos. Between the crowd of strangers and the crowd of children, you felt like you were drowning in faces as Dustin, Robin, and Steve all tried to introduce you at different times to different people. But after only a few moments, the group seemed to realize that there was a newcomer among them. 

“Everybody shut up!” Dustin shrilly yelled. 

“Dustin, Jesus Christ,” a dark-haired boy muttered, face scrunched in annoyance. 

“Okay,” Dustin said, ignoring him. “Everyone, this is Y/N. She’s Robin’s… friend. Y/N, this is Mike,” he pointed to the dark-haired boy, who gave you a grimace in place of a smile. “Lucas,” he pointed to the boy next to Mike, who smiled and nodded. “And Will.” Last in line, Will murmured a shy, “Nice to meet you.”

Then Dustin stretched up on his tip-toes to peer over the crowd. “Max! Eleven! Erica!” 

“Jesus, would you stop yelling,” Mike insisted, and Lucas laughed to himself. 

Three girls appeared out of the crowd, two of them looking like they were ready to kick someone’s ass. 

“What the hell do you want, nerd,” the smallest of them snarked. 

“I want to introduce you to someone, so could you be pleasant and or agreeable for once in your life? This is Y/N, she’s Robin’s friend.”

“Hi,” you offered, trying to seem as disarming as possible. “It’s nice to meet you.”

The girl narrowed her eyes at you. “Hi. I’m Erica,” she finally said, looking you up and down. 

“Hello,” the girl next to her said in a soft but clear voice. “I’m El. It is nice to meet you,” she held out a hand, and you took it with a gentle shake. She seemed sweet. 

“This is Max,” she said, tilting her shoulders to make room for a redhead who was eyeing you warily. 

“You’re Robin’s friend?” Max said, and you got the sense that this was some sort of test. 

“Yeah,” you replied simply, and the girl only nodded. 

“Alright,” Steve clapped his hands together. “Now that that’s done, everybody get your skates before they run out. Come on, chop-chop everybody, let’s go!”

You watched as Steve slipped into what Robin had warned you was “Mom Mode” as he herded all the kids towards the back of the room to pick up their skates. 

“Hi,” the small woman greeted you, stepping around the man in the colorful shirt. She smiled as she offered you her hand, and kindness radiated from every inch of her. “I’m Joyce, Will and El’s mom. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” you replied, instantly feeling comfortable. 

“I know things can be a little crazy around here,” she glanced around the roller rink. “But you let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” you said, feeling a bit of your mask chip away as you began to feel more at ease. Maybe meeting new people wasn’t as scary as you’d been led to believe your whole life. Maybe you’d just never met the right people. 

“Should we get this show on the road?” Robin said, appearing close to your side. 

“Let’s do it,” you murmured. “Just promise you won’t break any bones, okay?”

“‘Course not. You’re here to look after me, right?” she replied, voice sugar-sweet. All you could do was nod, your mouth opening uselessly. Robin shrugged as she backed towards the seat. “Then I’ll be fine.”

______________________________________________________________

“Keep your knees bent. Knees bent, Steve -- fucking Christ.”

“Shut up, Henderson,” Steve hollered back as best he could without toppling himself over. He looked like a baby deer on ice. You’d started calling him Bambi and he’d threatened to never drive you anywhere ever again. Robin laughed so hard she’d nearly fallen over, and you’d had to grab her under the armpits to stop her from hitting the deck. Then Steve laughed so hard he did fall over, and Dusin had to take several prolonged minutes to catch his breath and wipe the tears from his eyes when the whole ordeal was over. 

You grinned as you passed Steve, who squinted his eyes at you in a way that suggested if he didn’t have wheels strapped to his feet, you’d be in a headlock right about now. It also probably helped that you were the main reason Robin wasn’t on her ass. In her words, “I’ve got about as much coordination as a newborn giraffe. Probably less.” She hadn’t let go of your hand since you’d entered the rink, her knuckles white and her palm sweaty. It was probably one of the few places, you realized, where the two of you could hold hands like this without getting odd looks. Plenty of people were helping each other stay upright -- it hardly mattered that you and Robin were touching. 

It was nice. God, it was nice -- even when you were both sweaty, and the rink was crowded, and Robin looked like she was doing the monster mash trying to keep herself balanced. You giggled at the thought. 

“What?” she managed to look at you without tripping over her own feet. 

“You look adorable,” you murmured, leaning to bump your forehead on her shoulder because outright kissing her like you wanted to wouldn’t have gone down well. 

“You look adorable,” she shot back, wrinkling her nose with a grin. “Also, how are you so good at this?”

You shrugged. “I’ve got good balance.”

Risking life and limb, Robin skated closer until she was nearly pressed against your side. 

“My girlfriend’s multi-talented,” she whispered in your ear, wiggling her eyebrows when you looked up at her. You tried to keep yourself from burning up. 

“I have to pee,” you suddenly said. 

Robin looked at you for a moment, then glanced around. “I, uh, guess I should help you to the bathroom, right?”

“I mean… Peeing on wheels is dangerous business.”

Her eyes lit up with the realization followed by a mischievous smile, and then she was pulling you towards the rink’s exit, ignoring the other skaters as they dodged around you. 

“Hey,” you heard a familiar voice call. You tilted your heels and spun around. 

“Holy shit,” Robin muttered, grabbing onto your arm in alarm -- as if she’d be able to hold you up. No, the gesture was more like a commitment to going down with you. 

“So what, you guys’re just gonna leave me?” Steve yelled, and then his arms flew up as the effort of yelling nearly knocked him on his ass for the dozenth time that night. 

“Bathroom,” you yelled back, pointing towards the door in the corner of the large room. “Besides, Dustin’s taking great care of you.”

“Finally,” the kid announced. “Some of the respect I deserve. I like her,” he turned to Steve. “She’s way better than you.”

“Oh, oh really, okay,” Steve muttered, pulling a face before dodging sideways and trying to push Dustin over. The younger boy yelled, but he was grinning. You smiled after them, and when you turned to find Robin again, she was watching you, something soft and distinctly happy on her face. 

“So, uh… bathroom?” you murmured. 

“Oh, uh… yes. Bathroom,” she replied. 

It was more of an ordeal than you’d expected, getting inside the small room without being dismembered by the sink or beheaded by the stall doors. The slight slope in the floor was enough to make you unsteady, and Robin, her cheeks flushed red, looked like she was seriously considering the possibilities of an afterlife. But you managed, mostly by holding onto each other in a death grip. You were surprised neither of you had lost an eye by the time you determined that the bathroom was empty. 

And as soon as you did that, you found your back against the wall. Robin was holding onto the sink -- the only reason she’d been able to push you backward -- and she was smiling at your lips. With eyes half-lidded and breath coming in short puffs that moved the strands of her frizzy hair, she leaned forward and kissed you. Her lips were hot and soft, and they tasted like the chapstick you kept in your work apron. You hummed, wrapping an arm around her neck. 

“I,” she said, ducking back slightly. You opened your eyes to look into her soft blue ones. “I probably smell really bad right now. Like, a serious B.O. situation going on--”

You laughed, quickly shaking your head. 

“No, no -- you just… you smell like you. Good,” you clarified. “You smell good…” Inching your nose into her hair, you managed to convince her. 

“I’m so glad you exist,” she whispered against your cheek. “And that you’re, like, a goddess on skates, because otherwise I’m pretty sure I’d be dead by now.”

“Oof,” you winced, leaning back enough that you could smile, but not so far that your noses couldn’t touch. “‘A goddess?’ I don’t know…”

“I do. It’s definitely hot.”

You breathed out a small laugh, glancing at your feet, at the way Robin’s leg had braced against your thigh. You didn’t know what to say, so you lifted your hands to the waistband of her shorts, letting them play with the belt loops before sliding your fingers gently up her waist. 

Eyes wandering slowly across your face, she’d just opened her mouth when there was a sudden noise from outside the bathroom. Pushing off of you, Robin spun in a circle like a rabbit caught in a trap. Acting on instinct, you reached out and caught her with one hand while flipping on the sink with the other -- just in time for Joyce to round the corner. 

“Take it easy,” you said. “If the floor gets wet, we’re gonna have even bigger problems…” Laughing anxiously, you nodded toward the soap dispenser. 

“Oh… oh right,” realization flitted across her face and she reached around you to stick her hands under the stream of water. She was still unsteady, though, and you grabbed her waist with both hands, this time just to steady her. Turning over your shoulder, you glanced at Joyce. 

“You both are braver than me,” she said, smirking kindly. “Could never get me on a pair of those things. Not anymore…”

You smiled, the panic rushing out of your body. 

“Yeah, it’s… an acquired skill,” you managed. 

“I haven’t acquired it,” Robin added, and then she stiffened as she almost lost her balance again. Your hold on her waist kept her from falling. 

“Well, it seems like you’re both doing great,” Joyce said, smiling again before ducking into a stall. You let out a breath as you turned to glance at Robin. Nothing was said, but you both could see it in each other’s eyes, how close of a call that had been. Even though Joyce seemed nice, you didn’t want to take any chances. At the very least, you didn’t want to have to try and explain what you and Robin had between each other to anyone else. It was yours, and you wanted to keep it that way. 

“Ready?” you breathed, hand sliding around to the small of her back -- more of a comforting gesture than anything. Maybe for her, maybe for you. 

“Yeah,” she nodded, grabbing your hand. She gave it a squeeze and a little shake, and it made your insides feel just as good as when she kissed you. Everything Robin did made you feel loved. 

Which even included having to hold her tall frame up as you both wobbled your way out of the bathroom. 

“We're lucky no one’s lost an eye,” she said.

“I was just thinking that,” you laughed and held her hand tighter. 

“Heya,” a voice droned past you, and you looked up in time to see Eddie spin on his wheels and coast backward, two cans of soda in hand. “How’s it going, nerds?”

“This is what happens when he hangs out with Erica. He gets even more annoying than usual,” Robin explained, leaning into you so she didn’t have to yell over the music and clatter of skates. 

“Ouch?” Eddie announced, clutching a hand to his chest. 

“We’re good,” you said, ignoring Robin with a smirk. “Well, we almost died in the bathroom, but other than that.”

“Oh, the bathroom, eh? And of course, you needed a partner for that perilous journey…”

“Exactly.”

“Didn’t you hear the part about us almost dying?” Robin said, wobbling again. “If it wasn’t for her I’m pretty sure you’d have to wheel me out on a gurney.”

“Uh-huh,” Eddie squinted, but then he lifted his hands and shrugged. “As long as you’re being safe.”

“Shut up,” you grinned, rolling your eyes. 

A smile tugged at Eddie’s lips, and then he was whipping around and hooking his arm over your shoulder, holding the opened soda can up and out of the way enough that, when a few splashes escaped, they landed on the floor and not on you as he pulled you into him a planted a kiss on your cheek. 

“Take care of our girl, hot wheels,” he said, and then he was coasting away, lifting a can in parting without even looking back. 

“He’s such a dork.” Robin announced. 

“He’s a total sweetheart,” you replied. She looked over at you, then smiled. 

“Whaddya say, hot wheels. Should we hit the floor?”

“Well, let’s not hit it too hard.” 

Robin’s face scrunched with a grin and she nuzzled her adorably wrinkled nose into your ear before tugging you toward the rink. 

______________________________________________________________

“So, do you like, skate a lot?”

“Well, not a lot. I used to, when I was younger, but not as much anymore.”

“You’re pretty good at it.”

“Thanks,” you smiled softly. 

The redhead -- Max, you were pretty sure her name was -- had reluctantly worked her way over to you. Robin was in your line of sight, waving occasionally from the center where she and Steve were skating in smaller circles. Erica was with them, coaching them better than any gym teacher you’d ever seen and, even though they both made sure to very loudly voice their complaints, it was actually helping. Steve hadn’t fallen for a solid ten minutes now, and Robin was finally looking less like a falling tree. You thought maybe Erica seemed proud -- when she was sure neither Robin nor Steve was looking. 

You’d stayed on the outside, coasting leisurely while watching the people skating around you. In the crowd, you recognized friends and strangers alike, and people that fell somewhere between the two. You’d thought the kid had maybe been watching you, but you weren’t sure until she came racing by, hitting the brakes moments before sailing past you. Her first few sentences had been awkward -- stilted, like she hadn’t really decided that she wanted to do this but was doing it anyway. You tried to seem casual enough that she wouldn’t feel weird about it and found yourself letting out a breath when she relaxed into easy conversation. 

“You definitely seem to know what you’re doing,” you said. “Do you skate a lot?”

“I skateboard.”

“Oh, cool!” you grinned. “I don’t think I’d be very good.”

“It just takes practice. I was pretty shit at it when I first started,” she shrugged. Then, very hesitantly. “I don’t know, you seem pretty average on wheels. It probably wouldn’t take you long to pick it up.”

“Do you skate at that bank in the park?”

“Yeah,” another hesitation. She glanced at you. “I could teach you sometime if you wanted. I mean, I’m not a teacher or anything,” she added in a rush, icing out her fluster with indifference. “But I could show you the basics or whatever.”

“Really?” you grinned wider. “Yeah, okay. Cool.”

“Cool,” Max nodded. Then, with an almost surprised glance in your direction, she skated off, catching up with Lucas, who gave her a mock shove in the shoulder. She grabbed his shoulders and pretended to shake him before he ducked out of her grip. Someone grabbed onto your shoulder. You turned around and Robin was there.

“Holy shit, that was exceptional. She, like, has this whole thing going on where she likes to seem all tough and it makes her pretend she doesn’t like anyone even when she does.”

“I like her,” you said. Robin smiled. 

“Me too. She--”

“Robin!” Steve yelled from across the room, voice raising in both volume and octave as he flailed toward you.

She took a breath to yell something back -- probably “What are you yelling for so loud, dingus, can’t you use your inside voice” -- when Steve, half hunched over in a desperate attempt to not fall, pointed frantically toward the ceiling.

Robin’s eyebrows furrowed. “What--”

“Robin,” you gasped, grabbing her arm. 

“Would someone kindly tell me what on Earth is-- Oh my god!”

“ABBA!” Steve yelled. 

“ABBA,” she yelled back, grabbing your arm as Mamma Mia blared over the speakers. 

“You can’t not dance to ABBA, but I might genuinely die so hold onto me, okay?”

You laughed, readjusting your grip on her enough that she didn’t faceplant as she began to wiggle around.

“Mamma Mia,” she sang, spinning around so she could face you head-on. You gripped her hands tightly. 

“Here I go again--”

“Woah, careful!”

“My, my, how can I resist you.”

“Mamma Mia,” Steve joined, coasting by -- nearly crashing into the wall.

“Does it show again, just how much I missed you.” Steve circled behind you as the two of them sang. You couldn’t stop smiling if you tried.

“Jesus Christ,” Eddie muttered as he slowly skated by. “This is truly a sad sight to see.”

Very slyly, you shot him a look. Then, throwing an arm around Robin’s shoulder, you sang nearly as loud as her and Steve.

“Yes, I've been brokenhearted. Blue since the day we parted. Why, why did I ever let you go?”

“Not you too.”

You just kept on singing, much to the delight of Steve, who seemed to be especially enjoying Eddie’s misery at the choice of music.

“It’s a roller rink, man,” Steve argued, shrugging. He’d gotten pretty decent on the skates, much to Eddie’s dismay. Less ammo. “They’re gonna play disco music.”

“Whatever. Just focus on not breaking your neck, okay Harrington.”

"Oh my god, do you think they'll play Dancing Queen?" he asked Robin. 

"Eds, I can see the vein in your forehead popping."

"New girl, I need less of that and more--" he pulled a thinking face "--ehhh, emotional support. That's it." He hooked an arm around your neck. Robin had grabbed your hand. You hadn't noticed until now -- wondered if anyone else had. Didn't care. 

It surprised you, but it felt good. Your insides felt all indigo and warm air and flowers woven into a crown. The lights blinked in a meadow across the floor. You rested your hand on Eddie's arm and squeezed Robin's with the other. 

"I love you," Robin whispered, leaning closer. 

"Insufferable," Eddie said with a big roll of his eyes and a little tug of your shoulders. 

"Can you guys not hang off each other for like, five whole minutes?" a now familiar voice appeared just a moment before Dustin skated into view. 

"You know what, Henderson?" Eddie pushed off of you and slid over to grab Dustin by the shoulders. "I've always been impressed by how much gall you can pack into such a tiny body." 

"Ha ha." 

“Seriously, though, how do you not explode?”

“Hey.” Robin’s voice was close. You took a moment before you looked at her, shivering at the feeling of her words and the memory of her lips. Then you turned, buckling under the weight that she held in your mind -- entirely too much; perfectly enough. 

“Hey,” you replied, hushed, with a shy smile that you didn’t even think to control. Probably couldn’t, when it came to her. 

“You okay?” she asked. 

“Yeah,” you said. Then, “Well, almost.” You were getting tired, and your social battery had run out a while ago, and--

“It’s, like, really loud,” Robin said like she already knew everything you could ever tell her. Like she knew all the right ways to make it better. 

“Yeah,” you whispered, smiling. 

“You wanna get out of here?” she said -- dragged the words out slowly, glancing around, ocean blue eyes scanning the room before landing back on you. Always on you. 

How were you this lucky to be the one that she came back to? 

“Yeah,” you whispered, face aching. 

Robin was steadier than she’d been the entire night as she led you toward the carpet. Everyone else around you was a blur, blending into yellow and blue streaks of sound and light and all that was inconsequential. And in your hand, Robin’s had grown warm. And somehow that didn’t matter because all the people around you were just as inconsequential as the blur. Your hips brushed hers as you untied your laces with quietly hasty fingers. And that warmth that had been in your hand came radiating off of Robin’s body. You didn’t even need to lean into it, it permeated your whole atmosphere. 

The world felt so much smaller as you followed Robin to the booth at the back of the rink. The world felt just the right size. You left your skates on the counter, feeling unsteady now on your own two feet. But then Robin was there, always there, and her fingers were intertwining with yours, and you looked up at her and you knew without uncertainty that wherever you went in this life, however unsteady your feet grew, she’d always be there, and you’d always have just enough strength to find your way to her. 

The two of you had the whole world. 

And yet, it was sitting on a dumpster behind a run-down roller rink in nowhere Hawkins where you watched a sunset that felt too substantial to possibly be found anywhere else. 

“I like your friends.” You broke the silence that had started with “You want to get out of here?” and lasted long enough to watch the yellow sun bleed down into orange, and then pink, and then purple. The sky was indigo now. It felt like home draped over your heads -- like the world had made this millions of years ago just for you where you were now. Like it had been waiting all this time for you to find it. A million and nineteen-something years. 

“Oh.” Robin broke her own silence with a sigh. And with that, you were together -- a million and nineteen-something years in the making. “I’m glad,” she said. “I was irrationally afraid that you’d, like, totally hate them, or find out that they’re completely crazy and then decide you want to bail, or… something.” She chuckled nervously, her eyes finding yours, still reflecting the last bits of the sky’s color. 

The sunsets always lasted longer in Robin’s eyes. 

“There’s nothing,” you said like it was a full answer. Maybe it was. “There’s nothing that could ever make me want to bail, or… anything.”

You watched the tides of Robin’s eyes shift as she watched you -- ocean spray turning to dark waves and blue depths. And it was the same as the sound of crickets, far off from where you were now, away in the forest that had first held the two of you close, and it was the same as the buzz of the pavement settling under the indigo sky that held you now. Everywhere you went, there was something that knit you together. Here, outside a roller rink in nowhere Hawkins that was bursting at the seams with warmth and life and love, it was your lips. 

She didn’t always kiss you slowly, but when she did, it was often under the light of a sunset, or the beams of the moon, or the glow of pool lights settled just below the water. And when she did, you found it ineluctable in you to not reach forward and feel the reflections that had settled on her cheeks. She could make any sharp light soft. She made the roughness of your fingers feel alive and ancient until her freckles and your fingerprints became one and the same. 

“I’m glad you’re alive,” you said, eyelashes brushing her cheek. Robin smiled. 

“Right back at you, Earth girl,” she murmured. Reaching onto your lap, she sought out your hand and hooked your pinkies together. 

You took a deep breath. It was filled with the smell of asphalt and dirt and the berry shampoo in Robin’s hair. Pulling one leg up onto the dumpster and crossing it under the other, you leaned toward Robin until your temple rested on her shoulder. The sky was glowing, and the air smelled like summer. It felt like the whole world belonged to you -- like no one else was here. Like nothing else mattered beyond the connection between your pinkies. 

“‘M I interrupting something?”

Neither of you panicked at the familiar voice. Instead, you turned to find Eddie walking into the orbit of your world, his hands stuffed in his pockets and a soft smile on his face. 

“Don’t you usually,” Robin answered, lacking malice. 

“Hi, Eds,” you said because it felt right. 

“Mind if I sit?”

Robin shook her head a second before you did. Eddie hopped up next to her. 

“A dumpster. Romantic.”

“Said the guy who brought Steve that old sweatshirt like a cat dropping a dead bird on a porch.”

“Hey. That sweatshirt is a piece of Metallica history, Buckley, and you’ll show it some respect.”

“You’re such a dingus, dingus.”

“Yeah, yeah, tell me about it.”

The three of you sat in silence. Eddie knocked his knee against Robin’s. She knocked hers back. 

“Hey,” Steve rounded the corner. “What the hell are you guys doing, I’ve been looking for you for like twenty minutes,” he said, lacking malice. Almost soft. 

“Just admiring the sunset from this dumpster,” Eddie announced. 

“Looks to me like you’re third-wheeling, Munson.”

“What? Never.”

“Yeah, I, uh… think we’re pretty far beyond third wheeling in this relationship, Steve,” Robin said. “Or even fourth wheeling.”

“We’re a package deal,” Eddie added. “Like collectibles.”

“Collectables,” Steve narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, okay sure. Well, when you guys are done being weird, I’m ready to go.”

Eddie raised an eyebrow indignantly before hauling himself to his feet and sauntering over to Steve. 

“Don’t you have some infants to put to bed, Harrington?”

Steve pretended to bat him away before letting Eddie settle an arm around his neck. 

“No. They do have parents, in case you missed that.” Everyone knew that it didn’t really matter. Steve looked after them like they were his own. Always would. “Anyway, they’re all spending the night at Byers’ place as a going away party or something.”

“Well then,” Eddie pulled him closer. “Looks like we have Mama Steve all to ourselves.”

Robin blew some hair out of her face and clapped loudly. Grinning, you hid your face in her shoulder and kicked your legs. 

“Whatever, just don’t expect me to cook your dinner or do your laundry,” Steve muttered. Eddie shot forward to offer you and Robin each of his hands as you jumped off the dumpster. 

“Don’t you do that anyway?” Robin asked, crinkling her nose. 

“We love you, Steve,” you said, walking over to him -- he’d slowed down to let the three of you catch up -- and bumped your shoulder into his. 

“Yeah, I don’t wanna hear it,” he said, but you could hear the way he was fighting a smirk, and when he wrapped an arm around your shoulder, you knew that the sentiment had been returned. 

As the four of you made your way to Steve’s car, Robin skipped forward and grabbed your hand, lacing your fingers together. From the other side of the parking lot, the kids were all piling into Joyce and Hopper’s car. 

“There’s no way that’s safe,” she commented. 

“Clown car for sure,” Eddie said, taking a few exaggerated, floppy steps and honking an imaginary nose.”

“You’re the clown,” Steve muttered. 

Bathed in a dark blue glow like the backdrop on a stage, someone reached above the car and waved. Dustin, maybe. Probably Dustin. 

The four of you waved back. 

Robin didn’t let go of your hand. 

______________________________________________________________

No one was in the mood for swimming, but no one wanted to be inside either. Steve passed out a round of beers and then never got up to get any more. Unprompted, he said that his parents were supposed to be coming back in a few weeks. 

“Summer’s almost over,” he said, staring at the can in his lap. Little droplets of perspiration clung to his fingertips, slid down the dark, shiny aluminum. “Still, I thought they’d be away longer.” He shrugged lamely. “There’s still time.”

"It'll probably be weird, not being the only one living here again, huh?" Robin murmured. You leaned your cheek onto her thigh. The skin was soft and warm, and every breath you took smelled like Robin, chlorine, and the sweet summer night air. 

Steve looked up and glanced at Eddie, then at the two of you sitting across from him. 

“Haven’t really felt like I was the only one living here, though,” he said with another shrug, like he was trying to shut the conversation down before it got too far. 

All three of you knew what he meant. You didn’t need to say anything to know that you were thinking the same thing. Eddie and Robin and you, you’d all spent as much time here as you could -- almost as much time as Steve. There had been countless nights where he and Eddie had shared a bed, or all four of you had fallen asleep in a pile in the living room; nights where you and Robin had camped out on Steve’s bedroom floor, feeling like you were kids again having a sleepover, gossiping about what you were going to do during summer break or what you wanted to be when you grew up. 

But now you were grown up. High school was over forever; you all worked jobs, none of you had the aspirations nor the money for college, and you had no idea what lie for you beyond Hawkins. Sometimes you wondered if you even wanted to find out. Somehow you felt like no matter what you did, you’d always be a failure. In a lot of ways, you still felt like a kid sleeping on the floor of a friend’s bedroom with no worries bigger than what you were going to buy back-to-school shopping with your mom or which teachers you were going to get. 

You wished you could pretend that the summer nights on Steve’s floor would last forever like you used to when you were a kid. Nights that glowed softly with streetlamps from outside open windows and warm breezes and the sound of crickets had always felt like, if you squinted just enough, focused your mind just enough, they would never end. You’d always been able to convince yourself that you could freeze them right then and there and nothing would change. A perpetual summer of sleeping on a friend’s bedroom floor. But things had changed, and you’d gotten older, and now the world expected something from you. Something you didn’t feel ready to give. Something none of you felt ready to give. 

The world hadn’t given any of you a chance to be kids. Now, when it wanted you to be adults, you had no idea what to do. You were sinking. 

“I wish we could stay like this forever,” you whispered, picking at the fabric of your pants. They were a pair of Steve’s flannels. Somehow, none of you had thought to start keeping a change of clothes at his house, despite how long this had been going on. Or maybe you had thought of it, and the thought had been ignored. “I wish we could always be together like this.” 

The four of you taking on the world felt so much more bearable than facing it all by yourself. 

“Then… fuck it." Eddie's voice joined the night. "Why don’t we?” All three of you looked at him and, after a moment, he looked back. “Yeah. I mean, fuck it. We’re already failures, if you ask any respectable resident of Hawkins--” he pulled a face. “So, why shouldn’t we stick together? What’s stopping us?”

You felt Robin’s hand slide down your neck to the center of your shoulder blades. Her palm was warm, and her leg where your cheek was pressed was warm. 

“I mean,” Steve started, staring at the concrete but really looking somewhere far beyond it. “It’s not like I’ve got anything to lose besides you guys and a bunch of rugrats. King Steve is six feet under and turning fucking blue.”

“Yeah,” Robin said. You could feel her voice through her fingertips. “I never had much of a reputation anyway.”

In the silence, you all realized what was happening. A sort of pact made next to a glowing, mirror-surface pool, under a sky of dark indigo. Your only witnesses were the crickets and the stars and the echoing of a suburban neighborhood while everyone else was asleep. 

And nothing else was said about it, about Eddie’s fuck it or Steve’s I don’t have anything to lose besides you guys, but the silence allowed all four of you to understand, almost suddenly, that nights like these didn’t have to stop. Not for Steve’s parents, not for anybody. 

“Rent will be cheaper with four people,” Steve said, almost as an afterthought. 

And that was that.

______________________________________________________________

Taglist: @alonezz , @gaysludge, @gray-cheese, @rare-breed-of-human, @vea-vea-vea, @lady-silkwing, @im-a-milf, @yourmanifestingbigsister, @bubbles0oo, @wormm-mom

#robin buckley x reader #robin buckley x y/n #robin buckley x you #robin buckley x female reader #robin buckley x f!reader #robin x reader #robin buckley fanfic #robin buckley #st #st fanfic #stranger things #stranger things fanficion #eddie munson #steve harrington #the party #dustin henderson #steve and dustin #steve and eddie #minor steddie #steve and reader #eddie and reader #steve and robin #eddie and robin #ao3 link

[atimeofyourlife]

Lost in time, lost in space, and meaning

written for @steddieholidaydrabbles prompt: platonic stobin | rated: m | wc: 795 | tags: platonic stobin, dr who au, minor robin/vickie, minor steve/tommy/carol, minor buckingham, minor steddie, alien fucker steve Robin and Steve meet a strange man called The Doctor, and they join him in his adventures in time and space, where they get themselves in and out of trouble, and fall in and out of love. title from Rocky Horror

Neither Steve or Robin had expected this when they stumbled across the strange blue box. They hadn't expected the strange man to come stumbling out and collapse at their feet. And they certainly hadn't expected to end up fighting the strange creatures that had appeared after they'd helped get the man some food and water, ensuring he was okay.

But, it got them an offer to join him in travelling. He'd introduced himself as The Doctor, and the box wasn't just a box. It was a machine that could take them just about anywhere in time and space. Neither of them had anything other than each other to tie them to their everyday lives, so it only took seconds to reach a mutual agreement to go. For the adventure of a lifetime.

Robin thought she would get a chance to put her language skills to the test, getting to converse in other languages when they visited somewhere that used a language that she already spoke, and getting to learn new languages everywhere else. It was a disappointment to find out they were covered by a universal translator.

Steve just wanted to experience every type of sport he possibly could. Ancient precursors to the sports he'd known and loved in their own time. Future sports that were millennia from being invented, the technology and techniques so far advanced that it would be inconceivable in their own time. And alien sports, that couldn't even translate to anything like earth sports, too different, too far removed from anything he'd ever known. But he loved every moment of it, experiencing things he never should have known existed.

Over their time with The Doctor, they both managed to get themselves into a wide range of trouble, leaving a number of time periods they would never be able to return to. They'd almost been arrested at various points, needing The Doctor to save them. In the times of the witch trials, they'd nearly gotten themselves executed for witchcraft. Steve had started a fistfight with the man who had brought conversion therapy into prominence. And both of them had had to make a hasty escape after not holding their tongue around various rich and powerful members of society across the ages, politicians, royalty, those who had caused social change for the worse.

Then there were the more fun reasons why they couldn't return to some periods. Steve's desire to flirt his way out of trouble, or to get information out of someone. Which often led to sex, which could be very interesting, especially when there were extra limbs or... appendages depending on the species. Robin always listened to Steve's tales of his encounters with both fascination and disgust.

"I don't care who or what you fuck, I just hope you're using condoms or whatever the alien equivalent is, because otherwise, you are going to be the source of some super-STI." Robin replied to Steve, after a lengthy and detailed account of the previous evening.

There was also both of them having relationships varying in seriousness. Robin falling head over heels with Vickie, an Irish immigrant in mid-1800's New York, having left Ireland during the Great Famine. It could have been forever, if not for Vickie's reluctance to leave her family, who she helped support.

Steve getting caught up with a couple, Tommy and Carol, in the early 22nd century. It was messy and painful all around, but Steve knew he would always hold some love for them.

Them both falling at the same time, for a pair of friends in a royal court. Robin falling for Christina, a lady-in-waiting to the princess, while Steve fell for Edward, the court jester. It felt magical, but they didn't know how to move forward. They couldn't just stay in place because of who they'd fallen for, and Edward and Christina couldn't come along. Neither of them understood where Steve and Robin had come from, or how they had appeared. They were cautious about anything, in fear of word reaching the king. Not wanting to risk their positions in the royal court, to lose their livelihoods or even their lives.

Steve and Robin hadn't wanted to, but they were able to move on. But always remembering what could have been with Edward and Christina. Occasionally, they would talk The Doctor into returning, not to make contact, but just to see how they were, if they were surviving.

Eventually they returned to their own time, to the lives they had taken a break from. It was strange, settling back into the monotony of normal life. But life had to move on. They moved to a new city, got new jobs. And even became close to Eddie and Chrissy, a strangely familiar pair of friends that lived opposite.

#steve harrington #eddie munson #robin buckley #platonic stobin #dr who au fic #steddie #steve harrington x eddie munson #steve x eddie #minor steddie #buckingham #minor buckingham #atimeofyourwrites

[stevesbipanic]

Lavendar Haze

Cross posted on ao3

Part 1 of my Midnights Collection, more to come to subscribe for updates on ao3 or just check here regularly! :))

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meet me at midnight

Robin sees the familiar headlights pass behind her house, parking behind the big oak tree. She’s told Steve a hundred times that he could just come through the front door, but he says it’s more fun this way. She knew he was coming; he had called ahead, as he always does. Another nightmare, a year on from Starcourt and they can’t escape the horrors they witnessed there.

Steve climbs inside with the grace of a dork that’s done this before. He didn’t even change out of his sweatpants before coming over. Wordlessly, she lifts the blankets allowing him to slip in beside her, wrapping their arms around each other, relaxing in the knowledge that they were both safe.

Staring at the ceiling with you

Oh, you don't ever say too much

And you don't really read into

My melancholia

She knew Steve could tell she had had one too, he’s good at reading her these days. Neither of them wants to talk about it though, they’re awake and safe now. They’ve shared plenty of nights going over what happened, bringing it up doesn’t help anymore. Steve runs his fingers through her hair, soothing both of them. Comforting her without words is what he’s best at. He knows and that’s what matters.

I've been under scrutiny (yeah, oh yeah)

You handle it beautifully (yeah, oh yeah)

All this shit is new to me (yeah, oh yeah)

“I wish I could tell my parents what happened to us. I swear they look right through my mask some days, they know something is wrong and I’ll never be able to tell them.”

“I know Robbie, I guess that’s the one good thing about absent parents. Since 1983 all the people that have needed to know what happened to me were right beside me.”

Robin gives a sad smile at that, curling closer into Steve’s chest. She knew the Buckleys would adopt Steve if they could.

“We should talk about happier things, cheer ourselves up. How’s Eddie?” Robin said smirking at the now blushing boy.

“Eddie is fine, him and Wayne are all set up in the new house, we hung up his shiny new diploma this morning.”

“You two are so cute it’s gross, when are you going to tell him?”

“I don’t know if I should Robs, all this liking boys stuff is new to me and I don’t want him to think he’s an experiment or something.”

I feel a lavender haze creeping up on me

So real, I'm damned if I do give a damn what people say

No deal, the 1950s shit they want from me

I just wanna stay in that lavender haze

Helping Steve with his sexuality crisis a few months ago had been an experience. Robin only knew about gays and lesbians, the two of them had had to go to a hole-in-the-wall bookshop in Indianapolis to find a zine that would explain what Steve had been feeling. Robin didn’t know you could like both, since she never had.

Life was different than what her parents had grown up in. The world was changing, and there were new words to help young people like Steve come to terms with their identities. It had taken some explaining to Eddie, showing him the zine and other things, they’d collected. He seemed to understand, but she could also see how it might bring up some old trauma with Eddie who had been an “experiment” before.

All they keep asking me (all they keep asking me)

Is if I'm gonna be your bride

“Mom still thinks you’re my boyfriend. She wants to know if we’re getting married now that I’ve graduated. Her and Dad got hitched right out of high school, so I think they want the same for me, which is gross.”

The only kind of girl they see (the only kind of girl they see)

Is a one night or a wife

“My parents did the same. When I graduated they told me if I wasn’t going to go to college I might as well be useful and marry into a good family. Said I need to stop being childish with all the girls around town and grow up. I hadn’t even been going on many dates, King Steve was the dating kind, not me.”

I find it dizzying (yeah, oh yeah)

They're bringing up my history (yeah, oh yeah)

But you aren't even listening (yeah, oh yeah)

It all felt so overwhelming the expectations of society and parents and the world. For a moment though it did feel good that their biggest problem was parents and not flesh-eating monsters. Steve was still talking but Robin’s mind had started forming a plan to solve both of their problems.

I feel a lavender haze creeping up on me

So real, I'm damned if I do give a damn what people say

No deal, the 1950s shit they want from me

I just wanna stay in that lavender haze (ooh, ooh, whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa)

That lavender haze

“What if we get married?”

“What?”

“I love you, you love me. Let’s get married. No more stupid questions from my parents, you can say a big fuck you to yours since I doubt they see my family as a ‘good family’ and more importantly no more getting separated.”

It’s the one thing they hadn’t brought up since Spring. After carrying Eddie’s bleeding body out of the Upside Down and to the hospital, Steve had collapsed from blood loss. With no legal guardians or spouse around, no one was allowed to see him until he was stable, they weren’t even told what was going on. It had been the worst 24 hours of Robin’s life knowing nothing about what was happening with Steve, her best friend, her platonic soulmate.

“Fuck it, let’s get married.”

Talk your talk and go viral

I just need this love spiral

Get it off your chest

Get it off my desk (get it off my desk)

Talk your talk and go viral

I just need this love spiral

Get it off your chest

Get it off my desk

They started with telling the Buckley’s, Steve had slipped out the next morning to steal a good enough ring from his mother, she wouldn’t miss it anyway. Robin’s parents were thrilled of course. Next was telling Eddie and Nancy, which was interesting.

“You’re getting what?”

“Married Eds.”

“Why?”

“Cause we love each other and society sucks so.”

“Fair point but you’re definitely not together right?”

“No Eds, still platonic with a capital P, I haven’t become a girl over night and Robs is still very much a lesbian.”

“Ok I guess I can get behind this then, need a date to the wedding?”

“Are you asking me to my own wedding?”

“Sure am.”

“Thought you’d never ask.”

Nancy had been similar, wanting to make sure this is what they wanted and weren’t just being stupid.

“Oh no we’re very stupid still, Nance.”

“Yeah, this is just low on our stupid scale. Want to be my maid of honour since dingus can’t be?”

The kids were ecstatic.

“I knew you were together!”

“Dustin, you know Robin is a lesbian.”

“Oh right. Well can I be your best man?”

“Of course, kid, wouldn’t want anyone other than my brother.”

Hopper and Joyce had been happy at the news, claiming it would give everyone something good to celebrate.

I feel (I feel) a lavender haze creeping up on me

So real, I'm damned if I do give a damn what people say

No deal (no deal), the 1950s shit they want from me

I just wanna stay in that lavender haze

(Ooh, ooh, whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa)

The wedding was small and perfect. They held it in the woods behind Hopper’s cabin, just their small group of friends who were more like family. Robin wore a dark brown suit which had used to be Jonathan’s and Steve worse a white button down and let the girls put flowers in his hair. The wedding was very them, dumb vows like “you’ll always be my dingus,” and “I want to be your schmuck forever.” A perfect day.

Get it off your chest

Get it off my desk

That lavender haze

I just wanna stay

Years later when it was legal for them to marry their romantic partners, Steve and Robin stayed married. Their partners understood, Robin and Steve were soulmates and should never be apart. Brought together in trauma and staying together through love; there would be no more days when they didn’t know if the other were ok. As the world kept growing there would be new words for them but they didn’t need more labels, they knew what they were to each other and that’s all that mattered.

I just wanna stay

In that lavender haze

#stobin #platonic stobin #platonic with a capital p #platonic soulmates #steve harrignton #robin buckley #minor steddie #stranger things #stranger things s4 #my fic #ao3 #midnights #taylor swift #song fic #lavendar haze

[straight4joekeery]

Steve: I wouldn’t put it in those words exactly.

Robin: Why not?

Steve: Because I don't know what they mean.

~~~~~~~~~

Robin: I’m sick and tired of being called 'mortal', you don’t know that. Neither do I. I have never died even ONCE. Nothing has been proven yet. Stop making assumptions. It’s rude.

~~~~~~~~~

Robin: How many children do you have?

Steve: Biologically, legally, or emotionally? Because there is a difference.

~~~~~~~~~

Steve: That was the worst throw ever. Of all time.

Robin: Not my fault. Somebody put a wall in the way.

~~~~~~~~~

Robin: We’re getting married, bitches!

Steve: And we're about to make it everybody else's problem.

~~~~~~~~~

Robin: I’m so excited!

Steve: We’re gonna have the best costumes, get the most candy...

Robin: And have the biggest stomach aches ever!

Steve: Yeah!

~~~~~~~~~

Steve: I can't take this anymore, Eddie needs to take me out!

Robin: In a dating type of way, or an assassination type of way?

Steve: I don't know, surprise me!

~~~~~~~~~~

Robin: I WOULD DESTROY THE WORLD FOR YOU!

Steve: Okay, can you do the dishes?

Robin: No!

~~~~~~~~~

Robin: I don’t know the first thing about clothes. Pretty much all I can do is look at something and tell you if it’s clothes or not. This chair? Not clothes.

~~~~~~~~~

Robin: Are you alright with constructive criticism? I don't want to sound mean.

Steve: No, go ahead. I want to hear it.

Robin: It sucks.

Steve: That's not constructive criticism.

#my favs #blorbos #I feel like one random night they got married and immediately regretted it like a week later but never got divorced #y’all did not even touch the last one I posted so 🤞 #stranger things #robin buckley #steve harrington #platonic stobin #steve and robin #bffs fr #minor steddie #cause it’s inevitable #steddie #incorrect stranger things quotes #incorrect steve harrington #incorrect robin #joe keery #maya hawke #wife <333 #anywho #fav gays

[bowiebond]

Too Much For A Freak?

A little something something I conjured up for the tiny Harringrove x Steddie fandom 😂

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/39578250

CW: Non-SFW, kissing, voyeurism, Billy is a lil sadistic & Steve is a lil masochistic (so it works), biting, cumming in pants

“You have to stop calling me like this.”

“Oh my god, you sound like a girl, Harrington.” He leans back on the bench, against the table, with an eye roll.

“You’re such a prick.” His backpack hits the leafy ground as he stands before Billy, arms crossed. Billy’s disinterest fades from his eyes as they spark anew, piercing blues caressing his form. Steve gave a cynical scoff at the leer, but did nothing as Billy’s hands cupped his thigh and smoothed up, over his ass and squeezing his waist. His thumb digs into the tender skin there and Steve’s face tingles with heat.

“And yet you came.” Billy murmured, peering up at Steve through full caramel lashes. He can’t pull off the innocence than Steve can, but his ocean blues do make his stomach flip.

It takes barely a pull to guide Steve into his lap, thighs spread to make room for the man, hooking his legs over his. His lips part in a pearly white grin, eyes battling between Steve’s anxious gaze and his full lips.

“Hargrove—“

“Stop. Thinking.” Billy whispered in the air between them before taking his lips in a soft kiss. Steve’s breathes shakily against his upper lip, hands finding purchase on the others shoulders as he leans into the affection.

Billy’s hand is warm against his bare skin as it travels up his back, admiring the ridges of muscle and bone. Steve is smooth all over and it makes Billy envious to touch him.

“Billy…” Steve breathed, arching and shivering as Billy’s calloused hand curves under his arm, touching his chest. He wonders if Billy can feel how hard his heart is thumping inside it.

“Shh, just feel it, baby. Nobody ever comes here anyway…” Billy grinned against the corner of his lip and pressed a kiss there before taking his chin and turning him into a deeper, filthier kiss.

Steve shuddered as the autumn breeze swept through the trees and along his exposed skin, pressing further into Billy’s warm touch, his hands, his fingertips. The man knows how to torture Steve, to make him bend to his will, and Steve’s fear of being caught always melts away with the sheer heat of Billy’s desire.

“Ah-!” Steve jolted at the pinch, nipples growing stiff under the stimulus. Billy’s mouth silences any other sounds of pleasure or protest. Billy’s lips draw from his to lavish his jaw, his neck, and Steve closes his eyes in hopes of focusing, of regaining some semblance of control.

Steve gasped as Billy’s hand slid down his inner thigh and cupped his crotch, fondling him.

“Billy, fuck,” He can’t think of much else to say when he’s got a hand on his dick and lips on his throat. Billy isn’t shy about lovebites; the great ex-King Steve must still have some game in him, surely. That’s all the others will think.

Billy’s just possessive. He doesn’t care for the consequence when he can throw the curtains over the truth. He wants others to know Steve is spoken for.

“Billy, god…”

He doesn’t mean to see them. Really! They were at his spot, for crying out load, nobody was supposed to come here except him and whatever individual wanted the good shit.

He’s glad he was the only one out here today to see them, or else there would be a witch hunt he’d have no chance at stopping.

“Fuck…”

He doesn’t mean to watch either. He’s not that kind of person — though he’s been asked plenty of times. It wasn’t usually what did it for him, you know?

But it’s hard to look away when the two hottest guys in school are making out— no, getting off together. Especially when it’s Steve Harrington, the prettiest boy around with the nicest hair and most kissable lips and biggest doe eyes.

Eddie has had a massive boner for the guy since he was seventeen, can you blame him? Half the school wanted a piece of that even in Steve’s freshman year.

Billy’s a whole other story. That guy oozes sex appeal that have half the moms in the area sloppier than their casseroles. With the gorgeous long dirty blond curls, California tan and eyes as deep as the sea back where he came from — he’s a magnet to all women and any man who dare to even look out of their closet.

It’s no wonder he’s got Steve Harrington in his lap, putty in his strong hands and panting against his smug little smile. Billy looks damn near smitten with Steve grinding into his palm, eyes shut and cheeks red. His lips are even fuller now, swollen from Billy’s kiss and rubbed pink from his ‘stache. They part further with every anticipatory gasp, jilted little moans caressing Billy’s cheek as he bucks and clings to him tighter and tighter.

Eddie watches Billy speak but he can’t hear anything but a low murmur of his husky voice.

“That’s it, baby. You came all this way…” Billy purred against his ear and Steve’s eyes fluttered as the pleasure became too much. “Take your reward, Harrington.”

Steve’s voice cracks when he cums, a hybrid of a moan and a whine leaving his throat as Billy wrings out his pleasure for his own enjoyment. Steve knows his pleasure will always be less for him and more for Billy. Billy wants to see him fall apart like this. It makes him feel superior.

Steve doesn’t care so much anymore. He just likes when Billy makes him feel good. When he touches him with no restraint.

“Billy.” Steve sighed, resting his forehead against his collar. Billy just rumbles with amusement, the hand on his back tangling into his hair and digging in. Steve shivered.

“You done thinking, baby?” Billy grinned, pulling his head back to kiss him — harder, insistent. Billy’s arousal is sharp and biting compared to Steve’s mellow need.

“Yeah,” Steve breathed against his lips, ignoring the tacky feeling in his pants in favour of cupping Billy’s face and returning the vigour with whatever strength he can muster.

Billy laughs into his attempt but allows Steve to right himself, to straddle instead of lay upon him. He’s got his hands on soft hair and full ass and he’s purring like his Camaro with delight.

His lips, teeth, tongue — they find their way along Steve’s jaw and throat, guiding the others ass in slow circles against his cock. It’s heavenly enough that’s his eyes roll and flutter, a silent groan escaping against hot skin. When his gaze focuses forward, grip still so deliciously tight and the muscles in his arms flexing, his eyes find something other than woodland.

Eddie knows he’s been spotted the moment those eyes find him. He stiffens, waits. He doesn’t know how to explain his position, how the pair are not in danger, but he whips his bandanna out and waves it like a white flag despite its black colour.

Billy’s movement does not falter, but his eyes widen and there’s a moment of sheer panic before Eddie makes a fool of himself with his handkerchief. Then all there is is confusion, the kind you get when you witness something so stupid you can’t fully grasp it just happened.

Eddie gives a thumbs up despite his pink face and wide eyes and quiet backs away. Billy’s confusion ebbs away and then his eyes…

They’re intense. Eddie only knows so because his dick begins to hurt in a good way where he’s tucked his hard on into his waistband. He sees why the term “piercing” is the perfect description for those ocean eyes.

Billy gaze fuses with his bewildered one as his lips curl into a devilish smile, turning his nose against mused brown hair. He presses kisses along Steve’s strained neck, held in place by his rough grip, and scraps his teeth against the pale flesh to make it bloom the same shade on the metalhead’s face.

Eddie swallowed hard, his tightly closed jaw working anxiously as Billy dragged his obscene tongue along the shell of Steve’s ear like the sinful forked-tongue snake that doomed Eden.

All while he hypnotises him to keep his gaze, eyes hollow and magnetising like death as he nosed beneath the collar of Steve’s shirt.

Eddie jumps from his trance at the cry that escapes the brunet’s lips, those dull eyes sparkling to life with a hint of feral giddiness you’d only see in beasts from hell. Billy’s teeth dig deeper into his flesh, possessive and relentless and Steve /shakes/ and clutches him like a lifeline.

You can’t rip a dog away from his dinner bowl without getting bitten yourself, that much Eddie grew up knowing.

Eddie slowly backed away, steps growing into an impatient stagger as Billy watched his retreat, releasing his prey from his jaws and soothing the damage.

Eddie almost trips over his own feet as he spins on his heel and breaks his way through the trees, back to the school grounds nearby.

He’s never been harder in his life and he wrings his bandanna in his hands.

“Holy shit.”

Steve tugged harshly at a curl as Billy groaned in his ear, the pair basking in their glow.

“Ow. Watch it, Harrington.”

“Fuck you. That hurt.” Steve scowled as he brushed his fingers over the bite. He couldn’t tell if the wetness was saliva or blood. “The hell was that for, Billy?”

“You liked it. Don’t lie, baby.” Billy grinned, playing with Steve’s ridiculous stiff collar. He was such a prep. “You keep me because I’m mean.”

Steve has no reply to that, but he does take Billy’s hand and give it a good bite back, but Billy just laughs.

“You trying to possess me, princess?”

“I’ve got you by the balls, Hargrove.” Steve snorted and kissed you hard, trying to wipe the smug smile off his face. Which is a feat in itself.

Billy hummed against his lips, a possessive grin showing off his canines between kisses.

That freak Munson wouldn’t be spilling a word about them if the tent in his jeans meant anything. If he didn’t and blabbed; he’d be eating through a tube the rest of his life.

#harringrove #steve harrington #billy hargrove x steve harrington #billy hargrove #minor steddie #eddie munson x steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #minor billeddie #is that even a thing #? #mungrove #harringroveson

[lesbiannancytruther]

whats this? a mythical moment au post?

i bet u thought she was gone but u were WRONG!!

vampire nancy werewolf robin is my LIFEBLOOD

im never over them so here’s some mythical moment au ronance hcs <3 is it a hc if in this au its literally canon....... we will never know...

-as mentioned a long ass time ago nancy has supernatural charm, it’s not really something she can turn off but she can definitely make it more intense. that said, she hardly ever uses it on people she loves, especially not robin, she doesn’t like controlling people, but there are a few circumstances, as follows:

-getting her and her codependent friend group out of trouble. the amount of times she’s had to supernaturally convince people that robin didn’t actually just lift steve (a giant ass man) over her head and throw him a solid 10 feet away from her without breaking a sweat. steve didn’t actually just growl like an actual animal at another bar patron that intentionally shoulder checked robin (even though it literally didn’t even phase her cmon steve calm down). eddie didn’t just take a barstool broken across his back without even flinching. everyone owes her money because of this (though she’d never force them to pay up)

- robin: nancy steve owes u money make him buy dessert

 nancy: you also owe me money

  robin, shakily taking a sip of her water:

-there are only two occasions where nancy ever turns the charm onto robin, one is if robin is more playfully refusing than anything

- nancy: robin can i have a bite of ur cake

  robin: no way last time u ate the whole thing

  nancy, like super charming: please

  robin: omg okay <3

-the other is during the full moon, where nancy’s charm really doesn’t work that well on wolf robin, because wolves are not compelled like people are. it’s really only if nancy really pours it on (and exhausts herself in the process) that the little bit of robin’s presence comes to the forefront, stopping her for just a moment.

-nancy really only does this if robin is about to do something really dangerous or that she’ll regret. nancy doesn’t discover that this even works on robin until many full moons into her life as a werewolf.

-FIRM believer in robin carrying nancy to bed supremacy like i think its so incredibly real, and in this au there’s no denying robin is strong enough to do it >:) im unstoppable. cause like IMAGINE, they’re watching a movie all cuddled up together and when it ends nancy just has to like hold her arms up and robin just carries her and its REAL

-robin particularly struggles with being overwhelmed by all of her overpowering senses, it’s a common problem and she has to retreat to quieter spaces all the time to really process everything and recover. nancy usually joins robin, since she makes so little sound and is willing to just be a comforting presence, and in a lot of ways she understands. the only sense that nancy has that’s stronger than robin’s is eyesight, but her senses have also been enhanced so she understands how overwhelming it can be.

-nancy being incredibly protective of robin despite robin being able to handle herself just fine. nancy has broken many noses in robin’s honor and it flatters her every time even though she insists it isn’t necessary.

-the first time robin really protect nancy is against a rogue demogorgon, which she almost rips apart in the rush, and nancy is surprised at how nice it feels for someone to protect her.

-the two of them taking turns to either cool one down or warm the other up. nancy is effectively cold blooded and gets cold pretty easy, robin is like a portable space heater, who never struggles to be warm, so she often receives robin’s jacket or, if they’re stationary, she’ll just stand/sit in robin’s arms, sometimes inside of her jacket bc she fits

-by extension, robin gets overheated easily and nancy is a walking ice cube, nancy will lay along robin’s back or sometimes all the way on top of robin and let her cold seep into robin.

-all im saying are cold hands on robin’s hips and hot hands on nancy’s neck, and vice versa

-you would think avoiding silver would be super easy in the not exactly affluent town of hawkins but it’s actually a struggle. half of nancy’s jewelry has to go, and a lot of the accents on some of her clothes were made of silver. robin’s beloved ring collection was basically impossible, same with eddie, they mourned that loss together. (nancy made it her goal to get robin all new rings in bronze and gold)

-also, not sure if i’ve mentioned this before, but silver scars. bad. nancy has a permanent ragged scar on her shoulder from where robin placed her ring clad fingers on nancy’s shoulder in the beginning, and though nancy clearly doesn’t blame her, robin still kisses it often in silent apology.

-the fruity four is effectively nocturnal, with nancy and eddie being unable to stand the sun and robin and steve being stronger and more comfortable at night, but they all struggle in the daytime together to keep up appearances. my point of this? ronance midday naps.

-IN LOVE with ronance and dancing. when they’re alone in nancy’s big house at night and they play music on very low volume that they can hear just as well and dance in the living room, taking turns leading. nancy likes twirling and robin loves dipping nancy low to the ground, and they have to actively quiet their giggles to keep an annoyed karen at bay.

thats all for now i love them

#stranger things #nancy wheeler #robin buckley #ronance #vampire!nancy #werewolf!robin #mythical moment au #minor steddie

[demodoggonetired]

my tags on the last post + that one post that was going around about Steve twirling things & Eddie being distracted by it got me thinking

just how many times Steve unthinkingly twirls/flips items (probably a holdover from basketball and then later Scoops, I'd imagine)

The house/car keys Not too outrageous. Steve standing there, waiting on the kids to Hurry it Up, they're gonna be late. One hand on his hips, keys spinning relentlessly around his index finger. Really leave him waiting anywhere too long and he'll start twirling them, too much restless energy.

Any object you hand to him Once the kids catch on, they make a game of it. What's the most outrageous things they can hand to him and how long until he starts to spin / flip it. The catch being that Steve can't realize he's doing it, meaning you gotta keep him distracted while he's holding the object. Max is currently winning when she'd handed Steve the cast iron dutch oven she'd unearthed from deep within the Harrington kitchen. He was spinning it on the counter in a little under 30 seconds. If Max timed it right as Eddie and the other boys had started a chicken fight in the pool, well that's for her to know.

The kitchen knife The worst offender. He was chopping vegtables while animatedly talking with Robin. He'd paused to argue his point and, like many other (non-sharp) objects before, had flipped the knife to emphasize said point. Steve now knows why it's unrealistic and stupid to cut your hand across the palm when making blood rituals in horror films. Steve also now has a temporary ban from the kitchen until he remembers his knife safety.

The lube bottle Steve had reached over to snag it from the bedside table and that's when he'd done it. He honestly, truly, hadn't done it on purpose. He's mortified until he sees the expression on Eddie's face. Halfway between "I can't believe you just did that." and "I can't believe you just did that."

#as someone who gets their energy out via moving the objects around me i get it #however my dropping a knife on myself was unrelated to any spinning objects #stranger things #steve harrington #minor steddie #steddie #hinted nsft #nsft #my posts #my writing

[steviewashere]

Celebrating another little milestone :)

Death Be Kind To My Mother, Be Kinder Than Man hit 200 kudos and I'm over the moon. This was my first ever multi-chapter fic, birthed from the grief I had towards my late mother (well, grief that I still have). And it was basically just my way of figuring out what my mourning meant, why my emotions were so strong, the people I had found outlets with, and where to move myself to once the worst of it was done.

It's one of my more hopeful stories, one that I cherish like a newborn baby. I adore it with all my heart and I'm just glad to see other people relating to it and doting over it and all that jazz. Thank you <3

#stranger things #steve harrington #fanfiction #minor steddie #steve harrington's parents #found family #elated over the moon all the giddiness under the sun

[ashleyreadsfanfiction]

Fic of the Day #10

I love myself a POV Outsider fic, and this one's no different.

4B by andthentheybow

Outsider POV is one of my all-time favourite tropes. The idea of characters outside the main group, seeing the shenanigans that go on and being confused the entire time is way too entertaining to me. This fic involves the fruity four (steve, nancy, robin and eddie) living in an apartment together while the two outsiders, their neighbours, look on in confusion. It's inspired me to write my own POV Outsider fic with the fruity four, and I hope I can do this one justice.

#ao3 #archive of our own #fic #fanfic #fanfiction #fic of the day #fanfic of the day #minor steddie #steddie #stranger things #minor ronance #ronance #fruity four #the fruity four #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #steve harrington #eddie munson #outsider pov #pov outsider

[kennahjune]

No Upside Down steddie AU where Steve gradually meets the members of Hellfire (-Eddie) in and out of school and they all come to befriending him really fast because “Steve Harrington is actually a good dude”

But Eddie fucking hates it.

And this only spurs Hellfire on because they think him getting mad over Steve Harrington is fucking hilarious.

Jeff who takes a foods class in third period and Steve does to and then the teacher pairs them for a baking project and Jeff gets to go to Casa Harrington. And he realizes rather quickly that Steve really likes baking and cooking and actually knows what he’s doing and that he’s not just taking the class for an easy A.

Brian (I’ve named him Brian, yes), meets Steve in Art class. Like Jeff, he thought Steve was taking it for an easy A but when seats are changed and they sit together he realizes that, no, Steve’s actually kind of good at drawing (particularly scenery). They get to talking about one of Steve’s sketches and the rest is history.

Gareth doesn’t officially meet Steve until later, but he does see him out with the kids at the arcade. Gareth works at the arcade and there’s this particular group of kids that just irks him— turns out they’re Steve’s gaggle. He watches in begrudging amusement while Steve rounds them up like a pro.

Then Gareth officially meets him after Hellfire one day. It’s fucking windy and he’s just leaving to school to go home when the papers and sheets he was holding are fucking torn from his hands. Steve grabs the papers— there after some kind of sports practice— and makes sure Gareth has them secured in his bad before leaving with a dorky finger-waggle wave.

And Eddie just downright refuses.

And then the school year ends and Steve graduates. And he’s convinced he doesn’t have to see Steve again.

Until, of course, Mike Dustin and Lucas join.

Jeff, Gareth, and Brian are all ecstatic to share their own run-ins of Steve Harrington to the three boys who so clearly idolize him. Gareth happily recalls how Steve “tamed” them in the arcade every time he came in.

Eddie sits in brooding silence.

And then Lucas joins the basketball team. And sure— Jeff’s on the volleyball team— but basketball jocks are so much worse than volleyball jocks.

Mike and Dustin, however thrown out of orbit they were at first, seem to settle in eventually and learn to plan around it. They think that anything that makes Lucas happy is a good thing (even if it did take a bit of a talk with Will for them to realize).

But Eddie? Eddie can’t stand it.

Which is why he refuses to move the date for the final campaign.

But Eddie doesn’t even get to introduce Vecna before Steve Harrington himself is all but breaking down the fucking door.

Eddie has this whole argument in his head that quickly dwindles when he sees the pure anger in Steve’s eyes (and also because Steve is really fucking pretty holy shit).

Steve tells Dustin Mike and Erica to pack up and get to the game before he drags them and you know what?

They listen.

Including hard ass Erica Sinclair.

And then idk Steve and Eddie get into a whole fight about.

But Steve makes it very clear that he doesn’t appreciate Eddie making Lucas feel like he can’t be happy doing DnD and basketball because that poor boy deserves nice things dammit.

And Eddie sleeps on it over the weekend before hunting Lucas down first thing Monday morning to apologize.

Lucas forgive Eddie (against Eddie’s protest because let the man grovel) but makes Eddie also apologize to Steve.

Which Eddie does by showing up to the Harrington Estate.

Eddie apologizes and they get high together and the rest is history.

.

I might actually make this into something, it’s already pretty fleshed out but eh

#stranger things #steve harrington #dustin henderson #mike wheeler #eddie munson #robin buckley #will byers #lucas sinclair #max mayfield #el hopper #gareth emerson #jeff from hellfire #the dude I named brian #hellfire club #corroded coffin #minor steve x cc #you can’t escape the harrington charm #jeff and steve play volleyball together #probably gareth x jeff #but hella steddie #steddie #eventual steddie #steve x eddie #eddie x steve

[lengthofropes]

sorry has it been done yet?

#minors dni #strangerthingsedit #steddie #steddieedit #steve harrington #eddie munson #cowboycoven2 #useralison #userange #useraurore #useraimz #userdorksinlove #tuserpris #tusersclara #tusererika #noalook #I hope it's ok to tag you in such things #if not pardon me and ignore me :))) #anzgifs